GPZList Digest, Vol 127, Issue 2

[William P. Zeller]

Gentlemen:

My ZX (well, that's what I call it, because that's what it's called in 
the dealers' parts machines) has been without a doubt the best bike I've 
ever had.  There've been two Gold Wings, 15 and 18, 44K and 106k miles 
respectively, through my hands and the Kawasaki was more reliable, less 
trouble, and less expensive to operate and maintain.

I've ridden it through some awful conditions with never a qualm. Not 
once have I ever departed aboard it with the slightest doubt I'd return 
in good order.  Maybe once, five years ago, a large metal truck air 
valve handle stuck in my nearly-new front tire about fifty miles from 
home on a dinner trip ($300 for the flatbed home, with the motor club 
only covering two-thirds- ouch!)  But never, ever, let me down.

With the odo at 101K now (163K km) I have to believe that someday, 
something will go amiss.  Surely the valves will wear down to where they 
won't give good seal anymore, or the cam chain will let go and break 
stuff.  After all, it's just a machine.

Yet it shows no signs of being anything other that what it's always 
been: a surprisingly good motorcycle, correctly engineered with no 
serious faults and superbly built, and a sleeper of sorts for me.  I 
bought it some sixteen years ago as a stopgap after parting with my 
ZG1000 (GTR1000) along the way of getting that first GL.  I was figuring 
to get on to the expected "new" Connie, which turned out to be seven 
years into the future and not a couple.  Somewhere along the line, it 
finally dawned within the cranium that here was no substitute but a 
really good bike that I preferred to ride over just about anything else.

Time has marched on and I am eager to sample the newer technology in 
suspension and brakes.  (Perhaps not so eager to be annoyed by digital 
speedometers and transponder key fobs).  I am looking towards a Connie 
14 or perhaps something more perverse, and hope to replace not the ZX 
but the Wing.

The Missus has just purchased a Honda NC700X DCT so the need for the 
Wing's fabulous passenger accommodations may be drastically reduced.

A story lies there: she was invited to the Autobahn Country Club in 
Joliet, Illinois by a well-to-do customer.  The ACC is a racetrack 
facility for people who like automobiles. She was treated to a ladies' 
day and got to hammer a Mercedes AMG mercilessly on a slalom track with 
a professional racer/instructor alongside.  That was enough to pique her 
interest in the front seat of a motorcycle once again somehow.  I don't 
need to question the process!

Some years ago, she had tested the motorcycle thing with a borrowed 
Yamaha Star 250 and then an inexpensive Ninja 500 grabbed at a divorce 
sale.  Things never really worked out.

But then she decided upon a Honda Reflex (Forza, now) 250 scooter on the 
basis of non-intimidation and clutchlessness.  Yeah, well, a country 
roads ride on a windy day shoved that concept to the curb.

Next was a 1981 Honda CM400A "Hondamatic"- a two-speed auto trans with a 
torque converter.  It was a bit of a barn find and exasperated me with 
its neediness.  Mud seemed to be present in every fluid container on the 
thing.  The forks were unspeakable. But I got it running long enough and 
well enough to get her through the miserable DMV Skills test with a 100% 
score: no points down.

As it turns out, the thing is actually the ideal machine for this 
torture test- I tried it on my GL18 and nearly destroyed the bike AND 
the parking lot).  I've come to learn that some dealerships keep one in 
the back for license testing loan-outs.  And now I understand why.  You 
can't kill the engine and it turns in a manhole-cover-sized space.

So she began Internet shopping the NC700X, since the pseudo-adventure 
thing seems to appeal to her and the Dual Clutch Transmission- a 
six-speed with no levers on the left side- and turned one up at a dealer 
near Detroit.  A few weeks ago, we rode the train to Dearborn, Michigan, 
enjoyed the Ford Museum adjacent, then went the next morning to this new 
Honda dealer in Southgate. The bike's a 2012 with 12K miles and farkled 
halfway to the moon- New Owner likes the word "farkle" quite some bit.

Allow me to say that the test ride was bizarre- the thing shifting away 
down there on its own was seriously unsettling.  I don't know that I'll 
ever get fully adapted to it, no matter that my old carpenter's hands 
might be well-served by a DCT bike someday.

I rode the NC home along a busy I-94 as she cruised home aboard Amtrak's 
Wolverine and while saying it should wait til spring, it was only a 
couple of days in the garage before it saw pavement. Several hundred 
miles already, and what with some nasty weather having shut down the 
party for now, she's already making plans for the next season and taking 
some intermediate riding classes. She's a lifelong athlete and is 
well-attuned to being coached.

So maybe I can still partake of the Connie 14 AND keep the old ZX for 
those special days.

Cheers to one and all.

Bill Zeller

Lemont, IL


On 11/12/2017 2:00 PM, gpzlist-request at lists.micapeak.com wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
>
>     1. Re: 11-11-11 (Charles Scappaticci)
>     2. Re: 11-11-11 (Art Johnson)
>     3. AW: 11-11-11 (Alex Finger)
>     4. Re: Europe Tour (Barblan)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 11 Nov 2017 16:06:28 -0700
> From: Charles Scappaticci <scapco at ecentral.com>
> To: GPZ List <gpzlist at lists.micapeak.com>
> Subject: Re: 11-11-11
> Message-ID:
> 	<CAAxb4DfsMRjJOPK1q98xeh1VRJBhS1q4QOR=T5ouAMYaoufn8Q at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> Art,
>
> My GPZ and I are still here. I think often about how the list has sadly
> gone silent.  I've had the pleasure of meeting a lot of people on this
> list, some only by e-mail, but many in person, and some long term
> friendships have came out of it, in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe.
> It has been a wonderful part of my life for the last 20 years.
>
> I still ride my GPZ and I know many others still do.  I had some good rides
> on the old gal this summer, though it's touring days are mostly behind,
> it's still got a few good trips left.  It's been an incredibly reliable
> mount and I can say I never had a breakdown on a trip, I can't ask for more
> than that.
>
> Thanks for waking us up from our early winter sleep.
>
> Regards,
>
> Charles S.
> 95 GPZ1100
> 13 BMW F800GT
> 99 KX250
> 03 WR450
>
> On Fri, Nov 10, 2017 at 7:26 PM, Art Johnson <arthjohnson270 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> To all listers out there, thanks for the community spirit across countries
>> & continents.
>> The Gpz brought us together, communication kept the flame burning.
>> Been very quiet the last year, keeping old bikes going.
>> Euro tour 2018 is being planned, still considering shipping the fast red
>> one overseas to ride.
>> Hope all are well.
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> ______________________________________________________________________
>> GENERAL GPZList MAILING LIST INFORMATION:
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>> ______________________________________________________________________
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sat, 11 Nov 2017 20:23:10 -0700
> From: Art Johnson <arthjohnson270 at gmail.com>
> To: GPZ List <gpzlist at lists.micapeak.com>
> Subject: Re: 11-11-11
> Message-ID: <A2AF75CD-96B8-4D46-AD21-F8B5CC9A3688 at gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain;	charset=us-ascii
>
> Chas, nice meeting you, exchanging tshirts in Canmore.
> Wife has family around Alamosa. Maybe we can make it there on the Gpz.
> Bill in Illinois exchanged valve shims recently.
> Ped and Alex Finger suggested Euro routes for travel.
> I love the connections across this platform.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Nov 11, 2017, at 4:06 PM, Charles Scappaticci <scapco at ecentral.com> wrote:
>>
>> Art,
>>
>> My GPZ and I are still here. I think often about how the list has sadly
>> gone silent.  I've had the pleasure of meeting a lot of people on this
>> list, some only by e-mail, but many in person, and some long term
>> friendships have came out of it, in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe.
>> It has been a wonderful part of my life for the last 20 years.
>>
>> I still ride my GPZ and I know many others still do.  I had some good rides
>> on the old gal this summer, though it's touring days are mostly behind,
>> it's still got a few good trips left.  It's been an incredibly reliable
>> mount and I can say I never had a breakdown on a trip, I can't ask for more
>> than that.
>>
>> Thanks for waking us up from our early winter sleep.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Charles S.
>> 95 GPZ1100
>> 13 BMW F800GT
>> 99 KX250
>> 03 WR450
>>
>> On Fri, Nov 10, 2017 at 7:26 PM, Art Johnson <arthjohnson270 at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> To all listers out there, thanks for the community spirit across countries
>>> & continents.
>>> The Gpz brought us together, communication kept the flame burning.
>>> Been very quiet the last year, keeping old bikes going.
>>> Euro tour 2018 is being planned, still considering shipping the fast red
>>> one overseas to ride.
>>> Hope all are well.
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> ______________________________________________________________________
>>> GENERAL GPZList MAILING LIST INFORMATION:
>>> This is from the GPZList mailing list. GPZList at lists.micapeak.com
>>> http://lists.micapeak.com/mailman/listinfo/gpzlist
>>> You subscribed to this mailing list. Therefore, you solicited all
>>> mail that you receive from this list. Therefore, ANY mail that you
>>> receive from this list is, by definition, NOT Spam, and if you report
>>> it as such, you are violating the lists.micapeak.com terms of service.
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe, you may send email to gpzlist-unsubscribe at lists.
>>> micapeak.com
>>> ______________________________________________________________________
>>> YOUR PERSONAL SUBSCRIBER OPTIONS:
>>> Unsubscribe or choose new options at
>>> http://lists.micapeak.com/mailman/options/gpzlist/scapco%40ecentral.com
>>> You are subscribed at the email address SCAPCO at ecentral.com
>>> ______________________________________________________________________
>> ______________________________________________________________________
>> GENERAL GPZList MAILING LIST INFORMATION:
>> This is from the GPZList mailing list. GPZList at lists.micapeak.com
>> http://lists.micapeak.com/mailman/listinfo/gpzlist
>> You subscribed to this mailing list. Therefore, you solicited all
>> mail that you receive from this list. Therefore, ANY mail that you
>> receive from this list is, by definition, NOT Spam, and if you report
>> it as such, you are violating the lists.micapeak.com terms of service.
>>
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>> ______________________________________________________________________
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2017 12:25:07 +0100
> From: Alex Finger <af at genevainformation.ch>
> To: GPZ List <gpzlist at lists.micapeak.com>
> Subject: AW: 11-11-11
> Message-ID: <5a082f94.70aa500a.ab0ca.d0bb at mx.google.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Hey Art,
> please share your waypoints, 2018 is not yet scheduled and planned, if I can arrange a trip to share a cup of tea or a beer it’d be a pleasure 😊
> (and … I know plenty of pleasurable back roads out there 😊)
> Kind regards
> Alex
>
>
>
> Von: Art Johnson
> Gesendet: Samstag, 11. November 2017 03:26
> An: Alexander Finger
> Betreff: 11-11-11
>
> To all listers out there, thanks for the community spirit across countries & continents.
> The Gpz brought us together, communication kept the flame burning.
> Been very quiet the last year, keeping old bikes going.
> Euro tour 2018 is being planned, still considering shipping the fast red one overseas to ride.
> Hope all are well.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
> ______________________________________________________________________
> GENERAL GPZList MAILING LIST INFORMATION:
> This is from the GPZList mailing list. GPZList at lists.micapeak.com
> http://lists.micapeak.com/mailman/listinfo/gpzlist
> You subscribed to this mailing list. Therefore, you solicited all
> mail that you receive from this list. Therefore, ANY mail that you
> receive from this list is, by definition, NOT Spam, and if you report
> it as such, you are violating the lists.micapeak.com terms of service.
>
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> ______________________________________________________________________
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2017 15:01:52 +0100
> From: Barblan <barblan at gmx.ch>
> To: Message an GPZ List <GPzList at micapeak.com>
> Subject: Re: Europe Tour
> Message-ID: <f474d106-3ae7-a303-9a09-07a0df7d4840 at gmx.ch>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
>
> Hi Art
>
> If you plan on visting Switzerland: I still live here ....
> This year was a super MC year!
> Cheers
> George
>
>
> End of GPZList Digest, Vol 127, Issue 2
> ***************************************