Duchess Rides to Payson Az

Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum

Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

marcusorelius

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 11, 2009
Messages
1,107
Reaction score
1,696
Location
Kingman AZ
The Duchess & I, our friends Ken & Al went on a 2 day ride to Payson Az. First stop 50 miles out at Peach Springs for a bathroom break, our friend Al's HD wideglide was leaking trans fluid.(insert your fav HD leaking joke here:bleh: )

He had changed the seals before the trip but alas it started drip'n. He almost turned around but decided to go anyway & take his chances
ohno-smiley02.gif
It leaked fluid at every stop for the trip (we found if he proped the bike level with a rock under the kickstand it slowed it down. Don't know how it made it the 538 miles of the trip but it did!
clapping.gif


When we got to the end of rte 66 & got on interstate 40 we were headed for Flagstaff for lunch, but we saw thick clouds in the mtns left over from the pesky storm that hit us 3 times in kingman & delayed our trip twice.

We decided to go on the backup rte on the hwy to Prescott. We stopped for lunch than plotted rte around the mtns of jerome (still looked like rain clouds over there) to the first major destination of Motezuma Castle Nat'l mnt. Our plan went well as we avoided any rain!
thumbsup.gif


Ken got his senior N/P pass as he had just turned 62 a few days before. We had a nice time in pleasant weather viewing the cliff dwellings!

to be continued....

Here's Part 1 of the videos...

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sorry to hear about the bike issues. Nice video and thanks for sharing. Looking forward to the next installment.

 
Nice video. If your friend is certain he installed the seal correctly, he might want to check the condition of the bearing or bushing just inside of it. Years ago I had racked up 50k miles on my old XS650 and couldn't keep the clutch pushrod seals from leaking. Turned out the bushing had so much wear, the shaft had enough lateral movement in the seal to pass oil.

 
After a nice walk & look around we headed for Payson our destination for the night. It was a very mellow ride up the mtns & down a great twisty road as U come into town. We got there at about 3:30 so with a few hours of daylight left we stopped at Green Valley The city park. This is the most beautiful city park in Az that I know of.

Then onto the motel ,check in, feed the pup & we went out for dinner at the Beeline cafe which is a short walk away. I had a giant plate of the special pot roast & had some beef left over which I took back to Duchess, Man she enjoyed that!
laugh.png


In the morning we went next door to one of those places who are only open half day & specialize in breakfest, after which we checked out, got gas & picked up some sandwiches for lunch in the park.

After a short scenic 10 mile or so ride we were at are main objective for this trip. Tonto Natural Bridge State park. We stopped & went in to pay the $5 (N/p pass no good here) I mentioned I had a dog on my bike & was giver a long list of rules! I came out and loudly read the rules to Duchess!
tongue.png


We than walked around & looked down at the river below & the natural bridge from the observation points. Ken & I were hiking down the 1/2 mile steep trail to the bottom of the canyon & Al stayed up top (he's had heart problems & don't hike)with the puppy, against the rules to have dogs on the trail:cryingsmiley: We went down to the bottom and.....

to be continued....

Here's Part 2 Video....(these vids r in HD, so set the player)

 
Last edited by a moderator:
....WOW, this place at the bottom of the Gowan Trail is FANTASTIC! A tunnel under the bridge is 400 ft long, 150ft wide, and 183ft high. I didn't expect such a stunning place! Ken & I scrambled over the rocks & went in the tunnel & just marveled at all the sights around us!
laugh.png


We than went up the 1/2 mile trail & found Al & Duchess and went over from the south side gowan trail to the north side Anna Mae trail. Ken & I went down the trail & poor Duchess had to stay up with Al again. You can see a shot of Al & Duchess up on the observation deck at 4:29 of the video.

So next Ken & I went down the waterfall trail, where I stood in the waterfall while Ken took a few pics of me.After which we hooked back up with Al & Duchess, & after all the hiking around we were ready for lunch.

We picked out a nice picnic table under a tree, and the Duchess jumped up on the table & had spotted a squirrel in the tree. Well she was so preoccupied with this she didn't even care about the food & getting her treats! She even tried to climb the tree! (pics near the end of the video).

After lunch we talked to some nice gals from Phx ( Duchess the chick magnet!)

It was now time to leave & head for our next stop Mormon Lake.

...to be continued

Part 3 of the videos...

 
Last edited by a moderator:
It was a most pleasant ride through the mountains on a beautiful sunny afternoon to Mormon Lake,(really not much of a lake more of a wet marsh)

We stopped at the Mormon Lake Lodge/Store & had a nice walk around the grounds & looked at the Buffalo they have in a pen. Duchess enjoyed frolicking in the grass!
biggrin.png


to be continued....

Part 4 of the videos....

 
Very nice! Thanks for sharing! You have great patience to be able to take these when riding as it seems these are 'hand-held" with pans and sweeps by you while driving.

I likey the windshield you have now for your lil buddy. I have a friend who rides with his best buddy as well, and states the hearing on his pal (Tobi) has suffered from the wind noise.
sad.png
...Tobi (a border collie) is not tethered in, does have goggles (not pic'd) but the ear protection is baffling for his owner.

DSC02061_zpsyawh5ltw.jpg


DSC02063_zpsluvfrxua.jpg


 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks TopSpeed! The patience is really in the edit'ing as many hours are spent on making these videos.

(probably as many or more than the rides! LOL)

Must be ride'n behind the shield that helps with wind noise, Duke rode with me for 5 years and 50,000

miles and his hearing was ok.

 
We left Mormon Lake & went the long way around the Lake (marsh). Then back on Lake Mary rd towards Flagstaff, this section of road always reminds me of Oregon, with the water on one side of ya & lots of trees. We made a gas stop in flagstaff, and one in Seligman & than rte 66 home with a brief stop in Hackberry.

Was an excellent 2 day ride of 538 miles. The Duchess sure was tired when we got home!
laugh.png


Part 5 and finale video (whew, am I sick of editing!)

 
Top