Forza Labour Day Weekend

[davenowherejones]

I am planning to ride Friday to Monday on day trips with the Honda Forza this Labour Day weekend..

Today was a quick trip to Chilliwack to pick up brake parts. I quickly went through the Herrling Island area on the TransCanada Highway. There is a bad accident at least once a week there. The concrete no-post barriers get shoved around & broken all the time. It takes a lot of force to move that stuff. It is a blind downhill sharp two west bound lane corner. The two East bound ones are a non-event straight away a little higher up the mountain. There is a house in between the east and west bound lanes so maybe that is why this bad curve is there. The area is Jones Hill and as I am David Jones I have no idea who Jones was?

The concrete around the curve is many different shades of grey depending on when that section was crashed into last. I went through there behind a double trailer fuel tanker one day. The front wheels of the tractor were bouncing off the concrete a few times. I think I needed a change of underwear that day.

Today there was another big accident earlier in the day but it was cleared up by the time I got there. The accident a little further along on Tuesday took the RCMP about 6 hours to resolve. They were afraid that the LNG fuel tank of the double trailer wood chip truck would explode. On a straight flat stretch of highway the brakes all came on for the truck and it crashed into the concrete. A one hour round trip took me 6 hours but only because I did a little ditch cruising on the Forza and played chicken with the big trucks on the back roads.

My next excitement was when a KTM 1190 went past me at slightly above the posted speed limit of 110 kmph. It was nice motorcycle, I was jealous. I got to the Annis Road overpass and moved over into the passing lane (2 west, little grassy divider, 2 east lanes) because incoming cars can be a little difficult here.

An incoming black Blazer/Yukon ? with black windows was crowding me so I prepared to pass it but the Forza was almost maxed out so I pulled in behind it. It was a police vehicle with the word "Police" in black letters on a black background. All of a sudden red & blue strobe lights came on from hidden spots on this black monster. The KTM pulled over and I left. The RCMP can be a real pain in the !@#$%^&*. The guy was not really going that fast. The RCMP like sitting on the overpass and sneaking up on people in a totally almost unmarked car. A friend of mine calls it Anus Road. Now I know why.

I got to Chilliwack Honda and discovered that they had ordered the wrong part for me. I want a brake pin for when I re-do my rear brakes which I expect are down to the metal. How does an old guy even see the rear brake pads on a Forza 300?

I was a little pissed off so I went up to the Zopkios Rest stop at about 4000 ft on the Coquihalla to have an Indian Tea. While I drinking my tea I looked at a camper on a F250. The truck was pulling a quad in a really old wooden utility trailer. The drawbar of the trailer looked to be 1 inch tube steel. I think I could have snapped the safety chain with my bare hands. The license plate was improperly attached. The wood also looked like I could cut it with my fingernails. One wheel had a bolt missing and the bias ply tires were from the 1960's. The owner was a Professional long haul truck driver. I would hate to see his highway rig.

I got down the hill with nothing happening. I was shocked.

I am going to Hells Gate tomorrow.

[E. Foster Salsbury]

Good luck on tomorrows ride

How many km on the Forza now?

[davenowherejones]

Good luck on tomorrows ride

How many km on the Forza now?

33111 km & probably another 1000 by Monday

[E. Foster Salsbury]

Wow! 34,000 fast and hard kms

You burn any oil between changes?

[davenowherejones]

I don't think so but I drop a bit from my leaking water pump. We need Honda to do a recall on that. I think it would be an expensive fix if I had to pay all of it. Oil is cheaper. Makes a mess though.

[E. Foster Salsbury]

Is it possibly that the oil leaking from the water pump seal is blowing back and up towards the rear brake caliper?
Fine oil droplets and brake dust creating a paste and making them stick and drag? Just a thought?

[davenowherejones]

OK, so now the oil leak really is a safety issue. Someone call the lawyers & kick Honda in the ass or the wallet in the ass pocket.

I want a full refund & money for pain & suffering.

And a free Burgman 400.

[davenowherejones]

I bet that Honda would save money on future product liability if they refunded the money and bought back all 16 Forza's that they sold in Canada.

[you you]

I bet that Honda would save money on future product liability if they refunded the money and bought back all 16 Forza's that they sold in Canada.

I bet they wouldn't.

[fish]

To your question about how to view the rear brakes pads:
You can't. Even my trick of using a digital camera and blowing image up on the DELL...does not work. Just cannot see what is going on in there without taking something apart.
Ride safe.
Fish

[davenowherejones]

To your question about how to view the rear brakes pads:
You can't. Even my trick of using a digital camera and blowing image up on the DELL...does not work. Just cannot see what is going on in there without taking something apart.
Ride safe.
Fish

Poor design decisions on Honda's part. I looked at a Honda dirt bike yesterday. The muffler was well away from the brakes and the brakes were clearly visible.

I like riding the Forza but the bad engineering is driving me crazy.

I like that it is a medium speed machine.
I like the ABS.
I like the fuel injection.
I like the fairing.
I like the seat.
I like the storage.
I like the 80 mpg.
I like the fuel range.
I like the LED headlights.
I like the side stand & centre stand.
I like the tilted down handlebars.
I like the instruments.
I like the Michelin CityGrips.
I like the floorboards.

[davenowherejones]

OK, for Day 2 of Labour Day Weekend. I checked the oil & antifreeze. I went to Hell's Gate. I first looked at the former road collapse and the retaining wall they built to keep it up. I then noticed a car doing a U-turn to go into the Hell's Gate parking lot. The road has a bend and the person was trying to do the turn where oncoming traffic could not see them. They stopped in the middle of the 80 kmph highway on a blind corner. Fortunately no 80,000 pound trucks were coming around the corner. It could have ended very badly. All three cars in this little convoy did the same. I then noticed that they were Asian drivers. We have lots of convoys of 3 or 4 Asian (Chinese?) drivers in this area. I think only the lead driver knows some English and the rest just follow.

I rode the tram down to the river. The water level is quite low this time of year. The railway dumped a whole lot of the mountain into the river accidentally in about 1914 (?) The fish had a hard time getting through the gap. It took about 30 years before the government did anything about it. Apparently Canada gave away a lot of fishing rights away to the USA in return for them paying for part of the fish ladders.

I had the salmon chowder for lunch. There was very little salmon in the chowder.

I had intended to have a short day and just go home after lunch. It was nice and warm so I decide to go the long way home. I headed up river to Lytton where I found a double trailer truck in the ditch facing the wrong way. It was covered in police crime scene tape. I asked at the gas station and it has been in the ditch for a few days. It was probably heading north to pick up a load of 2x4's or some other lumber. The East Indian trucking companies all under bid each other. This results in the drivers working very long hours for very little money. The driver probably fell asleep while driving through the mountains.

I continued on up the TransCanada Highway to Spences Bridge where I changed over to Highway 8, the Nicola Valley highway to Merritt. I think most of our highways were initially laid out by drunk surveyors. There are very few straight stretches. A great road for the Forza. The whole day was nothing but a series of corners, 1000 corners???

The sky was very dark towards Merritt but I continued anyway. Riding in the rain is nothing new to me. Today I was wearing black socks, drywear boxer underwear, silky wicking long underwear, windproof shiny long underwear, wicking long sleeve undershirt, drywear teeshirt, a sweatshirt with a beaver on it holding an axe, a Rockstar brand motocross jersey, Olympia rain pants, Olympia Mesh armoured pants, Olympia rain coat, Olympia lime green armoured mesh coat, Alpinestar Scout adventure boots, icon Patrol gauntlet armoured gloves and topped of with a white icon Variant helmet with visor.

It takes 5 minutes to undo all of the zippers (4) and belts (2) to go pee. Plus the gloves and helmet. And then I have to find the thing under all of the layers. I have to stop often so the time adds up.

I continued in the rain to Merritt. I had supper at a sushi place. Nothing special and I was the only person in the place. It was raining even harder when I left supper but the sky was clear where I wanted to go. The Coldwater Rd parallels the highway and has a few hundred more turns. It is through open range country so you have to watch out for cattle. I saw none today. The Forza has no problems with road cattle guards. And I had absolutely no problems with the Forza today. Just corner after corner. Rainy kilometre followed by hot followed by cold and more rain.

Tomorrow is the big day of kilometres to Princeton, BC to Summerland through open range country and back via Hedly to Manning Park.

[davenowherejones]

Sunday usually starts with me checking lottery tickets. $3 in winnings were invested in three $1 scratch tickets which on Monday revealed no winners. Oh well.

Next was breakfast at McDonalds. Breakfast burritos are good to re-start the heartburn. I get a coffee re-fill to fill my little thermos. I drank it at Manning Park Lodge.

I continued on to Princeton for my first gas refill & bathroom break. I was so cold I wanted to buy a long sleeve undershirt but the store did not open till noon (?).

The Princeton-Summerland road was next. It is another road put in by drunken surveyors. Curve after blind curve. You never know if the road is still there or what is on the road.

I got to the end of the paved section and then I had 35 (?) kilometres of muddy gravel road to do. I took it slow and missed most of the potholes. I hit one hidden rock and was airborne for a while. I go slow and I have dirt bike experience. I just let the Forza go where it wants.

The road goes up a mountain and seems to be going the wrong way. I have done the road before so I think I am probably not lost. Eventually I hit the paved roads into Summerland and back on the Highway to Penticton for gas and Chinese food. The Chinese food was gassy.

A normal person would have hit the highway to go home but not me. There is a paved road that goes up to the Apex Alpine Ski Resort. I have not been there for over 40 years so I went. The last time was in High School. We had a class trip to the resort for a few days. The teachers looked the other way and we had a great time. We drank too much alcohol (all underage), skied a little bit, put a few people in the hospital and it was rumoured that a few pregnancies started there.

The road continued on for 30 (?) kilometres of gravel to the Barrick Gold Mascot Mine. The gravel road from the mine to Hedley back on the highway is very steep with numerous switchbacks. My rear brakes are probably down to the metal almost so I had to use the front brakes all the way down. The ABS kept releasing the brakes and made for an exciting descent. Part way down I saw a big black thing in the distance beside the road. I first thought of a black bear but it was too large. It was a huge blank Angus Steer of about 2000 pounds. It looked friendly so I carefully road past it.

The next thing I passed was about a dozen jeeps coming up the mountain. I met them on a straight stretch fortunately. On a corner it could have become deadly.

I finally got down the mountain and almost got hit crossing the highway. It was getting late so I phoned my neighbour to let the dog out.

I rode into Princeton for more gas and a cuppa chai. By the time I got to Manning Park it was starting to get dark. As I pulled into Hope it was dark.

I saw a few deer at the side of the road but they behaved themselves. I saw very few RCMP and again they behaved themselves. It was the Labour Day weekend and very few people were on the road. The gas prices are too high to go anywhere in a car.

[davenowherejones]

Today is the Labour Day Monday. I was so beat up from the gravel roads that I slept in. I was going to stay home but???

I went down the TransCanada Highway to Popkum. On the way I had to dodge a cab-over Kenworth (?) going about 50 kmph on a stretch of road posted at 110 kmph.

I traded in my lotto ticket for 3 more scratch tickets. Tim Hortons supplied the coffee. I thought about going home but the mountains were calling me.

On the way up the mountain I saw the RCMP had pulled the Kenworth over and it was hooked up to a big wrecker.

I rode up the Coquihalla to Zopkios for Indian Tea. Two tour busses pulled in and took over the place. At least there were a few pretty ladies.

It was time to go home. Downhill all the way. The snowshed has 3 lanes going downhill. The trucks use the right hand lane but immediately after the road becomes 2 lanes downhill. I passed a truck in the snowshed tunnel but he tried to re-pass me. I twisted the throttle because we were merging into the same lane. I just barely got ahead and then the truck went into the high speed lane and passed me again. The truck was way over the speed limit going down a busy steep mountain highway.

I came around one of the corners and there was a real fresh tire road alligator. The rubber was bouncing all over the place. I had to swerve a few times.

I wanted to cash in another lottery ticket when I got to Hope but first I needed a restroom badly. The first gas station had a lineup, the second one was extremely busy and the Flying J near my house has an adequate supply of toilets. By then I was getting desperate and then my zippers on the Olympia riding pants jammed. It was not pretty. I am doing laundry as I type this.

[davenowherejones]

So that ends four days of Forza riding. Day one 200 km, day two 335 km, day three 486 km, day four 165km. Four days, 1186 km or 736 miles. Not a long distance but some truly spectacular roads and sights. Some gravel, some highways, some remote places. If you have ever ridden this area you know what I mean but the rest of you have not got a clue what I went through in the last four awsome days.

[kramnala58]

Did you happen to get any pics you can post?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[davenowherejones]

I got high again today. I went to Weaver Creek to look at the salmon spawning channels. They are dry right now but next week they will turn the water on. The salmon will have sex and die. Thousands of oriental people will go to watch the sex. Tour buses will be full, millions of dollars worth of German cars will be driven to the sex event.

It is fun to look at all the Mercedes, Porsches, Audis and BMWs. The road will be full of dangerously driven German cars. Old ladies and young children all gather to watch salmon sex. Thousands of salmon will fill the man-made spawning channel. Thousands of pictures will be taken of the sex and of the people.

It is hilarious to watch. But today it was just gravel and trees.

I then went to the Hemlock Valley Ski Resort. It is at the end ? of a 10 km gravel mountain road. The ski lodge is at the 3300 ft level which is a little too low for snow some years. I first went there some 40 years ago as part of a high school trip. It hasn't changed that much in all that time. There are a few more houses and a little bigger parking lot.

40 years ago we went up in a school bus. A bunch of 16 years olds making the bus driver nervous on every switch back shouting "We are all going to die." I don't know if todays kids would get away with it or if the lawyers would even let the event happen.

The Forza 300 was good on the hard pack gravel but some twit took a grader to some of the road. The twitchy Forza rear end in the softer gravel was fun, just like a real dirt bike. Coming down is always more scary for me. The Forza has little in the way of engine braking and once the clutch lets go, the freewheeling got a little fast at times. I hit the rear brakes hard a few times before the switchbacks. The ABS never had to kick in as far as I could tell.

I had to dodge the really, really big logging trucks some times. We have had a few bad accidents with those huge trucks lately. People die, so you have to be careful.

After a thrilling day of no salmon sex but gravel mountain roads it was time to hit the highway to go home. I made the mandatory stop at the Popkum Tim Hortons for my decaf double double coffee. The RCMP were waiting around the donuts at Tims. I asked how they kept their Lime Green jackets so clean. The secret seems to be, wait, to wash them. Who knew?

So the whole afternoon was only 128 km at 92 miles per Canadian gallon. I think the slow uphill followed by coasting downhill gave me a good mpg. It cost me $4.38 Canadian dollars for the Forza. I sure like doing this on the Forza versus in my Dodge Dakota V8 4x4. Mind you the Forza has cost me $8400 so far so it ain't cheap but its fun!

[fish]

Regarding your tilted down handlebars....:
I sat the Forza on the dealer floor. Knees were hitting the handles....BUT I noticed that the bars are not covered by plastic and that they can be loosened from the center bolts - and raised up.
I asked the salesman to do this - but he said they were not permitted to change things.
I bought it...took it home and got out my allen wrenches and pocket knife - and Bob's Your Uncle ! I had perfect bars and a whole lot more knee clearance in 20mins !
Fish

[davenowherejones]

Regarding your tilted down handlebars....:
I sat the Forza on the dealer floor. Knees were hitting the handles....BUT I noticed that the bars are not covered by plastic and that they can be loosened from the center bolts - and raised up.
I asked the salesman to do this - but he said they were not permitted to change things.
I bought it...took it home and got out my allen wrenches and pocket knife - and Bob's Your Uncle ! I had perfect bars and a whole lot more knee clearance in 20mins !
Fish

Actually Bob was my father, Robert Jones 1921-2007. I am short and the bars were too high and they hurt my shoulders. I tilted them down and it gives me a bit of a lean into the bars for a bit of a racing crouch. I jam my bum against the rest and my feet against the floor board uprights. I hit the bumps hard at high speed and fly down the mountains letting the gyroscopic effects of the small wheels keep me upright. I suspect the Forza gets airborne fairly often. Hang on, what a ride, yahoo!