1977 Yamaha XS 650 D
'02 incarnation slightly modified:
277-degree phased crankshaft Halco 840cc kit Mikuni 38mmVMs
All-stainless exhaust Oil coolerw. Summit thermostat, spin-on filter
Braced swingarm & forks Progressive springs
Aluminum crash bars w. cantileverframe bracing
R.H. shift L.H. brake misc.plating & polishing, etc.
Bob B. calls it the 'Silver Bullet'. I'll go with that.
FOR 840 MOD. DETAILS CLICK HERE
My favorite local road: Rt. 56,the east approach to the Parkway, crosses
at about the 30 mile marker justabove Whetstone Ridge. Gentlemen, grab
your throttles.And prepare to shed some tire tread if youfavor sheer
exhiliration... This is the entranceto Crabtree Meadows campground (north,
name the same coincidentally asthe other one which is 400 miles south, 50
mi. from the southern end). A beautifultrout stream accompanies the
windings along here, frequentedheavily by fly fishermen during the season.
This is also where it starts gettingfun--eight or ten miles of concentrated
twisties and 20mph switchbacksthrough some of the most striking rocks,
pines, and freshest mountain airyou ever inhaled. Skill testers: hidden
side roads that spill their gravelout onto the pavement, crossing deer and
hound dogs oblivious to anythingbut scent, and not-very-carefully parked
pickup campers along the shoulders,always at blind corners. Going down
on the other side, west, is a repeatblast, altogether a half-hour each way
of wide-eye and bushytail, if you'reof a mind to take it on.
Pick the right time of day andit's all yours,
(Tuesdays mid-morning).
'01 ride, rest stop about halfwaydown, 200 mile mark or so. A young couple, in a vehicle
suitable for young upward-risingprofessionals, pulled up as I was
taking this, kept looking expectantlyback and forth at me, then at the view,
then back, as if anticipating anyminute to discover what it was
that was getting my attention.With the sense of a shrug, they went on.
They were thinking maybe a bear?They sure didn't seem to have eyes for
what was in front of them.
Stonework of very high qualityeverywhere; nothing but the best for this
road -- every bridge, and thereare a lot of them, a few with spans in the
neighborhood of 200 plus feet,many guardrail walls, one of which, south of
Peaks of Otter, goes on for miles,it seems, an incredible stretch of
dry-stacked hand work laid to thehighest standards of the craft. Well,
they had a lot of raw materialto chose from, what with all those
mountainsides that had to be carvedaway...
Meadows of Dan, best stop on theParkway, I think. Great deli,
family-owned, everyone pleasantand cordial vibes. High quality hand crafts
from locals, equal quality farmer'smarket, eye-popping selection of
homemade mountain fruit jams. Dan,who lives in the house behind the store,
says the roads around here rivalthose in the Deals Gap area. I believe
him; he's got 237K on his BMW R100S
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