Maui ride

[voyager]

I'll make sure I have the camera charged up. Lots of pics to come.

[Bdog]

Kevin..your a dog!..only because I'm envious..don't worry bro..the rest of us albertains are keeping up with the snow shovelling in -35 temps..I hope you and Deb are having blast..later..John

[rickyboy]

I think John is driving to your place whenever he's near and keeping your sidewalk clear for you.
If I was closer You know I would...................
NOT !!

[finger]

I'm way jealous! When I was there in July we weren't able to do the Harley rental. However, I was warned by several locals: If you take the road to Hana 1. leave early, it's longer than the map makes it look. 2. watch out for sand and gravel in the road.

Be safe, have fun and post lots of pics!

[Bdog]

Originally Posted by rickyboy ... #00722

I think John is driving to your place whenever he's near and keeping your sidewalk clear for you.
If I was closer You know I would...................
NOT !!

Ya Kevin..no worries..I'm right on that one for you..John :) ;)

[jandreu]

Talked to Kevin today. We will be hooking up Saturday am for a couple days of cruzin..

Anyone else that can make it to Maui at anytime are welcome.

[Jared]

Originally Posted by James "Bubba" Andreu

Talked to Kevin today. We will be hooking up Saturday am for a couple days of cruzin..

Anyone else that can make it to Maui at anytime are welcome.

The instant camaraderie with motorcycling is one of the things that I enjoy most about it. Have a good time!

[rickyboy]

Great news,..... have fun, I wish I was going with you.

[finger]

Originally Posted by James "Bubba" Andreu

Anyone else that can make it to Maui at anytime are welcome.

Missed my chance this past summer when we were in Kaanapali.
If we get the chance to go back I may take you up on that.

[Bdog]

Originally Posted by James "Bubba" Andreu

Talked to Kevin today. We will be hooking up Saturday am for a couple days of cruzin..

Anyone else that can make it to Maui at anytime are welcome.

Bubba..I'll give you a call when I'm on the boat...I'll bring billet..Bdog ::) ;)

[voyager]

Report on day 1 with James (Bubba)and Melody: First I have to report that we returned the Ultra because it had a terrible front end wobble and the windshield was right at eye level and made it really uncomfortable to see through. So, I picked up a soft tail that had a clip on shield, 96 cubic engine instead of the 103 but would work for what we needed ( report on my experience with the bikes to follow later). What a great day for Deb and I , we rode to James's house in Pukalani and met him and his wife Melody. We headed on up the road to the Volcano, Haleakala, but first stopped for lunch at the Kula Market Place. Great food and conversation, then when completed, put on warmer clothing and headed up the 1 1/2 hr ride to the top. Here are some pics of the trip.



Having lunch, James, Melody and Deb


Putting on warmer gear
















Very different being at 10,000 feet. Your muscles ache quicker, you have shortened breath and as James pointed out, as soon as you start to descend you have to pee real bad.
Tomorrow, it's meeting up again, off to breakfast then a tour of the winery. I'll keep you all posted as I'm sure James will to. Again, my hats off to our gracious hosts James and Melody.

[ringadingh]

It looks like a really nice place to ride, seems like your getting the Royal tour as well. That Harley looks pretty comfy in the pic also. Keep enjoying the vacation, it still really cold here. ;)

[jandreu]

Yup, we had a great time with Kevin and Deb. For us warm blooded folks the ride to Haleakala was a tad cool but we made it thru the clouds and came out the top to a sunny day above about 7000 feet. As a lot of the ride today was in the clouds we didn't get may pic's but hope for more tomorrow.

Will be taking these mainlanders on a ride to Keokea to Grandma's Coffee House for B'fest and some local music afterward will head to Ulapalakua to our local winery to taste some Pineapple wine. If Kevin is still able to drive after the wine we plan on winging it and taking whatever roads we feel like...more to come.

Must say that while I am not predigest the Nomad is a much better bike than the Harley for this type of riding. Stayed in second gear around 3K rpm all the way up the mountain. The Nomad just pulled like a freight train with almost no shifting while Kevin was caught with having to go from second to third a lot.

[skeeter]

It's all purty and looks great fun. I'm kinda partial to red. I see Bubba put his shoes on for this trip.

[voyager]

Just returned from dinner where my buddy, who had gone deep sea fishing while I was riding, caught some mahi mahi. Very nice fish, he had marinated for a few hours in Italian dressing then BBQ them up....yumm.
So, my assessment of the two HD I took out: They both suck big time, first the frame's are too short for me ( just like the '09 Nomads and up) It feels like I'm riding a lawn mower to be perfectly honest. Clunky, vibrates from the floor boards to the grips, stock seats are awful, hot, hot, hot. Both bikes would make nice starter bikes for women in my opinion. I was very envious of James as he and Melody rode their Nomad while I was stuck on my Harley. Even the Ultra Glide lacked the refinement of the Nomad, and the Nomad isn't supposed to be even in the same class. The Nomad is heavier, feels more solid and has better bottom end torque. The one area I did like was on the Ultra's 103 cubic inch engine. Lots of power felt very nice when you twisted the throttle, but I can't say I'm always complaining of the Nomad's lack of power, in fact, I find the power in the Nomad quite acceptable for the HP that Kawi engineers out of it. Glad I was able to try a couple of HD models because it sure solidified my opinion of them.