Best Road Close to Home

[Stichill_imp]

All good road will lead you to a DQ!
Like you, I have my favorite local roads that are not too affected by influx of summer people.

Wisdom!

Having a good local road is a blessing. Glad you found one.

Still liking that Turnip Stichill?

Thanks, ferret. I credit you with the inspiration to appreciate the value of a great local ride. My prior mindset had been "unsatisfactory local ride" vs "long, far away but great ride". Now I feel like I can have a conveniently local yet great and satisfying ride.

I was going to ask the same question as the Ferret.

Good to have an agreeable road on the doorstep. I miss that.

The Thunderbird is a very easy motorcycle to like. I think it has a lot in common with the CB1100 inasmuch as it is relatively compact and heavy with copious torque. It has a lower center of gravity but a higher rake angle, so the low-speed handling is about a wash.

What it doesn't have in common with the CB1100 is sewing-machine smoothness. The Thunderbird rumbles under ordinary conditions and when the rpms climb it roars. If you are just puttering around, you rarely if ever need to exceed 3500 rpm and that is how most riders operate this bike. When I'm on my meditative rides, I do the same.

However if I want some excitement, the remedy is to run this modern DOHC liquid-cooled engine up over 4500 rpm where any resemblance to a docile, rumbling Harley disappears and the hooligan Triumph comes out to play. It is so lively and responsive and there's absolutely no distress running it to redline. It adds up to a bike that is very entertaining at any rpm.

On the downside, it's not as well-suited to touring as I'd hoped. Luggage capacity is limited. And the engaging character that makes it so enjoyable about town grows wearisome when you're laying down a lot of daily miles.

LongRanger and I chatted about it in a PM. Although I don't miss my BMW F800GT, I do miss the role it filled as a capable no-fuss touring platform.