Sport-Touring.Net - A Guzzi Breva, a Viffer, and a Triumph T-bird Sport roll onto a twisty loop...

I'm on my '06 Moto Guzzi Breva 1100, Bill (best rider I've ever seen) is on his trusty '98 VFR, and Ray is on his '00 Thunderbird Sport as we head out north the back way to Terrebonne, OR. Riding comparisons are at the bottom of this report. Pretty fun to switch between a V-twin, a triple, and a V4.

We followed a country road that winds over hill and dale on the mesa that abuts the east side of Lake Billy Chinook then screams down through hairpin after hairpin to Lake Simtustus before T-ing into U.S. 26 north of Madras. From there we went west on U.S. 26 then turned off toward Kah-nee-Ta on the Warm Springs Reservation, although at Kah-nee-Ta junction we kept going toward Maupin rather than turn to the resort. The road had lots of sweepers, some outstanding hairpins, many elevation changes, and free rangine wild horses. Yep, several times we got to brake like madmen.

After we got onto the reservation and just before the esses begin in earnest, we decided to play musical bikes. Bill got on Ray's T-bird, Ray took the Goose, and I climbed on Bill's Viffer for old home week as I had had an '02. We then tore uphill with Bill leading the way. (He's fast, smooth, and situationally aware no matter what he rides. Reminds me of the old compliment about Bama's football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant: He can take his players and beat your players and then take your players and beat his players.)

Even on the Viffer, I could barely keep Bill in sight on the T-bird. He made that Strumpet sing while I was readjusting to the Honda's more cramped seating position and kept misplacing the shifter and rear brake. Then muscle memory returned and I began to get into that V4 rhythmn. I'd forgotten how much fun it can be to ride a Viffer.

Eventually we stopped and swapped again with me on the T-bird, Bill on the Goose, and Ray on the Viffer. We turned around and blasted downhill, retracing our course. Bill took off with Ray trailing. Ray couldn't get comfy on the Viffer (he's about as tall as me, 6'1", but carries more of his height in his legs than I do), so I zipped on by Ray with those three cylinders singing. That Triumph can carve a corner.

Bill and I stopped about a 1/3 of the way back to wait for Ray, who was in misery and couldn't wait to get his Triumph back. Bill stayed on the Goose and I gave chase on the Viffer. Bill achieved some pretty impressive lean angles as his norm as we flat flew back to U.S. 26. His Viffer has an aftermarket pipe (Micron?) and I couldn't resist keeping it above 6K rpm's, which is where the fun lives.

So our riding impressions, in no particular order:

Triumph Thunderbird Sport
Orange and cream paint job, dual chrome mufflers, just a beautiful bike. Quick handling, maybe the quickest of the three. Seating position was the most upright. Bars were the highest of the three, not exactly ape hangars, but noticeably higher. Still, very comfy. The bar height reminded me of my KLR. That 900cc triple was lots of fun once you cleared about 3,500-4,000 rpms. Light weight with dual discs up front meant you could really pitch it into a corner. The short narrow bars give a surprising amount of leverage. Whoever thought of installing a yellow bulb in the headlight was a moron. Good roll-on power and easy to change cornering lines. Very fun bike to ride. The most mechanical sounding of the three from the front of the engine and that triple yowl out the back.

Honda VFR Interceptor
Again, I'd forgotten how smooth a V4 is to ride. No vibrations. Is this bike running; better look at the tach to make sure. Little harder to turn than Triumph, but still a maneuverable bike. Fantastic wind protection. (On way back to Madras I was unknowingly doing 80 mph+ when I saw a county mountie off in the juniper on the side. Looked at speedo, went "Yikes!" and proceeded to do two quick downshifts to get to a less attention-grabbing speed.) Most bend in the legs of the three and very short reach to the bars. Most work at low speeds when we we were doing U-turns and whatnot. At one point when the terrain opened up, Bill motioned me to let the Viffer rip so I had to live up the STN unofficial motto about sightseeing. Again, I had forgotten how much a VFR is to ride on a challenging road. There's a reason this is the perfect all-arounder for solo riding. Oh and Bill's bike has 75,000 on the clock and still runs perfectly.

Moto Guzzi Breva 1100
Bill and Ray were both amazed at how planted the Goose was in a turn. Bill especially loved the torque and how you can use that to set up for corners. I'm getting better at linking turns with the Goose, but it is the least flickable of the three. Ray felt a little bit of jacking from the driveshaft as he was experimenting with different gears and rpms for the corners. He called the Breva the "ubertourer" given its mass and comfort. Bill railed on the corners with it, but at least I kept up as my Viffer piloting semi-skills had emerged from hibernation. The Goose had the most roll on power. And the most comfy seat according to Ray and I although Bill was loyal to his ironing board otherwise called a Corbin. Goose was very maneuverable at low speeds, perhaps the best of the three. Extremely comfy bike to ride. Pegs, while a short reach, are under the knee whereas the Viffer's are set slightly rearward by comparison.

Just a fine way to spend a 50-degree day with two of your buddies and a couple of hundred miles. Oh, and I recommend the chicken soup at the truck stop at the south end of Madras. Homemade noodles, yum.

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