Vintage Japanese Los Angeles

A good time was had by all!

Death Valley 2014

20 years ago Vintage Japanese Los Angeles rode to Death Valley from Lancaster, taking the path of 1950s Death Valley motorcycle rallies and of a 1960s magazine article about riding Japanese tiddlers to DV.  Our first trip was great fun and created many stories we all bore our friends with to this day.

This March a perfect, sunny day greeted us as we gathered in Lancaster for our 20th annual trip to Death Valley.  Sadly, an earthquake earlier that morning caused a bit of damage and a few of our riders did not make the ride.  How typical for SoCal.

Crazy Otto’s Diner served up their usual bodacious portions of diner food.  After everyone signed in and got their t-shirts we were on our way.

The weather forecast was for a nice sunny weekend with a chance of wind Saturday night in Death Valley.

We had an even more assorted group than usual – a vintage Honda CB750 chopper, two Harleys, two Vespa scooters(!), a Suzuki rotary, Kawasaki H1 and 250 race bikes, a Yamaha RD350LC, my RD400, and several more vintage Japanese bikes.  Everyone that either owns or appreciates vintage Japanese bikes is welcome on VJLA rides.

Within a few miles we had our first incident.  A pretty Triumph Scrambler went down on some gravel in a corner on our way into Mojave.  David carried on though after removing the remains of his rear brake pedal and enduring an embarrassing first aid session with my wife Denise.  Your Mom was right – always wear clean underwear… On the way to Randsburg Larry’s Honda Superhawk seized twice but kept running.  He retarded the timing a bit and limped back to Mojave to catch a ride home.  It later turned out that his ignition advance had worn to where his bike was running way, way too advanced at high RPMs.

We stopped for a long break at the historic desert mining town of Randsburg, which is now populated more by dirt bikers than prospectors.  The General Store offers a unique selection of merchandise and their soda fountain makes terrific shakes.  Once upon a time I bought a chicken in a can there as a souvenir for a friend.  A whole chicken.  In a can.

We rode onwards towards Trona.  Normally a pretty much abandoned desert chemical mining town, Trona was bursting with people this year.  We had wandered into their 100th birthday party!  Who knew so many folks would return to not-so-scenic Trona to celebrate?  There was a car show, every church and club had an open house, and even the gas station got in the act with an old couple cooking fresh carne asada tacos.  Yum.

After Trona we rode north across the Panamint Valley.  As the road crests over the hills north of Trona there is a view of the Panamint Valley that must be seen.  The desert floor extends to the horizon, bounded by rough mountains on either side as the road snakes down the hillside.  One can feel the hot desert air rising up from the valley floor.

As we rode up the valley we were surprised to find several miles of pavement missing from Panamint Valley Road.  So much for my promise to everyone that our route would be paved.  Apparently a repaving operation is in progress and the crews began by hauling the pavement away.  Desert dust quickly enveloped us and our carefully detailed bikes while we rode along the now gravel road.  Donnie had an adventure on his chopper, what with its 2 inch ground clearance and hard tail frame.  But, he looked awesome.

Our usual route from Panamint Valley up through Wildrose Canyon was closed due to damage from a flash flood, but a couple of our riders ventured around the barricades.  The two rogue riders arrive in Stovepipe Wells unscathed.  The rest of us rode over Towne Pass without incident.  My RD400 seemed a bit slow but I thought it was the altitude.

After a gas stop at Stovepipe Wells a few of us broke off to head up to stay in Beatty, Nevada.  The rest of us  rode down through Death Valley towards our destination of Furnace Creek.

Once in Death Valley we encountered the forecasted wind.  Unfortunately, while I was riding through the blowing wind and sand my RD400 became a RD200.  Later examination revealed aluminum bits on the right spark plug.  Bummer.  On the truck my RD went.

Meanwhile, Barry was having issues with his Kawasaki ZL-600 overheating.  He eased it into Furnace Creek and we hoped that on Sunday his bike would run cooler.

Saturday night many of us dined at the Furnace Creek coffee shop.  The prices there are a bit high but the food is pretty decent.  Afterwards many tall tales and bad jokes were told back at our campsite.  Unfortunately the local ranger did not appreciate our enthusiasm and asked us to quiet down a bit.

We quieted down, but the wind did not.  Bikes fell over, our gear flew about, and our tents blew flat in the rising windstorm.  Denise and I retreated into our truck’s bed and marveled at how ferocious the wind was.  None of us got much sleep.  I woke up covered in sand but mercifully the wind had died down by sunrise.  It was an authentic desert night, although those of us that stayed in motels claimed they were not jealous of the camping experience.

Sunday morning we saddled up to ride to Panamint Springs for breakfast.  On the way back across Death Valley I noticed heavy clouds up towards Beatty.  I felt a few rare drops of Death Valley rain, but our intrepid Vespa riders ran into a hail storm on the way from Beatty down to the Valley.  I always warn people that our DV rides are a true adventure and this year was a great one.

Sadly, Barry’s Kawasaki continued to overheat, so he decided to put it on the truck before any serious engine damage might occur.  We were up to three casualties now: it was a tough year for bikes.

Panamint Springs Resort has small campground, vintage motel and a restaurant at  the Panamint Falls desert oasis.  After enjoying a breakfast buffet on the Resort’s broad porch overlooking Panamint Valley we rode back towards Trona, through Randsburg, and back to Lancaster.  On our way back my thoughts turned back to our first DV ride.  Back then we all rode 1960s bikes.  My 305 Dream blew an engine oil seal, so we picked a new one up on our way to DV and fixed my bike at the campground that night.

Craig rode the infamous Easy Rider Honda Superhawk chopper, resplendent in gold metal flake spray paint with extended forks, beer can covered ignition coils, rusty Maltese Cross mirrors and ape hanger handlebars.  The Easy Rider got a flat tire in Randsburg.  We fixed it right there in front of the General Store.  A local fellow stopped by to help.  Later we realized he was a famous 1960s desert racer as he showed us his cabin full of trophies and his prized Triumph desert sleds.  Good times.

This year Death Valley gave us a little more adventure than usual, and we all had fun.  See you in 2015.