Ride report: North Jersey (with pics!)

[Barney]

the weather finally broke here in north jersey so obviously I took the opportunity to put a couple hundred miles in on the ol' 1100.  sunday was the better of the two days, so I headed west out to Peapack & Gladstone to check out a couple of the auto/classics dealers in town, cause they're always showin off their best.  Saw a bunch of great motors out too, and more ducs than I've ever seen on a single ride - couple of multi's, a motard, couple street fighters, and I think there might've been a 1198 - no monsters though.  

after gladstone, I kept west out to Tewksbury and through the center of Califon before calling it a ride and starting to head back east. once I pulled back into far hills, i took 202 north up through through morristown and back home.

snapped a few pics on the way, and they sort of make me want to keep the ride all red vs. the black/gunmetal paint job i've been thinkin about.  

[Skybarney]

Those are nice pics of a new Monster out and about.  How do you avoid riding through all the toxic waste (and how do you deal with hair gel and helmets) that us Californians have come to believe is everywhere in Jersey?   

Oh and I owe you a personal thanks for costing me another $200.00.  The silver rear sprocket cover has to go 

[Curmudgeon]

Shhhhh..... That's my old turf for 40 years as well. Better the "tourists" think NJ is "down the shore" or the NJ Turnpike!  There are mountains too!!! Shhhh..... WASP's have become a minority. I'll give you that..., but no "big hair" for eons. 

Where is this spot, BTW? That new stuff looks like Bedminster.

[Howellerman]

I really like the new red with white accents on the fairing, tank, and rear piece, and have been toying with the idea of replacing my Pearl white pieces on the black frame for a unique look. It sort of reminds me of the first S4RS that I sat on long ago, but the stripes were offset if I recall.

Nice country, too: I am always reminded of "off to Grandmother's house we go" when tooling about upper NJ/NY and environs. Little hamlets that just appear out of the woods, versus the constant urban sprawl we have out here in California (at least on the coast).

[1.21GW]

Where is this spot, BTW? That new stuff looks like Bedminster.

Some nice stuff out that way---Somerset, Morris, etc.  My sister lives in Bernardsville so I've explored the twisties in the area more than a few times.  Glad outsiders think it's all toxic, industrial, etc.  More roads for us!

[lazylightnin717]

I've been looking for a road in south jersey for about 4 months now that isn't

1. Straight
2. Flat
3. Congested
4. Lined with strip malls
5. Lined with unnecessarily large, empty parking lots

Any road that is slightly more exciting than watching the blinking lights on my cable modem will do.

So far I haven't seen any proper riding gear on a single motorcyclist and the only interaction I've received was from a very nice co-worker asking me to weld the case on his gixxer 1000 because "the chain snapped off doing 130.... it was crazy"

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I should however note that I am but 35 minutes from NJMP. All the more reason to get serious about the track thing.

Oh... and sorry. I didn't mean to shit on your thread. I dated a girl from Chester/Mendham area and it is really very nice up that way. 

[kopfjäger]

Head out to the Delaware Water Gap.

[Barney]

the first pics are at "the barns" in gladstone right next to far hills - one or two on mountainview road in the warren area - the last is at a school on 202 south of bernardsville - i think those windmills are pretty cool...

 I like the whole area, plenty of smooth windy 2 lanes.  it gets even better if you head up north towards the vernon area, but that's about an hour from me, so I tend to just head west.  I guess I should've just headed east and snapped some shots on the polaski skyway to keep all the rifraff thinking there's nothing worth doin out my way!

Those are nice pics of a new Monster out and about.  How do you avoid riding through all the toxic waste (and how do you deal with hair gel and helmets) that us Californians have come to believe is everywhere in Jersey?  

Oh and I owe you a personal thanks for costing me another $200.00.  The silver rear sprocket cover has to go  

so that's how i got around all the waste, but like Curmudgeon said, I haven't had a thing of hair gel in a long time..speaking of, i need to head over to cvs real quick...  

[DexterMorgan]

Looks totally awesome!!  Great pics.  Can you tell a noticeable difference in heat reduction with the pipes wrapped?

[Barney]

Head out to the Delaware Water Gap.

yup, been out that way too...it's a good time in the summer to get in a big old truck tire tube and float down the delaware and drink beers..but that doesnt mix to well with the moto...

Looks totally awesome!!  Great pics.  Can you tell a noticeable difference in heat reduction with the pipes wrapped?

thanks bud!
short answer: no

longer answer: I haven't really paid too much attention to it, and I did it at the end of the season last year and it really hasn't gotten warm enough to notice even if it did make a difference I don't think...  that being said, I have noticed that it's typically running at 3 bars instead of 4 on the temp indicator, but I just attributed that to the cooler temps i've had the pleasure of riding in lately. 

[OT]

I've been looking for a road in south jersey for about 4 months now

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You should head across the Delaware River - lots of good roads within 20-30 minutes of either the Commodore Barry Bridge or Delaware Memorial Bridge...

Maybe buy a cruiser for South Jersey riding....

Lot of guys I know have "gone dirty" in the Pine Barrens and just ride sportbikes on a track...fwiw

[Barney]

I ride the ktm down in south jersey all the time - I could probably get away with only a dirtbike if i were close to such good terrain, theres' that much great riding in the pine barrons.  but I'd agree that the roads down there probably aren't the best in the world...even across the delaware memorial it's pretty tame - i studied at udel and I can only remember a couple of good stretches. I would second ot's suggestion and head out to pa if I were you...

[slvrflme147]

I took advantage of the weather Saturday to ride up and down the Delaware.  Cross over around Milford onto PA 32 and down to the New Hope area, then cross back over and ride back the NJ side.  Definitely a nice trip and tons of bikes on the roads.  Just have to watch for the cops on the NJ side, too easy to start cranking that throttle.

[Curmudgeon]

I took advantage of the weather Saturday to ride up and down the Delaware.  Cross over around Milford onto PA 32 and down to the New Hope area, then cross back over and ride back the NJ side.  Definitely a nice trip and tons of bikes on the roads.  Just have to watch for the cops on the NJ side, too easy to start cranking that throttle.

Years ago we used to do that run to breakfast in New Hope before the cops got insane. Not unusual to see 30 Ducatis and full leathers. Rt 29 is particularly bad for cops after noon.

[slvrflme147]

Yea,  I'm going to stop riding out to New Hope after I install my new exhaust.   The Pennsy cops are really cracking down there on pipes.   No helmet is ok,  but loud pipes will get you tagged any weekend.