DARE I TITLE THIS ONE ... "A TALE OF TWO CITIES"?
ORIGINALLY, I HAD THE "ROADSIDE SMELLS" STORY DIRECTLY UNDER THE PHOTO ABOVE ... UPON REVIEW, I THOUGHT THE BETTER OF THAT!! HA! HA!
(11-13-25) THE PHOTO ABOVE IS A NEARBY SMALL CITY'S PARK ... EARLIER TODAY, CARRIE AND I HAD LEFT THE HOUSE HERE IN THUMPERVILLE (City #1) ABOUT 3:15PM, AND REMEMBER THAT IN THIS SEASON OF THE YEAR, IN THE AUTUMN OF EARLY NOVEMBER, THE SUN DISAPPEARS AT A MORE RAPID RATE THAN WE ARE USED TO AND PERHAPS IT IS SOMEWHAT DUE TO THE RECENT ANNUAL "TIME CHANGE" THAT HAPPENED ABOUT A WEEK AGO ...
THE NEXT DAY WAS A SUNDAY ... BOOM! ... IT'D BE DARK-THIRTY WAY EARLY BUT WE DID GET AN EXTRA HOUR OF SLEEP ... AND, OF COURSE, ON THE DAY IN QUESTION, TODAY, WEDNESDAY, IT WENT FROM A SUNNY 70 DEGREES TO BRRRRRRRRRRRR IN JUST MOMENTS, BUT I'M GETTING AHEAD OF MYSELF HERE...
EARLIER, PEOPLE WERE CASUALLY STROLLING BY OUR DRIVEWAY ... BARE-HEADED, T-SHIRTS, SHORTS, MAYBE A LIGHT HOODIE ... MY OBSERVATION; THE OLDER THE GOAT, THE THICKER THE HAIR (GRIN-JOKE!) (ie. the more clothes?).
THE DAY WAS A MOTORCYCLE RIDERS DREAM ... SO ONCE OUR CHORES WERE HALF-DONE (ACTUALLY WE WERE DOING THE NATIONAL MAILOUT OF THUMPER NEWS #161, OUR WINTER ISSUE, WHICH ALSO INCLUDES OUR 2026 THUMPER CALENDAR. AND, IT IS MAILED TO YOU BY FIRST-CLASS MAIL ... HOW ABOUT THAT? NICE, HUH?
SO ANYWAY, WE RAN OUT OF STAMPS ... THAT WAS OUR EXCUSE. WE QUICKLY RAN THE ISSUES THAT WE HAD DONE DOWN TO THE POST OFFICE AND MAILED THEM OVER THE COUNTER ... SO, PERHAPS IN A FEW DAYS, DEPENDING ON HOW FAR YOU LIVE FROM THE CENTER OF THE LOWER 48 STATES, WHEN YOU OPEN YOUR MAILBOX, YOUR PERSONAL COPY OF THUMPER NEWS WILL BE THERE FOR YOU ... LET US KNOW WHEN IT ARRIVES AND HOW YOU LIKED IT ... VIA EMAIL TO THIS SITE OR TEXT OUR CLUB PHONE OR (WHAT IS IT? I CAN'T REMEMBER... ) OH YEAH! SEND US A POSTCARD?
"YA WANNA GO FOR A RIDE?", SHE ASKED ... MOMENTS LATER WE WERE IN THE SHED DONING OUR RIDING GEAR. "DOOR UP!", I PROCLAIMED ... AND UP IT WENT. CARRIE ROLLS OUT FIRST AS HER ADV-SCOOTER RESIDES NEAR THE DOOR. SOON, OUT I COME AS WELL, PUSHING MY (I FIND MYSELF WANTING TO TYPE THE WORD "LITTLE" HERE BUT THAT IS A "NO-NO"! ... NEVER CALL A MOTORCYCLE OR A HORSE LITTLE ... AT LEAST IN MOST CASES).
OUT I CAME WITH MY KAWASAKI KLX230SM "POCKET-ROCKET" ... YES, THAT DOES SOUND MUCH BETTER AND IN TRUTH, IT IS THE TRUTH. DOWN GOES THE DOOR, CLACKING AND CLANGING IT'S WAY TO THE GROUND, NOT UNLIKE AN OLD LOCOMOTIVE SLIDING TO A STOP AT THE DEPOT, REMEMBER THOSE? AND DON'T YOU JUST LOVE GARAGE DOOR OPENERS THAT WORK?
OFF WE GO, WINDING OUR WAY THROUGH THE 'BURBS TO GET TO THE NEAREST CITY LIMIT SIGN, ONLY ABOUT 1.5 MILES OF TWISTY CURBED STREETS AWAY ... THEN A FULL STOP, OF COURSE. WE LOOK LEFT, LOOK RIGHT, LOOK ACROSS THE STREET, THEN LEFT AGAIN AS WE HEAD FOR OPEN COUNTRY. FIRST GEAR, SECOND GEAR, THESE TWO SHIFTS COMING FASTER THAN I CAN TYPE, THEN MARGINALLY A LONGER MOMENT INTO THIRD, THEN LET HER WIND OUT A BIT, THE WIND IN MY FACE, AND SHORTLY A SMOOTH CLICK TO SIXTH AND ... WE ARE FLYING!
NOT THE CASE FOR CARRIE, JUST TWIST THE WICK AND THAT SCOOTER DOES ITS THING ... SMOOTH AS SILK, AND RIGHT ON MY TAIL ... I WOULDN'T WANT HER TO KNOW THIS, SO "MUM" IS THE WORD, OKAY? HER SCOOTER MIGHT OUT-DRAG MY HOT ROD 230CC SUPER-MOTARD ... WE HAVEN'T TESTED THEM YET BUT THE DAY MAY COME... SO SWEET AT 55MPH!
FALL COLORS, MATURE MAIZE FEEDS, FRESHLY-PLANTED, NOW SPROUTED GREEN FIELDS OF NEW BORN WHEAT, MILE AFTER MILE, SECTION AFTER SECTION, "SO GREEN IT HURTS YOUR EYES", AS SOME SAY ... IT SEEMS FINE FOR ME? IN FACT, IT MAKES FOR A BEAUTIFUL VISUAL HARMONY WHEN MIXED WITH THE ORANGE, RED, YELLOW, AND BROWN COLORS OF AUTUMN TO BE VIEWED NOT ONLY IN OUR TREES BUT ALSO IN THE EVER-PRESENT ROADSIDE FOLIAGE, THOUGH SOMETIMES THIS NATIVE GRASS IS REFERRED TO AS "WEEDS" BY A LESS APPRECIATIVE PORTION OF THE MOTORING POPULACE.
IT, THE ROADSIDE FOLIAGE, REGRETFULLY, CAN AND DOES SHELTER AND HIDE A VARIETY OF ANIMALS THAT OFTEN UNWITTINGLY VENTURE OUT OF THAT ROADSIDE GROWTH WITH LESS THAN HAPPY RESULTS AS THEIR REWARD AFTER CONTACT WITH CARS AND MOTORCYCLES ALIKE ... ROADKILL. COONS, RABBITS, WILD TURKEYS, O'POSSUMS, PHEASANTS, COYOTES, FARM DOGS AND CATS, EVEN NATIVE (NOW DAYS) SUPER-SIZED KANSAS DEER.
MANY RIDERS CHOOSE TO RIDE IN THE LEFT-HAND WHEEL TRACK OF THEIR LANE ON THE ROADWAY IN THE THEORY THAT THEY WILL HAVE A BIT MORE TIME TO REACT ... NEVER A DULL MOMENT ON A MOTORCYCLE, EH?
67 MILES OUT, WE RIDE THROUGH CITY #2, THINK SILVER HERE, ITS NAME IS ... STERLING. DOES IT HAVE ONLY ONE TRAFFIC LIGHT? I THINK SO, AND OFTEN IT IS SET ON BLINKING YELLOW ONLY ... THOUGH NOT ALWAYS. IT'S A COLLEGE TOWN AND THE CAMPUS IS LOCATED RIGHT OFF THE MAIN DRAG SO WE ALWAYS ENJOY RIDING BY THE MAJESTIC BUILDINGS AND THE IN-GENERAL COLLEGIATE SETTING AS WE MOTOR BY AT 30, THEN 20 MPH ... STRANGELY ENOUGH, I HARDLY EVER SEE A MOTORCYCLE PARKED IN THE COLLEGE AREA OR EVEN IN THE WHOLE TOWN, HMMMMMM?
WE TAKE A "BUTT-BRAKE" IN THE STERLING CITY PARK, SO OUT COMES MY KODAK OF THE DAY, MY SMARTPHONE ... SEE THE ABOVE PHOTO ... MY PHONE SAYS I TOOK THIS SHOT AT 4:29PM ... ONLY ABOUT 45 MINUTES TO THE NEWLY SCHEDULED DARK-THIRTY OF 5:15PM. WE HEAD FOR THE HOUSE, IT IS ABOUT 4:45PM...
AS WE LEAVE THE CITY, I AGAIN GET TO RUN THIS LITTLE BIKE (WHAT DID I JUST SAY??) THROUGH THOSE CLOSE RATIO GEARS ... CLICK, SNICK, SNICK, SNICK, SNICK, SNICK. THE PERFORMANCE, OR AT LEAST THE RIDER'S IMPRESSION OF THE PERFORMANCE, IS REALLY PRETTY REMARKABLE CONSIDERING THAT I HAVE 17 HORSEPOWER TO PLAY WITH WHILE THE 1340cc SUZUKI HAYABUSA THAT I HAD NOTICED EARLIER IN THUMPERVILLE IS RATED AT 197 HORSEPOWER ... AND WE FREQUENT THE SAME STREETS AND ROADWAYS ... BUT NOT THE SAME GAS PUMP AND NOT FOR THE SAME NUMBER OF GALLONS. TODAY'S RIDE FOR ME WAS 80.8 MPG, HIS WAS ??.? ... AND HERE'S THE FUN PART; CARRIE AND I PROBABLY GOT FARTHER FROM OUR DOORSTEP THAN HE DID, THOUGH THAT IS AN ASSUMPTION AND YOU KNOW ABOUT THOSE ... OH YEAH, CARRIE USED 2-TENTHS OF A GALLON LESS FUEL THAN I DID ... SHUCKS!
WE FUELED AT 5:13PM, FINISHING OUT OUR DAY IN A BRIEF MOMENT OF NOT-DAYTIME, BUT NOT YET NIGHT ... OUR LIGHTS LITE-UP THE GARAGE DOOR AS WE RODE INTO THE DRIVE. I HAD NOTICED A BIT OF PEA-GRAVEL ON THE TURN AT 30TH AVENUE AND HENDRICKS.
I'M GOING TO STOP THIS STORY FOR A MOMENT AND ASK CARRIE WHERE SHE NOTICED SOME GRAVEL, HOPEFULLY SHE'LL REPLY, "UHHH - 30TH AND HENDRICKS" ... I'LL LET YOU KNOW. IT'S WHAT WE DO AFTER EVERY RIDE ... IN MY VIEW, IT IS A FUN WAY TO INCREASE OUR AWARENESS AND ATTENTIVENESS DURING THE RIDE WHICH ALSO HELPS US TO SHARPEN OUR RIDING SKILLS 'CAUSE (AND AGAIN,THIS IS IN MY VIEW) GETTING BACK TO THE HOUSE SAFELY TYPICALLY HAS TO BE EARNED ... AND, BTW, CARRIE IS THE ONE WHO STARTED THIS PRACTICE!
OH, HOW'D CARRIE DO WITH MY QUESTION? WELL, IT'SPRETTY LATE AND SHE IS SLEEPY SO I HAD TO GIVE HER A B-, TRUST ME, IT HURT ME MUCH MORE THAN IT DID HER ... IT WAS A WONDERFUL RIDE. I HOPE YOUR NEXT RIDE WILL BE EVEN BETTER! ... #000
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SEE ROADSIDE SMELLS
... find it below in a posting from a couple of weeks ago ...
YO to FSSNOC MEMBERS ... and you as well, Jack:
#000 - This is in response to "ROADSIDE SMELLS", see below, scroll up (or is it down?) anyhow, we talked a couple of weeks back about "the Smells of the RoadSide" earlier. Go, see, read below ... My apologies to Tim 'cause I was supposed to put this post on the ThumperGarage last week and I failed to do so ... Sorry, Big Guy!!
Being a farm kid from AimishVille, Kansas, good ole alfalfa hay is hard to beat. It doesn't matter if it is in a hayfield on your (my) way to a FSSNOC ThumperCafe in Owyee, Oregon (back in 2022) or just the other day at the Ag building here in ThumperVille at the State Fair, my sniffer is ALWAYS going to get a whiff of that awesome "MOO' food ... No allergies here.
Still amazing that a black and white cow can eat green hay and make white milk. Mmmmmm ... bring on that Wacky cake with homemade brown sugar icing, some fresh garden strawberries, and a cup of farm-fresh cream. WOWZA!
That green hay just gets the imagination "a-thumpin" very quickly...
That's my vote for "Roadside Smells" ... you got a better one? ... Tim, #5258 - KS.
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FROM #000 ... A FEW DAYS AGO I RECEIVED THIS INFO VIA A TEXT FROM A FRIEND ... I FOUND IT VERY INTERESTING AND THOUGHT I'D PASS IT ALONG TO YOU ALL. IT CONCERNS THE CANNONBALL EVENT ON WHICH A YOUNG MAN RODE THIS 4-HP OLE TIME THUMPER MORE THAN 3000 MILES ACROSS THE USA!
OF COURSE, OUR APPRECIATION AND A THANK YOU TO ADVRIDER.COM - LOTS TO READ AND LEARN FROM THEIR SITE ...
https://www.advrider.com
P.S. I think it was titled, "1912 Indian Single - Jay Leno's Garage"
I hope you can find it, but if you can't, you might enjoy the hunt on the above site anyway....
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FROM #000 ... OF NOTE, IT'S BEEN GREAT FUN ALL OVER AGAIN TO "WRITE ABOUT TODAY'S RIDE" ... (ABOVE). WE WISH YOU ALL A FUNTASTIC WEEK AND WE HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT WEEK HERE AT THE THUMPERGARAGE, GOOD LORD WILLING ... JACK, #000 and CARRIE, #000,5
KEEP ON THUMPIN! IF YOU LIKED THIS VIDEO, GIVE US A BIG THUMBS UP AND HIT THE SUBSCRIBE BUTTON BELOW ... AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS AND DEFINITELY ANY MOTORCYCLIST THAT YOU MAY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT WITH ... THIS SITE IS FREE, WITH NO BOTHERSOME PASSWORD OR HOOPS TO JUMP THROUGH, JUST TUNE US IN (GOOGLE) AT FSSNOC.COM ... WE'D LOVE TO OFFER THIS AS AN ON-GOING WEEKLY MOTO-TREAT FOR YOU AND YOURS AND ALL WITHOUT A FEE ... YEAH, NO CHARGE! WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU HEARD THOSE WORDS??
WE'LL SEE YOU IN THE NEXT VIDEO
... BUT DON'T FORGET TO READ THE REST OF THIS PAGE AND ALL THE OTHER PAGES OF THIS SITE ... YA DON'T WANNA MISS NUTTIN', RIGHT?
============= FROM LAST WEEK =================
WAS THIS OLD GEEZERS ON BEEZERS DAY?
YUP ... (11-6-25)
SENIOR CITIZENS GET 10% OFF ON WEDNESDAY ... are we happy?
Of course! This was earlier today at the Lyons Mexi-Cajun Restaurant in ... ? Gosh, where was it? Hmmmmm ... let me think? It'll come to me........................?
I was in my shed watching some NASCAR the other day on YouTube, when an ad broke through, as they are often prone to do, the ad spokesman asked the question of me, the viewer ...
"Do you sign your texts?"
I thought for a moment, then I replied, "Of course ... I think everyone should and you know, some people don't!"
This was their response: "If you sign your texts, do we have a deal for YOU! If your aging eyes are not working as good as they used to ... blah, blah, blah, ... "
If you "get this", send your reply of explanation as to what this means, email to: [email protected]
(and don't forget to sign it)
Photo above ... was our little group waiting somewhat calmly outside the door for 12:45PM to come. That is what we call TT, Table Time ... Ya wanna eat with us, be there at 12:45PM, TT.
This is a quaint little place, though it is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside, not sure how they did that??
Mexican food on one side of the menu, Cajun on the other side.
It's a fun little spot should you cruise through the small city of Lyons, Ks. on highway 56 ... it's on Main street on the south side of the road near the east end of town, careful - one can motor right by without seeing it.
Everyone in the photo is a fellow FSSNOCer so if you could have joined us today, you would have been in good company and it would have been great to have you with us! Maybe next time? I ordered the Bread Pudding for dessert ... but, alas, I was too full to eat it all, it was quite a manly chunk, so like ye ole folks, I , well, Carrie asked for a "to go" box ... Scooters are like that building above, they can "carrie" more under the seat than they can atop the seat, go figure ... but I maketh fun not, it is HANDY, and the seat latches down and locks, too!
Sweeeet ... anyhow, I've been snacking on my left-over bread pudding with a lukewarm coffee at hand as I've been chatting with you all ... and strangely enough, as I near the end of my pudding, so I approach the end of this, our weekly enterprise that we refer to as The ThumperGarage, the official website of the Four-Stroke Singles National Owners Club, Est. 1986.
Thank You for being a FSSNOC member,
Thank You for tuning us in on a weekly basis,
Thank You for emailing us from time to time, it's always fun to hear what is going on in your Thumper's life ... and, of course, if you are NOT a FSSNOC member, please continue to visit as often as you wish, in fact, spread the word to your motorcycling (or not...) friends and neighbors ...
This site is our gift to the World of Motorcycling ... no charge, no password ... just show up, put that kickstand down and stay awhile ... fresh stuff every Thursday as a rule though sometimes we go abit astray ... so there ya go, see you up the road and over the hill! - JR #000/CR #000.5
KEEP ON THUMPIN'...
===============Thump/Thump===================
CHECK IT OUT! (from TWO weeks ago...)
A THUMPER, FOUR-STROKE SINGLE
NOTICE THAT LONG (OLD SCHOOL) STROKE MOTOR! CAN YOU SAY, "GOT TORQUE?"?
TUBELESS TIRES (I'M TOLD) ON MAG 17" WHEELS
31.1 INCH SEAT HEIGHT
3.4 GALLONS OF FUEL
WITHOUT FUEL, ETC ... WEIGHT MIGHT BE (3 GALLONS OF GAS X 6 POUNDS = 18 POUNDS, BATTERY WEIGHS, I DUNNO ... ANYWAY ... UNDER 400 POUNDS DRY.
LOVELY TO LOOK AT - ( SEE PHOTO ON THE HISTORY PAGE ).
GARAGE FRIENDLY VALVE ADJUSTMENTS AND GENERAL MAINTENANCE. (SO IT APPEARS...)
HALOGEN AND LED LIGHTING
DISC BRAKES WITH ABS
9.5 TO 1 COMPRESSION - 87 OCTANE FUEL?
FUEL INJECTION
5 SPEED GEARBOX
20+ HORSEPOWER
REVIEW THE ABOVE SPECIFICATIONS FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION.
ABOUT $4OOO.OO ( AS I READ... )
YA GITTIN' THE ITCH YET? CARRIE AND I ARE FEELIN' IT! (GRIN).
SEE YOUR R.E. DEALER...?
IF YOU OWN ONE, SEND US YOUR THOUGHTS VIA E-MAIL: [email protected] OR TEXT 620-663-1869
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ENJOY IT NOW, THOSE AUTUMN COLORS ... SOON, IT'LL ALL BE GONE!
.......from Tom, #1076, Maine - KLR650
Roadside smells:
Flowers are good, unless you have hayfever...
BBQ is a good one...
A freshly plowed wheat field...
What's your favorite?
Let us know at: [email protected]
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