Editor’s note: I am preserving Leland Sheppard’s PC800-related content after his passing. This is one of his pages that I felt the PC800 community would want to have preserved. Leland may be on his final Iron Butt ride but he is not forgotten.
In addition to my fleet of Honda Pacific Coast motorcycles, I also have these:
This is a 2002 Honda Goldwing GL1800. I bought this from a man in Abilene, Texas in February of 2007. This bike has every bell and whistle known to man including, I’m convinced, the kitchen sink. I just haven’t found it yet. This is truly an amazing bike. It weighs 792 pounds dry or, with a tank of gas, over 840 pounds. Yet the minute I start moving, all of that weight is gone. It feels like a big Pacific Coast. And handles like one as well. I rode the back back from Abilene to Placerville, a distance of about 1760 miles in about 48 hours. I got 36 to 45 mpg riding at 76mph. I set the electronic cruise control on the bike and just steered. My plan for this bike is to pull a popup camping trailer with it and do long trips that way instead of with my motorhome. (As long as gas prices are as high as they are, I simply can’t afford to drive the motorhome very much.)
This is a 1989 Honda GB500 Tourist Trophy cafe racer. I bought it earlier in 2006 from a man in Michigan who owned it from the time it was new. This is probably the best handling motorcycle I have ever ridden. This little bike takes tight winding corners and simply straightens them out. It is designed to look like the cafe racer’s of the 50s and 60s and, in that spirit, I wear a Davida puddin’ bowl helmet and goggles when I ride this bike. The exhaust makes it look like a twin but, in fact, it is a 500cc single. A thumper. The riding position is such that I can’t ride it for more than an hour or so before my back and neck begin to go. But since I got it mainly to ride the twisty roads in this area, that works out just fine. It is pure fun to ride. Update: I sold this bike to a fellow in Auburn, CA who is using it to commute…
My Davida helmet and goggles. From the side it looks like a bowl…
This is a 2002 Ural Patrol with a custom paint job. It has a reverse gear, selectable 2wd (sidecar wheel is driven), a parking brake; all unusual features for a motorcycle. Even more unusual is the fact that all wheels (spare included) are interchangeable. The steel used in this bike makes me think of the way autos were built in the US in the 30s and 40s; it’s VERY sturdy. The Ural is made in Russia and was originally a clone of a late 30s BMW.
This is a 2002 Royal Enfield Bullet Classic 500ES with a Cozy Rocket sidecar mounted. This bike has been built in India for the last 50 plus years. Royal Enfield stopped producing motorcycles in England in the late 60s, early 70s. It is basically a 1955 design with a few updates. The Cozy sidecar is also made in India.
I no longer have the Enfield. It has been sold to a man in Connecticut who is giving it a great home.
This is from the inaugural trip for the GL1800 pulling the camper. Here the camper is being packed.
Here we at the top of Monitor Pass on CA89 on the way to Lee Vining and Bodie for Bodie Day 2007.
The GL barely reacts to the fact that it has a 500 pound trailer behind it, either in terms of acceleration or braking.
This picture shows the camper set up for the night.
Besides my motorcycles, I have a hot rod:
It is a 1997 Seadoo Speedster with twin 85hp 2-cycle Rotax engines. The boat is 14 feet long, probably weighs less then 800 pounds and has enough horsepower to push me back into the seat when I open the throttles. Its home is in the Sacramento River which gives me a thousand miles of waterway to explore.
My other “toy” is my coach:
My coach is a 1992 Bounder motorhome, 31 feet, Ford chassis with a 7.5 liter V8 and 4 speed EOD transmission, dual air conditioners, 7.5kw Onan generator, Mountain Tamer exhaust brake by Decelomatic, and more.
Shown here leaving on a trip in 2002 pulling one of my PCs and my little motorboat on the second story of the trailer.
My copilot:
Miss Bailey, half German Shepherd, half Golden Retriever. She has taken over the driving duties as you can see.
This page is under construction…
More to come…