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.
I made my prior one with the baggie glued directly to the pad and the suction cups glued to the baggie. The problem is if you mess up and pull too hard on the baggie opening it the small diameter of the suction cup attachment rips a hole in the baggie and then you have to make an entirely new unit. That is why I tried to make it with Velcro this time so the baggie is replaceable. The only glue I have found that reliably sticks to the suction cups and the baggie is Krazy Glue. Even epoxy made for plastic pulled right off.
This is a picture of needed materials. The baggies are 1 gallon freezer bags. I wish there was a size between a gallon and a quart. I use the freezer bags as they are thicker. The rubber tool box liner I bought at Harbor Freight but Sears and other places should have it. I tried to find something solid that I thought would not scratch the shelter but could not find anything cheap. This is cheap and works. Note the alcohol pads. No glue sticks to the baggie if you don’t wipe it down with alcohol. I did not try the putting the Velcro on without wiping it down. The Velcro is probably the most expensive thing here. The nice thing is it removes all the writing on the freezer bags. Also wipe off the top of the suction cups where they will attach to the Velcro. The Velcro I used had some strong adhesive on it so I initially decided to just try attaching the suction cups to it. I had to Krazy Glue them on about an hour later as they popped off. So far that has held. I then punched 6 holes to allow the suction cups to poke through and attach to the Velcro and I did not think I could get a strong enough attachment to the rubber pad. The pad is cut to exactly the size of the baggie including the slider so the slider cannot touch the shelter. Here is the pad with the Velcro installed. Do I really need this much Velcro? After installation I doubt it but I figured if I used 2 inch wide on the pad and 1 inch wide on the baggie I could lessen the strain on the baggie if I stuff several maps into it by loosening the edges and moving them in slightly. This gives me room to do itThis is the bottom of the pad. Note the position of the removal tabs on the suction cups. It is much easier to remove the map case from the bike if you remember to point the tabs for removal of the suction cups outward so you can hook them with your finger when you pull them off.Here is the pad and baggie with the Velcro installed.Here it is installed on the bike Installed on the bike with a map folded up in it.
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.
Date of trip: Annually – mid-May to mid-June
Day One:
Start from Placerville.
If Mormon Emigrant trail is open:
Take US50 east to the Sly Park Road exit in Pollock Pines. Take Sly Park Road south to the junction with Mormon Emigrant Trail. Turn left (east) on Mormon Emigrant Trail to the junction with CA88. Turn left (east) on CA88.
If Mormon Emigrant Trail is closed:
Take CA49 south to Martell. Turn left (east) on Ridge Road toward Volcano. Turn left (east) on CA88.
If we are meeting someone in Jackson:
Take CA49 south to Jackson. Generally pull off at the junction of CA49 and CA88 and wait there. Turn left (east) on CA88.
Go east on CA88 past Silver Lake to the sign for Carson Spur. This is the first summit at 7990 feet.
Continue east on CA88 past Kirkwood Ski Resort and Caples Lake to Carson Pass. This is the second summit at 8574 feet.
Continue east on CA88 through Hope Valley, past the junction with CA89 to Tahoe, down the canyon to Woodfords. Turn right (south) on CA89/CA4 (toward Markleeville). Continue south on CA89/CA4 until CA89 splits.
Continue west on CA4 to Ebbetts Pass. This is the third summit at 8730 feet.
Continue west on CA4 to Pacific Grade Summit. This is the fourth summit at 8050 feet. (no picture available) Continue west on CA4 through Arnold and Murphys to Angels Camp and the junction with CA49. Turn left (south) on CA49 at the stop sign. Go south on CA49 to Sonora and the junction with CA108. Take CA108 east. Continue on CA108 east to Sonora Pass. This is the fifth summit at 9624 feet.
Continue on CA108 east to the junction with US395. Turn right (south) on US395. Continue on through Bridgeport and Lee Vining to the junction with CA120. Turn right (west) on CA120 and climb up to the top of Tioga Pass (9945 feet). This is the sixth summit. The pass will be closed so when we’ve gone until the road is blocked, turn around and head back for Lee Vining. Turn left (north) on US395. Turn left into Mono Vista RV Park. This is where we pitch our tents for the night. Park has nice grassy sites. They have nice bathrooms and showers as well. Clean, well kept up park. There are also motels in Lee Vining, if you don’t feel like tenting.
Total distance for day 1: 381 miles
Day Two.
Turn right (south) on US395 to the junction with CA120. Turn right (west) on CA120 and ride to the top of Tioga Pass. Turn around and head east on CA120 back to US395. Turn right (north) on US395 and go to the junction with CA270 (Bodie Road). Turn right (east) on CA270 and ride 13 miles to Bodie; the last 3 miles are washboard gravel. Tour Bodie – last of the gold mining camps – largest ghost town in California.
Leave Bodie and head west on CA270. At the junction with US395, turn right (north). Turn left (west) on CA89.
Continue west on CA89 to Monitor Pass. This is the seventh summit at 8314 feet.
Continue west on CA89 to the junction with CA4. Turn right (north) on CA89/CA4. Continue on CA89 (through Markleeville) to the junction with CA88 (at Woodfords). Turn left (west/north) on CA88/CA89. Continue on CA88/CA89 to the junction with CA89. Turn right (north) on CA89 (toward Lake Tahoe).
Continue north on CA89 to Luther Pass. This is the eighth summit at 7740 feet.
Continue north on CA89 to the junction with US50 (at Meyers). Turn left (west) on US50.
Continue west on US50 to Echo Summit. This is the ninth and final summit at 7382 feet.
Continue west on US50 to Placerville.
If you count the two crossings of Conway Summit at 8125 feet on the way to and from Lee Vining, that makes eleven summits total. And if you count the second day’s climib up Tioga Pass, that makes twelve. We counted all of them.
Total distance for Day 2: 245 miles.
Gasoline:
There are a number of other gas stops along the way.
Cautions:
The roads through the passes, particularly Ebbetts and Sonora, are VERY narrow. In some places it is one wide lane. You need to watch carefully for oncoming traffic.
If you are going very early or very late in the season, you might find sand on the road (as I did) in many places as you get near the tops; they use it to give traction when it is slippery…
If you are going early or late in the season, dress very warmly.
Summary:
The views are breathtaking at every turn. Pure eye and soul candy. Great motorcycling on these roads. Lots of corners for folks like me that love them.
We do this trip every year that we can.
Most of these passes are closed in the winter so it pays to check with Cal Trans Road Information before going to be sure that the roads are open.
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.
