Ride to Jerome, AZ

Met a friend on a KLR 650 and we headed up to Jerome, which is a scenic old ghost town (tourist trap). But cool nonetheless.
I put 233 miles on the Wing today and it ran great, we climbed from about 1000 feet to over 7000! Cooled right off too! I-17 is a major grade of 6% for quite a distance. The KLR went to the stops (wfo) at about 70 mph at steepest part. My Wing felt like it could sail up to 100 up that hill. Amazing.



Here I am at the bottom of the Jerome hill; the town is in the background.



Here we are parked in Jerome! Easier to park and walk; spots are hard to find



Here is the Connor Hotel; we stopped for a libation:





The Connor had a band on a Sunday morning!



(sung loudly) You can get anything you want at:



We stopped here to have a little snack!



An overlook above the town of Jerome, neat view.



Heading down from Prescott on the way home I saw these clouds:



Storm coming? Actually yes; before I got back to home (Wickenburg) I was rained on and hit with HAIL!!!

In spite of the weather it was a neat ride and my Wing did great and is still getting 53-54 mpg and it was ridden HARD today!!!

Hey Glenn,

Thanks for sharing your pic's, glad to hear your SWing did a good job and gave you great fuel mileage. Keep posting your photos, take care.

Robert

Jerome has truly come back to life. I was there in 1968 or so, I think that only two or three people actually lived there then.

Neat photos. Thanks for the memories.

:flower:

I'm wondering, cuz I don't see anything like it, unless I'm riding NOT hard, nice and easy thru the mountain twisties, how you get 53-54 mpg on your swing while riding it HARD?. My experience says it's not possible, so I'm befuddled. If you have a secret to share, I'd love to know it.

Nice photos. I was only in Jerome once, in winter - maybe december or january - of 1989-1990, and only for about an hour. Reminds me a little, maybe more than a little, of the village of Madrid, NM, near where I now live. Old coal mining town, old saloon, tourist trap, in the mountains, etc.

matthew wrote:

I'm wondering, cuz I don't see anything like it, unless I'm riding NOT hard, nice and easy thru the mountain twisties, how you get 53-54 mpg on your swing while riding it HARD?. My experience says it's not possible.

I am sorry this is not clear to me... Maybe its just me; been a long day.

Glenn,
I'm wondering how you manage to get 53-54 mpg while riding your swing HARD, as you mentioned in your post. I can't get 53-54 mpg unless I'm riding mine NOT hard, that is, riding it pretty slow and easy, thru the twisties here in NM.

Oh OK got it. Not sure what to tell you. I was running 70-85 mph uphill (serious grade) at over 100 degrees temperture. Went up to over 7000 feet in elevation and pushed it good on the twisties. I consider that hard.

Since I have broken it in it has been steady at 54-55 mpg and I thought it would be much worse Sunday but surprisingly it was not. I have not done any engine mods, just the first oil and filter change. Perhaps the 2012 is some different?

I do calculate the mileage with a notebook and use a calculator so should be fairly accurate.

unbelievable. they must have improved the 2012 engine somehow to allow for that kind of mpg. good for you though. enjoy.

Nice pics Glenn. Sounds like a fun excursion.