South Southern California

[motoddrob]

There's a great book called "Longitude" about the problem the early explorers had with navigating Longitude and the invention of the chronograph time piece that made Longitude possible.
I read that book while sailing from Sydney to NZ so quite apt at the time not that it helped having GPS to tell us where we where. A really good read.

 

[Legs]

Jeeze, we've sailed a long way from Southern California

 

[T.C]

There's a great book called "Longitude" about the problem the early explorers had with navigating Longitude and the invention of the chronograph time piece that made Longitude possible.
I read that book while sailing from Sydney to NZ so quite apt at the time not that it helped having GPS to tell us where we where. A really good read.

Ive sailed the other way Rob, NZ to Syd, had a guy on board doing his skippers ticket and had to plot the coarse using sun sights, he wasnt too bad but the GPS was comforting

 

[Vince]

Fantastic story about winning that prize and building the timepieces, all from a self-thought woodworker.

 

[Legs]

Is that the book that starts off by a sailor being hung from the yardarm for disputing that the ship's position is not where the admiral says it was.
Was taught at the navigation school that the principal aim of navigation was not to determine where you are but to predict where you are going to be.

 

[Dellortoman]

I used to navigate my yacht using sun sights and a Seiko watch as a chronometer. Didn't bother with almanacs and sight reduction tables though. I had all that shit programmed into my HP45 calculator. I still have the calculator and the program I wrote, but some of the solar ephemeris info would need updating by now (The data I got from Greenwich Observatory was valid up to 2004).

I could get my position within a couple of miles on a reasonably calm day. It's a little more difficult when the sea is up and you can only see the horizon for a couple of seconds as you crest the waves. It's fun though, and very satisfying when you get a good fix.

I eventually bought a GPS when they became relatively affordable and gave up using the sextant. GPS is way more precise and works on cloudy days and at night. Invaluable for peace of mind when entering unfamiliar harbours in poor visibility.

I remember that Robert Redford movie. Yes, it was pretty unrealistic. The protagonist seemed to be a lousy seaman who fucked up everything he did. It was a good example of how not to handle problems at sea.

 

[Legs]

Containers fallen from ships are a great threat to submarines at periscope depth; they don't make any noise so can't be heard and are usually just awash so can't be seen through the periscope by the officer maintaining his all round look.

 

[Tippie]

Don't they all now have a soft patch so that they sink. I see them these days with perforations so that people can't suffocate too (sneaking into SoCal to do a Laverda ride)
Major hijack.

 

[78jotadave]

FFS , start another thread, we don't need no stinking calipers, periscopes, nautical terms, celestial navigation experts to enjoy a Sunday ride on a Laverda, just saying. This Sunday it's on meeting in Banning and going up 243 to Idylwild, Bruce I will PM you with details, perfect weather, Cheers Dave

 

[piranha-bro2]

If your route goes anywhere near the sea make sure you guys have your sextants with you!!

There's no such thing as a thread hijack on this website - the links may be tenuous but they can always be identified 

 

[helicopterjim]

US gallons? WTF is that about?

I bet Trump would convert to Imperial if he knew that the gallons were bigger.

Jim

 

[helicopterjim]

Looks like only  Bruce and myself are up for the ride. Cheers Dave.

Sorry your thread got hijacked ...... hope you guys have an awesome ride!

Jim

 

[helicopterjim]

FYI  I was born in England and grew up in Perth Western Australia. When I first started driving in Australia in 1971 it was all imperial MPH, MPG and all road distance in miles. Although the metric system was officially set in to motion in 1970 it took a while to get ready to implement it. Then suddenly one day in early 1973 you woke up and all the road signs were being changed, for a short time distances and speed limits were posted in both MPH and KPH. l learned to drive on the left now I drive on the right and have no problems switching. Does that make me multilingual? 

I grew up on a farm measured in acres, rods and chains ..... used chains (66 feet) when I was a timber cruiser ...... and a hand compass and a map.

Jim

 

[1200ts]

The ride on Sunday was a huge success. The largest gathering of Laverda's in California in 15 years! We had in total two Laverda's show up. Dave on his 1978 Jota (really nice bike) and me on my 1983 RGS. Dave had I think the best Laverda orange color I have seen yet.

It was an imperial ride:

We rode on bikes with speedometers reading in MPH.
Put fuel in our tanks in gallons
Rode up to 6000 feet
Bikes had 18 inch wheels
Length of the ride for me was 102 miles.

Where are the rest of the hundreds of Laverda's that were sold in California many years ago? My guess is the lack of any shop that will work on them. Unless you have the tools and skills, you can't ride the bike anymore.

Same applies to other bikes, my local BMW dealer will not touch any of their older bikes. You have a 1970's BMW that you bought there new, too bad, we will not service it anymore. But we will sell you a new one.

Bruce

 

[lawrence]

I'd have loved to join the huge turn out for this historic ride.  There were only two factors that discouraged that: weather and distance.
Since you introduced the issue of some BMW dealers turning their collective backs on the owners of old airheads, let me say but one thing:  Join the Airheads Club.  The workshops organized at members' houses are of inestimable value.  Good times and good wrenching!

 

[Vince]

Great to see it happened, BTW how did the bikes go at 6000ft, the Dirtbike blokes are always on about its effect on engine performance.

 

[78jotadave]

Yes Bruce I believe it was Southern California largest Laverda gathering since the NALOC Rally in 2005. The weather was perfect and it was great to hear another nicely running Laverda thanks for showing Bruce. Vince the bikes ran fine at 6000' sure the power drops off a bit but idle was fine and the bikes ran smooth.
Yeah I think there may be a fair number of Lavs sitting in the back of garages around California, growing old and fading like their owners, bit sad really.
My mountain loop was 107miles (170+ kms) not far for a cup of Java, Cheers Dave

 

[Laverdalothar]

great you two made it! riding in company is always the best I feel and much more fun than going alone.

 

[piranha-bro2]

Excellent - and you didn't even get lost or need the sextants!! 

 

[1200 JOTA]

Well done lads. If you can get a little closer to Tahoe or plan a run (next year) ... I can also trailer the 1200 south. I believe there is also a rider in the north of the central valley.