Meet Ray Hazel, CAL's featured customer for December 2005

Customer: Ray Hazel
Age: 54
Riding Years: 4

What do you ride?
K1200GT-2003

Modifications to motorcycle
Wilber's shocks front and rear, RS mirrors, PIAA's fog lamps, Wired for radar detector, GPS (Garmin 276c) and Gerbing heated clothing.

Motorcycles currently owned
Started out in the early 70's with a Honda 350. My brother decided that a larger bike was needed, so we ended up with a CB750. Couldn't believe that you could get up to 80 MPH on a freeway onramp with such ease. Went wide on a corner, hit the gravel on the side, locked up the front brake. Lean the bike more? Wazzat? Broken collarbone, road rash on one arm. I can still hear the grinding of the gravel on the back of the helmet to this day. Rode the bike one more time, same road, and then my brother had it solo. 23 years later, faced with traveling to work without my car-pool partner, I test rode a K100 that my boss had as a loaner while his was being serviced. Managed to get it up and around the parking lot without dropping it. Kept thinking about it, and decided that a used K75RT was the ticket. Had some issues with the clutch and transmission, but used bikes come with some dirty laundry. Oddly, the service records indicated that the bike had been through 7 owners, none of which had it more than 10K miles. 25k miles and a year and a half later, got nailed by someone who thought they were about to ram the rear end of a car stopped in their lane, and the lane to the left looked empty. One of the guys I was working with said he did plastic repair on the side, and was I interested in selling it as he was looking for a good commute bike (80 miles one way for his commute). Seemed like the bike was ready to move on to the next owner; I was overdue to sell it. Got the RT fixed and rideable, sans some of the plastic, sold it, and got the GT (blue ...the fast color!).

My favorite bike is
My own ...well, because it's the only one I've ridden for so long to so many places, and enjoyed every trip. I've been on a Harley, Suzuki, F650 CS and Ducati. All different than the GT, but just didn't feel comfortable on them. None made me think twice. The Harley and Suzuki were both cruisers, and the riding position just felt awkward. My body shape isn't the kind that a Ducati was built for. The F650 was too buzzy, lacking the smoothness that I'm already spoiled with.

Dream bike
Dual-sport K1200. Good enough to ride up to Prudoe Bay.

The best ride I ever took was
Texas Hill Country Round Up. I've only been riding (again) for 4 years, mostly commuting. Did take a shot at the Cal-24 Rally in 2003, and to my surprise, finished it. 1068 miles in 24 hours, 6 minutes. Almost good enough for a Saddle Sore 1000. Sore, sure, but long distance riding was not going to be an issue. Online buddy and I decided to head for the THCR in April 2005. Four days to get there, so we could stop and see the flowers in Death Valley (too late, though). Drove him nuts on my slow pace through the twisties. On to Phoenix, El Paso, and Kerrville. Mostly I-10, so my pace was more than reasonable. First day out at Kerrville, and I decided that I'd have to step it up to keep up. Got better, started to enjoy the non-commute riding, got better, found some really great twisty roads, had some great food in the middle of almost nowhere, and headed back to the Inn. Next day, observed Officer Sanchez taking a break, got better ...spent time talking to a bunch of riders two days before I'd never interacted with. Amazing how comfortable you can get with a large group of folks in two days. Headed back to home, spent one night in Roswell, NM, and another in Kingman, AZ. This trip home we wanted something different than I-10. So, we took I-40. Not nearly as straight, but much cooler. Looking forward to doing it again in 2006. Never understood why so many would get together so often at so many different locations until then. Must be a bike thing ...

Advice for new riders
"Get a light, used bike like everybody tells ya. Learn to ride a bit in the dirt & learn to ride in the rain."

Advice for experienced riders
"Keep practicing the basic skills. Take it to the track, too."

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