Tailgate
Senior Member
I will continue to use regular. But, for the first time I experienced pinging. This was while on probably a very steep 10+% grade and the bike was working very hard. It was not real bad but it was a first for me. I was on CA 120 heading west after exiting Yosemite Nat'l Park (awesome) and took an "old" highway section that's not suitable for big rigs, trailers due to the very steep grade (I noticed that ALL the locals seemed to be using it). Oh well, it was exceedingly steep/twisty (I'm sure that this why Caltrans built the new section). The highway was bitchin' and I came dazzingly close to dropping it while doing a stand still u-turn on the steep grade (ever tried that?). I actually had taken the new CA 120 highway section but noticed this other "old" hiway/section (can't remember the name) turnoff. Then, at the bottom/lower elevation I noticed the bottom entry/exit of this old section and that ALL the locals seemed to be bypassing the new CA 120 section (one saves a LOT of driving time due to the shorter distance). So I backtracked back up on this old super steep grade section. Back to Yosemite Nat'l Park: OMG! Lots of bikes, almost all of them touring and packed to the gills. Nice that the park entrance fee is half price for motorcycles: only $10 and valid for 7 days. I saw all kinds of bikes, mostly Harleys (of course), some BMW's, and the rest sport bikes, dual use, etc. All seemed outfitted with some sort of saddle/tail, etc. bags. Yosemite Valley (it was HOT weather) is awesome, the roads plenty twisty, steep and the views stunning. I entered the park on the east side through Tioga Pass (10,000 feet) on CA 120. Plenty of snow still at this elevation.