14 lanes of fun on the lovely 405

[Stig / Major Tom]

I looked closely - but can't spot a filter-er.
I haven't ridden a motorcycle in LA since the Summer of Love*....things have changed!



Stig

*1967 for you kids...

[big blue]

I road those freeways to downtown LA in the late 60s on a modified Yamaha yds-3 cafe style 250. The traffic was bad then, but the smog was worse. Sometimes I would have to pull over and just let my eyes cry out the soot. I must admit that on my way home to the Valley the transition ramp from the Pasadena Fwy to the Golden State with expansion chambers singing was MAGIC!

[Stig / Major Tom]

I road those freeways to downtown LA in the late 60s on a modified Yamaha yds-3 cafe style 250. The traffic was bad then, but the smog was worse. Sometimes I would have to pull over and just let my eyes cry out the soot. I must admit that on my way home to the Valley the transition ramp from the Pasadena Fwy to the Golden State with expansion chambers singing was MAGIC!

"smog" in 1967 came to my mind, too - when looking at these recent photos.
I had friends in Downey and Pasadena. In the evenings we'd sit on the porch and watch the cars go by....the beams of their headlights in the smog made it look like we were in a London fog.

I've been under the impression that, somehow, even with all these cars, smog is less of an issue out there?
 Did cat converters do all that?!

Never a fan of the LA area, partly the weather - though I married an 18 yr old girl there as soon as I turned 19. San Diego and San Fransico - I liked, a lot.
Spent time thumbing & sleeping the Pacific coast of Baja, MX - lots of SoCal surfers down there for company when I wanted it - but would never try that these days!

Stig

[Iahawk]

I've been under the impression that, somehow, even with all these cars, smog is less of an issue out there?
 Did cat converters do all that?!
Stig

yes, you can thank cleaner emissions for the huge reduction in LA smog! I don't even think a car can kill you anymore if you leave it running in the garage with the door closed?  My 84 Nighthawk, on the other hand...wow...you can sure smell the exhaust. I tend to like it...the rest of my family?..not so much.

[Neil955i]

I don't even think a car can kill you anymore if you leave it running in the garage with the door closed?

Don't try it Hawk!  Your ICE car will still kill you as it still produces the CO2 which will replace the O2 in a confined space and then it's curtains for anyone in there!

[Stig / Major Tom]

yes, you can thank cleaner emissions for the huge reduction in LA smog! I don't even think a car can kill you anymore if you leave it running in the garage with the door closed?  My 84 Nighthawk, on the other hand...wow...you can sure smell the exhaust. I tend to like it...the rest of my family?..not so much.

Geez hawk - sorry about your troubles with your "family"

"I tend to like it....the rest of my family not so much."
Yes, the holidays can be a trial to get through.....
Stig

....no wait! - I re-read that .....you mean you like the smell but your family does not. Yes?

[Stig / Major Tom]

Don't try it Hawk!  Your ICE car will still kill you as it still produces the CO2 which will replace the O2 in a confined space and then it's curtains for anyone in there!

And yeah - before starting my LIKE for a little warm up to put my gloves on - I must first close the garage door...where my exhaust is aimed.
I sometimes wonder if that Yamaha fuel pump I put on it (that 1st year - when trying to fix the massive stumble) is pushing more fuel than can be properly burned.
If it's still doing that in another 10 years - well, I still have the original Kymco pump in a drawer....

I'm pretty sure, on those foggy rainy nights, that I am running just fast enough to escape those deadly fumes.
....however, if should I go missing here......!

the Major

[Iahawk]

Geez hawk - sorry about your troubles with your "family"

"I tend to like it....the rest of my family not so much."
Yes, the holidays can be a trial to get through.....
Stig

....no wait! - I re-read that .....you mean you like the smell but your family does not. Yes?

haha...yes, punctuation would have helped with this one! I love the smell of bike exhaust....my family does not like the smell of exhaust in the garage.

I've always liked this one:

Let's eat Grandma
Let's eat, Grandma.

punctuation saves lives.

[Neil955i]

haha...yes, punctuation would have helped with this one! I love the smell of bike exhaust....my family does not like the smell of exhaust in the garage.

I've always liked this one:

Let's eat Grandma
Let's eat, Grandma.

punctuation saves lives.

Once saw a much ruder version of that Grandma example!