K11 Owners Group

[Off the grid]

So my 45 day work hiatus is finishing up and what a better way to go out than investigate the long-standing history of "The Montauk Line" and it's place in the history of fighting the Red Menace.

The day started out normal enough. Wife woke me up, I put on some Pink Floyd and made breakfast:


We only had enough 1/2 and 1/2 for one coffee, so my wife enjoyed...


So loaded + packed up. (Camera and........gum....and Ipod)
Fully buffed and ready to go!


Stopped at a local spot not far from home, some great twisties in the area I know like the back of my hand.
Shaping up to be a great day, wonder why no one is out on their boats? Wussies! Who cares if the water is 45 degrees!


Was going to take the long way out, but 10+ miles of stop and go lights later and I just hit the LIE and made some time, tunes cranking.


Obligatory mirror shot at 80 mph. Wife was not happy with this one.


Ahh 2 hours later and we are closing on discovering the mysteries of "The Montauk Line". You know you are getting close when you see lots of this:


So I put on some 80's glam rock, that'll keep em away!


1st stop, very uninspiring "overlook". Overlooking what? Some shrubbery? Pfft.


I pressed on....then I ran into "Ulof", a Prussian-accented gentleman who I see hovering around the local BMW meets. He talks fast with an accent as if to confuse me....he claims his scoot is a 2005 Concours, but with 100K+ miles and the dirt camo, he's obviously hiding something.


Spooked, I am relieved to hear he is heading West while I am still pressing East. What was he doing in the area? Was he casing me?
Then this caught my eye.......


My lip trembled in fear. Was I falling into a web of espionage? Was this radar dish responsible for the voices? Lacking a sufficient amount of tinfoil to protect my head, I needed to investigate further.


I took a side road in the general direction, the road quickly turned ugly.


I was rewarded with some good vistas at the end however, and took a moment to clear my head.



Something caught my eye. People? In the water? Were they frogmen? Why else would someone be in that terrible water but to undermine the tranquility of Montauk?


I found further evidence of "The Montauk Line".


Lacking the gear to traverse the bluff and investigate further, I decided to check out the radar tower.
Taking the dirt road to the radar tower was no easy task. They were certainly doing everything in their power to halt my progress.

I came to this water crossing and after fretting over a decent line just picked one and went for it.

Thankfully I did not fall into the murky depths. Who knows what horrors lie beneath?

I had a sense of foreboding approaching the radar tower. There was not a soul near but it still had an ominous presence.


No doubt this long-dead relic was instrumental in fighting the Red Menace. I fully believe it was the reason the communists never took this vital strategic spot.

But it wasn't the only reason. It was backed with guns. Lots of mighty guns manned by the type of men they don't make any more......they broke the mold with the WWII soldiers.

Bunkers and Pillboxes. There were 4-6 of these all over the high ground.



Not to worry, I don't plan on entering the concrete slab, I just wanted the shot.


Took some other back roads and they quickly turned ugly. A 600lb K1100 is not the same thing as a XRL 650.



I was rewarded with one of the best vistas, and the K never complained.


My fears unfounded, I was dusty and satisfied. And hungry. It was a good 7hrs and a couple Gatorade's since those eggs. I headed back.

Wait...forgot one last thing at the point. They have a pretty cool lighthouse.



On the way back I ran into this monster. Not sure what a tank would do in coastal defense, but I am sure it did its' part in fighting the Red Menace.




After getting 180 miles out of a full tank with almost a full gallon to go, I decided to fill up anyway.
FU Big oil!


I'm not sure what "Cosmic Bowling" means, but I didn't stick around to find out.



This one was interesting, and I thought about it for more than a moment.
Who decided it was a good idea to put a graveyard near a lake? Or put a lake near a graveyard?
Seems to me that the "corpse juice" would leak into the water. I hope there are no fish in there.


Ahhh food at last. Not bad for a diner.


Thus concludes this adventure.


I'm just inside baby, not going far.......

_________________
Bane of your existence since July 2006
2007 Triumph Tiger ABS. "Sabertooth"
2009 Husqvarna TE610. "The dirty Italian mistress"

[Jim]

cool pix! Thanks. That bacon is NOT edible - it is NOT crispy. Bacon must be crispy! Throw it back!
_________________
Jim
1997 K1100LTSE 94,000 - still has gremlins!
1995 R100RT Classic 16,650 crashed - repaired!
1992 K75RTP 46,000

"We shall not all die, but we shall all be changed."

[owrstrich]

thats perfect... very good ride... lots o history out there... i really miss the east coast... not really... just the diners...

you really need to paint your shift lever black... and the end of the lever... where the rubber is... is so shiny... so shiny... you need to paint it black too... its like a 3rd motolite its so bright on the sun... like sideways conspicuity...

thanks for the ride report... i really like to see where you folks are riding...

johnny
_________________
yeeeeeehaaaaaaa...

[Mystic Red]

Great pics, OTG! And your roundels are perfectly centered. Have you checked your cholesterol levels lately?
_________________
Scott Hespelt, '94 K11LT
K11 OG #466

[rydor]

Fantastic write-up OTG! Makes me wish I lived on the coast...
FYI~ Cosmic Bowling is neon bowling balls and pins under black lights... it's pretty cool...

[SugarHillCTD]

Talk about "corpse juice"- is that what they served you in the diner??

Anyway- we also miss L.I. quite a bit- except at rush hour which is most of the time now.

I'll always remember Autumn on Long Island as a kid. Great roads along the Gold Coast of the north shore.

Got to get down there again, as soon as we know that we can ride there and back (snow forecasted here for this weekend).

Nice pictures- thanks for the post.

John