Ride Report: Suwannee County, FL

[Phil_R]

Easy 40 mile loop... first stop, Anderson Spring on the Suwannee River.  Rolling up break-in miles on my LF200GY-5,  showing 231 km after my morning ride. (registered/tagged just 24 hours)

Access to my property is via 1/4 mile lime-rock grade... so every ride involves some off-pavement.  Access to Anderson Spring is via minimally maintained lime-rock road.  Many of our graded county roads are dirt roads, (soft, sandy, etc... ) some are red clay... avoided by cars when wet.  So, a simple morning ride often involves everything from 2-lane rural back-roads to 2-track jeep trails.



So far, every ride instills more confidence in my China Bike... will continue wandering further and further.
Friday morning 40 mile loop... washboard and sand to visit Charles Spring.  Included a visit to Taylor's Store for 2 gallons of gas and a fried chicken-liver & gizzard meal to bring home.



300 km oil change today...

Saturday morning and another 40 mile loop... Peacock Slough, Orange Grove Sink, (favored by cave divers) and the suspension bridge crossing Suwannee River at south county line. (Hwy 51, Luraville)



Better view of bridge and river:



Orange Grove Sink:



Surface is covered with algae, but water is crystal clear.  Diver at end of stairs is preparing for 60' descent to entrance of cave.  Cave divers from around the world dive our underwater caves.

Suwannee River at Dowling Park, FL



Overcast morning and a few sprinkles during ride... boat ramp, picnic tables, easy access to Suwannee River.  Unfortunately, some don't appreciate what we have in Suwannee County...  vandals damage picnic tables and leave trash on ground instead of in containers.

Local ATV trail... good day for collecting spider webs.



Another morning ride, before heat & humidity... no love-bugs early morning!

Canopy road, close to home, county maintained...

[skadamo]

Great write up!  Nice pictures too.  Do you need a sticker to ride in FL offroad?  I was in Tallahassee with my wife a few years ago and we hiked a forest preserve with a bunch of those water filled caves.  A stream disappeared into the ground and came out a hundred yards away.  Pretty cool.

Do you own any other bikes?  How does the LF compare?

Fried Chicken liver and gizzard.  Man, is that a Florida thing?

[Phil_R]

Do you need a sticker to ride in FL offroad?

No sticker necessary for the riding I do, just normal tag and registration.

Do you own any other bikes?  How does the LF compare?

My LF200GY-5 is one of many, in a very long line of bikes.  I felt the only way for me to gain useful knowledge about Chinese bikes was to own one.  So far, this machine compares favorably with Japanese machines of the 60's... with added bonus of CDI.  (Keep in mind that my only ownership experience is with American Lifan... manufacturers "spec" machines to order, usually based on price.)  The better this machine is setup and inspected during final assembly, the better your chance of good service from the machine.

Fried Chicken liver and gizzard.  Man, is that a Florida thing?

Fried chicken-livers and gizzards are a southern (rural south) delicacy.

[skadamo]

[The better this machine is setup and inspected during final assembly, the better your chance of good service from the machine.

Yeah, I noticed you checked the valves pretty early on.  Is there known issues with the valves going out of tolerance early on?

[Phil_R]

Yeah, I noticed you checked the valves pretty early on.  Is there known issues with the valves going out of tolerance early on?

I'm not aware of any valve issues... this is an old habit.  Checking/adjusting valves before first start, after 12 heat/cool cycles, and at break-in service... then following manufacturers maintenance schedule.  (My Lifan has a NGK sparkplug installed during manufacture, and the engine was test run... all good signs!)