After comparing the competition more closely I think my modified Z400 is more of a Sport/Scrambler than a Sport/Adventure hybrid. It has no skid plate and with the vertical shock nothing is available for it. While the 400 Scramblers available (Triumph, Royal Enfield) do have skid plates, they still share vulnerable exhaust systems. What they lack in comparison is the ability to cruise at or above any legal speed limit in the USA and do an occasional track day, hence the Sport/Scrambler designation.

 

Great scenery. Amazing to me that the "retired" road appears to be in reasonably good shape in those pictures. How far did you ride on that road?

 

I only rode a couple of miles on this section. There are pieces that can be ridden where the old road crisscrosses the straighter new highway. Due to erosion and landslides/rockfalls It can go from easy to impossible around every turn. When I used to ride dirt bikes, I rode entire lengths of these sections. In one of my photos from yesterday the roof of a cabin was visible just around the corner in a canyon ahead of me. Some people move into these off-the-grid places to insure their privacy. That's where I turned around and took the side shot picture of my bike. My goal was to document the approaching storms. I live outside the desert just minutes from pine trees. I love it.

 

Beautiful landscape!

 

This next photo was taken yesterday (the day after I posted this thread). Our town was flooded badly. The last count I heard was 3 people known to have died and many homeless. This was the worst local storm system I have ever seen. We got water in our garage, but our home stayed dry, literally by a vertical inch.

This was our favorite Mexican food restaurant. Those bright red booth seats were just a few months old from a recent remodel. The highwater mark is visible on the walls, about 5ft. Their Chili Rellenos and Chimichangas were beyond compare.

 

@seniorider, very sorry to hear of the calamity that took place. Glad your home was spared!

 

Thank you

 

@seniorider Glad to see/hear that you are OK. We are seeing the tail end of the second typhoon in two weeks. So far no damage, only really heavy rain.

 

Buckle up Arizona, we've got another flood watch starting tomorrow.

In an over the wall neighborhood conversation today my wife learned more related to the flooded restaurant picture above. The employees were the last to evacuate and 3 waited too long.
If you notice, in the picture there are (at least) 2 booth backs with no bottom portions. The 3 employees were washed away, down the street, clinging to those seats. They bumped into a truck wedged against a light pole and climbed aboard it. Surrounded by the rushing water they had to wait for the water to recede. One girl is apparently quite traumatized ... and rightfully so.

 

We're still under a flood watch, but it should end tonight. It's beautiful outside right now during the lull.

 

I'm going to try and button up this thread. I've sent pictures to the contractor that did my last flood repairs to my backyard. I'm sure I'm in the queue of storm damaged folks. There's been no rain since last Monday and no rain in the forecast, so this was a motorcycle day. I was looking for something. anything positive from these devastating storms. Other than some scarring from rain runoff, the desert is now covered in lush green foliage as it would be in a wet spring. It only lacks spring flowers.