This was my last bike.
1999 Suzuki Freewind XF650.
And the previous one, not with us anymore... (sold)
1990 Suzuki GS500E - Great bike.
Israel is a small, densely populated country with a lousy public transportation system.
When you first come here or when you've been away for a while and come back, you might form an initial opinion that you came to a third world country such as Zaire.
Relax, this is Israel. A fine blend of the 21st century (Intel MMX designed here) with the 15th century (religion); scientific research and trains running on rails built a hundred years ago; aircraft industry and roads full of potholes. A country trying to leap forward but being held back by imbecilic, self-centered, corrupt politicians and the systems they have produced.
People in Israel drive aggressively and are not the greatest drivers. They tend to "steal" traffic lights (pass as the lights change) and generally drive over the posted speed limits (the connection between posted limits and reality is purely coincidental).
The central area (Tel-Aviv and neighbours) is almost constantly congested which means you'll get somewhere faster on a bike than a car but will meet a lot of traffic on the way.
Up till 1992 most Japanese motorcycle manufacturers surrendered to the Arab boycott and did not sell motorcycles to Israel. (If you ask me we should boycott them back.)
An exception to them was Suzuki. These days almost all companies are represented though not all models are imported since the market is small and there's a peculiar licensing scheme. Scooters hold a major part of the two-wheeled market. Sport bikes are very popular but cruisers are slowly biting into the market. In the last few years dirt riding has become very popular and dirt and dual-purpose bikes hold a considerable share of the market.
Israel offers great riding weather: it rarely rains and temperatures almost never drop below freezing (0°C). The summer is quite hot but bearable (just soak your helmet and T-shirt in water and fill your pockets with ice cubes). Even though a lot of the roads are lousy there are quite a few good ones too.
The recently formed highway police still don't know which side of the donut to dip in their coffee. They can mostly be seen on the sides of the best straight roads making money for the state with their LIDARs. Since they have been formed, traffic accident rates and fatalities have been slowly but steadily climbing.
Traditionally, sportbike riders do not stop for the police and they ride so fast that reading their license plate is impossible. In a recent incident police blocked the major highway in Israel trying to catch a speeding bike which drove between the cars blocking the road and disappeared.
You can see quite a few ads in the newspapers by people selling their bikes because of a revoked license.
This road goes parallel to the newer and bigger road #1 (Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem). It has very nice mountain views and not a lot of traffic.
Get onto this road (#395) at Tzomet Eshtaol from road #38 or get out of Jerusalem on road #386.
This road goes along the western shore of the Dead Sea (to the east is Jordan). The Dead Sea is surrounded by mountains and the road therefore is twisty and has a lot of elevations changes. The road is in good condition but you have to watch out for possible damage caused by flash floods.
The road, #90, can be accessed on the northern side coming from Jerusalem on road #1 and on the southern side on roads #25 or #31 coming from Beer-Sheva. It is about 90 kilometers long.
This is the Judean desert and can get very very hot during the summer.
More to come...
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