Not much to report today... but I figured I'd post a picture of Brad and I. This shot was taken a couple of years ago when we rode around parts of the Smoky Mountains. Brad actually borrowed a Harley Fat Boy for the trip and I still had my trusty Shadow (as you can see). I felt for Brad because the Harley he was riding had been lowered and he had a tough time negotiating the hairpin turns around Deals Gap, dragging pipes and pegs on just about every turn down the Tail of the Dragon. But we had a good time and look forward to cruising the Black Hills and the Rockies in a little over a week.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Not much to report today... but I figured I'd post a picture of Brad and I. This shot was taken a couple of years ago when we rode around parts of the Smoky Mountains. Brad actually borrowed a Harley Fat Boy for the trip and I still had my trusty Shadow (as you can see). I felt for Brad because the Harley he was riding had been lowered and he had a tough time negotiating the hairpin turns around Deals Gap, dragging pipes and pegs on just about every turn down the Tail of the Dragon. But we had a good time and look forward to cruising the Black Hills and the Rockies in a little over a week.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Got the bike out of the shop today. Here it is in the driveway before I put it in the garage. 
Can't really see it too well in this picture but I'm excited to have it back and the new sprocket is nice. Spreads the shifts out some and feels much better at 60-70mph. Brad is having more work done on his Yamaha than I had on my Honda and probably won't get his back until next week. He's using a shop someone suggested in Tennessee and is shuffling the bike between the dealership shop and a local dyno.
I used the same local bike shop ten minutes away that I always use and as soon as I got my bike home I spent 20 minutes putting the baffles back in the pipes. I had removed them six months ago and I loved the way the bike sounded without the baffles but Brad hated how loud they were. He was dreading riding 3500 miles next to my blaring pipes. So in a show of solidarity, my pipes are now once again baffled. I also recently bought a Cardo intercome headset to match Brad's so we can talk during our trip. The quieter pipes will certainly make it easier to hear Brad.
Also saw on the Weather Channel where they got snow west of Denver today. That made Brad a little nervous. But I checked online and both Rapid City and Denver are forecasted to be in the 70s next week, so we're hoping for a balmy October along our route. Packing will be interesting. But I have over a week to think about it and I'm sure the forecast will change several times before we leave.
Can't really see it too well in this picture but I'm excited to have it back and the new sprocket is nice. Spreads the shifts out some and feels much better at 60-70mph. Brad is having more work done on his Yamaha than I had on my Honda and probably won't get his back until next week. He's using a shop someone suggested in Tennessee and is shuffling the bike between the dealership shop and a local dyno.I used the same local bike shop ten minutes away that I always use and as soon as I got my bike home I spent 20 minutes putting the baffles back in the pipes. I had removed them six months ago and I loved the way the bike sounded without the baffles but Brad hated how loud they were. He was dreading riding 3500 miles next to my blaring pipes. So in a show of solidarity, my pipes are now once again baffled. I also recently bought a Cardo intercome headset to match Brad's so we can talk during our trip. The quieter pipes will certainly make it easier to hear Brad.
Also saw on the Weather Channel where they got snow west of Denver today. That made Brad a little nervous. But I checked online and both Rapid City and Denver are forecasted to be in the 70s next week, so we're hoping for a balmy October along our route. Packing will be interesting. But I have over a week to think about it and I'm sure the forecast will change several times before we leave.
Monday, September 21, 2009
T-11 days and counting.
Brad and I have decided to hit the road on our motorcycles and head to Mt. Rushmore. How did we decide on Mt. Rushmore? Brad was going to meet his parents and brother and get together in New Mexico or Arizona and he asked if I wanted to ride out there with him on our bikes. I said, "Sure." Well, that fell through but we were so ready to hit the road that we decided to ride anyway. And Brad said he'd rather go somewhere that neither of us had been before.
We liked the idea of riding out west (we live in Alabama) and neither had been to the Dakotas or Montana, so we figured that Mt. Rushmore would be a good destination. We both really wanted to see Montana but we only have 10 days and Montana is simply too far to fully explore when it will take four days to get there. So we decided to make the Black Hills and Rushmore our primary destination and figured we'd take part of a day to catch the extreme southeast corner of Montana (just to say we were there) before heading south to Devil's Tower, WY and Pike's Peak, CO. From there we'll head home.
Our trip will start Friday, October 2nd and end Sunday, October 11th. We met for lunch a week or so ago and tentatively mapped out our route through Nashville, St. Louis, KC, Omaha, Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Denver, Wichita, Tulsa, Little Rock, and Memphis. We realize we might be biting off a bit more than we can chew, but we're going to give it a shot and see where we get.
Our bikes are both currently in the shop getting ready for the trip. Brad has a Yamaha VStar 1300 and I have a Honda Shadow 750 ACE. Yeah, I know, I'm crazy to take a 750 on a cross country trip. But it's what I ride and I'm going to give it a go. I have a good sized Mustang seat, highway pegs, and just bought a 38Tooth rear sprocket that should make for better 70 mile/hr cruising than the stock 41T. If I change my mind, I can always ride in one of Brad's saddle bags. His 1300 has nice sized saddle bags and a huge trunk, so he's all set for the long haul.
It's 11 days out and we're both looking forward to the adventure.
Brad and I have decided to hit the road on our motorcycles and head to Mt. Rushmore. How did we decide on Mt. Rushmore? Brad was going to meet his parents and brother and get together in New Mexico or Arizona and he asked if I wanted to ride out there with him on our bikes. I said, "Sure." Well, that fell through but we were so ready to hit the road that we decided to ride anyway. And Brad said he'd rather go somewhere that neither of us had been before.
We liked the idea of riding out west (we live in Alabama) and neither had been to the Dakotas or Montana, so we figured that Mt. Rushmore would be a good destination. We both really wanted to see Montana but we only have 10 days and Montana is simply too far to fully explore when it will take four days to get there. So we decided to make the Black Hills and Rushmore our primary destination and figured we'd take part of a day to catch the extreme southeast corner of Montana (just to say we were there) before heading south to Devil's Tower, WY and Pike's Peak, CO. From there we'll head home.
Our trip will start Friday, October 2nd and end Sunday, October 11th. We met for lunch a week or so ago and tentatively mapped out our route through Nashville, St. Louis, KC, Omaha, Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Denver, Wichita, Tulsa, Little Rock, and Memphis. We realize we might be biting off a bit more than we can chew, but we're going to give it a shot and see where we get.
Our bikes are both currently in the shop getting ready for the trip. Brad has a Yamaha VStar 1300 and I have a Honda Shadow 750 ACE. Yeah, I know, I'm crazy to take a 750 on a cross country trip. But it's what I ride and I'm going to give it a go. I have a good sized Mustang seat, highway pegs, and just bought a 38Tooth rear sprocket that should make for better 70 mile/hr cruising than the stock 41T. If I change my mind, I can always ride in one of Brad's saddle bags. His 1300 has nice sized saddle bags and a huge trunk, so he's all set for the long haul.
It's 11 days out and we're both looking forward to the adventure.
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