| Author | Message | ||
     José_Quiñones |
Priceless!!!!!  | ||
| Racerboy |
Couldn't sleep thinking about the rally and all that took place both good and horrible... Frank Knobel (M2) and Sam Minnich (XB9R) rode from Kansas City to St. Louis last Wednesday and stayed the night with Shirley and I...John Calhoun arrived early Thursday morning and we were off...By now you've all heard that I was on the R1100RT and not the preferred S3T "Pumpkin"...Seems she didn't want to make the trip...Oh well, her loss, Das Boat's gain...Not more that ten miles after leaving John's '97 S3T, "The Beast" silently coasts to the side of highway 30...After receiving a boost from the local condo maint guys where it had died he road off to Widman to effect a fix telling the rest of us to go on and he would catch up latter...We met DAve Nelligan at the 22 mile marker rest stop on I-64 just east of STL and off again...High point (for me) of the trip down was a stop at Patti's 1880 Settlement in Grand Rivers Kentucky...Frank and Sam shared a Pork Chop (and yes, it should be capitalized) and DAve, who is not a real fan of the "other" white meat, graciously agreed to share one with me...A whole one and we would have been looking for a room and not riding...We fiddled and faddled our way east stopping about every 100 miles or so, eating one last time before entering the mountains...Riding from the west onto "The Dragon" after dark we pulled off at the "overlook"...We were all pretty exhausted...In the distance we hear the sound of v-twin music coming up the mountain from the west and think that maybe it's John so are surprised when AJ and his merry men pull over with offers of adult beverages from their bags...Begging off as we were beat and beer would have finished us well before DGMR, we rode on...After checking into our rooms, we popped a cold one and started lying, uh, I mean talking...As first 10, then 11, then 12 p.m. came around and still no John, I was getting a bit concerned that he was suffering another California moment...After several other Buell's arrived finally John and The Beast arrive with a brand new stator tucked away inside The Beast's belly...John had a very relieved Matt Sweeney (X1) in tow…Seems John had found Matt at the overlook looking like a little lost puppy…Exhausted and lost he did not realize how close he was to his destination…I never did find out what the heck he was doing coming in from the west when he had started from Rochester, NY… Next morning we set up the ride sheets inside DGMR and went on to Fontana Village for breakfast...On the ride back down the mountain side returning to DGMR there is a sign informing of a "Dangerous Curve 1/2 Mile Ahead"...As we approached it we were flagged down and learned that Allan Hammersley had high sided his Firebolt and he apparently had hit the last of four arrow signs pointing the direction of the turn...There was an EMT attending to Allan and it did not look good as he had no feeling or movement in his legs or feet...This is truly a most sobering sight...To see a brother down and badly hurt...I know it was on my mind the rest of the weekend (still is)...Allan was air evacuated to the University of Tennessee hospital in Knoxville and at the time little did I know that I would be visiting another friend there before the weekend closed... Friday's ride turned out to be the best (read driest) of the rally...John, Frank, Sam, DAve, Matt, Dave Leppelmeier (XB9R), Roger Erickson (S3T) and I rode Wayah Rd. Wayah will remind you of the roads in the Great Smokey Mouintains National Park but WITHOUT the TRAFFIC!…Then 64 over to Ducktown and up 68 (another great run) through Turtletown and the Cherokee National Forest to Tellico Plains where we picked up the western entrance to the Cherohala Skyway and waltzed across the top of TN and NC...On a road like that, and there are few like that, I always feel as though my moto and I are dancing...You can feel the rhythm and the beat...The barbecue at DGMR went off without a hitch...Rob, Leslie, Francois and Mike did themselves proud...Rob said he sold 75 dinner tickets, all but about ten to Buellers...So judging by that we estimated about 65 in attendance which is about half the size of last year's national Buell sponsored event...Speaking for myself, the size felt just about right…After leaving the immediate area of the two base hotels, you seldom ran into other riders (except on The Dragon, of course)…For various reasons, LEO’s, squids, I use The Dragon to come and go but never make it a point to ride it back and forth, especially on weekends… Saturday dawned wet and dreary but we were a determined bunch of motorcyclists…Off and on I had heard of the “Road to Nowhere”…Previously I had been unable to locate it but was determined that this would be the trip that corrected that sad state of affairs…There’s a story here, of course…In 1943 the Tennessee Valley Authority was in full bloom…It was full steam ahead to make the vast quantities of electricity needed for the war effort…In Swain County, North Carolina land was acquired, people and towns moved and promises were made…When Fontana Dam was completed and the lake began to fill the people who had been displaced were promised that a road would be built from Bryson City along the north shore of the lake in order that they could visit the old cemeteries of their mountain clans…Well, long story short, it never happened…The road was begun and six miles latter abandoned…The weird thing is just at the very end of the six miles there is a massive four lane tunnel after which the road just, well, stops!…I wonder if the tunnel blew the budget…Believe it or not, this is still very active political issue in Swain County and one hotly being debated for this falls elections…So we rode west to “nowhere” and back to Bryson City…Then on the the Blue Ridge Parkway where the weather was, uh, weather…We stopped at the Soco Gap Ranger Station because we couldn’t see any more…This is the second highest point on the BRP…They had a great diorama of the mountains and supposedly you could see from there all the way back to Deal’s Gap…Hell, we couldn’t see the entrance to the parking lot…So off the mountain and down into Maggie Valley…Sweet Maggie Valley…On one of our previous trips John and I had ridden in the rain, in the mountains all day…Then we took the very same exit off the BRP down into Maggie Valley and as we rode down the mountain the sun came out and just seemed to halo the whole valley…We stopped and had a delicious piece of homemade pie with ice cream to reward ourselves…After selling his Harley-Davidson dealership Dale Walksler has moved his “Wheels Through Time” museum from Mt. Vernon, IL to Maggie Valley and it’s well worth the $12 admission fee but be prepared to spend some time…Roger and I just wanted to say hello to Dale, complement him on the new digs and get back on the road as we had left the others gassing up in Maggie Valley…But Dale walked us over to a 1929 Duessenberg which he climbed into and started for an amazed Roger…At idle it just purrrrs…The distributor rotates as the throttle is opened and closed…Too much visual eye candy for motorheads…On the web “Wheels Through Time” can be found at www.wheelsthroughtime.com From Maggie Valley we took the fast way back for the dinner at Fontana Village ending the day on the fantastic sweepers coming in from the east on NC 28…The dinner at Fontana Village Resort was, well, okay but they did not keep their promise to handle all the reservations and money…This was made both to me and Leslie Hudson and I was a bit miffed…Also, for next year, if we do it there again, I think it would be a good idea to allow only those who pay for the buffet into the room as that seemed to cause them a lot of confusion as they thought we were trying to get fifty meals for the price of thirty-five…I think I’ll let the dust settle a bit and then call them…After all, having the room is very beneficial for us…Otherwise the dinner was a great success…We had AJ from Alaska (rode from Portland!), Bob Mackie from Australia!…And a gent from Germany, whose name escapes me so help me out here guys…AJ also had the honor of being the rider coming from the farthest distance to the California Tour earlier this year…You do remember the California Tour, don’t you John?…José had the great idea for us to introduce ourselves to put faces to names and nicknames on the BadWeb and where we were from…Some bozo (Glen, was that really you?) said he was from his daddy’s ball sack…Too bad only part of the room heard this astounding announcement…And his mom would be surprised she was left out of the whole thing as I think she was involved somehow… Sunday was not quite as I had envisioned it…I was just getting out of the shower when I hear a Buell rip through first and second (did you hit the rev limiter in second?) and then the sickening sound of a proloooonged crash…It just seemed to go on forever…John shouts (no shit!) someone’s crashed and jumps on The Beast…I think he vaulted onto it from the rear just like in the old Saturday morning cowboy movies but it could have been my imagination…I rush to get dressed and run outside in time to see Roger (yes, our Roger) riding on the back of John’s scoot and about thirty feet before the left turn into DGMR passing out on John’s pillion…So John’s got his right hand on the bar and his left hand reaching back holding Roger upright, well not quite, as they were both leaning forward over the tank…John’s yelling for someone to grab Roger and several do so and they get him down in the parking lot of DGMR…The meat wagon is called for and Roger is loaded for the ride to Blount County Memorial Hospital in Maryville, TN…We gather Rogers things, stow his bike and ride into Maryville, which has suddenly become our ride destination for the day…Upon arriving at Blount County Memorial we are told Roger was taken on to UT in Knoxville…Shit! Shit! Shit!…This is not good…They only take you to the “real” hospital if there’s a “real” medical problem…In Knoxville we are told that Roger is in X-ray so we ride off to get a bite to eat and sidewalk coed watch (it’s a college town, remember)…Sam’s in his glory…Riding back we see Roger standing outside the ER entrance, his hands looking like giant Q-Tips but otherwise with a big grin…Seems he was transported to UT because they were afraid of internal injuries…Of course, when he gets to UT the first thing they do is stick a piece of pipe about a foot in diameter up his cock to see if he’ll pee blood…Thankfully, he does not and there is nothing broken…Comments are made to Roger about this motorcycle thing NOT being ROCKET SCIENCE…Guess who works for NASA?…Heal fast Roger and let us know how you and Greenie are doing…It was great riding with you but your finale sucked…Hey, your wife only had to drive 220 miles to pick you up…My first wife had to drive 1,300 miles to fetch my sorry ass…Amazing that she’s still my first wife…Next time you’ll have to give her a real test… As you’ve read elsewhere, John has received a call that his mother in Kentucky is ill and in the hospital and will have surgery Monday morning…So after leaving us in Knoxville at lunch, John rides on to his boyhood home…Last time we were in West Virginia together, his stepfather was diagnosed with cancer and he had to cut short that trip…Frank, Sam and I ride back roads over to Townsend and the Cade’s Cove entrance to the GSMNP…We ride Little River Road over to 441 and then south jumping off to the west to ride up to Clingman’s Dome which is the highest point in TN and second highest east of the Mississippi with Mt. Mitchell NC being the highest…At the top we could see, well, again, nothing!…Just fog and rain and clouds…I’m sure by now Sam and Frank think I’m cursed by some kind of water witch…Bruce at Widman told me recently that while riding on a road trip in the rain and miserable he thought to himself that he knows one person who would actually be enjoying it and I guess I do get kind of perverse pleasure in riding in all kinds of adverse conditions…Hell, I had Pumpkin’s windshield holed by a BIG piece of hail in Peoria last year…Sam, Frank and I then returned again via NC 28 to DGMR… I returned to St. Louis Monday by riding US 64 west to I-65 and then interstates the rest of the way…Picked up a rider on an Electra Glide Classic just outside of Nashville and we rode side by side through the night lighting up the road… I hope most would say that they enjoyed themselves…Next year, if we do this again, we really need to keep the crashing down…It sucks!… See Ya! Bob | ||
| Shazam |
Bob, Anyone ever tell you, you have diarrhea of the fingers? great recap. I know I skipped over alot of the details, but to be honest I didn't have a clue as to where I was half the time, and the other half I didn't care. A special thanks to you Bob for some great memories and a chance to hang out with a few others who share our perverse views on riding. and company, I took the firebolt up to a local bike night on Wed. to share some of the highlights and lowlights of our journey with some of those not fortunate enough to make it. It occured to me that the most visceral aspects of my experience over the last week or so, I couldn't even begin to explain fully.... There is a point when you become one with your respective machine and the world closes around you and you can sense all of your environment all at once without paying attention to any of it. At that point you cease to steer the bike, you cease to feel it under you, all of it's movements are intuitive and unrehearsed...complete and total harmony. Nothing else enters or escapes your mind other than the fact that you are in the midst of something amazing. In the mountains of Tenn (or was it N. Carolina?) it occurred to me that some of the greatest moments in your life can be composed of the smallest of circumstances....I looked down at the speedometer and was well into the triple digits. Upon looking up I was in the midst of passing three "slower" vehicles somewhere in the jungle. Seemingly completely oblivious to everything and completely in tune with it all, congruently. I just hope that some of the rest of you get to experience this at some point in your riding. You will never do a better bit of riding in your life than when the line between you and your bike disintegrates. Happy motoring. And godbless strong cocktails. | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Any more Pictures???? The first set have already been put in www.dcbrag.org HERE by Steve, I'd like to get some more to add a few more pages to the site | ||
| Darthane |
Bob, great write up. Thank you for the info on Allan. It's nice to know the name of the person you're praying for. Here's hoping the doctors are wrong. Roger, very glad to hear you're doing all right. Figured you'd turn out OK. Anyone who could be as bloody as you were in the DGMR parking lot and just say it was 'a couple of scrapes' when I asked how you were is obviously a tough cookie. ;-) As to my bike...I ordered all the little crap that I busted. Should be here in a week or two, except for the damned magnesium mount, which is back ordered. Guess my stick and duct tape job will have to last a bit longer. :-) Jose, I've got some pictures, but mostly countryside, etc, and a couple of the guys I rode in with. If you'd like, I'll root through and pick out the best of them and zip them up and mail them to you. Once again, it was great meeting BadWebbers and putting faces to names to aliases. I can't wait to come back next year and ::knocks on wood:: actually RIDE on the Dragon. Bryan Bryan | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Send them in, or post them here and I'll take care of the rest. I want as many people pictures as possible. Riding pics like the ones above are great too! | ||
| Mbsween |
Hey , More footage riding the dragon | ||
| V2win |
Roger, wouldn't it have been great if you would have had the video going when you crashed!  All those rocks and that big wall your bike hit. Man o man, you missed a great opportunity. Seriously, Im glad your ok. That big ass bruise on your lower gut did not look good. Oh, there is better ways to remove your finger prints than to grind them away on the asphalt and gravel. Mom goes home today. Looks like I will be back on the bike and heading towards home in a day or two. From the hospital library, John | ||
| Kahuna |
Matt, is there anything special about those mpegs you have? My media player doesn't seem to have the right codecs? Thanks | ||
| Mbsween |
kahuna, it should be divx, you can get the codec at divx codec I put a quicktime version up there also. Let me know if it works. Matt | ||
| Racerboy |
Hey guys and gals, Les is looking for some hi res pics for "Fuell"...Either group shots, road shots or views of the Smokies but if you think you've got a good one of something else please send it...Her email address is leslie.hudson@harley-davidson.com...Thanks... I spoke with Allan Hammersley this evening and he sounds just about as you would expect...He did say he was getting a bit more feeling back and that sounds hopeful...He then joked a bit about a nurse who was getting ready to attend to him so, all in all, he sounded a bit better than I expected...Keep him in your thoughts... See Ya! Bob | ||
| Fasteddieb |
This, I believe, is harleybritt. In his defense, that godawful yellow helmet belonged to someone else (oh wait, it's mine....nevermind)  I really like what he did with his front end, i.e. the bar-end mirrors and semi-flush turn signals. That shield ain't bad, either.  I'm considering doing the same (imitation is the highest form of...) but at $65 per mirror I'll have to let the feeling build for a while. BTW, I could use the part number of those front signals... | ||
| Buckinfubba |
wish I coulda been there looks like a helluva good time...but had to work on the big fat harleys....but the beauty of N.C. is at my finger tips all the time...but the commaraderie is not damn I feel bad about missing it,,.... one of these days seesya bubba | ||
| Erick |
What a great bunch of posts! I've taken up safe cracking as a side bennie to not having skin in three finger tips. Actually, I'm down to one band-aid on my signal finger. The test video that Mbsween posted captures the fall down spot. A true case of brain fade ... and too much brake. As bad as it was it didn't f...-up my weekend, only the trip home. I was kicking myself all the way home on such a sunny day. Oh Bob, when that sweetie popped that foot diameter interrogation device out ... I would have followed her anywhere. Unexpected thrills at every turn. Roger (ERICK) | ||
| Dave |
One helluva time! Let's do it again next year but base out of Robbinsville. Hell ... the Bridal Falls area would be sweet too (hwy 28 and 64). #1 priority should be beer, food, and lodging...not necessarily in that order. Great roads is a no-brainer for the whole area. Thanks to Bob, Jose and all other Buellers that had a hand in pulling this off. Can't do anything about the weather but what the hell. I sent the balance of my trip in rain gear and (knock on wood) the only thing I managed to do was toast a front tire and loose a headlight bulb. I'm adding commentary but here are some pictures http://webpages.charter.net/thunder1200/2002_slab_dragon/ As always, great meeting everyone and getting a face to the name. Ride safe people DAve | ||
| Gravedigger |
Dave, Great Pics!!! I think you should retitle the one with Frank and I to: "Keith informing Frank that he really doesn't want any part of the fiery little redhead sitting over there on the bike!" LOL What do you think big guy???? Hope you guys in KC had a good day at the openhouse today! Our pics should be back on Monday and I'll try to get them scanned and posted then. Keith p.s. BOB, JOHN, JOSE, GREAT JOB PLANNING THIS TRIP!!!!!!! | ||
| Dynarider |
Ive got some pics also, but my scanner is acting up right now & wont let me do anything. I will get it sorted out in a couple days. Busy working this weekend, dont have time do anything else  | ||
| Dave |
Yeah damnit Brent I wish we could have hit the roads with you. I cannot get over how sweet your Lightning is! I think I saw a couple of water spots on it in some of those other pictures .... hahahaha And I catch hell over my bike looking clean all the time!  DAve | ||
| José_Quiñones |
AWESOME shots Dave!!!!! | ||
| Dave |
What's the follow up on your header stud José? How did ya get back home? DAve | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Dave, I rode the bike home that way (500+ miles!). Mostly highway so I tried to keep the rpms where I could keep the stress to a minimum. To it's credit it made it home! However, since last Sunday it has become a coat rack! I have been riding my SV since, including a free introductory track day today courtesty of NESBA at Summit Point, WV.  | ||
| Dave |
Is that a Buell fly screen? | ||
| José_Quiñones |
yes, but don't tell anybody else....... | ||
| Darthane |
Jose, what kind of power output does that little twin-banger have? Love the look minus the Suzuki fairing. Bryan | ||
| Epierce |
Harleybritt, I am very interested in the mirrors and turn signal application on your bike. If you would be so kind as to send me the details. madriver@mikrotec.com Eddie | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Bryan, never dynoed mine but stock they pump out about 42 lb/ft and 65 HP at the wheel. It's not quite as fast as a Buell, but it's smooth, quiet and doesn't shake things off! Main thing was I was able to sell my sportster, buy this thing and still have money left over! As Dave noted, that is an M2 flycsreen. I got it at the Pocono Brag Rally for only $25! THe color match is pretty close. | ||
| Spiderman |
I was wondering who picked that up. | ||
| Shazam |
Here is a picture of the bike I was unable to bring with me to the gap....I only have one pair of nuts to split with a buell seat. But with so many custom rides there I felt left out with my standard (read no mods) firebolt. Don't get me wrong the firebolt more than made up for my X1's abscense(sp?). Here you go guys. I'll feel better now not having had any pictures with me at the time. \image | ||
| Shazam |
 | ||
| Spiderman |
BAD ASS |
