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Author Message   BadS1 Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2005 - 05:22 pm:        Dave The Eagle???Isn't The Pegasus more fitting??   Outrider Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2005 - 09:57 pm:        Dave...Thanks for the insight concerning calling in diversionary accident reports. Will have to try that some time. Can I borrow your cell phone?   Court Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2005 - 10:33 pm:        Yes indeedy do.....landed we are. I'm at a loss for symbolism this evening. The journey that started two short days ago in the "Birthplace of commercial pest control" had ended up right here where your finer blenders come from. I'm personally excited about trying both styles of Wisconsin food, yellow and white. In all seriousity, we just had a splendid mexican dinner in East Troy, got a chance to visit, swap tales and get ready for the coming days. Homecoming 2005 is at hand and Erik is as excited about it as all of us are. He's busy, with the band, practicing tonight for Friday's performance. The trip here has been both sentimental and fun. The S-2 missed not a heartbeat. Charlie is an excellent navigator and all I had to do was stay close behind and soak up some of the finer back roads, and there are some dandy one's, over the last 1,000 miles. Partially borne of laziness and fatigue, we'll make tonight a photomotage photomotauge . . picture show..... Our capable navigator, Charlie, checks waypoints and navigation. Things were totally high tech with the possible exception of sitting below a billboard saying "this way to ferry" as we desparately searched for the ferry Charlie had a tire waiting and has fabricated about the slickest Buell tire changing rig you've seen. Pit crews take heed! I just liked this picture Ditto...I never get tired of looking at these things Guess what....we wander into a Buell dealer on the way to do Charlie's tire change. Guess what? I walk in, am greeted in a friendly manner, asked if there are any Buell questions they can help me with, get to see a way cool Buell sales area, see demos advertised and the sling bag promo plastered everywhere.. Wanna know the most exciting thing Buells bringing you? Dealers like Mike Stevens at Lake Erie HD/Buell. This guy's good...VERY GOOD It's a loooooooooong way across. We spent time running the shore of Lake Erie. The end of an 800 mile day. We rode from 7AM until 11:30PM. Ever notice it's those last hours of the day, just around sunset that most the bugs come home to roost? The buglets are a little more apparent on the Ice Gold White Buell Taken as we arrived at the Lake Express Ferry...another "I just liked" picture Living Large and by-passing Chicago as well Okay...as we passed the breakwater, they dumped the coal to the turbines and man-oh-mah we were off..... At 39 kts, about 45 mph, the lake was smooth as glass! That's Milwaukee, barely visible, in the distance The Welcome Wagon was on hand with shirts and goodies Charlie and Jack draw in an innocent victim Parting may be sweet sorrow, but it takes some doing when a leather clad, back-pack sportin' Jack must be inserted, with surgical precision, between a tailbags and saddle bags....there's no climbing on, you have to kick a leg over. THIS WAS KICK #1 THIS WAS KICK #2 THIS WAS KICK #3. . . we now have the vertical height, we just need to introduce samutimeous lateral motion....doesn't seem so hard now, does it? SWEET SUCESS...scary sight, eh? Yeah. okay....it's just another shot I dug. I walked right up to Jack, in his mirrored Buell visor and popped the D100 right in his face. I just dug the shot Bottom line is folks are arriving....we ran onto Al Lighton from American Sportbike today and this has all the makin's of a great gathering. I'm excited, have enjoyed the ride, all 20 years of it, and can't wait to see everyone. There's so much more to tell....remind me to tell you! Court P.S. - I already miss my wife and the dog! (Message edited by court on June 01, 2005)   BadS1 Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2005 - 10:54 pm:        Court what do you think you's may be doing Saturday night??I'll be in Elkhart Lake for the evening.Could we meet up somewhere???Call me on my cell 262-939-9922 PS I'm picking up Kringle tomorrow whats your poison???You'll recieve it at the dinner tomorrow at night.   Court Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2005 - 11:00 pm:        And a very special thanks to the Quality Control Team!   Njbuell Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2005 - 11:15 pm:        Court, glad to see the S-2 ran good for ya. Have fun, talk to you when you get back. Phil   Chainsaw Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2005 - 11:21 pm:        Thanks for the update. Keep us posted!   Firemanjim Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2005 - 11:29 pm:        So when do I get my S-2 consulting fees?--gonna be steep!! Wish I was there,oh well,someones gotta work.   Awprior Posted on Thursday, June 02, 2005 - 12:10 am:        Court, Glad you all got there safe. I'll only be up on Thursday evening and Friday morning, as an 'unregistered' participant, but we've got to meet up. Owe you a glass of Guinness or Kool Aid or whatever for all your help with RANE. Looking forward to seeing you all there and telling stories about those skid steers... Alex   Paulinoz Posted on Thursday, June 02, 2005 - 02:45 am:        Just finished unloading first of four 40' containers only 3 more to go, I would not swap to be with you for anything, he lies through his back teeth (@#$#$%^%$$##%%^& Have a good time and remember to tell them some of those stories of yours.   Court Posted on Thursday, June 02, 2005 - 07:52 am:        Paul: Call when you get the containers loaded.....Homecoming has not even started and my o' my we've had a dandy time. I, given largely to time difference and wife depravation arose at my regular 4AM EDT which just happens to be 3AM East Troy. Unable, after much prodding to get Jack, now looking a great deal like a human submarine buried below the covers, to buy into the "early bird gets the worm" story, grabbed his keys and decided to go for an early morning ride. For those of you on the way....it's going to be a spectacular day. East Troy Sunrise - June 2, 2005 I parked a CityX at every imaginable angle in front of every sign, surface and scene at the factory. This one, sitting on the hill behind 2519, just looked cool. Ahhhh..the annual "Buell before the Building" shot If you don't understand the majesty of Wisconsin, perhaps this will help. I sat outside with Tim O'Leary, owner of O'Leary Plumbing on Buell Drive, sipped coffee and chatted as the sun rose. You can't see the deer, but they are there. The morning ground fog adds a beauty to the day and a layer of droplets to the bike Off to swim and go to breakfast...... Court   Mikej Posted on Thursday, June 02, 2005 - 08:52 am:        Court, Any chance that you might have a pic of the bikes tied/strapped down on the ferry? Just curious how they have the tiedowns set up. And welcome back to Wisconsin.   Peter Posted on Thursday, June 02, 2005 - 06:02 pm:        Still jealous.... Pete2 Dakar   Court Posted on Thursday, June 02, 2005 - 06:04 pm:        Mike: Sure enough!   Court Posted on Thursday, June 02, 2005 - 06:25 pm:        There's like not time, so listen up and listen fast. Day - gorgeous Crowd - big Bikes - varied Factory staff - totally amped Kimmy - Strep but made it to her 20th something Homecoming - COOL TA - Home from Iraq - warmly welcomed with M&M's, told tales of being following by Iraqui children, became known as the "Candy Man", M&M's delivered by 7T trucks while out on patrol. TA - more importantly - back to Buell, healthy and happy. Most Important - a short 10 minutes with him yields more than the news coverage did in a year. We did the right thing. Factory tours - self directed, at your own pace. Food - well above average - best yet Erik's Seminar - I don't get teary often, this did it. Ask someone you know, who attended, if they think Buell will be here "a year from now"? Buell has changed, and is preparing to further change, the orbit of the sport of motorcycling. Erik - yeah, I said he was at his peak a year ago...so I was wrong. The curve continues up...what can I say? HD - find out who committed the scheduling conflict. Jon Bunne - didn't get properly introduced; a brilliant engineer and just down right nice guy who rides incredibly well. NOTE: it you were in the seminars, Jon was the guy with Erik. SUMMARY: ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. PLAN: Ride to dinner, look at these, I'll be back later. Court Reflection Bikes arriving Gorgeous RS Bruce Bruce's Bike Chris's Bike Chris and Josh Bob - Buell Engineer Brankin's 100,000 mile S-2 - No, the shots not out of focus, ya gotta know Brankin! Josh and "old-timer" Mike Figueroa Res, the "Intel Elf" is required to take this posed picture at all B.R.A.G. events Henry's annual bike inspection Ouch...this bike falls, even a little, bring $$$$ Henry visiting with Buell riders Erik touhces up the paint with another signature! Technical Service - If you have a glitch, you can do no better than these two. Roger Roeszler knows these babes inside out, so does the other guy. Situation quickly fixed. Hey Lady...can I write on your motorcycle? Buell's Secret Weapon Buell's Proudest and Happiest Moment was when Tom Anglim came back from Iraq. The M&M's were the best thing we ever did for diplomacy. Tom's back, now progress can resume. Good Night   Firemanjim Posted on Thursday, June 02, 2005 - 08:41 pm:        God,I HATE you!!!All of you!!   BadS1 Posted on Thursday, June 02, 2005 - 11:54 pm:        And Kringle lots of it LOL!!!   Court Posted on Friday, June 03, 2005 - 02:00 am:        Past midnight and we've got LOTS to talk about. First: There is a thread here about John Flickenger's appearance at tonight’s dinner. Two observations. First: The food was great. Second: Flickenger was better. Let me explain. On the wall of the conference room today were the BUELL VALUES, to wit: Tell the truth Be fair Keep your promises Respect the individual Encourage intellectual curiosity I was initially impressed, darned impressed, with Mr. Flickenger's performance. Pundits will ask why, you deserve an answer. He responded to questions ranging from new models, to the scope and ongoing supply chain improvements with Vanson doing more Buell clothing, the dealer network and he even skillfully dealt with the ol' Jose lobbed from left-field "why do speedo sensors fail?". He's, to begin, a skilled presenter whose honesty and enthusiasm is apparent. My next question, quietly to myself, was to do a quick tally of how his presentation held up to the Buell Values, the true mark of how a person leads can be said to be how they adhere to and are guided by the values of the group....Flickenger excelled. The judges were holding up the 9.4 cards when he explained he'd be a bit scarce due to a family commitment with a daughter graduating high school this weekend.... in my book that sealed the 10. He sticks to corporate values and has personal values. The talk was engaging, more frank and open than I'd have expected and Flickenger treated the assembled Buell faithful with respect and listened as skillfully as he spoke. All good things for the people and the world of Buell. He'd filled in for Erik who had a family commitment tonight and I think it was fortuitous to all. Mr. John Flickenger - President of Buell There's tons more to tell, I mean TONS, but it's 1:42AM and my circadian thing will have me awake at 4:00AM, so I'll leave you with this entertaining series of photos....I sense this fellow had done this before. We've got so much more to talk about. Time to sleep now. Remind me to tell you . . . . Ride safe, lean much, smile more, Court (Message edited by court on June 03, 2005)   Firemanjim Posted on Friday, June 03, 2005 - 02:06 am:        OOPS!!Try again in the morning.   Court Posted on Friday, June 03, 2005 - 02:11 am:        Hey Fireman...dig this rig!   Oldog Posted on Friday, June 03, 2005 - 02:58 am:        thanks for sharing looked sooooooo Cool!   Coolice Posted on Friday, June 03, 2005 - 03:08 am:        Court great to see ya again! Great photos and commentary on the day, Buell is on the move-Erik was very focused in the discussion and I was moved by his presentation, too bad the dealers don't have that intensity-Buells would be a hot item to sell.I just got back to Ottawa Illinois to work to State HOG rally here Fri & Sat - rode thru rain on the way but it was a great day-I'm sure next 3 will be even better if anyone has any rubber left on their tires!LOL I'll check here every nite for more of the "live" Badweb coverage of Homecoming 2005   Steveshakeshaft Posted on Friday, June 03, 2005 - 05:08 am:        To say I'm envious is an understatement.   Indy_bueller Posted on Friday, June 03, 2005 - 08:16 am:        Note to self: *Self, don't miss the next Homecoming!*   Rippin Posted on Friday, June 03, 2005 - 08:28 am:        Court Our crew will be leaving at noon today rain or shine for Elkhart. Hopefully arrive by 6ish. Hope to see ya there(somewhere)! Dana We'll see ya too!! So far 4 people have already called and backed out due to rain(pusses) Sooooo now I will probably be the only Buell in my group. Everyone have fun Ryan   Outrider Posted on Friday, June 03, 2005 - 10:09 am:        Per the post from Doctor_Doctor in the Quick Board, have Oz call the office asap.   Spike Posted on Friday, June 03, 2005 - 12:16 pm:        Note(s) to self: 1. Kick self for not going to homecoming 2. Burn entire book of excuses, even at risk of submitting to wife more often. 3. Go to homecoming next year. 4. Repeat step 1 until next homecoming. Mike Luddy, Jr. '04 XB12R   Coolice Posted on Friday, June 03, 2005 - 12:38 pm:        Yep they are in a lunch break from BatteTrax right now. Rain? Ya don't melt!! And then ya have a water cooled Buell! Me I'm going to work the State HOG Rally here(baby sit a bunch of pretend a riders) I sure had a GREAT time yesterday....Let's see next year its gonna be a the whole Homecoming and Reg Pridmore's CLASS school at Road America, now thats ridin!   Coolice Posted on Friday, June 03, 2005 - 12:41 pm:        Hey Court where is the pics of Daves and I leavin last nite? The guys from Joplin are doin it right, glad to see some new riders join us!   Outrider Posted on Friday, June 03, 2005 - 05:48 pm:        Dang, had so much fun at West Bend today during the few hours I could get away, I am definitely looking forward to joining BRAG again and participating in as many events I can. Was great to see all the familiar faces, but the new one's I met are wonderful folks. Just like long lost friends.