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But who was that tall dark & hairy guy that Chy was talking to when that pic was taken????

Slinging mud at the '04 Rally



NH Rally 08


On the way to the NH Rally '08: Little Switzerland, NC.


hum is this a greg roast?

Dang Jim... you are the undisputed king of research. Great job!

I see my red van in a parking lot full of cycles.
that was the broken leg trip

Dangit, why am I always working on something on my way to, at, or from a rally? At least I've got my own camera crew.

I want to know what you were doing to your carbs, Greg. Was there red Ga. mud in them?

That was a picture from the ride up to last year's NH rally. I had completed the BB and broke it in the week before and I had developed a fuel leak (bubbling out through the carbs). Turned out that I had a float needle that had developed a groove in it and it was letting fuel run out. At the time fuel was at a premium so I was trying to lose ats little fuel as possible. It was fine while it was running, it was while I was stopped when it began to dribble out through the air filters. Between Moe and myself, we had enough tools to take the carbs off and check them.

Fuel was one issue. down the hill at the mineral museum was the fun one. i recall a front tyre or sumpthin and the speedo pickup. at least the tire got us some idle speed cruising in Norfolk. that was sweet rolling round the naval yard. little creek road is known far and wide. was sweet that we rode it. heck the whole trip was amazing. stands down.

ahhh, Pete's famous pumpkin bike creation, Greg's black/yellow (the prettiest stock model made IMO) mudbath, Brent tooling down the road charting the course for ba.com.

You're bringing back memories of rallys I never attended Jim. Keep 'em comin'

jh

That was Chy doing that. And you did make one GA Rally!

, Fair enuf Moe, but now's time for you folks that sometimes talk kinda' funny to make a NW rally.

jh

Monday Ride at 5:45 a.m.

That's pretty amazing to do that kind of repair on a trip. I can usually handle checking the tire pressure and lubing the chain.

Theres that pic of the moderators when Freedom was down.. I was just looking for that one.

Found this one though...

That wasn't really the repair job, just the "WTF is going on here" diagnosis. Once we got to CT, Shari's dealer had the float needles and front tire that I needed IN STOCK(talk about serendipity). Then I took the carbs out again once we got to Rob's house so I could replace the needles. There was another "carb fiddling" moment a little further down the road from where that picture was taken to unfiddle the "fix" that I used to keep the fuel from coming out when I didn't want it to. The problem with that fix was that it also kept the fuel from coming out when I DID want it to. That trip was frought with maintenance issues. Mind you, I'd still do it again, I just need to keep on top of stuff more before I plan to do rides.

Here's my story of interesting wrenching/maintenance mishaps for that trip:
On the way to Chy's to get Moe
-Ran completely out of gas about 10 miles from home but had enough inertia to roll into a gas station. I knew I was on reserve but thought I had enough to get to another station I wanted to stop at just a little further down the road. Whoops.
-Left indicator/signal bracket broke leaving the blinker just dangling there. Used electrical tape to keep it in place temporarily. This bracket fatigued and broke while I was riding with Yota after the GA 07 rally and JR welded it back together for me back then. Chy had a replacement so I used that and I was good to go (Thanks, Bro).

At Chy's
-Changed my oil back to synthetic after doing my BB break-in
-Got a ribbing about the tread (or lack thereof) on the front tire. At least there was a some pattern left (not a whole lot) and there wasn't any chord showing.

Next morning at the lodge where Moe and I stayed in NC
-Moe noticed a little puddle and smell of fuel under my bike. I remembered smelling some before I left but just thought it was my garage since I had been doing a lot of work previously. Figured out where it was coming from, fiddled with carbs, Moe took pictures, etc.
-Left lodge parking lot and bike was only firing on one cylinder. Got to bottom of the hill, found parking lot, broke out the tools, unfiddled carbs.

Norfolk, VA
-Triumph dealer, Honda dealer, CycleWorld-Parts-whatever. No one had Metzler Lazertec 110-80-17 (I think that's it, can't remember front tire size off top of my head).

Outside of Allentown, PA
-Moe's chainguard had broken and was dangerously close to getting eaten by his chain. I noticed it as we sat and took a break. Not my bike but it's still maintenance related so

New Haven, CT
-Meet up with Shari (YAY!) Relay road stories, need for dealer visit in morning, sleep (went from South Boston, VA to New Haven CT in one day, mostly slab, very tired).
-Dealer has it all: float needles, tire, simichrome, Union Jack valve stem caps, free T-shirts, outrageous shop rates, so I had the lot. Only had them change the tire, no time for anything else.
-Got back to bike and noticed that my speedo cable tube had come off of front wheel hub (speedo cable insides were hanging out). I accidentally broke it a long time ago while fixing stuff after GA 04 but superglue did the trick, until now but at least I knew what was wrong.
-Got back to Shari's to pack and leave for Rob's, taped up speedo cable, made makeshift speedo cable loop from zip tie and existing rubber on old loop (it's broken of course, had been for a while). Took an old nail Shari had picked up from the railroad (she didn't have a drill) and used it to ream a hole in the rubber so I could mount the zip tie in it (poke, zip, snip). Job done, let's go!

Mid-NH, right across from VT (day before we got to Rob's)
-Rode through some rain but no maintenance that evening or the next morning, WOOT!

At Rob's
-Replaced float needles, tested good, no fuel leaks. Rode, drank, ate, BS'ed, slept, wash, rinse, repeat for a couple days.

Day before leaving Rob's
-Heard an odd, short grinding noise while releasing the clutch, going uphill, from a stop at a stoplight. Hmm, better check that out when I get back. Heard it again that day (starting from stop) so made a note to check oil level before leaving.

Getting ready to leave Rob's
-Checked oil, about a quart+ low. Get oil, keep checking at each night stop. Turns out I was burning oil because I had accidentally bent one of the piston rings when re-assembling the cylinders (did it by myself). At the time I thought I could get away with bending it back (*smack*). I was able to bend the ring back, get it in the groove and re-assembled so that the pistons moved smoothly through the cylinders but it never seated right and oil was getting into the cylinder chambers (LOTS of carbon buildup in the firing chamber when I took it apart again).


So that was my NH rally 08 and hopefully I'll have the time to do it again this year (without the maintenance and fiddling stuff). I hope I'm on the "official" GA 09 list (to me it's a given but I haven't said a whole lot recently) and I'm going to try to get the time off for the MidWest rally (need new patches with different places on them

Wow, just looked at the preview and this turned out to be a LONG post.

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I hope I'm on the "official" GA 09 list

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You are man... "officially" on it.

All I can say is anyone within radio range of this ba.com country station who is riding the fence about attending the Georgia Rally ought to give it a go. I had around 2,800 miles from my doorstep to wherever it is in those darn Georgia hills Chy & Di call home. But it was one heck of a trip and lots of great people.

Just don't ask me to describe how to get there . Chy said somethin' about "take deep breaths & we'll talk you in". If it wasn't for cell phone technology, I'd still be wandering around those green hills somewhere............

jh

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I hope I'm on the "official" GA 09 list (to me it's a given but I haven't said a whole lot recently) and I'm going to try to get the time off for the MidWest rally (need new patches with different places on them

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Technically you just did!

Great cliffs notes brother. I wouldn't change a thing about that trip. Not a thing!

Hey, Bob and I will be there. I got a new puter as my old one died, and the laptop I got isn't worth a darn. So, haven't been here in a while. Can't spell either. rofl

I'm gonna try this pic thing, just in case you all don't know who Bob is exactly: http://www.getbobed.com/

Hmmm, didn't work. Sorry bout that.

*I changed it to a link.. I think it will serve the purpose.
Chy

I'll be there again this year. It looks like I'll roll in around Thursday afternoon, and booking a room at the Days Inn. Looking forward to seeing everyone and riding the GA mountains again.

Will

Sweeeeeet... I guess it's "official" then.

Thanks Chy. Bob is really looking foreward to riding again.

Where does Bob ride? Do you have any pics of him riding?

Bob rides in a carrier strapped to the seat or luggage rack. And no, I don't have any pics of him riding. But it is pretty cool to see him step out on to the seat. People go crazy. lol

Ahhh yes.. much better. Moe rolled in last night and today it was 74 degrees.. brought the warm stuff with him.

We had a blast in the twisties today. It was my first time out in a while and I had not realized how much I missed it. We did some very nice recon today for the Ga Rally rides... these things we do for you guys.. getting in the mood to do some riding. Anyone else?....

I was out with Bob yesterday. Short trip to Helen. Very nice.

I guess you thought I probably couldn't get up early enough to meet you guys to ride, huh?..... yeah, well you were probably right. .... ride safe... G

I'm in, just not sure if it will only be a one nighter.
Just kickin around to see what the planed rides were for Thursday,Friday.
see ya soon,
Mike

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I'm in

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The Dahlonega Bike Week 2009 err Pre 2009 Georgia Rally!

Had Friday off. Got some overnight stuff in my saddlebags. Now, which motorsickle to ride? Being many moons since Vera Lynn had a road trip and casting worry to the wind about the chain and clutch, I decided to leave Cinnamon Girl in her stall. Leg over at 8:26am.

Rode to the demo truck in daytona.


Ryan happened to be there!


Threw a leg over the Thunderbird!


Rolled into the pole barn foe dark


We ran 60 to US76. The Zell Miller Parkway...Found Hemptown. Rode Blood Mountain back to wash rider


Sunday morn had me braking hard to turn right off of GA15 to see this


Elder Mill Covered Bridge


slabbed up. Rural home
1280 miles
34.45 gallons
$68.31 in gas.
13.46 beer
47.00 food.
Total cost: $priceless$