Author Topic: Suggestions for a trip . OP lost it , we found it .  (Read 4760 times)

Offline nwguy

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Re: Suggestions for a trip .OP lost it , we found it .
« Reply #30 on: May 09, 2021, 10:08:02 PM »
Am in Santa Fe, NM now staying at Rich’s house about 20 minutes south of downtown. Rich is on Wild Guzzi and has 2 fun dogs and a really vocal parrot. He’s got 5 Moto Guzzis in the garage including a 70s era one with a side car. He also has a nice electric bike that I got to try. Wow! Fun!  I had a New Mexico treat tonight, a green chilie burger that was great.

Rode from just north of Ouray, CO this morning. Temps read 34 degrees when I went through Ouray. Had ice all over my bike when I woke up. Will be glad when I’m out of the high altitude west and in warmer, eastern places. The aspens don’t even have leaves on them and what grassy slopes that aren’t covered with snow in the mountains are still brown. Still, some places are spectacular, particularly Rte 550 betwen Ouray, CO and Durango, CO. Did encounter ice on some roads from snowmelt runoff freezing on the pavement.

Have seen many animals crossing, standing in or standing beside the road including a fox, a big horn sheep, many longhorn goats, cows, deer and wild turkeys. Gotta watch out. No elk yet though despite the many signs warning of them.

Did over 500 miles yesterday on some really interesting roads between Salt Lake City and Ouray, CO. I love those 2 lane roads where you can maintain 80mph, almost as much as I love the 25-35mph rated turns. Lots of 10-15mph turns over the last 2 days too. The long days are fine so long as they’re curvy. Rode Colorado National Monument, which is a super curvy 30 mile road near Fruita, CO. It’s unbelievably twisty. Got to see many "Earth ships" outside of Taos, NM, which are semi-underground, adobe, passive solar houses. Pretty fun!

Tomorrow begins the grueling ride across Oklahoma to the Ozarks. Straight, flat, but they’re 2 Moto Guzzi dealers there, which is a comfort.

Returning to New Mexico is interesting having gone to school in Santa Fe. I rode up the ski basin road for old times’ sake. It’s a 15 mile hill climb with endless linked, low and medium speed corners. No gravel to speak of. Tons of fun. Will try to contact an old friend who hired me as a bicycle mechanic back in 1975. The shop he managed is still here.

















« Last Edit: May 16, 2021, 09:31:27 PM by oldbike54 »
Current:  08 Norge, 06 Suzuki Burgman, 06 Yamaha Morphous

Past:  3 Buell Lightnings, 02 BMW R1150RS
05 Ducati Multistrada, First gen Kawasaki Concours, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic, 02 Honda ST110, Aprilia Falco, Suzuki VX800, Yamaha Radian, Suzuki TS185, Yamaha RD400

Offline Mayor_of_BBQ

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Re: Suggestions for a trip
« Reply #31 on: May 10, 2021, 06:08:18 AM »

Dale’s wheels thru time is a cool museum in Maggie Valley NC if it’s reopened. The proprietor passed away and I don’t know what the families plans are.



Wheels Thru Time is still rolling along, Matt, Dale's son was already very involved/running the place day-to-day so there seems to be no major change in operations at least.
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Offline Guzzistajohn

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Re: Suggestions for a trip
« Reply #32 on: May 10, 2021, 07:01:56 AM »
I live in Springfield, Mo, AKA “The Queen City of the Ozarks” Happy to be of assistance, send PM if you would like guidance  :thumb:
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oldbike54

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Re: Suggestions for a trip
« Reply #33 on: May 11, 2021, 08:31:52 AM »
  :thumb:

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Re: Suggestions for a trip
« Reply #33 on: May 11, 2021, 08:31:52 AM »

bobrebos

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Re: Suggestions for a trip
« Reply #34 on: May 11, 2021, 03:12:00 PM »
Am in Santa Fe, NM now staying at Rich’s house about 20 minutes south of downtown. Rich is on Wild Guzzi and has 2 fun dogs and a really vocal parrot. He’s got 5 Moto Guzzis in the garage including a 70s era one with a side car. He also has a nice electric bike that I got to try. Wow! Fun!  I had a New Mexico treat tonight, a green chilie burger that was great.

Rode from just north of Ouray, CO this morning. Temps read 34 degrees when I went through Ouray. Had ice all over my bike when I woke up. Will be glad when I’m out of the high altitude west and in warmer, eastern places. The aspens don’t even have leaves on them and what grassy slopes that aren’t covered with snow in the mountains are still brown. Still, some places are spectacular, particularly Rte 550 betwen Ouray, CO and Durango, CO. Did encounter ice on some roads from snowmelt runoff freezing on the pavement.

Have seen many animals crossing, standing in or standing beside the road including a fox, a big horn sheep, many longhorn goats, cows, deer and wild turkeys. Gotta watch out. No elk yet though despite the many signs warning of them.

Did over 500 miles yesterday on some really interesting roads between Salt Lake City and Ouray, CO. I love those 2 lane roads where you can maintain 80mph, almost as much as I love the 25-35mph rated turns. Lots of 10-15mph turns over the last 2 days too. The long days are fine so long as they’re curvy. Rode Colorado National Monument, which is a super curvy 30 mile road near Fruita, CO. It’s unbelievably twisty. Got to see many "Earth ships" outside of Taos, NM, which are semi-underground, adobe, passive solar houses. Pretty fun!

Tomorrow begins the grueling ride across Oklahoma to the Ozarks. Straight, flat, but they’re 2 Moto Guzzi dealers there, which is a comfort.

Returning to New Mexico is interesting having gone to school in Santa Fe. I rode up the ski basin road for old times’ sake. It’s a 15 mile hill climb with endless linked, low and medium speed corners. No gravel to speak of. Tons of fun. Will try to contact an old friend who hired me as a bicycle mechanic back in 1975. The shop he managed is still here.



















My wife and I will be at Two Wheels Of Suches (Suches, Georgia) this coming weekend if you get to the area, and will be back home May 16th if you need anything. 

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Re: Suggestions for a trip
« Reply #35 on: May 11, 2021, 03:25:21 PM »
Being in Georgia, I am of course a fan of the Smokey Mountains.

BUT, I did not see West (by God) Virginia on your list. There is a lot of great scenery in WV.
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Offline nwguy

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Re: Suggestions for a trip
« Reply #36 on: May 11, 2021, 07:12:55 PM »
I left Santa Fe, NM yesterday morning after having breakfast with Rich, his dogs and his parrot. He’s owned the parrot over 40 years. They live to be 60. I asked Rich if he thought the parrot would outlive him. He said maybe, and that the parrot’s in his will! Anyway I set off east and south bound and found a fun little 30ish mile curvy road before I hit Interstate 40. I new this was going to be the grueling part of the trip. Straight superslab across eastern NM, northern TX and then OK. I thought about stopping at the Moto Guzzi dealer in Oklahoma City, but my back tire continues to have tread. Next MG dealer was in Tulsa. So I made it to the Super 8 motel in Tulsa after riding about 650 miles. It wasn’t as boring as I expected. Interesting to watch the dashboard temperature gauge go from 46 degrees to 60. New Mexico’s mountainous red earth and scattered sage yielded to Texas’ flat grass pasture land, feed lots and massive wind turbine farms. The low hills, green fields and scrubby oaks and pines appeared in Oklahoma. Kept a pretty constant 80 mph. Had my goose down jacket on under my leather jacket, and used my winter gloves that day. Strangely, at the end of the day I felt less stiff and sore and could have driven longer.

Cloudy and cool this morning with rain in the forecast. Headed east on another superslab until I reached Rte 10 south from the town of Kansas. It’s rated as a good motorcycle road, and a scenic road. It was both in spades. So nice to get back on a 2 lane road. It wound along the Illinois River. Parks with boat launch ramps were named so and so “Hollow”. An occasional dead armadillo was on the side of the road. While standing next to a guy in the bathroom with all my gear on he said, “Ain’t gonna miss you in that helmet.”, referring to my hi viz yellow helmet. What a place! Heading further east the rain set in hard. On with the rain gear. Thought I’d shelter in a brew pub and try get some BBQ. Found Penguin BBQ in Fayetteville, next door to Crisis Brewing (heh heh). Got a couple of their IPAs on tap with my pulled pork sandwich and a rib. Delicious!


I want to start riding the good Ozark roads with the “Pig Trail”, this areas most famous motorcycle road. So, I head south out of Fayetteville on a nice road to Alma, and then east on another backroad to the town of Ozark. Am now in an Army Corps of Engineers campground on the Arkansas river outside of town. Met a nice guy in the grocery store parking lot who owns a Honda Goldwing. He was interested in my Moto Guzzi. The park that I’m in is called Aux Arcs, which is French. When I pronounced it ohs arcs he correct me and said “aux, like auxillary". The guy’s a native and doesn’t know his town and area name are French. I didn’t press the point.


Anyway, the rain’s let up, otherwise I’d be in another motel. Happy to be here in the campground. Pig Trail and hopefully many other great roads tomorrow.










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Current:  08 Norge, 06 Suzuki Burgman, 06 Yamaha Morphous

Past:  3 Buell Lightnings, 02 BMW R1150RS
05 Ducati Multistrada, First gen Kawasaki Concours, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic, 02 Honda ST110, Aprilia Falco, Suzuki VX800, Yamaha Radian, Suzuki TS185, Yamaha RD400

bobrebos

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Re: Suggestions for a trip
« Reply #37 on: May 12, 2021, 07:03:03 AM »
I left Santa Fe, NM yesterday morning after having breakfast with Rich, his dogs and his parrot. He’s owned the parrot over 40 years. They live to be 60. I asked Rich if he thought the parrot would outlive him. He said maybe, and that the parrot’s in his will! Anyway I set off east and south bound and found a fun little 30ish mile curvy road before I hit Interstate 40. I new this was going to be the grueling part of the trip. Straight superslab across eastern NM, northern TX and then OK. I thought about stopping at the Moto Guzzi dealer in Oklahoma City, but my back tire continues to have tread. Next MG dealer was in Tulsa. So I made it to the Super 8 motel in Tulsa after riding about 650 miles. It wasn’t as boring as I expected. Interesting to watch the dashboard temperature gauge go from 46 degrees to 60. New Mexico’s mountainous red earth and scattered sage yielded to Texas’ flat grass pasture land, feed lots and massive wind turbine farms. The low hills, green fields and scrubby oaks and pines appeared in Oklahoma. Kept a pretty constant 80 mph. Had my goose down jacket on under my leather jacket, and used my winter gloves that day. Strangely, at the end of the day I felt less stiff and sore and could have driven longer.

Cloudy and cool this morning with rain in the forecast. Headed east on another superslab until I reached Rte 10 south from the town of Kansas. It’s rated as a good motorcycle road, and a scenic road. It was both in spades. So nice to get back on a 2 lane road. It wound along the Illinois River. Parks with boat launch ramps were named so and so “Hollow”. An occasional dead armadillo was on the side of the road. While standing next to a guy in the bathroom with all my gear on he said, “Ain’t gonna miss you in that helmet.”, referring to my hi viz yellow helmet. What a place! Heading further east the rain set in hard. On with the rain gear. Thought I’d shelter in a brew pub and try get some BBQ. Found Penguin BBQ in Fayetteville, next door to Crisis Brewing (heh heh). Got a couple of their IPAs on tap with my pulled pork sandwich and a rib. Delicious!


I want to start riding the good Ozark roads with the “Pig Trail”, this areas most famous motorcycle road. So, I head south out of Fayetteville on a nice road to Alma, and then east on another backroad to the town of Ozark. Am now in an Army Corps of Engineers campground on the Arkansas river outside of town. Met a nice guy in the grocery store parking lot who owns a Honda Goldwing. He was interested in my Moto Guzzi. The park that I’m in is called Aux Arcs, which is French. When I pronounced it ohs arcs he correct me and said “aux, like auxillary". The guy’s a native and doesn’t know his town and area name are French. I didn’t press the point.


Anyway, the rain’s let up, otherwise I’d be in another motel. Happy to be here in the campground. Pig Trail and hopefully many other great roads tomorrow.










post image








They found a crack in the bridge on I-40 going into Memphis going over the mississippi river and it is closed.  traffic is being re-routed to I-55.  Just in case you are going that way.  Bob

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Re: Suggestions for a trip
« Reply #38 on: May 12, 2021, 07:59:52 AM »
If you head north to get gas take 19 north thru Missouri,rolling hills no traffic.Take 94 east from Herman Mo,then 61 north to Louisiana Mo Then 79 north toHannibal cross into IL .all good roads with no traffic.

oldbike54

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Re: Suggestions for a trip
« Reply #39 on: May 12, 2021, 11:50:56 AM »
 Well dangit , you were only about 25 miles East of me on Oklahoma 10 , would have bought you breakfast in the Boomerang cafe in Tahlequah .

 Dusty

Offline nwguy

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Re: Suggestions for a trip
« Reply #40 on: May 13, 2021, 01:27:13 PM »
Camped now along the Buffalo River near Harriet, AR. This is perhaps the most beautiful campground I’ve seen. Vast grassy fields mixed with deciduous forest along side the Buffalo River. Rock cliffs line the far side of the river. Waters are murky in Arkansas rivers. I’m in a “walk-in tent site” at this campground, which happens to be near a pavillion. A bearded, friendly fellow called over to me and asked if I’d mind if a group played bluegrass music in the Pavillion. Imagine my response! He said “if I have anything please join in”. Me? My ukulele? Haven’t had that much liquor yet. Anyway they’re warming up now.

The churchbells in Aux Arcs/Ozarks rang at 4:00 this morning. I counted the bells lying awake in my tent. Dozed for another REM cycle and began the task of making breakfast and breaking camp. This trip has made me learn to relax when doing this. In past camp trips there’s always a sense of urgency to break camp. Now, for me, it’s just one thing at a time till I’m all set and everything’s packed. What else is there to do except to get on the road.

I started today riding “The Pigs Trail”, north on 23 out of Ozark. Meh. It’s a cruiser road with a little bit of twisties, and moderate traffic.

They’re playing “If I only had a brain” over in the pavillion now.

Then 16 east woke me up. Perfect pavement, no gravel, no traffic whatsoever and linked 20 to 45 mph curves the entire time. Paradise. Heaven. A dream come true. Forest, fields, farms, country houses, rivers and cliffs line the roads. Many Ozark roads follow a ridge, sometimes for tens of miles. Feels like Skyline Drive in Virginia all to yourself. As my friend Joseph once said after riding FS 25 near Mt. St. Helens before it deteriorated, “It feels like I’m dancing”.

I rode The Pigs Trail, the Arkansas Dragon and The copperhead today. Also many connecting roads that rivaled the named roads. 410 miles of riding, all in the Ozarks. Not done yet though. I have about a half a day of more good roads to cover, then a short drive to Jonesboro, AR where I’ll get a motel before having my rear tire changed on Friday morning. Have been monitoring it’s use and think I’ve timed it so the chords may start showing on the way to the dealer in Jonesboro. Then fresh rubber for all the important roads in GA, TN and NC. Will visit a high school friend I haven’t seen in at least 40 years near Atlanta. He lives in Savannah but says he’ll meet me someplace closer to the mountains.













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Current:  08 Norge, 06 Suzuki Burgman, 06 Yamaha Morphous

Past:  3 Buell Lightnings, 02 BMW R1150RS
05 Ducati Multistrada, First gen Kawasaki Concours, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic, 02 Honda ST110, Aprilia Falco, Suzuki VX800, Yamaha Radian, Suzuki TS185, Yamaha RD400

Offline nwguy

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Re: Suggestions for a trip
« Reply #41 on: May 13, 2021, 01:43:48 PM »
Having BBQ in Mountain Home, AR after riding Ozarks roads for 2 days. Have done the alleged best of the best, and they are unbelievable. Mostly perfect pavement, no traffic, almost no gravel, beautiful scenery, great engineering. They really get the curves banked well here.

Woke this morning to fog. Eerily quiet. The stars last night were amazing. So little artificial light at the campground. The bluegrass people were pretty good. Nice to fall asleep to them playing. Will head to Jonesboro this afternoon so I’ll be in the same town where my rear tire will be replaced tomorrow morning. Think I timed the wear pretty well.

Had somewhat of a disaster happen at the Exxon station here. The pump didn’t shut off with the gas nozzle inserted into my tank. A fountain of gasoline shot up when it got full. Had to step in and grab the nozzle to turn it off. Got gasoline on my leathers, my hair, my shirt, etc. The gal working at the gas station was amazingly unsympathetic and wouldn’t let me use their big sink to clean up so I did what I could in the bathroom. Ugh. Will need to wash my leathers in the bathtub of the motel tonight. Dry cleaners I’ve called don’t do motorcycle leathers. Fortunately the forecast is calling for warm weather while my leathers dry while riding. Guess I’ll never rely on the little catch on nozzles to release when the tank is full again. Anyway, will ride a couple more good roads on the way to Jonesboro.










Current:  08 Norge, 06 Suzuki Burgman, 06 Yamaha Morphous

Past:  3 Buell Lightnings, 02 BMW R1150RS
05 Ducati Multistrada, First gen Kawasaki Concours, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic, 02 Honda ST110, Aprilia Falco, Suzuki VX800, Yamaha Radian, Suzuki TS185, Yamaha RD400

bobrebos

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Re: Suggestions for a trip
« Reply #42 on: May 13, 2021, 01:45:31 PM »
Have fun!

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Re: Suggestions for a trip
« Reply #43 on: May 13, 2021, 03:13:35 PM »
Nice report!  You're in the good stuff for sure...those roads are so much fun to ride!  the Norge dances and carves around like it's supposed to.

Enjoy!

By the way, if you're into music...try this place..not far away.  I stopped there for 1/2 a day 2 years ago after the Cedar Vale, parked myself at the historical Hotel Seville (thanks Lowryter for the tip) in Harrison, Ark for 3 days and rode 200 mile loops each day of a different sort.  Found this place by accident and really enjoyed it...live music, skilled tradesfolk...hard to beat!

https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/parks/ozark-folk-center-state-park



« Last Edit: May 13, 2021, 03:14:41 PM by PJPR01 »
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Offline nwguy

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Where'd my thread go?
« Reply #44 on: May 16, 2021, 05:59:59 PM »
The "Suggestions for trip" one, where I'm riding cross country and back? Did I post something offensive? I certainly didn't mean to.
Current:  08 Norge, 06 Suzuki Burgman, 06 Yamaha Morphous

Past:  3 Buell Lightnings, 02 BMW R1150RS
05 Ducati Multistrada, First gen Kawasaki Concours, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic, 02 Honda ST110, Aprilia Falco, Suzuki VX800, Yamaha Radian, Suzuki TS185, Yamaha RD400

oldbike54

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Re: Where'd my thread go?
« Reply #45 on: May 16, 2021, 06:02:35 PM »
 No idea , wasn't me .

 Dusty

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Re: Where'd my thread go?
« Reply #46 on: May 16, 2021, 06:04:13 PM »
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oldbike54

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Re: Where'd my thread go?
« Reply #47 on: May 16, 2021, 06:09:15 PM »
 It's magic  :laugh:

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Offline nwguy

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Re: Suggestions for a trip
« Reply #48 on: May 16, 2021, 06:30:37 PM »
I did get a motel room in Jonesboro, AR, very close to the shop I  had scheduled a tire change with. A scary Day’s Inn with some questionable activity at the back corner, not far from my room. Blacked out window blinged up SUVs with heavy hip hop music playing, stopping to talk to a woman who asked if I had a lighter. Turned out to not be a problem. All was quiet that night. I did wash my leather jacket in the tub with some dishwashing liquid. The pants were OK, but the jacket, its liner and my shirt got gas on them. Still a faint smell of gas on the jacket, but it’s fading with the constant wind while riding.

I checked my tire wear and felt there was enough tread left to make it to the Moto Guzzi dealer in Murfreesboro, TN the next day. I voicemailed and texted them saying that I’d get there at about 1:00. So, Sloan’s Cycle in Murfeesboro ROCKS. I had them change both tires with some Dunlop SportMax Roadsmart IVs, and had them change my oil and filter. What a difference! Leaning into curves is much better. The old rear tire had a flat spot in the center that made the transition to leaning over sketchy. Now it’s great. Much more confidence inspiring in the twisties. Anyway Sloan’s was a big place. Lots of new bikes on the showroom floor. Guzzis, Aprilia, KTM, Suzuki and more. I was lounging in their “Pit Stop” room using their WiFi, when a nice older guy walked in and chatted with me. It was Curtis Sloan himself! After telling him my trip so far and next destinations, he said their shop used to be a franchise for Eagle motorcycle rentals. They did 1-way rentals and he’d fly to wherever a bike was left and then ride it back to Murfeesboro. That’s the way he did a lot of his long distance riding. Said he liked riding alone. No worries about other people’s bladders, hunger, thirst, fuel range, desire to get going or linger. I understand what he means.

After leaving Sloan’s at about 5:30 I did a quick test ride up and down the highway to test tire balancing and then checked the oil to make sure it was at the right level. All was perfect. Curtis actually checked on my repairs after talking to me and said a veteran mechanic was doing the work, not “some kid”, and that everything was torqued to spec. Then on to my campsite destination, Edgar Evans park by a nice dammed lake. Friday night, so all that was available were “primative sites”, where you carry your stuff from the parking lot down into the woods where the sites were. That was fine. It was the latest I’ve made camp so far, so had to use my headlamp to set up camp. Lots of kids in other sites screaming and having a grand time. They even had hot showers that I took advantage of the next morning. With my senior discount it was only $12 to camp.

The next moring (today) it was time to ride to the alleged best motorcycle roads in the US. The Tail of the Dragon, Cherohala Skyway, Hellbender and more. I turned north in Copper Hill, TN  and began the second leg of my trip. No more heading east. I won’t be meeting up with my high school friend Walter from Savannah, GA. It was simply too far out of my way, and Walter couldn’t drive that far to see me (5 hours each way). So besides riding all these crazy roads, my next destination is another high school friend’s place in Reston, VA.

Am camped now in a really nice campsite off of the notorious “Hellbender” road in North Carolina. I rode Cherohala Skyway. It, like many roads in the Ozarks was sublime. So many miles of linked sub-40 mph rated curves on velvety smooth pavement with impossibly beautiful scenery all around. Unfortunately it’s hard to take in that scenery because you really have to be focused on the road. Stopping at overlooks is awkward because I’ve illegally passed so many cars I don’t want to meet those people again. Heh heh. Tomorrow I’ll get an early start, finish Hellbender and do the famous Tail of the Dragon.

 














Current:  08 Norge, 06 Suzuki Burgman, 06 Yamaha Morphous

Past:  3 Buell Lightnings, 02 BMW R1150RS
05 Ducati Multistrada, First gen Kawasaki Concours, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic, 02 Honda ST110, Aprilia Falco, Suzuki VX800, Yamaha Radian, Suzuki TS185, Yamaha RD400

Offline nwguy

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Re: Suggestions for a trip
« Reply #49 on: May 16, 2021, 07:02:30 PM »
Last night at the campground near Hellbender I was sipping whiskey and playing my ukulele at my picnic table. A woman in a pickup truck with a kid next to her stopped and asked if they could listen. I said sure and played Melissa by the Allman Brothers for her and she was delighted. She then invited me to her church luncheon the next day at noon. I said maybe I’d make it but that I’ve got places to go. She said “They’ll be good food!”. I said I’m sure there will be.

Did laundry last night at the campsite hose bib. Fun riding these roads with wet socks and shirts bunjied to the back of my bike.

Drizzling this morning, so I hastily broke camp and put my rain gear on expecting it to worsen. Finished Hellbender with partly wet pavement, then the rain stopped, everything dried out and the sun started coming out. Time for the famed Tail of the Dragon. In a few words, what a zoo! 11 miles of mostly 10 to 20 mph curves on deteriorating pavement. Mostly grojups of Harley riders, lone sportbike riders, some packs of sportbike riders (many on hypermotards), and then the packs of sports cars. I’ve never seen so many Honda S2000s. There would be 4 in a row zooming around corners. Photographers are at many different corners taking pictures of you. I guess you can buy the images. The Deals Gap resort place had many motorcyclists there of all types. Lots of beer can sized mufflers on sportbikes. Anyway I rode it out and back. Those super tight turns just aren’t the Norge’s forte. People say there are better roads than the dragon, and I rode at least 3 later that day.

So today I road Hellbender, Tail of the Dragon, part of the Mountain Meander (too many tar snakes for me)  and the Copperhead Loop. This part of North Carolina is a jungle. Thick, bright green deciduous forests with lush green hay fields. So beautiful. Starting to see more Kudzu, plus random patches of wild bamboo. You really have to watch for poison ivy here. Seemingly endless curves on so many roads. Still, I think I prefer the Ozarks due to the greater number of 25 to 35 mph curves, less traffic, better pavement, and better site lines due to the wide, mowed grassy shoulders. Will do the Devil’s Whip tomorrow and some spur roads off the Blue Ridge Parkway as I head north to visit a friend in Reston, VA. Nice to be on the second leg of the trip where I’m heading north instead of east.


Current:  08 Norge, 06 Suzuki Burgman, 06 Yamaha Morphous

Past:  3 Buell Lightnings, 02 BMW R1150RS
05 Ducati Multistrada, First gen Kawasaki Concours, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic, 02 Honda ST110, Aprilia Falco, Suzuki VX800, Yamaha Radian, Suzuki TS185, Yamaha RD400

Offline lucky phil

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Re: Where'd my thread go?
« Reply #50 on: May 16, 2021, 08:56:04 PM »
The "Suggestions for trip" one, where I'm riding cross country and back? Did I post something offensive? I certainly didn't mean to.

Too political?  :laugh:

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Re: Where'd my thread go?
« Reply #51 on: May 16, 2021, 09:24:33 PM »
I just saw it this morning???

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Re: Suggestions for a trip . OP lost it , we found it .
« Reply #52 on: May 19, 2021, 07:11:22 AM »
Am now in Reston, VA at my high school friend Don’s house. Quite the events have happend in the last couple days. After spending the night in a motel in Hendersonville, NC I set out to finish the final few sport bike type roads I’d highlighted in pink on my map. Found a few gems including Route 9 leading into Blowing Rock. Besides the pink, I marked certain roads with an exclamation mark indicating that it’s a “must do” road based on comments people made in the motorcycleroads.com website. In almost all cases they were indeed that good. Fun! The super curvy road by “Little Switzerland” off of the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) was particularly twisty. I left the Blue Ridge Parkway to get gas in Boone, NC, then back up to the BRP. In peak tourist season the BRP gets a lot of traffic with slow RVs. Mid week in the springtime it’s almost empty. Same for Skyline Drive in VA. You can really enjoy the curves with no one else on it. Back on the BRP my right foot felt slippery on the foot peg. I looked down and saw oil all over my boot and thought WTF??? Pulled over despite no shoulder and saw that oil was running down the right cylinder from under the valve cover. I called Deb and had her post a “On the side of the road” post to the Moto Guzzi forum. Within minutes, Dusty from OK called me and said the valve cover gaskets fail often on these engines. Indeed it looked like that’s what happened. In the mean time I flagged down a park service truck for help. 3 more trucks eventually stopped and I had a gang of maybe 8 park service guys discussing the best options for towing, and to what town. Dusty suggested I just ride to and auto parts store to fix it, and to watch the oil level. So I said good bye to the park service guys and rode down into West Jefferson, where there was an auto parts store. I got there about an hour before they closed and bought a couple tools, some gasket material and gasket glue. I got the valve cover off and found that one part of the gasket hadn’t adhered to the cover and had slid off the surface of the cover, causing a leak. That solves the mystery of why I had to add most of a quart of oil during the first 4k miles, and why I had smelled burning oil while riding. I showed the cover and gasket to the auto parts store guy and he said I should talk to 2 guys near the door who were mechanics and rode motorcycles. One guy said to just scrape the gasket off and use gasket maker, which comes in a tube that you squeeze onto the surface. I didn’t scrape the gasket off, but did apply the gasket maker after returning the cork gasket material. After getting everything reassembled I coasted my bike down a hill over to a Day’s Inn motel next door. The gasket maker goo was supposed to cure for 24 hours before exposing it to fluids.

So I checked in to the motel and made dinner. I’d bought Ahi tuna and veggies for a stir fry and didn’t want to waste it by going to a restaurant. My neighbors 2 doors down were barbequing on the tailgate of their truck, and gave me a grilled brat on a bun. I offered them some of my tuna and veggies. The gal who worked at the motel counter who was hanging out with them took some, but the guy said “I don’t eat vegetables”.

“NCDan” from the Moto Guzzi forum called me. My “On the side of the road” post to the forum had mobilized people to assist me. What a great bunch of people. Dan lamented my not having called him initially since he was at his vacation house close by. He said he’d come by in the morning to pick me up for breakfast. He came by around 8:00 and drove me to a little diner out in the country for eggs, bicuits and pork gravy. Delicious. Dan put in a few words for me and my motorcycle when he said Grace. Thanks Dan! Then we went to his beautiful house on the New River where I met his wife. What an idyllic setting. They played some tunes for me, his wife on guitar and Dan playing banjo then fiddle.

Got back to the motel before checkout time and fired up the Guzzi. No leaks after it got good and warmed up. I packed up and Dan followed me to the edge of town where it was easy to get back up on the BRP. We said goodbye there. I passed the spot where I stopped the day before and happily rode on. So nice to be on the BRP. I came to think of getting off it as getting back to reality. Made me want to get back on it. No decisions to make at intersections, just glide through the forest and stop at the overlooks sometimes.

I stopped in Roanoake, VA for lunch at a brew pub, then rode up Rte 81 to get to Vesuvius, which is the steepest hill on Bikecentennial trail accross the US. I rode down it as a teen on an attempted cross country bike trip. While on 81 at high speed my bike suddenly wanted to slow down and stop, So I pull over and found that my rear wheel was locked up. The rear brake rotor was super hot. So somehow my rear brake engaged and stayed that way. As it cooled off I was able to rotate the wheel. I called Dan and he confirmed what I suspected. An ABS malfunction. There’s a button to turn it off on my bike, so I did. No problems then. Later I left the ABS on and it was still fine. Maybe it was just a one time glitch.

Thought about making a beeline to Don’s house on Rte 29 211 from Charlottesville but opted to continue up Skyline drive to Rte 211. Glad it did. So beautiful. I stopped at the Little Stony Man overlook where my Mom’s and stepfathers ashes were scattered. I can see why they chose that spot. The down from the mountains and into suburban northern VA. I moved west from there in 1985 and hadn’t been back for many years. Nothing’s recognizable of course. With Google maps on my phone I wouldn’t have been able to find my way anywhere.

Really great to see Don. Sushi dinner. Talked, then bed. Will hang here for a day and then resume my northward journey. Next stop will be to visit another high school friend Ken in Orange, MA.


Current:  08 Norge, 06 Suzuki Burgman, 06 Yamaha Morphous

Past:  3 Buell Lightnings, 02 BMW R1150RS
05 Ducati Multistrada, First gen Kawasaki Concours, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic, 02 Honda ST110, Aprilia Falco, Suzuki VX800, Yamaha Radian, Suzuki TS185, Yamaha RD400

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Re: Suggestions for a trip . OP lost it , we found it .
« Reply #53 on: May 19, 2021, 07:23:08 AM »
By the time you get home you will be an expert on everything that can go wrong on modern Guzzis.What is the mileage on yours?

Offline nwguy

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Re: Suggestions for a trip . OP lost it , we found it .
« Reply #54 on: May 19, 2021, 03:17:06 PM »
About 30k now.
Current:  08 Norge, 06 Suzuki Burgman, 06 Yamaha Morphous

Past:  3 Buell Lightnings, 02 BMW R1150RS
05 Ducati Multistrada, First gen Kawasaki Concours, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic, 02 Honda ST110, Aprilia Falco, Suzuki VX800, Yamaha Radian, Suzuki TS185, Yamaha RD400

Offline nwguy

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Re: Suggestions for a trip . OP lost it , we found it .
« Reply #55 on: May 22, 2021, 07:54:41 AM »
At my high school friend Ken’s place in Orange, MA. He just left for a RC glider meet in Rhode Island. Had a great time with him last night. Pizza and beer in the garage. Good to catch up with him as it’s been a few years since we last met. Ken took me to the airport where he dialed in a plane before this meet. Take offs are fun since a battery powers a motor and prop. Ken had me hold a plane while he rev’d the control so I could feel the pull. Pretty cool I have to say. Fun to watch him seek out thermals. Anyway we said goodbye this morning. Good visit. Will be at my Dad’s later today.

Great seeing Don too, but I was glad to get to more rural places after leaving northern VA. Went through the Delaware Water Gap, a route on a bicycle tour I did once, and then to Peter and Laura’s house in Ridgefield, CT. They live in a beautiful part of CT with some great older houses.. Had a very nice time talking to them. They’re 11 miles from Jim Hamlin’s Cycles in Bethel. I had called ahead and went there at 9:00 am. After checking out my bike, they changed:

Front brake fluid
Clutch fluid
Final drive fluid
Outer spark plugs
Rear brake pads

Also bought a pair of valve cover gaskets. I feel better about the ride home now. Jim test road my bike after working on it and thought it ran great for an older bike. “Older bike? Moi?”.

The drive north from Don’s had a lot of Interstate highway miles. 80% tractor trailers. Had never seen that many trucks before, and hope that doesn’t become a thing. Route 202 was nice. Will be on that today too.










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Current:  08 Norge, 06 Suzuki Burgman, 06 Yamaha Morphous

Past:  3 Buell Lightnings, 02 BMW R1150RS
05 Ducati Multistrada, First gen Kawasaki Concours, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic, 02 Honda ST110, Aprilia Falco, Suzuki VX800, Yamaha Radian, Suzuki TS185, Yamaha RD400

Offline LowRyter

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Re: Suggestions for a trip . OP lost it , we found it .
« Reply #56 on: May 22, 2021, 08:58:34 AM »
Please don't confuse me with Dusty.  Man, that's mean.   :wink:
John L 
When life gets you down remember it's one down and the rest are up.  (1-N-23456)

Offline nwguy

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Re: Suggestions for a trip . OP lost it , we found it .
« Reply #57 on: May 23, 2021, 07:09:33 AM »
Noted LoRyter. My apologies.
Current:  08 Norge, 06 Suzuki Burgman, 06 Yamaha Morphous

Past:  3 Buell Lightnings, 02 BMW R1150RS
05 Ducati Multistrada, First gen Kawasaki Concours, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic, 02 Honda ST110, Aprilia Falco, Suzuki VX800, Yamaha Radian, Suzuki TS185, Yamaha RD400

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Re: Suggestions for a trip . OP lost it , we found it .
« Reply #58 on: May 23, 2021, 07:22:05 AM »
Noted LoRyter. My apologies.

 We did speak , I'm the one with the voice that sounds like kerosene and gravel mixed together .

 Dusty

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Re: Suggestions for a trip . OP lost it , we found it .
« Reply #59 on: May 23, 2021, 09:02:38 AM »
We did speak , I'm the one with the voice that sounds like kerosene and gravel mixed together . Dusty

Sounds just like Bob Dylan for the last decade then!
Paul R
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2015 Red/Black Griso
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***Wildguzzi Official Logo High Quality 5 Color Window Decals Back In Stock***
Shipping in USA Only. Awesome quality. Back by popular demand. All proceeds go back into the forum.
http://www.wildguzzi.com/Products/products.htm
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