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Travels with Ernie: V7 850 USA coast-to-coast loop

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Dr. Enzo Toma:
Have been busy on the trip so probably won't get around to updating this thread much until it's over, but it's going well. Here are some US129 Photos I bought of my dad riding Tail of the Dragon on the J yesterday.










For anyone interested to see more 100+ year old motorcycles in those slow twisties, you can go through the Sept 7 photos on these sites.


https://xtremesportsphotography.photoreflect.com/store/store.aspx


https://www.killboy.com

Dr. Enzo Toma:
I had mentioned that there were some changes to the Harley-Davidson J after swapping the JD engine for the JE, one of the more significant ones is the electrical system. The difference between a J and a JD is that the J engine is 61ci (1000cc) while the JD is 74ci (1200cc), but the E stands for Electric meaning it's a 61ci engine with a 3 brush generator instead of a magneto and would have had factory electric lighting. A concern with the 3 brush generator is that it is supposed to adjust output based on demand, and if that doesn't work correctly it can kill batteries. With the previous JD engine running a magneto we ran a small rechargeable battery as a total loss electrical system for just the lights and brought the battery into the hotel room to plug in and recharge at night. Now that the bike has a generator, my dad found two AGM batteries that fit nicely in the battery box. One for ignition and brake light, the other for headlight and running lights. With SAE plugs on them they could easily have their connections swapped or be removed from the bike and brought into the hotel at night for charging. If one battery were to die, the other one is ready to go as a back up. Another electrical change was the wiring and switches. The bike had the ignition switch on the handlebar dash area, but a problem with that is the cable routing. One side of the gas tank halves has clips for running wires under the tank and along the frame. On a Cannonball bike you want as simple and accessible of an ignition system as possible for troubleshooting and repair, and you don't want the ignition wires to be damaged when removing the fuel/oil tank if it needs to be removed. In 2023 the tanks on the bike did get a leak and need to be pulled, which is a two person job with the wires in place. To avoid the hassle of burrying the ignition wires, the ignition switch was moved to right next to the battery box, with the headlight and running light switch on the dash where if those wires got in the way or chewed up from tank removal they aren't as essential as ignition and brake light. The bike also got a new set of gas/oil tanks for this event. They're reproductions same as the set run in 2023, but higher quality. My brother patina'd and clear coated them to match the tool box on the rear carrier.









After a week in Illinois and helping with final preparations on the 1925 Harley, I got back on the road. I would ride to the North Carolina coast in three days, while my parents would leave a day later and trailer the Harley there in two days.

2025.08.30
Chicago suburbs to Gallipolis, Ohio
In the morning I was quick to hit traffic as it's pretty unavoidable wrapping around Lake Michigan the first half of the day. Right over the Indiana border a mini van nearly clipped me merging into my lane and it was clear the driver didn't look before changing lanes. The Indiana welcome sign was a neat photo op that many others were getting their pictures with, and they had information in the welcome center on how Indiana make use of a lot of wind power with a Don Quixote silhouette sculpture. The interstate in Indiana was awful. There were warning signs for windy areas and they weren't kidding. I don't think there was more than a mile of road that wasn't rough grooved or patchwork. I had to be careful around semi trucks as catching the dirty air buffeting behind them slammed my bike side to side and made it speed wobble pretty bad on the rough grooves. Ohio was a a welcome change as the roads were in excellent condition, smooth and a lot less truck traffic. Riding over a ridge after Chillicothe the scenery suddenly changed and I was riding into the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. There was a scent of burning leaves or bonfire that sparked mixed emotions for me as someone who loves midwest bonfires but has also evacuated from fires in Colorado. I got gas right before the West Virginia border and a guy at the gas station asked if my bike was a Triumph. I told him it was a Moto Guzzi and did the pinched fingers hand gesture as one does. 🤌 He'd never heard of Moto Guzzi. I got a room at the hotel next to the gas station as I saw a few bikers leaving there for dinner. I stepped on a Lego brick in the parking lot, luckily while wearing motorcycle boots, and decided to add it to the collection of charms and trinkets I carry while traveling. I don't think I'd ever been to a Bob Evan's before, so I gave it a shot for dinner and of course ordered a breakfast. The hot chocolate was great, food was mediocre.

Dr. Enzo Toma:
2025.08.31
Gallipolis, Ohio to Waynesboro, Virginia
Being on the Ohio and West Virginia border, I've been craving Tudor's Biscuit World. I decided against it this morning because the hotel included a breakfast voucher (Guzzi content) where you make a selection of three items in the dining area, the wait staff put in your order, and bring it out to you. It wasn't a half bad breakfast. My first stop for the day was right across the Ohio River, the Mothman status in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. My Iron Butt unfortunately doesn't hold a candle to Mothman's stainless steel posterior, and that's why I'm riding on an Airhawk pad.









A rail-to-trail in Oak Hill, West Virginia




New River Gorge Bridge. I made the mistake of not changing out of my riding boots when I parked at the visitor center, so I only went part way down the stairs to the lower overlook.








Thurmond Road had been repaved since the last time I rode into Thurmond, West Virginia, which was a pleasant surprise as it's a narrow road and dodging deep potholes put you into the oncoming half before. Thurmond is possibly my favorite "ghost town" that I've been to and it was also a filming location for the movie Matewan (1987) which is a favorite of mine. When I parked at the Amtrak station in Thurmond a guy standing next to his pickup truck in the parking lot said "What kind of bike is that? I've never seen anything like that." It's a fun change from "I used to have a motorcycle. People don't pay attention on the road these days though!" yada yada.














The chin mount for my action camera has unfortunately given up again. Usually it is heat that causes the 3M tape to sag, but this time I think it was just interstate speed and wind.




It rained on and off and while planning a next stop to warm up I realized I'd better find a Tudor's Intergalactic Biscuit World before I leave West Virginia and there aren't any more of them. I found myself at the last Biscuit World in the state heading east, in Lewisburg, West Virginia, and when I approached the counter I heard the staff tell the lady in front of me in line that they were all out of biscuits. Jesus wept. John 11:35








Beautiful mural at the Waynesboro YMCA. There is a campground between the YMCA and the river that I stayed at several years ago while backpacking on the Appalachian Trail. At the time anyone could camp for free after checking in at the YMCA, but the signs indicated it was now for AT hikers only.




I got a motel in town and walked to dinner.

Dr. Enzo Toma:
2025.09.01
Waynesboro, Virginia to Nags Head, North Carolina

After breakfast I walked to an Ace hardware next to the hotel and picked up some replacement double sided tape for my chin mount action camera. It's failed a few times on me now, so I'm not holding my breath for it to hold up this time.




For a future trip I would like to ride the 105 miles of The Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park. This trip I just got a taste of the southern end of the park, riding in far enough to get to a nice overlook to get off the bike and take in the sights and sounds, and then head on out again.








While I was on I-64 leaves rained down on me as wind gusts knocked them from the trees. For lunch I stopped in Colonial Williamsburg and had a sandwich at a cafe there. It was my first time visiting there and I was in awe of how large the living history museum is. I was expecting it to be a few blocks like a typical historic district, not 301 acres. There were horses to pet and I stumbled into a carpentry shop where a gentleman was working on wagon wheels and barrels for customers all up the east coast. Most of the walking surfaces were gravel or brick, but some of the old cobblestone was especially slick even on a dry day.





On the way to the outer banks I saw signs for a tunnel and had the stomach dropping realization that there were no mountains to go through... I took the Monitor Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel under the James River. I have no problem with Lower Lower Wacker Drive in Chicago, but there's something off to me about riding a motorcycle through a tunnel over 100 ft under water. Riding through the outer banks was beautiful though. I enjoyed riding down the road with ocean water on one side, fields of corn or even sheep on the other. I beat my folks to the hotel and then once they arrived we walked along the beach and grabbed dinner. It was exciting to have made it to the Atlantic Ocean. Now just need to ride across the continent and part way back again.

Dr. Enzo Toma:
2025.09.02

First thing in the morning we unloaded the Harley and returned the U-Haul. My dad's support supplied for the trip consist of five 17 gallon totes. Quarts of SAE 50 oil take up about one and a half totes, one tote is daily items such as clothing and chargers, and the rest are spare parts, tools, and shop supplies. These will be traveling in another team's trailer that had the space for it. For the Motorcycle Trans Am event today we rode a short distance to Outer Banks Harley-Davidson where participants were encouraged to put their bikes on display and we got the first glimpse of the 100+ year-old motorcycles that will be competing in the event. Many of the riders, crew members, staff, and photographers are folks who I met during the 2022 Cross Country Chase, the 2023 Motorcycle Cannonball Run, or have run into at other motorcycle events, but there are a few faces that are new to me and I'm excited to get to know people.

Mobile workshop







A plane over Kitty Hawk




Jennette's Pier, where the event will be starting from




Outer Banks Harley-Davidson










Jared working on Tyler Golletti's 1921 Harley J. This bike is a great representation of some modern upgrades that are easy to glance over, such as Harley Sportster smooth wheels that look similar to clincher rims, and a Honda front hub that adds a front drum brake and speedometer.










Dave Currier's 1911 Harley single. A prior Cannonball winner and the second oldest bike in the event.




Bill Page's 1925 Harley J with sidecar. It is the only bike in this event with a sidecar, and his daughter will be the sidecar monkey and navigator.








There will be some long stretches between gas stations so some bikes have a secondary fuel tank plumbed in. Others will be carrying fuel jugs.




First fuel up of my dad's '25 JE for the event.




My V7 has a (temporary) sticker for this event. Connor is sweep staff on this event, meaning if someone breaks down or has an issue they're to call him and he'll try to help get them back up and running, but if not the sweep trailer will catch up and pick them up. For the last Cannonball someone had these stickers made up and handed them out, I felt better putting one on my bike this time since it was Connor who gave it to me.




Badges for the event and the roll chart for tomorrow's shakedown ride. The bikes in the event are not permitted to use GPS for navigation, so each day's ride has a rally chart that they load into a box with two dials to scroll it. Few bikes have a working speedometer or odometer, so bicycle computers either with GPS or spike magnets are used to display speed, odometer, trip, etc so they can read the chart and know their next turn is in X number of miles and count that off. There is also an app they can use where they load the day's route and it uses GPS to run the trip meter and they can tap to zero it out again at each turn.




Here's a photo of that setup with the end of the 2023 Cannonball Run's map loaded.




Walked the beach at night and encountered a styrofoam pumpkin with what I assume was its launch date written on it. I'm not familiar with what this is for, but tried launching it back into the ocean a few times only for it to return to shore just a few waves later.




Some of the OBX wildlife, crabs on the beach. They have great camouflage.

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