| Author | Message | ||
     Blake |
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| Jb2 |
Blake, Thanks for letting us gather on the front porch here at BadWeB! I like your second edit of the decal best. Glitch, Thanks for your efforts behind the scenes. You did a great job on the decal! Someday we ride. JB2 (Message edited by jb2 on May 29, 2008) | ||
| Nevrenuf |
glitches birthday party at suches the weekend of the 22nd, next month would be a good time jb had you lived closer. but there could be buelltoberfest. JB, thanks for the kind words and if i said it once i'll say a hundred time's and that is bueller's are the best form of people out there. | ||
| Oldog |
Thanks to all who shared the adventure and comaradery what a great time!, The saddest part for me is that the event ends I look forward to seeing all of you in the future Stay well and Blessings to all! from the porch, the ol'dog | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
who's got more pix? :-) | ||
| Reepicheep |
I was going for quality, not quantity. I have a lot more though... I'll have to burn some CD's and start shipping. I do have a nice little video I didn't post though...  | ||
| Nutsosane |
FB&D, I got your e-mail late and after having an impromptu four day trip to Robbinsville the week before; "Big Jim's Ride" just wasn't in the cards. I truly regret not being able to attend. I met Ferris, JB2 and Jim September 2006 as haphazardly as humanly possible. I've seen Carlos in unlikely places too. Sunday morning I suited up early and strafed down to Fancy Gap and left my little note just to remind... ya never know when NUTS'll show up. Thanks for the report folks it was inspiring. | ||
| Jb2 |
FB1, I have some cool pics but still haven't had a moment to resize them for posting. Maybe tonight. JB2 | ||
| Nutsosane |
September 10, 2006...the induction  | ||
| Reepicheep |
And for the record, those Uly's kicked ass on this ride. There were as many of them in front of me as there were behind me. And ask Henrik... on a 300 mile day... on a XB9SX (probably the best of the XB-S bikes), you are ready to be done. On a uly, after 300 miles, you are ready to stop for lunch (marketing cliches not withstanding). I love the edginess of my 9sx. But were I to buy again?... There should be a Uly in the garage... A fine bike that is (fans and all ). | ||
| Oldog |
some pix.  Brian that bike is just awesom! We made a trip out for a photo op friday am, to meet a special person of note.  To apriciate (sp) this paint you must see it in person and in the sun. cause like Rockets its special ( hint dark blue with flames )  photo op turns to adhoc seranade  It just gets better and better. | ||
| Oldog |
We had to stop at BOB'S to Initiate Brian This time We left a 1$ with names on the Celing  Mike B left us a while later After some minor annoyences by My bike, read Buell becomes Briggs&Stratton OR "I lost my nuts" parts were rounded up and the ride continued, to a good bar b que place In route to Franklin.  This caught my attention You there Road Thing? We back Tracked and stopped to take this in  JB2 has an amazing eye for photo ops.  this is going on the wall at the tree house. | ||
| Oldog |
My heathen self needs to get to bed for church tomorrow so late-r | ||
| Road_thing |
Oldie-I love it, but that one's not mine. I'm much older than that! rt | ||
| 1313 |
On Monday morning when I got to work I was reminded of one small part of the fantabulous weekend. I guess I'll come clean with the group - I got a Harley calendar on my desk at work. Well it was interesting what Monday's picture was:  Not one, not two, but three bikes that look surprisingly like the frame hanging on the wall during Lou 'Mystic' Usher's performance Saturday night.  Zoomed in a little bit, still look similar.  Zoomed in some more and it still looks similar. Unfortunately no information is given on what year they are. For reference:  D'OH! I just realized that the 3 bikes in the picture have curved downtubes, where the frame on the wall has a pretty much straight downtube. However, close enough to bring back memories of that fantabulous weekend not that long ago... TOO COOL! 1313 | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
I guess I'll come clean with the group - I got a Harley calendar on my desk at work. not to worry Brankin, that's not nearly as sinfully heinous as actually having the real deal sitting there... ;--) Unfortunately no information is given on what year they are. the bikes pictured all have the leading link "springer" front ends that William Harley originally designed, which i believe first appeared on 1907 models. the curved down tube design was used on the early single-cylinder Harley-Davidsons. however, the earliest singles used an exhaust pipe that more closely followed the precise contour of the crankcase, particularly as the pipe first exited the engine at the exhaust valve, whereas the pipes on later models were more graceful and "flowing" in appearance, like those pictured above. as such, i'm guessing 1910-ish for the bikes shown in your calendar. Mikey's frame is surely from a two-cylinder Harley, as on these the down tube was straightened to accommodate the extra space required by the larger V-twin engine. according to Allan Girdler (excerpted from The Harley-Davidson): "Researchers have found some hints of an early V-twin in the Harley archives dating back to 1907, but the first official version came in 1909..." could Mikey's bike be that old??? :-) FB | ||
| Jb2 |
FB and 1313, We took photos of that old frame to Wheels Through Time to show Dale. He was certain that Mikey's frame is a 1913 single. I guessed it was a '12 or '13 from the fender but Dale confirmed it was a single because of the top motor mount location. Either way it's the coolest helmet rack in that part of the country. Mikey acquired the frame from a friend who told him he found an old bicycle with a "Harley" tank on it leaning against a barn on their property. When Mikey dug it out of the ground what you see is what he found. The motor was most likely recycled for the war effort during WWII. Still a nice piece though. JB2 P.S. I still think it's a twin like you folks do and Dale wanted to see the frame in person to be sure. (Message edited by jb2 on June 04, 2008) | ||
| Reepicheep |
Jim A and I went right by Wheels Through Time on our superslab route to get to the Dome... took all my self control not to bang a left and take a quick tour. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
JB2, i DO show a few photos of straight down tube singles in my collection, but in every photo of this variant the right-side bottom of the gas tank is heavily "notched" to clear the external rocker arm assembly. also, the sides of the fuel tanks on these models were more angular (almost "coffin-sided") in appearance than the one on Mikey's bike. that said, i'd be mighty foolish to argue with someone like Dale Walksler when it comes to this stuff. :-) FB | ||
| Oldog |
Was the WTT move the real thing or a rumor? I would love to do a tour of that place again. | ||
| Jb2 |
FB1, Some of the same oddities you mentioned were exactly the reasons Dale wanted to see it in person to be sure. I wouldn't argue with him either but if he's unsure then I'm still leaning towards a twin. I think we need to load the Capt. Morgan and the ceegars and meet in Franklin to resolve this! JB2 | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
the motor mount tab location is indeed a critical clue, and the more i look thru my books, the more i'm inclined to side with Dale that Mikey's bike was a single. upon closer inspection, i do have exactly one small B&W photo from the right side that shows a single-cylinder H-D with a straight downtube frame WITHOUT notches in the gas tank. the bike also has the springer front end, but unfortunately there is no accompanying data for the bike in the photo. that said, any excuse for us to all rendezvous back in Franklin again is okay by me. :-) | ||
| Jb2 |
Oldog, Your info is correct. Wheels Through Time is moving. Not sure why or where to but he's moving. JB2 | ||
| Reepicheep |
Sounded like he might become a roaming exhibit... something that would go someplace for 6 months or a year at a time. That would be pretty neat as well, and get a lot more people to be able to see an amazing collection. | ||
| Henrik |
Finally took the tip off the pile of chores that had piled up and wanted to share a few of my pictures (didn't shoot many). I haven't mentioned my trip out; it was uneventful, in that I got the bike done the night before departure, got my stuff packed and was ready for morning departure. I needed to get the bike inspected, so I headed to the local HD&Buell shop in Long Island City, so I'd be there shortly after they opened. I was a bit concerned that they'd slow me down, but I got there at 12:06pm and had my sticker at 12:07pm. Got a couple of nice compliments on the old Buell as well. Seems like the S2 has gotten old enough that old-timer HD fans have accepted it Did about 420 miles of Interstate and made it to Staunton, VA that night. That put me in perfect position, as Jerry wrote, for a picture perfect, leisurely run down 203.1 mile of Parkway. Since Ferris called me at 7 am, figuring I'd be up and rearing to go already  , I was on the road by 9 and just took my time, stopped for views, Parkway trivia, and even a nap under a shade tree. Got to Ferris and Denise's place shortly after 6 pm, and had a cold beer in hand shortly after I got off the bike. Thanks again guys, for your hospitality. And for your kind words Ferris - I'll try to man up and do better next time The rest of the weekend has already been better described than I'm able to, so I'll just post some pictures: Here are the guys taking off for the Saturday ride over the Cherohala.  After 3 days in the saddle I was happy to stay in Franklin with JB2, Warren - JB2s uncle and Gentleman Jim. We went out to the site and took down the old cross, got post and tools ready and set up the new cross so we were ready for the ride out there that afternoon: Here we are by the old cross:  Here we have set the new cross:  Here is most everyone present at the unveiling at the intersection, while JB2 explains and tells the story:  After setting the new cross we made a quick "grocery" run to make sure the coolers were well stocked for Saturday night:  Mikey & Sue and Denise & Ferris had done a fantastic job at getting ready to host and feed us all. Thanks guys - I know it was a huge job, and appreciate you taking the time and effort to take this good care of us. As you all know the S2 burnt a stator, which showed up as missing "bars" on my voltmeter Sunday morning on the way to Cherokee. In hindsight, the mysterious blinking left turn signal on the way out to the cross Saturday afternoon, might very well have been reacting to voltage spikes as the stator shorted and burned itself out. Well, you also know that Reep and Gentleman Jim just told me to go get breakfast while they unloaded Reeps XB and loaded my S2 onto Reeps trailer. Thanks guys! All Sunday morning Carlos and Kristi were back and forth on the phone to see if we could get parts and tools together to fix the bike in Ferris' shop, but it was finally decided that Tilleys were the better bet. So while I was having fun on the Parkway on Reeps XB, Reep, Kristi and Gentleman Jim went on to Tilley's in Statesville and dropped off the S2, so it would be there, ready for someone (fingers crossed) to start working on it ASAP. Yet again - Thank You All. And thanks to all of you for your patience with my mechanical. I know it can be frustrating to wait around and loose riding time, to take care of a broken bike. I rode out to Tilleys as well and met up with Reep and Gentleman Jim and got the paperwork finished and handed over the key. To my surprise Tilleys were open on Memorial Day, and they even thought there would be a Buell mechanic on duty. Since they had a stator in stock and had it put aside for me, things were looking up. Reep offered that I could ride the XB up I77 to Fancy Gap, but I respectfully declined ... Reep, how you rode that bike long distance for our last Franklin meet is beyond me. Great, fun bike in the mountains, but a bit lacking in comfort for the long distance droning ... :0 Monday morning Gentleman Jim was heading to Atlanta and dropped me off at Tilleys on his way. Thanks Jim. I was at Tilleys shortly before 8, and the staff started trickling in. Sure enough there were a Buell mechanic, Sean, on duty, and by 8:05 am my bike was on the lift. Sean rides a severely tricked out X1, so he's versed in Tubers. I did have to give him a few pointers about how to support the S2 under the swingarm mount when you disconnect the side plate (I have one of the few S2s where you can't get the primary cover past the side plate). Sean got to work on the bike - the smell when he pulled the inspection cover was quite telling. Not something I'm likely to forget =:0 They let me stay in the mechanics area, so Sean and I were chatting and I was trying not to get in his way - too much  We even got the compensator nut torqued to the new, higher spec. Good deal. The stator had shorted out in the windings, where the insulation had just cracked and flaked off. I'd been a bit worried that I in my last wrenching adventure had somehow pinched the 2 wires leading off the stator. At that time I'd bent up and smoothed the edges of the clip holding the wires, so I didn't think so, but it was nice to be sure. It would really have pissed me off if it had been my own stupid fault ... Anyway - bike got done and packed and I clicked into first and rolled out of the parking lot at 12:00 pm on the dot. I usually don't hold back on the "less than desirable" dealer stories, but fair's gotta be fair. Tilley is the real deal! A real, honest to goodness Buell dealer with a friendly, helpful staff, that did a fantastic job of getting me back on the road ... on a holiday no less ... in much less time than I would have thought possible. So a huge Thumbs Up and Thank You to everyone at Tilleys. The trip home, while long, was again uneventful. A few rain showers, a few naps, a lot of Interstate riding and the ODO rolled over 20,000 miles on that trip:  In hindsight, I should have toughed out the 100 miles from Statesville to the Parkway and spent the rest of the day on the Parkway. It would have been a much more enjoyable day of riding. Then I could have peeled off the rest of the miles well rested and in daylight. Live and learn. Tuesday I got the bike cleaned up and my gear unpacked. Found something dripping from the bike and thought my mystery oil leak from last trip had re-appeared. Turned out the fluid was gas - I apparently have a stuck float valve or maybe a punctured float? Certainly much easier to deal with than the top end or cam cover leak I thought I was dealing with. I'll also need to dig into the brakes again - not nearly enough brakes considering the set-up. I suspect air. A few more "details" before the next trip, but isn't that always the case. In conclusion; Thank you so much to all of you guys for making this yet another fantastic trip. It was great meeting old friends and making new ones. Thanks. Henrik | ||
| Reepicheep |
Cool! My pleasure! I can't believe I forgot the "sniff test". The stator diagnosis was pretty much a slam dunk anyway, but I would have stressed less if I thought to give it the "wretch test" and popped off the derby cover and taken a whiff. Then we would have been beyond all doubt. Jim A and I had it easy... I was going to haul two bikes to ferris's anyway, so having the S2 back there just made me look more classy then having the XB back there. The most I ever did on the XB in a day was riding back from Wheels Through Time back to Cincy two years ago. About 380 miles, after another 100 or so already ridden that day. The first 400 were fine, the last 80 sucked, but I still rode to work the next morning The trick is to have first owned a Yamaha Radian, which has a seat that really really sucked. Then upgrade that to an M2, with a seat that only sucks a little, then upgrade that to a 9sx, which has a seat that does not suck much at all. The secret is not knowing any better It was fun adventure. I was going to drone on the super slap to the Dome regardless, so the diversion to Tilleys was an entertaining one. It was really dissapointing to see everyone loading up bikes preparing for the ride home, and knowing I was just getting in a car (pulling two bikes on the trailer). It took a lot of the adventure out of it. On the other hand, I left Fancy Gap at 9:30, and was in my driveway at 3:30, and that was without speeding (good thing, there were cops EVERYWHERE!). Having the trailer and a car along let us put a lot more adventure into it... it saved both of us... I killed the KLR-250 (and it's good and dead) and we used if for the S2... and it was really zero inconvenience for anyone. Nobody waited, and nobody even missed a meal. Breakdowns don't get much easier then that! And for the record, on a ride with a BUNCH of Buells and Harleys, the Kawasaki broke first, and broke worst Thptptptptptpt! | ||
| Edmanning |
Reep, If it makes you feel any better I came home from our trip and traded my Dyna "Pet Pig" for another Kow. Ah another ride to the dark side. Bug will post pics of my new diversion. Hillbilly | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
And for your kind words Ferris - I'll try to man up and do better next time that's the spirit! :-) And thanks to all of you for your patience with my mechanical. I know it can be frustrating to wait around and loose riding time, to take care of a broken bike. i thought the group showed it's true character at the Awful Waffle in Cherokee, when not one of us was stressed (besides you) about the issues your bike was having and what impact that might have on our agenda that day. and ya hafta admit, that was as seamless a breakdown and transition into an elegant solution as you'd ever want to see. :-) Thank you so much to all of you guys for making this yet another fantastic trip. It was great meeting old friends and making new ones. what Henrik said. :-) | ||
| Jb2 |
Henrik, Your mechanical glitches were no problem. It was nice to have a caravan of folks that included a Saab with trailer to aid the situation. And cool that Bill offered his bike and we were able to continue the day. Despite the breakdown it was a great day of riding. Hell I even got married during breakfast while you guys were trying to bumpstart the S2. Glad you were there to help set the cross. Three of the four who had rode with Dad helped to set the cross and the other was leading a ride over the CerryCola. Somehow everything seemed to fit into place when all was said and done. JB2 | ||
| Ulywife |
I know it can be frustrating to wait around and loose riding time, to take care of a broken bike. It's all part of the adventure, isn't it? Besides, I don't think you really lost any riding time. I'm really glad Reep was behind you guys with the trailer. Things happen for a reason. I was also very surprised that Tilley's was not only open on Sunday, but Memorial Day as well with a Buell tech on duty. You couldn't have planned that! Carlos and I have Franklin on our calendar for next year. Even the kids are looking forward to it. Let's hope that the M2 is up and running next year. That will give the group an extra bike as well. |
