Dick Mann and Alexander

REunion 2008

This is roughly the round trip route we took going to the Royal Enfield reunion in Lanesboro, MN. 

Day One 6-19-08

  Richard, my riding buddy from Lindsborg, is right on time for our 7:30am departure.  I must admit that I'm a little nervous as this will be the longest ride I have attempted on the REB.  It's 700 miles to the rally site and that is a long ride on this bike.  Richard is on his Aprilla Scarabo scooter  so  if I break down at least I'll be able to ride pillion in comfort.

  The weather forecast is calling for scattered thunderstorms all the way to our first day destination of Ida Grove, IA.  We are going to meet an old motorcycle racing Navy buddy of mine that I haven't seen in nine years. 

  Riding north and keeping any eye on the sky it turns out to be a pleasant day.  The REB is loving the mid 70's temperature and we enter Nebraska with the rain gear still on the rack.  We can see rain all around us and during one stretch the road is wet enough to soak my jeans below the knees but our luck is holding out.

  George meets us at our motel before we get unpacked and it is like we just saw each other yesterday.  Except for being a couple of old farts we don'tseem to have changed much.  He gives a tour of his farm before dinner and as expected there are several dirt bikes and three street bikes living in the various out buildings.  George is one of these guys that can fix anything and build anything so he has lots of gadgets and toys to look at. 

Dinner was great and it was fun to visit with old friends.  Richard and George had their Iron Butt rides in common and the Concours that Richard's son has is the same model of the two George owns.

Day Two 6-20-08

  It looks like it is going to be a gorgeous day, no wind and hardly a cloud in the sky.  George decided to ride a few miles with us so it was good not to be in the lead for awhile.  I'm afraid my 55-60 speed is putting a crimp in his riding style but he graciously stays within the REB's comfort zone.

  Iowa looks like Kansas except there is corn instead of wheat.  We see an occasional wind farm, small towns, and cows.  The roads are N/S, E/W and in excellent condition.  We have an extra long lunch in Algona, IA because of the REB/scooter delay factor.  The driver of the Plymouth Prowler we parked next to was quite taken with our rides and wanted to talk about them. 

  We took a short break at the Minnesota visitor's center and except for a little detour and a ten mile run on Interstate 90 things went well as we neared Lanesboro.  The landscape went from flat farm land to hilly twisty roads in a big hurry as we got close and we could see that we were in for some nice riding tomorrow. 

The Eagle Cliff campground was picturesque and clean and we were soon putting our tents up with a little help from Chris Janes from Detroit.  I had met Chris at the Rally on the River last year in Missouri.  He owns an RE but rode his Harley to the REunion. 

Three Enfields, a Harley and a scooter rode into town for dinner.  People were quite taken with Richard's scoot and he probably spent more time telling people about it that the RE riders did explaining their machines.  The guys seemed to be interested in the REs and the ladies liked the scoot.  Richard thought he was the attraction but I'm pretty sure it was the scoot.

Day Three 6-21-08

Sleeping in a tent on the ground isn't all that bad but waking up without any coffee is pure torture.  CMW was cooking breakfast but they didn't get started too early and no one had thought to get the coffee ready for us early risers. 

After breakfast we started talking about going for a ride and by and by we hit the road.  About ten of us I think, including three Bullets, one REB sidecar outfit, Kevin on the CMW shop Electra, a 1956 Matchless, a scooter and CMW's Jim leading on his Honda ST1300.  There were some others but I can't remember.

At one point in the ride Richard and I decided to cut out and ride over the Mississippi into Wisconsin, just for the heck of it. We soon rejoined the group because they had been slowed down when Ron's 1999 Blue Deluxe broke down with an apparent piston failure.  During the ensuing scramble to get Ron's bike back to the camp Kevin's bike stopped running.  He said he was sure he could have gotten it running again if someone hadn't taken away all the tools.

The rest of us finished the ride and the two ailing bikes got a ride in the trailer.

CMW put out supper, fried chicken and all the trimmings.  They had door prizes for everyone and a couple of nice plaques, one for the Hard Luck Rider and one for the Long Distance Rider.  Ron got the hard luck trophy and the long distance award went to the Kansas guys.  Since Richard is 18 miles south of me I insisted he take the prize.  After all that (no speeches thank goodness) we sat around the old camp fire as the longest day of the year came to a close. 

I was waiting for someone to start singing Kumbaya when one of the Minnesota crew said let's make some long cakes.  Now that was about the funniest thing I had seen in some time.  They had these eight inch long one inch dowel rods fixed on a stick and rolled biscuit dough down over them all the while explaining how to do it.  The funny part was the instructions were the same as for rolling on a condom.  They stuck them in the fire and after they were done filled them with strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream, very tasty.  Of course the camera was in the tent.

Day Four 6-22-08

It rained last night so breaking camp was a messy affair but at least we had coffee. 

If I did much of this camping thing I'd have to refine my technique or get different equipment or something as it was almost ten before be rolled out of the campground heading south for Anamosa, IA to visit the National Motorcycle Museum.

Traveling these Iowa back roads without laying out a route first is an adventure.  I led because of the GPS.  I finally broke out the Iowa map George had given me and planned a route to Anamosa.  We rolled up to the Museum at 3:30 only to find out that it closed at 4.  Turned out not to be a problem as they told us to stay as long as we liked.  Nice display of bikes, not Barber standards but and interesting place. 

With several hours of daylight left we decided push on west before finding a place to spend the night.  Yeah, I saw the sign that said Road Closed to Through Traffic, yes I knew they had been having lots of flooding in Iowa but I figured there would be a good chance that we could ride around whatever the problem was.  I couldn't have been more wrong.  The picture on the left shows what stopped us dead after going around a couple of barriers.  As luck would have it there was a guy there taking pictures of the damage, and he was a biker.  He said he didn't know the roads but if we could follow him a few miles up the road his girlfriend could tell us how to get around the washed out highway.  Turns out it was the girlfriend's bike he was riding.  We pulled into the girlfriend's farm and she quickly showed us a route to get into Toledo, IA.  Very nice folks showing kindness to a couple of old coots on bikes.  Bikers still stick together......in Iowa anyway.

Day Five 6-23-08

We took every advantage of the Iowa back roads, riding two lanes so small there were no center stripes but with great curves and hills. In one little town the pavement abruptly ended and there was nothing but gravel in three directions.  Hawk Eye Kurtz spotted the tarmac a couple hundred yards further away while I frantically looked at the map and GPS.  Off we go just like on a ROMEO ride in Kansas.  We had lunch the ROMEO like cafe of WoJo's in the town of Humeston, IA.  A quick jag through NW Missouri and across the Missouri river into Nebraska was enough for my ailing back and we searched out a nice little motel in Beatrice, NE.

Day Six 6-24-08

Our luck ran out as we crossed the border into Kansas and the rains came down.  We were able to find a place to pull over and don the rain gear.  The rain stopped and I had lead us down a dead end road by the time we hit Linn, KS and it was time for coffee.  We knew it was a good place when we saw three Highway Patrolmen walking out.  Never a dull moment around Richard as he inquired of the officers as to the quality of the doughnuts.  They had a good sense of humor, fortunately, and visited with us while we pulled off our gear.

It occurred to me while took a break in Clay Center that we would get to Salina around noon so we called our wives and had them meet us of lunch.  I guess guilt finally overcame Richard because after lunch he insisted that I take the plaque he got for the long distance rider.  I thought it required a formal presentation so his wife, Joyce took this picture.

Wrap-up

The REB ran like a dream the whole trip, I lost the nut on the exhaust header bracket but George gave me a replacement for it.  I lost a bolt out of the GPS mount and Richard secured it with one of the rubber bands he keeps wrapped around the hand grip of the scoot.  I added 40 ozs of oil in 1579 miles and averaged about 62 mpg while running 55-60 mph.  Richard's scoot hit a few bugs and he had to clean them off, his gas mileage was about the same as mine and I remember him saying he should check his oil but I don't know if he ever did.  A few days later while cleaning the bike I discovered that the muffler bracket had broken, second one in less than a year.

It was a good ride, folks are friendly on the back roads and especially to old guys on strange looking motorbikes.

 

 

REunion 2008

Royal Enfield reunion in Lanesboro, MN. Sponsored by Classic Motor Works, the importer of Royal Enfield motorcycles.

REunion in Lanesboro, MN

  Tomorrow morning Richard and I start our ride to Lanesboro, MN for the annual Royal Enfield REunion put on my Classic Motor Works, the U.S. importer for Royal Enfields.  I will be on the REB, of course, and Richard is taking his Scarabeo.  The first leg will be 360 miles to Ida Grove, IA where we will visit with an old Navy buddy of mine. Another 285 on Friday will put us at the REunion site, Eagle's Cliff campground.

  The weather is looking iffy for tomorrow but the rest of the trip looks good right now.  Coming back we had hoped to visit the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, IA but it's looking like flooding might make us change our plans, we'll see.

Douglass, KS 6-11-08

 

Marty, Neil, Jim and I mounted up promptly at 8:40 to fight the strong south wind for the 123 miles to Douglass, KS.  First stop was to join Richard and the Lindsborg crew but to our aghast no one was home.  It isn't like Richard to leave early, something must be up.  We battled the wind to Hesston where we pulled over for a breather.  No sooner had we stopped than Richard & Joyce on their scoot followed closely by Bill and Paul pulled into Casey's where we had stopped.  Richard's feet barely touched down and he was off again muttering something about getting to Braum's pick up T-Shirts.  Well that mystery is solved, he's picking up a batch of ROMEO T-shirts for the guys and doesn't want to be late meeting his contact.

Windblown, hot and hungry we find the restaurant, I never did find out the name of the place.  The sign just had an M on it.  Quite a menu for a small town place but as some of the ROMEOs found out a good portion wasn't available until supper.  No problem they had a special and sandwiches.  The young lady seemed very efficient, calling us old guys hon and sugar as she took our orders.  That always makes for a better tip you know, we like to be called hon and sugar by attractive young waitresses.  The illusion was shattered when she started bringing out the food and made an announcement that the kitchen had screwed up her tickets and we would have to tell what we ordered as she brought it out.......who had a special?  Half the room raised their hands and laughed.......shades of Victoria and last weeks screw up.  We all ate though so it was a good lunch.

I didn't hear a bike count but there had to be close to 35 with the usual variety of machines.  One that caught everyone's eye was the spanking new Can-Am Spyder three wheeler from Wichita.

I thought we were going to the Guzzi dealer in Wichita so Marty could pick up so parts but as it turned out we left him there talking to a salesman about an '03 Guzzi that he had just taken for a test ride.  I'm betting he buys it for his trip to Wisconsin next week.  Everyone needs two Moto Guzzis.

Douglass, KS 6-11-08

ROMEO Lunch

REB Throttle Cable Inspection and Lubrication

In preparation for my ride to the REunion in Minnesota next week I am doing some routine maintenance on the REB and decided to take a few photos.  The last time I tried this I dropped my camera and smashed it to bits so have to be more careful with this job.  I just wanted to lube the cable and make sure it wasn't about ready to snap.  First step is to remove the tank.  Two bolts, pull the fuel line from the fuel tap and lift off the tank.  If the tank is about empty it's a lot lighter.  No photos of this.  This is a good time to look over all the wiring that runs under the tank and anything else that looks suspicious.

I already knew this rubber cap needed to be replaced and I had two spares on the shelf.  These things are notorious for rotting and splitting.  They sit right up against the bottom of the tank so they don't last long.  Now screw the throttle adjuster all the way in to get some slack in the cable.

 

 

 

With the cable slack unscrew the mixing chamber cap.  You should be able to do this without a tool.  Lift the cap off the carb body, the slide and spring will come out of the body.  Removing that little plate under the spring is the next task.

 

 

 

 

If you hold the whole thing just so with your thumb pushing the spring up and holding the throttle cable you can grab the little tab on the plate with a pair of needle nose pliers and lift it out.

 

 

 

Once that plate is out you just turn the slide away from the cable and it comes right off.  No I didn't take a picture, I only have two hands.  You will see a couple of screws under the plate, keep your tool off of them unless you want to adjust the height of the needle hanging out the bottom of the slide.  Take all the hardware and the old rubber cap off the cable and turn you attention to the twist grip up there on the handle bar.

Take the two screws holding the housing onto the handle bar out and carefully separate it to expose the throttle cable in the twist grip rotor assembly (hey that's what Royal Enfield calls it in the parts book).  Be careful cause there is electrical stuff in there.  Make sure you don't lose the ferrule at the end of the cable.  In fact it's a good idea to take it off and replace it with a dab of silicone stickem of some kind.  Enough to hold it in place and not interfere with the cable operation.  If the cable snaps and you loose the ferrule, you're screwed.

 

Examine this part carefully, most new Enfields break the throttle cable just below that barrel shaped thing cause it binds in the plastic housing on the twist grip.  If yours is binding work it over with a razor knife or dremel until it works smoothly.  The barrel needs to rotate in the housing.  I put some light grease in there to help things along.

 

 

 

 

Remember that rubber cap down there on top of the carb?  Well it's a good idea to take a good look at it before putting it on.  Here is my brand new, just out of the plastic bag, rubber cap.  Of course I didn't notice it until I was ready to drop the slide back into the carb body and I had to take the damn thing apart again.  Good thing I had another one that was better.

That's about it, drop the slide back into the carb body, screw the mixing chamber cap all the way down, hand tight only.  Adjust the cable to about an 1/8 inch of slack at the twist grip.  Make sure nothing is binding and put the tank back on.

You will want to take a test ride to make sure the throttle cable is binding up anyplace.  What's that, you smell gas?  You fergot to re-attach the fuel line dumb ass!  Scooter won't start, got no fire, check the big red kill switch on top of the throttle housing.

Just noticed that the wording in the photos is too small....squint, I'm tired.

REB throttle cable inspection and lube

Victoria, KS 6-4-08

Our lunch destination today was The Library Bar and Grill in Victoria, KS.  Home to the impressive St. Fidelis Church, the Cathedral of the Plains, built early by German setters. 

The Library was far from German though, with a menu of hamburgers and various fried and deep fried items.  As it turned out the hamburgers were first rate but getting them got to be a real hoot.  We speculated that they were cooking on a George Foreman grill because the food was slow in coming.  Our waitress, a grandmotherly lady of apparent Germanic heritage, was getting increasingly frustrated and aggravated.  It didn't help that ROMEOs were claiming food that they hadn't ordered because they couldn't remember what they ordered.  Dale tried to help her out by reminding her at every oppurtunity that he still hadn't received his onion rings.

As it turned out she did have a good sense of humor and we all had a good laugh when she dumped a basket of french fires in Louie's plate.  No one went hungry, although several in this crowd could miss a hamburger or two without much concern. 

Seven of us rode from Salina together but split in smaller groups for the return ride.  Some went to tour the church first.  Pat and I set out the find the wind farm north of Ellsworth.  Quite an impressive sight and more being built.

                                                                                                     Pat at the Wind Farm

 

Visit to Georgia

I'm slow with my blogging these days.  Over Memorial Day weekend the family got together at my youngest daughter's in Georgia.  I drove down a few day early hauling the Dubya and Sue flew down for the weekend.  Middle daughter and family drove from Virgina for the weekend.  Sadly the elder daughter couldn't make it from Kansas City.

Our grandson, Alexander rode the Dubya about a 1000 miles all in the garage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We all had a good time and after everyone left, #3, her hubby and I got a couple of days riding in.

                                           That's me on Eric's Z1000

Victoria, KS 6-4-08

Lunch at "The Library" and visit to the wind farm.

May '08 Visit to Georgia