Riding Northern VA August 29, 2007

Picture: There ain't no picture, my camera broke. Just think of all the nice mountain/valley views you have seen and that is where I rode yesterday.

Met up with my internet buddy, Mike, in Strasburg, VA yesterday for lunch. Mike and I first got together in '05 on our Royal Enfields. He has since sold his and now rides Ducati Monster, a wicked looking, flat black, 620cc twin.
After a good lunch, a little BSing and admiring each other's bikes we hit the road for the mountains West of town. We did a little 50 mile or so loop through some of the best motorcycling roads one could hope to find anywhere. Back to Strasburg for a frozen milkshake Irish cream coffee thingie at a local coffee house then it was back on the road for Harrisonburg. Great day to be on two wheels.

Greetings from Harrisonburg, VA August 28, 2007

Yesterday's little 117 mile ride into the mountains West of Harrisonburg made the whole trip and hauling the W650 to Virginia worthwhile. The road just kept climbing and getting more twisty until the sign announcing a 9 degree grade for the next 2 miles. I had to adjust my riding style on the fly, quite different techniques used between climbing and going down. Fortunately the Dubya has better brakes than the REB.
Once over the mountain I planned to take a road South that appeared to follow the valley, as I made my turn onto Sugar Grove Rd there was a little sign that said Navy Base. Navy base out here in the middle of the West "by God" Virginia mountains. As my mind scanned its fragmented database it hit me. Sugar Grove was a NSGA (or what used to be NSGA). It is now called Information Operations Command but us old CTs know what it still means. I though about stopping until I saw the young Marines on the gate. Yeah, that is all they would need is some old fart on a motorcycle asking question about a top security base. I would have probably found myself in the brig instead of the CPO club.
My ride just got better, from getting back over the mountains and riding East toward Staunton until I hit a little traffic just before getting back to my daughter's.

REB Clutch Cable August 23, 2007

After returning home from the ROMEO lunch yesterday I got to work on replacing the clutch cable on the REB. It only took two days to get a new one from Classic Motor Works, can't beat their service.

A few minutes work on the clutch actuating arm (my terminology) with the Dremel and I was ready to button it up. I figured I might as well take a couple of photos of my cable routing technique to post on the RE forum at http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/. All I did was to tape the new cable to the old sheath and pull it through the headlight casing. Much easier than trying to poke it through. Any how as I was getting into position to take the final photo I bumped into something dropping the camera and busting up pretty good. The lens is all cockeyed and won't retract. The batteries also got very hot, guess it is history.

Assaria, KS August 22, 2007

Picture: Dale, Leonard, Pat and the Blues Brothers

Yesterday I had a cool write up on the ROMEO lunch destination, the Renaissance Cafe, in Assaria. Then the unimaginable happened, as I pressed the post button my work disappeared. I was a bit bummed to say the least and now today I just can't get the creative juices flowing. Us talents got to be inspired you know.

So to be short and sweet, cool place, good food, interesting decor, 28 bikes, hot, windy, see you next time.

Received the below picture too late for the first edition. This sets a new standard in ROMEO fashion.

Broken Clutch Cable on the REB August 19, 2007

Picture: Transmission end of cable at 11,278 miles

Ever since I caught the original clutch cable fraying and replaced it before it broke I have keep a close eye on the heavy duty replacement. That happened in May of 2006 at a little over 5000 miles. The heavy duty cable never showed any of the typical signs of impending breakage like stretching so the clutch needed adjustment or fraying. It did take quite a bit of fiddling and filing to get the heavy duty to fit on the clutch lever arm down behind the transmission cover when I first fitted it.

So you might say I was bit surprised when the damn thing snapped yesterday about a mile from home. Luckily I was able to turn around without having to stop and proceeded home shifting without the clutch (worked pretty smooth actually). I caught the green light for my left turn and made it in with no problem. I even shifted into neutral as I pulled into the drive. Sure I carry a spare but why stop for repairs if you can keep riding?

You can see from the picture that the cable broke just a little below the top of the knob. Looks like I'll be talking to the boys at CMW in the morning. I will just wait on the replacement as I can't see putting on my OEM spare and having to drop the oil again to fit another heavy duty. I also think I will have to do a better job of preparing the lever arm so the ball will pivot better.

Dwight, KS August 15, 2007

Picture: ROMEOs are the epitome of sartorial elegance.

Six ROMEOs on five bikes got an early start for lunch today, joining up at hwy #4 and Old 81 for the ride East to Dwight by way of Grandview Plaza. The plan was to ride what passes for twisties in this part of the country. Our first choice, Wolf Rd, was closed for repairs so we pushed on to plan B, 2400 Rd/Skiddy Rd. This nice little paved trail brought us to Stacy's at Grandview Plaza where we took a coffee and Cinnamon roll break about 10am.

After gassing up and riding past Marshall Field and Ft. Riley to get on Clark's Creek Rd for a curvy bimble South to our lunch destination of Dwight we noticed that we had lost a couple of riders. After spending 20 minutes back tracking and not finding them we concluded that they had decided on a different route so the three of us pushed on.

Finding a goodly number of ROMEOs, including our lost friends, parked under the shade of a large tree we joined them for the requisite tire kicking/BS session before lunch.

We all pretty much walked into the little cafe at the same time and I guess having 24 people at once threw them for a loop as service was slow. Seemed like they would bring out one meal at a time and people were getting up to leave before some of us had even ordered. Oh well, we are a laid back bunch and besides that the Cinnamon roll I had earlier was still in the system. Once I got by hamburger it was excellent. Richard's Double was only 50 cents more than the $3.00 single so he got a bargain.

It was starting to get pretty hot and windy so we didn't waste much time after lunch getting geared up for the 70 mile ride to Wendy's in Salina. The Frosty cooled me down and it was hard to climb back on the bike for the short ride to the house. Another good ROMEO day.

I Don't Get IT, August 14, 2007

I just don't get it. Why, why, why do people ride motorcycles with shorts on? And worse yet, with flip flops. Don't even think about a helmet, no one around here wears a helmet.

Today while out and about in my truck a couple on a Road King pulled onto the street ahead of me and I followed them onto the Interstate. They were both wearing shorts, tank tops, do rags and sandals. I noticed two helmets strapped on the trunk as they headed up the on-ramp. Most likely they had an enjoyable ride, I sure hope so.

Bike Story August 10, 2007

My Honda riding daughter down in Georgia is always calling with bike stories. The other day she called to tell me about an old guy she saw on a big Harley bagger that had his oxygen bottle with him and had a watermellon straped on the back. Now that is a visual that you won't soon forget.

Hope, KS August 08, 2007

Picture: Bill's New Kawasaki Versys

Hope, KS is quite lucky to have any kind of cafe let alone an authentic Mexican establishment that can serve up an excellent chicken fried steak. The special at El Patron was CFS but I opted for the Sancho dinner and was not disappointed. I didn't check the price of the special but mine was a bargain at $6.50.

The short 40 mile ride to Hope was very pleasant and there were already a number of ROMEOs already there as Neil, Louie and I pulled up to the little Mexican cafe. The Gold Wing rider we picked up along the way and I were obviously a little smarter than the rest of the herd as we found a nice tree to park under while we ate lunch.

Shade getting to be a rare commodity as the temperature approached 100 degrees after lunch and this bunch of ROMEOs were taking advantage of every square inch they could find.

No one seemed in a real big hurry to get back in the saddle but the twenty or so bikes slowly dwindled away to just a few hard core tire kickers as the REB, S-40 and KLR hit the road for home.

Riding in the Heat August 06, 2007

Deciding to go for a ride at 2 in the afternoon probably isn't the smartest thing a person could do. But none the less I threw my leg over the Dubya and headed out into the 99, feels like 107, degree heat with wind gusts to 30mph. What can I say, just felt like I needed to ride. About 10 miles into this little bimble sanity returned and I headed to the house.

I have, however, become a believer in the Aerostitch Evap-O-Danna. It stays wet and cools for a long time. In fact I haven't even had it dry out on my yet, but that is only a couple of hours use so far.