Going north makes my bike go south.

hardwaregrrl · 10-22-2008, 07:07 PM

So, I've been a fan of this site for a bit and I've realized that life is short, I'm sick of being nothing more than a commuter, and i have nine days off!! Screw it, I'm outta here. I laid some loose planning groundwork, very loose, figured I had just enough time to visit my family outside of Detroit then do an Iron Butt around Lake Superior, then go shopping at Aerostich, then head home. 'Bout 3200 miles, no biggie. Well, my planning was loose at best, shit broke, I ate slim jims for dinner, I broke down in the middle of nowhere, and I made it home in one piece a true adventure rider!!! So here goes.

I left early on a cool Thursday morning, and headed north on I-75. I was pretty excited to see my nephews, and my niece, and was pretty excited to test my endurance level. I had just gotten my HPN 43ltr fuel tank and was looking forward to not stopping every 200 miles, but just as I thought that I was passing a semi somewhere near the Cumberland Gap and I caught a nasty case of VAPOR LOCK! WTF?! I just spent, well, an assload of cash on this tank and now it decides to vapor lock?! Messed with the vent tube, took the cap off, took it about 3 miles to get back to normal, but it became a frequent occurance on my trip. Not a cool thing while you're in the fast lane going uphill. whatever. Then I noticed my front brake had some air in the line, great, thats what i need. Searched for an auto parts store off the highway in middle tennessee, and found the o'reillys.

hardwaregrrl · 10-22-2008, 07:11 PM

Bought my little brake bleeder and syringe and got to work. Rolled myself a cigarette and drank the rest of my coffee, perfect morning. Back to the slab. Pretty uneventful the rest of the day. I-75 was closed through dowtown Detroit so I had to take a bit of a detour to a side I'd never seen.

hardwaregrrl · 10-22-2008, 07:17 PM

Here's lunch. Awesome jamacian patties at this place in the West End of Atlanta, can't get enough of them. And of course the token "WAKE YOUR ASS UP" Red Bull.

hardwaregrrl · 10-22-2008, 07:26 PM

Well got to my dads house and got to park the bike next to this!!

hardwaregrrl · 10-22-2008, 07:30 PM

1963, good year. not completly original, but still nice to look at. I'm guessing he's sunk about 30 grand in her over the last 10years. It used to be a faded yellow and we called it the "banana bomber". my mom and I got pulled over in it when I was about 6 for not having a liscence plate on the front, that was the last time anyone drove it until my dad got it back up and going. that was in '78. go ahead, do the math. anyway, he drives it maybe once a year, sad, very very sad.

Loud Al · 10-22-2008, 07:37 PM

Curryinahurry · 10-22-2008, 07:51 PM

....Keep It coming!!!

Cheers

hardwaregrrl · 10-23-2008, 06:14 PM

So, I hung out with my family and went on a cider mill tour. That was a pretty big thing when I was a kid in Royal Oak MI. As soon as the leaves began to turn we started begging our parents to take us to the mills. Homemade cider, carmel apples, and warm cake donuts...ugggg. So I went to 4 cider mills in two days!! it was awesome, and a gained some traction management while I was at it!!! At one of the mills there was a hay ride to the pumpkin patch, when we got there the pumkins were staged. So my oldest newphew and my neice and I decided to turn all the pumkins to their bad side. Nice, these kids are cool and they think I'm a nut-job for riding my bike up to see them.

hardwaregrrl · 10-23-2008, 06:34 PM

Harrison...

hardwaregrrl · 10-23-2008, 06:37 PM

Vivienne...

hardwaregrrl · 10-23-2008, 06:39 PM

Jules...

NGAMountainman · 05-17-2010, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hardwaregrrl

What's up with the IAM sticker on the left pannier?
I've been a dues paying member since 1984.

hardwaregrrl · 05-17-2010, 07:24 PM

That was from my grandpa. He worked for Boeing out in CA.

Jmoose · 11-17-2010, 09:21 PM

With some 20,000 commuter miles and barely an overnight stay, you've helped me to realize how pathetic my excuses sound to myself. I've got 9 days off coming right around the corner and the weather is just about right for some over the road travel. I gotta get offa my ass before I no longer can. Thanks for sharing & inspiring.

TreeManG23 · 01-10-2011, 05:38 PM

I stumbled onto both your RRs in your sig line from following Doug's Garage thread.

You seem pretty cool so I clicked on both. I'm glad I did!!! Great job!!!

10-22-2008, 07:07 PM	#1
hardwaregrrl ^OP Shit for brains Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Atlanta Oddometer: 4,866	Going north makes my bike go south. So, I've been a fan of this site for a bit and I've realized that life is short, I'm sick of being nothing more than a commuter, and i have nine days off!! Screw it, I'm outta here. I laid some loose planning groundwork, very loose, figured I had just enough time to visit my family outside of Detroit then do an Iron Butt around Lake Superior, then go shopping at Aerostich, then head home. 'Bout 3200 miles, no biggie. Well, my planning was loose at best, shit broke, I ate slim jims for dinner, I broke down in the middle of nowhere, and I made it home in one piece a true adventure rider!!! So here goes. I left early on a cool Thursday morning, and headed north on I-75. I was pretty excited to see my nephews, and my niece, and was pretty excited to test my endurance level. I had just gotten my HPN 43ltr fuel tank and was looking forward to not stopping every 200 miles, but just as I thought that I was passing a semi somewhere near the Cumberland Gap and I caught a nasty case of VAPOR LOCK! WTF?! I just spent, well, an assload of cash on this tank and now it decides to vapor lock?! Messed with the vent tube, took the cap off, took it about 3 miles to get back to normal, but it became a frequent occurance on my trip. Not a cool thing while you're in the fast lane going uphill. whatever. Then I noticed my front brake had some air in the line, great, thats what i need. Searched for an auto parts store off the highway in middle tennessee, and found the o'reillys. __________________ Trans Lab RR-broke down in Ontario-2 stroke fun for 200 bucks- TCAT R100 GS racks For Sale My life aboard an R80ST hardwaregrrl screwed with this post 01-27-2009 at 06:30 PM

10-22-2008, 07:11 PM	#2
hardwaregrrl ^OP Shit for brains Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Atlanta Oddometer: 4,866	Bought my little brake bleeder and syringe and got to work. Rolled myself a cigarette and drank the rest of my coffee, perfect morning. Back to the slab. Pretty uneventful the rest of the day. I-75 was closed through dowtown Detroit so I had to take a bit of a detour to a side I'd never seen. __________________ Trans Lab RR-broke down in Ontario-2 stroke fun for 200 bucks- TCAT R100 GS racks For Sale My life aboard an R80ST hardwaregrrl screwed with this post 01-27-2009 at 06:31 PM

10-22-2008, 07:17 PM	#3
hardwaregrrl ^OP Shit for brains Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Atlanta Oddometer: 4,866	Here's lunch. Awesome jamacian patties at this place in the West End of Atlanta, can't get enough of them. And of course the token "WAKE YOUR ASS UP" Red Bull. __________________ Trans Lab RR-broke down in Ontario-2 stroke fun for 200 bucks- TCAT R100 GS racks For Sale My life aboard an R80ST hardwaregrrl screwed with this post 01-27-2009 at 06:32 PM

10-22-2008, 07:26 PM	#4
hardwaregrrl ^OP Shit for brains Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Atlanta Oddometer: 4,866	Well got to my dads house and got to park the bike next to this!! __________________ Trans Lab RR-broke down in Ontario-2 stroke fun for 200 bucks- TCAT R100 GS racks For Sale My life aboard an R80ST hardwaregrrl screwed with this post 01-27-2009 at 06:35 PM

10-22-2008, 07:30 PM	#5
hardwaregrrl ^OP Shit for brains Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Atlanta Oddometer: 4,866	1963, good year. not completly original, but still nice to look at. I'm guessing he's sunk about 30 grand in her over the last 10years. It used to be a faded yellow and we called it the "banana bomber". my mom and I got pulled over in it when I was about 6 for not having a liscence plate on the front, that was the last time anyone drove it until my dad got it back up and going. that was in '78. go ahead, do the math. anyway, he drives it maybe once a year, sad, very very sad. __________________ Trans Lab RR-broke down in Ontario-2 stroke fun for 200 bucks- TCAT R100 GS racks For Sale My life aboard an R80ST

10-22-2008, 07:37 PM	#6
Loud Al . Joined: Aug 2005 Location: Forest Grove, OR Oddometer: 3,617	__________________ Allan

10-22-2008, 07:51 PM	#7
Curryinahurry Born 2 Ride Joined: Jan 2008 Location: Sydney, Stralya Oddometer: 519	....Keep It coming!!! Cheers __________________ _0O0o_ (O O)_o0O0_ 2008 - BMW G650 X Challenge 2006 - Triumph Tiger 2006 - Yamaha R1 - SOLD 2005 - Yamaha R1 (Disappeared into thin air!!)

10-23-2008, 06:14 PM	#8
hardwaregrrl ^OP Shit for brains Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Atlanta Oddometer: 4,866	So, I hung out with my family and went on a cider mill tour. That was a pretty big thing when I was a kid in Royal Oak MI. As soon as the leaves began to turn we started begging our parents to take us to the mills. Homemade cider, carmel apples, and warm cake donuts...ugggg. So I went to 4 cider mills in two days!! it was awesome, and a gained some traction management while I was at it!!! At one of the mills there was a hay ride to the pumpkin patch, when we got there the pumkins were staged. So my oldest newphew and my neice and I decided to turn all the pumkins to their bad side. Nice, these kids are cool and they think I'm a nut-job for riding my bike up to see them. __________________ Trans Lab RR-broke down in Ontario-2 stroke fun for 200 bucks- TCAT R100 GS racks For Sale My life aboard an R80ST

10-23-2008, 06:34 PM	#9
hardwaregrrl ^OP Shit for brains Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Atlanta Oddometer: 4,866	Harrison... __________________ Trans Lab RR-broke down in Ontario-2 stroke fun for 200 bucks- TCAT R100 GS racks For Sale My life aboard an R80ST hardwaregrrl screwed with this post 01-27-2009 at 06:36 PM

10-23-2008, 06:37 PM	#10
hardwaregrrl ^OP Shit for brains Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Atlanta Oddometer: 4,866	Vivienne... __________________ Trans Lab RR-broke down in Ontario-2 stroke fun for 200 bucks- TCAT R100 GS racks For Sale My life aboard an R80ST hardwaregrrl screwed with this post 01-27-2009 at 06:37 PM

10-23-2008, 06:39 PM	#11
hardwaregrrl ^OP Shit for brains Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Atlanta Oddometer: 4,866	Jules... __________________ Trans Lab RR-broke down in Ontario-2 stroke fun for 200 bucks- TCAT R100 GS racks For Sale My life aboard an R80ST hardwaregrrl screwed with this post 01-27-2009 at 06:38 PM

05-17-2010, 07:24 PM	#13
hardwaregrrl ^OP Shit for brains Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Atlanta Oddometer: 4,866	That was from my grandpa. He worked for Boeing out in CA. __________________ Trans Lab RR-broke down in Ontario-2 stroke fun for 200 bucks- TCAT R100 GS racks For Sale My life aboard an R80ST

11-17-2010, 09:21 PM	#14
Jmoose Shamelessly Clueless Joined: Jun 2010 Location: Nowhere ("now here") in Upstate, NY Oddometer: 2	Two years later and it still works With some 20,000 commuter miles and barely an overnight stay, you've helped me to realize how pathetic my excuses sound to myself. I've got 9 days off coming right around the corner and the weather is just about right for some over the road travel. I gotta get offa my ass before I no longer can. Thanks for sharing & inspiring. __________________ JimmyMoose Be careful what you wish for, it might just come true. 91 VX800 06 DL650 09 R1200GSA

01-10-2011, 05:38 PM	#15
TreeManG23 TreeMan Racing Joined: Nov 2006 Location: NW Florida Oddometer: 883	I stumbled onto both your RRs in your sig line from following Doug's Garage thread. You seem pretty cool so I clicked on both. I'm glad I did!!! Great job!!! __________________ Quit typing & Ride!!! 2004 KLR650, 1985 KLR250 2001 KX 250 #762 B SmugMug Discount Coupon d5HbqatMuaR3a

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