Will She or Won’t She – St Louis to Savannah and back – via Tallahassee

[semperfi]

Jan 23rd
The back story. The love of my life, my first love came back into my life in the summer of ’08, after having lost contact for nearly 20 years. We talked on the phone a few times and discovered that she had recently taken up riding and had completed the MSF course. I loaded the F650 in the truck and head East from KC. We spent a wonderful weekend catching up and teaching her 16 yr daughter and 18 year old son a few basics of riding in their High School parking lot

Fast forward 4 months and we’re married sitting on the couch one night debating another bike and a trip on two wheels. Inmate Buzztail has just what we’re looking for, a KLR. And wouldn’t you know its several hundred miles away in Tallahassee. I’ve been telling her about this site and this style of riding, She’s curious but neither of us have any way of knowing whether or not she’d enjoy sharing in my insanity. Why not have her fly down and I’ll ride my F650 to get her bike and then spend a few days coming home. This way she can experience it first hand, a trial by fire. We’ve got a backup plan of having the oldest boy still at home standing by with my pickup to come get us if she hates it and worse case scenario I end up with a back up bike in the KLR. So the question is….

Will She or Won’t She enjoy it?

[semperfi]

SemperWife's only done a few commutes back and forth to work solo but wants to ride everytime its not pouring or freezing. So she’s in with one caveat….why not make it a whole week? IM IN! Her oldest is stationed in Savannah GA and is building a Rat Bike out of an old Goldwing. So we decide to pick up the bike from Buzz on Saturday Feb 28th and head towards Savannah for a visit.

Now we need “Stuff”. First off we head to Gateway BMW for a filter and to get my F800 fix – still just looking. They have a lowered F650 with low miles and luggage at a very reasonable price for the wife. But alas the budget won’t allow for it. Thanks again Hans for spending the time with us.

Back to the stuff. Gear for her. She has the helmet and pants, she borrows my Jacket usually and has some summer gloves. She needs of a good jacket and a set of gloves, maybe some boots. We find a FieldSheer touring jacket on fleabay along with the gloves.

Well you know I need a toy too….time for a gps finally (and some required stuff for the F650. But the economy blah blah blah…and I’m a tightwad. The wife finds a Quest 2 with a bad battery and what the heck who needs to walk around with a gps. I have 20 mm cans mounted and with no loctite on the Tourtec mounts, the quill nuts inside the back foot pegs vibrated loose and fell out somewhere between Denver and Kansas City last year. A quick call to Tourtech and they’re on their way.

A new set of grips on the f-bike would be cool and some hand guards to break the wind so its off to Kawasaki shop that turned out Harley shop that is trying to break into other markets. They don’t have anything but Harley parts but they do have a KLR.

My beautiful bride is 5’7 ½ and the KLR is too tall…hmmm more stuff! AdvRider and GregO to the rescue with a like new Corbin dish and Fleabay again for a set of lowering links. The lowered F-Bike fit her so well and she was so confident sitting on it, we went with the 2 inch lowering kit. Hopefully with the lowering links and dish seat she will have the same confidence on the KLR. We have them shipped to Buzztail who graciously agrees to put the seat on and the links. Thanks again Buzz…for the trust and your crews' efforts!

[semperfi]

Back to F-Bike. Oilchange and Airfilter changed on a cold weekend. The bike acted weird when trying to start it but did. A couple days later the quill came in and a cheap set of helmet speakers and mics for the trip are installed in the helmets. GPS is mounted to a waterproof box to be strapped to the diy tank bag (told you I was a cheap skate.) It’s time to mount the the ammo cans and start packing and test rides with the bike outfitted. Along comes a 65 degree sunny day in Feb! WOO HOO lets go ride. Climb into the pants, boots, test the helmet mics and radios…mount the tank bag and gps. Roll out the bike and fire it up…..well that was the plan….Cranking and cranking and cranking…no luck. Replace the plug, charge the battery……no luck. Sorry honey no riding today.

Oh well we’re both fighting colds and probably should rest anyway and kick this thing before the trip. Resting that evening Mrs. SemperFi asks….Would you wear your boots all day when you ride to work? Yes my Cortechs are comfortable and I’d wear them all day. Want to see what I bought she asks? YES! A sexy hot pair of Fox MX boots for her. YES YES YES!....they’re on their way. Nothing sexier than a woman fully committed to ATGATT!

I let the F bike charge over night certain that this wonderful, ever faithful bike will start. A new day, 70 degree weather. The neighbor kids are riding dirtbikes up and down the street and I’m still just cranking. WTFF! Check the spark….good. add heet to the gas….now the starter spins but won’t crank. Time to pull the side cover. UH OH!...metal shavings are covering the pickup coil and I suspect the Sprague clutch grenaded.

Gateway BMW here we come. And another F800 fix. Damn but that bike is cool. Drop the bike and wait. Both of us are still sick as hell so we retire to bedroom and work on planning. We decide to keep a diary of this and will decide whether or not to do a ride report later. Better to have notes and not do it than have no notes and want to share this.

So…back to more background. I’ve been riding since 8 or so, mostly off road initially of course, but moved to street in my late teens. A couple cage assisted getoffs and lack of skills (coupled with the requirement of the Corps requiring completion of the MSF course) sent me to a MSF class. WOW, I thought I knew how to ride. The instructor on a big K bike was doing things with that beast that I couldn’t do on 125! I learned a lot! Rode a little xs400 for a couple years in the Mojave while stationed there and then took a 10 year hiatus.

Price of Gas and a long commute in 06 to work got me thinking again….I need a bike. But what to get. Cruiser? DualSport? Full Dress Tourer? (never considered a crotch rocket – not my thing) hmmm….Inmate MotoJim to the rescue. We work together and Jim points out the F650 and AdvRider. Another co-worker’s husband has one for sale. A deal cut and reading couple RR’s later and I’m hooked. This is the style of riding I’ve been looking for…my own.

Ok so to keep this short….some gear 2700 miles in a week to Yellow stone and back, 2 IBA SS rides (KC to SLC and SLC to KC – never turned the paperwork in) and 30k miles later I’m loving it. My youngest son (10) is cutting his teeth on a PW 80, my daughter…well riding’s not her thing…my oldest son (22) wants a riding trip to Baja for graduation but is currently without a ride (dad’s is always available to him though which keeps him coming around)

[semperfi]

I’m an avid Bowhunter and similarities between that activity and Adv riding are incredible. You make of it what you want it to be. It is something that you can share with others but is mostly a solitary activity. The people you meet are incredible and renew your faith in humanity. Most all will share knowledge, loan gear, and provide encouragement every step of the way. The spectrum of options is vast. As the latin saying goes Veni, Vidi, Velcro (I came I saw I stuck around)

Shannon at Gateway calls and the news is as expected, the Sprague clutch grenaded and has to be replaced. The question is, do I spend the money to fix an F bike with 41k on it or use that for another bike and take some time to rebuild it. It’s been a great ride and I’m committed to keeping it and keeping it running but I need a ride within two weeks to meet the commitments we’ve made. I look around for options but settle on spending the cash to have the Sprague clutch replaced. What a wait. I usually do my own work but I don’t have my tools or the time so I’ll have to bite the bullet. While its at the shop, have new shoes put on it. I opt for the TKC 80’s, I know I know, for a trip of close to 2000 miles on pavement? I chose these because that’s what the KLR has on it and I want to know what she’s feeling as far as her ride.

That was the longest week! I dropped it off on Saturday and Shannon from Gateway called on Friday saying it was ready. Not such good news though. Shannon explained that there was a lot of metal in the oil from the grenaded starter clutch and no way to get it all out without cracking the case open. Shyte! He’s flushed it well and believes that most of it came out but no way to know or believe it all came out. We discuss it at length….Thanks for the patience Shannon! And decide that I’ll take it on a shake down cruise, pop the side cover off, clean it out, change the oil and make a call whether or not to try the trip. Excellent plan…except.

I’m riding it home, approx 20 miles on I-70 (in the far left lane of course), and it’s like someone shuts the switch off. I stand next to the Jersey barrier on my new home of maybe two feet of shoulder while my wife sits helplessly in the truck on the right shoulder, waiting for a solution to present itself. I keep having the same recurring thought….God I’m a Dumbass! Vehicles whizzing by inches from me….all I can do was keep all my gear on and sit with my butt on the Jersey barrier and hope to swing over to the other side if the apparent ugliness occurs. Not only did not one single car slow down or move over I swear they were coming AT ME! What was I thinking? Why didn’t I stay in the right lane? Why didn’t we load the bike up and test ride it when we got home. Then….divine intervention….a break in traffic…had to be divine intervention given the likelihood that I would get a hole big enough to shove the bike across three lanes of I-70 safely. Thank you God!

[semperfi]

We load the bike up and call Shannon and tell him we’re coming back. He and all the crew and Gateway were awesome. They looked for the problem while I drooled over the F800 AGAIN until the Mrs, finally made me leave. Another night of uncertainty. Will I have the F bike back in time? Will it be ready? Should I plan to drive instead? Uhhgg.

The next morning is the love of my life’s birthday and I get the call from Shannon. There was enough metal still in the oil that it collected on the pickup coil and shutdown the ignition. That’s not good….at least it doesn’t sound good (lol). So much profanity came out of my mouth that my Drill Instructors would have blushed. Not at any one, mind you…or even the bike, just relieving some internal pressure. After my release, Shannon informed me that they had siliconed the pickup coil’s soldered ends and flushed things out again but he couldn’t stress enough the doubt in the reliability of the engine with unknown amounts of shavings floating in there.

Again I decide to take the bike on a shake down ride and pop the side off and check things out. I’m getting my gear out of the truck when my beautiful wife says, “Ya know honey, it’s my birthday and I’d like to ride your bike home”…WHAT? Are you kidding? You saw what happened yesterday, no, absolutely no, no way, not safe, ain’t gonna happen. We’ll load it up and you can ride it when we get home….then she flashes those gorgeous blue eyes and says, but its my birthday. Dammmmmm It. BTW, why didn’t I notice you putting you’re gear in the truck? She’s a sneaky one!

So after an hour long lecture from me and a route with as little interstate as absolutely possible we’re off. And the bike runs great. No problems, she has a wonderful ride and is grinning from ear to ear when I walk past her in the garage to down a bottle of Tums, Mylanta, and a cocktail of Pepcid AC and Tagamet. Dang but I love that woman and worry incessantly.

The bike sits in the Garage waiting for its teardown for inspection when life up and happens. Work, the kids, the pets, you name it. Responsibilities are a real bitch. Next thing I know, it’s Thursday night, Feb 27^th and I’m supposed to leave in the morning. Well, two choices at this point…delay the leave until I can check the bike or head out with a contingency plan and the understanding that I may trash the motor. The smart play is to delay the trip and check things out…but with my stress meter pegged from just plain old life’s responsibility…guess which one I chose? It actually appealed to be sitting on the side of the road broke over another day of work. I had my backup plan and I was leaving come hell or high water.

[semperfi]

See I told you all I was a Dumb Ass! I gear up in 30 degree weather after a Mocha Grande and a Muffin from Starbucks, I throw a leg over the bike and head south. It wouldn’t be an adventure if everything was known, safe, predictable, reliable, and smart! Dumb Ass.

[Semper Wife]

Originally Posted by semperfi

Attachment 213533

See I told you all I was a Dumb Ass! I gear up in 30 degree weather after a Mocha Grande and a Muffin from Starbucks, I throw a leg over the bike and head south. It wouldn’t be an adventure if everything was known, safe, predictable, reliable, and smart! Dumb Ass.

You are so not a dumbass! Call it adventure rider spirit....

[semperfi]

Navigating the bike out of the driveway with cans on was the first challenge.

[semperfi]

The overly laden beast.....

[semperfi]

This was my first attempt at navigating with a GPS on the bike, and about as much time went into planning a route and learning how to use the Quest 2 as went into preparing my taxes before I left. So I’m off…..for about a mile. I’m new to the St Louis area and being a central Kansas country boy, I navigate a metropolitan area about the same as a politician navigates an honest living. Avoidance at all cost! I get about a mile from the house and I hit the shoulder, a HUGE shoulder (at least 2 lanes wide) and wait for my magical Garmin ball to tell me where the FF I’m going.

A commuter stops to see if I need help, didn’t get his name but Thanks whoever you were for the consideration, and one of Missouri’s finest pulls up behind me and lights me up so no one will hit me. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the concern and the checking on me but dang….where was he when I was getting buzzed on the Interstate? Let the Adventure begin!

The Quest figures it out for me and I’m off. I head south out of St Louis on Hwy 3 (after the obligatory Superslab run to get the fark out of the city). I’m pleasantly surprised. It runs parallel to the Mississippi with a wall of rock hills and some nice farm homes to the East. Ahhhh this is what I needed. I chose the most direct route to Tallahassee I could avoiding all Interstates to allow for slower speeds and lower motor r’s. Plus I’m sick of flying every where with my ass on fire. Time to smell the roses. I’ve got a day and a half to get to Tallahassee.

[semperfi]

I’m riding along reaching that peaceful relaxation that I’ve been missing after just a couple hours when I come to Chester, Il. It’s a nice little town much like any other rural community, I’m thinking, when I notice a granite statue of Bluto standing next to a flower garden….what the? Why Bluto? I decided not to dwell on it when I pass a building with mural of a scene from a Popeye cartoon. Then another, then a sign with another reference to Popeye.

By now I’m wondering what Starbucks added to the muffin and should I go back for another! Of all the things I expected, contemplated, or even considered possible, I have to admit that a town paying homage to Popeye was not on the list. I’ll file this little hallucination away for later and have to check into it. Hmmm oh well keep moving and get south. Damn it’s cold.

[semperfi]

I’ve got the Gerbing pegged, the GPS and phone charging and I had the PIAA’s on to make sure everyone could see me leaving St Louis. The fuel light comes on and I make a quick stop and phone the wife. I told her she should try a muffin from Starbucks for lunch and give me a call. This is my idea of scientific comparison. I suit back up and hit the starter button….Nothin. Nada, Nill,

Just a few hours ago this would’ve sent my blood boiling. But I’m amazed how relaxed I was. Just a hmmmph. Dead battery, no biggie. I’m on a hill. I give one push, roll 20 feet, dump the clutch and voila, underway again.

I realize that my dumbass has too much stuff on and kill the PIAA’s and the cell phone. I spend the next few hours cruising to some good music and smooth roads lost in my own thoughts. Before I know it I’m in Kentucky amazed by the damage done by the ice storms. I was southern MO two years ago when that one hit and it was very similar. Nature is awesome and it even further humbled and weirdly relaxed me.

[semperfi]

I angled down from Paducah to Paris TN and then headed for Huntsville. I ate some McDonalds there, nothing worthy of a photo as far as the food gooes, so no pics. I was just enjoying the ride and the peace and didn’t take any other pics. Then the rain started. Nothing drastic or concerning and I was dressed for it. So onward. I did change my route slightly and headed to Birmingham so I wouldn’t have to wonder about lodging opportunities for the night. I had originally planned for the option of camping Friday night but that was out now. My days of camping in a tent in the rain are over unless I absolutely have to.

Tired and wet I settle in at a Comfort Inn in Alabaster AL for the night. The weather channel had ominous news. A mixture of rain, severe thunderstorms, possible Tornados and of all things SNOW. SNOW? I thought I was coming to the sunny south and leaving a long winter behind me. Oh well, I’ll deal with it in the morning. Its 10:30 and I’m too tired (lazy) to go get something to eat so I hit the vending machine for a feast of Honey buns and rice crispy treats and seeing as I didn’t drink enough all day I opted for some lemonade. A quick call to check in with the Mrs and I’m out like a light. I love the feeling of being physically tired and mentally at peace.

[Semper Wife]

Originally Posted by semperfi

Inmate Buzztail has just what we’re looking for, a KLR. And wouldn’t you know its several hundred miles away in Tallahassee. I’ve been telling her about this site and this style of riding, She’s curious but neither of us have any way of knowing whether or not she’d enjoy sharing in my insanity. Why not have her fly down and I’ll ride my F650 to get her bike and then spend a few days coming home. This way she can experience it first hand, a trial by fire. We’ve got a backup plan of having the oldest boy still at home standing by with my pickup to come get us if she hates it and worse case scenario I end up with a back up bike in the KLR. So the question is….

Will She or Won’t She enjoy it?

I have to tell you that during the planning of this trip, I asked Tom non stop questions about: what the trip would be like? what do I need to pack? How do I ride in formation? What if I mess up? Will You still like me when it's over? Will my butt be sore? What if the bikes break down? Am I insane for wanting to do this?

Those are just a few of the thoughts going through my mind. We'll see if I get any answers as the trip happens.

Let's see....

[semperfi]