2009 - Vintage TAT Ride - NC, Tn, Ms, Ar

[Motoguy]

Karl, Is that you?

[fotobo]

Originally Posted by Vinnie the Snake

Ok, you said you can't wait for the whole story. So I will take the liberty to complete a chapter in the Vintage Ride Report.

My good friend fotobo is a true adventurer. We all have so enjoyed his Ride Reports, and adventures that are second to none.

My good friend had asked if he could ride along on a Vintage Ride. Me being a true believer of purity of Vintage Rides felt that we would not be qualified to ride in the company of such an Adventure Rider.

My good friend on the Original Vintage Adventure Ride . Meets all the parameters of an adventure ride, two wheels and a power source.


I was a little dissapointed with his safety gear. First time I had ever seen him without a helmet, gloves, riding saftey pants, boots and goggles.

So please do not make any out of line comments as he promotes Rider Safety more than anyother Adventure Rider I have ever met.


This is posted with Very Much Respect, but just to damn good not to share.

The riders on the Original Vintage Adventure Ride did not need any stinkin safety gear.

[Vinnie the Snake]

Originally Posted by fotobo

The riders on the Original Vintage Adventure Ride did not need any stinkin safety gear.

On a serious note, I do mean a very serious note. I wanted to thank you and your wife for making the kids smile all around me at that parade. They absolutely loved the horse and all they could do was talk about it after you all went by. Thanks for the effort of getting out and putting smiles on the kids faces and mine too.

[makotosun]

The beginning of the TAT ride for the Western folks (Mark {Motoguy}, Gary {Makotosun} and Dave {DMAN}) started on Friday before the ride, with airplane rides to Dallas then connections to Raleigh, NC to arrive late at the Endurodoctor's (Anthony's) house, also known as the Enduro Bunker East.

We were treated to a delightful homecooked breakfast of Biscuits and Gravy, TWO kinds of bacon, scrambled eggs, fruit, coffee and juice.

Motoguy, Dman, Big Nick and the Enduro Doctor digging into this . . .

Lots of good energy for the upcoming bike prep, loading and trip to the coast.

There were several items on the bikes that needed to be attended to, as all three of the west coast riders had been without their bikes for a month or two, and last minute prep needed to be done. I had been unhappy with my front forks since the last ride and had shipped out a replacement set to install. Boy was that a good move.

The lower legs on BOTH forks were disconnected from the tubes, having somehow separated, such that the speedo and brake cables were the only thing that were stopping them from simply sliding off the upper tubes! Now I had an explanation as to why my speedo cable had snapped.

It is a good thing I am not a wheelie addict.

Once that was fixed, and a few other little tweaks, a test ride, then slapping on some of the gear, the bikes were loaded on the trailer with Baok's mountain bike for the trip to the coast.

We also had Vinnie's Honda 650 as a backup - which would prove to be a good bit of planning.

On the way to the coast, we did the Walmart tour, stopping at no less than 3 of them on the way as we continued to think of things we had forgotten. Those stops would continue thoughout the trip . . .

We arrived in Manteo at the famous Dare Haven Motel which was filled with small boats, a few harleys and now a bunch of old two strokes.

The surprise of the evening was the presence of BigDog (who should probably be called something more like Big Wet Stinky Dawg) and his 990. Joe and his lovely better half, Colleen arrived by separate vehicle from the Keys. Vinnie had come via a ride with the Endurodoctor and our volunteer photographer Robert in his little Honda Accord. That Honda would come to haunt us.

We all had a good dinner at Dirty Dick's Seafood in Nags Head because Dman had seen their signs all the way to the coast proclaiming that he should Get Crabs at Dirty Dick's . . .

Hush Puppies and Gator Tail appetizers, followed by a variety of pretty decent seafood. A good time for all.

The next morning brought out the blue smoke in earnest. The group loaded up, lined up, then headed for the coast.

Vinnie's DT400 Mountain Bike


Joe's RT1 360 (With Big Nick waving and Joe in the background)


Makotosun's 1975 DT400


Motoguy's 1974 DT360


Dman's 1975 DT400B


The EnduroDoctor's RT1 360 Stealth Bike . . . complete with warning labels intact!

It is rumored that it comes with complete instructions on how to destroy the bike in case of breakdown to keep the milspec technology out of the hands of the insurgents . . .

I will await others to post some more details of the prep days before commencing the story of the first ride day but here is a teaser . . .

Boys?

[EnduroDoctor]

The DEET Report


Just to fill in some details...


The west coast boys arrive at Enduro Central about 11:03 pm on Friday. I had chartered a bus to bring them from the airport to the shop. It is about 60 miles, and the driver had never been to my area. We spent a few phone calls talking him in.

Earlier that day, I spent all day scouring the local Yamaha shops for this:




There were only 12 quarts in the area. We are gonna need more!





The day started off foggy, but it burned off by noon.

....






The grandkids came over to see all the motorcycles and help PawPaw get ready for the long ride.













After the big breakfast (prepared by my wonderful wife and oldest daughter), we proceeded to repair Gary's DT400 front forks.

Never seen anything like it.... we removed the brake and speedo cables, lifted the front end and the both lower fork tubes fell off. (Can you imagine what would have happened if he did a wheelie???!!! Ouch!)

Everybody got their bikes off the trailer and proceeded to re-fog the neighborhood. After we were sure everyone was awake, we loaded the bikes back on the trailer, including mine.
























About 2pm, the chase truck leaves for the Outer Banks. Robert and I head for the airport to pick up the man, the myth, the legend....Vinnie the Snake.



As we are diving east, Vinnie keeps making the observation that we have too many trees here in NC... I promise to talk to the governer about it.

[BigDogAdventures.com]

You fellers goin' to mix that oil and gas
if you know what I mean......HHMMmmm.....MMmmmmm


Some folks call it oil----I call it lubricant....MMMmmmm MMmmmm

You boys must be from up North--that's the way they do it up there.
Well---allright then.

[EnduroDoctor]

We arrive at the Dare Haven Motel in Manteo, NC. It sits on Roanoke Island and is home to The Lost Colony.



We have to wait for the chase truck to arrive.... they decided to do a scenic tour of all the WalMarts between Raleigh and Manteo. (Apparently it is hard to find a HP iPac charging cable. And to think I could have brought my Apple IIE!)


Once the "hardware" arrives, we strip everything off of the trailer and then decide to go eat.

Dick's crab house was OK....but I can't really recommend it. I did a little video interview with the gift shop cashier asking her what she liked. She said that she didn't eat there. Hmmmm....







So.... time to hit the hay.... the next day was going to be full of fun!

[EnduroDoctor]

"We don't mix our gas and oil, if you know what I mean. We got a oil injection pump right thar on the engine. Some folks call it AutoLube.... I call it oil injection. But some folks call it AutoLube.... ummm hmmmmm."

"Reckon what you like to put in your oil tank? Ummm-hmmm."

"You know.... some folks just need oiling. If you know what I mean."

[EnduroDoctor]

Karl on BigDog.....

[Gunslinger1]

[Motoguy]

Karl strikes again. I reckon that boy needs some help!

[Vinnie the Snake]

Now thats funny, I don't care who you are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Vinnie the Snake]

The Ride,

I dont know about the others, but sleep was impossible our first night. I was worried about my bike, I had only changed the oil and tires since the last ride and really had not prepped it much for this long trip. Normal maintenance, is oil change, chain check or change, air filter check or change, tire change for sure, and repair any issues that arise. With that said, sleep was still impossible.

BigDog was cutting the rug, so figured I see what the morning looked like. When I went to bed, parking lot was full of boats, early morning they had vanished.

Full moon of the Outer Banks. Humid was not the right word, but the one in the dictionary so I will use it. We call it rain in Oklahoma.


Everyone getting loaded and ready for the upcoming adventure.


JGresh and BigDog ready to go. Pretty sure BigDog was thinking what the hell did I get into.


Ready for the attack on the Atlantic Ocean Beach


Dman verifying with BigGod, that BigDog would have to work to keep up. I know once he shifted into 4th gear that morning.


With all the bikes loaded and ready, final rush to get Nick in the Chase Truck and head to the beach. Really couldnt think of a better place to start a true Vintage Trans America Trip thank Kitty Hawk, NC. Kinda where it all started anyway.




The motel owners were cool. Helped us anyway they could and let us spread out as necessary. Great Place to stay. //www.darehaven.com/About_Us.htm

[Questor]

Great stuff Guys.

and Mr. MeanBigMadDog, thanks for the awesome video trailer...

Q~

[EnduroDoctor]

Getting ready for blast off!