[ajmeister]

Hi Guys,

Some 4000kms and six days later I am back after going south to the 'Tail of the Dragon'. I had a fantastic time without any issues :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:. All the roads down there seem to be a motorcyclists dream come true. The Cherohala Parkway, The Dragon, the Diamonback and of course the Blueridge Parkway were awesome to experience. I gained a whole lot of new respect for my Goldwing since I was chasing sport bikes and was easily keeping up with them. Sure took some scraping of hardware though, LOL. The weather forecast had predicted some rain but I never had to try out my new Frogg Togg rain suit. Got out of there the day before hurricane Irene rolled in, too. Certainly played around with all three different seating positions to make it easier on my behind. Overall an absolut blast!!

I guess I gave my brakes quite the workout though because my front brake lever feels like an on/off switch now. Maybe a seized caliper?

Hope to get together sometime soon for an RTE. Anything planned for the near future? :?:

 

[Mayor Hal]

Glad to hear you had a good time. It is quite good riding there. It really doesn't matter what roads you take... they are all mostly good and twisty! Next time around... give West Virginia a go. It is a lot closer to us and just as good of a ride IMHO. Watch out though if you meet up with some of those WV riders.... they will put you through your paces! Just sayin'. Great bunch of guys from there that's for sure.

 

[PaulC]

Glad you had a great time Andreas. I was about a day behind you. Spent most of the week in GA working. On Wed. hit a rock at 75mph on the I-75 between Savannah and Atlanta. Bent my front rim. Had to get that replaced at Lawrenceville Honda, just outside of Atlanta. I also had a pin-hole leak in my front tire, so they replaced that too (I was carrying a spare front tire in the trailer). On Thurs. hit a crow at 75 mph (my speed, not the crow's). SPLAT! Bent my Baker mirror wing.

I did 4,400 kms and also lucked out with the weather. No rain at all. Very hot in GA (over 100°F at times). Started up the BRP on Saturday morning. Went about half a day through the really nice part, then headed west a bit and rode some amazing roads. No problems at all with Hurricane Irene. Home on Sunday.

 

[ajmeister]

Paul,

Glad you had a good ride as well except of course hitting stuff LOL. Aren't those roads simply amazing?!?!

Still hoping to connect somehow this year.

Take care,

 

[Mayor Hal]

Paul, that looks like a nasty hit. Hope all is ok with you? A friend of mine hit a piece of 4x4 in the middle of the road at night... didn't loose it but sure came close.

 

[PaulC]

Paul, that looks like a nasty hit. Hope all is ok with you? A friend of mine hit a piece of 4x4 in the middle of the road at night... didn't loose it but sure came close.

Hal - For just a split second the bike wobbled pretty badly, I said some things I regretted afterwards, and then all was okay. The air pressure went down to 28 lbs. and stayed there. Not even the thump-thump you'd expect from a bent rim. I have an on-board compressor, so I added air a few times. It was down to about 21 lbs. two days later when I got the wheel changed. I was rather fortunate as far as air pressure was concerned.

 

[GILLIGAN (HONDAPANTS)]

Glad you had a great trip Andreas! It is a great part of the country to ride, that is for sure! But as Hal said, next time you ought to give some thought to WV. It is closer and really challenging as well as beautiful! But I am BIAS, because I have met some very nice people in that area and I will go back there over and over.
And Paul , glad you did not have a terrible accident with that mis-hap!! You never know what can happen when you hit STUFF!!
Hope to C y'all at an RTE in the near future.

By the way , I am heading to Elkins WV on Friday the 9th and getting there on the 11th.

Bye for now Gilligan

 

[keysyrider]

Read all about the one month road test of a new Gold Wing in the latest Motorcycle Mojo Magazine. There's also a test report from the passenger, which is a new perspective. I like the part where the writer says that the bike pretty much responds like a heavyweight crotch rocket. It's a very good honest report after an entire month's riding and written by a Harley owner too.

Bottom line is, riding the Dragon on a Gold Wing surprises quite a few unsuspecting rocketeers.

 

[Gord]

Hal - For just a split second the bike wobbled pretty badly, I said some things I regretted afterwards, and then all was okay. The air pressure went down to 28 lbs. and stayed there. Not even the thump-thump you'd expect from a bent rim. I have an on-board compressor, so I added air a few times. It was down to about 21 lbs. two days later when I got the wheel changed. I was rather fortunate as far as air pressure was concerned.

Where did you get the wheel changed, Paul, and how much?

Hope you're well!
Gord

 

[trialsman]

I gained a whole lot of new respect for my Goldwing since I was chasing sport bikes and was easily keeping up with them. :?:

Either you're one hell of a rider or the Sport bike guys were afraid to take it out of first gear. :22yikes: :lol:

 

[PaulC]

Where did you get the wheel changed, Paul, and how much?

Hope you're well!
Gord

Lawrenceville Honda, just outside of Atlanta. I'm not at home so I can't check my receipts. The wheel was something like $525, plus labour. (Or maybe that was the total cost - I can't remember). I also had a staple in the tire (fortunately I was carrying an extra tire in the trailer because I knew there was a slow leak), and they changed that too. Top notch work, no surprises. Lawrenceville Honda had been recommended to me by members of this board.

Why do you ask? Are you planning a ride to Georgia?

 

[Gord]

Lawrenceville Honda, just outside of Atlanta. I'm not at home so I can't check my receipts. The wheel was something like $525, plus labour. (Or maybe that was the total cost - I can't remember). I also had a staple in the tire (fortunately I was carrying an extra tire in the trailer because I knew there was a slow leak), and they changed that too. Top notch work, no surprises. Lawrenceville Honda had been recommended to me by members of this board.

Why do you ask? Are you planning a ride to Georgia?

Nope, just curious. I thought you had the wheel changed here.
That's a fair chunk of change, that's for sure.

My big trip next year is the European Alps.
I renting a BMW K1300 GT in Frankfurt, head south to Switzerland, then westward through the Tyroler region of Italy and Austria, then into Bavaria of Germany, then northwesterly and ride along the Mosel and Rhine rivers before returning to Frankfurt and home.
Fourteen days in all !

 

[PaulC]

Nope, just curious. I thought you had the wheel changed here.
That's a fair chunk of change, that's for sure.

My big trip next year is the European Alps.
I renting a BMW K1300 GT in Frankfurt, head south to Switzerland, then westward through the Tyroler region of Italy and Austria, then into Bavaria of Germany, then northwesterly and ride along the Mosel and Rhine rivers before returning to Frankfurt and home.
Fourteen days in all !

Sounds fantastic! When is that planned for?

 

[Gord]

Sounds fantastic! When is that planned for?

Next June.
Just hope the markets come back up to pay for this . . . :?

 

[bill52]

Is this one of those tours with tour guides or are you going ala carte so to speak?

Nope, just curious. I thought you had the wheel changed here.
That's a fair chunk of change, that's for sure.

My big trip next year is the European Alps.
I renting a BMW K1300 GT in Frankfurt, head south to Switzerland, then westward through the Tyroler region of Italy and Austria, then into Bavaria of Germany, then northwesterly and ride along the Mosel and Rhine rivers before returning to Frankfurt and home.
Fourteen days in all !

 

[Gord]

Is this one of those tours with tour guides or are you going ala carte so to speak?

I had considered going with Edelweiss Bike Tours. But I chose to do it on my own, free of any ties to the group for the same money and much longer.
I've been researching where and what I wanna see. Gonna download my route onto a micrSD card and pop it into the GPS that I'm renting with the bike. Just hope it works !

Motorcycle Journeys Through the Alps & Beyond by John Hermann, and Motorcycle Journeys Through Western Europe by Toby Ballentine have been indispensable and are worthing getting if only to armchair travel and dream.

 

[ajmeister]

Either you're one hell of a rider or the Sport bike guys were afraid to take it out of first gear. :22yikes: :lol:

The first group were definitely taking it easy (first time?) and I actually would have passed them if they had pulled over. The second time were 2 guys on Ducati's dragging knees and they would pull ahead a little in the corners but I would catch up quickly in between. They also stayed at the Microtel in Robbinsville so I talked to them afterwards. They complimented me on being keeping up with them on a Goldwing (made my day!) but no, I do not consider myself "one hell of a rider". And yes, I was scraping hardware well past the pegs. I had a great time!!!:lol::lol::lol:

 

[trialsman]

The first group were definitely taking it easy (first time?) and I actually would have passed them if they had pulled over. The second time were 2 guys on Ducati's dragging knees and they would pull ahead a little in the corners but I would catch up quickly in between. They also stayed at the Microtel in Robbinsville so I talked to them afterwards. They complimented me on being keeping up with them on a Goldwing (made my day!) but no, I do not consider myself "one hell of a rider". And yes, I was scraping hardware well past the pegs. I had a great time!!!:lol::lol::lol:

Sounds like we would enjoy a ride together. Give me a shout next time you're down this way.

 

[ajmeister]

Sounds like we would enjoy a ride together. Give me a shout next time you're down this way.

I would like that very much. I am sure I would learn something!:yes1:

 

[trialsman]

I would like that very much. I am sure I would learn something!:yes1:

Probably the only thing I could show you would be that the Dragon is just one of many great roads within a couple hours ride of there.

In N. Ga. alone, I could keep you leaned over all day on almost-empty-smooth twisties without riding anything twice......:thumbup: