On My Way to WV

[Phil Tarman]

I'm in Eldorado, KS. My folks were from here and my grandparents lived here while I was a little kid. I lived here from kindergarten till the end of 2nd grade. I'm on my way to WV. It was cold and wet when I got up, plus, I'd done my usual thing of not sleeping the night before a trip. I think I got four hours. So, I piddled around waiting for it to "warm up." It did about the time I got to Colby, KS, BTW.

I had thought that Wild West Motorsports was going to shorten my sidestand a bit more, but they said that it was a cast piece and were afraid to it, So, when I finally got going, I backed the bike out of the garage and started getting on it. But, when I was half on, I had so weight on it that I had compressed the rear suspension and the bike started going to the right. I wasn't far enough on to be able to get my right leg down, so BOOM! down she went. I had a hard time getting myself up and there was no way I could get the bike up. My neighbor came and did get it up, but broke the front brake lever at the failure notch that Honda thoughtfully put there. That made it so I could use two fingers, which is what I usually do. It also made me even later getting away. I pulled out of the driveway at 11AM and got here at 8:45 CDT. 567 miles. It was the first time I'd ridden since I came back from Wichita in the 60mph winds in October.

Nobody ever said I was smart, did they?

Tomorrow I'm taking smaller highways to Union, MO, and spending the night with Mike Simmons, an NT-Owners.org member. The next day, we'll ride east and probably make it to the AMA Museum and to the big huge motorcycle store "Iron Pony." Mike will have to come back to Union to work, and I'll go on to North Bend State Park, near Cairo, WV, for the WV NT-Owners Rally. Don't know what I'll do after that to kill time before I do Eric Trow's Stayin'Safe Advanced Rider Training Course on Memorial Day weekend. I should be home to Greeley on the Wednesday after Memorial Day, May 30th.

Now I'm going to bed. I'm sore! Partly from the fall and partly from just riding after so long not on the bike.

Night all!

 

[gbrand42]

Well what a way to start a trip Phil! Hope you are OK and your trip gets progressively better. Look forward to reading your reports.

Graham

 

[mikesim]

I have a replacement brake lever here at the house along with trim tape to fix your knuckle guards. They will be on the work bench when u get here.

Mike

 

[DirtFlier]

Thanks Mike. I won't have to try that lever I found in my spares box on the NT because it came from my NC700X.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Thanks, Mike! I'm up and moving...should be on the road in an hour.

 

[Mellow]

Safe Travels Phil!... Wish I was going with ya. I did get to an STO even this weekend but just for a couple short days and the pollen messed with my eyes more than it ever had before.. sux getting less-young.. lol

 

[Miairhead]

Rain Gear, I canceled the B-17 Gathering trip because the guys I was going to ride with, don't do rain. And it has rained here in Michigan, I going to start stocking the drive so I can have a fish farm. So I wash RV and do home chores, then plan another ride with these guys. I not a fan of riding in the rain, but usually not a stopper if I want to go some place. I can not remember having so much rain, so close together. Up to 6" of rain in SW Michigan.

 

[junglejim]

11:00 AM departure time??? I don't see how you consider that late. Seems normal "Phil time" to me. But you still rode at least 3 hours after I surely would have quit. You got er done, drop and all. I owe Mike some ice cream and I was going to ask you to buy him some ice cream for me, but now that I've slammed you I suppose that is out. So now I owe you both some ice cream when we meet up. Wish I could join you folks.

I did get to ride to Duluth in this AM (to the audiologists office) and then got back in time to work on my neighbors house. So now I'm on my third tank of gas for the year. It sure is good to be retired. Tomorrow I'm working on our church all day.

Ride safe and have fun. And keep us posted on your trip adventures, we like to read about them and then we can make wise cracks too. Who among us hasn't dropped a bike. I was in such a hurry one day that when I got off the bike I was about two steps away before the bike hit the gournd. I hadn't put the side stand down.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Day 2: 379 miles today, 946 for trip.

I'm in Union, MO, at Mike Simmon's house. I had a good night of sleep but was achy and sore all over this morning. I pulled a normal get-a-way time at 11:15 and rode to Eureka, 30 miles east of Eldorado for my first gas stop. It got pretty warm and I saw 89F in Fort Scott, KS, and Nevada, MO. But then I hit rain and the temp started down. I was mostly on good quality 2-lane highways and enjoyed light traffic except near Lake of the Ozarks. Rain started again just east of there and lasted until I was within a few miles of Mike's house. I took three wrong turns. One led me on an interesting but unnecessary 12 mile loop. The other two came within 4 miles of Mike's for the first and within 2-300 yards for the second. Both were into wrong driveways and I had to do a U-turn by backing and filling on sloping gravel. EXCITING!!!

Mike and Marianne took me to a great Italian place for dinner and now I'm going to bed. Mike probably wants out of here before 11:00!

We're going to replace my brake lever and re-tape the back end of my right wind deflector. Then we're heading east on US-50 as far as we can get before we stop to spend the night. Mike has to come back home on Wednesday so he can be at work on Thursday.

I'm still achy and sore all over. Neck, shoulders, knees. Should start getting in better riding shape by Thursday...or Sunday...or the end of the month when I get home.

 

[Woodaddict]

good to hear of your day 2 journey phil. no flop is a better day. you better get going early you will have 2 non participants to join you again. jim is one, mike could be another. this could be interesting, at WV rally, will phil make 8 am breakfast??

 

[Woodaddict]

well at 12:38 am est he is still on forum....................................................might be a slow start to day. if only he could hide his name.........

 

[Brillot2000]

Phil sounds like you already had yourself an adventure. I am sure there's more to come. :wink:

Have a safe trip and journey back home.

 

[junglejim]

Phil, you weren't sure what to do between the WV Gathering and the Stayin' Safe ride. Well, for one thing you can dry out your stuff.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Thanks for all the great suggestions, my friends.

Today, we're in Seymour, IN, staying at a Quality Inn. We left Mike's house at 9AM and rode to Sandoval, IL, for a late breakfast. We were on US-50 as soon as possible when we got around St Louis. 50 in IL, is nothing extra, but 50 in Indiana is magnificent. East of Shoals, IN, we were riding through a National Forest and it was like being in a long green tunnel with curves. Most curves were posted as 40mph, but 50 was a nice speed to take them. We managed to avoid rain, although we're expecting some during the night to night. We ate at the Chili's next door and then sat at the picnic table outside the hotel and smoked a couple of stogies. Mike is leaving in the morning to head home -- about a 6 hour drive for him.

My legs -- my knees to be more precise are hurting -- I'm only 300 miles away from the WV Rally site, so I'm gonna' stay another night here in Seymour and then ride in on Thursday.

I'll add some more detail to this report tomorrow.

 

[DirtFlier]

It sounds as if you won't have time for Iron Pony and the AMA museum before the NT Gathering so maybe you should do them after our event since you have some dead time before the Staying Safe course?

 

[Phil Tarman]

That's a possibility.

Mike got home OK and only got sprinkled on. It's rained hard in here in Seymour, but has quit now. There is a flood alert for this area, but sun's starting to peek through.

A couple of observations about my ride so far:

1) I remember when I first bought my bike the indicated fuel mileage was always quite a lot more than the calculated mileage. That's reversed. I'm calculating 3-4 mpg better than the indicated. Anybody else had this change.

2) My lack of power at full throttle continues. Seems like when I wind it wide, it doesn't exactly miss, but it seems to be starving. I've been able to cruise at speeds up to 75 w/ no issues, but passing power isn't very inspiring. I'm beginning to worry about a fuel pump being the issue.

3) My Rostra cruise control quit working not long after we left Mike's on Tuesday. Then it worked again for 50-60 miles and quit again. But after we stopped for a cold drink at the McDonalds in Loogooteee, it was back and never flickered even once. Go figure....

Pictures: Mike leading us onto the bridge over the Mississippi; the Forest in Indiana; Mike following me in Indiana (don't know why I can't get the picture to show as a portrait format. I tried rotating it and nothing happened any differently when I copied it into this note.

 

[Brillot2000]

A couple of observations about my ride so far:

1) I remember when I first bought my bike the indicated fuel mileage was always quite a lot more than the calculated mileage. That's reversed. I'm calculating 3-4 mpg better than the indicated. Anybody else had this change.

2) My lack of power at full throttle continues. Seems like when I wind it wide, it doesn't exactly miss, but it seems to be starving. I've been able to cruise at speeds up to 75 w/ no issues, but passing power isn't very inspiring. I'm beginning to worry about a fuel pump being the issue.

My thoughts on your observations:

1) MPG will vary as the engine "Breaks In" has the engine wears over time. You should be concerned if you noticed a huge drop in your MPG. This could be a sign of impending doom.

2) The fuel pump is one avenue that could lead to a loss of power due to a drop in fuel rail pressure supplied to the injectors. Given how many miles you got on the bike there's also the possibilities of worn injectors, pistons, rings, valves, or etc... When was the last time you had a compression check done on the bike or checked the valve clearances? A tight valve could also cause a loss of power, so the accumulation of carbon in the combustion chamber. These are several of the possibilities and it could also be something else entirely.

I am just helping you to consider the possibilities to the cause of the power loss. I wish you a safe trip to your destination and journey back.

 

[junglejim]

1) I remember when I first bought my bike the indicated fuel mileage was always quite a lot more than the calculated mileage. That's reversed. I'm calculating 3-4 mpg better than the indicated. Anybody else had this change.

That's a first. Did your displayed mpg go down or did your calculated fuel mileage go up?

If your fuel mileage really did go up that explains the decrease in power. I'd suspect there is a fuel delivery problem (Dudly is thirsty).

3) My Rostra cruise control quit working not long after we left Mike's on Tuesday. Then it worked again for 50-60 miles and quit again. But after we stopped for a cold drink at the McDonalds in Loogooteee, it was back and never flickered even once. Go figure....

Try checking the electrical connections - or at least the ones you can actually access. I haven't seen your Rostra install, but I'm guessing you'd have to undress Dudly to get to everything.

Do you notice any relationship between the engine power and the intermittant cruise. The cruise isn't trying to over-ride your throttle is it???
Engine power still lacking with the cruise "off"?

Phil, you just don't have ordinary problems do you.

 

[Reniram]

Phil..you are the Man! Ride safe and have fun at the Rally..I am following you on the computer sadly ..not on the road.. Don't know your planned route back to Greeley, but if you end up anywhere close on I-80 at the iowa / Illinois border Quad cities you are welcome for R&R ..coffee or repairs...I'll leave the light on as they say!...

 

[seagrass]

Not sure what your fuel is like in the US but here in Australia the normal (standard fuel typically 91 or 94 RON, 94 has 10% ethanol typically) has no cleaners or additives so the fuel injectors can get clogged.

We can choose to use premium (higher octane typically 95 or 98 RON) and this fuel has additives to clean the fuel system but this is at an added cost of around 60 cents per gallon!

My first suspicion would be clogged injectors, given the miles travelled, and I would add some injector cleaner at the next fill up at double the recommended dose. If it is clogged injectors this will fix the problem and you will know it is fixed by the time the tank is about half empty.

A quick cheap and easy way to diagnose clogged injectors.

Seagrass