3rd Nat'l NT Rally-Jul 10-13, 2013 - Spearfish, SD

10-4 on that (or if you are a pilot, Roger that.) $5 for flush toilets , showers, grass, trees, and a creek is wonderful.....not to mention you get an upper class of camp mates! (Don't ask what they charge for the Corvette rally...you don't want to know)

Phil Tarman said:
Dang! I don't know if I can afford that! Highway robbery!!

Seriously, the Spearfish campground would be a bargain at $20/night.
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Chris, have you ever noticed how often we post next to each other late at night?
 
Almost ready for the Spearfish rally. I have all my camping gear and luggage. Now I have to get the bike ready. It will spend a few days at Belmont Performance Motorcycles for a total onceover, The bike has 12,000 miles on the clock so Micah will adjust the valves, change the plugs, replace the air cleaner, and replace the clutch cable which is showing abnormal wear. He did not like the way the Honda Dealer used electrical tape on the wiring for the heated hand grips--so he will do it using shrink wrap. When he gets done, everything will be up to spec. I think that I mentioned in another thread, that his shop rivals an operating room in organization and cleanliness.

I will leave Maine on July 1 and give myself ten days cruising across Canada at a leisurely pace.. I'll drop down to South Dakota from Winnipeg. That part will be all expressway.
 
I am planning on coming in for the Rally and doing a bit of touring in the area.

This will be the first longer ride after my back started to give me problems a year ago. If the NT is as good as its been for my back on my local rides, I will make it OK. If my back gives out I will be cutting the trip short and heading home.

Can't wait to meet everyone.

Cheers, Gary
 
I confirmed the hotel rate:
Days Inn
(605) 642-7101
Group rate mention 'STOWNERS' or 'NatSTOC'
$89.10+tax/night (10th thru 13th)
 
Thanks for checking.
Those rates just paid for my new tent (which I'm about to buy)
The bug netting is ripping out of the old one.
 
junglejim said:
Thanks for checking.
Those rates just paid for my new tent (which I'm about to buy)
The bug netting is ripping out of the old one.
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LOL.. those are actually $10 cheaper than last year so for the area, not too bad. But, I do favor my tent.
 
OK then, I booked a room for the Rally today:D.
It looks like an 850 mile/14+ hour trip for me from Boise, via a non-highway route, as I have never been to the Spearfish area before.

I'm looking forward to visiting the local attractions and will try and meet up with 1 or 2 like minded riders for better enjoyment, riding at any pace that's agreeable.

At this point I'm planning to ride the NT and taking 2 days to do it, but have the option of trailering too:eek:.

I look forward to meeting all riders at the Rally,

Ken
 
Ken, looking at Streets and Trips, I'd go from Mt. Home to Fairfield, Hailey, Idaho Falls, Yellowstone, Sheridan, and then stay on US-14 from Sheridan to Gillette, WY. 846 miles, about 14 1/2 hours. I've ridden most of that and it would be a fun ride.

We look forward to seeing you at Spearfish (even if you're not going to swelter with us in the campground). :)
 
Phil Tarman said:
Ken, looking at Streets and Trips, I'd go from Mt. Home to Fairfield, Hailey, Idaho Falls, Yellowstone, Sheridan, and then stay on US-14 from Sheridan to Gillette, WY. 846 miles, about 14 1/2 hours. I've ridden most of that and it would be a fun ride.

We look forward to seeing you at Spearfish (even if you're not going to swelter with us in the campground). :)
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Phil:
Thanks, that's about the route I had in mind, maybe a little further south thru Jackson Hole and Grand Teton, as I'm not sure about some of those "seasonal" roads that far north.
Ken
 
Ken, the northern roads are all open now, but the traffic might be a little lighter if you stayed out of Yellowstone.
 
Getting the bike checked and adjusted for departure on 1 July---1800mi one way. Going Trans Canada 17 to Winnipeg and slabbing it south and west from there. See y'all in Spearfish.
 
Mine is all serviced, a major with valve adjustments and new PR3's, I ran it about 400 miles to scuff in the tires and to be sure all was well with it. NOw riding the HD for daily ride if not raining. gave it a good cleaning yesterday and today I am all stove up, left hip & lower back sore. Harley is fun bike but a cleaning nightmare especially if you arte caught in rain for any distance.!
 
EX WINGER said:
Mine is all serviced
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Mine, too. Valves checked, brake fluid flushed, pads checked, fork oil changed, new front tire, final drive oil changed, cracked windshield replaced. Engine oil and rear tire not due, yet.

Got the white line fever!
 
Its my wife's fault. She is a vampire....LOL. And its her birthday! Oh NO! That means I have to sleep with a 60 year old woman tonight!
Chris hanging on to his internet by his fingernails.....hurry repairman!
Phil Tarman said:
Chris, have you ever noticed how often we post next to each other late at night?
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I had an 8K service a couple of weeks ago. I'm planning on putting a new set of PR3s on between the PNRR and the National to be ready for the Epic Ride.

I've mentioned, I think, that my friend Ken had been to Alaska, wearing out his tires in the process of getting to Anchorage. So, naturally, he bought a new motorcycle, a 2010 KTM Adventure 990, for $2600 less than invoice plus they threw in the $1600 Hepco and Becker luggage.

Ken is my mechanical consultant and I needed him today. Yesterday, I came out of the hospital after what I hope will be my last hospital visit for a bit and the bike wouldn't start. It turned over but wouldn't fire. I had just called Ken about swinging by his place to take a gander at the KTM. I called him back to tell him that I was stuck (a whole block from his house and he said he'd grab his jumper cables and be right there. After I hung up, I tried one more time and the bike fired up and ran OK the rest of the day.

This morning I'd had several errands to run and on the last one (which was a church-related chore -- getting tags and titles for our church's Scout troop's trailers), I came out and the bike wouldn't start. I finally found someone who could come to the court-house and try to jump me. But no matter how long we sat, voltage never got above 11.8 and the bike never fired. It would only turn over about 10-12 seconds before the solenoid started clicking.

I called Sun Honda and ran my theory that I had a battery issue past one of the service writers. He thought that sounded reasonable. They only had one battery in stock, so I put it on hold and drove to Denver to get it. When they brought it out, the polarity of the connectors was wrong and they said it was the battery the parts list called for. So I went up to service and got my mechanic to come out. He agreed with me about the orientation of the +/- poles on the battery and went down to parts to check it out. When he came up he pulled the battery out of the box and laid it on its side. That made the polarity correct. I had forgotten that it was a gel battery and could be oriented in different ways. I felt pretty stupid but the service manage said, "Not as stupid as you would have felt if you'd driven 130 miles and the battery didn't fit.

I told my mechanic what was going on and he said, "Man, I hope your fuel pump hasn't gone south."

I worried about that all the way home. I went down to the courthouse parking lot pulled the old battery and started trying to put the new one in. I couldn't get the positive connector bolt started and finally called Ken. He came and we fiddled for an hour before we got that done. The bike runs
fine, but I (more properly Ken) have wires to sort out. The Denalis aren't getting any power to the switch and the cruise control control pad stays lit even when the bike is turned off.

Ken's going to come over tomorrow and we'll work through the rat's nest of wiring I've got.

I'm so relieved that the fuel pump wasn't the issue. I was afraid the PNRR was out and worried about getting to Spearfish. I could just see sitting around two or three weeks waiting on a fuel
pump to get here from Italy or somewhere.
 
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Phil Tarman said:
When they brought it out, the polarity of the connectors was wrong and they said it was the battery the parts list called for. So I went up to service and got my mechanic to come out. He agreed with me about the orientation of the +/- poles on the battery and went down to parts to check it out. When he came up he pulled the battery out of the box and laid it on its side. That made the polarity correct.
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Oh, good, I'm not the only dummy.:doh1: I did the same thing and we wound up scratching our heads for a few minutes until we figured it out. The kicker is that the battery probably didn't need to be replaced. It was winter and the bike turned over slowly, so I checked it with my garage meter. It read low, so I decided to replace it figuring that the year the thing sat before I bought it probably didn't do the battery any good. When I stuck the new one in, I checked it with the meter and it read low, though not as bad. I was peeved, but decided to check it with my good basement meter and it measured fine. Seems that my garage meter is NFG.

By the way, part of my pre-ride service was to check the tightness of the battery connections (and hose clamps, etc.)
 
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