The meeting place.

Im about 45 min early. Why didnt Russ anticipate this and beat me here? I hate ohio so much i only stopped once to eat and get gas. Its like 80 degrees here. Had to strip all my layers off, as it was 58 when i left Michigan.

A real Travel Pack

A lot of posts have been going around about how guys roll on the long 2 wheel journeys. I'm all like "Pffffffff!"

 This is how I roll.

Backpacker's...erm...backpack. Tons of pockets, what do I put in it? My sleeping bag.
Little green backpack? my clothes and toiletries.
By clothes I mean the holiest undies and sock I have. The ones I need to get rid of. wear'em and ditch'em. Couple of shirts, a spare pair of jeans. Spare because I've been known to shit myself. Not like, "Oops I shouldn't have trusted that fart", but more, "OMG!!! I made it to the toilet in plenty of time why is the toilet and stall covered in feces?!"
It happens.

A lot.

Anyways, that blue thing between them is the tent my wife picked up for me at wally world so I wouldn't have to walk all the way to the shed to air out the perfectly fine one I have.

Oh you want to know about my tools? I'll let you in on that too.
I have whatever tools Honda deem necessary to gimme, a pen, flashlight, and an extension cord. At least I think I still have the tools Honda put in there. The tools be under the seat somewhere, the pen is in the tankbag with the flashlight. The extension cord is in one of the saddlebags.

The other bag is empty.

Tomorrow I head to KY to meet the Mayor, and then we go to the tail of the dragon and beyond.

I'll update as we progress.

Simichrome: Back to basics

So, the guy I bought the V Star from never cleaned it. It's not real bad, he just didn't have a garage, so in the summer when not in storage, it was outside. He kept it covered, but not all the time. Anyways, I wanted to polish up the chrome. It had a lot of water stains and tree sap. I first tried my brand new bottle of Mothers. It shined it up a little, but wouldn't touch the stains and oxidization. The I remembered Boomer gave me a tube of Simichrome years ago. It was still sitting in my tool box drawer. I've used this product many times in the past, but it's not carried in most retail stores, nor is it advertised much, so I tend to forget about it. You can find it at any good bike shop, or online.
Long story short, this stuff not only took all the stains off with little effort, but it left a deeper, better shine. This is a must own product for chrome or any metal. I'm sure you know about it, but just in case you've forgotten like me here's a reminder.

New ride!

With only 1k miles on it and years of extended warranty left how could i say no? The wife could have, but I'm glad she didn't!

Oh yeah, Abby likes her new recliner too!

Mad Mikes Burger & Fries (not my dad)

I think this is where we should meet next weekend. Not only do the locals rave about it, but it's on Dixie Hwy, which by touching, connects you back to Michigan.

Plus look at this grease nasty!! I can't wait to eat one.

The beginning of the end.

This was the start of the never ending valve check. 6 of the 8 ex valves were on the low side .008" 2 were below spec @ .007". The intakes were worse. Unfortunately i can't get adjustment pucks. Which i found out after i tore it down. Going on 2 weeks now. Just gonna slap it back together for now and maybe take it to the place in Dearborn that works on old Yamaha's.  I'll post more as it goes back together.

Um,.....I can't wait?

I better put a lot of miles as quickly as I can on the new bike. I'll have a little over a week to get a feel for the 725 pounder. I talked to the guy today, he's still good on everything. Hopefully I'll have it road ready before the end of the week.