Twelfth South'n Spine Raid 2016

[docc]

I do want to go on record that, at one point, someone asked for a hammer . . .

 

Jus' sayin' . . . .

[Blueboarhound]

You should have came down to the pavilion, Tim and I had a 4 lb sledge in the van for just such an occasion..... 

[docc]

You should have came down to the pavilion, Tim and I had a 4 lb sledge in the van for just such an occasion..... 

If that doesn't get "the line between the lines lined back up with the lines", nothing will!

 

And, rest assured, friends don;t let friends ride with under-inflated tires!

[docc]

Epitome of a Spine Raid:

[nobleswood]

All eyes on deck!

This was where Dan ( on the right ) had the bike hooked up to GuzziDiag & we were having a look at what it was telling us. Wayne is in the background having just sorted out Nick's bike's longstanding problems with the push of a few buttons ! Great stuff.

Although next year I'm bringing some fans to donate to the garage.

[nobleswood]

Thanks to everyone there for a great event!

I had heard from several people before I got to the area that it was hard to find a boring road there. Naturally I was skeptical, but they were right! From the renowned ‘Tail of the Dragon’ to my favorite The Cherohala Skyway, 51 miles of curves!

 

If any of you got to ride The dragon, look through the photographers websites;

129slayer

Killboy.com

These professionals were set up on different corners along the road & took pictures of almost everything that passed through it seemed. You can sort by Day & approximate time. 

 

Thanks to everyone’s help with the Tech session; which Docc has nicely summarized and added in the links to pages & where to find those cables. It amazed me how much stuff people had brought. We had at least 2 laptops with GuzziDiag, JRD had a cable to set the TPS, Wayne had a set of vacuum taps & a throttle body balancer.

So my Bike & Nick’s got a helpful going over. Wayne & Docc coaching me through the procedures, which don’t seem so daunting now.

[docc]

That last photo reminds me of a surgical team or a group of rocket scientists intent on their task.

 

"They say" it ain't rocket surgery, but I'm sayin' it is!  Well done, one and all!

[Blueboarhound]

You guys brought all that fancy wizardry.....Tim and I brought a hammer. Hokey religions and ancient computers are no match for a good 4lb sledge at your side kid.   

[docc]

You guys brought all that fancy wizardry.....Tim and I brought a hammer. Hokey religions and ancient computers are no match for a good 4lb sledge at your side kid.   

Heh - I choked on my Montana KettleHouse ColdSmoke ScotchAle on that one! :grin:

[danl]

While it's hardly an original sentiment at this point, I wanted to chime in and say that It was really great to meet all the members that made the trip to "The Spine Frame Lodge At Tellico" this year.  What an awesome group of people we have here on the forum!  I am so glad I finally decided to come down to the SSR.  My only regret is that I didn't make the trip on the V11.

 

I ended up spending a little too much time exploring on Sunday and Monday, which forced me to make up about 500 miles on rte 81 and 95 to get home late Tuesday night.  The total distance ended up around 1950 miles from Thursday to Tuesday.  It had been 6 years since I rode in that area, and I had forgotten just how spectacular all the roads are!

 

A lot of the pictures I took at the Garage Of The Lodge are near duplicates of the ones that have already been posted.  Here are some from the lodge as well as some others from my trip down and back:

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bx45EOFz-2hpVEdpaC1IMkxjY1E

 

I was travelling alone, so I ended up with a lot of pictures of a riderless Stelvio posing in front of things.

[Bill Hagan]

 

So, the BLUF — Bottom Line Up Front for you acronym haters :-) — is that I have been under good-natured attack recently by certain … let’s just say “nonguzzisti” ... for, as they funnily put it, “failing to invite” or “disinviting” them to the 2016 SSR.

 

George, Dennis (The Chancellor:), and Kevin, all Atlanta riders of Other Brands, have been to at least one SSR. They loved it; we loved them.  But they didn’t come to this one … and they blame me!  

 

Before I go further, see George’s video … which, well, is vintage George, thus way funny and quirky: 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLOda1vwhx8&feature=youtu.be

 

George had lurked here last year to get info about prior SSR’s, but apparently relied on me to keep him posted on when and where, etc.

 

Unfortunately, as neither he, Dennis, nor Kevin had responded to my several emails about other rides I went on after they joined me on that stupendous “mutton ride” to Kentucky last May — see, etc., https://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/Men-Motorcycles-Mutton/ — I supposed they had lost interest or were too busy or whatever.  I very much regret that, as I think their disappointment is genuine, tho the vid shows that they have a sense of humor about it.

 

So, I will apologize to them — with all sorts of disclaimers, naturally, about how it is really their fault.  

 

Seriously, I do feel badly and look forward to their return to the next SSR.

 

Docc’s latest emphasis on gathering, tech sessions, and individual and small-group rides rather than Harleyesque convoys are, IMO, a commendable return top the original; essence of the SSR.

 

Best to all.

 

Bill

 

[Chuck]

Now, *that* was a motorcycle video.     

[MartyNZ]

Before I go further, see George’s video … which, well, is vintage George, thus way funny and quirky:

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLOda1vwhx8&feature=youtu.be

How did George have time to make such a great video? Doesn't he have a TPS to adjust, a relay to replace, and alternator wiring to fix? Where is the episode on the oil leak, and the tune-up? And not a hammer in sight!

Unless he has one of those bikes that you just ride?

[Bill Hagan]

 

Before I go further, see George’s video … which, well, is vintage George, thus way funny and quirky:

 

How did George have time to make such a great video? Doesn't he have a TPS to adjust, a relay to replace, and alternator wiring to fix? Where is the episode on the oil leak, and the tune-up? And not a hammer in sight!

Unless he has one of those bikes that you just ride?

 

 

George is a talented guy.  A bit nuts, too, of course, but talented.

 

OK, yes, it possibly does help that he rides a Nipponese machine.  His 2003 Honda ST1300 is as boring as George is not ... boring.  OK, very fast, too. 

 

That said, I do have pix of George trying to repair his ST while on a multi-day ride from Atlanta to Virginia, and if you opened that "mutton" link, you saw another episode of a similar sort.  I need to dredge that up every now and then when George gets in one of his "moods" ... as in now.

 

Actually, this is one of my favorite pix of George, taken in the Poconos on the way to the 2015 national rally in New Hampshire. 

 

 

 

 

More here if you care: 

https://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/Sashaying-to-Swanzey-in-2015/n-NR8Rrf/

 

Bill

[czakky]

That was a funny video! Honda or not.