Dr Tim Walter's Big Adventure!

[TopCatGr58]

Below are the email posts from Dr. Tim Walters and his trip from Florida thru Ga, NC, Tenn., and back home! He is more active on the Yahoo group, but only had email access during his trip, so I've reposted them here for your enjoyment! His trip started on May 11, 2007.
T.C.

Hi all!

I will post a bit each day I can get to the internet... if you do not want to get these, just let me know!

Jim Hayward met me at 8am at Cracker Barrel... after a nice breakfast we headed up I95... he has a beautiful Honda Valkyrie (sorry about all the lovebugs we rode through, Jim!).... we rode to Okeechobee on Florida 710, a nice road... we did have one close call when a loose dog (a bloodhound I think!) ran in fron of an auto-transport truck in front of us... neveryone, including the dog, survived, but it was scary!

After Jim turned back at Okeechobee (thanks for the pacing, Jim!), I turned north on US 27, another good road... a bit later construction got the better of it, and it seemed like it was going to rain (it did a little, in fact)so I opted for I75 at Wildwood... around Gainesville the smoke got really bad (see attachment)...

I got to Valdosta around 630... and had a lot of trouble getting online... all in all, though, a good day!

Tim

PS Wrote this last night and lost internet in my room before I could send it. so, I will send it this morning if the net stays on long enough!

Dr. Tim Walters
Department of Music
Florida Atlantic University
Jazz Rats Big Band and The Ratz!

"owned by a 79 XS1100 Special..."

"please put the trumpet down and back away slowly..."
}8^

Hi,

Day 2 has been an adventure... dodged two drunken semi drivers by Atlanta, had a lady pull up by me at a gas station whose car had just been hit hard (lots of damage) by a tire bouncing down I75... and last but not least I lost my rear brakes!

I am writing this email from the patio of Dave's Steakhouse and Piano Bar on US 41 in Marietta GA, eating my grilled cheese and bacon and drinking my diet coke... I tell you that because my plan was to be in Huntsville by now, having dinner with my sons... I thought I could make it there with just front brakes, but it was not to be... evidently all of Marietta leaves town Friday nights on US 41... it has been a solid 15 mile traffic jam for over 2 hours now... add the huge lightning/rain storm we are having and I had had enough!!

I pulled over to WOW Cycles (a very nice used bike shop), also in Marietta on US 41, to let the bike cool after sitting in bumper to bumper for 1 hour... and the kid there took one look and said my master cylinder needed a rebuild... brake fluid all over and the pedal bottoms out... turns out there is a shop in Doraville that does great work on antique Yamahas... if traffic is nomal tomorrow I can make it there no problem; hopefully they are open Saturdays!

PS it is beautiful sitting out here watching the lightning... a cool
breeze... not too bad at all, considering!

Dr. Tim Walters

Hi,

Made it to Huntsville, sitting in my sons' living room, woo hoo!

The brakes are fixed, I found an old time motorcycle repair shop in Acworth GA that would take pity on a guy with a limping bike on a Saturday! It was fixed in an hour, I sat at an excellent coffee shop and watched a movie on my ipod while I waited, how cool is that?? Rode on some excellent roads today: old US 41 in GA, Alabama 68... lots of hills and curves... much better with rear brakes!

I will be staying here a few days, I'll start with the updates again when I get back on the road...

Florida roads,at least in south FL, are so BORING!

PS here are a couple of pics of the beast, all packed up at a gas station somewhere in GA!

Dr. Tim Walters

[TopCatGr58]

The Good, the Bad, and the UGLY!

Hi from Blue Ridge GA!

This was a day, I will say that... started great, Russell Welding in
Huntsville fabricated a beautiful bracket and welded it to my bike to hold the hiway pegs... I have attached pics of them... and, I added two states to my jacket (TN and NC)!

I headed towards Chattanooga, doing well... in New Hope (TN I think) there is a cool suspension bridge on a side road... I decided to go over and look at it... I pulled off the main hiway, and went over the bridge... after that I turned into a driveway to turn around, and my front tire hit some loose gravel... I went down hard! As you can see from the pics, the corner of the fairing and the right saddlebag took the brunt of it... if they had not been there the bike would have really creamed my leg... as it is my right knee and right arm are bunged up pretty good. About 3-4 guys pulled over to check on me (I am a little hazy on the first few minutes after the accident!)... they set the bike back up, and after about 15 minutes, I tried to start it... it did start, and I went on my way... the fairing is a bit crooked, but other than that the bike runs as well as it did before, which is great... I am one sore and tired camper tonight though! Kathy, I won't have to worry about painting the fairing now, it is pretty screwed up on that corner, and I am glad I have an extra suitcase at home, this one is well cracked now... better that than my leg!

Later as I was driving, and stopping, I noticed the rear brakes fading again... and by the time I approached Cherokee NC they were gone. I pulled into a little repair place, and they pointed me towards the Yamaha shop here (Blue Ridge, GA)... the long and short of it is the Yamaha shop won't help me at all... I am going online after I send this to try to track down a rebuild kit for the rear brakes, have it sent to me (at the motel), and try to find someone around here who will install it... I drove on some really curvy, hilly roads today, and without rear brakes I do not want to try the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is even curvier and hillier!

I will attach a few more pics from today's ride... I am sorry I don't have one of the bridge in New Hope! There are some from a TVA dam (Ocoee #1), and some from the site of the 1996 canoe/kayak Olympic site, at which I stopped for a while...

I have reserved two nights here...and may be here for a while longer than that... the bike just isn't safe with only front brakes!

Dr. Tim Walters[/quote]

[TopCatGr58]

The Blue Ridge, Day 2

Hi all,

I am waiting in Blue Ridge for the parts to fix my bike... they should be here by Tuesday...

This morning I left my room and met a guy(Bohn Frazier) who is also staying here who has an XS1100 and a XS750 (actually 2 750s... the other one is much better than this one!) like I do... he is also a member of the XS internet group, and he gave me some phone numbers of local shops... I will be going to Elijay GA to get the work done... my new friend also gave me some great tips on restoring old bikes... and as you will see from the pics I am attaching, he practices what he preaches... these are '78 and '79 bikes... he is off riding the red 750 all through the hills... as you can see, his 1100 has GPS, satellite radio, etc etc etc... it goes to show what can be done with time and effort... they are beautiful! Plus, after looking at mine he says mine is easily restorable...

Also attaching several pics of downtown Blue Ridge... one of the main street, one of the safe in the coffee shop (converted from a bank) I am haunting, and one of the vintage train Tim, Eric and I might ride this weekend...

Off to a hot bath, my arm and leg continue to improve!

Dr. Tim Walters

[TopCatGr58]

The Blue Ridge, continued!

Hi all,

Looks like my visit to Blue Ridge, GA is coming to an end after a week... the part for my bike came in this afternoon, and tomorrow at 10:30am I have an appointment at the shop to get the brakes fixed! If all goes well, I will be in Cherokee, NC on Thursday... I don't think I will try to get there tomorrow; I will leave here Thursday morning. My route goes through Tellico Plains, Tennessee and over to Cherokee, a great motorcycle ride I am told...

I have had a good time here, I heartily recommend the vintage train, Amicolala Falls and the food, and not necessarily in that order!

Dr. Tim Walters

May 24 update:

Hi all!

I will be on my way tomorrow! I visited Eastside Cycle in Ellijay this morning, and the bike is fixed (for details, see PS below!). I will pack up tonight and try to hit the road around 6am... Tim, Nikki and Eric, I ate lunch today at the Mexican place next to the motel, and have eggs with chorizo in the fridge to munch for breakfast!

My plan: I will go up to Tellico Plains TN, then across to Cherokee NC... hope to be at Cherokee by noon. Then I will hit the Blue Ridge Parkway... I have a reservation for tomorrow night at the Big Linn Lodge in Little Switzerland:

http://www.biglynnlodge.com/

Saturday I will eat breakfast at the lodge at head on... I will log on tomorrow night to tell you all how the first Blue Ridge leg went!

PS I would like to add Rex, and his shop Eastside Cycle (1504 Burnt Mtn Road, Ellijay, GA 30536, 635-4443), to the list of good guys I have met on this trip... I got there this morning at 1030 and they went to work on the bike immediately... unfortunately, the master cylinder on my bike was not rebuildable, lots of pitting in the hydraulic cylinder. Rex just happened to have an abandoned XS1100 in the weeds behind his shop (I bet it is the only one for hundreds of miles!)- I sent a pic of it a few days ago... and he took the master cylinder off it. It was almost usable, and Rex "engineered" it (actually took parts off mine and it and put them together with several altered bolts to hold it together) to make it work, which it does, very well... he also tightened my cam chain... the guys in the shop and all those coming to get work done or just jaw a bit were all great... I was out of there in under 2 hours and for a very reasonable price, especially considering the improvisation Rex had to perform to get it to work! All you XSers: Rex is a good guy, and he has a parts bike (minus the rear master cylinder!)...

Dr. Tim Walters

May 25:

Hi, all,

Just a short message from Cherokee before I head out... south! My bike is having a problem with the steering bearings... was starting to show up in Ellijay... I rode the Cherohala Skyway this morning, it was great (thanks for the tip, Jim!) but I noticed some "sticking" of the handlebars on slow turns (not a good thing!)... anyway, coming off it onto US 19 into Cherokee, the steering got really tight in the intersection and I coasted across into some gravel and went down again! I know when I am licked, at least this time I had my chaps on! A big knot in my calf is all I have to show for this one... the good news is the fairing is straight now, not exactly the way I wanted it to be straightened, though! I am glad I bought two extra suitcases when they came up on ebay, the other one is messed up now... I have learned a few things... and next year will be better prepared!

I will take US 441 south from here, and try to make Athens tonight... that way I can skip all of Atlanta's problems... I will email again when I get settled for the night, wherever that is!

Dr. Tim Walters

Athens, Ga.:

Hi, all,

Made it safely to Athens, GA... the bike is about 95% secure on regular hiways, like US 441 which I took here from Cherokee... I have to be careful stopping and starting at lights, it seems to want to wander and tip... called my mech in Delray (he is ordering the newer type tapered bearings for it)... he says it probably has the original ball bearings in it, and as soon as he said it it rang a bell... it feels like a chair with a ball bearing caster with one ball bearing mssing... it is smooth for a time, then catches... that said, it seems very solid on roads where I lean to turn, like 441, and I don't anticipate any problem getting back. I will update regularly!

Was going to take a hot bath tonight after my spill today, but Tim Jr. says that will encourage the big knot in my leg to get bigger... so, I will take a hot bath with my leg out of it!

Dr. Tim Walters

[TopCatGr58]

Cherohala Skyway photos, and THE END!

Cherohala Skyway photos:

Here are some pics from the Cherohala Skyway... it went to over 6000 feet of altitude!
Dr. Tim Walters

Hi,

Just a quick note, I am paying for the internet at a McDonalds in Palatka!

I stayed in Homerville GA last night at the Royal Inn... it was either the best or second best motel in town (there were two, I tried the first one I came to)... no internet... but a very good night's sleep!

I decided to press on south through the smoke (really bad north of Fargo GA, lots of firefighters from all over in town... I met one from Casper WY!) on US 441. When I got to Lake City FL, I decided to take Fl 100... it goes over to the east FL coast. I will ride a bit of US 1 south from the coast in honor of the trip my brother and I were planning, and will make sometime in the future!

I have also decided not to try to make it all the way back tonight, so will get to Delray tomorrow...If I can find a motel with internet I will post again tonight.

Dr. Tim Walters

A short note from New Smyrna

Hi,

Just a short note from New Smyrna Beach... on my way south on US 1... stayed in a nice motel, but with no internet. New Smyrna Beach has an anti-development bent, so no big hotels (except one Holiday Inn that was grandfathered in). Also, no fast food (this McDonald's is on US 1 a few miles south).

I will stay on US 1 until it gets too city-dominated, then hit I95. Should be home late in the afternoon or early evening... the trip has been a lot of fun... not what I planned that often, but fun nonetheless. When I get back I will have a few more pics to send, just can't send from here!

Dr. Tim Walters

May 28, 2007

Hi, all,

Got back at 330pm, unpacked and now it's time for a nap!

[Wildkat]

Wow!

Thanks for the update stuff T.C.!

Geez Doc! That was quite the trip! I think T.C. had it pegged when he called it the Good the Bad and the Ugly... but I think you might have had more good than the other...
Great pics too

Glad you made it home safely!