Arkansas attack!! WARNING!! Very photo intensive!!

[trbig]

Russ79 and I decided to meet up in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, to do a little riding and check for good routes for the Bob Jones Memorial Rally in May. Friday, (March 6th) was calling for temps in the mid 70's, and we were both having a bit of winter blahs going and needed to stretch our riding legs a bit.

We met Thursday night at the hotel in Eureka Springs, then headed out Friday morning. This is a creek we saw south of Harrison. My bike is the '82 XJ, and Russ' is the 79 Special with a 6+ gallon tank.








Russ and his steed...





We made a quick potty break by this river. (Yeah, we had to go BEFORE we saw the water... )








Later, another stop with a "Refreshment" break.








RUSS!!! Hide the beverage.. I'm going to post these!











We've been sitting the whole time, and guess what Russ wants to do...








Arkansas had a BAD ice storm recently. You can see some damage here that is evident on a large percentage of the trees there. Road crews are still trying to clean up and we passed several.





There are lots of unprotected curves that drop off.. so be on your toes here.








Some general roads here.


























Views from a cliffside restaurant.








The old Jailhouse in Jasper.





And ANOTHER beverage stop.





After a full day of riding, scraping pegs, and generally riding like idiots without a scratch, including this from a truck pass...





... We returned back to the hotel for a few more beverages. The parking lot of the hotel had a grade to the right side for drainage that apparently didn't let my bike lean far enough on the sidestand. I was talking to Vince ( Vincer) on the phone and CRASH!!! My bike fell over. I have an old (20+ years that you can't get OEM replacement parts for) Shoei fairing. Here's the result from one little fall...





SO... I had a 300 mile ride to make this morning with rain threatening by the end of the day with no windshield any more. I have no clue how some of you people ride naked bikes... but I HATE it! Before I left Eureka Springs this morning, I rode downtown to take a few pics of the place for you guys. Historic downtown has side by side restaurants, taverns, and shops that you could spend a whole day walking and snooping. None of the pics came out worth a crap to show you.. so you'll just have to take my word! lol. Here's one of the Basin Park Motel. Almost all the buildings were built in the 1800's. The Basin Park is in Ripley's Believe it or Not because every floor of the hotel is a ground floor! lol. The left side of the building is built into a hillside. Most of this part of town is built into a steep hillside.





Continued on part 2...

[trbig]

Part 2...

The architecture on the old homes in the area is pretty awesome. Here's a few of them as I rode around.











And here's the Crescent Motel built in 1886. It has a long history and is supposed to be very haunted. They have nightly ghost tours.





I then proceeded home bucking 30-40 mph winds with no windshield while I rode at 80-90mph and did my best human parachute impression. Did I mention that sucked!?!?

One more thing I want to mention here. It is of my opinion that the XJ has one of the most uncomfortable seats made when it comes to distance riding. Before I headed out Thirsday, I stopped in at Walmart to see if there was ANYTHING I could use as a seat cushion for the trip. I found a cushion that they have rolled up and made for 4-wheelers for @ $16 and thought "What the heck. If it doesn't work, it's cheap enough to just throw away." It actually fits the seat nice...





Now don't get me wrong. The cushioning is VERY firm and it's not something you sit on and think, "Wow, that's comfy!", but what it does prevent is something Vincer seemed to explain best about the XJ's seat and distances. "It feels like I'm sitting on an open shark's mouth and he's chomping bites out of my azz!" That really does explain it best I think. With this cushion, I rode three days straight of 300 miles a day, and felt fine for much more. It's no fancy Air Hawk.. but it may be worth a try for those on a bit of a budget like me.

And finally... another crappy quality video that I risked life and limb to bring you.. lol. Sorry about all the bugs on the windshield (That doesn't exist any more...) Yes, it's shot while riding one-handed again.. so it's shakey and I stayed in 3rd the whole time, but can hit 100+ with the 750 final drive in that gear. I'd had a couple "Beverages", so watch for the back tire leaving the pavement, listen for a scrape early on, along with a couple curves I went into too hot and squalled the tires a bit slowing down. I swear I can actually ride if I use two hands! lol. This is only part of a road we found that nobody seems to know about. (No V-Twins or cages in the way) It was a gravel road until recently and will DEFINATELY be ridden in the memorial rally in May!! The video doesn't show the extreme elevation changes or scenery, and both Russ and I agree that it is the funnest, most technically demanding road either of us has ridden. Enjoy!!


http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ringsfixed.flv

[CatatonicBug]

Very nice scenery! Looks like a fun place to ride through. That river is gorgeous! I just love historical places like that. Thanks for sharing!

[DGXSER]

Awesome river views for sure!!

Todd, you scare me just watchin that video. I must be an old wuse. Or maybe just that I never rode a dirt bike, so my tires sliding out is not a comfortable feeling to me. Makes my seat go WAY up.

[Bigfoot]

You sure that wasn't a pic of my bike last year. I remember my fairing looking about like that. Sorry to see it.

Man I am jealous. I really wish I coulda been there. I am looking forward to seeing those roads in person.

Glad so see that you made it home safe.

[slow mo]

great pics and vid

looks like a wonderful trip thanks for posting!! slow mo!

[Bob Falter]

Looks like you two had a great time. Sorry I missed it.

Bob

[The Lorax]

Great write up, great pics. Sorry to read about your mishap, I'm sure you'll have it all fixed up in no time. Looks like you had a wonderful time, wish I was there. have a nice day and ride safe

[trbig]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Another thing I forgot to mention. What you see in the video was the first time I had seen or ridden the road. Russ and I went a little ways that the first minute of video more than covers when I decided to go back and video some of it... but the road kept going! Right after the video ended, we found a turnout and met a local guy riding a new BMW 1200. He was the one that told us about the road only recently being asphalt. He tells us he needs to go, gets on the road, and takes off like crazy. I looked at Russ and said, "Sorry man... I just gotta!" I fired the bike off and took off after him. He tried like hell, but I love it when people spend the big bucks on these modern bikes, yet can't shake the old antique right on their azz! I think I could have passed him, but the point was made by just sticking to his tail! lol. THAT is the stuff I wish I could film.. lots of hard riding that needs both hands.. lots of shifting to stay in the power band. Maybe some day soon I'll be able to get a decent camera with image stabilization that I can mount somewhere.

We came to a "Y" in the road after a bit and I waved to him and pulled off to wait for Russ. The BMW turned around and asked us to ride some more roads with him that he knew of, but we decided to go eat. I don't know how many of you know Russ.. but he's not one you'd want to keep from eating for too long.. He might just shrivel up and blow away... or gnaw your arm off.


Tod

[xsilerating]

Great photo spread, Todd - except, of course, the one of your bike with the missing/damaged parts. Actually, the pic is good , it's just the subject matter that leaves a lot to be desired . Certainly worth the download time with my 'trusty' dial-up connection.

Left the computer on all night downloading the video too... nicely done! That area most definitely warrants a ride/rally. Thanks for the photo's and video. They're the next best thing to being there.

Ron

[XJOK2PLAY]

Hands Off....

Hey Tod... don't be gettin any wise ideas about playin' midnight salvage with my XJ ! I like it just the way it is... Besides, Elevenator has a house sitter this week I've been told... Nice pics, though. Sucks that happened to your bike.
Bob

[trbig]

don't be gettin any wise ideas about playin' midnight salvage with my XJ

Hmmm.. Hadn't thought about it until you mentioned it! But I should.. since nobody seems to be using it right now anyway! But no... nothing I need is on your bike... except that alternator cover. Hmmmm...

Tod

[XJOK2PLAY]

Midnight Salvage dreams...

Well, what could I really do? After all, you WERE the one who just put 'er back together... and true, right now she is just sitting... but not for long!
I was releived to see how many miles you logged on this trip... couldn't remember if I tightened that last bolt on your front axle or not when I changed out your front tire...and to hear that at least the front wheel didn't come off! HeHeHe...
Let me know if I can be of any more help...

[trbig]

couldn't remember if I tightened that last bolt on your front axle or not when I changed out your front tire...

You know... funny you should mention that! As it turns out, the front brakes and axle were fine. Even the back was fine on our ride Friday. It wasn't until I was headed home Saturday that I found this...





That slot you see in this bracket should have been set around a keeper down on the swingarm. This let that whole assembly with the calipers rotate. It was fine going forwards, but apparently I backed up somewhere and used the rear brake to stop, causing the assembly to rotate back until it pulled the hose loose at the master cylinder. Next time I used it while going forward, the whole assembly rotated forward and bent that line clamp right next to the arrow.

I should have checked it out after you guys were done.. and I even installed a new end piece on that line where it goes into the M/C so I could bypass the proportion valve and didn't catch it. Really no big deal. I just need to pull that wheel off and fix it.. I just don't have the urge today to do it.. lol.

[XJOK2PLAY]

Uh-Ohhhh....

uhhhhhh..... Cody worked on that side....