K11 Owners Group

[Shoganai]

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Finding a corner away from others in hopes I didn't make anyone lose their appetites from my odor, I called my husband and parents. I must have sounded breathless because I felt like I had been running uphill for the last 100 or so miles.

After checking in, I had to deal the pee explosion. I removed the Foley and bagged it with my jeans, socks and underwear in a black plastic trash bag. After tying a knot in it, I placed it by the door for morning disposal then took a lengthy, hot shower.

When I rolled out the next morning, I was starting to feel the miles. The BBG3K was without a doubt the single most difficult ride I have ever done. I fueled and ate breakfast at the Mohawk Service Plaza at MM 172, and shortly after getting back on I-90, it came to a complete standstill. I could see way down the road that both east and west bound lanes were blocked. This was NOT good and didn't bode well for clearing up any time soon.



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8/10/2013 crash on NY Thruway

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- The Thruway is back open after a tractor trailer accident on Saturday morning.

According to State Police, a serious crash involving a tractor trailer closed down all three eastbound lanes between exit 26 and 27. They said another vehicle rear ended the tractor trailer.

One person in the car was seriously injured.
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Generally speaking, no one looks at two choices and says to themselves, "I'll pick the worst one," but the longer I had to use my clutch hand, the more intense my back pain became and the longer it was taking to recover. Pain was defiantly a driving factor in the choices that were to followed for the rest of the ride.



I turned around, headed west, found a cross over and exited at 27. Well since all east and west bound traffic was being diverted into Amsterdam, I took 30 west with the intention of running the back roads west and south and re-engage the Thruway via Lower Gregg Rd to River Rd. However, when I arrived at where the GPS showed Lower Gregg crossed under the Thruway, it was and had been for some time blocked off.



So I just routed to the next waypoint which took me to I-88 and then back on I-90.

After turning north on I-495 the traffic became dense with stop and go slowdowns about every 2-3 miles. At Hwy 2, it just stopped. I jumped off again and rejoined I-495 at Hwy 119 and things were moving a little better...for a while. Starting just south of Haverhill through Merrimac it became unbearable! I couldn't let go of the clutch and was dog padding to keep from dropping the bike. I just about couldn't think straight from the pain and all I wanted was relief at any cost.

I exited again and ran up 108, 107A, 125 and then east again on 4 back to I-95. It was something like 40+/- miles and I estimate I lost an hour because of it, or broke even if I had waited for the crash to get cleared up. Sadly, the damage was done as far as the nerve compression at C6/C7. Once the area has been irritated for extended periods of time it takes a couple of days to return to normal. Suck up it Princess!

The GPS estimated I would arrive in Eastport 10 min. before the window closed. With nothing to do but try, I started calculating estimated fuel range and balancing that in keeping the fuel stops within 350 miles. I also stopped drinking anything for fear I would loose valuable time with a pee break. I came up with needing just one more fill-up and picked the Kennebunk Service Plaza. I jumped off, swiped my AMX card which I had been using without issue the entire trip, opened the main and AUX tanks, turned around and the screen said. "See Attendant".

Believe you me, I started swearing like a drunken sailor as I stormed over to see the attendant. I'm normally a calm person even under stress, but extended periods of pain had made me less tolerant. I said to her, "Please reset the pump and I'll use another card". She replied, "Are you from Canada?" I almost yelled, "No! Just reset the pump, that's all I want!" and I started back to the bike while pulling out my Master Card. DONE! This was one of my pre-researched stops and I already had all the data I needed. I jotted the ODO info on it and just stuffed the receipt in my jacket pocket and left quickly.

The rest of the way to Eastport was highly focused and intensely purposeful. By the time I exited onto 9 in Maine I had gained a 23 min. window and by the time I reached Eastport I had gained 19 more. I didn't know it at the time, but as I made the last turn before Bay City Garage, I was being filmed. Colleen and her husband Walt had been following my SPOT and had ridden out to meet me on their 2003 Honda VTX 1800. She filmed me from behind at I pulled up to the pumps. True to her word, Colleen opened the store for me and I bought a soda 52 min. before the window for a Sunrise to Sunset West to East closed. My friend Dave had also been following SPOT and rode up from Boston, ME to greet me at the end of my journey.

This picture he took of me in an unguarded moment says it all.





(L>R Walt, Colleen and Dave)




After Colleen and Dave signed my witness forms, Dave and I went for a celebration dinner at the Chowder House.

I want it ALL!
And ordered one on the bottom.







Avert your eyes! Me eating lobster is not a pretty sight!



However, Dave was none-the-less amused!





While we ate and talked, Mary and friends showed up having tracked me down because my SPOT was still on, to tell me she had turned away seven couples JUST to save a room for me. She also had a BBQ chicken dinner waiting for me when I got there. How sweet is that!





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_________________
1993 K1100RS aka The Shop Whore
1994 K1100RS aka Blue Streak

The long road is a rainbow and the pot of gold lies there.
So slip the chain and I'm off again,
You'll find me everywhere. I'm a Rover. - JT


Nana korobi ya oki

[Shoganai]

I've been writing all day and now I need to attend to house and supper then get ready to work all night. It is the first of 6 nights in a row. I still need to write the closing stories and the ride wrap up, but that will have to wait for a few days.

Thank you all for reading about my ride.
_________________
1993 K1100RS aka The Shop Whore
1994 K1100RS aka Blue Streak

The long road is a rainbow and the pot of gold lies there.
So slip the chain and I'm off again,
You'll find me everywhere. I'm a Rover. - JT


Nana korobi ya oki

[SugarHillCTD]

The more I read the more I am over-the-top impressed by your amazing ride Gwen.

WOW! WOW!

May your work tonight be busy but not too busy.

John
_________________
John & Cathy

'92 K100RS4V Pearl White SOLD
'04 K1200GT
IBA Several-SS1k, BBG, 50CC NYC to S.F.

[Shoganai]

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After Dave took the picture of me by the fisherman statue, we hugged and parted way. I rode to the Milliken House where Mary was waiting for me with even more food.





She even saved a copy of the newspaper article for me also!



We sat there for over an hour talking about everything from the ride to how she tracked me via SPOT and the events around Eastport while I was gone.

The next morning it was all I could do to propel myself to get back on the bike. I just didn't want to ride. I procrastinated as long as I dared while sharing the last few hours with my hosts.



I was very impressed with the beautiful scroll work all over the home. Mary told me he late husband made them all. I wish I had noticed the camera setting, sadly many are out of focus.

This home harkens back to a time of multigenerational households. Faces not Facebook. Story time, not Prime time. When the only voices in the rooms were those of your family and friends.





























Mary taking bookings.



Mary and Vonda insisted on taking me down to Quaddy Bay Lobster to buy me one last lobster roll (are you see a pattern here, I LOVE those things!)





Mary ordered a crab roll.









I felt a twinge of sadness and a little regret as I mounted up. I was leaving a little bit of my heart in Eastport and I promised myself I would be back.



I cannot say enough good things about Mary and her Millikan House Bed & Breakfast. If you are ever in Eastport, I highly recommend staying there!

.
_________________
1993 K1100RS aka The Shop Whore
1994 K1100RS aka Blue Streak

The long road is a rainbow and the pot of gold lies there.
So slip the chain and I'm off again,
You'll find me everywhere. I'm a Rover. - JT


Nana korobi ya oki

[Shoganai]

.


The ride south was brutal but at least the pressure was off so I allowed myself all the freedom to stop and go as I wished. My left arm was almost useless with weakness and any attempt to use to lit the fire and pressure across my left shoulder blade.


I stopped for a nap very close to a fuel station. Rarely will you find a better Iron Butt Motel than this. Closed for business, open for napping!



After about an hour, I rode over to the fuel station to top off my coffee and fuel tanks.

I dropped my bike on the left side while at a fuel station because my left foot stepped on a wet paint stripe. Jason, the nice young man I had been talking with for some time, again delaying having to ride, helped me lift it.



Then I had to fill my coffee again!



When I arrived at Augie’s in Waltham, I was pretty done. I ate a snack while Jeff and I did a little catching up then hit the bed. The next morning the sweetheart dragged / rode the blue boat anchor up to the street.



I love ya Caveman!
Thank you for all you have done for me on this trip and over all the years we’ve been friends.

I was very thankful he allowed me the use of his 478 to get home

I dropped my bike again while lifting it on the center stand at the fuel pump and in retrospect I feel the weakness in my left arm may have contributed to that. At some point in my riding history I stopped caring if anyone saw me dropping my bike and have just been glad someone was around to help me pick it up.

Again, I didn't push myself too hard and I didn't feel like dealing with heavy traffic so I routed down I-81. I stopped often to rest and twice for blown fuse issues that needed sorting out. When the fuse blew the second time, I exited to a shady parking lot to have a closer look. I found the front right turn signal socket and bulb damaged and guessed it was shorting out so I cut the wires to the socket, taped them off and had no more blown fuses.

It wasn't until I was south of Front Royal, VA did I experience my first hint of rain. I ridden over 10,500 miles without even a drop and this lasted for about 30 min. Many years ago an old woman in a nursing home told me one of the things she missed the most was the feel of rain on her face. She had been there for nine years. I was so moved, I swore off packing or wearing rain gear except in the winter. Thank you Mrs. Dobson.

I arrived home late in the evening to an open garage and my wonderful husband snapping pictures as I pulled in. It was so very good to be safely home.


The words of my friend Charlie Smith came back to me; he said, ".....picture the landing" It is an aviation thing, I have MORE than a little experience with that - it is not about the ride (or the flight) - it's about LANDING......picture yourself home and safe in Culpeper AFTER the ride - if you see that, then you are good to go - if you DON'T see that.........you may want to rethink the trip."

Charlie, I did and I never lost sight of it, thank you.

While I was riding home, I was already making lists of things I did right or wrong and what worked or failed or needed adjusting. Assessing myself, mentally, this was a very satisfying ride I'm content with. Physically, I don't believe I could do another LD ride until I have my C6-C7 addressed. I've put it off for several years and as high a tolerance of pain as I have, this ride may have put me over the edge. 20% was pain free, 70% of the ride I was in mild pain (scale 4 to 5) but for 10%, I was in tearful agony. The nerve compression causes deep, searing, unrelenting upper back, left shoulder and left arm pain. Pain does not in and of it's self kill, but allowing it to win would be something I couldn't have lived with. Anaïs Nin wrote, “The secret of joy is the mastery of pain.” She was never more proven in my mind than this ride. I also need to continue to lose weight and I need to be in better general condition.

I would add these suggestions; I do not use a wallet while riding; instead I drill small holes in all my credit cards in the middle of the short side, tie a little loop of fishing line through the hole then attach a small clasp through the loop. I modify a retractable name badge so that I can attach all my credit cards on one, and then attach the badge holder to the inside of my safety vest pocket. This provides extremely rapid access to them at all times (on or off the bike) and reduces the chance of losing them. The system allows me to easily unsnap them if needed to hand them over for payment.


Random musing on things that need work: I use water proof notebooks and pens, but I would add a pen on my jacket so that I wouldn’t need to access my tank bag. I’m still not happy with my receipt management, so I’ll keep my eyes open to learn how others deal with them. Having dropped the bike on the left side, damaging the J&M switch, I’ll work on finding a better way to mount it. Because I lost the use of the J&M on the west coast, I had to ride all the way home without audio. So my to-do-list will also include a backup audio input for my iPod or XM that will by-pass the CB. The oilcaddy worked great and now I don’t have to worry about oil leaks inside my panniers anymore. The loose wires for charging or powering things inside my tank bag drove me nuts so I’ll work on cleaning that up. The LED inside the tank bag was beyond awesome; no more having to find or hold a flashlight just to look inside. And made looking inside the bag while riding easy and safe.

On dropped the bike, I know I'll do it again so I'm working the a metal man near Bristol, TN to help me developed either frame sliders and/or crash bars for the K1100RS.

I believe my biggest routing/riding mistake was not giving myself more time between Syracuse and Eastport. I underestimated the traffic and decreased rate of travel. I should have only set aside six to seven hours for sleep after the BBG3K, not ten.


Again I wish to thank everyone who supported and encouraged me and Watt for setting the hook. I just piloted the bike, YOU all made it possible!





That’s all I have time for today. I’ll post about how the bike faired and give a full damage report later.


.
_________________
1993 K1100RS aka The Shop Whore
1994 K1100RS aka Blue Streak

The long road is a rainbow and the pot of gold lies there.
So slip the chain and I'm off again,
You'll find me everywhere. I'm a Rover. - JT


Nana korobi ya oki

[Shoganai]

.

Damage assessment


The left saddle bag is basically toast.








The upper fairing is badly damaged.








I had a lot of oil to clean up from the belly pan. I still need to replace the rear main seal. I'll get to it around June.








This is how the EZ-Pass worked perfectly.





Lost a bolt that held the rear fender on.





The oil caddy was made un-square from a left side drop. It was easy to bent back to a squarish shape.








10,000+ miles on PR2's


Rear





Front





Of course the damaged J&M switch.





And the MIA belly pan bracket.






Overall I have to say the bike faired very well with the exception of all the dropped damage, and even with that abuse I still stand by the fact these old K-bikes are about as bullet-proof as anything on two wheels.


Ride it like you stole it!

-Shogs


.
_________________
1993 K1100RS aka The Shop Whore
1994 K1100RS aka Blue Streak

The long road is a rainbow and the pot of gold lies there.
So slip the chain and I'm off again,
You'll find me everywhere. I'm a Rover. - JT


Nana korobi ya oki