USA Postie Coast to Coastie

[dmonkey]

Thumbs up let's do this!
2023.09.08

Rode the Honda Trail from Virginia Beach, Virginia to Greenville, North Carolina. Good sights were the Atlantic Ocean and a few bridge crossings. Ended up on a 70 mph road which was less than ideal but luckily the speed limit dropped shortly after I got on it as it was the most convenient bridge crossing along the route. I am on the support crew for my dad's 1927 Harley-Davidson JD in the Motorcycle Cannonball event so I am leaving about an hour after they leave and taking mostly back roads to meet up at the final destination each night. I don't have the route that the cannonball riders are taking and am trying to avoid seeing them on the road so they're not crowded.

Once the Cannonball motorcycles arrived for the night I ran over to ACE Hardware and picked up some nuts and bolts to replace some fender hardware that is being used to fit a mix match of larger fenders and larger tires in the 1927 JD. At least six motorcycles arrived on the sweep trailers today. Some of the issues encountered were loose clutch screws on Harley JDs, broken valve stem on the Guzzi, seized top end from oil loss on a Harley 10B, and magneto issues on an Indian twin.

My total mileage was just over 180 miles for the day, a short day with lots of traffic at the end.

 

[fernf5]

Coolest thread ever. You definitely have my attention and admiration by combining old motorcycles, the 125, looong road trip and best of all Father/Son endeavor.
(Oh yeah, love the title of the post too!)

 

[Shoot870p]

Very good! Keep on rolling.

 

[G19Tony]

I completed the Scooter Cannonball on the CT this summer. 3100 miles in 8 days. I'm doing it again in 2025, but not on the CT. I have an ADV 160 scooter on the way. That looks like a fun trip also.

 

[dmonkey]

2023.09.09
Greenville, NC to Concord, NC. Around 240 miles.
This morning the Cannonball staff warned of possible severe storms and advised us to check for messages in case emergency provisions needed to be made.

Here we see studious cannonballers making course corrections. Riders receive the day's route by roll chart map each morning 30 minutes before their class's departure time and are given another sheet of notes, errors, or last minute updates to pen onto the specially printed roll chart map.



The morning started out nice enough.



Zach and Ari aren't the only ones running motorcycle motorhomes, this gentleman said he has ridden out to see the Motorcycle Cannonball most years with his pop-up camper trailer that has over 1 million miles on it though not much is still original to the trailer. He said it's been through 16 Harleys.


Surely this gas station doesn't have bad gas.


I was not even looking for Muffler Men along this route but just can't miss them, encountered a White's Rubber muffler man holding a tire in Wilson, NC. I don't think he will be needing tire irons to mount that tire by hand.


Sure enough a storm rolled in and it was a good downpour for about two hours, with thunder following lightning by only a second or two. I'm wearing a full face helmet with pinlock, good sealing boots, and an Aerostich R3 Lite suit so my gear is mostly good in the rain with the exception of perforated leather gloves that soak through right away and because they're dyed black they dye my fingers black when wet. Luckily I have heated grips on the Postie so was able to keep my hands toasty.

http://imgur.com/iFL5MlD

Because of the weather I cut my adventures on backroads short and hopped on US 64 and took that to NC 49. Heavier trafficked roads seemed safer than flooded out back roads with tree limbs down on them, and I wanted to get off the bike and out of the storm as soon as I could. This was a bummer as I saw signs for the Legends of Harley Drag Racing Museum in Raleigh, NC and would have liked to have been able to check it out. Next time. A nice thing about this trip is that each day will be under 300 planned miles so I have some time to sight see and detour along the way, as well as stopping for enjoyable food.

The weather cleared in the final stretch and it became sunny enough to start drying out my gear. I arrived at Speedway Harley-Davidson and chased down some food while waiting for the Cannonballers to arrive. My dad was one of the last to arrive, the group he was riding with had tried to wait out the storm at a gas station with one of the event staff before it calmed enough for them to be able to see and ride through it. Many bikes did not make the time cut off, but due to the weather and safety that was waved. Quite a few of the bikes came in on trailers with electrical issues related to the rain.

My dad and his JD are doing great. Maintenance tonight is just checking and tightening fasteners, greasing zerk fittings, oiling the primary chain, dumping the crankcase oil and refilling, refuelling, and trying the stop a small fuel leak from an antique fitting with bad threads and a cracked flare.




Day continued in next post.

 

[dmonkey]

Here's some behind the scenes photos.

Joe, who is event staff, was on a Honda PC800 for last year's Cross Country Chase and I was obsessed with it. This year he's riding his Honda ST1100 and I'm trying to figure out where I can store yet another motorcycle...


A humorous photo I took of the CT125's oil consumption from the max fill line so far on this trip, next to the third case of straight 50 weight oil that's being carried for the Harley JD since it's a total loss oil system and is expected to have around 4.5 fl oz dumped and replaced at each gas stop (approximately 60 miles)


Lots of small Hondas are being hauled as pit bikes. Here's a Trail 70 in need of some upholstery.


This JD broke the engine mounts yesterday and is having them cut and welded back into place tonight. The rider says they broke on the last Cannonball and he suspects they didn't get the alignment good enough at the time, causing them to break again. While he has the engine out he's going to check for a stuck exhaust valve as the bike is occasionally running on one cylinder.



The engine missing from this Indian Chief was pushing oil.


What a parking lot to be in where they're not only pulling the engine on a motorcycle from 1930, but also have a spare engine ready to swap in.


Doc brought a few bikes from his museum for his family and crew to use as pit bikes so I had to get a Honda Trail family photo.

 

[quinnsd13]

I grew up in Va. Beach, that boardwalk hasn't changed a bit since I last remember it. I've been gone for almost 20yrs now. Love'n the route updates, yall have fun!

 

[Shoot870p]

Great report!

 

[Cardinal Direction]

This is awesome! Looking forward to more!

 

[Shoot870p]

Forgot to mention the spare engine. That is awesome! A prepared crew for sure.

 

[SneakyDingo]

Pretty sure that Trail 70 was sporting the 2024 prototype seat for the Trail 125, except it looked more comfortable

 

[dmonkey]

2023.09.10
Concord, NC to Alcoa, TN
The day started off foggy and drenched in morning dew, but the sun came out and other than some brief rain it was decent weather. Much better than the storm yesterday.

Green tunnels and twisties for most of the ride today.



The Motorcycle Cannonball had a lunch stop at the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. I shared some photos from this museum last year.


Matt Walksler from the museum has been helping some riders source parts and repairs during the event, with at least two broken bikes being trailered ahead to his workshop. Those riders lose points in the event for missing miles and a day's ride, but for many riders the competitive aspect of the event is less interesting than just getting to participate in and enjoy the ride. The schedule is tight so most riders didn't have time to view the museum, just a stop at the lunch buffet and back on their way.


Chris dumping oil from his JD in the parking lot.

I did a quick walk through of the museum, had to keep moving as I wanted to detour to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Deal's Gap and make it to the hotel before dark.





Deal's Gap


Tail of the Dragon turn off

Tail of the Dragon was a blast on the Honda Trail. With a 30 mph speed limit it's a great fit.


The replacement sealed D.I.D. VX chain stretched about 2/6 turns of the adjuster nuts since the start of the trip, was sloppy enough to notice today so I tightened it up. Oil consumption is low but I still check at least every other gas stop.

My dad's Harley JD is still doing great. We learned that some trouble he's been having with shifting is common for the gearbox he has, it was addressed on later years with some notches that the linkage falls into right above the gearbox. Since that is missing on his bike, it's dependent on the tank shifter gate to stay in each gear.


Here's what that looks like on a newer JD, a notched/toothed plate that rotates above the gearbox.



One of the bikes with a larger repair tonight, the liquid cooled 2-stroke Scott Flying Squirrel sprung a radiator leak (radiator is removed in photo)


Friends and family rode and drove out to see the Wheels Through Time Museum and meet us so stayed up late hanging out with them. I've been told that my top priority for tomorrow is to pick up the hardware to mount a Tail of The Dragon license plate frame on the Postie.

 

[dmonkey]

2023.09.11
Alcoa, TN to Clarksville, TN
Another dewey and foggy morning. First thing in the morning I headed to an Ace Hardware and picked up the longer screws needed to fit the Dragon license plate frame.


I caught up with some of the Cannonball bikes that had issues during the day, one Indian single swapping a tube for his second flat of the day. I passed through Cumberland Mountain State Park and rode over this stone arch bridge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. It amazes me how many structures and feats of engineering built as a result of the New Deal are still around and in use to this day.



Today was going to leave me with time to kill so rather than spend it all at the Harley dealer that the Motorcycle Cannonball was stopping at in the evening I rode to Nashville. It got really hot out in the second half of the day but luckily there was some shade on the slow winding back roads.

My first stop in Nashville was the Ryman Auditorium, the old home of The Grand Ole Opry radio broadcast.


From there moved on to the Marathon Automobile plant which has been converted to a Marathon Motors museum and indoor mall. I highly recommend the visit if you're into old cars or tools, many of the tools from the plant are on display. Antique Archaeology from the TV show American Pickers also have a storefront inside the mall, with their other location right by the Mississippi River in LeClaire, IA.




My dad's JD is still running strong. The Moto Guzzi with a broken valve stem wasn't able to get a replacement valve in time so they bought a Harley UL at Wheels Through Time and set aside their metric tools for imperial ones. Jonas, the rider, got his first full stage completion today since the prologue so things are looking up for him and his team.

 

[Shoot870p]

That was amazing to buy another machine while on the tour! That’s one way to keep on rolling for sure.

 

[dmonkey]

Adding a clarification here that "dumping oil" is a term that in the context of total loss oil systems on these old motorcycles means dumping the crankcase oil into a container, measuring it, and replacing it with fresh oil. Basically a very frequent oil change because the oil does not recirculate or get filtered. There are tidyness requirements for the Motorcycle Cannonball and riders try to be respectful of them. Used oil ideally ends up in bottles for collection. These engines and even some slightly more modern motorcycles lose engine and gearbox oil by design of the oiling systems, and that ends up on roads and parking lots. Such was the design of the times, and things have since come a long way with sealed bearings and recirculating oil systems.

 

[SneakyDingo]

These engines and even some slightly more modern motorcycles lose engine and gearbox oil by design of the oiling systems, and that ends up on roads and parking lots. Such was the design of the times, and things have since come a long way with sealed bearings and recirculating oil systems.

Affectionately known as marking its territory.

 

[SneakyDingo]

@dmonkey - a question about events like this. When there's such a large number of bikes together, doing so many oil changes, there's the potential to collect it all together and make a big drop off at some location along the way (e.g. my local Autozone would take oil like that). Is there any effort to do that by the event support staff, or is it largely left to the individual teams?

 

[dmonkey]

@dmonkey - a question about events like this. When there's such a large number of bikes together, doing so many oil changes, there's the potential to collect it all together and make a big drop off at some location along the way (e.g. my local Autozone would take oil like that). Is there any effort to do that by the event support staff, or is it largely left to the individual teams?

Just kidding.

We have a sealed drain pan in our team's support trailer. The oil goes into Gatorade bottles at gas stops, then gets dumped into the drain pan at the end of the day. Gatorade bottle because they're really available at gas stations and hot oil will melt thinner plastic. I'm not aware of staff managing any oil collection, but some of the days have a stop at a Harley-Davidson shop where they take our used oil. For the Cross Country Chase last year someone had an oil spill that resulted in the organizers paying to reseal a parking lot. If anyone in the know doesn't look too busy I'll try to ask them about oil collection tomorrow. I know riders have asked for oil drums and oil dry, but staff might have a reason against providing those things. There is certainly room for improvement in terms of tidiness and environmental friendliness.

 

[SneakyDingo]

For the Cross Country Chase last year someone had an oil spill that resulted in the organizers paying to reseal a parking lot.

Yikes! I can see the Gatorade bottle thing working out just fine, I used that on the CdT ride to dispose of old oil.

I had a reminder to ask this question because my annual hazmat disposal date just came around and I only go to the hazmat disposal once a year for dropping things off. Often it barely fills half a milk crate. When I go, I usually ask around my neighbors if they want me to take some oil with me since they allow up to 5 gal, and I'm usually taking at most 1 gal. (I go because I'm disposing of Lithium batteries, but they also take oil.) So the thought occurred to me that maybe these events do something similar.

 

[dmonkey]

2023.09.12
Clarksville, TN to Cape Girardeau, MO
Today was a shorter ride of about 200 miles but I still managed to end up in four different states, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri.



Crossed the TN to KY state line in Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area where the road was clear of traffic and had long rolling curves that made for a nice calm ride.







The Trail being a mini dual sport was of great use on the pothole ridden roads of Cairo, Illinois.


Lincoln Heritage Trail & Great River Road - Illinois were some of the higher speed roads, but still very little traffic. Roads were great outside of the towns. Armadillos are migrating right now, saw an unfortunate few of them squashed on the road.


Upon arrival in Cape Girardeau they had an excellent dinner buffet waiting for us and the Cannonball motorcycles parked along the flood wall that protects the town when the Mississippi River runs high.



The Trail is running great. The Harley JD engine is still being broken in, cylinder base gaskets are compressing so base nuts need tightening and then pushrods need adjusting for proper valve clearances.