Anyone interested in a motorcycle gather?

Bill

Bill

Touchdown! Greaser!
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I know this is a stretch, but it seems there is a large intersection of the sets pilot and motorcyclist on this board. So, would any of our pilot/riders be interested in a weekend motorcycle gather in the southern Appalachians? Plenty of fun riding in WNC/ETN/SEVA areas.

:dunno:
 
Bill, I don't think you can fit a bike in your Mooney! :rofl:

-Rich
 
I'd definitely be interested in it if I still have my motorcycle by then (which is a big if, seeing as I normally buy motorcycles in December and then sell them in April). When are we thinking? Sometime in spring would be ideal, me thinks, especially since I wear full gear all the time (it's all black, too) and in the summer it gets pretty warm, even on the highway.

Having a meet to go see fellow POAers in a beautiful area ripe for motorcycle riding would definitely be some good incentive. I would bet I could convince a few other locals to convoy down.

My bike is reasonably comfortable for trips, although it sure ain't a Goldwing:

HPIM2459.JPG
 
Perhaps....would give me an excuse to exercise the ol Beemer.

Pete
 
I'm a definite maybe, although more on the side of maybe than definite. If the weather holds, this weekend I'll take my little baby bike out on its first real highway trip and I'll be in a better position to say yea or nay. But spring is a very busy time around here. Baseball, gymnastics, swimming for the kids, for me sun n fun and making up the work I miss during that and spring break ...
 
I've always wanted to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville, NC north. I've driven it, but not on a motorcycle. So, I was talking with a fellow pilot at my FBO who also has a bike, and we hatched a combination Wings and Wheels idea.

He and his wife take his bike and my bike, and they ride out there from here (Fort Worth), do the Parkway, and loop back to Knoxville TN. My wife and I then fly out in the 172, and we swap. They fly back, we take the bikes, ride the Parkway and then home.

Wouldn't that be a cool trip!? It'd be like a Friday - Tuesday/Wednesday thing for them outbound, and a Wednesday - Sunday thing for us inbound.
 
It would be ideal to try to have a gathering like this be on a weekend, and I would think that would maximize the number of potentials to be there. Anybody who'd be coming from the north would be welcome to use my house in PA as a stop over, and maybe oragnize a group ride down there, and do similar things for people coming from various directions. While I'd be comfortable making the trip alone, motorcycle rides are a lot more fun with others, and I tend to think it's safer in numbers anyway. :)

It would probably also make the most sense to try to schedule it sometime when Sun'n'Fun, Osh Kosh, and Gastons are NOT occurring immediately before or after. Maybe the last weekend in April or first weekend in May?

We could also make it a PoA ground-vehicle gathering. Even if I couldn't take the motorcycle, I could bring the Jag.
 
Actually we'll see. I was taking the Wing to my mechanic last night when the clutch cable gave way. Had to leave it in the middle of bleeding nowhere, and the King of all Monster storms rolled through last night. I'm on my way to see if the bike is still there in one piece.
 
It would be fun but that's a long way from Chicago. We may need to organize a mid-west get together as well.
 
I would be *very* interested. I am sure Tristan would love to tag along. It would really depend on where and in which direction as my vacation time right now is pretty limiting. If I can make it work though--I would love to do it.

bandit_radar.jpg
 
Only if we can go today anywhere in WI.:hairraise: I figure if we pick the right town, has to have a bar every ten feet. Everyone could survive, maybe. It would be a short trip, First street to say tenth.

Dan
 
Y'all make this a yearly thing, and I might go next year. I'm getting a bike soon, but I don't think riding that far without the skill to do it safely would be smart yet.
 
Smart move. Bikes don't bite as hard as aircraft, but they can bite. Never ride past your skill level no matter who you ride with. And always dress for the crash.

Enough of my blathering. The Goldwing weathered the storm, although getting the key in it to unlock the steering column was a real pain as it was frozen over. It will be my bike for long rides, the Fireblade is fun but way too uncomfortable for the long haul.
 
Jesse, your Bandit reminds me of mine - I had a '97 Bandit 1200S in red. Great bike, I rode it all over. I miss the 1200 - the little 800 in the Interceptor just isn't as torquey. Really fabulous bike, though.

I think this definitely ought to be something that we organize. The only question is where and when I think last weekend in April or first weekend in May is a good time frame, when then becomes the only question. I think so long as it's within a roughly 400 mile radius, I'll go. I'll go further if I can convince some other people from nearby to go with, I'd rather not make too long of a trip without a friend around on a bike.
 
alaskaflyer said:
If you go, you should ride the Dragon. Heck of a road...
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Tellico Plains (Cherohala Skyway) is 70mi from my door. Another 70mi (most of it across the skyway), and we're at the store at the east side of the gap.
 
bjohnson said:
I'm in...just promise you won't be on the hog :D
Click to expand...
And what is wrong with a HOG ? i happen to own a 1983 FLHS Shovelhead, 80 CID and the ride is very comfortable.
BTW i could be a definate Maybe, depending on work.
Dave G.:blueplane:
 
Shipoke said:
And what is wrong with a HOG ? i happen to own a 1983 FLHS Shovelhead, 80 CID and the ride is very comfortable.
BTW i could be a definate Maybe, depending on work.
Dave G.:blueplane:
Click to expand...

One - Earplugs can only block out so much noise
Two - I want somebody who I can ride with. NC = Twisties at quick pace
 
Bill...I no longer have a bike (but hope to get another one once the house is built) but I am sure I can borrow one.

Let me know...I would love to do it.

I need to post pics of the wife and I doing our trip from Atlanta to Montreal and back on bikes....10 days, over 3000 miles...what a freaking blast!
 
Sounds like a blast, but I sold my bike last year for the boat. The local Triumph dealer has a demo 2007 Tiger 1050 for $8500.00. I can either buy another airplane or the Tiger, the airplane I can use year round, the bike only about 4 months out of the year, so guess which one its going to be.
 
OK, looks like there is interest, now we need to talk some things...

  1. Dates?
  2. Long weekend? (arrivals Friday night/ride Saturday/depart Sunday)?
  3. Motel, camp, or both?
  4. Food, common dinner Sat night?
  5. Organize groupings according to riding skill?
  6. I'm sure there are other things

It would be cool if we could have a place (on the forum) to organize this...
 
1) I'd suggest the last weekend in April or first weekend in May. Alternately, some weekend in early July, well enough before Osh Kosh.
2) Yes, a 3-day weekend as you said
3) Personally, I'll probably want to do motel, especially after that many hours on the Interceptor. It ain't a Goldwing.
4) I'd definitely want to have as many meals as a group as possible. Preferably Friday dinner, Saturday all meals, and maybe a Sunday breakfast before heading home.
5) I'm not sure how many people we think we'll have, but I'm used to going on rides of 10-50. I'm thinking we'd have 20 bikes or so. If there are some people who want to blast ahead, sure, but I'm used to just being as a large group. If anything, I'd lag behind when someone else had to stop, and then ride faster to catch up with the rest of the group after solving the person's problem. :) Besides, I've generally thought it's good to keep riders of less skill with riders of higher skill.
6) Well, location is the main one. I know you suggested your area, which is fine by me, but we've also got people coming from different areas that might be too far. So, it might be worth people suggesting alternate locations, and seeing which would gather the most? I, for one, would volunteer my area of Williamsport, which is a great place to ride, but I don't think that helps the people west of the Mississippi any.
 
Well, I've always meant to get a motorcycle license sooner or later, though with the increasing idiocy on the roads I'm not so sure any more...

Last week I took a load of Harleys, 31 of them to be exact, and scattered them across dealers in Wisconsin. West Bend, Appleton, Wausau, Arbor Vitae. I chatted with a guy at the Appleton dealer for a while, and inquired about rentals - $125/day. I think that's done at pretty much every Harley dealer. So, that'd make a fly-in ride a possibility. Is it possible to rent other brands of bikes too?

Put me in the "Beginner" group.
 
Bill Jennings said:
OK, looks like there is interest, now we need to talk some things...

  1. Dates?
  2. Long weekend? (arrivals Friday night/ride Saturday/depart Sunday)?
  3. Motel, camp, or both?
  4. Food, common dinner Sat night?
  5. Organize groupings according to riding skill?
  6. I'm sure there are other things

It would be cool if we could have a place (on the forum) to organize this...
Click to expand...

Dates - May works best for me.
Long weekend - sounds good to me
Motel, camp - either is fine with me
Food - I think a common dinner would be great
Riding skill - This is probably a good idea. At our Porsche events we allow participants to group themselves into "spirited drives", "scenic drives", etc.
 
  • Date: I would prefer May. I've hit snow storms in April before. I would prefer this be a long weekend.
  • Lodging: I would prefer motel.
  • Group Rides: For sure. Based on skill? Might not be a bad idea. But really I'm good for about any pace and don't want to make anyone feel unwelcome no matter the experience.
  • Location: This is pretty important. The more central we can plan this--the better off we'll be. The farther it is--the harder it will be for me to fit it into my schedule.
 
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I would prefer may as well. I have finals for school at the end of April.
 
After checking out the mileage, it looks like Tennessee is roughly equidistant from both PA and Jesse in Nebraska, as well as people in Texas. Granted, that equal distance is something around 750 miles, but it's still and equal distance. That might make it about as central as we could expect to get.

This would be doable in a 3-day weekend. Leave either first thing Friday morning or after work Thursday evening (get a few hours in before calling it a night). Get to TN Friday, maybe early enough to grab dinner with everyone else. Go for the ride on Saturday, have a full day of it. Leave first thing Sunday morning, for the return trip.
 
Hum, this sounds like fun... I have the licence but not the machine and even with the machine I lack experiance.... maybe we can talk Rick into it and I can grab the back seat of his Wing.

Missa
 
Camping can be a bit rough on a bike as there's lots to carry. I doubt I could manage the needed gear on either of my bikes. I have the feeling that once the twisties appear, skilled groups will make themselves. Everyone needs the understanding that they ride only to their comfort and skill level. I've rather be last than crashed.
 
steingar said:
Camping can be a bit rough on a bike as there's lots to carry. I doubt I could manage the needed gear on either of my bikes.
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Backpacking gear can make it doable. In my younger days I did 6 weeks on a Honda CB750K -- Wisconsin -> New Orleans -> Los Angeles -> Seattle -> Wisconsin. Zero budget for hotels. Almost zero budget for "improved" camping facilities. It was fun!!!

Then, weeklong camping trips to Nowhere, Canada from Wisconsin, two up, on a Honda V45 Magna. This was rustic drive down a logging road in the middle of nowhere type camping.

Takes planning, luck and, oh yeah, it's easier when you're 20 than when you're 40+.
 
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