So i decided to get the hell outa detroit and start over in Cali. I got rid of everything i own stuffed some clothes into a box sent them UPS to my family that lives in Socal. packed a duffle bag with a change of clothes and strapped it to the back of my bike along with a sleeping bag and hit the road. I decided to do some drifting along the way and took two weeks to finally arrive.
Left Detroit on a warm 75 degree day Oct. 21st (prolly the last warm day). My firstdestination was minneappolis to visit and meet my father bro, sis , and grandma that havent seen me in 25 years (since 4 years old) . .. everything was great starting out untill i hit chicago and as im goin through a toll booth the guy in it start pointing to the rear of my bike so i pulled over. turns out the welds gave out on my side mounted plate an the tailight snap off an was dangling on top of my plate.only 300 miles and already crap starts breakn! so the toll booth operator hands me a handfull of rubber bands as i was not turning back. i jerry rigged the hell outa the damn thing an amazingly its stayed until i got to minneappolis. First day did 675 miles..Stayed 3 days in minneappolis and had some indy shop i found weld up my tailight like new again.
Back on the road and i decide to hit the southern route to avoid colder weather, so i head down through iowa and as im about 200 miles or so out i hear tinkering so i look behind me and the damn bezzle that hold the lense in my tailight came loose and and lost the lense so now i got a bright white lite blazing. CRAP! so i pull off onto the next exit and hit a gas station looking for something i can do for it, nothing inside , bummed out and walking back to my bike i look across the street and much to my luck another indy shop. i thank god and go buy a red LED bulb they had in stock and pop it in. outstanding! .. so i make it through the rest of the day without anything else and spent the night in topeka Kansas after a 600 mile day. Freezing cold and wind beatn i said screw the sleeping bag i want a bed so i went to motel 6 got a room, wheeled my bike in and went across the street for a steak anda few beers.
Wake up fresh and feeling good the next morningearly and get back under way, as im rolling through Witchita KS, i hear more rat tat tat tat , wtf now! i look down and my front exhaust pipe is shakin all over the place so i pull into a truck stop and bust out the tools to tighten it up and the support bracket stripped out that holds the carriage bolt in place ,so nothing i can really do with the broken pipe and minimal tools. i go into the truck stop and find some metal straps and link two together and tighten down to the other pipe. felt pretty solid like it would hold so i get back on the road, i make it about another 150 miles or so and all of sudden i got heat wrap blowin in my facel. turns out the pipe vibrated so much it snapped right at the head. i pull over and im screwed. i rip the damn thing off, toss it on the ground and start makin calls to find a stealer or indy shop out in the middle of nowhere. i find a shop closest to me in Liberal Kansas, about 150 miles from where i was at and they have a set of pipes that will fit my bike. bummed out and irritated i get goin again sou nding like **** rollin down the road . as the sun goes down after about 100 miles i notice that the whole time i had a 1 foot blue flame shooting outa the jug next to my leg! . i make it into liberal and get a room and again go across the street to the bar for a meal and a few more well deserved beers.
I wake up early and hit the dealer as they open , they had the pipes ready for me and a new rear tire cus it was almost completely bald and i didnt wanna chance another mishap or push my luck. 900 bucks poorer i leave the dealer feeling butt raped but happy i can get goi

 

ill post some pics in a bit

 

Good luck on your adventure. Wife and I left Royal Oak in '76 and moved to San Diego. Have a good time.

 

Heck of an adventure there.

 

great story.... sorry about all the crap that happened to your bike. I bet you enjoy SoCal better than Detroit!!!

good luck with your future!!

 

You only had an "R" rated experience with the bartender chick??

Should've been "X" rated!!

But you can go back to AZ for that on your next ride!

 

Wow!! Idon't like to read, but that was pretty good. Post some pics of that bartender. Glad everything worked out. Congrats.

 

Great read, Baxter.....hope everything works out for you in SoCal.

 

Cool read and good luck in CA. Beats being in Detroit.....

 

That's what motorcycle riding is all about! Great story. PIcs?