555 - the TRIP (part 1)

 

Well....We Made It!!!  

Against many odds, we left Knoxville on the 13th of September and arrived at the Bunker Brewery in Portland, Maine after 10 or 11 days. 

 

One of the toughest parts was trying to leave the Time Warp Tea Room.  Oly, the Australian that flew into Knoxville 2 days before the trip, slammed his bike together and left only one loose end -- the battery.  Upon waking on the departure day, he had a dead battery which sent he and I scrambling to the store and scrounging jumper cables from an accommodating father whom was already waiting at the Tea Room to see us off.  Spraying battery acid over ourselves in a modest hurry to not be the last ones to show up to our own party, we arrived in splendid time to sit...for a long time. 

 

Dan's Chopper was front and center.  He and this mysterious chopper of his that not many people have seen, an original built from the 70's, were to escort us on our exit.  The fellas from the Vintage Club had passed a hat and gathered up some coin for us to get a gas fill-up.  For this we are very thankful, for that greatly eases the small pressure upon our fragile pocketbooks.  The purse magically skipped the gas stations and would strangely appear only for beer runs.  So it was called "Daddy's Money".

 It is funny to see all the bikes loaded to ride.  Its one thing to build a bike, but its another thing to pack it.

 The level of comfort some of these guys allowed for themselves is astounding.

 Umm...?

So, getting jittery on coffee, we wait...and wait.  We are missing 2, Slappy and Pistol, the guys that were left in the shop still hammering away into the early morning hours last night.  Pete is over sleeping and wakes up not having packed.  Slappy is jamming wrenches so he could take his first test ride, to the Time Warp so we can leave.  He slides in with style, ripping off his leather jacket to reveal a hideous shirt we all had hoped would be forgotten, the patriotic polyester Slim had broken out on us a night or two before.  Let the antics begin.  12 guys, something like 1,200 miles to go.  We may have done better had it been a relay.

  

 Did I mention that we were waiting?  Most of our supporters came and left before Pistol decided to get out of bed.  We even got a visit from the mayor.  I imagine its to make sure we got out of his town as quickly as possible.

 Friends, family, and girlfriends gathered to see the finality of a month's worth of zombified working from a group of dedicated misfits.

 Up and over the hill and away from the Time Warp's generous crowd of waving goodbyes and snickers, we roared a smoking departure, excited by the upcoming freedom of free time and open road, the unknown challenges and the huge smile of Dan's face as he bounced along on his unburied chopper.

 Dizzle and the Green Pile

 We made it out of town just a little ways, but that's good enough to let us breathe from the excitement of getting on the road and deal with whatever issues may have presented itself upon take off.

 What a nice sticker! 

 Let the heckling begin.

 The first problem presents itself, and we dig for clues to the sputtering of Pistol's phantom.  Golden Rod came in with the saving diagnosis of a bad ground.  We had escorts out of town up until this point, and they offered some good laughs as we settled into the role of sidewalk loitering while someone kicks his junk into gear.

First Friday Art Walk -- Choppers

Only days to go, 5 in fact. Sweet Cindy Lou opened up her Chop Shop Salon for us to roll as many bikes as could fit into her space in to present the bikes to the city of Knoxville. The late ones had to park theirs out on the sidewalk, and Slim of course cause his bike is so big.   Friends and family came to see why we had disappeared for the last 5 weeks and to where all our effort and energy has been going. Most still had to truck them in, for there is still plenty of work to do. But there they sat in their not so rusty glory. These machines are as antsy to hit the long road as we are. 

(above: Mikey's Drag Queen)

 

  Pistol Pete

 

 Dave Walker

 

 D. Sneed

 

 

 After the show, we hauled the bikes back to the shop and kept working into the night.   Its amazing what can get done in the wee hours of the morning.

 The god of machines, Slim, doctoring my scoot.  He synced the carburators with flitting gauges and tiny twists of a special screwdriver.  It was like watching a master play the piano.

 Who the Hell is the Headless Kansas City Dave Walker takes off from the shop after another late night twisting wrenches, drinking beer, and telling lies.

Though this shot is a blur, so was the night, for at this moment it was 4am.  Looking carefully, you can just make out the grin on Slim's face as my bike finally came together and is ready to ride, new pipes and all.

Crunchtime

 So now the characters have been introduced, minus a couple who will be flying in a couple days before the ride.  They will go from the plane to the garage cause their bikes will have to get running and hard-tailed before the ride.  This ain't easy street...

...unless you're the Outlaw who has a girl that brings him beer and snacks to the shop in fancy dresses.  This night, Brigid just got finished with a fashion show where her handmade clothing designs made from recycled rubber and leather were exhibited on the runway (http://www.about.me/brigidoesterling).

trouble

Mike got his bike on the road to find a lot of issues, but damn its a cool machine.

 

 Tinkerin Tom fine tuning a well running machine.

 Bike night and the Time Warp Tea Room is the opposite of the drunken ride to Hooters.  This is a coffee shop and headquarters of motorcycle history and events of racing, trials, street, and you name it.  Its the home of the Time Warp Vintage Motorcycle Club.  Every Tuesday the street is lined with classy machines and a community knowledge and history base uncommon to most towns (http://www.timewarpvmc.org/Tea_Room.htm).

 As the guys get antsy to get their bikes onto the blacktop, a good test run was to the bike night.  But one has to be mentally prepared to meet the scrutiny of many motorheads.  It caused quite the stir.  Then, to add to the fun, Mikey rolled up with his his Drag Queen.

 After all that Mike went through at the Time Warp picking session, only he knew that it was a test run, and the finishing touches were yet to come.  The rat rods are disappearing under some classy paint jobs.

 So now, the work is coming together for many, yet falling back apart for others.  Some are just still plugging away.  Above are a couple versions of my wiring diagram that I have been trying to wrap my head around, then stuff into a little box.

 I wish I had more photos of the others whom are continuing their progress in Mikey's garage.  I have been pulling long nights at the Cycle Stop with Mike in his corner, I in mine, and Slim pacing between us constantly asking if we're done yet so we can go ride.

 Mike figured out that after buttoning his up and putting on a crisp paint job, he had to split the cases of the bottom end of the engine and replace and machine some things.  Needless to say, there are some dark moments in the life of this project.

 Nothing like thinking you're done.

I finally got mine together, so now its time to paint, which means its time to yard sale.

 

 Slim is so ready to go, he's already packed...literally.