Subject: [East2] RCR, DNF
From: Tom Biggs
Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 15:23:34 -0400 (EDT)

Left for the RCR Thursday morning.  Bike ran great.  I'd just
sync'd the carbs, and installed a new BT-020 front tire.
About two hours from home, not even out of Pennsylvania yet,
the bike started to act up.  First noticed it when passing
a truck.  Sort of a misfiring.  But then it kept on doing it.
Bike still ran great at low RPMs, but over 3500 RPMs and
under load, it would start to break up and the tach would
hop around.

I pressed on, made it well into Virginia.  We were on the
Blue Ridge Parkway, and it was getting dark.  Now the bike
started completely cutting out - but only for one second
each time.  Tach would dive to zero and all cylinders would
cut out.  I kept thinking, "this is it" but then it would
resume running again.  The BRP feels very lonely in the
dark with a malfunctioning bike.  Good thing I was riding
with friends.  The bike got me to the Natural Bridge KOA
we had arranged to stay at that night.

We poked and prodded, hoping to find something simple like
a bad ground or a corroded connector, but it wasn't anything
that we could see.  We were all exhausted after a grueling
day in 98-degree heat, so we went to bed.

In the morning, I tried bypassing the sidestand switch,
just in case.  I took it for a test ride.  I wasn't wearing
earplugs, and I noticed that it seemed to be knocking, like
the ignition was too far advanced.  At that point I decided
to abort my trip.  I figured it was not good for the engine
to run like that, and I was worried that the ignition module
or whatever it was would die altogether.

I tried calling every truck rental place, but they were all
booked into next week.  End of the month, everyone moving to
new apartments or whatever.  Called my amazing wife Pauline,
and she offered to come get me and the bike.  No rental trucks
available up in PA either, but her brother borrowed a pickup
from work and brought it over.  She cancelled her appointments,
got someone to watch the kids, borrowed a ramp, and then hit
the road.  Wow.  I love this woman.
We moteled overnight, then this morning we loaded the bike
and I drove home.  Six hours, 75 mph, only one stop, for gas.

I'm bummed, I had planned on running Deal's Gap this year,
since the RCR is right in that area.  Ah well, next summer...