Dear Muthuh,
I rode down to the recent Bike rally at Myrtle Beach with a buddy of mine, leaving Knoxville, TN shortly after noon on the Friday before Bike week. I had promised my ex's niece we would stop in Camden, SC and spend the night in partial atonement for not visiting her since my divorce years ago.
As we wanted to spend some quality time with her and her good friend, Mick, she assured me they would have the beer on ice and steaks in the marinade if we'd make it there by dinnertime. We rode steadily on the interstates, and in reality, it wasn't all that bad as traffic seemed to be minimal. Got there in time to keep the beer from icing up, but barely. By the time we had washed the dust from our throats, caught up on families, her friend Mick had the steaks on and appetites up.
Mick is a 'Nam era vet like myself, so after dinner we got to jawing about old days and decided to rev up the old AKAI reel to reel tape for some Martha and the Vandella's, Doors Live, Little Anthony and the Imperials, and Marvin Gay stuff, not to mention whatever that stuff was that we played, drank and sang to later that night. Life was good. And nobody was shooting.
Got up the next day and talked Mick into riding down with us and staying the night. He rode his bike and we rode down SC 378 until we were nearly into Conway. It was a nice departure from the normal route. (Pic. 1)
I'll skip the bulk of Bike week other than to say there is a good place to eat just a mile or so past Bullfeathers' out Murrell's Inlet way. River City Café is the name of the place. Great burgers, and the beer was cold too. (Pic. 2)
Everyplace in Myrtle was pretty crowded. There are a few folks that like to ride faster than I can get out of their way, so I decided to ride over to Conway and take Hwy 701 to Georgetown just to get out of the crowd for a bit. If you've never been on that road, it's a nice reprieve from the crowd on King's Highway (US 17). There's nothing on that 40 miles of road except pines and rattlesnakes. And that is when the thought hit me; here I am on my 99 RoadKing Classic, twenty miles to Conway, twenty to Georgetown, probably no cell or digital tower within 50 miles, and I've got a letter in my bag that Harley Davidson had sent me just a week previously announcing the minimal chance that my cam bearings might croak …..!. My butt starts making buttonholes on the seat and I get real in tune with my engine noises ……. Whew … All is well. Let's just get back to civilization.
I cruise through Georgetown, a pretty town by the way, and head up toward Murrel's Inlet and Myrtle on Hwy 17, taking the Bypass on to Myrtle. Just about the time I get to the airport exit, I think I hear loose chains on a boat trailer …. Yeah, I had the boat trailer under my butt. I backed off of the throttle and listened with the intensity I've not exercised since an old girlfriend told me what she wanted out of a marriage. No mistake … it was my ride.
I estimated it to be about 7 miles to 55th Ave N where we were bunking, so I eased back and kept it at a steady 30-MPH or so, trying to keep the rev's down. It seemed to work, as I made it on in. Fortunately, a buddy of mine had put his new Indian Scout into the truck and hauled it down later in the week, so we loaded mine up and I hauled ass to the Harley dealer. For the record, he also has a dresser he normally rides when we are on the road. Wouldn't want you to get the idea we trailer or haul as a rule…. It was just a new ride. (Fig. 3)
One data point I forgot to mention; I had picked up a cold and laryngitis sometime during the week, so when I did get to the HD dealer (Fig. 4), I pleaded with the trooper to let me in to unload ….. Ever try to argue with a Trooper when you can't talk? You lose, every damn time.
I did get the bike in at 8:30 Friday evening and the Service rep and guys said they would get on it first thing next day. I'll give the Myrtle Beach HD Dealer Service Department credit (Fig. 5). The bike was almost ready at the promised time. I rode it home to Knoxville on Sunday without incident. The bearings cost me a day of time but that particular problem (design flaw) is behind me now and I can ride with a degree of assurance the same thing won't happen again for the same reasons. If I can just be as lucky with my stator and primary Muthuh spoke of before. Thanks to Dave, Brenda, Jeff, and Walt in the Service Department for their help in getting me in and out of the Service Shop with assurance my troubles were over with my cam bearing failure. And by the way …. There was a heck of a nice Sheriff's Deputy from Conway (Steve … ?) doing his official work by keeping vigil at the HD dealership …… Heck of a nice guy. I'll make it a point to say hello to him next time I pass through Conway.
On the way back to Knoxville, we had topped our tanks off in Columbia and I must have consumed a gallon of water ……60 miles up the road this road warrior is listening to my bladder tell me what a wimp I am and how tiny my bladder has become. I pull up to the lead bike and tell him that a stop is necessary, and this time it's not gonna wait!
We pulled in at a gas station, figuring to top off and me unload. I happened to notice a guy and his lady friend at the side of the station looking at an oily mess on a Road King. He strolled over and asked if we knew what might be causing oil to blow out of the breather (I'm talking serious oil … Exxon Valdeez quantities). She has her pant legs soaked in oil, the ground has 2 or 3 puddles of oil each a foot or so in diameter, and more oil is on that bike than in it from first appearance… didn't look too good at first glance.
Fortunately, when 3 or more bikers get together, the confidence factor for any problem goes off the scale; especially if it's not their bike they are gonna dissect. In reality, we determined that a new set of pipes had probably changed the back pressure sufficiently that oil was being sucked back and out the breather at high speed. As it turned out, the folks were from Knoxville also. We came up with enough oil to get them on the road, escorting them back with us, placing his wife on one of our bikes to lighten the load (and believe me, we ALL offered).
Made the trip on in without incident, delivering bike, rider, and his wife to their doorstep. We've all been out together a couple of times since then. It just reinforces my thoughts that in each adversity, there are some positive aspects. You've been there too, I'm sure. In this situation, I may have lost my bearings and a bit of time, but I think I gained a lot from the experience, including new friends.
QwaZ
