Honda Repair

DAY 9, MONDAY, JUNE 6, 2013

The alarm sounded at 6:30 AM.  I was already awake since 5:50 AM.  I tried but couldn’t get back to sleep.  I turned the alarm off just as it sounded.  I got up, got dressed and packed.  Chuck finally woke up and told me to go on down to breakfast because he just didn’t feel like getting up. I grabbed one of my bags and went outside.  I wiped down my Motor and pack my bag.  I went to breakfast and saw that J.B. and C.E. were already there having breakfast.  J.B. told me that the Night Manager’s son was there having breakfast.  The son is a Police Officer for Banner Elk.  He told J.B. that just around the corner, within walking distance, is a mechanic that could fix the tire of my Motor.  The others then came in and had breakfast.  After I was done, I went back to my room and got the list of shops in the area that might be able to change my tires.  I had a list of about six and none of them could do it or were closed on Mondays.  I walked around the corner to talk to the mechanic about changing tires for my Motor.  The mechanic told me that he only changes tires for dirt bikes and not full dresser bikes.  I returned to the hotel and got on their computer.  I found another list of shops.  Chuck told me of a shop in Johnson City, just as I was looking at the web site for that shop.  I called them and told the gentleman on the other end of my situation and if he had tires to fit a Gold Wing.  He told me that he did and that if I were to go over before 10 AM, he would have the Motor ready by 1 PM.  I told him that I would be enroute from Banner Elk and he told me that the road was nice and to take my time and go slow.  Safety was important.  I told the guys that there were tires waiting for me. The guys asked me if I wanted to call AAA to tow the Motor the 41 miles to the shop.  I told them that I was going to ride the Motor and was going to be very careful.  Ken, Greg and C.E. went with me while the “Harley Boys” decided to go to a Harley store.  (Go to Chuck’s blog to see their adventure…or misadventure!)  Yeah, when the Harley Boys need work on their Motors, the whole group goes and stays together, but, NOOOOOO, they have to go to a Harley store and the Honda Boys can go by themselves when a Honda needs repairs.  It’s OK; we left at 9:49 AM.

I led the Honda Boys the 41 miles to Johnson City, at a nice, slow pace.  I tried to keep it at 40 mph.  When I got to 30 mph or slower, the front end shook very much.  By the time we arrived, my arms were tired.  We arrived at Jim’s Motorcycle Shop in Johnson City, TN at 10:58 AM.  I told the mechanic that I had spoken with him on the phone about needing a set of tires.  He came out and took some information from the Motor and told me that they would get right on it. He did tell me that the Italian restaurant, next door, was good for lunch.  We all went in to look at the “toys” in the store.  After a while, we went to have lunch at the Italian restaurant next door.  While we were inside, the mechanic came in and told me that my Motor was in need of front brakes also.  I initially told him, “no,” but after thinking about it and talking to Ken about it, Ken helped me change my mind.  I went back to the shop and told the mechanic to go ahead and replace the front brakes.  He showed me my old brake pads and they were as thick as a quarter. 

After lunch, we returned to the shop and noticed that my Motor was parked outside of the shop.  I went in and spoke with the mechanic and he told me that it was done, tires and brakes.  We took care of the business of paying for the work.  An elder gentleman in a wheelchair, I think it was Jim, himself, gave us, each, free t-shirts.  We gladly took them.  I picked up a can of “Pro Honda Spray,” a good Motorcycle cleaner in a can and went to go pay for it and the clerk gave it to me for coming to them for service.  Two freebies!  SCORE!!!

I called Chuck to tell him that we were done at the shop.  We looked at our maps and decided that we would meet at a location that would be about half way for us all.  We decided to meet at Exit 81 on I-81.  Chuck told me that there was a Truck Stop there.   The Harley Boys were coming from the south on I-77.  We left at 1:09 PM.

I took the lead for the Honda Boys and we headed to I-26 West.  I had new tires and it felt GREAT!  After about 15 miles, I put the Motor on cruise control and was able to ride with both hands held high and no shaking!  Don’t worry, it didn’t last very long.  I put my hands back on the handlebars.  We went from I-26 to I-81 North and continued for 65 miles and at 2:07 PM, we stopped in Glade Spring, VA for a pit stop.  We didn’t stay long and left at 2:19 PM.

I stayed in the lead and as we rode further, the Motor felt more and more comfortable to ride.  It takes a little while to get used to riding with new tires.  I was “back in business!”  Give me some twisties, I’m ready for them!  We got to Exit 81 and turned south on I-77.  There was no Truck Stop there and we had to ride 7 miles to get to an exit to turn around.  We turned and headed north and exited onto I-81 North.  We rode to Exit 84 and got off.  There was a Love’s Truck Stop there.  We arrived at 3:21 PM after riding 73 miles.  It was raining lightly at that time.  While we were waiting, we took the necessary pit stop.  When we arrived, I texted Chuck and told him that we were waiting for them.  Chuck had texted back asking to check for hotels between the Truck Stop and Roanoke.  I checked and found Holiday Inn Express in Dublin, VA.  I, “made the deal,” reserved four rooms and held them on my Credit Card.  About 10 minutes later, they arrived.  It was raining harder.  They came inside where we were and they were soaking wet!  They told us that they had gotten caught in a “downpour!”  We all put on our rain gear before heading out.  With Ken in the lead, we left at 4:33 PM.

Ken led us east on I-81 for 15 miles and we arrived at the Holiday Inn Express at 4:48 PM.  We all checked and ate a “free” cookie from the front desk.  We got our bags from our Motors and “tucked” them in for the night.  After we secured our bags in the rooms, we went back down and into the Hot Tub and heated Pool.  After we cooled down and relaxed, we changed and walked a couple hundred yards away to a Shoney’s Restaurant

Today, we were in two groups, the Honda Boys and the Harley Boys.  The Honda Boys rode for 177 miles.  You need to read Chuck’s blog to find out how many miles they traveled in their misadventure.  Tomorrow, we will head over to finish the Blue Ridge Parkway and start, and finish, the Skyline Drive.  As you have seen from my past blogs, you just never know what we will do the next day!  We shall see…