Supertex's not so Super Adventure

Discussion in 'Anything Goes' started by supertex, Oct 9, 2009.

  1. supertex

    supertex New Member

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    Well folks, wish I had pictures for this story but alas, I have none. I will be revealing some embarrassing moments but what the hell. I'm no great American author so please.... I know. To answer questions ahead of time, yes I've owned bikes before, yes I've parked them as well. I claim severe weariness.

    As some of you know, I've been working on my 87 for a year and a half " http://vfrworld.com/forums/first-second-generation-1983-1989/25979-supertex-build.html" I've taken my time getting into everything I thought needed it, but when Long's Bar-B-Q came up I kind of accelerated the process to make it road worthy; or so I thought.

    I worked on the bike body, wheels, front and rear end swaps, and lights all around in the few weeks leading up to the great event. I finished what I thought was needed at 2pm Wed and decided to give it a run to work since it was about 30 miles and I had to be at work by 4pm. Getting my wife to follow me, due to it being 7 years since it was last road legal, I started off. I got about 20 miles before it sputtered and stopped. Deducing the problem was the old battery currently giving juice, I left it got a ride form my wife and went to work. After getting off of work at 9 and stopping to get a battery, I finally got the bike trailered and home about 12am. Setting up the battery and charger took a little while finally getting to bed at 1:45am. I woke up at 5:30 put the charged battery back into the bike and it purred like a V4 should, and started for Toecutters at 7am on Thurs.

    I was hoping this would be the start of an enjoyable 4 day trip but 20 min in I was again proven wrong. My shoddy bracket being used to hold up the shock reservoir loosened. The reservoir fell, bounced off the rear tire, hit my left rear-set bending it kicking my foot completely off the peg.:eek: I pulled to the side discovering what had just happened and fiddled with the reservoir. While doing this I apparently gave it too much gusto since the bike listed to the other side and laid down.:frown: (1st) I picked up the 800lbs piece and attempted to start.... Nope... Called Toe and informed him I may not make it. After trying everything I knew (10 min) I decided to disengage the kill switch. Yes I said kill switch... damn it. Not to be denied I tucked the reservoir under my left knee and continued on to see if I could catch the rest of the NorCal posse and have an enjoyable week-end.

    The ride to Toecutters house (1hr 30 min) was very nice; bike running very well asking me to give it a heavy right wrist making this quick jaunt very fun. (even with the reservoir under my left knee) Upon arriving at Toes he grabbed me a band clamp, I secured the thing for the last time this trip and got ready to leave. Now you must know I had decided to use the ride to Toes as a litmus test, checking all my gauges to measure whether I'd make the 500 mile trip to Long's. Figuring everything that had gone wrong so far had been exclusively my fault so why wouldn't I go? Bike was doing great and I needed the time away.

    Now a little disclaimer, not an excuse but I've never prepared to go on such a trip. 2 hours has been my longest before and that was years earlier when I used to do it daily to work in Oakland. The front end swap had given me fabulous handling up front but I've yet to fix the lack of speedo. I don't care about my speed really so who cares right? More with this in a bit.... After figuring out Toxic had already started his trip, Neck and I followed Toe to his job where since I hadn't called my wife to tell her I'd made it to Toe's I pulled out my cell while we waited. Next, Toe came screaming out of the employees only parking lot so I threw the phone in my pocket pulled on my helmet and started to make chase. Unfortunately gravity decided to pull my phone from my pocket causing me to stop. I leaned over to pick it up thinking I put it in neutral but alas it was not. It lurched forward throwing me over the bike to the left as it fell, I did some kind of kung-fu roll :ninja: eventually reaching my feet. I again picked up this 800lbs jewel (2) and quickly assessed the damage. left clip-on was pointed at the seat and the mirror was turned but it amazingly had again escaped any major damage. Most people at this moment would have given up, hell most wouldn't have left the house but through this entire story know this.... I wasn't going to quit.:crazy: I twisted the grip back satisfied that it was safe enough fixed the mirror and thundered on hoping to catch the boys. As I got to the parking lot entrance I realized I had no idea which way they had gone so I guessed left and was rewarded after a minute when I saw Neck waiting for me at a stop sign. We motored on catching a waiting Toecutter a few miles down the road and enjoyed the next 110 miles or so cutting lanes and me getting used to riding in a group all be it a small one.

    I traded places with Toe and Neck a few times until I found myself in the rear....... here is where that speedo thing comes in. I failed to calculate the mileage I had ridden to Toe's thinking since I had a larger gas tank I'd be fine stopping when they did........ wrong. When I was in the rear I ran out of gas. I reached for my reserve but the night before I guess trying to get going I had already turned it and hadn't reset it. FUN.... empty. I waved but wasn't seen so I drifted to the shoulder never to see my riding partners again...... While talking to a tow company to get some gas (out in the middle of nowhere) an 18 wheeler came scarily close to the bike .. yes .. blowing it over again (3) I attempted to catch and stop it but to no avail. ((((On a side note a car seeing this decided to catch the boys and tell them I was behind and possibly hurt. They had to go over triple digits to catch them since we were nearly doing that before I fell behind.)))) Back to the action. Another car seeing me get knocked over stopped and attempted to help me but I had already picked it up and was uninjured, a little hurt but nothing serious. The couple hat stopped turned out to be Australian and volunteered to drive me up the road to the nearest service station. I received a call from Toe at this moment but they were too far ahead and wanted to get going. I found out later that Toe figured I would gas up and retreat home.... now what would be the fun in that. The nearest station was just over 10 miles where I was dropped off. I thanked my Samaritans and went about trying to get some gas. The station didn't have any gas cans so I took a bleach bottle offered, cleaned it out entirely and got what would be 2/3rds of a gallon. I was about to start on my lengthy walk back when the attendant said he may be able to get me a ride. The guy next door came over and gave me a ride back. YAY.... no one wants to walk 10 miles in the heat.

    When I got back I poured the gas in the tank and decided to prime the carbs using the trick I learned from Toe. Got the bike started and pointed myself at the gas station and hit it. 300 yards and I was stopped again. I failed to connect the fuel pump wires back. After priming again it wouldn't start. I tried everything this time but nothing. While sulking on the roadside I'm ashamed to say the bike fell again.(4) Don't know why but after picking it up again, I yelled at it and would you believe, it started right up. Now some may say the fall jarred it into starting but I contend it was the yelling:yell: I reached the station, filled up the tank and prepared to go on my now solo trip to SoCal.



    I'm tired so I'll finish the story tomorrow. Night folks.
     
  2. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    I had no idea that some of the older VFRs were built in College Station.

    UofH: Scratch em Coogs
    Rice: WTF do owls do anyway? There's a hooter pun in there somewhere.
     
  3. Bubba Zanetti

    Bubba Zanetti Member

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    I applaude you brother for sharing your saga.

    BZ
     
  4. supertex

    supertex New Member

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    Saga has not even begun yet, so thanks for words of encouragement.
     
  5. Mac

    Mac New Member

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    I am truly sorry that you had so much trouble.
    My Daddy would have said that, "You've come too far to back track now."

    Mac
     
  6. ewryly

    ewryly New Member

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    Great story so far! I laughed my ass off even as I shared your pain! I'm looking forward to the rest of the tale.
     
  7. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    Sounds like you had a great time.
     
  8. jcoplen

    jcoplen New Member

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    ive hit the kill switch before did the same thing checked everything i coul think of and started pushing a hundred yards later i felt the kill switch and felt like a total idiot
     
  9. Cundalini

    Cundalini New Member

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    <---- subscribed to this thread.
     
  10. vfourbear

    vfourbear New Member

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    Wow........talk about detemined......seriously though, you just gotta stop dropping the bike.....:biggrin:
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2009
  11. Scubalong

    Scubalong Official Greeter?

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    To be Continue :)
    Glad you made it to the BBQ at last, You are truelly Supper Tex :)
     
  12. VFRShorty

    VFRShorty New Member

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    Geeze, haven't the guys heard of stand by your man? hehe


    Glad to finally start hearing this tale of yours, waiting for the rest!!
     
  13. gearhead132

    gearhead132 New Member

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    oh man, that is awsome. i am reading laughing my ass off. i had a similiar ride when i thought i could ride to northern MI to meet some friends on my first bike, 1972 cb750. must say though everything went wrong i dont think i dropped it that many times though! keep up the saga, remember we are laughing with you......
     
  14. TOE CUTTER

    TOE CUTTER Mullet Man

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    A tale for the ages

    I would think an epic tale not many can tell. Would think a good one for the family for generations. Can you send me or post some pics of your build you have now?PLEASE!:biggrin:
     
  15. matt1986vf500f

    matt1986vf500f New Member

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    geez tex the bike only work best when its on its tires :biggrin:

    please do tell us the rest

    and have you guys also notice that we are a month apart from are join up date besides bubba Z freaky huh
     
  16. supertex

    supertex New Member

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    Let's continue.......

    Where were we.

    Oh yeah......... I've had a rough day so far, have now fueled up, and think I'm looking forward to a 7 hour trip to SoCal and just a little bit of fun.

    All is well for sometime, if just a bit more aware of my fuel. I start noticing after awhile that my temp gauge is starting to climb. It doesn't shoot straight up but is a gradual steady rise. I've heard that these old guys tend to run hot so it doesn't alarm me at first. I finally realize it's hotter than usual when it bounces up pegging full a few times. Now it's worth noting that the temp gauge isn't working like I'm accustomed in most vehicles, because it's not steady but jumping up and down by quite a bit. I would hit a bump and it would climb, hit another bump and it would go down again. Eventually though, it would climb to it's peek and I would pull to the side at a station to let it cool while I called Toe to try to see how common this was. Knowing that they were slamming down the road I wasn't surprised to not get a hold of him or Neck. I purchased some coolant at one of the stops, emptied some of the fluid from the system, and refreshed it. I finally got so fed up with it that I said screw it and let it stay hot for a while. This continued the entire trip until I reached the base of the mountains, where I stopped and completely emptied the coolant replacing it with new. This time I got a hold of Toxic who handed the phone to Toe (apparently they caught up with each other somewhere) and informed me that the temps I was talking about were indeed above the norm.The sun was dropping along with the temperature, so I figured it would be good through the mountains. Not really...... It pegged half way through but of course I didn't want to stop in the mountains so I said screw it. Just on the other side I came upon a little town called Castaic. I stopped, sat down and ate in a Jack-in-a-Crack and waited for the bike to cool down again. After checking and finding the temp still pegged and my running lights not working, I decided I was too tired from my days journey, called the boys, and told em I was staying the night. I got a room down the street and sacked out. Boy was I tired.......:sleep:...

    I got up the next morning, found out I was 137 miles from my destination, and prepared to get a move on. Shouldn't be more then 2 hours or so right? Wrong. Bike wouldn't start again. After a long diagnosis I determined the fuel pump didn't work. I talked to Toecutter and he told me the pump should be very common or something close should be, so I walked down to Kragen and got to know the staff there. After a lot of looking, the only thing we could find was a universal unit that with connectors that would come up to $80 or so.

    Now here's one of the strangest moments I have ever had the pleasure to be a part of. As I talked to the guy on the phone from a fuel pump company, another man walked up to me and asked if I said 87 vfr 700? After confirming that he had heard me correctly the guy got a wry smile and said he had one around the corner in his garage and he would sell me the entire bike for $350. At the very least he may have a fuel pump for me. I climbed in the car and when we got to his house (which was indeed right around the corner) he pulled the cover off a cherry, white 87 VFR700. The bike was all original with only a few cosmetic blemishes to speak of. I figured at Kragen it was going to cost me at least $100 to get some parts that may or may not work so I offered this guy $200 to hold the bike and give me whatever parts I would need. I figured with correct parts and the rest of the bike I couldn't pass it up. It did cost me all the money I had. I took 3 fuel pumps and ECU, just in case. John (the guy who was selling me the bike) said I now owned the bike and he would wait for my call. He drove me back to the hotel, where I continued to work on my tired traveling partner. Nothing worked for awhile but after adding some choke it fired up and I was again on my way. It was about 11am at this point.

    Let's go now... We only have 137 miles to go and a strong need for some beer :drink: and a smile.

    I added some oil and checked the coolant before I set out, but unfortunately I didn't realize my thermostat was faulty and it soon overheated again. This continued for many miles when during one of my many calls to Toecutter he suggested I take out the thermostat. Finding a service station in LA I borrowed an 8mm socket and removed the little bastard that had caused me so much grief. This helped greatly and I was able to make some decent miles for a time. The motor I feared had seen better days with all the overheating and did still give me some more headaches, occasionally stopping all together. Oh yeah, it would still overheat at times of slow traffic. On one occasion it decided to blow coolant all over my right leg and the motor. It made quite the scene with all the smoke and steam. During one of my stops I realized my fairing clips were gone so having nothing proper I stripped some wire that was in my bag, and wrapped individual pieces of it like safety wire to make do. Finally I reached Oceanside (my destination) around 6:30 to see one of the prettiest sunsets I've had the pleasure of witnessing. I believe especially in times of stress you need to pay attention to great things of beauty. I pulled into Long's drive-way at 7pm, giving it a little rev to announce my arrival. And to top it all off, as I shed my helmet and gloves, my left bar end just fell off. No bolt or anything just the end weight; go figure. I gladly grabbed onto the nearest drink handed to me and made my way to the back to describe my adventures to the folks.

    The next day I decided a truck was the only way I would get home with my bike so I rented one from U-Haul and picked up my other bike on the way through Castaic. I finally made it back home Sun morning about 1:30 or so and climb into my bed thankful to be there.

    Well that's my story. I hope I entertained you all. Basically an 8 hour trip that should have been fun and fairly inexpensive took me 2 days, and cost me $875, not counting my bike purchase. :Cry: Who's idea was it to take a 22 year old bike that had not been ridden in 7 years on a trip through near desert populations.

    Thanks for reading. :wink:
     
  17. Cundalini

    Cundalini New Member

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    Dude he thinks you are dog.:crazy:

    :cool:
     
  18. Cundalini

    Cundalini New Member

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    Hey fucker, I made that drink with love.

    also with alot of gin. little bit of cranberry juice too. but alot of gin. :)

    Also, you forgot too mention the that you said that the bar end jumped off the bike like it was a sinking ship. Cant wait to see your new bike. Jealous already. Lets see some pics!
     
  19. Bubba Zanetti

    Bubba Zanetti Member

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    Fuckin A! LOL!

    You have one of the best motorcycling stories I've ever heard.

    BZ
     
  20. diVeFR

    diVeFR New Member

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    That has to be something out of National Lampoons Motorcycle Vacation trip :biggrin:. At least you made to and from. Great story!
     
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