"After getting back from the Fayetteville motorcycle rally on Sunday, I needed to work on my bike. The shops are closed on Monday so Tuesday I picked up the parts. Tuesday night and Wednesday morning I changed out the intake manifold gaskets. Melanie's vacation was coming to an end, so we had to make every hour count. After a test ride, I felt good about the way the bike was running and the weather forecast in Tenn. and NC looked excellent. So, on Wednesday at 2 PM we left home on another trip "looking for adventure".
Melanie with the Ultra Classic in the Smokies a few years ago. On that trip they took the camper.
CP with the two Yorkies they take with them on their trips."Melanie and I have put alot of miles on my Ultra Classic so we often go 200 miles at a time, stopping only for gas. We rode 450 miles Wednesday and found a motel in Cookeville, TN around 11:30.
The next day we got up at 7 AM and rode 350 miles. Taking a back country road to Tellico Plains, NC, we rode the"CheroholaSkyway" http://www.westernncattractions.com/cherohal.htm and the "Tail of the Dragon" http://www.tailofthedragon.com/ a few times. The Tail of the Dragon has 318 curves in 11 miles. Afterwards we rode to Bryce City for the night.
The next day we rode to Maggie Valley, NC to see the "Wheels Through Time" museum http://www.wheelsthroughtime.com/. This is a museum that every motorcycle enthusiast should see. They started up some bikes for us, including one built in 1920 which was one of only three known to exist, it started on first kick. They claim to be the museum that runs, because they take exhibit bikes out and ride them. Great museum, as you can see by the website. "
CP at the Wheels Through Time Museum a few years ago. When this pic and the two below were taken, the museum was at Mt. Vernon, IL. It has moved to Maggie Valley, NC.
"We originally planned on heading back home that Friday after visiting the museum. We intended to ride Friday evening and stop at a motel by nightfall, then get up Saturday and ride the rest of the way home. By doing so we would have Sunday to recover and rest before the end of Melanie's vacation.
It didn't happen the way we planned. Our bike wouldn't start at the museum. Some kind people from Conn. and Fla. pushed it and it started. As soon as the engine was running, I noticed there was no voltage charging. I knew what the problem was, it had happened once before. The stator was out and this was something that had to be fixed before attempting a return home.
I removed the headlight fuse since it would otherwise have drained the battery quickly, then rode out following some hand written directions to the nearest Harley-Davidson dealership. The directions didn't specify whether to turn right or left at the various intersections. At every turn, I kept thinking I was going the wrong direction. This just added to the stress as my engine continued to progressively run poorly. Soon into the ride, my trusted old ride was wanting to cease running as the bike battery was rapidly being depleted. We could only reach about 30 mph and it was becoming difficult to keep the bike running. With it coughing, spitting and only hitting occasionally we pulled into Ghost Town Harley-Davidson in Waynesville, NC. and the engine died. About 40 minutes later I turned on the ignition and the battery hadn't recovered enough to make the LED on my radio visible. I had totally drained the battery limping to the dealership.
Ghost Town Harley-Davidson gave us the best service and consideration you could imagine. They put us ahead of their work schedule and had the stator replaced by closing time. Our mechanic, Jason, test rode the bike after closing time. He didn’t feel comfortable with us leaving. The battery wasn't fully charged, and he felt there would be too much strain on the charging system. He suggested we spend the night in the Lodge Motel, so we took his advice.
Jason took us to the Lodge Motel in his private car and the motel was even kind enough to give us a discount because of our dilemma. Another GTHD employee (can't remember his name) picked us up late the next morning in his car.
During the morning they load tested my battery twice, recharged it and decided the battery was still good. How could you possibly get better service than all this. It was like we were family. This dealership was so helpful, and went out of their way to take care of us. This is one of the best experiences that I have had with a Harley-Davidson dealership. I just can't make enough great comments about GTHD and all of the employees. It made us feel good to know there are still dealerships like this in America and being a HD dealership made it even better. It seemed like everyone from the shop to the showroom knew about our situation and different employees would continually keep up updated on the repair progress. Everyone was super nice to us and helped us feel at ease.
The dealership has a large selection of clothes and riding apparel that I'd never seen, which is another good reason to stop in at Ghost Town Harley-Davidson http://www.ghosttownharley.com/ in Waynesville, NC. If you are near that part of the country and need anything, stop by and give them some business.
Also tell them that I am especially thankful of how they treated us and repaired our 1998, 95th Anniversary Ultra Classic Electra Glide during Oct 3rd and 4th of 2008.
When the mechanics decided our bike was back to pristine condition, they wished us a safe and enjoyable ride. We set out again on the return trip in the early afternoon. Since we were much farther East than originally planned, we decided to ride "The Blue Ridge Parkway" http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/ into and through "The Great Smoky Mountains National Park" http://www.great.smoky.mountains.national-park.com/info.htm.
We also took advantage of the clear weather and and climbed "ClingmansDome," http://www.clingmansdome.com/ the highest point in TN. During my previous visits there, thick clouds usually covered the mountain top so this was a great opportunity. After riding the remainder of Smoky Mountain National Park, we took the back roads to I-40.
We again rode in 200 mile increments on I-40 to make up for lost time. After many hours we reached Jackson, TN, We didn't feel safe riding any longer since it was near midnight, so we stopped for the night. We were confident we could have ridden all the way through, but what would that prove. We would have arrived home around 4 am and then we would have felt worn out all day, so we opted for the nights rest.
Early this summer we visited our kids in Florida on the Harley. Returning home, we stayed on the bike for 18 hours and arrived home at 3:30 am. We had no desire to repeat that experience. After sleeping at the motel in Jackson, Tenn., we got up late Sunday morning, ate breakfast, then rode I-40 for the remainder of the trip. We stopped at a great Oriental restaurant called HO HO’s in Forest City. Very reasonably priced and many selections on the buffet. We arrived home near 4 pm.
Within ten days we rode 2300 miles. We rode 850 miles during four days at the Fayetteville BBQ motorcycle rally http://www.bikesbluesandbbq.org/ . After BBBQ we went home for a couple of days in order to work on the bike. Then off we went again and rode an additional 1430 miles in 4 1/2 days. We picked a great time to go, no rain, the leaves were turning at higher elevations and other than the stator going out, the bike ran great. We really enjoyed our trip and look forward to returning to the Smokies. When I do, I will definitely stop and visit Ghost Town Harley-Davidson in Waynesville, NC and thank them again. And if I spend the night, I'll stay at the Lodge motel.
Motorcycle trips just don't get any better than that. Sometimes it may take a little stress and worry like a mechanical failure for one to be reminded that there are still alot of good people in this world and a lot of them live near Waynesville, NC."
Congratulations CP and Melanie on another memorable ride.
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