ninjette.org - View Single Post - Ride Report - Ozark Mountains - 9/11/09-9/13/09

MiniCog · January 17th, 2011, 01:13 PM

Well, my dad and I left at 7:30 Friday morning, and it was a great feeling day, cloudy, not too hot nor too cold, and we went to meet Jim (riding friend). We are lunch at the Queen Willamina Lodge around 12:00, meet a couple more guys, and we went on Talimena Drive to Mena, Arkansas. Then we went to the Ozark Inn, Collin (Another riding buddy) was there, we got our stuff off the bikes, and farted around until dinner, when a couple more guys show up.

The next day we went up the Pig Trail, 123, and a few other roads, but 123 was the highlight, those 10MPH curve signs didn't lie, my back tire slid a bit on the down hill 10MPH curves, and that scared the crap out of me. We stopped, did it again, backwards this time, and I started to get in a groove in my riding and I felt really good. We stopped to get gas in Jasper, and I drug a knee, for real.
See...

Then we stopped for again a few miles down the road, and I felt 10 times better than before, and I felt like I was going pretty good. And then, wouldn't you know it, my luck changes. My clutch cable broke, and I had to clutchless shift over 30-40 miles of mountain road, I was so sickened by something so small slowing me down that much, then a couple of CBR's were in the middle of a turn where you start out downhill, finish uphill, and vise-versa, and they were going fast, that made me want to go crazy. THEN, it started raining. What else could go wrong?
Guess what. I got lucky, and I didn't have to stop until I was right in front of the motel and there was a downhill in front of it. I found neutral, and when the light turned green, I coasted down and shifted to 2nd gear and went right into the parking lot. Jim got some stuff to rig me a cable up for emergencies and red lights, and it worked! I could only use it in those situations. So unless I had to stop or start again, I couldn't use the clutch, and, just in case, the cable came off again we were ready with vise grips and we could rig up a 'suicide' clutch, using my right foot to push forward on the vise grips that bypassed the lever/cable method.
Luckily enough I didn't break the cable again, and I got all the way home, but we were in the pouring rain from the start, until the last 20-30 miles.
Overall, we rode about 1,000 miles, and no one fell, crashed, or came close to falling down.
I will never forget this ride untill the day I die.

January 17th, 2011, 01:13 PM	#1
MiniCog ninjette.org guru Name: Nathaniel Location: Jacksonville, Florida Join Date: Jan 2011 Motorcycle(s): Past: 2007 250 Ninja 2005 XR650R 2003 KLX400R Posts: 335	Ride Report - Ozark Mountains - 9/11/09-9/13/09 Well, my dad and I left at 7:30 Friday morning, and it was a great feeling day, cloudy, not too hot nor too cold, and we went to meet Jim (riding friend). We are lunch at the Queen Willamina Lodge around 12:00, meet a couple more guys, and we went on Talimena Drive to Mena, Arkansas. Then we went to the Ozark Inn, Collin (Another riding buddy) was there, we got our stuff off the bikes, and farted around until dinner, when a couple more guys show up. The next day we went up the Pig Trail, 123, and a few other roads, but 123 was the highlight, those 10MPH curve signs didn't lie, my back tire slid a bit on the down hill 10MPH curves, and that scared the crap out of me. We stopped, did it again, backwards this time, and I started to get in a groove in my riding and I felt really good. We stopped to get gas in Jasper, and I drug a knee, for real. See... Then we stopped for again a few miles down the road, and I felt 10 times better than before, and I felt like I was going pretty good. And then, wouldn't you know it, my luck changes. My clutch cable broke, and I had to clutchless shift over 30-40 miles of mountain road, I was so sickened by something so small slowing me down that much, then a couple of CBR's were in the middle of a turn where you start out downhill, finish uphill, and vise-versa, and they were going fast, that made me want to go crazy. THEN, it started raining. What else could go wrong? Guess what. I got lucky, and I didn't have to stop until I was right in front of the motel and there was a downhill in front of it. I found neutral, and when the light turned green, I coasted down and shifted to 2nd gear and went right into the parking lot. Jim got some stuff to rig me a cable up for emergencies and red lights, and it worked! I could only use it in those situations. So unless I had to stop or start again, I couldn't use the clutch, and, just in case, the cable came off again we were ready with vise grips and we could rig up a 'suicide' clutch, using my right foot to push forward on the vise grips that bypassed the lever/cable method. Luckily enough I didn't break the cable again, and I got all the way home, but we were in the pouring rain from the start, until the last 20-30 miles. Overall, we rode about 1,000 miles, and no one fell, crashed, or came close to falling down. I will never forget this ride untill the day I die.