Final Touches

Final touches (I hope) happening before Daytona. New chain, sprockets, rear tire, brake linings, and of course a couple of new head gaskets. Final test on 2.5 gallon spare tank is happening this afternoon.

Kick Start Classic

I was needing a good final test for the Scout before the September start, so I decided to enter the American Iron Magazine's annual Kick Start Classic ride. The ride started at the Wheels Thru Time museum in Maggie Valley NC, and offered 2 days of riding thru the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Being pretty close to home, I was all in. I called my buddy Roy, and he and is '46 Chief were in.

Over 100 bikes lined up for the start Friday morning. There were a few Indians, a couple of BMWs, a few Brit bikes, and a sea of Harleys. Not official, but I think I was on the oldest bike there. They announced they would be filming the event for the TV show "What's in the Barn", and when everything was set, we headed out towards Chattanooga. The first climb from Maggie Valley up to the Blue Ridge Parkway was a good one. The Scout pulled along nicely, and we slowly made our way along the parkway.

The Cherohala Skyway took us to Tellico Plains for lunch

Then beautiful runs along the Hiwassee and Ocoee Rivers led us to Coker Tire in Chattanooga. They opened there shop area for everyone, and most riders took advantage of the space to work on their bikes.

I really felt good about the Scout, and had had a trouble free day thru some pretty tough climbs. The bike handled and ran really well, so I adjusted a tuff acting the throttle cable (that had refused to shut off a few times), changed the oil in the crankcase, checked a few bolts, and we were ready for Saturday. Saturdays ride took us from Chattanooga to Red Boiling Springs Tn, to Cyclemos Museum. The riding was similar to Friday, with good curves, lots of scenery, and like minded people. Again, no major problems, and we pulled into Red Boiling Springs feeling pretty good.