The last weekend in September is always the Vintage Yamaha Rally at the Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge just East of Robbinsville, NC. I attended 2 years ago and had a blast. From what I can tell there should be at least six FJ's in attendance. I am trailering this time and taking all 3 of my bikes. I am also attending a VFR rally the next weekend in Little Switzerland, NC. The locations are only 125 miles apart.... being in the area already and close to each other. It would be a crime not to attend both.
I know the ECFR is the same weekend. I had made my plans and reservations for the Vintage Rally a year ago.
First photos are getting the bikes prepped for the Rallys. Since they will be on a trailer. All the luggage and frames have been removed.
Fred
All loaded up and ready to go in the morning.
Fred
Don't know what it is about FJ's and VF's.....they seem to attract each other.....
I loaned my trailer to a neighbour to go and pick up a bike he'd just bought on Sunday, for a song, from a family friend's wife. It hadn't run for 8 years, so when he brought it home I helped him to re-commission it and today it flew through its Govt Safety Inspection (MOT test) with not even a single "advisory" comment. He's a very happy teddy bear - this is it. 2004 VFR 800, with 27k miles on it
(http://fjowners.com/gallery/11/6213_24_09_20_1_03_55.jpeg)
My 13 day trip to the East Coast has come to an end. I attended the annual Vintage Yamaha Rally and the Annual VFRD Fall Ride. This was my 2nd Vintage Yamaha Rally and 1st VFRD Rally.
The Vintage Yamaha Rally was a great time. Riding some of the great roads of South Western North Carolina. Moonshiner 28, Hwy215, the Southernmost portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway, The Tail of the Dragon. We had a total of 9 FJ1100/FJ1200's in attendance. Some great looking XS models of all sizes. A German import RD350LC (in the US, it was called a RZ350). Even running the Dragon in the rain was a hoot on my 90 FJ1200. The Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge is an awesome place to stay. The accommodations and food are incredible. The Bunkhouse lodging is a great money saver and threw in a couple of nights tenting.
The following weekend was the VFRD Fall Ride Rally. The Skyline Village Inn was a very unique venue. Opened in 1948 and really interesting history, including ties to moonshine manufacturing. A real home away from home feel. Mike Best, the owner was very hands on with all our needs personally grilled awesome steaks. The riding in Northwestern North Carolina, Eastern Tennessee and a bit of Southwestern Virginia was the BEST motorcycle roads that I have ever ridden. The Snake is something everyone should get a chance to ride. The Blue Ridge Parkway in that area was enjoyable with a relaxing feel after really twisty roads all day. I can't name the roads that we rode as I was having so much fun doing my best to keep up with everyone. I ended up being the only one that had a breakdown enroute. The forward valve cover gasket blew out and oil was leaking out in a steady stream, and had too be hauled back to the Hotel on a tow truck. Everyone treated the incident almost like a right of passage for the new guy.
On the way home, the route ran a bit more northerly than normal. Scheduled was a day of riding with a fellow FJ rider in Central Missouri. A great day of riding too wrap up my trip.
Fred
Saturday was overcast but dry. We rode Moonshiner 28 South and with the recent rains the waterfalls were dropping alot of water. We made our way to Franklin. We got on Hwy64 and headed East. Stopped for lunch just West of Rosman at The Falls Cafe. We ate on the Veranda with a view of another Waterfall. Turned North on Hwy215 and headed towards the Blue Ridge Parkway. Next to no traffic and an awesome FJ road. We got on the Blue Ridge Parkway and headed South/West and stopped at the highest point on the Parkway for a break and photo op. For the short ride down to Hwy74 I got video following the RD350LC. Hwy74 is a windy 4 lane and is actually curvy enough to be entertaining at 70-75mph.
Fred
Sunday was another good day of riding. A slightly different route to Franklin along Hwy2, Wayah Rd. We rode Hwy64 to Hwy215, then the Blue Ridge Parkway and Hwy74 again.
A bit short on photos for the day as it was extremely foggy and the group behind me made a wrong turn and headed North on the Blue Ridge Parkway as I turned South.
I had been staying in Bunkhouse 2 and now I set up my tent and camped for the next 3 nights.
Fred
Monday, most of all the Rally attendees had pulled out. The weather was about perfect for riding. Sunny and high in the mid 70's.
I decided to introduce the VFR750 to The Tail of the Dragon. The Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge is about 15 miles from Deals Gap. Taking Moonshiner 28 from Stecoah, through Fontana Village to Deals Gap is a great warm up ride. Once at Deals Gap, the amount of bikes is way less that on the weekends.
I had a fun rip up and back. At the damn overlook there was a little KTM Duke 200, parked with a Disc lock installed. I got a story about a woman riding it and while leaned over, she got the wheels on the yellow painted center lines and lost traction, resulting in a low side crash.
I didn't have the only 90's bike.... the unmistakable pastel colors of the early 90's on a 92 GSX-R at the Damn overlook
The last photo from the Dragon is me in front of The Tree of Shame. Tradition dictates that if you crash while riding the Dragon. You have to leave a broken piece of your bike hanging on the tree. None of my bike parts are there.... :lol:
Fred
That's a common story Fred......poorly trained riders hugging the centre-line on left-handers, clipping the painted lines and lowsiding.....almost as common as hugging the kerb/inside on right handers and then hitting the gravel that collects at the edge of the road !!!!
Too many "riders" don't know how to "ride"....they just get on and twist the throttle without ever learning how to corner "properly". I'm just glad she was on a Duke 200 and not something bigger and faster - I assume she survived ?
Absolutely fabulous photo's by the way Fred....I have a brother-in-law who lives in South Carolina and before I die, I'm going to visit him, hire a bike and head out to that area .....I am indeed jealous of your trip :yes:
Oh and by the way...your VFR looks awesome in that last photo :good2:
Excellent pictures on the twisties. Those two rallys look like they almost made up for this years disappointing FJ calendar. BTW, I guess that RD rider was pretty skilled. Those peaky 2 strokes in the wet certainly sharpen the senses.
A couple of videos....
Yamaha's on the Blue Ridge Parkway
https://youtu.be/lM9rEmgYGRA
VFR750 riding The Tail of the Dragon
https://youtu.be/NwmuJEgYoYw
VFR750 on Moonshiner 28 in the rain
https://youtu.be/VUbtLE_qMyU
Tuesday it rained all day so I hung out at the Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge and didn't ride. Wednesday morning, I loaded up the bikes and headed up to Little Switzerland, North Carolina and the Skyline Village Inn
Fred
Looks like a great tour nice pictures :good2:
I was the 1st to arrive at the Skyline Village Inn for the VFR Rally. Others started to arrive later in the evening. I think the majority of the attendees live within a 3 hour drive.
For the next 3 days, the riding was out of this world. Most of the time, I had no idea what road we were on, what direction we were going or what State we were in. On Friday, I think we zig zapped across the North Carolina and Tennessee state line a half a dozen times. I did get to ride The Snake, US421 from Mountain City, TN to Shady Valley. A much more fun road than the Dragon.
On Saturday, we made our way up to the Snake and again dropped into Shady Valley. From there we rode North to have lunch in Damascus, Virginia where my ride day came to a Smokey end. As we came into town and stopped at an intersection, a big cloud of White smoke appeared directly in front of me. I first thought it was the VFR800 in front of me.... :unknown:.... but no.... the smoke was coming from my bike. I rolled through the intersection and immediately pulled over..... having left a trail of engine life juice on the pavement. I got off the bike with the engine running to investigate. A steady stream of oil was squirting out through a blown out Valve cover gasket on the forward cylinders. :shok: :cray:
We were only a block away from our lunch destination. I parked the bike and walked to the Old Mill restaurant. During lunch, I used my roadside assistance to arrange a tow back to Little Switzerland.
Fred
Quote from: andyoutandabout on October 09, 2020, 11:38:52 PM
Excellent pictures on the twisties. Those two rallys look like they almost made up for this years disappointing FJ calendar. BTW, I guess that RD rider was pretty skilled. Those peaky 2 strokes in the wet certainly sharpen the senses.
This RZ350 also showed up. Inverted forks, fat tire mod and othe choice mods. The definition of a giant killer. 76hp at the rear wheel in a less than 350lb package.
This Baby Interceptor also showed up at the Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge during my stay. I bought one just like it for my 1st street only Motorcycle. I made the purchase in 1986 at the same dealership in Costa Mesa, California that Pat Conlon purchased his FJ two years earlier.
Fred
Video of riding US421 'The Snake'
https://youtu.be/tEvpoTvK7Kw
Fred
Living the dream Fred, thanks for posting, I get to see some really good places to ride.
Sunday, I loaded up and headed out for my trip west towards home. I deviated my route and headed towards St. Louis, Missouri. The next day, I arrived in Columbia, Missouri to meet up with Steve Baumann for an afternoon of riding the winding roads of North Central Missouri. I followed Steve out into the Countryside, riding the Alphabet Soup roadsthrough of Boonville, Glasgow and Fayette to name a few. He took me to one of his favorite stops overlooking the Missouri River and to the largest Burr Oak Tree in the state.
This wraps up the trip as the 5 hour drive home to Wichita was uneventful. I hope everyone has enjoyed this trip. Looking forward to this time next year and heading West for the RPM Rally.
Fred
Thanks Fred, wonderful photos, we all love bike photos! In a year of so many cancelled events you were lucky to string a couple together and in such good riding country.
That VFR is a very good looking bike for the year.
Last week I asked the question on another site, if you had $15k ($10k-$12k in the US) to spend on a second hand Sports/Touring bike, what would it be? I got 97 responses. The recommendations were the usual mix, FJR's were well represented and one of just about every bike ever made got a nod at some point.
What surprised me was there was only one Harley (out of 97) and a surprising number of VFR's, way more than I would have thought and the recommendations came with a lot of passion for the bike. I was particularly surprised by the riders who'd previously ridden big bikes, like GTR1400, FJR, ST1300, Ninja 1000 who raved about their VFR's.
It seems they have a bit of a cult following and their owners love them. This was on a site specifically for motorcycle road trips so the participants were mostly open road and long distance riders.
Your building quite a stable there Fred. Thanks again for the report, most enjoyable.
Noel
Quote from: aviationfred on October 10, 2020, 12:47:00 PM
I did get to ride The Snake, US421 from Mountain City, TN to Shady Valley. A much more fun road than the Dragon.
Agreed. My favorite piece of road. Fell in love with it at my first Spring Rally in 2005. The Spring Rally always seems to coincide with a British bike gathering of some sort, and they all show up at the Shady Valley Country Store. Pretty cool.
Did you try the Rainbow Trout BLT in Little Switzerland? It's amazing. The road's not bad, either (the Little Switzerland Loop) but sometimes there's a lot of sports cars.
rossi
Quote from: rlucas on October 13, 2020, 04:02:02 AM
Quote from: aviationfred on October 10, 2020, 12:47:00 PM
I did get to ride The Snake, US421 from Mountain City, TN to Shady Valley. A much more fun road than the Dragon.
Did you try the Rainbow Trout BLT in Little Switzerland? It's amazing. The road's not bad, either (the Little Switzerland Loop) but sometimes there's a lot of sports cars.
rossi
Breakfast and dinners were at the Skyline Inn. The roads in that area are spectacular.... I have no idea if we rode The Little Switzerland Loop or parts of it.
Fred
Thank you Fred. I haven't had a real ride in almost 3 years. I've been surviving on your posts and others. Helps keep me almost sane. :wacko3:
Great pictures and what a trip you had!
Thank you for swinging by my little neck of the woods.
It was a break I much needed!