Slimey Crud Run -- Spring 2011 (Ride Report)

[bajakirch]

As promised, here's my ride report for my second Slimey Crud Run.

In my ride report from last fall, I described why I really enjoy this particular ride. To briefly explain:

• Show up when you want, start when you want, arrive when you want, take whatever route you want.
• A great mix of MC's, everything from antiques to sport bikes, rats to cafes, cruisers to dual sports. Even the odd UJM.
• Very much an ATGATT crowd
• Everyone is super friendly, and no one looks down on your regardless of what you bring to the event
• It's right in my neighborhood; the start is about 12 miles away and the meet point is about 25 miles away

I've been looking forward to this ride for a couple of weeks now. I spent Friday night in the garage working on my valve cover leak. My shakedown ride went well, and I felt confident that I wasn't going to have oil blowing back on me all day.

I got up early and took care of a couple of necessary tasks around the house. Then I went out to the bike to prep for the ride. I:
- Checked the tire pressure (good thing, I was down almost 15 PSI in my rear tire).
- Checked the oil.
- Washed the bike.
- Put the tank bag on and tossed in a map, water bottle, GPS (in case I got REALLY lost), camera and my Photo Tag list.

Here she is, ready for action:

[bajakirch]

I tanked up with gas, grabbed some cash, and hit the road. But, having fallen behind a bit in the Photo Tag Side Game, I grabbed a few on the way to the starting point in Pine Bluff.

[isleofmanfan]

The slimy crud has been on my short list of mandatory rides, for a while.  Hopefully I'll make it for the fall run.  I just didn't want to swing an expensive Madison motel for such a short ride.  Did you see Peter Egan?  I like the crud group because it was started by a bunch of cafe guys, and is still heavily represented by European and Japanese pilots.  Not so many (comparatively speaking) Hardley antique riders to deal with.  Those lettered roads are nice and twisty, ehh?!  Good stuff! 

[bajakirch]

Once I got to the Red Mouse Bar in Pine Bluff, things were in full swing. I found myself a place to park alongside the road. No sooner had I gotten off the bike when 2 other Hondas showed up and parked next to me. It turned out they were a husband and wife riding matching V65 Magnas.

The wife saw my bike and immediately said, "That was my first bike. I loved it!" Turns out she started riding on a NH550 as well and had only upgraded about 2 years previously. The husband came up and said that they love the Magnas for long-distance riding but, as the family mechanic, he really missed the die-hard NH engine and how easy it was to work on. He said the Magnas definitely required a lot more upkeep, maintenance and tweaking.

Here they are, Hondas all in a row (note the 700S in the background, ignore the Suzuki photo-crasher):



And another shot from the other direction:




After chatting for a while we parted ways and I started ogling the hundreds (thousand+?) bikes on hand. Here's a shot down the street. Keep in mind Pine Bluff is a crossroads; this is just 1 of the 4 roads coming in. And you can't even really see the various parking lots full of bikes in this shot.

[bajakirch]

I'll call this my 'Miscellaneous Honda' post. I snapped photos of what I considered to be interesting looking Hondas.




I saw about a half-dozen of these V65 Sabres, in various conditions. This was one of the better ones.


Cool old Honda 50





I admire this guy's pluck; I think this is a modified Honda Ruckus:

[bajakirch]

But what we really want to see are the Nighthawks, right?

I saw many more this time than last fall. And just about all models were represented.

Here's a newer 750:




And a sharp-looking 650:




I'm not a big bobber fan -- something about putting my rear end a half-inch away from an unprotected tire spinning at several hundred RPMs makes me nervous -- but here's an older 750 (I think) that someone's taken the Sawz-All to:




And another older one in more pristine shape:




Far be it from me to leave out our 700S brethren:

[bajakirch]

I'll call this the 'Ummmmm...okay?' Collection.

Not only wood grain and the finest velour, but a cupholder for the Queen as well:




You'll notice from the group of colors-wearing bikers in the background why I didn't try to get any closer to this than I did. It's been my experience that such gathered groups don't necessarily like to have their pictures taken. Too bad, I would have liked to see some of the detail on this piece...or maybe not.




I don't even know what to say about this one:




OK, I had to include this guy. It's not real evident in this photo, but you had to get a load of his outfit. Let me try to visualize this for you:  matte black Can-Am Spyder, all-black riding gear with external black hard armor (neck to toe), matte black helmet with 2 upraised 'ears' on top and -- I swear I'm not making this up -- a gold utility belt with a Batman beltbuckle. I still don't know if I was saddened by his total geekiness, or impressed with his courage to show up and walk around like that. I later saw him riding the bike in full regalia and I must say, it was a sight to behold. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the camera out fast enough to snap a pic, so this will have to do:




And if the previous guy thought he was Batman, this must be one of his nemeses. Hard to tell in the photo, but draped over the seat of this bike ('Mad Max' stenciled on the tank) was a chest protector with all manner of voodoo/witchcraftery materials on it.

[bajakirch]

A little bit more pre-ride miscellany.

I really enjoyed the sentiment shown on this bike:




I saw this at a gas station the previous day and commented to my wife that I didn't think it was street-legal. Perhaps I was wrong. I believe I heard someone say this started life as some sort of Honda.




And I know -- totally out of place. But I had to get a shot of this sweet ride. Mainly because I just saw the episode of Top Gear where they reviewed the Nissan GTR.




If anyone ever held a gun to my head and made me choose a HD, this is the one I'd have to go with -- the XR1200. Upright riding position and I actually like the styling. They must have designed this one the day the chrome engineers in Milwaukee were off at some sort of Shiny-Things Conference.




Then I had to prepare myself for some mileage. Sustenance was called for. Traditional Wisconsin bratwurst with sauerkraut, mustard and ketchup. And some chips to wash it down. No drink, because I'd just finished a giant coffee and I didn't want to be stopping every 10 minutes to empty out.

[bajakirch]

I didn't mention earlier the weather conditions, so I'll cover that here. Mostly sunny, temps starting at 45 increasing to mid-50s. The biggest issue was the wind; it was gusting up to around 30 mph. Not so much to prevent riding or even make it scary, but enough that you had to pay attention, especially in the open areas. I had a couple of cross-winds push me nearly into the other lane.

I started out following a small group, but soon started making my own way. One nice thing about this ride going on in my area is that I know most of the roads. So I chose a route I found enjoyable. Along the way, I stopped a few times to snap pictures. But honestly, I was having such a good time riding that I didn't want to stop too often.

Here I am at the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor's Center, near Spring Green, WI. I'm just up the road from FLW's Wisconsin home, called Taliesin. It's pretty cool-looking, but I didn't feel like going that far out of my way to get a picture. So I figured the visitor's center would suffice:




Along the way I came to what is probably the most unassuming village in the state:




I wonder how they score on their aptitude tests?


(Actually, it's not a bad school. SOQS taught there several times when she was a substitute teacher, and she said she enjoyed going there.)

[bajakirch]

After a ride of about 60 miles I reached the wide spot in the road known as Leland, WI. It's so small, it doesn't show up on my GPS. This proved problematic, because my map didn't show enough detail to for me to know exactly where I should be turning. So I got a nice tour of the backroads of Sauk County for a while. But eventually, I made it to Leland at about 2:30.

Here's what it looked like:




I wandered around looking at bikes for another 45 minutes or so. Along the way I ran into a guy getting on his Ascott for the ride home. He seemed impressed that I knew what it was. He said he loved it. We talked bikes a bit and then parted ways.

By this point the battery in my camera was getting low, so I started being picky about my photos. But this Kawasaki 750 Turbo really caught my eye:

[bajakirch]

Finally it was time to make the ride home. I picked a leisurely route that would also allow me to snag a few more photo tags on the way home.

I got about 10 miles from home and realized I need to stop for gas. I pulled in and filled up. I started walking in to pay when I glanced something familiar at the next pump -- it was another NH550! In fact, it was the same one I'd seen back in the fall and had been unable to meet the rider. Lo and behold, the owner came out of the station and we got talking. We pulled out bikes off to the side and spent the next 30-45 minutes chatting about our shared experiences.

I was happy to be able to turn him on to someone locally that was selling another 550 cheap -- his bike was getting a bit ragged and he wanted something to cannibalize. We exchanged contact information and might meet up for some future rides.

Here's a photo of his bike next to mine:




I got a couple more photo tag shots on the way home:





Then, just a few miles from home. I came across this. It was a wedding along the banks of the Wisconsin River. It just so happened the bride was getting ready to walk up the aisle. I couldn't let this pass without a photo. I tried to be unobtrusive, so that's why the shot's from a distance, and apologies for the Porta-Potty in the shot. But I thought it was a nice way to end what turned out to be a great Slimey Crud Run.

[hockeyhawk]

Looks like a great day, thanks for sharing. I loved this line, "at some sort of Shiny-Things Conference" 

[luckylindy]

Looks like a fun ride.  Great collection of bikes.

[bajakirch]

The slimy crud has been on my short list of mandatory rides, for a while.  Hopefully I'll make it for the fall run.  I just didn't want to swing an expensive Madison motel for such a short ride.  Did you see Peter Egan?  I like the crud group because it was started by a bunch of cafe guys, and is still heavily represented by European and Japanese pilots.  Not so many (comparatively speaking) Hardley antique riders to deal with.  Those lettered roads are nice and twisty, ehh?!  Good stuff!  

I don't know what Eagan looks like, so I don't know if I saw him or not. I did walk by one guy that caused me to do a double-take; I could have sworn it was Peter Fonda. On second glance, probably not...but you never know...

It's interesting you make mention of the European bikes. I was really surprised at how many Triumphs I saw. Easily as many Triumphs as BMWs. Odd, because I don't even know where the nearest Triumph dealer is.

If I had to rank the manufacturers by total quantity, I think it'd go like this:

1. Harley-Davidson (we're still in Wisconsin, you know)
2. Honda
3. BMW/Triumph (tie)
4. Yamaha
5. Suzuki

Unusual/rare brands I saw included Cargiva, Norton, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi.

I also forgot to include this in my report. I saw this guy's bike last year and was wowed by the translucent tank cover. He was back again, this time with his bike signed by Eric Buell. And I don't recall if he had this last year, but check out the matching front fender.





Buells were pretty well-represented at the event as well. After seeing many of them, I have to say that their looks are growing on me. I saw a Buell Ulysses that was for sale for around $4k. If I'd had the money I might very well have picked it up on the spot. It was gorgeous.

One other comment I guess I'll add. I've been very happy with my 550 and I never felt it was lacking in the power department. It'll get me up to highway speeds no problem; even passing at highway speeds is easy. But today, perhaps because of the heavy winds I was bucking much of the day, I kept looking for that 7th gear.

Hmmm, maybe that upgrade to a 750 isn't as far in the future as I thought it might be...

[HandsomeSteve]

Thanks for sharing, great post 

[FearThis SC]

Thanks for sharing, looks like a great ride!   

Ride Safe...

[ariwhiteboy]

Cool Report...I'd love to do a ride like that.  The problem around here is you get a big group together, everyone poses for an hour or so, then you ride 10mph to some "clubhouse" for lunch.  It's just not my scene, but it looks like I would have enjoyed the Crud Run.    Oh well, one more reason I can't wait for Deal's Gap! 

[fishball]

Great report Baja.  You are making me miss Wisconsin.    I agree with you, my favorite HD is the XR1200.

[JB1290]

Nice work, Baja. Great pics.   

[gammer]

If anyone ever held a gun to my head and made me choose a HD, this is the one I'd have to go with -- the XR1200. Upright riding position and I actually like the styling. They must have designed this one the day the chrome engineers in Milwaukee were off at some sort of Shiny-Things Conference.

 

I agree with your choice. I would do the same if ever in 'that position'.

[Burgi]

Interesting Baja, thanks for posting.