Words to Live By

Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid it will never begin.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Big D: Unplugged

I wish I could say our ride to Yuma was uneventful. But I can't say that at all. Big D finished his motor at about 1:30 p.m. on Friday, and we left at about 3:00. (Got on the freeway at 3:10, so it was the 3:10 to Yuma). The bike ran GREAT! We rode to Yuma with Joker on his rented '09 Heritage, and Kickstand and Ice on their '08 Fatboy. We stopped in Gila Bend for fuel and Joker said he didn't need any, so we took off again. As we got near the exit for Dateland, the little blue sign indicated the next service station was 30 miles after Dateland. Joker rode up next to us pointing to his tank, so we stopped in Dateland. Joker didn't want to be referred to as the Gas-hole Masshole for running out of gas! :) While Joker fueled up, Big D and I took a few pics with Kickstand and Ice. Then we were ready to get back on the road. We mounted up, and Big D pushed his start button, and we heard, "click click click click click..." The battery was dead. WTF?! So luckily the tiny little service station we were at was also a tiny little general store. We bought a set of jumper cables for $18 and used the rented bike to jump the Sporty. (This was after Kickstand tried to push start Big D about 12 times.) Big D said, "I knew I should have replaced the regulator while I had everything torn apart. I'll go to HD when we get to Yuma and buy one." Now once the Sporty started, I knew Big D was going to get back on the freeway and ride the last 100 miles to Yuma like a bat out of hell, so I jumped on and hunkered down. I think we averaged 95 mph the rest of the way to Yuma. Once we got there, we lost our lights, so it was only a matter of time before the battery died again. I should mention that it was about 7:00 p.m. now, and getting dark. And we had our dark glasses on so it looked like midnight. We stopped at a Del Taco parking lot and put the cables back on the Sporty to get her going again. At this point Big D was getting a bit ornery. He told me to go inside to find out if anyone knew how to get to our hotel. I came back out and he was right behind me calling my name, but I didn't hear him because we just rode at 95 mph into a headwind for about a 100 miles. So he started yelling at me. Then I started yelling at him, because I didn't know why he was yelling at me. Luckily, Ice had a phone with some GPS action, so we got directions to the hotel, and it was only about 7 miles away. While we're waiting for the Sporty to get charged up, Big D gets this strange look on his face and laid down to do something underneath the bike. He got up and asked Joker to take the cables off the bike. He pushed the start button and she fired up immediately. "I forgot to plug in the regulator." was all he said. And that was all he needed to say. We all laughed our asses off and called him "Regulator" for the whole weekend! Once we got to the hotel, we checked in, unpacked the bikes, and hit Penny's Diner out front to get some grub. Guy, who is the Arizona BACA State President, and his wife Bambi, ate with us at the diner and then we went to the Hideout at Guy & Bambi's house and partied like rock stars until 3:30 Saturday morning. ;) I would just like to say that Joker was an awesome guest, rode it like he stole it all weekend, and we would LOVE to have him come back some time. We had a kick-ass time! Stay tuned....there are many more stories from Joker's visit to Arizona and our weekend in Yuma.

22 comments:

Willy D said...

Gas-hole. LOL. To late now. That name goin’a stick. Must have been the AZ sun thawing out his brain. Regulator. No comment. Been there done that many a times. I never knew there were that many “birds” in AZ ;)

B.B. said...

Awesome! I can only imagine the look on Big D.'s face when he realized that he forgot to plug it in! LOL. Great pics! I'm so glad you guys had a good time with Joker!

Allen Madding said...

Y'all are brave to finish buttoning one up at 1:30pm and hitting the highway @3. I have to chuckle at forgetting to plug in the regulator. Only because several yrs ago in a thrash to finish a new race car, I forgot to check lugnuts and had a front wheel come off in a race.

Glad y'all had a good trip. My regards to Regulator (the blogger/rider formerly known as Big D).

-Peace

Motor-head Lady said...

Love the "Regulator" story!
Gosh you all look like you had so much fun!
I wish I could ride (long story why I can't) but just know this, I sooooo envy all of you!
But hey, I have my muscle car and life is good :-)
MHL

"Joker" said...

Looks like you beat me to it after all!! I'm busy working on mine right now. Yep, it was a blast!! Slideshow is awesome, but is there no music or is that a problem on my end?

Willy: I dunno if it'll stick, cuz I'm the one who made it up. No doubt though if I had run dry due to not paying attention, I'd have owned gas-hole for sure!

FLHX_Dave said...

Look out! It's "The Regulator". Hey, shit happens. Give the guy a break...after all he pulled off an amazing overhaul of sorts!

I would have been a real cranky bastard if I had to deal with that problem on the road. Honestly, most riders wouldn't even know where to start with a problem like that.

I wish we could have been there. My mom had a stroke a couple of days ago and I have to make the trip soon. Maybe well just plan on stopping by there one the way.

Thanks for the picts! Looks like an awesome time. Wish we could'a been there. I was only 190 miles away damnit.

Anonymous said...

Everyone get's little "irregular" from time to time, lol.

Ride on,
Torch

Veronnica said...

LMAO, Regulator! At least the bike was running good and everything (mostly) got fixed just in time for the trip! Looks and sounds like you had a great time!

Mr. Motorcycle said...

Glad you all had a good time, and got the bike running so you could have the good time together. Glad you got the battery figured out too.

IHG said...

I can't stop laughing! Gashole from Masshle and Regulators...OMG!

Loved the pictures too!

Paula said...

I sure I commented on this post this a.m......Where did it go?

I forget the "final step" on things all the time! I shutter to think what my nickname would be!

Kim Thomas said...

Guy and Bambi sound like fun! I need to start riding a motorcycle.

Baron's Life said...

Was it really the regulator cable? or alternator cable...?gasshole... buddy it's too funny...
Glad you all made it sound and safe...
Hope you kids had some fun...you seem to have been stressed out.
nothing that a few beers couldn't solve...I guess.
Post some trip pictures if you took any... Enjoy for life is too short and a good ride extends the limits

Baron's Life said...

I take the gasshole comment in my last post back as I just watched the video clip you posted..."Yuma run with joker"
This is a keeper..very well done..could not hear any audio, but the video was great as it depicted cammaraderie, brotherhod and friendship and above all a love for life as only we riders know it. Thanks guys for sharing this visual treasure. It was, is and will remain heart warmimg.
Thank You...!!!!

Mastercheif said...

Looks like you all had a good time. Glad you all could get together.

Ann said...

Willy D: Yeah, I like the name Gas-hole...I'm thinking of having a patch made for Joker. :) And Big D is getting a Regulator patch, too. :)

BB: The look on Big D's face was priceless. We had a great time. Wish you could have made it!

Allen: Big D is one of the ballsiest people I know. I couldn't believe we left 1.5 hours after he finished either.

MHL: We had a great time. Wondering why you can't ride, though? We used to have several muscle cars, but decided we liked the bikes better, so we sold the cars!

Joker: I had to beat you to it! LOL! There is no music for the slideshow...I posted this at 5:30 am, so we're lucky it's legible. BTW...You may be getting a gas-hole patch soon. :)

Dave: The only reason Big D's road name didn't change to Regulator is because our chapter president didn't like it. He's lucky.

Yes, Big D was seriously cranky.

Sorry to hear about your Mom. My Mom is in the hospital, too. You and your family are in my thoughts. Keep us posted. And you can always stop by Phoenix to see us.

Torch: LMAO!!

V: It was a great time! Wish you could've come by the house to meet Joker. Give me a call.

Mr M: It was an awesome time. I'm glad we got it all sorted out, too!

Steph: Lots more stories to tell from the trip...this was just the ride TO Yuma on Friday.

Paula: I am going to come up with a road name for you. :)

Kim: You totally need to start riding! Guy and Bambi were wonderful hosts! We had a great time.

Baron's: Yes, it was the regulator cable. We were definitely stressed out for the few weeks before we left, the beers helped. There was no audio on the slideshow this time. I posted it at 5:30 am, so I'm lucky it looks decent. :)

Mastercheif: We had a great time. Hope your Mom is okay.

Lady R (Di) said...

"Big D Unplugged"! Loved it! What a story! I wish I could've been there! Great slide show, I loved the pics!

No road trip is worthy without it's share of situatous interruptous! LOL! That's "shit happens" in my version of Latin.

Thanks for taking us on the ride with you! We live to do the very thing you just shared with us.

Ride on!

Baron's Life said...

Ann
yoy're one hell of a classy woman and we alllove you. Take care...my mom is in th hospital too...they gave her 3 months at best...!

Jane said...

How awesome!!

jevans said...

A long haul ... problems happening and solved ... a party at the end of the road ..... what a great trip.

Staying tuned for more about it.

Queen B said...

lmao @ gasshole masshole. too funny

I sooooooooooooooo need a bike weekend. Even with all your obstacles, it sounds like a great time! The hiccups just make it more memorable :)

Ann said...

LadyR: Thanks...it would've been great if you could have been there! You call it 'shit happens'...I call it 'ridus interruptus'!

Baron's: Thank you very much. I'm sorry to hear about your Mom. She's in my thoughts. Mine needs heart surgery, and she's quite weak.

Jane: Yes it was!

Jevans: It was a totally great trip. I'll be posting more soon.

QB: Oh it was nothing if not memorable!