TOPIC:

Today is your day 650ed have fun and be safe.

10 things I learned riding my piece of the Relay...

1 - An old KZ has a more comfortable seat than a modern Concourse. Or maybe it's just that riders of old Kaws complain less (Sorry Doug

2 - "Watch the skies" isn't just about looking for alien abductions. It's also good to look out for rain.

3 - Rain gear doesn't work very well when it's in your saddlebag.

4 - My waterproof boots aren't.

5 - Whole Foods in California imports Japanese guys from North Carolina to help with their Sushi. Well at least one guy, and he has an awesome old bike.

6 - If you drag the rear drum brake on a Kawasaki Vulcan for 80 miles it turns this cool gold color. (Don't try this, but it really did, I swear)

7 - Random people at donut shops in Leesburg VA love to talk about old bikes.

8 - If you are really diligent you can keep a motorcycle in showroom condition for 35 years and never need to "restore" it.

9 - I will never be that diligent.

10 - There are some really amazing people that ride vintage Kawasaki motorcycles.

Kawickrice wrote: Today is your day 650ed have fun and be safe.

Thanks! Topper and I both got back to our homes without incident. There are some new pics on the
NORTH AMERICAN RELAY RIDE PHOTO ALBUM thread. Ed

wow the pics are beautiful I see a coffee table book coming when this is over.

on behalf of everyone I think its safe to say Thank you guys You Rock!!

Who on here works for a publishing company??

650ed wrote: I plan to receive the flag this Sunday in Leesburg, VA then ride it through WV, PA, and then to home in MD. The concern I have at the moment is who to hand it off to and when. The idea was to take it sometime after this Sunday up to Delaware to pass it to Haggard Scott, but I haven't heard anything from him in a couple months. Anyone know if he is still in the game or if there are any other potential riders in NJ or DE or Eastern PA? I'll need to pass it to some one. Ed

So where are you in maryland ?

Rockville. It's near DC. Ed

650ed wrote: Rockville. It's near DC. Ed

Thats over 400 miles from me. We need to find someone in the middle. Maybe we should put up another craigs list add or something. I guess I could do it if we can't find someone.Its my busy season at work right now so its hard to find the time,How far are you willing to go?

I have a Cousin in Charles Town near DC.

When do you think it will be near Tulsa, Oklahoma?

riturbo wrote:

650ed wrote: Rockville. It's near DC. Ed

Thats over 400 miles from me. We need to find someone in the middle. Maybe we should put up another craigs list add or something. I guess I could do it if we can't find someone.Its my busy season at work right now so its hard to find the time,How far are you willing to go?

RI to MD is a very long haul. I have driven my car to Newport many times, and as I'm sure you know, driving between the MD area and RI really sucks because Rt. 95 is so loaded with traffic and trucks. Even avoiding NYC by taking the Garden State Parkway route and crossing the Tappan Zee Bridge involves many hours of very hectic traffic. I cannot believe there are no riders in the Phila / New York area; there must be more than 20 million people living there.

I can ride through Delaware into NJ and meet someone there or cross over from NJ into PA and meet someone around Norristown, PA, but I agree 100% that we need to find a rider between us or we're each going to end up spending more than 8 hours in the heavy Rt 95 rat race. That would be too punishing. I wonder what ever happened to Scott Haggard? I hope he is ok. Ed

650ed wrote:

riturbo wrote:

650ed wrote: Rockville. It's near DC. Ed

Thats over 400 miles from me. We need to find someone in the middle. Maybe we should put up another craigs list add or something. I guess I could do it if we can't find someone.Its my busy season at work right now so its hard to find the time,How far are you willing to go?

RI to MD is a very long haul. I have driven my car to Newport many times, and as I'm sure you know, driving between the MD area and RI really sucks because Rt. 95 is so loaded with traffic and trucks. Even avoiding NYC by taking the Garden State Parkway route and crossing the Tappan Zee Bridge involves many hours of very hectic traffic. I cannot believe there are no riders in the Phila / New York area; there must be more than 20 million people living there.

I can ride through Delaware into NJ and meet someone there or cross over from NJ into PA and meet someone around Norristown, PA, but I agree 100% that we need to find a rider between us or we're each going to end up spending more than 8 hours in the heavy Rt 95 rat race. That would be too punishing. I wonder what ever happened to Scott Haggard? I hope he is ok. Ed

Postedd an ad on New York craigs list Fingers crossed.

I've made several attempts to reach Haggard Scott. He's the rider signed up for NJ. He's not responding to PMs or email. We've got a phone number that *might* be him. I've left two messages and gotten no response.

Definitely time to find a new rider. I've posted craigslist ads in Central NJ and Philadelphia.

(I accidently made this a new post, if someone can delete it that would be cool)

I can make the connection through NY. I'm up in the Kingston NY area.

Here's the catch, I only got a '01 ZRX (Kz1200r to some) at the moment. I've owned three Kz's in the last 10 years and this board has kept me running on more than one occasion. Would love to return the favor and keep the flag moving.

What say you!

squints wrote: (I accidently made this a new post, if someone can delete it that would be cool)

I can make the connection through NY. I'm up in the Kingston NY area.

Here's the catch, I only got a '01 ZRX (Kz1200r to some) at the moment. I've owned three Kz's in the last 10 years and this board has kept me running on more than one occasion. Would love to return the favor and keep the flag moving.

What say you!

There's been some discussion over on the East Coast thread and the consensus seems to be that it would be OK to allow the flag to be carried on a '01 ZRX as it's modeled on the KZs. T_Dub, Kawickrice, and Mark1122 all weighed in with "yeses" over there. I talked to 650Ed when we met in Leesburg and he felt the same way.

While I'd prefer it go on vintage bikes all the way, I'd throw my vote in as a "yes" as well. Especially considering the alternatives are it either stalling out in MD or traveling in a USPS truck.

I didn't want this decided solely in the East Coast thread though, so I asked Squints to pose the question here for you all.

DO IT.

Seems like we have a consensus. Better a ZRX than a USPS truck.

Topper wrote:

squints wrote: (I accidently made this a new post, if someone can delete it that would be cool)

I can make the connection through NY. I'm up in the Kingston NY area.

Here's the catch, I only got a '01 ZRX (Kz1200r to some) at the moment. I've owned three Kz's in the last 10 years and this board has kept me running on more than one occasion. Would love to return the favor and keep the flag moving.

What say you!

There's been some discussion over on the East Coast thread and the consensus seems to be that it would be OK to allow the flag to be carried on a '01 ZRX as it's modeled on the KZs. T_Dub, Kawickrice, and Mark1122 all weighed in with "yeses" over there. I talked to 650Ed when we met in Leesburg and he felt the same way.

While I'd prefer it go on vintage bikes all the way, I'd throw my vote in as a "yes" as well. Especially considering the alternatives are it either stalling out in MD or traveling in a USPS truck.

I didn't want this decided solely in the East Coast thread though, so I asked Squints to pose the question here for you all.

The reality is USPS is not a kawasaki, neither is Haulmark, Triton or Wells Cargo. not to mention the back of a pickup which is where a few of the riders will end up during their trek.

While I believe we need to stay true to the spirit of the relay ride, "Relay Ride" bring the focus of this event it should be recognized as the oldest availble KZ or its evolution in a given area.

with that said if there are 5 people in a given area riding ZRX's instead of their KZ440 that would be a violation of the spirit of this event

Let the man Ride!!

ZRX works for me. Same blood. Just throw an old kz part in with the flag and we can still call it a vintage ride. I'm glad he's willing to help out.

I sent a pm to a member of the 750 turbo forum this morning he lives in orange conn. to see if he could help us out. haven'T heard from him yet. He will probaly get back to me sometime tonight. Ill let you know.

I agreed on the ZRX as a means to keep the flag rolling.

Ramtough brings up a good point for multiple bike owners. If a ZRX is all you have that's fine but if you have a KZ400 and a ZRX the KZ400 should be ridden if you are to carry the flag. The flag was delivered to me on a KZ400 (boostable sold his KZ after he had possession of the flag so he got a guy with a KZ400 to ride with him).

I would rather a ZRX than a USPS truck. These bikes are old so having a chase truck is not a bad idea for the longer distance riders. A lot of guys are doing shake down runs in the relay because they just got it running last night.