Ride to Heat

[ninthlord]

Leaving early a.m. for the MOA Rally in Sedalia, heart of the heat wave:

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenda...+MO+65302:4:US

I'll try to post in the evenings if anyone cares to know what happens at one of these.

[Ed dirt]

Wish I was going- being from the state of Misery myself. Enjoy the trip.

[ninthlord]

540 mile day, my longest to date. It was 107 degrees when I pulled into Sedalia this afternoon - and the A/C in my room is...well, cooler than outside, anyway. Stops got more frequent as the heat rose, wound up right at 12 hours total ride. Festivities begin tomorrow, but a bunch of folks from the hotel are going down to the fairgrounds tonight. Maybe there'll be a bonfire.

[ninthlord]

Went down early and cruised the Mo State Fairgrounds. A lot like Fair Park or Will Rogers. Seminars, vendors, etc. are almost all in A/C bldgs, nice. I know it's a BMW rally, but I would have been just as comfortable with this crowd had I rode the Harley. There is a tremedous variety of makes and models here and more vintage, classic and just plain old bikes than I've seen at any rally. Guy down the hall came in on a '67 R60/2 that is 100-point restored (dunno, look it up). He has five more just like it - part of his 90 bike collection. Bunch of those guys here.

The entertainment venues are outdoors and are drawing sparse crowds, as were the organized GS rides - only 3 riders this morning, but bikes have been pouring in all day and I expect that'll pick up.

No slow races or weenie bites at this rally, but a guy DID shoot an anvil 400' into the air today. I don't know why.

[ninthlord]

The GS Giant Challenge was today on an off-road course built on the infield of the racetrack here. It is one of the main reasons I came up here, and I missed it because of another main reason I'm here for - the maintenance and repairs taking place at the airhead tent. It was funny to watch one of the "masters" guiding a recent airhead acquiree through a procedure with 5 guys looking over his shoulder taking notes. What I learnt was worth the trip..

[mbrew]

Sounds like a good trip. I look forward to hearing more about it.

[ninthlord]

The closing ceremonies and main concert tonight were moved indoors to the arena - something the MOA learned from last year when it was just as hot in PA. In July. These are BMW people, no one said they knew anything about calendars or weather.

A couple staying at the hotel won an award for the highest combined age riding to the rally - 187 years. His bike also won oldest sidecar rig. They live in Vernon and he's on the anonymous list. Really great people.

The main reason I would recommend this rally to anyone who has said they will never go to a rally - the number and quality of vendors is absolutely unmatched. Any upgrade or accessory or gear or whatever you can imagine or have seen or heard or read about and many, many you hadn't thought of until now. Total gearhead overload. Good thing I rode and didn't trailer.

Leaving at first light for home. Supposed to be hot.

[mbrew]

Be safe and Happy Motoring.

See you when you get back

[ninthlord]

12 hours up. 9.5 back. How does that happen?

[mbrew]

too much throttle, usually caused by gethomeitus. Glad you're back ok

[ninthlord]

The MOA Rally ended with approx. 5200 participants, less than the 8500 expected. Of the 12 bikes given away (!) two were won by Texans - one in Santa Fe and one in Fort Worth. They gave away things like $2500 suits and $6K vacations and the like, all donated by vendors or the MOA. I won a free sandwich.

The GSPD performed flawlessly. It finds a groove at 5K (75-85) and will cruise forever on the highway, or at least until it flies apart. Speaking of which:

I was approached the last day by a guy with an identical model bike as mine. He asked if I had done the mods required on this model or if I was anticipating problems if not? I showed him where I carried the fire extinguisher, on the side opposite of the final drive, so you don't burn your hands getting to it. He asked about the circlip - was there a point when BMW fixed this problem? I told him where to find his tranny number (shut it) and where to look up the affected S/N range online. I told him about an upcoming seminar on the airhead electrics to address his diode board concerns. Wow. Just three days with the airheads and I'm handing out advice. That guy better get a fire extinguisher.

Anyway, I would say that overall it was a great rally. Next year is in Salem OR. It may never be as close as this year for some time, so I'm glad I went.