Guilty Truth |  |
| Posted: 10 Jun 2011 04:31 PM PDT  After I burnt the Rebel bobber up in the 2009 Stampede, you can only imagine the anxiety of not having finished the race. Not only did I not finish the race, but I didn’t even get to go to the Smokeout East. I didn’t participate in the 2010 Stampede since I had promised my family that I would take them to Rosenblatt Stadium’s last College World Series. Hey, that was a true moment of baseball history and we just had to be a part of that. In the meantime, my mind continued to wander and I continued to brew on failing to finish the 2009 Stampede. The next year as I was tooling around at the 2010 Smokeout East I ran across a bike that really caught my eye. It was built by the talented group of FNA Custom Cycles out of Lakeland, Florida. It was a hardtail airhead BMW which had been converted from a shaft drive to a chain drive. The airhead jugs sticking out the side of the bike just rocked my world. The visions in my head of a custom Beemer with an extended drive shaft kicked my imagination into overdrive. By this time, the handwriting was on the wall. I could definitely see a BMW in my future. I was completely ignorant about BMW’s so I started doing a lot of reading and talking to people in the ”BMW know.” I even took a trip to rural heaven and camped in 30 degree weather in the foothills of Georgia just to be taught of the BMW mechanics by Beemer Guru, David Woodburn out of Roopsville, Georgia. I learned that BMW’s are some of the most reliable bikes around. David had not only taken his wife and child around the world on his BMW with sidecar, he and his wife even home schooled their lovely daughter on the scoot. I discovered that a BMW’s shaft drive takes out most of the vibration you typically find in a chain or even a belt driven bike. The old airhead (air cooled engines where the heads stick out the side so they call them airheads), models typically run about 55 horsepower and they get great gas mileage. While they only have 55 hp, they also can run speeds over 110 mph. What more could I ask for? Next history recap in few days!             Random Posts |
| Posted: 10 Jun 2011 08:26 AM PDT
I literally pulled the newly built bike off the rack and headed west. All for the quest of winning the Horse Stampede IV cross country race (you win nothing, but the pride in knowing you won). The year was 2009 and I had been planning for over a year of building an off the wall bobber with a 96 Evo engine for the cross country race. The rules of this race are simple: (1) no shocks, hardtails only, (2) no rubber mount engines, (3) no windshields or farings, (4) no hard saddle bags, and (5) no chase vehicles. Just you, the bike and some nads. I finished building “The Rebel” bobber just in time to head west for the race. There was no time for break in miles, no adjustments, no stretching of the new chain, etc. Just hop on and go. It was a suicide mission. I had no title because our very competent Mississippi DMV lost the paperwork which sat on their desk for months. Accordingly there was no insurance and the tag on the bike was off another chopper of mine. When I arrived in Cottonwood, Arizona I had the opportunity to spend some time at one of the last Smoke Out West rallies with my youngest son, Preston. Then I headed west to Barstow, California for the race’s green flag blast off. Upon my arrival I joined up with some guys that have been friends of mine since that time. You realize quickly that due to the nature of this race, it is not one that draws a large group of participants, but the guys and girls that show up are legit. They love pushing the limits in every respect. There is a mutual respect for one another and a close camaraderie amongst the bikers. On the Sunday morning the race began, there was a variety of different bikes (customs, evolutions, shovels, yamaha’s, etc.). When the green flag finally dropped it was as if we were battling in a clustered quarter mile race as you could feel the earth shake to the thump of each engine’s stroke. The pack begins to thin as each biker takes their respective position and starts to employ their own race strategy. My bike, the Rebel bobber seemed to hold up for the better part of the first day even though I was having to make adjustments and work on the bike at every gas stop. I had already passed many bikes broken down in the Mojave Desert through the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico. Late into the night as I approached Albuquerque, New Mexico I started hearing that death tick coming from my 96 Evolution engine. Pulling in to check things out I realized that my run had come to an end. The cylinders were scored and I had burnt every ounce of oil from the case (defective cylinders, but that's another story). By the time I got to it, the last drops of oil were dripping from my exhaust. I continued to monitor the race through my cell phone contacts. Not many finished and the race turned tragic when Lorrianne Barisic was run over by an 18 wheeler and killed. She was survived by her long time boyfriend, “F-Bomb” Brian who was also running the Stampede. It was a sad day for all and continues to bear on all of our minds how life is short and precious. In the end, Charlie “The Nomad” won in grand fashion making record time cross the country. For me, not finishing has worn on me ever since. 2011 will be different! Updates to follow…
Harold Grissom
Go ahead, share the news with friends & enjoy. Best thing you'll do all day!: Related Posts You May Also Like |
| Rebel Son takes on Stampede XII Posted: 09 Jun 2011 08:50 PM PDT
This years Stampede finds us with a priviledged perspective in having an insiders account of the event aboard his own home built Beemer (yep we said it, a BMW!). Our friend Harold Grissom, is making his second attempt at this monster run and will be updating us regularly from the road about his adventures, challenges and am sure a handful of fun atop his newest bike dubbed “Rebel Son” (which by the way is the name of one of the bands playing at this years event). Maybe a sign for Harold? Stay tuned for some interesting posts here over the next next few weeks. Good luck Harold! Go ahead, share the news with friends & enjoy. Best thing you'll do all day!: Related Posts You May Also Like |
| You are subscribed to email updates from "Push'n Pavement" To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment