Tourer
Posts: 388
Salisbury, NC | http://ImageEvent.com/etspastimes/2009bikeweek
My Visionless Bike Week 2009
To start this, I feel like I need to give you a little history about myself and list of some of the people involved. My name is Eddie Timberman and I work for Huggins Tire Sales. The company sales Good Year racing tires for NASCAR and drag tires for NHRA. I have worked here for the last 21 years. On the average year, I spend around 60 days in Florida, all job related. Since I have started riding again in 2001, I have had several things happen to me while in this state. One major occurrence was having a blocked artery in 2006. This happened during Bike Week of that year. I woke up around 6am having chest pains. We had been out to the usual time of 2am when they would run us out of Drifter's. We returned home, ate, then crashed. Waking up to the pain, I woke up my roommate and asked him to call 911. When the ambulance arrived, everyone staying there walked outside and told them what room I was in. The medic then asked who was having the problem because they all looked like sh*t and he hadn't even got to me. Since then, the people I stay with require that I have a check-up before I go to Bike Week.
As you look through my photo album, you will see a lot of the same people over and over again. JJ is the home owner, he is retired and from Staten Island, NY. He is also a member of the Islanders MC. Another member of the Islanders that also owns a house in Daytona is Archie. So when Bike Week starts, there is quite a lot of them that attend. JJ has three bedrooms, one his and the other two rooms has two beds in each. It is a first call, first to have a bed type deal. It works out very nicely to be able to stay 10 days for the cost of food and clean-up after we leave. Tiny is the current president of the Islanders, Turnaround Tommy, Dennis the NY Mennis and myself were the first four that called. Dennis missed the week because of his wife getting sick, but the rest made it.
To start my trip to Bike Week, I had a stress test done on Monday and a complete physical done on Wednesday the last week of February. Everything checked out fine. Then I did an early 30,000 mile check-up on the Vision the weekend before the trip. I changed the oil and plugs along with the rest of the normal stuff that the owners manual lists to do. I had been watching the weather for the past week and decided to leave on Thursday because of the rain that they were calling for the weekend. I had packed the bike on Wednesday night. Including the cams that I ordered from Lloydz, I had planned on putting them in on Sunday in Gainsville with Kevinx. Well, on Thursday morning at 7:30 am, I hit the starter button on Rosie (my name for the Vision) and it just clicked. What a way to start. I checked the light switch in the trunk, I thought it was off, but I wasn't sure. Then I charged the battery for a few minutes. After starting the bike, I rode over to Steve's. Steve owns Dirt and Street Cycle in Rockwell, NC. He is my unauthorized Victory mechanic and a damn good one at that. Told him what happened and asked if he had a new battery. He said yes to the battery, but is was strange that it would be bad after a year and a half even after running it dead from a light being left on. Me being anxious to get started, I put the battery in and left for Daytona. I got around 20 miles south of Columbia, SC when the voltage meter on the dash went haywire and lights started flashing on the dash. I pulled over at an exit that I was passing when that happened. I called Mike at Victory of Cumming where I brought Rosie. He said that it sounded like the regulator went out. And yes there was a recall on it. I also had it replaced at my 15,000 mile service, but that could have been a bad one also. So I called Low Country Customs, being the closest dealer to where I was at, to see if they had one. They didn't have one in stock, happy to order one and if I didn't mind waiting for at least 3 days for it to get there. They also told me that they had their regular customers to look after and they couldn't be sure when I could get mine worked on. So there I was on the side of the road thinking about what I needed to do when Mike calls me back. He had ordered a couple of regulators when the recall was issued and forget that they were sitting on the shelf. He also told me that Jeff Whaley (owner of Victory of Cumming) was leaving on Sunday and he would send it with him. My mind was getting a little overheated by then. What to do. I should have had Mike to overnight it to the motel that I could have stayed at on the exit I was at. But I didn't think of that until after I was almost home. What I did was call a friend, James. I asked him if he could go to my house and get the truck with my one bike trailer hooked to it. So I waited until he arrived, after a supper and a couple of toddies or three later, he showed up. We loaded Rosie on the trailer, then drove back home. I made it to the house at 11:30pm.
Friday morning looked gloomy when I went outside to get Rosie off the trailer. It wasn't raining yet, so I unloaded Rosie and decided to take the Hammer. Not having time to ship luggage, I loaded the bike and all my stuff in the truck and left for Daytona again. It rained off and on until I reached I-95 at I-26. Then it was sunny and warm. What a beautiful day and I'm stuck in the truck. After talking to JJ, he told me the yard was full and I had to park elsewhere. I finally made it to Daytona at 7pm. I unloaded my luggage at JJ's, and then I had to find a place to park the truck. Sue is a bartender that lives beside Archie. She is the one who introduced me to JJ and Archie around 10 years ago. I called her husband Joe, asked about parking the truck in their yard and was told no problem. So after a lousy start, things were finally starting to look up. Rode back to JJ's and then left for B.F.F.A.R.s ( http://bikersforfirstamendmentrights.com/ ). If you have not been there, it is really a cool place to visit. As you can see in the photo album, they have a good time while working. But they still ran us off at 2am when they closed.
Saturday was pretty nice weather wise. Rode over to Beach St. and noticed that there were fewer vendors than normal. Still they had several nice bikes to check out. We then went to B.F.F.A.R.’s for lunch. Beef tips and rice for $8 that was piled high wasn't bad. And the $2 bloody marys made for a very pleasant afternoon. Also, watching the girls clean the Hammer didn't hurt a thing. Ending up the evening was a trip to Main St. There was a decent crowd, but it wasn't so crowded you couldn't get around. Full Moon Saloon had a kickass band as well as the Boot Hill Saloon.
Sunday started off a little cool and windy, but it was still nice sunny wise. Not having anything on the schedule, I rode over to the speedway, then over to the flea market to find Lloydz’ dyno. When I got there, I seen Whaley's trailer first. When I stopped, Lloyd had his head stuck in the side door talking to Jethro and Lobsteer (Jim). After talking to them for a few minutes, I asked Lloyd if he had time to tune the Hammer. After changing the plugs and a plug wire, ended up with 93 hp & 106 ft/lbs on the torque. I'm happy with it. Then back to the speedway to hang out at the Victory display. We ended Sunday with a trip to B.F.F.A.R.’s.
I started off Monday with a trip to Main St. to get t-shirts. While I was there, one of Daytona's finest informed me that I should change the way my tag was mounted. It could be a good reason to pull me over. Knowing that at night, after being out to the bars, I didn't need to be talking to them anyway. So I found a shop to make me a tag bracket. Next on the agenda was a group ride to Destination Daytona. Did I forget to mention that the group I was staying with are all H-D riders. I can't hold that against them. They are from NY and don't know any better. There was plenty to see while we were there. Bikes, women, and chrome, what else do you need? Oh yeah, bloody marys, there were a few of them also. From there it was down to the River Grille. A few more drinks and off to JJ's for supper. JJ cooked steak au poiure, mashed taters and steamed veggies. Damn that was good. Then off to B.F.F.A.R.’s to finish the night.
Tuesday started with a hell of a hangover. The girls over at B.F.F.A.R.s don't know how to pour a light drink. Bad thing is, we were going to the Islanders club party that night at B.F.F.A.R.’s also. I called Whaley to see if he had made it down yet. Said he had been snowed in at the Atlanta airport Sunday on the runway for several hours. But he had made it and had the regulator with him. So I went to the speedway to get that and hung around for a while. Victory has a nice group of people that goes with the demo rides. I also met several Victory riders. Left there and went to the party. As you can see by the pictures, we had a blowout of a party.
By Wednesday, 11 am seemed early to get up. But you know you had to get out of bed sometime. Awaking to no power started the day off slow. After calling the power company, we noticed that a palm tree had knocked one of the wires loose from the transformer. No coffee, no hot water. Oh well. Two and a half hours later, it was shower time. Being a lazy day, I rode up to Main St by myself and just stumbled around until I was sober enough to order a bloody mary. The effects from the party took a while to get over. But it was a blast. When I went back to the house, I was in time for supper. They had decided that Mondays supper was good and to do it again. I had to say that it was not a bad choice. Then it was nap time. I was back up by 8pm. The club had gone to the First Turn, not much was happening, so we went to the Port Hole. Push was playing. ( http://pushband.net/ ) They had the crowd rocking. I hate to say it, but 2am comes awful early when you are having a good time.
Thursday I called Whaley and asked about his NASCAR license. It was something that we had talked about earlier in the week. He has had a hard card through Kyle Petty for the last several years. But since the Petty's has closed shop, he couldn't get one this year. I had talked to my boss and asked him if we could help with that. Jim (my boss) had no problem with getting him a license if he would help us out at a few races. I'm not sure if Whaley knows what he is in for work wise. But, back to the phone call, Jim had told him he would mail an application overnight on Wednesday. Then Jim called him and told Whaley that he should have it Friday by 3pm. Jeff was thinking that it was going to be tight to get back to the NASCAR office before 5 and it was the same time as the Victory lunch. So I spent most of the afternoon taking care of that. Everything worked out well. Hopefully I will get a few pictures of Whaley working with us later this year. When I left the track, I called Johnny. Johnny works for Sunoco at the track. He had the afternoon off and was heading to Finn's in Ormond Beach. That sounded good to me. Off to Finn's I go. Rode the western side of the Loop up to Iron Horse to get a t-shirt then finished the Loop to get to Ormond Beach. Johnny's group was a drink behind me, so that had worked out well. Hung there for a while, then headed back to the house. When I got there, Tiny was getting ready to meet the rest of the club at the Port Hole. Push was playing. They had the crowd rocking. I hate to say it, but 2am comes awful early when your having a good time. Sound familiar.
Friday was Victory Party Day. I have been looking forward to this all week. I even woke up early to get ready for this. 10am and I was drinking the morning coffee. Showered and leaving the house by 11. By the time I arrived at the Boardwalk, there was several Victorys already there. I started taking pictures as soon I as I got there. I met several new riders as well as the ones I have already met. I found a really cool place to take a few pics from, the fifth floor of the Oceanwalk. The panorama shot has been on my camera, but I have not used it before this. I think they turned out well, being new to it. I had a great time at the lunch, as you may be able to tell by the photo album. After the lunch, we rode down Main St. in a group. That was cool, I even heard a women ask her old man what the hell are them bikes. They were talking about the Visions. Ha Ha. Then I rode back to the track for a few, then home for nap time. When I woke from my nap, JOHN called big time. After a couple of visits and a couple of Imodiums, I was ready to go out for the night. JJ said that B.F.F.A.R.s was on the night schedule and that was good by me. I was ready for a light night anyway. In by 2am.
Saturday started too early for me. I woke up at 5:30 needing to take a leak. I was burning up with the chills on the side. I had a bad case of indigestion with tightness in my chest. My heart was beating 90 mph with numbness in my left arm. You guessed it, we called 911. I arrived at the emergency room by 6:45am. After a few EKG's, they decided that it was nothing to do with my heart. My white blood cell count was 18,000, which was high. After laying there most of the day, they checked me in for a overnight stay for observation. The doctor thinks it may have been a viral infection. But it could have been food poisoning. By taking the Imodium, it could have stopped up the bad stuff inside me. A lot of the symptoms are the same. Anyone else get the sh*ts after the VRA party? Maybe it was the healthy food after all the bad. I’m sure it did not involve all the alcohol. Who knows? God wasn't ready for me yet, so life goes on. Well Saturday turns into Sunday. They released me around 4pm. JJ picked me up at Halifax and to the house we go. I take a shower and get dressed. Then we go to B.F.F.A.R.’s for supper and to pick up a envelope that I had from playing on one of the machines on Friday. I won a free bike wash. From there we rode over to the Boot Hill Saloon. Midnight was the official end of Bike Week for me, even if I still had four days to go before I arrived home.
Monday, I got up still dazed from the weekend. After getting dressed, I rode the Hammer over to the truck, and then loaded it up. Drove back to JJ's and packed my luggage. The photos at the end of the album were bikes and trailers with bikes going home after a fun time in Daytona.
Since I had to work a tire test for Good Year at Darlington before I made it home, I took a couple of pictures there. And for JJ, I took a few pictures of my office so he could check out all the stuff I have collected over the years. ET
PS: What if I had the regulator mailed to me at some motel, would things have been the same?
Edited by etspastimes 2009-03-14 9:26 AM
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My Visionless Bike Week Photos