26th Buell Homecoming

To christen the new blog, I'll share my trip from last summer to attend the 26th Annual Buell Homecoming.  I purchased the 2002 Buell X1 ridden on this trip in December 2008 and spent the next few months rebuilding her.  "Betty" was barely put back together and broken in before getting on the road to Homecoming.

Tuesday afternoon - Got Betty all loaded down and ready to go:

Weather didn't look ideal, considering a 500 mile leg of the trip was about to commence.  At the time, 500 miles was to be the farthest I had ever ridden alone in one day.

Goodbye Oklahoma, Hello Missouri!  The ominous clouds seen before leaving Oklahoma City turned out to be a false alarm.  There was some light rain as I took I-35N out of the city, but I-44E was all dry.

At this point, I thought I had a loose oil line going into the tank.  I've since decided that no matter how leak-proof everything is, cruising at turnpike speeds for two-hundred miles at a time will result in oil finding it's way out.  Oh well, you have to accept these tube-framed Buells for what they are: a fast, rude ride.

Nothing some Simple Green and a garden hose won't cure..

My first food stop was at this trucker favorite located just East of Springfield, MO.  I can't tell you what their BBQ is like, but they make a good Reuben!

My planned route thus far included I-44E as far as Lebanon, MO then 5 North to Camdenton, and 54 East to Mexico, MO.  By the time I reached Lebanon it was getting dark out and started pouring rain.  I continued about 25 miles into Camdenton before deciding to make an unplanned stop for the night.  Betty's headlight modulator wiring had gotten wet and began to flash even after sundown - not a popular thing with oncoming traffic!  I found this cheap motel in Camdenton so Betty and I took the rest of the night off.

Wednesday morning I resumed travel and made it the rest of the way to Mexico, MO without any issues.  I grew up in Mexico, so took the opportunity to spend time with family including a ride to dinner with my cousin and her husband.

Sunset Wednesday night was beautiful.  Molten Orange and Nuclear Blue motorcycle with a sunset in the back ground - photo op!

Early Thursday morning, I left Mexico, jumped on 54W to Kingdom City, then took I-70E to Troy, IL to meet up with some fellow Buellers.  I had never met any of these people before Thursday morning but I can honestly say that they made the second leg of my trip North more enjoyable.  We all arranged to meet up through a Buell enthusiast website called BadWeatherBikers.com  (The man in the knaki shorts was raving about a government conspiracy to hide the fact that the Air Force is manipulating weather patterns.  Another of the Buellers got some video, I'll post it if/when I find it..)

Our group made it's first stop in Bloomington, IL where we got fuel and picked up another Bueller.  Another X1 rider this time!

After a small adventure through the outskirts of Chicago thanks to a wrong turn, I arrived in Menomonee Falls, WI and unpacked at Boney95's house - a fellow Bueller who offered me a place to stay during Homecoming.  Thanks again, Adam!  After unpacking, Adam and I headed to New Berlin, WI and our first Homecoming destination - Hal's HD/Buell.  Erik Buell and the Thunderbolts were performing on stage behind the dealership.  Danny Eslick and Michael Barnes, two AMA racers, were also there.

This Buell S2 (sexiest motorcycle ever built) caught my attention.  I later learned that the rider is the owner of Axtell and has customized this Thunderbolt to the tune of approximately 120RWHP!

After a couple hours at Hal's, we all rode to the HD museum in Milwaukee where I got this once in a lifetime shot of the man himself astride Betty!

After leaving the museum, I rode with a small group for butter burgers and custard.

First thing Friday morning, I headed to the Buell factory for a good time of talking with fellow Buell enthusiasts and of course, checking out a few of their bikes:

OneBadX1

Last Laugh:

You just can't attend Homecoming without getting a part signed!

After leaving the factory, we stopped at Gus's in East Troy for..?  You guessed it - butter burgers and custard.  I began seeing a pattern in this Wisconsin diet..

There were some interesting old Harleys at Gus's when we got there.

Saturday was a pretty dreary day so took it easy and didn't do much riding.  Adam and I took in some of the Milwaukee sights then grilled and shared a few cold Milwaukee brews.  Sunday morning I got back on the road toward Mexico.  My crunch for time on the way to Homecoming had required that I use mostly Interstates to save time.  On the way back, however, I had plenty of time to enjoy the roads less traveled.  I took I-94W to Madison, WI, then 151W into Cedar Rapids, IA.  From there I rode 27, 61, and 24 South until reaching Monroe City, MO.  After that, another few miles on 24 followed by 15S got me back into Mexico, MO to spend a couple more days with family.

After leaving Mexico, I took the same 54W, 5S, I-44W route back as far as Springfield, MO then jumped on 65S, 160W, 13S, 86W, and 23S until reaching Eureka Springs, AR.  For any rider who's never ventured into this part of the country, you're missing out!  Small towns spread throughout the Ozark Mountains have a great rustic appeal, as well as offering a variety of scenery and an abundance of twisty, well maintained roads.

I headed West from Eureka Springs on 62W and enjoyed constant cornering euphoria until reaching Rogers, AR.

Leaving Rogers, I rode 540S until reaching Van Buren, AR.  I stopped there for my final meal of the trip at another local BBQ joint.

I took 9W out of Van Buren, and stayed on it until Tecumseh, OK where I jumped on 177N to get me back to I-40W and the rest of the way to OKC.

The return trip was a couple hundred miles longer than the super slabbing method I used when heading North, but was a much more enjoyable experience.  Interstates might be great in a car or even on a big comfortable touring bike, but for this 23 year old kid with a sportbike and an intermittent case of ADD, state highways and back roads are pure bliss.