GPZ Trip Report

Thu May 6 14:56:50 PDT 2021

Yeah, when I saw you were in Wilmington and had come through Tellico Plains, I was wishing I had the opportunity to do a trip. My job has been a major impediment to logging miles. The GPz is probably as ready to ride as when I laid it up. Maybe I’ll do a short ride this weekend if the home projects aren’t overwhelming! Too bad you didn’t have a chance to swing by the Barber Museum. Maybe after you relocate!

Sent from my iPad

> On May 6, 2021, at 3:43 PM, Alexander Finger <af at genevainformation.ch> wrote:
> 
> That's a nice writeup, thanks for sharing! Covid cut the bike tours pretty
> much in 2020 and 2021 does not look so much better. Never did so few miles
> on all the bikes like in the last year :(
> The GPZ's battery has to be replaced again, but on ascension weekend I plan
> to put in a new one..need to find a solution to keep it charged
> permanently, too.
> rgds
> Alex
> 
>> On Thu, May 6, 2021 at 9:30 PM Charles Scappaticci <scapco at ecentral.com>
>> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi All,
>> 
>> The list is pretty dead these days, but it doesn't mean there isn't any GPZ
>> riding going on.
>> 
>> I got back Monday from a ride to the east coast from Denver on the GPZ,
>> though we cheated and towed to Wichita Kansas to avoid 540 miles of the
>> windy, flat, I-70 drive.  It also helped keep our fresh rubber new for
>> riding the Smoky Mountains.  I went with my friend, Bruce who some of you
>> have met, he has ridden with me for many years, including my last trip to
>> Alaska and stayed with his sister, Lisa.
>> 
>> Saturday morning, we loaded up the bikes in a light fog and drizzle and
>> headed east on 421 then north in Missouri.  We had planned a route to keep
>> us off of the freeways and stayed true to that.  We went farther north than
>> we probably needed, but crossed the Mississippi at Cairo, IL then
>> immediately crossed the Ohio river and stopped for the evening in Paducah,
>> KY after having ridden 540 miles, mostly in cool temps with occasional
>> drizzle and frequently wet roads.  Glad I had my heated jacket liner and
>> grips!!
>> 
>> Sunday morning, we left Paducah in a heavy, wet fog but drove out of it in
>> about 1/2 hour and headed south through Kentucky.  The weather was cool and
>> cloudy, but dry and a little warmer so it was a much better ride than
>> Saturday.  We cut south through Nashville as we were both tired and worked
>> our way down to Tellico Plains where we met Bruce's son, Danny, who also
>> rode to Alaska with us.  We got a cabin at Hunts motorcycle campground,
>> unloaded and headed east around the Cherohala Skyway for a nice evening
>> ride.  I was feeling pretty rusty as I hadn't really ridden the GPZ since
>> August 2018 when I took it to Sturgis, not exactly a technical ride from
>> Denver.  I was doing out of state consulting work for a while and then last
>> summer was a bust with Covid and having to move after my ex screwed me out
>> of my house.  Anyway, it was a nice ride to help me get my timing back.
>> Rode 400 miles.
>> 
>> Monday morning, we had a light breakfast then headed down the Cherohala
>> Skyway once again then over to run the Tail of the Dragon.  I had run it
>> over Thanksgiving in 2018 on a rented Ducati Multistrada and had a great
>> time riding the roads there.  We went through and back with no accidents or
>> performance awards, took a few pictures then headed towards Maggie Valley
>> to see the Wheels Through Time motorcycle museum.  I highly recommend this
>> museum to anyone visiting the area, as it's first class all the way.
>> Afterwards, we worked our way back and headed back up the Skyway once again
>> but at a fast pace. Heading into a hard left corner by an overlook, I hit
>> the brakes only to find I had no back brake and almost piled it up before
>> getting it turned.  The rest of the ride back I avoided using the rear
>> brake, guessing correctly I had cooked the back brake fluid, a later
>> examination of my maintenance log indicated I hadn't changed the fluid in
>> 13 years.  Oops...  Turns out Danny had done much the same to his FZ09's
>> front brakes.
>> 
>> Next morning, we said our goodbyes as they were headed to Auburn Alabama
>> where Danny lives and I headed out by myself towards Greensboro, NC where
>> my girlfriend, Mary, lives.  I got to ride the Skywaya once more then
>> mostly slabbed it to Greensboro as my back was (and is) killing me.  I had
>> accidentally hurt my back the night before we left trying to find my
>> cigarette adapter, which I didn't find, and it has had me in pain ever
>> since, though I think it's finally on the mend.  I got into Greensboro
>> around 5:00 and unpacked for the night.  Wednesday was a relaxing day to
>> try to get some rest.  After the trip there, it was obvious my old riding
>> gear needed to go to the dump.  I wore all my old gear and kept my newer
>> gear at home, but I've lost over 50lbs since I used to wear them, so they
>> were huge and wouldn't stay up.  Thursday, we went to Cycle Gear in
>> Greensboro and I bought a nice pair of armored cordura jeans with knee pads
>> which are very comfortable, then went back to the house and removed the
>> luggage racks on the GPZ plus I flushed the rear brake fluid which brought
>> that back to life.
>> 
>> Friday morning, I hopped on the bike and headed 200+ miles to Wilmington,
>> NC to see the Atlantic ocean.  I wanted a picture of the bike looking over
>> the Atlantic ocean as I have pics of it in Alaska looking over the Arctic
>> ocean, the Pacific Ocean and now the Atlantic.  I decided I'm going to do a
>> write up of all the major trips I have taken on the mighty GPZ over 24
>> years and 72K miles.  Did 460 miles round trip.  The bike never missed a
>> beat over the whole trip and I can't say enough good about the Michelin
>> Pilot Road 4 GT's I put on before the trip, really great tires.
>> 
>> Saturday, I washed the bike then borrowed a few tools to change the oil,
>> cleaned and oiled the chain, filled the tank with Sta-Bil treated
>> non-ethanol gas, drained the carburetors and hooked up a battery maintainer
>> before covering it up until I visit Greensboro once again.  I've got a 2014
>> Ducati Multistrada GT and a 2003 Vulcan 1600 Classic so I have bikes to
>> ride here in Denver.  One reason to leave it is that I'm looking to
>> relocate to Greensboro and this would be one less bike to have to move.  I
>> think the old girl still has a few more adventures left in her, maybe
>> Daytona next spring?
>> 
>> Sorry for the long post, but I hope to hear of some others and their rides
>> this summer.  I'm looking forward to the warm weather!
>> 
>> Charles S.
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