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Mythos

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#487 · (Edited)
So I posted this on the FB Baton form as well, but for those not there, here's my ride report and more pics from Sat:

M109R Tag the World Baton Pickup ride - 03/02/19
• Miles ridden ~ 400
• Hours - 17
• Tanks of gas - 3
• Top speed - CLASSIFIED
• Food stops - 2 (Plus breakfast at the beginning)
• Riders - 2
• Unscheduled Maintenance stops - 1
• Aleves taken - 2 (by me)
• Unofficial sponsors - Bearing_C_Sparky, Aleve, Ultimate Seats, Nextride of Clearwater
• Thanks to - Charles, Alan, Mary, Alboogie, Steven from Nextride of Clearwater, and my riding partner for the entire trip (and future M109Rider) @Ricky Merrell!
Charles asked if I'd like to pick up the M109R Tag the World Baton and show it around central FL while he's up in Alaska keeping all the phones charged on his boat. Of course, I'd be honored to! So Saturday morning Mar 2 2019 I met up with my buddy Ricky Merrell and his Honda Stateline at the Racetrac on Curry Ford and Dean Rd in East Orlando at 8am. Topped off the tanks and our stomachs and headed out. Fred Mouton had planned on joining us, but the day before had an A/C issue at the house that he had to deal with and was unfortunately not able to make the ride. We missed you Fred, it was an amazing day and you'd have loved it! About an hour later we pulled into the Okahumpka service plaza on the Turnpike near Wildwood. Originally Alboogie was going to meet us there, but he let us know he'd meet us at Charles' place. We stretched for a bit and then headed on to Charles'. We could not have asked for a more perfect and beautiful day and our ride in to Crystal River through Ocala horse country was spectacular. We arrived at Charles' place and were greeted by Mary and Alan, and Charles' monster of a yellow and white M109R in the driveway. A few moments later Batman, uh, Alboogie pulled up on a blacked-out beast of an M109R that was reminiscent of something out of the fevered imagination of Bruce Wayne. We all visited a bit, took many pics, signed the flag, took more pics, arranged bikes for pics, took more pics, rearranged bikes, took more pics…you get the picture? Charles had suggested I take his baby out for a spin to see how it's tuned power band compared to mine, and while I was a bit reticent about riding someone else's baby, it was hard to resist that offer. To make it more palatable, Mary offered to guide us out on her Baby 9 and take us for a quick ride, so I hopped on Charles' bike, Ricky took mine, and Alboogie rode his. We took some nice little twisties out to 19 and then had a nice stretch of road to open her up on and really feel the smooth power band. I learned 2 things on this ride. I need Charles to do my ECU tune, and as much as I'm not a fan of the look of the M109R windscreen (they always immediately remind me of the Alien Queen from Aliens), I think that's going to have to be something I add to my ride, it was a phenomenal difference. Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to give your girl a test ride! Unfortunately, when putting together the loose scheduling for the trip I had only really accounted for about half an hour at Charles, but we were actually there for about an hour and a half. So we were running well behind on our way to Frenchy's for lunch and did not make the trip up to the Crystal River Nuclear power plant…Charles you'll have to get pics of the Baton there. We blasted down the Suncoast Parkway (with a quick stop for fuel along the way) all the way into Tampa (to avoid US 19 at all costs) and then onto Hwy 60 and over the Courtney Campbell causeway. Just before we hit 19 we were at a light and when we went to go I pulled the clutch hit 1st and my bike lurched and stalled (I was holding the brakes still). I let go of the clutch and it did not spring back, clutch was completely loose as though the cable had snapped. We pulled off to the side and Ricky helped me push the 900 pound behemoth into a shaded spot where we could take a look. Luckily having just changed the cables with the help of my mechanic friend Tom on Thursday (while installing my new risers I got from Charles), I knew there was a road toolkit in the bike and how to get to the clutch cable. Popped out the allen wrench and removed the Secondary Gear Case Cover. Found the retaining clip that is supposed to be bolted to the lower part of the motor and holding the cable in place was not. Now here's where I once again have personal reasons to believe in Angels, and that they are looking out for me. The bolt that was supposed to be holding the retaining clip in place was resting right there in a crease between the lower shroud and the frame. Had this bolt let go anywhere else along the way the results could have been catastrophic. Had it fallen to the ground in the middle of the road or otherwise disappeared our day would have been over (luckily, I do have roadside assistance with my insurance). But it was right there. With a bit of effort and some help from Ricky's smaller hands, we were able to get the bolt back in place and get the cable adjusted enough to ride. It was also fortunate that there was a Nextride location with a Service center about 5 miles away on Eastbay and Belcher. I called and explained what had happened and Steven in the service dept. said no worries bring it over and we'll get you fixed up. So, we headed over there and met up with Steven, explained what happened and asked for him to just make sure everything was tight and adjust the clutch properly. They offered us water bottles and a comfy couch to sit on while we waited. 20 minutes and only $20.00 later and Steven had everything tightened to spec and adjusted properly, which gave me piece of mind to continue on for the rest of the day. A big HUGE thanks to Steven at Nextride of clearwater for that, you saved our trip! From here it was 8 miles to Frenchy's Rockaway Grill on Clearwater beach, and 42 minutes. Traffic in and out of Clearwater beach area is daunting. I'm pretty sure after the amount of time we spent in that traffic we could do well in slow speed races. Our late lunch at Frenchy's was a welcome respite and refueling for ourselves. We chatted with some folks including a gentleman who used to ride motocross and had 32 broken bones and 3 punctured lungs…I told him we usually only have 2 lungs…thoroughly enjoyed our meal and then decided to head over to the Clearwater pier for some pics. We couldn't get as close with the bikes as we would have liked but we found a quick little pull over spot and snapped a few. Next it was over the bridge to Sand Key with a stop midspan for some more pics. I was hoping to make Madeira beach in time for the sunset but traffic was brutal. We pulled off at Morgan park and walked out onto the beach for some post sunset pics. Back into traffic we went. Eventually we made it all the way down to Ft Desoto just after 8:30. We rode out to the East beach and found a quick spot to pull over and try to get some pics of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in the background. Unfortunately cell phones were not the best tool to try and capture images of bikes in the pitch black with a lit up bridge a few miles away. From here we hopped onto the highway and after a quick stop for gas we were on our way back to Orlando. Aside from an accident on 275 just before the I-4 exchange (not one of us, it was a boat and car and caused a back up), we had a spirited ride all the way to Twin Peaks on I-Drive. Who knew that it would be so crowded at 10:45pm on a Sat evening? Something about a big UFC fight, I guess. We had dinner and then took some shots in front of the Orlando Eye. From here it was short 30-minute ride down 528 to 417 for me to get home, Ricky had another 30 minutes down 417 to get to Sanford. We met up at 8am and hit the road at 8:30am and I got home at 1am and Ricky at 1:30am. What an EPIC day! Can't wait to take the Baton around to some more central FL land marks, and of course DAYTONA BIKE WEEK 2019!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/oF38Sh6E6KuhdfDN8
 
Mythos

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#491 ·
I've continued to ride the Baton around and collect as many signatures of other 9 riders as I can while I've had it. I too it to Port Canaveral and got pics of it it in front of some cruise ships and also the Ron Jon in Cocoa Beach, I rode with my daughter up to Disney springs and Magic Kingdom area to get some pics with various Disney landmarks, and took it to Ace Cafe for Bike night and got pics and signatures from Ivan, Albert, and Jefferey. Also rode up to Cyclegear here in Orlando and met up with Donnie from Michigan who is down with his family. I've added all the pics to the album here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/oF38Sh6E6KuhdfDN8

I'll be at Ace Cafe in Orlando again Thu evening (tomorrow) for bike night and we have a group headed to Daytona for the day on Fri. Let me know or come find me if you want pics with the Baton and to sign the Flag. You can hit me up on Facebook messenger (Michael T Hallman - [email protected]) to arrange a meetup.
 
Mythos

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#492 · (Edited)
Daytona Bike 2019 - Fri March 15th ride with the Tag the World Baton
Group - Michael Hallman, Tom Breece, Jeffrey & Nicole Marquinez, Albert Torres, Ricky Merrel, Joe Genung, Thomas Williams, Fred Mouton, and Donnie Burton
My neighbor, good friend, and master mechanic Tom Breece and I rode out to the Racetrac at Dean and Curry Ford around 7:30am and met up with Jeff, Nicole and Albert. We headed from there to B & B discount beverage in Sanford where we met up with my Iron butt riding brother Ricky Merrel and a new friend Jo Genung. From there it was up the scenic route of 415 to 44 with a stop at the BP station there where I was informed, we were all riding 109's and I wasn't going fast enough. I reminded the group that we had an old guy on a Harley with us as well, but promised to pick up the pace a bit. We thought Thomas and Fred were going to meet us here, but there may have been some translation issues in the communique so we rolled out to meet up with them at our first stop in Daytona. We crossed over 44 staying on 415 and I gave it the beans only to lose half group behind a few cars, and when they were able to pass and rejoin, we really opened them up to about 45 because of all the traffic into Daytona. I tried to wave to all other bikers we saw, but they must have already come to the same realization I would later realize which is that in and around Daytona for Bike week, it's more like the bikes are far more common than cars, so where as anywhere else anytime else you share a rare and special bond with your fellow biker and wave when you pass by on the road, in this reality you are just another guy who figured out how to keep a motorcycle upright (for the most part). In fact, I started seeing cagers waving at each other. So on to Metro Diner past the Daytona International Speedway we went. We were shortly joined by Thomas, Fred and Donnie. Joe bid us adieu and went off to have his own adventure. We grabbed a table on the porch and enjoyed an amazing brunch at Metro Diner. I highly recommend this place! After we ate, we went out and had Thomas and Fred sign the flag (not their first signed flag!) and took a bunch of group pictures. Thomas had to head home for a bit but rejoined us later in the evening. We decided to roll over to Destination Daytona to explore around there for a while along with every Harley Rider with in a 500-mile radius I'm sure. Maybe it's just Bike week, but it truly illustrated one of the main reasons I love the M109R. I come from the sport bike community, having loved and drooled over them since I was a teen and they first came on the scene. I had Posters of Hurricane's and Ninja's on my Walls. I watched Scott Russell, "Mister Daytona" himself win his last Daytona 200 in 1998. I even rode one (ok it was a Katana, so not a Gixxer or an R6 or anything, but still a sport bike) when I got home from the Air Force until my first daughter was born. Now some 18 years later I've rejoined the biker community. Unfortunately, I have added a few pounds since I was in my late 20's and I now have some body mass that goes where the fuel tank is when you are leaned over on a sport bike. That same body mass also puts a horrendous strain on one's lower back and wrists in that riding position. So, it was time for a cruiser. But I'm just not a Harley guy. Yes, there are plenty of other cruisers out there, The Honda VTX 1800F, the Yamaha Road Star Warrior, Various Triumphs, Indian's etc. Of course, I didn't want anything that really looked like a Harley either. In the past I'd had an affinity for Magna's and Valkyrie's for that exact reason. Then in 2006 along comes a bad ass power cruiser from Suzuki with Hayabusa engine tech in it…pure muscle, a bike that looks like a Decepticon had its way with a Pitbull. A bike that looks like it will eat anything that gets in its way. You all know it, say it with me…Suzuki M109R Boulevard! I fell in love. Now a bit more than a decade later and I find myself in a position to acquire a bike and get back on two wheels, a place I've yearned to be for a very long time. Having window shopped bikes for years and looking at those VTX's and Road Stars as well, I found that every time I saw an M109R I had a visceral reaction to it…a draw, a magnetism. So, fate waved its wand and at the same moment I was ready to twist the throttle, a drop dead sexy 2012 Limited Edition Blue and White specimen became available at Orlando Yamaha Kawasaki, which is barely 5 miles from my house. I mean, it might as well have pulled up into my driveway..well you know, it did. I love this bike partly because it is NOT a Harley, it can't be mistaken for a Harley, and a Harley can't catch it..lol, it is beautiful, it is powerful it is big and mean (sort of all the things I'm not) and I love it for that. But I digress….what was I talking about? Oh yeah bike week and how everyone else seems to ride a Harley. I think that's why M109R riders are an even closer more tight knit fraternity than all the others. Their styling is pretty much LOVE it or HATE it. There's very little middle ground. The bikes performance draws a rider with a mentality that leans more towards POWER cruising, not just riding a couch around all day. We tend to have such a similar mind set that it's an easy connection with other 9 riders! So, cheer's and Love to all my fellow 9 brothers and sisters out there (including our siblings on those M90's and 50's). Anyway, back to our previously scheduled broadcast about Bike week 2019. We did the obligatory walk through Destination Daytona and picked up a few things here and there, patches, shirts hats, etc. After a bit Tom had to head home and the rest of us decided it was time to cruise down main street, a first for me! We rode to the north and crossed a bridge enjoying a nice temperature drop over the water, then cruised south on A1A along the beach towards Main St for a while. It also just occurred to me that we didn't stop to take pics of the Baton / Flag on Main St. I even went back the next day with Ricky, cruised Main St. again, and didn't do it then either…Damn it. After Main St Jeff and Nicole needed to head out, so it was me, Ricky, Donnie, Fred and Albert. We went to the Speedway and walked around there for a bit, then went to the Suzuki tent. They had a beauty of a 2019 Red Black and White M109 Boss on display. We talked to the reps at the tent and told them about the Baton and Flag and they actually rolled the bike under the canopy so we could take group pics with the bike in front of the Suzuki truck. They were very excited about the whole deal, Even brought out some neat extra swag for us. We also ran into Justin, another 9 rider I'd actually met the night before up at Ace café, so he was able to sign the flag and take some pics with us! When we left, we circled around to ride in front of their area and they snapped a pic of us all mounted up. We stopped in at the Wing House for dinner, then headed out to the Cabbage Patch. Spent some time exploring there, Donnie had to part ways and we headed over to the Burning Bike, rejoined by Thomas along the way. We enjoyed the bikini pageant for a bit, and then finally around 10:30 they lit the sucker. That was amazing. We did think to grab a shot of the flag in front of the fiery maelstrom. Shortly there after we decided as did many many others it was time to di di mau, and head on home. We enjoyed a spirted ride down I4 each of us pulling off to their respective exits along the way. I actually enjoyed it so much, Ricky and I went back for most of the day on Saturday and did it all again (I also picked up a back rest from Donnie for my 9 which will hopefully help my wife to feel more comfortable riding). I've been to Bike weeks in the past, but had never been on a bike. And while I'm sure my experience was tame compared to most others, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, and can not truly express how privileged and honored I am to be so welcomed into the 9 community by all that I've met. I also have mad love for my riding brother Ricky, who's now convinced he'll be on a 9 before the year is out. Thanks to everyone who rode out with me, looking forward to every future mile we ride together! (If you read all the way through this, go have a cookie, you earned it).
The shared album is here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zL6eSzSLr9xHPoiMA

Tire Jeans Land vehicle Trousers Wheel
 
grimreaper_72

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#494 ·
Can't wait till we get it back in the midwest, I'm looking forward to my 3rd trip with it
 
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Bering_C_Sparky

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#495 · (Edited)
Met up with a few 9er's at Ace Cafe in Orlando tonight.

Got the baton back and will be taking it to Orlando Speed World on Sunday 3/24/2019 to 1/4 mile drag race with the baton.

We had a good night at Ace.....food, a few brews and got to meet some 9er's.

There were 8 M109R's there tonight.

We got all but 2 to sign the flag, a black one left before we could get to him, and there was a 2014 LE in the parking lot but we never did see the owner.

BCS
 

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Bering_C_Sparky

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#496 ·
A few more pic's
 

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Bering_C_Sparky

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#499 · (Edited)
Dave is on the Baton Around the World FB Page asking whats up with the Baton.

Looks like no one has posted anything to that page (or to this thread) since the Baton left Florida.

Can whoever has the baton please join the Baton Around the World Page and post up pictures from your last ride and any recent adventures the baton may have had.

Trying to keep the baton moving and not sitting in someones sock drawer.

Dave and Narinder would also like for the Baton page to stay updated along the way.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/590949870932032/?fref=nf

BCS
 
Hogan109r

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#500 ·
Bering_C_Sparky said:
Dave is on the Baton Around the World FB Page asking whats up with the Baton.

Looks like no one has posted anything to that page (or to this thread) since the Baton left Florida.

Can whoever has the baton please join the Baton Around the World Page and post up pictures from your last ride and any recent adventures the baton may have had.

Trying to keep the baton moving and not sitting in someones sock drawer.

Dave and Narinder would also like for the Baton page to stay updated along the way.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/590949870932032/?fref=nf

BCS
Click to expand...
BCS. Brad Smith has it he is bringing it to the MAM to "me " In June.
Your right I thought more picks would been taken with it by now!
 
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