| East Coast Speedball's Newsletter for May 24, 2003 |
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| Hi Speedball's, Once AGAIN the Weatherman is predicting RAIN, RAIN & MORE RAIN , but this does NOT stop the truely HARD CORE folks in our club , from their date with Speedy Racer & the other Speedball's . We LAUGH at the Weatherman!!!!!! LOL!!!!!! " Bring it on baby !!!! " With this thought in mind , the Speedball Express makes short work of the 200+ mile drive north to Frackville, Pa. & by 6:30am , I'm feasting on some hot chow at Granny's with a few fellow Speedball's & discussing today's upcoming Great Adventiure!!!! HE! HE! Once again the Weatherman has scared the less hardy & adventerous away , so off we go to Shamokin, Pa. after feeding our faces , to the K-Mart parking to see WHO & how many are going to ride despite the doom & gloom weather forecast?????? We are greeted by some happy faces , having already donned rain suits & boots , and now unloading thier trusty quads. One new face has ventured down from New Jersey with ANOTHER V-Force to see IF the Speedball's are for real???? We ALL welcome him with open arms & exchange hand shakes & talk tech stuff about each others quads. Mike Yucha is the last to rattle into the parking lot & is smiling from ear to ear as usual! With a slight mist in the air, our group heads out for the mountains this dreary Memorial Day weekend & begin the trex across the mountains towards Ashland, Pa. Speedy Racer is riding the 400ex today to give the Grizzly a much deserved rest & to bang bars with " Big Mouthed Mr. R " . All week , he's been busting everyone & especially Speedy & his stock 400ex! Saying how his " Race Motored " R " would eat up a fella Team Red member on a 4-stroke sport quad! After riding the Grizzly all winter, I knew I'd have to re-educate my self to sport quad Speedballing once again. Its a whole different style of riding ! BUT once I was re-acclimated to the 400ex , I was out to prove a point to Mr. R !!!!! The pace was modest at first & quickened as I got accustomed to the handling & having to take diffent lines due to the lack of ground clearance. By the second mountain , we were FLYING!!!! YEHAAAAAA! NO DUST , so each rider had a clear view & with squeals of delight , we began to Speedball in earnest!!!! The roar of Russ's new DUAL EXHAUST on his V-Force let everyone know when he wanted to make his move!!! It is the BADDEST sounding quad I EVER heard!!!! Sounds like a 5.0 Mustang or stock car & NOT a quad!!!!!! SO BAD!!!!!!!!!!! With his new Gator's digging for traction the V-Force would NOW launch at the flick of the thumb throttle & pass ANYONE at the drop of a hat!!!!! As we passed over RT. # 54 & headed out across the mountain top , Speedy Racer was banging bars with a few folks & when I pulled in the clutch to shift, it went LIMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The 400ex chunked, chunked & stalled as I tried to slow down to see WHAT was wrong???? NO CLUTCH!!! Upon further inspection I found the clutch cable had broken where it exits the housing & meets the clutch pivot!!!! NOT GOOD so far out in the sticks!!!! The nearest place to get a cable was 15 miles across the mountains at Gap Racing , so after starting it in nuetral & being pushed to a steady roll by fellow Speedball's , Speedy banged the shifter into 1st gear & headed out across the mountains towards Gap Racing , to see IF they had a new clutch cable! After a few awkward shifts with no clutch, Speedy was banging gears like old times & we blasted across the mountains at a pretty good clip!!!! Before too long we were outside of Gap Racing & hoping & praying that they had a clutch cable for Speedy's 400ex??????? The computer said they have one , BUT NONE on the wall!!!! DANG!!!!!!! The owner of Gap Racing is so cool!!! He makes a phone call & locates a new clutch cable at ATV Connection in Shamokin, Pa. !! GREAT!!!!! Just then Dave Porzi saunters in & asks " Whats happening"????? After hearing our predictament , he offers to shuttle me & the 400ex to Shamokin, Pa. & ATV Connection & get the new clutch cable & help me install it, while the rest of the gang blasts across the mountains & meets us at the K-mart parking lot. Sounds GREAT, so as we load up the 400ex for transport , everyone behind me is laughing their ASS OFF!!!!! WHAT's so funny I aks ??????????? I had split my new rain suit WIDE OPEN & my long john covered ass cheeks were in FULL view!!!! Of course they had to take a photo for the whole world to see!!!!! LOL!!!! I bust on them all the time , so NOW it was their turn !!!!!! HE! HE! After a photo session , Dave & I headed off to make repairs to the 400ex & get ready for the afternoon ride. The guy at ATV Connection was SUPER!!!!!!!! As I bounded out of Dave's Pick-up & headed inside the owner waved the new clutch cable at me & said " Here it is $ 12. " Here I am , a stranger & out of towner & he gives me a HUGE discount & no tax!!!!!! He could have said $ 30 & I'd have paid it, BUT these are GOOD people!!!! By the time the rest of the Speedball's came rumbling into the parking lot, Dave & I were making the last final adjustments to the clutch!!! Great timing!!!!! A few water logged folks called it a day after 1/2 a day as the rain was starting to come down harder & HARDER!!!!!!! Having repaired the 400ex , it was off to Burger King to get some much deserved lunch!!!!! Marty & Bill live close by , so they loaded up & headed home as the rest of us fed our faces or just sat back & relaxed for awhile. After lunch , the rain was steady , but not heavy, so we sat & shot the SH-T for an hour or so until the sun started to peek out between the clouds . After a change of gloves & a change to warm dry clothes we headed out for an afternoon run towards the MOON near Mt. Carmel . From the moment we left the parking lot the pace was FURIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!! With dry clothes & clearing skies , the Speedball's dropped the hammer & BLASTED across the mountains towards Mt. Carmel, but not before a slight detour over a short NASTY, winding trail , that saw the new rider from New Jersey take a nasty tumble over backwards & have the 500+ lb. quad pin him to the ground!!!! OUCH!!!!! Jim WOULD NOT climb this hill again today ! Russ navigated the V-Force to the top for the injured ATVer. Jim's ribs were SORE!!!!!!! But Jim gives the thumbs UP & says " Lets Ride " . True Speedball material !!!!! Having a working clutch & NOW having made the transition from Grizzly 4x4 mode to sport quad mode , I let the 250R KNOW Speedy was ready to bang bars!!!!!!! With Mike Yucha leading the way & Russ hot on his AS- , the pace was CRAZY to say the least!!!!! FULL bore through mud holes & ALL!!!!!!! The 250R would challenge the 400ex & its rider every chance it could ( tight woods or open roads) , BUT the 400ex & rider was MORE than a match for Chris & his " R " . During the course of the afternoon , Chris would change FOUR spark plugs trying to find a LITTLE more , so he could best the 400ex!!!! HE! HE! NO WAY!!!!!!!!!! Once at the MOON , the hill climbers had a blast buzzing up & down one hill after another , BUT NO ONE could conquer HILL # 2 after all the rain !It had made HILL # 2 VERY TOUGH!!!!! With HILL # 2 not an option , our group headed off to the back side of the MOON where some more accessible hills awaited. Even these long steep coal piles proved a worthy challenge under these conditons & everyone eventually made them except Speedy Racer , who never attempted them , but took just as much pleasure capturing their conquests on film !!!! BOTH the V-Force's of Jim & Russ with knarly rear tires buzzed up & down hill after hill . The " R " even managed to conquer a few decent hills & Ron's Banshee also managed to kill all the bugs with the two stroke monster buzzing up & down hill after hill!HE! HE! Time to hit the trails again , so we exit the MOON & head off to a short cut behind Mt. Carmel towards the 500 Hill. Once across the hard paved road west of Mt. Carmel , Jim's V-Force DIES!!!!!!! DEAD !!!! NOTHING!!!!!!! Upon futher inspection we find a 30amp fuse blown. Mike Yucha reaches deep into his " goodie bag " & finds just the right fuse! BUT the new fuse POPS as soon as the ignition switch is turned ON!!!! A search finds no probable cause , BUT after 2 more blown fuses , we KNOW we have a DEAD SHORT somewhere!!! Within 15 minutes , Mike Yucha ( Trail Doc ) finds the source of the DEAD short! Kawasaki has a DEFECT in their wiring harness & Jim found out the hard way!!! A wiring harness leaves the fuse box & the harness protrudes downward towards the rear subframe & WHEN the rider site on the quad it pinches the harness against the subframe!!!!! With duck tape from Mike's air box & ONE more fuse , Jim's V-Force is up & running!!!! YEHAAA!!!!! Russ checks his V-Force & its the SAME!!!!!!!! Russ will retro his when he gets home!!!! Now its time to finish out the day & BLAST!!!!!! The next few hours are FRANTIC to say the least!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!! By the time we head out across Speedball Ridge , Chris & Jim are tuckered OUT & falling further & further behind !!!!!! Jim's FIRST ride is MORE than he expected , BUT with sore ribs & all , he rode TRUE Speedball style & rode the ENTIRE DAY!!!!! Way to go JIM!!!!!!!! Chris's cold & the can of " WHUP ASS " that Speedy racer opened on the " R " sure was taking its toll!!!!!! With a CRUSTY & TIRED face Chris & Jim's staring us in the face , Ron & the others dialed back & before too long everyone was safe & sound after almost another 100 miles of FAST trail riding this fine day!!! After wishing everyone a SAFE trip home , it was time to fire up the Speedball Express & head off to Motel 6 & a HOT shower & SOFT bed !!!! Enroute Ron & I stopped by Mt. Carmel's car wash to get our quads READY for SUNDAY's FULL DAY ride north to parts UNKNOWN tommorrow !!!!!!!! YEHAAA!!!!! Can't wait!!!!!! After feeding our faces at Cracker Barrel the Sand Man pays Ron & I a visit & the ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ' s fill room # 30 at Motel 6!!!! Good-nite !!!! Your AARP atv buddy! SPEEDY RACER |
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