VROC 2000

Day 2 - Wednesday, Aug 30th
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I slept in because today's plans were to meet with Fly, Bierkan, and Brian & Becky Zoborosky
at the Kawasaki Assembly Plant in Lincoln, Nebraska at 1:00pm. I had about an hour ride to the plant, but I got there at 11:30am. I got some restaurant recommendations from the receptionist and returned at 1:00pm to be greeted by everyone above. We weren't allowed to take any pictures, so you'll have to just take our word for it - it was cool! We got to see bikes assembled from the frame up, and even got to see them dyno a VN750. I requested to see them install an engine in a VN750, and got my wish. They make it look way too easy! We also got to see Jet Ski's and ATV's assembled, and even watched a woman making motorcycle fuel tanks. We spent the rest of the day traveling across Nebraska, and watching Fly deal with problems like his bike not wanting to start, he lost part of his trailer, his trailer hitch broke, which was fixed by a welding shop in Lexington, and he lost his glasses temporarily. We finished the night off with a stop in a motel in Ogallalla.

My bike is back home again...

We prepare for photo's after our 3-hour tour...

JR, Fly, Joy (tour guide), Bierkan, Becky, and Brian

Day 3 - Thursday, Aug 31st
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We continued into Colorado and since we wanted to avoid Denver, we headed South on 71 at
Brush, CO. My Chatterbox radio failed on the Interstate, and I was no longer able to listen to
my music or talk to Brian & Becky in their truck. I also noticed my VN750 was now lacking
power over 75 mph, but I attributed it to a possibly bad tank of gas, or clogged filter screen.
Later, we found my air filter elements had dried up and crumbled into particles of which we
thought might have been sucked into the carbs. I planned on removing them later and cleaning
them. Brian unloaded his Nomad, and on the way down I-25, South of Colorado Springs, we
stopped under an overpass to get out of the heavy rain and lightning. When we were preparing to
take off, Bierkan noticed my headlight was out. We checked it out later and found I wasn't getting
power out of my headlight relay, but the battery and charging system seemed fine. A look at the
specs in the service manual later proved otherwise. After a beautiful ride down 160, we arrived in
Bayfield about 8:30pm and immediately went to a Mexican restaurant Bierkan had found. After some laughs and good food, Brian, Becky, and I parted ways with Fly and Bierkan as they were camping
at the fairgrounds, and we were sharing a house that Brian & Becky had found on the Internet. Brian
and I rode quickly up 501 to Lake Vallecito with Becky following closely behind. My headlight was
now working again, so my need to ride behind Brian's bike, and in front of their truck didn't apply
anymore. In the process of looking for the house, I had to turn around, and I killed the bike. Upon
restarting it, the headlight was out again, so I had an intermittent problem, but only sometimes (hehe)...
When we found the house, it was beautiful! We unpacked everything and settled in at about 10:30pm.

Is it 7:00am already???

The rain is O.K., but that lightning sucks!

It's getting a little crowded under here!

Fly and Bierkan at one of our many fuel stops.

Day 4 - Friday, September 1st
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We slept in and went to the Buffalo Gap Restaurant for a late breakfast. After that, we went
to Ignacio to register at the Kaw Pasture, spent about an hour shooting the bull with fellow
VROC'ers and then headed off to Durango to visit the local Kawasaki dealer to see if I could solve my headlight problem. They allowed me to use their VN750 service manual to figure
out what was wrong. I had a good idea the headlight relay was failing, but it is inside of the
$96.00 relay/fuse box. They didn't have one in stock, and couldn't get one until Tuesday, 9/5,
but our plans were to head home Monday, 9/4. I decided I could live with limiting my riding to daytime, and we then went back to Ignacio to find a place to eat. Brian stopped a man on the street and asked where we could get a good steak, and he said, "The Patio". He was right - It kicked ass! After dinner, we checked out a few of the vendors outside, and then decided to head back, since it was getting dark. I hit the start button, and nothing happened. My battery had obviously run down between the Kawasaki shop in Durango, and the restaurant in Ignacio. We were able to push start the bike, and I measured the battery voltage with the bike running. The meter read 8.5 volts... Bad news. My charging system wasn't working. Talk about a sinking feeling! While getting suited up, the bike died and I couldn't restart it. That's when we knew we'd have to haul it back to the house, but first Brian & Becky had to go back to the house and get their truck. I decided to push start the bike again, and limp about a mile back to the Kaw Pasture so I'd be among friends while I waited for Brian & Becky's return. I blew stop signs, and even security at the front gate of the fairgrounds to keep the bike running. When I got to the Kaw Pasture, there was no one there, and no Vulcans parked nearby. Before I got my helmet off, a fellow VROC'er, whose name escapes me, returned to man the tent. We B.S.'d and slowly VROC'ers returned from their rides and filled the tent. Meanwhile, we were being taunted by dedicated Harley Davidson fans who had obviously consumed far too much fermented hops
and barley. They even went so far as to suggest my bike be used as a piñata (pronounced pin-yata), although I doubt few of them could have spelled it. Being the laid back intelligent group VROC is, we sat back and enjoyed the entertainment. Brian & Becky returned and I was inundated by helpful VROC'ers as we loaded my VN750 into the back of their pickup. Since the entertainment was getting to be a bit too much, we decided to get the truck out of there before
it got hit with flying gravel as one of the dedicated HD fans decided to do a slow, dusty flyby. We went back to the house and Brian & Becky told me I could use their truck to take my bike back to the Kawasaki dealer since they were going on the Remembrance Run the next morning and would probably be gone all day.

Hey waitress, take our picture!

We get registered at the Kaw Pasture.

"She's dead, Jim"... - Bones McCoy

Funny, it doesn't look like a piñata...

Day 5 - Saturday, September 2nd
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Brian & Becky got up early and left for Durango at about 6:30am. I slept in a little bit, and finally got outside to check out my bike at about 8:00am. The first thing I did was disconnect my stator and measure it to the chassis of the bike. As I suspected, it was a dead short to the chassis, and the meter should read infinite ohms. The next thing to do is pull the motor out of the bike so the side cover could be removed to replace the stator. I had to wait until 9:00am for the Kawasaki dealer in Durango to open, and when they did, I talked to one of their guys about possibly trading it in... He suggested bringing it down so he could look at it and figure out what we could do. He said they probably couldn't offer more than $500 for the VN750 in a trade-in, which was more than I expected, and according to him, it would cost about $1,000 for parts and labor to fix it. So, he had me fill out an application to see if I could leave there on a 2000 Nomad FI. Fortunately, for my wallet, the paperwork didn't go through, and I didn't even bother asking why. I figured it was better I didn't get further into debt. So, now I had to fall back on Brian's offer to haul it home for me. After my string of bad luck, I decided to head back to the house to avoid inflicting any damage on their truck with my curse. I hung around there the rest of the day and did some hiking, with my camera, around the area. I completely forgot about the Kawasaki Dinner until after it was over, and kicked myself in the ass for being a dumb-shit! Of course, I was still leery of driving their truck all over creation without their permission, so I caught up on some much needed nap time. Brian and Becky returned with a kick-ass video of their ride, and a bonus. They had walked around at the film festival in Telluride, and stumbled upon a crowd where some people were talking. Becky zoomed in to see who was there, and caught Al Pacino on video. The picture is so clear you can see his stubble... There was a VCR at the house, so I made a copy of the video - Sweet!!!

And that's where it stayed, for 4 days...

Would you believe Brian & Becky found this place on the Internet?

You can ask all the DAM questions you want... - National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation

The only way to improve this view is to see it over your handlebars!

Sometimes it pays to have a timer on your camera...

Day 6 - Sunday, September 3rd
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Brian & Becky decided to ride out to Four Corners and suggested I use their truck and go do some demo riding. First we went to breakfast at a small place in Bayfield and then to the fairgrounds in Ignacio, to see what was up. I decided to find a safe place close to the fairgrounds to park so I could walk between the Kaw Pasture and the Kawasaki tent in town. When I got to the VROC HQ, I spent some time meeting fellow VROC'ers like Jack Foree, and the entertainment committee from New Zealand. Brian & Becky left for their day-long ride, and I was having such a good time, I decided to wait a while before I went for a demo ride. After a while, Bucky arrived on her 1500A, and immediately went to work on the dinner
and awards planned for the evening. Since I couldn't do any riding, I offered to help in any way I could, and fortunately I was able to help in more ways than I ever thought possible. When Bucky went to pay the vendor who was to supply the food for the "Last Supper", he blasted her with the news that he was out of food, and had supposedly tried to contact her all morning (B.S.). So, it was 2:00pm, and she had a pocket full of cash and no food to spend it on. When we returned to the Kaw Pasture, Earl lent her his cell phone so she could find an alternate source of food. After calling 3 or 4 places, City Market in Durango saved the day! I made the assumption that Brian & Becky wouldn't mind, and offered their truck, with my dead VN750 still in the back, for the food and soda run. Bucky and I left the Kaw Pasture at 4:00pm, and arrived back a few minutes after 6:00pm. The truck was deluged by helpful (and obviously hungry) VROC'ers who quickly unloaded all the food and set it up for dinner. The food line quickly formed and dinner was served. After dinner, the awards began. I don't recall who won what, but I got real lucky. I was in a three-way tie with Ed Wing, and another who's name escapes me, for the Hard Luck Bike Award, and I also picked up the Oldest Bike Ridden Award, even though my 1990 VN750 sat dead in the back of a pickup truck not 50 feet away. Before the awards started, I asked Bucky if she could make an honorable mention for Brian & Becky, who's kindness saved my ass, and also allowed us to save the "Last Supper"... These people truly demonstrate what I feel VROC is all about! To top the night off, we ended up with a shitload more food than we needed, or could possibly finish. Bucky had the idea to offer it to other campers, but one other VROC'er had an idea that again demonstrates what VROC is all about. We gave the rest of the food to the dedicated HD fans across the road. A few words were shared between our generous VROC'er and one of their own, but the overall affect was that many of
their members walked by and individually thanked us for the awesome food... The perfect end to a perfect day! I had hoped Brian & Becky would meet me at the Kaw Pasture, but I had to get back to the house before 11:00pm to call home, and they got back so late from their Four Corners ride, that they went straight back to the house and got there about 10 minutes before I did.

From Bayview to Ignacio

JR, Jack Foree, and Toa - Would you buy a used car from these guys?

Damn, can these people eat!!!

I was able to get Bucky to stand still long enough for this picture!

May the awards begin!

Bucky chokes up as she displays her much deserved plaque for a job well done!

Wolfman accepts his well deserved award.

Toa announces winners of the raffle.

A beautiful sky to cap off the excellent VROC 2000 weather.

Jazzman models the Steinlager apparel.

Jazzman sache's down the runway as Toa announces winners of their raffle.

Fireworks display in the background as VROC'ers party on!

Toa & Jazzman move Jack's bikes to a safer place...

Day 7 - Monday, September 4th
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We slept in and finally headed out about 11:30am for our planned 2-day trek back home. Brian wanted to be home by Tuesday night, which was better for me because I wasn't due back at work until Thursday. I drove the truck while Brian & Becky rode their bike. Brian takes such good care of his Nomad, that I was surprised when he offered me to ride it while he and Becky drove in the truck. Even though I never made it to the Kawasaki tent for a demo ride, I got my chance to ride a Nomad, and loved every mile of it. Brian came up with a little different way home, and we ran across some other motorcyclists, one of which rode a 1500A. I made sure to give him one of
my VROC cards since he'd never heard of us. We stopped in Garden City, KS for the night.

One last group picture before we head home.

O.K., smile one more time, and hope the camera doesn't screw up again!!!

Wolf's Creek Pass, Colorado. (damn camera!)

Day 8 - Tuesday, September 5th
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Unfortunately, my curse continued, and my camera now refused to take pictures. We headed North-East toward I-70 and Brian came up with another route around Kansas City to avoid the rush hour traffic. Unfortunately, we got into some road construction and were routed a bit out of our way. Eventually, we made our way to I-35 so we could get to I-80 in Des Moines. I rode the Nomad most of the day, and again enjoyed every minute of it. We ran into another guy, who worked at a gas station we stopped at, who had a Vulcan 800. I made sure to give him one of my VROC cards too. I feel real bad about it, but because of their kindness, Brian & Becky messed up their schedules to help me, a guy they never met before 8/30. I don't know how I'll ever make it up to them, but I made it home by 1:30am, Wednesday, 9/6. Becky was due at work by 7:30am, and Brian had to call his boss to let him know he wouldn't be available until later. Upon thanking them, Becky told me that I would have done the same for them. It's strange, but she's right. There's something about the camaraderie of VROC that makes you feel like you've got a lot in common with your club members, and can trust them to be helpful. I never expected to receive all the help I got, but one thing is for damn sure. If another VROC'er needs a favor, I'll do my best to be there to lend a hand...

Can't wait until VROC 2001!!!

If you enjoyed this write-up, then please check out
JR's VROC 2001 Adventures