todd moyer
Registered
OK, we made our first big road trip on our new 09 Busa. It was planned as our 20th anniversary / vacation / road trip all rolled in one. We didn’t have an agenda, schedule, or any real particular place to go so it made it kind of nice.
Day one started out fair here in NY, roads were wet, it was cool and we had wind until we hit lower PA (traveling Rt15). 360 miles into it we had just passed through Warrenton VA and the bike quite while rolling along in the fast lane just north of Opal. After pushing her across the road to a parking lot, ringing Suzuki they put us in contact with Manassas Suzuki and good folks came and collected us & the Busa. One rectifier and a first service later we were back on the road the next day at about 1:30pm. So we lost a chunk of road time but were back underway.
Waiting on Suzuki to collect us while broke down in VA:
We continued on our way down Rt17 to Hampton stopping briefly to visit our son that is stationed at Langley AFB before continuing on to VA Beach for the night. The next day we continued on down the road to the Outer Banks, stopping at Myrtle Beach next for a bit to eat at the Olympic Torch restaurant down on the strip, and hopped back on until we hit Savannah GA.
Mmmmmm, Sonic:
The next day saw us hop onto I-95 (hate the interstate) until Florida when we hopped back off at Jacksonville to grab Rt1 on into Dayton Beach. Two nights at Daytona with a trip thrown into it to Cocoa Beach we were back on the road pointed north.
Next stop, Robbinsville NC. Well first we had to clear Florida, a Florida State Trooper on a Harley, a laser that said 82 mph in a 65 mph, but luckily reduced to 9 over making it 74 mph in a 65 zone. Yes it was still a long day, lots of highway riding and horrible afternoon traffic while passing Atlanta made for a chilly evening before rolling into the Microtel in big downtown Robbinsville. The next morning saw 32 degrees on the thermometer and frost on the bike. We waited for it to warm up a little before heading up the mountain to Deals Gap to stop for breakfast and mingle through the store before continuing on. The Dragons Tail is an awesome place and I wish we could have spent several days riding the local roads but time was getting tight, one trip through was all we were afforded.
Next stop, a friendly Sheriffs Deputy on the north side of the DT along the lake. Yes I know, 54 mph in a 40 mph zone but we were gawking at the scenery and I wasn’t paying attention, my bad. One warning and good conversation and we were back on our way. We planned on staying west and running north clear to home in NY but we ended up turning east and going back to Hampton to see our son again. Things were going OK until an epic traffic stoppage on I-81 had everyone and their brother at a stand-still. So I filter our way out of traffic but not before clipping a tool-box or fuel tank on a tractor-trailer with one of our Trax hard-cases. It was a real tight squeeze but one dent later and a scuffed mirror we were on the shoulder of the road and slowly rolling along to the nearest exit, several miles up the road. This lead us to Highway 60 and from there to Richmond, another long day in the saddle.
Ear-plugs in before leaving Richmond, happy ears.
The next morning was excellent and it was a quick shot to Hampton. We had dinner, cleaned the Busa at the car-wash and relaxed. The next and last day was the final push home. At this point we were 9 days of good weather and we were ready for our own beds. From Hampton VA to just north of Harrisburg PA(Duncannon area) we were dry with the exception of some rain that came down at Gettysburg but we were parked at that point having a snack. On the dreaded stretch between Duncannon and Selinsgrove the heavens opened up. From there to north of Williamsport it rained and the roads finally dried out around Lawrenceville PA. We hopped across the border stopping in Addison NY to strip off the rain-gear and cruise on onto Wellsville at 7pm that evening.
All and all a good ride. The rectifier break-down wasn’t a huge set back but we were lucky. The 3520 miles gave us time to think about mods we want to or changes to make. A set of seats, bar risers, higher ST wind-screen and possibly rear-sets are on “the listâ€. We stopped every 100 miles or so for a stretch and gas and it kept things very reasonable. The only real casualty of the whole trip besides the dent in a hard case was one blown turn-signal bulb just north of Gettysburg PA on the way home. I did find that we got better gas mileage running premium 93 octane over mid-grade 89 octane fuel.
Cheers – Todd & Tammy
Day one started out fair here in NY, roads were wet, it was cool and we had wind until we hit lower PA (traveling Rt15). 360 miles into it we had just passed through Warrenton VA and the bike quite while rolling along in the fast lane just north of Opal. After pushing her across the road to a parking lot, ringing Suzuki they put us in contact with Manassas Suzuki and good folks came and collected us & the Busa. One rectifier and a first service later we were back on the road the next day at about 1:30pm. So we lost a chunk of road time but were back underway.
Waiting on Suzuki to collect us while broke down in VA:
We continued on our way down Rt17 to Hampton stopping briefly to visit our son that is stationed at Langley AFB before continuing on to VA Beach for the night. The next day we continued on down the road to the Outer Banks, stopping at Myrtle Beach next for a bit to eat at the Olympic Torch restaurant down on the strip, and hopped back on until we hit Savannah GA.
Mmmmmm, Sonic:
The next day saw us hop onto I-95 (hate the interstate) until Florida when we hopped back off at Jacksonville to grab Rt1 on into Dayton Beach. Two nights at Daytona with a trip thrown into it to Cocoa Beach we were back on the road pointed north.
Next stop, Robbinsville NC. Well first we had to clear Florida, a Florida State Trooper on a Harley, a laser that said 82 mph in a 65 mph, but luckily reduced to 9 over making it 74 mph in a 65 zone. Yes it was still a long day, lots of highway riding and horrible afternoon traffic while passing Atlanta made for a chilly evening before rolling into the Microtel in big downtown Robbinsville. The next morning saw 32 degrees on the thermometer and frost on the bike. We waited for it to warm up a little before heading up the mountain to Deals Gap to stop for breakfast and mingle through the store before continuing on. The Dragons Tail is an awesome place and I wish we could have spent several days riding the local roads but time was getting tight, one trip through was all we were afforded.
Next stop, a friendly Sheriffs Deputy on the north side of the DT along the lake. Yes I know, 54 mph in a 40 mph zone but we were gawking at the scenery and I wasn’t paying attention, my bad. One warning and good conversation and we were back on our way. We planned on staying west and running north clear to home in NY but we ended up turning east and going back to Hampton to see our son again. Things were going OK until an epic traffic stoppage on I-81 had everyone and their brother at a stand-still. So I filter our way out of traffic but not before clipping a tool-box or fuel tank on a tractor-trailer with one of our Trax hard-cases. It was a real tight squeeze but one dent later and a scuffed mirror we were on the shoulder of the road and slowly rolling along to the nearest exit, several miles up the road. This lead us to Highway 60 and from there to Richmond, another long day in the saddle.
Ear-plugs in before leaving Richmond, happy ears.
The next morning was excellent and it was a quick shot to Hampton. We had dinner, cleaned the Busa at the car-wash and relaxed. The next and last day was the final push home. At this point we were 9 days of good weather and we were ready for our own beds. From Hampton VA to just north of Harrisburg PA(Duncannon area) we were dry with the exception of some rain that came down at Gettysburg but we were parked at that point having a snack. On the dreaded stretch between Duncannon and Selinsgrove the heavens opened up. From there to north of Williamsport it rained and the roads finally dried out around Lawrenceville PA. We hopped across the border stopping in Addison NY to strip off the rain-gear and cruise on onto Wellsville at 7pm that evening.
All and all a good ride. The rectifier break-down wasn’t a huge set back but we were lucky. The 3520 miles gave us time to think about mods we want to or changes to make. A set of seats, bar risers, higher ST wind-screen and possibly rear-sets are on “the listâ€. We stopped every 100 miles or so for a stretch and gas and it kept things very reasonable. The only real casualty of the whole trip besides the dent in a hard case was one blown turn-signal bulb just north of Gettysburg PA on the way home. I did find that we got better gas mileage running premium 93 octane over mid-grade 89 octane fuel.
Cheers – Todd & Tammy
Glad you had a great and safe trip!!! 
You guys get married at 15 or what 
