We talked via phone, ha ha. Anyhow, the chopper got built, I love it, rode it at Daytona, all's great. I did however, miss the opportunity to hit the road, see Stan on his homefront, visit the shop, etc. I got creative 
and figured out an excuse to go there. More paint! 
Loaded the chopper into the trailer, hooked it up to the F350 and headed out at 5:00a Eastern last Sunday. The computer mapping program and the GPS in the truck had me going through Tenn to Nashville and up into KY, Illinois
into Missouri at St. Louis, and then SW to Oklahoma. I hadn't been to any of them by land so I thought it would be pretty cool. It was with the exception of St. Louis. Sorry to offend anyone from there but...not on my "cool places" list. 
NOT. I saw more dead deer (big uns) in Illinois than I've ever seen anywhere. I suspect those huge farms may have had something to do with it. Those big muthas could do some serious damage to cars, trucks, and (gulp) bikes. 
Fourteen hours later, I was at Miami (pronounced My-am-muh) Oklahoma. I'm seeing some pretty big structures that looked like arenas or fairgrounds or whatever later to find out...they're CASINOS! Hmmm, this could be a cool
trip!Went to Stan's shop unloaded bike and trailer, and got the nickel tour of the shop. It is bigger than I thought with multiple areas designated for different activities such as fabrication, machine shop, assembly, Stan's office, and others. Beautifully organized, everything in it's place, extremely clean without a drop of oil, dirt, rags, etc.
Sure not like my garage. Upstairs was all the parts inventory which again, was perfectly organized and Stan had bunches of everything. I suspect there was inventory to build a dozen or more bikes and trikes just from parts on hand. What a difference seeing them in their raw form versus the finished product. Yes Phil, I saw your trike!I could easily see why the detail on these bikes and trikes is so perfect. The machining and the crew (more on them later) insure that a part doesn't go in the bins until they're perfect. Attention to detail was....well, perfect.
Stan and I took a drive around town. Although Stan considers it to be a pretty small place, it's large compared to where I live. Very nice town, friendly people...I liked it. Stan pointed out some of the highlights most interesting to me was the original Route 66. It is still a county access through road, however, it's mostly gravel. The original road with concrete borders is still visible along much of it through town. Looks like it's seldom used but you could feel the history. Yep, I had a picture in my mind of Martin Milner and that beautiful 'Vette.
After the tour, we ended up at a super nice Indian casino and a first class dinner. Unlike the Indian casinos I was used to in SW Florida, this one was Vegas style. We couldn't pass up the allure of the blackjack table. I left with my ass intact, Stan put a hurting to them.
Stan introduced me to his painter the next day. We drove about an hour toward Tulsa to get there. Great drive through the Oklahoma countryside. His painter, Mike W. is out in the boonies and has a great shop (really big) on his home property. Inside, there were a few kick ass hotrods including a super nice '55 Chevy. He was doing one of Stan's bike frames for David Ward. All I can say is hot hot hot! Hope to see the finished product at Myrtle Beach with luck. Mike's office is covered with posters and magazine covers of paint he's done. He's got to be one of if not the finest when it comes to flames. I'm changing my paint a drop and as a result, we had brought all my painted parts. Mike and Stan had great ideas and that's got to be one of the most enjoyable, but challenging aspects of making decisions on our bikes. So many choices... but you can only make one.
We had lunch that afternoon joined by Stan's lovely wife Shelly and his team from the shop. Tab, Tim, and Stacy. All these guys are perfectionists and are able to backfill one another's function. The three of them love what they do and love the bikes. They all three act like they own the company. Very proud, very serious about their work, great senses of humor. Great Mexican lunch followed by a great Chinese dinner...in Miami Ok! Also got to meet Stan's son Cody who is a student but does lots to help around the shop. Young guy with his head screwed on right. A gentleman at 18. Also a very accomplished chopper rider. Damn, wished my Dad would have been a bike mfg instead of a CPA. Hmmmm.
Headed out the next morning through SW Missouri into Arkansas. Had never been there and thought it was an extension of Mississippi. Couldn't be more wrong. Arkansas is a beautiful state one end to the other. That's a go back trip unto itself although not as dramatic or beautiful as my home state of NC. Fourteen hours, 30 minutes later I was home.
No flats, no speeding tickets (was often pulling the trailer at 85 mph), no mishaps other than a bad case of gas from all the crap food on the road. Love them Krystal burgers.
Pics below include the biggest McDonalds in America strattling the turnpike in Oklahome (I-44?)
The chopper on an assembly cart with the painted parts removed
The chopper right before I loaded it the day before I left for Oklahoma and...
a short clip of Stan and I goofing around on the original Rte 66.
I asked Wildman to add a real short video on Rte 66 if able. That's hopefully coming soon. That's my story...sticking to it.
Els
. I figure that the 10 second window is plenty fast for me and won't be looking for for the 600 + HP motor and if I do briefly lose more of my sanity, there is always nitrous - not!
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