Monday, August 23, 2010

Trailering FJR Style - Salt Lake City Here I Come

Up at 5:30am to fine tune what was going to be loaded on the bike. Got the electronics in order and packed. Decided I can use a Memory Stick for all the files I will need for the Acer Laptop. One less bulky item to carry on the plane.

So the electronic box consists of:
Acer Laptop
Acer Wall Cord
Mouse
Phone Charger
Spare GPS Adaptor
Wall plug for GPS
USB cable for the GPS
4X6 Index cards for National Park Stamps

Staple boxes contain registration, screw driver, cork screw, fuses, brake pads for the FJR with the rear ones on order, electrician tape, and other small stuff.

Decided to pack both MeAsWe's and my Frogg Toggs since the rain seemed to have let up. I was so wrong on this.

Mosey down to the bike, it's friggin pouring out. Seemed like it stopped based on looking out the window. Loaded the bike with all of the stuff including the Laminar Lip in the trunk, GPS Mount and Cramp Buster. Stuck with shipping my Froggs versus putting em on.

Off to Rainbow Moving in Franklin to drop the bike off. I was soaked by the time I got there, which didn't really bother me that much, was wearing my mesh gear, but it was a tad cold and glad it was only about 10 miles. MeAsWe followed me in the car.

Rainbow Matt inspected the bike, finding all the known knicks and scuffs. Notated them on the paper work and we signed off. With my camera in hand, I walked around the bike taking pictures of all the panels. I sure hope I don't need these photos for proof of anything.

What was comforting there were 4 or 5 bikes for other customers either coming or going. Either we all made the right decision or we are all idiots. Sept 9th the truth will be found out.

One of the bikes there was a silver C10 Connie, which put a smile on my face. It had bugs all over the front fairing. My kind of rider. Other bikes included a Road Star and a ST1300 and some others. As I stepped back I realized the FJR is one damn good looking bike compared to the others. Oh I need to thank Bill Gifford for making it look good. While it was at his place getting plugs and shoes, either he felt bad for the FJR or did not want to ghettoize his work establishment, he did a spiff and clean. What a great guy he is and the bike looks really good too.



With Stage 1 complete, it almost felt like the trip started today. In some ways it did. For those that are curious, shipping was arranged thru Federal along with the AMA, ya getta a discount if you are a member.


Addendum: After I got to work this morning I reviewed the paperwork Rainbow Movers gave me. I noticed they had me sign it, however they didn't sign it. At lunch I drove back to the place to have them sign. There was gentleman at the reception area asking questions about receiving a bike in. This guy, who I have dealt with multiple times now, was the one I needed to ask according to the receptionist. Now I know he saw her say to me "this is the guy you need to talk to". As soon as he was done with the other guy he turned away and started to go back to his office. I said whoa, I need some help and apparently you are the one. I showed him the paper and said you guys didn't sign it. He said I had to go around back and find this guy XXXX. I said, can't you sign it. He said, I am not the one that inspected it. My eyebrows must have risen and twitched (pretty good because I don't really have any) and he grabbed the paper and off he went. He came back with the paper signed. I said thank you and left wondering why he just didn't do that in the first place.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Willie,
I'll just keep reading and hoping a signature is the only problem you have. Keep the entries coming. This trip should be a hoot. Can't wait for the pictures to start.
Rich

Runner said...

Sort of makes the trip feel more "official" doesn't it?! Have a great trip...I'll be following along on your blog.