Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Represent.


2013 Annual Moonshine Lunch Run

The General Store in Moonshine, IL (Pop: 2) hosts their Annual Lunch Run each year which attracts hundreds of riders from the area and surrounding states. We had a nice group of about 20 or so bikes meet up at Carr's Garage in Charleston, IL to make the trek saturday morning. Friends from IN, OK, MO, MI, WI rode in for the weekend to do some riding with the IL Crew and welcome in spring and this years riding season. (Words: Barry Land)
Scrap, TR, Barry
I wouldn’t normally think the second weekend of April would be a good time to plan a biker party, not in the Midwest anyway. The weather this time of year can be questionable but I guess you gotta kick off the riding season sooner or later and just hope Mother Nature isn’t too cruel. The festivities this weekend were arranged around the Annual Moonshine Lunch Run where motorcyclists come from far and near to have a moonburger at the Moonshine Store in Moonshine, IL; population 2. The place is in the middle of nowhere and if you didn’t know where you were going you might never get there. Once we got within a couple of miles however you just had to look across the flat, barren cornfields for the glint of sunlight off of motorcycles parked along the road in all four directions at the intersection where the store is situated. The ride in was a bit chilly with temperatures in the 40’s but the sun was warm and it was just good to be back in the wind. After having a moonburger we found our way to MVP’s Happy Holler, a little bar off the beaten path along the banks of the Embarras River and hung out for a bit before returning to Car99r’s Garage in the heat of the day, balmy mid 50’s. The rest of the afternoon was spent napping in preparation for another late night of drunkenness. It was a weekend spent in good company; why else would you decide to venture out in early April bundled up from head to toe to ride your motorcycle out to the middle of nowhere just to eat a hamburger. (Words: Jen Keller)
Moonshine, IL General Store
Drummer got his Double Chee
Barry, Paul, Billy
MVP's Happy Holler - Newton, IL
Miss Piggy (her real mane!) & Scrap
Barry
Barry, Brumie, Wino, Tina, TR, Dirka, Drummer
Lynn, Matt, Sack, Scrap, TR
Lon, Greazy, Lynn
Early AM Sunday
(Photos by Tina Brumfield, Jen Keller, Barry Land)









Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Re-working the Lil Guy a Bit.

Decided to tear into Kong yesterday. I've been wanting to clean up the wiring for a few years and further simplify it or at least make it easier to access and work on. He's been neglected for the past few years since we fixed his rear end that was bent and cracked. Since then I've mostly been riding the long bike, Lulu. Anyway, I yanked the wiring from the electrics box and pulled the battery out of the way. While I was removing the carbs I found the #3 boot to be split, not cool. Luckily Drew had an extra set laying around his shop, who'd a thunk. He hooked me up there. He brought them down and we met up with Paul for some grub. Afterward we returned to my little shop area to hang out and drink beer...where they talked me into swapping my drags for a set of Santee Pipes I'd acquired from Drew a month ago. That's the last photo here, Paul and Drew polishing the pipes, hahahaha. I guess that was their motivating factor for me putting them on. Glad we did. They look so boss. 4 into 2 megaphones, one on each side. So badass. I'll share a pic once everything else is done...or at least mostly back together.

with drag pipes
sans carbs, electric box, battery
a few key pieces of the puzzle

I'm like Tom Sawyer while these guys polish pipes.

Monday, April 1, 2013

One year ago today...

...we lost a friend and fellow corn desert rambler, John Michael Worthey aka Naguethey. Mike was a renaissance man who indulged many interests and truly loved life. Whether he was building a bike and riding the country or building a canoe and taking survivalist camping trips he gave it his all. He chased many dreams and was taken from this world riding the motorcycle that he built and loved. Mike touched many lives throughout his lifetime and is an inspiration and a reminder of how short our time here is. Myself and many others think of you often my  man, ride free forever.

(photos: Jenni Grey and Paulette Adams)