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Thread: VX KAT's "See America & the Great Plains" adventure

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  1. #1
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    VX KAT's "See America & the Great Plains" adventure

    As some of you know, I just came back from a 12 day "See America's Heartland" road trip this month. It all started when I decided to go see a Canadian girlfriend of mine. We decided to meet in North Dakota. I went up thru Colorado and then on to see some of our great Heartland, the Great Plains of Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. Total of about 3,700 miles!

    Passing thru Denver allowed me to meet up with some fellow VXers: General Garza, mdwyer and pbkid for a quick dinner and mini meet. Then on up through the Great Plains States. Weather was absolutely perfect, a little warmer than average, with clear and beautiful skies.

    After I visited with my girlfriend, and since I was "in the neighborhood", I stopped in to see LDub and TLMP in Fargo. Larry was kind enough to mount the hitch I got from WelderGuy (thanks to T4B). He also installed the rubber headlight gaskets, adjusted my headlights and all kinds of other misc. things.

    Got to finally see Mt. Rushmore, something I've always wanted to do. On the return trip, I played a bit more tourist and saw Badlands National Park, Wall Drug Store , Mt. Rushmore, Custer, SD and then the Crazy Horse monument.

    Drove through the Eastern part of WY, ending up in Cheyenne for a night. Then on down into Denver again, and got to meet up with another VXer - RallyDude just West of Denver by about 25 miles. He's a great guy. Jack joined us for a while so I got to see Jack x2 on this trip.

    I ran into another VX in, of all places, Ogallala, NE...pop 5,142. A 2001 Ironman owned by a guy named Lane. Didn't know about the forum, so hopefully he'll join up. (trivia quiz...anybody know who was in Ogallala from the Lonesome Dove mini-series?)

    Total of 12 days on the road and wow, what an experience! Had a great window of beautiful weather and thoroughly enjoyed the drive! VX performed like a real champ! MPG ranged from 13 - 17.5. Not bad for a flying brick heavily ladened with stuff.

    Whew, had a great time....but am I pooped!! Got home late Friday eve after driving 12 hrs straight thru since I was loosing steam and needed to get home...

    About 5 days into the drive I started hearing rattling underneath. Sounded like the Kilby skids may be loose or something. Dub and later Jack also looked at it, and both thought it was some exhaust component contacting the Kilby plate and rattling.

    Some Observations:
    ~Our Recaro seats and the seating position in total is extremely comfortable. No knee pain after driving for hrs like I've had in other vehicles. Great lumbar support too.

    ~The transmission console heats up quite a bit the longer you drive. At some times, the passenger side of the black plastic next to the high/lo lever, as well as the cupholder and square area were really quite hot to the touch.

    ~Cooper Zeon LTZ tires performed great. Very smooth and quiet at highway speeds of around 75mph. Last day (Fri) driving home it rained the entire trip. The tires did very well in various degrees of water on the road.

    ~The HID bi-xenon headlights are, without a doubt, the best modification you can do to your VX if you EVER drive at night! I ran with lights on at all times as I was on many MANY 2 lane, narrow rural roads and they are truly amazing. Visibility is just unbelievable. I had these on, my PIAA white Fogs, and the 25 LED round front markers on...so I had 6 white lights coming at everybody....they sure could see me coming!

    ~Used 1.5 qts of oil in 3,700 miles.....oddly, mostly by day 3....then some on the very last day (12 hr drive) Friday. My VX only uses oil when I do long highway drives like this, BUT, it's not really consistent....very weird. I used 3/4 qt on day 3 which was a 550 mile day, and only 1/4 qt in 800 miles on Friday.. Different conditions though. Day 3 was long open flat roads, whereas Friday was at elevation, very mountainous up/down for a while, then long stretches of flat open road...all in the rain. I would have thought it would use more in the latter scenario.

    ~ Bump stops cut in half - I'm REALLY pleased with this mod. After driving so many miles, and different surfaces, I noticed a huge reduction in the rear slamming when hitting bumps. Colorado had many road seams that were very uneven, and I could really tell a big difference in the rear slamming effect. I had my Rancho shocks set at 4/4 the entire trip and that setting along with the cut down bumpstops in rear, really made a huge difference.

    ~ I also need to mention I've figured out what some of the "noise" I hear when hitting bumps/potholes...it's the big shackle I have mounted on the rear tie down...it slams into the TOP of that hole it's in...the top of the shackle has all the paint chipped off. So that explains what I reported earlier about "hearing" a loud noise but not really feeling a severe bump.

    ~The VX attracted attention, naturally, and I had several folks ask me about it. Man, that never gets old....

    ~I'm really getting used to the look of the black mini bumper on the rear.

    Took almost 900 pics. Have sorted through and picked a few, ...okay, a lot, to share. Landscape pics are my fav subject, so this was definitely the trip for that. Enjoy!

























    Last edited by VX KAT : 10/25/2010 at 07:28 PM
    VX KAT
    ....the adventure BEGINS ANEW! ...2015......
    Remember that life is not measured in the breaths you take, but rather in the moments that take your breath away.

  2. #2
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    GREAT VIEW FROM UP HERE!





    HEY, HOW DO I GET MY MUG UP THERE??



    I'D LOOK GOOD UP THERE, DONCHA THINK?? AND WE'D HAVE TWO TEDDY'S UP THERE!!!



    WHADDYA THINK OF THIS POSE??


    OR SHOULD I DO THIS STRAIGHT ON POSE??




    RAN INTO ANOTHER VX'ER IN OGALLALA, NE....WHAT'S THE CHANCES??
    HIS NAME WAS LANE. HERE'S HIS IRONMAN.





  3. #3
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    Great pix. Glad ya had fun.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

    Put a smiley after you say that Bub.

  4. #4
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    CABIN IN CUSTER, SD




    I DON'T DO MORNINGS....


    I TOLD YA, I DON'T DO MORNINGS...CAN'T YA SEE MY DEVIL HORNS?



    I HAVE A WHOLE NEW MEANING OF "WIDE OPEN SPACES".....THIS IS IN SOUTH DAKOTA







    BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH DAKOTA - My lunar buggy felt right at home in this moonscape














    TRUE PRAIRIE DOGS



  5. #5
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    SOME INTERESTING ROAD SIDE SIGHTS I CAME UPON:




















    AND MY LAST DAY, DRIVING THRU COLORADO, HAD THIS BEAUTIFUL SNOW SCENE


    MY TRUSTY TRAVEL COMPANION....
    Last edited by VX KAT : 10/25/2010 at 03:55 PM

  6. #6
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    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by VX KAT View Post
    SOME INTERESTING ROAD SIDE SIGHTS I CAME UPON:

    That looks vaguely like where I work...

    It was a great pleasure to see you Sue, sure seems boring around here without you.

    Glad you had a good trip & made it home safe & sound...

    Nice pics, thanx for sharing...

    BTW, who's that old fat guy that looks like he's praying behind your VX?...

    Oh yeah...almost forgot...note to self & all other VX'rs.

    NEVER, under any circumstances, get between Teddy & a corndog...

    He turns into some sort of tasmanian devil rhino badger that will try to rip your face off...
    Last edited by Ldub : 10/25/2010 at 04:40 PM

  7. #7
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    Sue... looks like you had an Excellent Adventure!!

    I have to say, lookin at your VX, you have a great wheel/tire combo. Your tires do a great job of filling in the wheel wells.
    I'll be looking for slightly taller tires when my existing ones run their course.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ldub View Post
    Oh yeah...almost forgot...note to self & all other VX'rs.

    NEVER, under any circumstances, get between Teddy & a corndog...

    He turns into some sort of tasmanian devil rhino badger that will try to rip your face off...

    Oops! Forgot to mention his alter ego "Cujo" But hey, most guys I know would do the same for a corn dog...I know my Dave would!
    Backstory: First time I pull up in front of Dub's casa, get Teddy out & put him on the grass. He finds a partially eaten corn dog on the grass & grabs it, STICK and all! Larry walks up. Teddy goes Cujo defending his find. I was able to knock the stick/corn dog out of his mouth...and no blood was drawn, phew!
    Anybody want a cute little 8 lb Pomeranian...with 1/2 hair missing?? Makes a great 1st impression!

  9. #9
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    WOW! Great photos, Sue, you have a very good eye! I'm jealous of your entire trip and the beautiful scenery you got to see with your own eyes! I keep promising myself that I will go somewhere new every ____ months, but work always seems to keep me trapped at home base.


  10. #10
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    looks great sue!

    i like the photos... im really jealous of your camera


    and it was great seeing you. your more than welcome here in colorado anytime you feel like coming up.
    "Do Not Seek Praise. Seek Criticism."

    "If You Can't Solve A Problem, It's Because You're Playing By The Rules."

    "The Perosn Who Doesn't Make Mistakes Is Unlikely To Make Anything."

    -Paul Arden

  11. #11
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    Great pics !

  12. #12
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    Thumbs up

    Sue,

    Great pics!

    I'm glad you did it and that the VX ran like a champ. I hope your are recouperating quickly.

    Now on to Vegas in January!!!
    Anita
    2000 Ebony #263
    Original Owner- love her too much to part with her.
    AnitaProtich.com

  13. #13
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    Whate a great trip!! and what a beautiful country!!!
    Speed Thrills, Boredom Kills!!

  14. #14
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    Thumbs up

    Great pics. Reminds me of a trip I was lucky enough to go on back in 1995 or 1996, I can't remember. But your pics reminded me that I have got to get back out there and see the sights.
    Thanks and glad you made it safe and sound and drama free!

  15. #15
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    Sue, I just love road trips and it looks like you had a great time.

    Sorry that we missed eachother on Friday morning, but it's probably best that you left Carbondale when you did because it's been overcast, raining and now snowing ever since. The VX could have handled it, but it would have made for some stressful driving up and over the passes.
    "The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong, it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair."
    -Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless

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