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Tail of the Dragon
  • Matthew Juhlin
  • Matthew Juhlin

Tail of the Dragon

Een 19-daags avontuur van Matthew Meer informatie
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  • Het begin van de reis
    30 april 2016
    Matthew JuhlinTail of the DragonReiziger

    We join this build already in progress

    30 april 2016, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    I didn't take any pictures before this because I was just assembling things. Really the first picture is when I had already picked up the new bike and had just put the cargo carrier on the trailer. This is a mock-up of how the trailer will look. I tried hard to incorporate some of the plywood that was on the original trailer but just didn't have enough. The plywood in the picture is my own, a piece of the camper wall.Meer informatie

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  • Matthew JuhlinTail of the DragonReiziger

    Welder's work

    30 april 2016, Verenigde Staten ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    When other bikers do this project they make the trailer narrower and the drawbar longer. To narrow the frame I took a Sawzall and chop chop done that was easy. To narrow the axle I took it to a welder. (And the tongue too.) When I got the axle back it doesn't seem quite right. I am suspicious it is just a fraction off. Great. That's the whole reason I didn't want some dropout at a muffler shop to weld it. And the tongue now weighs ten times what it did before. Sure, he "overbuilt" it and he dressed the welds very nicely but all that steel is just loading down my trailer with dead weight. Not to mention he charged 2/3 more than the trailer is worth! Well, I learned something new today, just not the kind of lesson I want.

    It's too bad this website won't let you zoom in on the original picture - in the first pic there's detail you can't see on the site. Let's see if another pic will help.    Meer informatie

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  • Matthew JuhlinTail of the DragonReiziger

    Nah, that doesn't matter.

    1 mei 2016, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Dad, remember what I said about the bore of hub-centric wheels needing to match the diameter of the hub? This Chinese trailer came right from the factory with wheels that don't. Look at the second picture. It has the extra complexity and expense of milling a flange of a specific diameter around the hub! Some guy in a Chinese factory said, "We don't have wheels that fit? Just get bigger ones, that doesn't matter." And Harbor Freight doesn't care either. If the trailer was carrying live animals or, I don't know, GLASS, it might very well matter.Meer informatie

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  • Matthew JuhlinTail of the DragonReiziger

    Eye candy

    2 mei 2016, Verenigde Staten ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    The obligatory "I made the trailer much stiffer" shot. ...Huh, that hardware looks good.

    Are you wondering why the deck doesn't cover the back of the trailer? That's just me being clever. If you look at the profile (side view) of the car carrier it is indented in the bottom. This is where the roof rack of the car should sit. So the bottom of the carrier isn't flat. To make the carrier have a large, flat base I cut the wood to match the size of the indent. Now the carrier sits flat on the trailer. How clever.Meer informatie

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  • Matthew JuhlinTail of the DragonReiziger

    Project done

    4 mei 2016, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    On those TV shows where they build cars they give each one has a clever name. I'm calling this project "I Love You Every Bit as Much." (Yes, it's definitely sarcasm.)

    I have already bought the wiring harness for the bike. The trailer hitch is scheduled to arrive Friday. The obstacle course with Sarah is Saturday. Mother's Day is Sunday. I still don't know if my last-minute vacation request was approved. This trip is going to be a mad rush with no time for testing, or a mad rush for nothing.Meer informatie

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  • Matthew JuhlinTail of the DragonReiziger

    Plan of attack

    10 mei 2016, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    I'm going to be riding through rain today. I congratulate myself on being clever and planning ahead. I brought weatherstripping along (I also brought duct tape and zip ties and I've used both already lol.) The car carrier isn't designed to be waterproof. Hopefully the weatherstripping will make it water resistant.Meer informatie

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  • Matthew JuhlinTail of the DragonReiziger

    Lunch break

    10 mei 2016, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    This town has some beautiful old houses on a tree lined street leading up to a main street with lots of brick businesses in great condition. I'll try to get a picture on the way out. I've seen a couple interesting things I would have liked to stop at but I only found out about them as I was going by them.Meer informatie

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  • Matthew JuhlinTail of the DragonReiziger

    Local lounge

    10 mei 2016, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    I'm at the Knotty Pine bar and lounge. They forgot to add "dive" to the name. I asked for a beer list and they had bud, coors, miller, and their lites, nothing else. Well, I feel like a local with a bud in front of me. There's not a big difference between Front Royal, VA, and anywhere else... at least on the surface. For example, there's still only a faint accent. Must be more subtle. Like the last restaurant I went in two different people started a conversation with me. And one person at this one. You know you can get a license plate with the "don't tread on me" snake on it? I was expecting to see a lot of economic depression but not in the towns I've seen along the interstates.Meer informatie

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  • Matthew JuhlinTail of the DragonReiziger

    Campground

    10 mei 2016, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Wow, did I stumble onto a gem. This campground is amazing. The first two pictures are the drive in. The third is the cabin I'm staying in, it's $45/night! There are two guys in the cabin next to me. They rode a goldwing and a big BMW from Toronto. Sounds like they've ridden all over the US. Going to go sit with them a bit.Meer informatie

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  • Matthew JuhlinTail of the DragonReiziger

    No view

    11 mei 2016, Verenigde Staten ⋅ 🌫 12 °C

    The view out my front porch is poor. I think today I will travel further south. the weather there will be better at the end of the week. I'll return here to see this road on my way back. This means I'll be spending more time on the highway in the rain with semis. Rats.Meer informatie

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  • Matthew JuhlinTail of the DragonReiziger

    Luray Caverns

    11 mei 2016, Verenigde Staten ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    The caverns was really good. They have a large variety of structures and the path through the area was really well laid out. The real thing is way better than pictures so I'll just put a couple here.

    Boy I was whipped by the end of the tour. Granted I was carrying like 30 lbs of motorcycle clothes but geez, is this getting old? It sucks. Now to check the bad news-dar and see if I'm going to get wet.    Meer informatie

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