Weekend road trip thru VERY rural PA, etc.

My Ebay activities brought me through PA this past weekend. I learned alot about "safety corridors" & "fines doubled"! No, I didn't get pinched. I was just surprised by that sneaky ploy to generate revenue -- something I would have expected in MA!

Some beautiful land out there. In PA, I started out on 80W, then went south(west) on 81 into western MD & thru WV, then back up into PA on 79. Made a stop in Centerville, then promptly ran out of gas due to the lack of ANY CIVILIZATION! Wouldn't be a road trip without something f' ing up! I had to drain some fuel out of one of the bikes I bought, (luckily it had a functioning autolube system -- or it would have been PREMIX! ) then had to make a funnel out of a 16oz water bottle using my jumper cable clamps (had no tools with me 'cause I was driving the '07) because my can HAD a lovely durable plastic spout! . After that ordeal, I raced off in a huff with my tailgate down .... heard a **BANG** .... AWWW WTF WAS THAT??????

One bike was rubber-side-up on the side of the road!! Of course, it was the one with NO OIL CAP for the oil injection tank! AND of course, it was the best one of the 4 I bought.........

.........AND I just happened to be wearing a WHITE T-shirt with NO change of clothes! So after bench-pressing the thing back into the truck, I was peppered with oil.

Fun fun!

So I continued on with 1 qt of gas in my tank & I passed 2 shut-down gas stations, before finally spotting a real one! If this place had been 100ft farther, I'd have been pushing! Truck has a 26 gallon tank ............it took 26.1 to fill! I'd say I was on the empty side.....

All told, it was a 1200 mile trip. I drove 16.5 hours the first day (it was nice not being commercial!), slept for 4 hours in a NY rest stop, then continued on home another 7 hours on 90E. That last 7 hours was T H E W O R S T -- overtired, sore, eyes bone dry .... it was like torture.

What was even worse was the $11.64 TOLL on 90E in NY from Buffalo to Albany!!! WTF is THAT all about???? Talk about no lube!! Geeze!! That's a highway raping for sure!!! ***NO TRAILER IN TOW*** !!!!

Here's some random crappy cell phone pix:

SMITTY wrote: (luckily it had a functioning autolube system -- or it would have been PREMIX! )

Smitty, THAT was a trip, an Adventure! Next time, I bet you take a spare gal can of gas and a tool box?

BTW..... You CAN burn a premix in a 4-cycle car or truck engine, no problem. It doesn't even screw up you catalytic convertor! As long as the mix doesn't have a lead-additive, your good to go. I wouldn't do it on a regular basis, but it'll run without damaging anything.

That's good to know! You speaking from experience?

I would have done it in a heartbeat on my old '94 with the throttle-body injection & hollowed out cat but these new vehicles with double-cats, & all kinds of electronics to keep the greenies from crying ......... I wasn't sure what kind of havoc it would wreak. I was worried about having to replace 4 cats at,... ohhhh just guessing........ $500 each. But I was thinking since they run at almost 1000*F, there probably wouldn't even be any smoke, let alone carbon buildup!

Another 100 feet & it was going in! I wouldn't have cared at that point -- not something I handle well after driving for 15 hours! Let's see ........push.... .... or premix......

I have quite a supply of it, as the last few bikes I picked up each came with 5 gallons in a can. Maybe I'll get rid of some in the wife's Jimmy!

SMITTY wrote:That's good to know! You speaking from experience?
Maybe I'll get rid of some in the wife's Jimmy!

Yes. I had a 5 gal can of premix left over from my snowmobile, one spring. I didn't know what to do with it. My old nieghbor, a mechanic, told me to put it in the car At that time, I too thought it would wreck a cat, but he explained the reasoning. Theres no lead in premix, cuz theres no lead allowed in gas or 2-cycle oil. Oil does not hurt any engines, as a matter of fact, it HELPS by lubing up everything that normally doesn't see anything but raw gas. He also told me he regularly adds a quart can of oil directly into his gas tank, every couple of months ! Ok, he talked me into it. So I took my 5 gal of premix and dumped it into my 1997 Explorer. Sure enough, no smoke, no power loss, and by golly, I think it ran smoother

what kind of bikes did you buy?

Any good trail riding out there Smitty? We're always looking for new trails ya know.

Smitty, I don't know where Centerville is but I live in western Pa not far from 79. I would have come to your rescue!!

DVC500_at_last wrote:...... I think it ran smoother

Nice! If I'd known that I'd have dumped the whole 5 gallon can in just to get to civilization ... & to not pay $2.23/gallon.

e.alleg wrote:what kind of bikes did you buy?

4 of these -- was my first bike back in December 1985 .... now it's become an obsession! :

mr1precision wrote:Any good trail riding out there Smitty? We're always looking for new trails ya know.

Yes, but you know how that goes in this state ........ gotta keep 'em secret or they'll disappear!

gambler wrote:Smitty, I don't know where Centerville is but I live in western Pa not far from 79. I would have come to your rescue!!

I appreciate that Gambler!

Centerville was off 77. I think 8 (or 6?) ran through there too. Not too far from Erie. My kind of living! I passed these guys burning a huge pile of trash & pounding beers down, I had a local cop wave to me (!!!), & saw about 5 separate ATV's cruising behind me on a major highway! I was loving it!

lol oh yea the 2nd pic is rt.8 just outside centerville the old process farm about 10 miles south from me in titusville. as for the 4 wheelers we just buy fast ones and the cops dont put up much of a fight.

I love driving rural PA.

Two days ago, my job took me from Reading to Sunbury, PA. Using the GPS, I drove right thru the heart of anthracite country. Passed thru Higins, Tremont and some other familiar towns. Drove all back roads. Sunbury is on the beautiful Susquehanna River north of Harrisburg. Great two hr drive. But could of been better on the motorbike.

Another beautiful drive I often take, Rt222 south of Kutztown, PA aiming NE toward the Lehigh Gap. Beautiful PA Dutch lands and many unique homes. I saw the coolest stone farm house.....!!!!

I live out near Coudersport, Pennsyltucky

blue_chopper wrote:....... as for the 4 wheelers we just buy fast ones and the cops dont put up much of a fight.

That works!

I'd definitely take the bike back through that area. It's nice not having people whip out in front of you every 100 feet! I'd get a million miles out of my brakes living out there!

You guys are lucky!