We had a great start out of Muskogee, OK for the beginning of Stage 4 of The Cross Country Chase. I connected with Chopper Gary once again and we were making great time heading southeast, to my surprise. We stopped for fuel around 11 AM and a lite lunch and then rolled in to Bentonville, AR, home base of Wal-Mart. And that’s when it happened! I lost all power. CG had not noticed that I pulled off so he continued on and I messaged him to let him know. After about 20 minutes the sweep truck showed up and I had to choose between loading up the bike or being left in Wal-Mart town. I loaded up. It was a rough day on The Chase. The sweep truck was full of bikes and disappointed riders as we admired the scenery that we missed riding through. We made it to our secret destination of Mountain Home, AR. I’ve never heard of it but it’s a nice small town here in The Ozarks. After troubleshooting my electrical problem, I’ve decided that the trouble is most likely the generator or regulator and I have no way of repairing either at this point. SMC member Erik Bahl recommended straight-wiring the battery to the ignition coil to bypass the charging system. I did a test run around the block with the direct connection and the bike runs normal. Tomorrow I will have to make the Chase to the finish line with no lights. It’s been another long day and into the night.
