Introducing Scarlett – 2006 Honda VTX 1300C

I purchased Scarlett on April 28th, 2026 and flew to Orlando, Florida from Atlanta, Georgia on May 8th, 2026 and took an Uber to DeLand, Florida to my hotel for the night. The next morning, May 9th, I grabbed breakfast at C’s Country Diner and then picked up Scarlett at RC Honda in DeLand.

The start of the trip home was short lived as I noticed that the speedometer was not working. So, I head back to RC Honda and had their service department check it out. They determined that the speed sensor was not working and needed to be replaced. They did not have any in stock (20 year old motorcycle) but they did order the part and have it shipped to my home in Douglasville, Georgia to have a local mechanic install it (or myself).

I decided to use a GPS speedometer on my phone (along with Google Maps for navigation) and I would deal with the speed sensor in Georgia. However, once down the road on the second start, the speedometer started working. As of June 10th, it is still working. I have the replacement speed sensor in my storage cabinet and ready if and when it fails again.

Initial Photos of Scarlett

Day 1 Route to Perry, Georgia

I was anticipating significant rain north of Palatka and into Georgia. Because of this, I planned on splitting the 488 mile trip from DeLand to Douglasville into two days to accomidate the expected slower travel due to heavy rain (and oh boy I got soaked on Day 1, but more on that in future posts).

The route back to Douglasville, Georgia very closey followed the route I rode on Bruce, my 2025 Harley-DavidsonPan America 1250 Special, just a few weeks earlier during my Florida Loop 2026 Motorcycle Tour. The only major difference is the portion from DeLand to Palatka. During Florida Loop 2026 I rode from Daytona Beach to Palatka.

The majority of the route from Palatka, FL to Douglasville, GA is nearly identical to the route during Florida Loop 2026 with the exception of less secondary roads this time (pretty much stayed on US and State highways).

Total miles traveled on Day 1 from DeLand to Perry = 325 Miles