Tag Archives: Deland

Scarlett Homecoming – DeLand to Palatka, Florida

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CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE FOR SCARLETT HOMECOMING DAY 1 PART 1 VIDEO

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 headed 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 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 482-mile trip from DeLand to Douglasville into two days to accommodate 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 closely followed the route I rode on Bruce, my 2025 Harley-Davidson Pan 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.

Most of the route from Palatka, FL to Douglasville, GA is nearly identical to the route during Florida Loop 2026 apart from 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

Scarlett Homecoming – Day 1 – May 9th, 2026

Scarlett Homecoming | Fly-In & Ride Home Trip

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CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE FOR FLY-IN RIDE HOME – SCARLETT HOMECOMING PREP VIDEO

May 7th, 2026

I will be flying out of Atlanta Georgia tomorrow May 8th, 2026 to Orlando, Florida and then catching an Uber (or Lyft) to Deland, Florida where I will spend the night in a hotel. The next morning on Saturday May 9th, 2026, I will be picking up Scarlett, my new to me 2006 Honda VTX 1300S from RC Hill Honda in Deland, Florida.

The Plan

The plan is to ride Scarlett home from Deland (with a 40 mile detour through Daytona and ride the Ormond Loop again, becuse I am here) to Douglasville, Georgia for a planned distance of 488 miles (just shy of 500 miles) and arrive home sometime in the evening (hopefully not too far past sunset).

Planned Route

Route – Part One
Route – Part Two

Weather Concerns

Because this is the southeast, of course there is rain forecasted pretty much for the entire ride home. Depending on the weather forecast source, forecasted rain is either going to be an all day, all trip affair or it will be scattered with showers and thunderstorms. If there are scattered showers and thunderstorms I feel I can deal with that much better than an all day, all trip rain event. I am not sure I have room to pack any rain gear (pants and jacket) but I will try. My Revit jacket does a pretty good job with the rain as is even though it is not really a waterproof jacket (I did not use any rain gear during Florida Loop 2026, the RevIT pants and jacket was good enough). However, on this trip, I will be wearing Cycle Gear Ironman Riding jeans which will get soaked if it is an all-day rain event, yuck. I will see if I have room to pack rain pants and if not, will just deal with it.

I am more concerned with slow travel due to rain. Scarlett has Michelin Commander tires installed (which are great) and the tread looks good. However, I have not yet inspected these tires in person and will do so Saturday morning. Worst case scenario is I will have to get new tires (I don’t think so) on Saturday morning, which of course will also delay me.

This is also a new to me bike. Even though I have owned two VTX 1300’s in the past, it has been 9 years since I have ridden one. Plus, each bike is always a bit different. I will not be riding Scarlett hard on this trip home and if the rain is prevalent with reduced visibility, I will be riding even slower. I also don’t want to ride this bike much in the dark on the maiden voyage, especially if it is raining due to low visibility and safety concerns.

Contingecy Plan

If my rate of travel is slower than expected due to weather, the bike, ergonomic issues, etc. I have three locations in Georgia picked out to stop for Saturday and then resume the trip home on Sunday May 10th, 2026. The three contingency stops are Douglas (not Douglasville), Perry, and Griffin. I would like to get home Saturday night, but I am not going to push it past where I feel comfortable or if I feel safety is being compromised. Better to arrive a day later without any incident. Well worth the Hotel fee.

Scarlett Homecoming – Fly In, Ride Home Trip

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Fly In & RIde Mototcycle Trip to Bring Scarlett Home

As announced in an earlier posting, on April 28th, 2026, I purchased a new to me 2006 Honda VTX 1300S that has been named Scarlett. On the early evening of May 8th 2026, I will be flying out of Atlanta, Georgia to Orlando Florida, and then taking an Uber to my hotel in Deland, Florida. The following morning, I will pickup Scarlett from RC Hill Honda in Deland and ride Scarlett home to Douglasville, Georga.

As also stated in my Scarlett Introduction Post, Scarlett is now my thrid Honda VTX 1300, When I started riding for realish in 2015, I had a 2007 Honda VTX 1300C which I sold in October 2015 as I scuffed it up in a low side. At the time, it was easier for me to replace the bike than to repair it. In February 2016, I purchaed a 2004 Honda VTX 1300C that was named Jolene. I brought Jolene with me to my move to California from Minnesota in January 2017. Sadly, in August 2017, I had a high side crash with Jolene and she was totaled. In November 2017 I doubled down on my interest in long distance touring and purchased a 2005 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic named Dexter which was traded in for Bruce, a 2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special in October 2025 that is now my primary touring bike.

With all these bikes 2 up ridiing is possible but frankly sucks with the Pan America, Scarlett will be the primary for adult 2up riding and local cruising. Bruce, the Pan America, is primary for touring but will still see action locally as well.

Scarlett’s Homecoming Route Overview

With the exception of the portion from Deland Florida to Daytona Beach, Ironiclly, 99% of the route I just rode with Bruce, my 2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special, during my Florida Loop 2026 Motorcyle Tour that I completed on April 11th, 2026 this route will be nearly identical. During that tour, I rolled through Daytona Beach and the Ormond Loop (fantastic short route) during Day 7, April 10th, 2026. I had no idea at the time I would be back so soon, let alone on another motorcycle. 🙂

From Daytona Beach, Florida to Douglaville, Georgia the route is the exact same is my route during Florida Loop 2026.

Route Parts One and Two will both occur on the same day, May 9th, 2026. The route is brown down in two parts only due to the fact I used Google Maps to plot the route.

Total Planned Miles = 488 Miles Should be very doable but Scarlett does have that crappy stock seat, I have already ordered the Ultimate Seats Big Boy Ulitmate X seats and plan to install them in June.

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