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Yes, Luke, Scooting the Ozarks is held in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas, in Eureka Springs. But some of the rides may take you into Missouri or Oklahoma or possibly even Kansas. Some of the riders in our group like really LONG rides. Wish you could attend, but I can understand having to take care of parents. Been there-done that.

This is the last week to receive a discount for pre-registering for the rally early. comp.uark.edu/~tkring/STO2011Form.pdf Registration covers 4 days of fun riding, 2 meals (barbecue and pizza), show and shine, and more.

STO is growing every year. Over 70 people, from 16 states, have already pre-registered for STO 2011. For more info, visit the forum (link in signature). Come join the fun in Eureka Springs, September 14-17!

There will be a home Razorback football game the 17th, so hotel reservations should be made soon. If you plan to stay at the host hotel see the forum for instructions for receiving the STO discount.

There are some changes in store for the rally this year, but one thing that won't change is that this will still be a "riders rally", where the focus is rides and scooters. The Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas offer some of the best roads for scooter riding you will find.

The first change is in staff. Lou retired as Rally Coordinator, and Tim Kring, formerly the Ride Coordinator, is STO’s Rally Coordinator. Roy (Smorkle on the STO forum), who attended past rallies, is Ride Coordinator. This is my fourth year volunteering to get the word out about STO.

STO 2011 is moving to a new Host Hotel. Tim has negotiated very good discounts at a nice hotel. See the STO Forum (link in signature) for details. On Sept. 17 there will be an Arkansas Razorback home football game in Fayetteville. While the stadium is more than 50 miles away, the hotels in Eureka host lots of the 70,000 fans that will attend the game. We suggest you get your hotel room reserved early.

Registration is still pro-rated, but the early-bird/lowest-price registration has been extended to include February. So get your registration form and fees mailed in before March. We are looking for STO 2011 to be even bigger and better than past rallies. Come join the fun!

STO 2010 was lots of fun. There were over 100 scooters, even with a very few riding 2-up, and a few motorcycles in the group.

STO had great riding weather this year. Rained during the night a couple of times, but very little during the day. The guided ride on Thursday and the long poker run Friday were both over 200 miles of great Ozark hills and curves. There was also a shorter poker run for those who didn’t want to ride that far. Just one pot for the poker run, either route, and it all went to the highest hand (60%) and the lowest hand (40%). There was also a guided small scoot ride, and numerous ride maps of various lengths for self-guided rides. Thank you, Tim, for your hard work making maps, leading rides, organizing the poker run, and everything else you do for STO.

Nine vendors attended STO this year, with a wide variety of products to sell, from scooters to jewelry. About 15 people attended Jean Bartlow’s Safe Ride Seminar. Having ridden over a million miles on scooters, he had lots of information about the choices we make before and during a ride that determine whether or not we have a Safe Ride. There was a signup sheet for a maintenance seminar, but only a few signed it so that was canceled.

The karaoke on Friday evening was three hours of fun. There was singing, clowning around, dancing, and just plain silliness. Several of the “acts” had everyone laughing. Thanks to EuGene and Rack for bringing the equipment and running this event for us.

Many door prizes were given out at various times throughout the rally. Thanks, Marty, for helping here. The Agility 125 Grand Prize went to Kyle from IL. This prize was Lou’s idea and Lanny’s Cycle World of Hot Springs, AR helped make it possible. Thanks, Lou and Lanny.

STO 2011 is in the planning stages. The dates have not been set, but the staff will try for about the same time in September next year.

Only one month until STO 2010! You have until the end of August to mail your pre-registration to Lou. You must pre-register for the rally, and be present at the drawing, to qualify for the Grand Prize drawing.

Our host hotel, Americas Best Value Inn (formerly Travelers Inn, 800-643-5566) still has a few rooms available. Rally rates are $50 plus taxes per night. Since the current owner took over last fall, carpets have been replaced, new floor tiles have been installed in bathrooms, and other improvements have been made.

Adding Jean Bartlow’s Safe Ride Seminar and his Maintenance Seminar (seminars) required a few adjustments in the agenda. We have a pretty full schedule, with something for everyone, maxi-scoot riders, small-scoot riders, and even non-riders.

Fubar05, I really can't say how much top end speed is lost with the kit on the Burgman 400. The 250cc Helix only lost around 5mph with the kit. There is a little loss in gas mileage as well, but not much.

The Helix in your photo is my neighbor's. If I'm not mistaken, your other photo is of Diane Larson's Majesty.

The TowPac kits are expensive, but there are other brands of kits available that are even more expensive. The Danson kit for example is very attractive, but much more expensive than the TowPac.

Installing and lining up the wheels properly is very important. Mine had over 10,000 miles on the kit tires, and they are still in good shape, showing some wear, but still have a lot of miles in them. I know of a kit where the wheels were not properly aligned, and the tires did not last l,000 miles.