A little planning to go a long way
Gearing up for Summer '08
The master plan is a long, interrupted, motorcycle trip from the DFW MetroMess north to the doorway of Alaska in Banff, Alberta, Canada.
Again this year I'll position the bike in U-Store-It's along the way, but new this time will be moving storage from one state to another, one country to another. As in the past, one of my children, Emily (now 16) will accompany me.
That, coordinating her schedule and mine, has been the biggest obstacle, and behind the weather, is the make or break for the trip.
This year's vehicle is new to the stable, though not a new bike at all. It is a 1984 BMW R80ST, purchased in Livermoore CA and ridden back to DFW by buddy Wolf Thiel. Though I flew out and did the pre-purchase inspection and tune-up, it was he who endured a mysterious and annoying chugging (similar to running out of gas or hitting deep water) virtually the entire way back. But he persisted and prevailed. In doing the post purchase major maintenance it was discovered that the needle bearings in one rocker arm were falling out and breaking. This was corrected, but did not solve the issue. Then the ignition coil was replaced, along with the spark plug wires. Again, no help. Finally the electronic distributor itself was inspected, and a bad connection found. Since replacement there has been no trouble, but that was only a hundred miles or so back.
Long description to say that the bike is not as completely reliable as I would like, but, as Sir Edmund Hillary once noted: Any endeavor who's outcome is assured cannot be called an adventure.
The old reliable Coleman Peak One Apex 2 man tent has been replace this time with a 3 man Taj-3 from REI (on sale, 160$, how could I pass it up?). Emily felt that a little 'personal space' would be a good thing. Did I mention she's 16 now? This tent also has 2 doors, so one of us can answer nature's persistent call during the night (without reverting to the Gatorade bottle - eeyou). Also new is a set of tank panniers from Tractor Supply Company (my new best friend). These are designed for an ATV, but fit the large tank well enough. They also have document pouches on the top (for hunting and fishing licenses, I suppose) into which I have inserted metal electrical junction box lids to allow my magnetic tank bag to take hold. This will allow a better distribution of the load.
A little planning, I said. Well, I have obtained paper maps of the norther states (CO/WY, and WY/MT), and utilized http://www.maps.google.com/ for route planning. My old Garmin GPS III+ still functions, but is unsupported (even by Garmin), and will not allow direct downloading of waypoints and routes. I will still use it, though, for track logging, mileage, and time of day. Since the tripmeter and odometer on the ST speedometer are inop, the GPS will allow me to keep track of miles traveled and, more importantly, miles remaining in the tank! If (soon? I hope) the III+ takes a header a new 60Cx is in order.
Also we had to pick up a new passport for Emily. That evolution provided an opportunity to discuss with her the differences between local bribery (typically in Mexico an official or policeman will tell you a supplement is required for expedited handling) and governmental bribery (processing 'fee').
First push will be from DFW to Salt Lake City, UT. Second from SLC to Jackson WY. Third ride will be with Emily in the JAC area enjoying the Teton National Park and Yellowstone NP. Fourth run up through Glacier NP in Montana to Calgary, and finally touring Banff and Lake Louise with Emily before hightailing it home (dogging it solo) ahead of old man winter.
Maybe I oughta lay off that 'old man' moniker.
But plans, as they say, are out the window once the motors start.
The master plan is a long, interrupted, motorcycle trip from the DFW MetroMess north to the doorway of Alaska in Banff, Alberta, Canada.
Again this year I'll position the bike in U-Store-It's along the way, but new this time will be moving storage from one state to another, one country to another. As in the past, one of my children, Emily (now 16) will accompany me.
That, coordinating her schedule and mine, has been the biggest obstacle, and behind the weather, is the make or break for the trip.
This year's vehicle is new to the stable, though not a new bike at all. It is a 1984 BMW R80ST, purchased in Livermoore CA and ridden back to DFW by buddy Wolf Thiel. Though I flew out and did the pre-purchase inspection and tune-up, it was he who endured a mysterious and annoying chugging (similar to running out of gas or hitting deep water) virtually the entire way back. But he persisted and prevailed. In doing the post purchase major maintenance it was discovered that the needle bearings in one rocker arm were falling out and breaking. This was corrected, but did not solve the issue. Then the ignition coil was replaced, along with the spark plug wires. Again, no help. Finally the electronic distributor itself was inspected, and a bad connection found. Since replacement there has been no trouble, but that was only a hundred miles or so back.
Long description to say that the bike is not as completely reliable as I would like, but, as Sir Edmund Hillary once noted: Any endeavor who's outcome is assured cannot be called an adventure.
The old reliable Coleman Peak One Apex 2 man tent has been replace this time with a 3 man Taj-3 from REI (on sale, 160$, how could I pass it up?). Emily felt that a little 'personal space' would be a good thing. Did I mention she's 16 now? This tent also has 2 doors, so one of us can answer nature's persistent call during the night (without reverting to the Gatorade bottle - eeyou). Also new is a set of tank panniers from Tractor Supply Company (my new best friend). These are designed for an ATV, but fit the large tank well enough. They also have document pouches on the top (for hunting and fishing licenses, I suppose) into which I have inserted metal electrical junction box lids to allow my magnetic tank bag to take hold. This will allow a better distribution of the load.
A little planning, I said. Well, I have obtained paper maps of the norther states (CO/WY, and WY/MT), and utilized http://www.maps.google.com/ for route planning. My old Garmin GPS III+ still functions, but is unsupported (even by Garmin), and will not allow direct downloading of waypoints and routes. I will still use it, though, for track logging, mileage, and time of day. Since the tripmeter and odometer on the ST speedometer are inop, the GPS will allow me to keep track of miles traveled and, more importantly, miles remaining in the tank! If (soon? I hope) the III+ takes a header a new 60Cx is in order.
Also we had to pick up a new passport for Emily. That evolution provided an opportunity to discuss with her the differences between local bribery (typically in Mexico an official or policeman will tell you a supplement is required for expedited handling) and governmental bribery (processing 'fee').
First push will be from DFW to Salt Lake City, UT. Second from SLC to Jackson WY. Third ride will be with Emily in the JAC area enjoying the Teton National Park and Yellowstone NP. Fourth run up through Glacier NP in Montana to Calgary, and finally touring Banff and Lake Louise with Emily before hightailing it home (dogging it solo) ahead of old man winter.
Maybe I oughta lay off that 'old man' moniker.
But plans, as they say, are out the window once the motors start.
posted by Randy Masters at 1:45 PM
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