Adventure Pup recuperates from a day of recuperating from a day of…recuperating from the previous day of lazing about.
Adventure Pup has mobility issues. This is the v3 iteration of the front porch ramp. The is the first version he’s been able to get all the way up, despite the steepness. It seems to be working. He’s getting used to it. Question is will he do it for Ma, or only for the dad. If needed, v4 will be longer and not as steep. I’ve also designed a funicular in my head, just in case.
Camping at the coast two weeks ago.
Adventure pup adventures cooly.
At the St. Helens viewpoint (McClellan Observation Site) on Curly Creek Rd. Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
Trip Report: NW National Parks Loop I left my job recently to take a much needed sabbatical and figure out what I’m doing next. A few weeks after my last day at work I embarked on what was to be a three week tour of NW-ish National Parks from Portland, to include Olympic, North Cascades, Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Craters of the Moon, Lassen Volcanic, and Crater Lake. I ended up missing Grand Tetons due to weather and I had to cut the trip short before I got to Lassen (family medical issue), so Lassen and Crater Lake remain unvisited. Trip Dates: Sept 3 - Sept 16 (13 days) Total Travel Miles: 3478 (does not include local miles for store runs, etc.) Total Gallons of Gas Used: 82 Equipment: 2021 Benelli TRK502X Gaia GPS & Google Maps running on Sonim XP8 rugged Android phoneButler Motorcycle Maps (paper maps of best M/C roads in the country) iPhone 14 (main camera) Akaso Brave 7 helmet-mounted adventure camera Spot X satellite communicator and tracker Wolfman Luggage WP waterproof tank bag and saddle bags (no longer available) Watershed Colorado dry bag duffel (across the pillion seat) Kriega US-5 Drypack (tail bag) Kriega 3L hydration backpack (strapped to duffel, not worn)Marmot Ajax 2 tent Nemo hydrophobic down sleeping bag (non-mummy)Helinox ultralight cot MSR WhisperLite International stove (Purchased in 1991 for my first moto trip: Detroit, MI to San Diego and back on an XT250)Gossamer Gear Bare Boxer bear-proof food canisters (two - one in each saddle bag) Day 1 - Olympic National Park Date: Tuesday 9/3/2024 Destination: South Beach Campground, Olympic National Park Travel Time: 4h 24m Miles: 213Notes: Planned to head west to Astoria then north from there, but left later than expected so headed up I-5 to US 12. I’ve driven/ridden that stretch of I-5 hundreds of times (starting in 1993). It’s boring and I hate it. South Beach CG is first-come-first-served. I didn’t have issue getting a site. There is a long, tight loop of sites along the coastline, but I chose one of the sites further back near the bathrooms due to wind concerns. The bathroom building provided a sort of wind shelter for my site. I used the heated grips on this leg; it was pretty chilly along the coast in the Olympic Peninsula. I almost didn’t install them, thinking I was being paranoid about the cold. I ended up using them a lot. Day 2 - Ferry to Seattle / Burien Date: Wednesday 9/4/2024 Destination: Friend’s house in Burien, WA Travel Time: 7h 30m Miles: 199 Notes: Slept well (thanks to Advil PM). I’ve not been sleeping well for more than a year. I’m really hoping to reset my sleep patterns with this trip. A good night’s sleep is one of my great joys and I feel like I’ve been robbed of that pleasure. Used my Aeropress this morning for the first time ever. I’m hooked. Headed up along US 101 through Port Angeles and then down to the Southworth ferry terminal near Port Orchard. Ferried across to Fauntleroy, which is just a few miles north my friend’s house in Burien. I’m always surprised at how long it takes to get from the Olympic Peninsula to the east side of Puget Sound (Seattle, etc.). With the ferry crossing (I love ferries) it took seven and a half hours to go 200 miles. Discovered at my first stop of the day (just up 101 at the Kalaloch Campground, stopped to refill water) that the battery is quite weak and won’t start the bike if you leave the ignition on for even two minutes without the motor running. This would become a theme for the next few days. Fortunately, I have a jumper box and a permanent jump harness wired to the battery so jump starts are a quick operation. Had a good evening with old friends. Day 3 - North Cascades via Mountain Loop RoadDate: Thursday 9/5/2024 Destination: Newhalem Campground, North Cascades National Park Travel Time: 4h 30m Miles: 146Notes: Slept well, on the couch. No pills needed. I realized yesterday that my summer riding gloves (Rev’It Dune) were a size (or two) too small. Rev’It gloves fit really tight and I feel like I can never get it quite right. And yet, I love them. So, I stopped at a Cycle Gear in Bellevue to pick up something summer weight (Dirt 3) that fit better. They’re better, but maybe still one size too small. Such is life. From Bellevue, I rode north and took the Mountain Loop Hwy then on up north to North Cascades. It was a hot ride. Still summer. A small section of the Mountain Loop Road is dirt/gravel, which I didn’t realize. No biggie. Was just surprised (clearly I didn’t study my maps closely enough). When riding solo on a bike that weighs over 500 lbs., I tend to avoid planning much off-pavement riding. That’s what my DR-Z is for. Day 4 - Newport, Washington via Winthrop Date: Friday 9/6/2024 Destination: Golden Spur Motor Inn, Newport, Washington Travel Time: 8h Miles: 308 Notes: Slept just ok, even with Advil PM. Pretty ride through North Cascades National Park and Colville National Forest. Didn’t do any backroads or hikes. Discovered (new to me) the town of Winthrop. Stopped for coffee at Sheri’s and resupplied on freeze-dried food at Cascades Outdoor Store. The town of Newport is almost nothing, but, inexplicably, there’s an amazing restaurant (Brownell’s Place). Had dinner and a few ciders. Met and chatted with the owner/chef (she’s great). Listened to some live music. Then back to the motel. Day 5 - New Battery in Kalispell Date: Saturday 9/7/2024 Destination: West Glacier KOA, West Glacier, MT Travel Time: 8h 7m Miles: 293 Notes: Slept well on motel bed (on sleeping bag, not in the sheets). Another hot one. Discovered that the water pump seal leaks oil. A quick post in the TRK Facebook group revealed that this is a common problem on this bike, and and easy fix. It’s apparently just a bad o-ring. Battery has been getting continuously worse, and now requires I jump start the bike about every other start. Google Maps to the rescue: directions to the Batteries Plus in Kalispell, please. They don’t have an Odyssey AGM in the right size; the Duracell will have to do. (It’s been great.) I set up camp at the West Glacier KOA, which will be my base for a few days. KOAs are their own little world. Very strange. Not really my thing, but the on-site laundry was handy. After setting up camp I opened a cider and used the iPad to book a vehicle reservation for the next day to ride Going to the Sun Road, which I really wanted to do. Day 6 - Going to the Sun RoadDate: Sunday 9/8/2024 Destination: Local Ride: West Glacier, Going to the Sun Road, Saint Mary, East Glacier Travel Time: 5h 35m Miles: 142Notes: Quick breakfast and gas up in West Glacier before entering Going to the Sun Road. Going to the Sun Road was stunning. This was the first point in the trip where I had tingles and was giddy at what I was seeing. Took a very short hike along Saint Mary Lake. Again, I was beside myself with the beauty. Lunch at the general store in Kiowa. The rest of the ride back after East Glacier was meh, but I just kept thinking about how amazing what I’d seen in the morning had been. Dinner at the KOA. Tacos from a cart (ok / not great, and a very weird guacamole) and a few glasses of wine from another cart. I asked about the guac and it turns out they make it in a food processor. Come on, people. Day 7 - Ride to BozemanDate: Monday 9/9/2024 Destination: Friend’s house in Bozeman, Montana Travel Time: ~ 8h (Gaia crashed near the end of the trip, but before getting to Bozeman) Miles: ~ 400Notes: Slept poorly again. No pills this time. Took some photos of my soft luggage setup to answer some questions in the TRK502X Facebook group. The saddle bags are from Wolfman Luggage, but I don’t think they make this waterproof line anymore. I use a duffel dry bag from Watershed across the top. A heat shield protects the side bag from exhaust heat. Hazy, smoky ride most of the way. Very windy in places. This is where I first really started to feel how underpowered the TRK502 is. Really struggled in places. Developed an engine-speed-sensitive squeak or rattle. Sounds like when a heat shield vibrates in resonance with engine vibration. Discovered that it’s a missing crash bar mounting bolt allowing the crash bar to rub against the frame. Also noticed that there’s a resonant oscillation at speed that feels like the chain going bad (like it’s stretching unevenly). First of several nights at a friend’s house in Bozeman (which, it turns out, is a pretty cool town). And there’s a hot tub… Day 8 - Bike Maintenance & Hyalite ReservoirDate: Tuesday 9/10/2024 Destination: Local Ride: Hyalite Reservoir Travel Time: not recorded Miles: not recordedNotes: Woke up to a smoky sunrise. I had the best night’s sleep I’ve had in years. This is was the whole point of this trip: to untangle my burnout and reclaim sleep as one of my joys. I wrote about it in my journal when I woke up. I hope this wasn’t a fluke. Planned to replace the bolt that rattled loose from the crash bar, but instead discovered that it had actually severed off at the mount point. No fixing that on the road. Adjusted chain and moved on. Lunch at Mountains Walking Brewery in Bozeman. Rode up to Hyalite Reservoir. Pretty ride. Smoky still. Soaked in hot tub after dinner. Day 9 - North Yellowstone LoopDate: Wednesday 9/11/2024 Destination: Northern loop through Yellowstone National Park Travel Time: 9h 36m Miles: 272Notes: Did a day trip from Bozeman down through the northern loop in Yellowstone, entering at Mammoth and taking the scenic route through Paradise Valley. Saw elk, coyotes (I think), buffalo, and pronghorn. Pretty ride, but cold in places. Used heated grips again. Rode the loop through Mammoth Hot Springs (see video) at the end. Coffee at Tumbleweed Bookstore & Cafe in Gardiner. I kind of dig Gardiner. Good vibe. Had dinner at Mountains Walking Brewing. Rain and wind started. Lights flickered. Waited for rain to stop before riding back to the house. Power out at the house due to high winds. This does not bode well for tomorrow. Day 10 - Winter Weather in the ParksDate: Thursday 9/12/2024 Destination: Grand Teton National Park via West Yellowstone Pocatello, Idaho Travel Time: 5h 40m Miles: 201Notes: Today was supposed to be a gorgeous ride through Yellowstone into Grand Teton National Park, and camping at Signal Mountain CG in the park. The weather had other ideas. It was pouring rain (and cold) all the way to West Yellowstone from Bozeman. By the time I got to West Yellowstone I was getting severe winter weather warnings on my phone calling for up to 3 (three!!) inches of snow accumulating in the high passes in the park. It’s bad enough in a car, but that’s a disaster waiting to happen on a motorcycle. I parked my butt at Mountain Mama’s Cafe in West Yellowstone to warm up / dry off and decide what to do. I almost had myself convinced to push through when I realized that, even if I made it to the campground ok, I’d be setting up camp in the rain and I’d likely be miserable all night. Grand Teton would have to wait. From West Yellowstone it’s easy to bail west into Idaho and get away from the park weather and elevations. So that’s what I did. It was not a pleasant ride, though. I was in torrential downpours all the way to Idaho Falls. Arriving in Idaho Falls, I was exhausted and sure I could just find a room for the night. I dropped the bike at a roundabout (short-legged it coming to a stop; I knew it was going so I just rolled away). Guy behind me helped me pick it up. Then, there were no rooms because it was move in week for the two universities there (U of I, ISU). This would become a recurring theme. I rode further to Blackfoot. Still no rooms. I called ahead to Pocatello and got a room at a Red Lion there. I was never so happy to be off the bike. No pictures this day. I couldn’t even get the action camera to turn on. Day 11 - Craters of the Moon and EBR-1Date: Friday 9/13/2024 Destination: Craters of the Moon National Monument Travel Time: 4h 20m Miles: 124 Notes: I wasn’t sure what my destination would be today but my plan was to do a little nuclear tourism, see Craters of the Moon, and then go somewhere from there. My schedule and day-plan was thrown off by missing Grand Teton National Park and spending a night in Pocatello, which was not on the itinerary at all. Stopped in Atomic City. Not sure why; I was under the impression that Atomic City was the first city lit by nuclear engergy, but it was practically a ghost town. There are a few houses there, but as far as I could tell all of the business were shuttered. Except, maybe, for the race track; that looked like it might still get used. Arco, it turns out, is the city celebrated as the first in the world to be lit by nuclear energy. Nothing special about the town, but they do a nice job of making City Hall photo-worthy. Between Atomic City and Arco is EBR-1 (Experimental Breeder Reactor I) which was the world’s first breeder reactor. The EBR-1 exhibit was closed for the season, but in the lot next to it were some really interesting experimental nuclear heat-transfer jet engines that never made it out of the experimental phase (probably a good thing). Craters of the Moon is pretty small. If you don’t do any of the walks, it’s literally just a 30 minute road loop. Still, it was an unexpected surprise and delight. I had no idea what to expect but I was positively chuffed at the experience. I noticed that the campground had open sites so I inquired at the entry booth. As luck would have it, the whole campground is first come / first serve. I decided to set up for the night. It’s good to be done early and have some time to read and not stress about making distance. Day 12 - New Chain in Twin FallsDate: Saturday 9/14/2024 Destination: Battle Mountain, Nevada Travel Time: 8h 52m Miles: 335 Notes: Beautiful morning in Craters of the Moon. While I was breaking camp a parade of classic cars came into the park to drive the loop. I got a picture of one Pontiac down the road in Carey at a gas station. Carey ended up being an unplanned fork in the road for me. I discovered this morning that my chain was indeed stretching unevenly, and the oscillation I was feeling and hearing was the chain hum changing from a “loose” hum to a “tight” hum rapidly as the tight spot moved around the sprockets. I was supposed to continue west to Mountain Home and then south from there into Nevada. A very scenic route, according to my Butler map. But, between camp and the gas station I got pretty paranoid about the chain snapping at high speed, which, worst case, could lead to a fatal crash. So I called ahead to a few motorcycle dealers in Mountain Home (on my planned route) to see if they could take me in and replace the chain. No dice. This is the downside of having an obscure motorcycle from an obscure marque - no one wants to work on it. Making matters worse this is an Italian-designed bike built in China, a fact which causes many people to lose the ability to think clearly. “It’s Chinese junk!” Not so. Next. With Mountain Home out, I tried Twin Falls. My first call was to Adventure Motorsports, and the service manager there took me in with no hesitation. “How soon can you be here?” I didn’t get his name, but my hat’s off to him and his one tech working furiously on a Saturday to beat the 3pm closing time. He said during high season, they get about 15-20 out of town travelers per week who need something done, and they take them all in. I love to hear stuff like this. This shop is in it for the community. They have a nice showroom, too. With a quality new chain installed, I got a burrito and a MexiCoke at a Mexican place and went on my way. I made it to Battle Mountain, NV, where I decide to get a room. Tomorrow I rejoin my planned scenic route. Day 13 - Desert Mountains in NV, CADate: Sunday 9/15/2024 Destination: Grizzly Campground, Lake Davis (near Portola, CA) Travel Time: 7h Miles: 307 Notes: I love the northern Nevada landscape, and today’s ride didn’t disappoint. US Highway 50 is apparently known as “The Loneliest Highway” but everyone knows about it, so it’s not very lonely. However, after leaving Austin, NV headed west you can take Nevada Highway 722, which dips to the south and follows the old US 50 route. It was completely empty and the twisties through the passes were fun. Highly recommended. Stopped in Fallon for gas and to find a Micro SD card for the action camera. Walmart to the rescue. After Reno, I crossed into California and, I swear, it looks different. Norther California desert mountains are so beautiful. Camped at a nearly empty campground on Lake Davis (very end of the season). The host warned me rain was coming tomorrow. Day 14 - Unplanned Return HomeDate: Monday 9/16/2024 Destination: Summit Lake Campground, Lassen Volcanic National Park Portland, Oregon (Home) Travel Time: 10h 32m Miles: 538Notes: Last week, my mom went into the hospital for a fairly routine procedure. My brother went to Michigan to help out, as needed, and he went back home to Arizona after she returned home and everything seemed settled. This morning, while having coffee, I got a call that she’d gone back into the hospital with something that may or may not have been related to the procedure. It seemed like maybe things were ok, but maybe not. I decided the best thing to do was head home so that I was near an airport if I needed to fly out to Michigan to help out. I packed up camp and headed up US 395 toward home, via Klamath Falls. It was a pretty ride, but, once again, I found myself in rain most of the way to Klamath Falls. I was pretty beat by the time I got to Klamath Falls and figured I’d just find a hotel room, get a hot shower, and finish the ride tomorrow. But, once again, it was move-in week for the local university. Holiday Inn Express had a single room for $395. No thanks. Onward. I never hit rain again after Klamath Falls, and after turning west onto Oregon Hwy 58 and starting to lose elevation into the Willamette Valley, the temperature starting rising, which was welcome. Once I reached Eugene, there was no point in not just going all the way home, so that’s what I did. I got two pictures: one at camp before the call, and one at my last gas stop, an hour and twenty minutes from home, with the moon rising. A nice side effect of my early return home is that I was home for my birthday (tomorrow), so I had dinner with my kids and my wife, which was lovely. I did end up flying to Michigan the next day, and was there for a bit. The best part? I got to make some meals for my mom and step dad. Everything seems ok with my mom for now. Grand Teton, Lassen, and Crater Lake will be there, and now I have an excuse for another trip in the future.
Hoh to Port Angeles This is the third installment of my trip log of my first overnight trip with the new Benelli TRK502X, doing 7 nights / 8 days from Portland, up the Olympic Peninsula, over to Bellingham and then finally to Orcas Island. Day 4Planned Destination: Heart o’ the Hills Campground Actual Destination: Port Angeles Planned / Actual Accommodation: Camping / Roach Motel Planned / Actual Miles: 215ish / 204 Planned Route: Leave Hoh, gas in Forks, then out to La Push and Rialto Beach. Then out to Cape Flattery before heading back toward Port Angeles along the Strait of Juan de Fuca and starting up the road toward Hurricane Ridge. Route NotesI broke camp at 10:40 after some socializing with various friendly camp neighbors drawn to the romantic notions of traveling by motorcycle. I enjoy it to be honest; I’m doing something most people just dream about. Of course, there are other people doing things I only dream about (traveling the world by motorcycle, for example); someone’s always got greener grass than yours. Today’s ride was all pavement and was mostly about covering miles to get to interesting destinations. I’d never been to La Push and wanted to go because it was a surf destination my brother (who used to live in Port Angeles) had talked trying but never did. La Push the town is pretty scrappy, but the beach there is amazing. It was raining and foggy, which added to the mysteriousness. After La Push, I backtracked and then headed to the other side of the Quillayute River to Rialto beach. I almost didn’t do this part; it was raining and the riding wasn’t the best and I didn’t know what to expect. I’m really glad I went, though. Rialto Beach is gorgeous. Somehow, I didn’t get any pictures. There was a park ranger there answering questions and there were lots of people. It’s popular starting point for backpackers. Public restroom was a plus, too. After walking Rialto Beach for a bit, I headed back to 101 and then up to 112 and headed west along the Strait of Juan de Fuca toward Neah Bay and Cape Flattery. Still raining on and off, but not as bad as it was out toward La Push. As we’re in the middle of the pandemic, a lot of towns in Washington that are on native land are closed to outsiders and/or non-residents. For the most part, that hadn’t been an issue, but Neah Bay was the exception. At about Seal Rock on HWY 112, there was a sign indicating that Neah Bay (and presumably the rest of the Makah Reservation) was open to residents only. I’m sure I could have ridden through without issue, but I’m not interested in being a dick so I turned around and started the ride back toward Port Angeles. I’ll have to come by this way some other time to see Cape Flattery. The ride to Port Angeles included obligatory stops at Salt Creek (where I’ve surfed with my brother several times) and the WWII gun bunkers at what use to be Camp Hayden. Once in Port Angeles I just rode around looking for a cheap-looking motel that wasn’t too far out of town. Lodging NotesMotels were surprisingly full; there was a mountain biking event in town and it drew a lot of cheapskates (not unlike myself). I ended up at the All View Motel, which was a tad on the sketchy side. Not cheap, though; I think I paid $90 for the night. Let’s just say I did not touch the carpet with my bare feet, and I checked all the way to the foot of the sheets to make sure they had been changed and were not covered in foot lint (they’d been changed). All that said, my back was killing me from three nights camping on a thin air pad and I needed a real bed; I was happy to find a motel. I had dinner out on the back deck at The Rail, made some plans to meet up with a friend in the morning, came back to the motel, plugged in devices for charging, and got a fantastic night’s sleep…finally.
South Beach to Hoh Rainforest This is the second installment of my trip log of my first overnight trip with the new Benelli TRK502X, doing 7 nights / 8 days from Portland, up the Olympic Peninsula, over to Bellingham and then finally to Orcas Island. Day 3Planned Destination: Forks or La Push Actual Destination: Hoh Rainforest Campground Planned / Actual Accommodation: Camping Planned / Actual Miles: 100 / 111 Planned Route: Follow the Oly Ride Guide Day Three route published by ADV Pulse, and camp somewhere near Forks or La PushRoute NotesAfter breaking camp I headed south to Queets to get gas and then back up US 101 to the store at Kalaloch to buy a sandwich for lunch for the day and pick up a few beers for the evening. I’d actually had trouble finding a place that was open and that sold beer the night before, so I was going into this day better prepared. Today’s route was planned to be basically all of the Day 3 section of the ADV Pulse’s Olympic Peninsula route. No specific place planned to camp. I’d just find something when I was done for the day. The day started out well, and I got my first introduction to gravel roads and gravel two track on the TRK. After my experience on the WABDR on the Quota (which I haven’t written about, but I crashed hard; the Quota is in the garage patiently waiting to be rehabbed now), I was taking things slow and easy. The TRK isn’t that much lighter than the Quota, even though it’s half a liter smaller engine-wise, and I’m not sure yet if I can pick it up, so I didn’t want to get too excited and get myself into trouble again. Plus, I’m running the 80/10 Metzler Tourance tires that came on the bike; slow and easy. I did build some confidence, but I never pushed hard. I thought about this a lot as I was riding actually. I mean, I could have pushed a lot harder. Why wasn’t I? The answer is simple. For me, adventure motorcycling (well, life in general) is about making moments. It’s about stringing together as many great memories as I can while I still can. I’ll remember the great views I “discover” along the way. I’ll remember the interesting people I meet. I’ll remember the trip. But I won’t remember if I pushed hard on any given day or not. I just don’t care about that anymore. Plus, when riding alone, you’re alone if you get into trouble. Better to go easy and get there in one piece.I did run into one issue along the way; the C-2000 road was closed. It appeared that my planned route was closed for the season, which hadn’t been noted in the ride guide. So, I backtracked to the Hoh Mainline Road and rejoined the planned route where Mainline meets Maple Creek Rd. I discovered later, upon closer inspection, that I’d actually missed a turn off of C-2000 (onto a road that isn’t labeled on the map) just before the road closure. Not sure how I rode past that turnoff twice without seeing it. So be it. I have an excuse to go back and do that again. It was all still great riding. Camp NotesIt’s been a while since I camped on the ground on a thin air pad, and it wasn’t really agreeing with me anymore; I hand’t slept well the last two nights. By the time I got to the Hoh Visitor Center I was tired and ready to be done. The Hoh Campground is reservation only, and there were no sites available when I was planning the trip. But, there was a sign at the visitor center beckoning visitors to inquire at the campground desk if there were any camp sites available, so that’s what I did. I lucked out; there were several sites available. I got a great site with a somewhat secluded tent space (though I worried about tent flooding as it was several feet lower than the surrounding land; fortunately there was no rain). I met a young couple who were actually sleeping in their car. Ouch. They didn’t really know how to camp. She was from Texas but had recently moved to Eugene, Oregon, and he was from England somewhere. She said she was an artist and she’d never done anything like this before. In the morning, she came over and asked if I had a way to heat water so they could have coffee. I obliged. The guy next to me also came over in the morning and offered me coffee. Motorcycle travel really brings out the friendliness from people in RV trailers. Gear NotesI had noticed a store on the road up to the Hoh visitor center. I rode back to see if they had any food, as I was running low. I hadn’t really been thinking ahead and replenishing food before I needed it, and I was worried that I’d run out. The store had several freeze dried meals, so I picked up something for dinner and some scrambled eggs for breakfast, leaving the food I already had for the next day. I didn’t have a ton of room for food as I was storing all food (and smelly items) in a small Bare Boxer bear canister from Gossamer Gear. Since I wasn’t running with hard case luggage, I felt I needed a way to keep the rodents (and bears) at bay. The Bare Boxer has room for two days of dinners and breakfasts (freeze dried) plus coffee, some extra oat meal, energy bars, my toothbrush & paste, the dish soap, DEET, and my Whisperlite stove. It worked out quite well the entire trip, actually. Anything that might attract rodents or bears went in the canister, and the canister fit nicely at the bottom of my left-side Wolfman 20L rolie. As noted above, sleeping on the ground on a thin air pad doesn’t do it for me anymore. My back killed me on the third night, and I did not sleep well at all. I have identified the solution, however. The Helinox Lite Cot. It packs smaller than my air pad and is now on my Christmas wish list. The only downside would be cold weather camping; will need a thin foam pad to provide insulation for temps below freezing, likely.
Trip Report: Portland to Olympic Peninsula to Orcas Island If you follow me on Instagram, you know I purchased a 2021 Benelli TRK502X in July. I just completed my first overnight trip with the new Benelli, doing 7 nights / 8 days from Portland, up the Olympic Peninsula, over to Bellingham and then finally to Orcas Island. The plan was to camp most or all nights until my last two nights on Orcas, where I had a small waterfront cottage rented right in Orcas Village, where the ferry lands. After three nights of camping, however, I realized I can’t really do the “thin air pad on the ground” thing anymore (I’d be 50 in a week, after all!). My back was killing me and I was not sleeping well, making the following day’s ride less enjoyable at best, and probably also less safe. So, instead of 5 nights of camping, I did three and then found a cheap motel in Port Angeles, figuring I’d camp the next night and then do my two nights in the cottage. As it happened, most of the next day was rain and the forecast was rain all night and into the morning, so I ended up in a hotel in Bellingham to avoid setting up and breaking down camp in the rain. I can do it. Have done it. But if money is no object and there is lodging available, why be miserable? The route I planned was intended to get me familiar with the TRK’s manners while allowing for the fact that I’d be riding solo and really didn’t want to get into trouble that I couldn’t get myself out of. The 502X, despite being a 500cc bike, is not light. Curb weight is listed as 518 lbs (dry is 470). So, I favored two lane highways, but included some backcountry single lane roads that were a mix of pavement and gravel. Here’s my trip report. Day 1Planned / Actual Destination: Cape Disappointment State Park Planned / Actual Accommodation: Camping Planned / Actual Miles: 201 / 212 Planned Route: Tigard to Seaside via the Nestucca River Backcountry Byway; Seaside to Cape Disappointment via US 101. Route NotesI let Google guide me to Carlton from Tigard (home base). On Gaia GPS, I had planned a route that followed the Nestucca River Backcountry Byway from Carlton to Beaver. Unfortunately, there was a detour after McGuire Reservoir (the body of water at the left edge of the right third of the map above) that took me well south down to Bell Mountain along Bald Mountain Rd before heading back north again and rejoining the Nestucca River Rd near Thune Mouintain. Basically, I missed at least half of the scenic route I was hoping for. I wasn’t sure how far the closure went on Nestucca River Rd, and I was still getting the hang of using Gaia to both see where I was, and plan where I wanted to go…so I just followed the signs for the detour. The detour was nice, but it wasn’t the Nestucca River . Most of the route was paved single lane forest road, with a small section of gravel thrown in before the detour. Once to Beaver, I just rode south on 101 until I saw the signs for Pacific City. Lunch at Pelican Brewery. (I’m not a fan of their new orange grate picnic table outdoor seating.) After lunch, I rode straight up 101 through Astoria and across to Ilwaco, where I had a reservation to camp at Cape Disappointment. Great spot, right up against the beach (with some trees and brush to break the wind). Camp NotesCape Disappointment was filled mostly with campers pulled by pickup trucks, and my site was nestled between two of them. Most people were friendly. The guy on the north side came over right away to ask about the bike. He’d never seen or heard of Benelli. The guy on the south side came over several times. It’s like he kept looking for excuses to come over and talk more. He even offered me dinner (red beans and rice, with sausage). I accepted. The next morning, he came over with pictures of places I should see in Olympic National Park. The wife of the guy on the north side came over just before I departed for the day’s travels. “Looks like a lot of fun. Nice bike. Reminds me of when we used to backpack. Now we have this thing,” (she gestured to her trailer). The site itself was great. It was wooded, and sheltered from the beach winds with a thin band of trees and brush, plus a wall of driftwood you had to navigate through and over to get to the beach. The beach itself was gorgeous. Gear NotesI’d read that my trusty MSR Whisperlite Internationale (purchased in 1991) can run on unleaded gasoline just as easily as white gas. Since this kind of moto touring is about going as light and simply as possible, I figured I’d just run unleaded gas instead of bringing white gas. This way, I’d have 1.5 liters of spare gas plus whatever was in my stove bottle in the event that I ran out of gas on the road. Seemed like a great idea. The reality, as I found out, is that gasoline burns very dirty compared to white gas. It lit, no problem, but the stove was left covered in black soot after a single burn and everything ends up smelling like gasoline. I never realized how much I’d want to smell white gas. So, next trip I’ll ditch the gasoline and go back to white gas. Also, I threw out my deodorant and body soap before bed. Because I’m using soft bags (not hard aluminum cases) all of my food, toothpaste, and other smelly items need to fit into a small bear canister that fits inside one of my soft bags (keeps rodents out, even if there are no bears). To save space, the stove needs to fit in the bear canister, too. The deodorant and soap simply didn’t fit. So, off they went. Besides, I use Dr. Bronner’s as my dish soap. If I found a shower, I could use that. Day 2Planned / Actual Destination: South Beach Campground Planned / Actual Accommodation: Camping Planned / Actual Miles: 231 / 219 Planned Route: Cape Disappointment up around the Long Beach Peninsula, to South Beach Campground via Raymond, Grayland, Aberdeen, Moclips, Lake Quinault (I skipped the loop around the Long Beach Peninsula)Route NotesToday was a very nice ride. Two lane highway all the way, with a good chunk of it along the coast. I had planned to do a loop up the Long Beach Peninsula, but decided to skip it to save time after spending some time in the morning exploring Cape Disappointment State Park. My destination, South Beach Campground, is first come / first serve and I wasn’t sure how busy it would be, so I didn’t want to arrive too late. Finding lunch turned out to be a problem. I was avoiding sketchy looking places because the mask wearing seemed to be a problem. I wasn’t looking for conflict. Along the way I discovered the town of Seabrook, which appears to be a vacation shopping mall built specifically to separate you both from reality and your money. Not my kind of place, though I did look to see if there was a place I could eat. Everything looked too fancy for me to roll up in my full moto suit and boots. Where’s a good taco truck when you need one? I ended up eating in a gas station convenience store (You and I Market) parking lot in Pacific Beach, just up the road from Seabrook with a bunch of day laborers picking up their afternoon tallboys. Gear NotesFor day two, I used Gaia GPS’s route planning feature to set my path to South Beach. It’s quite easy once you figure out the combination of gestures and long-presses (I needed a YouTube video). One caveat is that you either need a data connection (Wi-Fi or mobile data) to be able to do it (if you want the route to snap to a road or trail, which is quite handy), or you need to have downloaded all the map areas and route planning data ahead of time. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a problem, but I had brought along two phones: my iPhone (which is my regular phone) for pictures and communication (it would ride in my chest pocket); and Goggle Pixel 3 I’d purchased to use only for navigation (it would be mounted to the handlebars). I don’t have data for the Pixel. This turned out to be a problem because I hadn’t downloaded all the map areas and route planning data for my trip onto the Pixel (whereas I had downloaded it all to the iPhone). So, I switched to navigating (still with Gaia GPS) on my iPhone and taking pictures with the Pixel for this leg of the trip, hoping I’d get good Wi-Fi at some point which would allow me to download the data I needed onto the Pixel so I could switch back. This single day of using the iPhone as my navigation device fried the camera. Two days later, Apple published this. I still really like having two phones on a trip. (I also have a Spot X satellite communicator for off-grid communication.) It’s nice to have one in the pocket that can come out for a quick picture. It’s also nice to have an emergency backup. It would be nice to have a data plan for the nav phone. Short of that, I just need to be better about downloading map areas and routing data ahead of time (and not using my iPhone for nav). Camp NotesSouth Beach Campground is right on the water, and it’s first-come, first-served. The weather was good, and I felt lucky to get a spot. There were several spots available as it turned out. As I was riding around trying to choose which spot to take, there was a couple with a pickup camper waving me in next to them. This was a first. “We ride!” they exclaimed. So that’s where I set up camp. The guy’s name was Steve Miller. He sells CBD products online. Seems on brand. They were an amazingly friendly couple, actually. Both ride BMW’s and Steve, especially, was really curious and enthusiastic about the TRK. The bike was really turning out to be a conversation starter. He came over several different times while I was setting up camp and making dinner to ask questions or share info about riding groups he’s a part of. It was really quite welcome. In the morning they gifted me some carrot zucchini bread for breakfast and then broke camp and pulled out well before I did.
Test Route: Tualatin River NWR Loop One of the benefits of having postponed this spring’s Nevada BDR trip with my brother Eric is that I’ve got time to work out details I hadn’t spent much time on, like how best to plan routes of my own, getting more comfortable with action cameras (currently I have a single GoPro, but I’m looking at others), and developing a video editing style that I can apply to trips both short and long. Last Friday (my forced COVID day off from my day job) I took a quick spin on the Quota to the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge and then looping back via farm country. All in all, it was about an hour or so. Along the way I experimented with a couple of mounting positions for the Hero 7 camera while also working out the best way to control it. I liked the phone control, but, of course, you can’t be on a navigation app and the GoPro app at the same time. I do have a Garmin Montana, but it’s a bit much sometimes when compared with how easy it is to use Google Maps (if you can get Maps to do what you want). The MapI didn’t actually plan this route ahead, but when I got home I mapped out what I had done in Google My Maps and used that map as an anchor for the video. Goole Maps has its shortcomings and the jury is out, for me anyway, on relying on Google Maps to navigate any serious adventure travel. If you leave the road system, it’s out. Period. But, there are a lot of “roads” that are plenty challenging and fun for big adventure bikes, which is what keeps me wondering if maybe it could be up for the job. I’ve already been using My Maps to research and plan future off-highway routes (gravel, dirt, two-track) that are all public roads. There’s an embarrassment of riches close enough to me for day rides, starting with Tillamook State Forest. Those rides will become the topics of future videos (a series!). And through those rides I’m sure I’ll develop a more researched opinion on what Google Maps really can be use for (and what it can’t). The VideoI had a lot of fun putting this together with iMovie, and I think I’ve hit on a style and format that I like. The idea for this video series would be to always publish a map and the video at the same time, rounded out with a blog post. If you wanted, you could go do the ride yourself. Or, you can just enjoy the video. Either way, let me know what you think!
COVID-19 Consolation Ride Well, as with so many other things, our planned ride on the Nevada BDR has been postponed. Not sure when we’ll do it now, but after talking, Eric (my brother) and I decided the best thing would be for us not to do the trip. Partly because it seemed irresponsible for me to travel from Portland to Bullhead City, and then for us to stop at stores and gas stations along the way, being contagion vectors from our respective cities. And partly because the likelihood of the services we’d need along the way (food, gas) closing up shop seems to be going up by the day. So, with much grumbling, I cancelled my vacation time. Of course, all my stuff is still sitting out in the living room, looking like I’m about ready to leave on a trip. Can’t quite bring myself to unpack it all and put it away yet. On the plus side, the cancellation created an opportunity to start a new friendship, consummated with a “get to know you” ride into Tillamook State Forest here in Oregon. My fiancé’s work colleague rides a BMW R1200GS, and she’d been saying for a while that we should meet and ride. No time like the present, I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It’s relatively easy to maintain social distancing on motorcycles. Heck, we couldn’t even get our Bluetooth helmet coms to work. So, Ned rode to my driveway in Tigard, then we headed out HWY 217 to US 26 to HWY 6 to the eastern-most OHV stop in the state forest. I failed to turn on tracking on any of my devices that do detailed tracks (I’m still getting used to all this new equipment) but we mostly stuck to the legal gravel roads and two track at Browns Camp OHV Area. At one point, we did peel off onto a 4x4 trail (noted as Powerline 004 on maps), but quickly turned around as neither of was was really up for what was feeling like a very technical ride all of a sudden. I’d like to go back and do it at some point, but yesterday was not the day. I will say this, though: although I wasn’t up for that trail yesterday, I continue to be amazed at how sure-footed a 600+ pound motorcycle can feel. There were whoops, rocks, roots, puddles, hills and sharp switchbacks in the short distance we did on Powerline 004…and I felt like the Quota was up for it. Well, except for the not-yet-fabricated skid plate. Bashing the bare sump would have been bad. Here’s a short video of one nice, docile section of the ride yesterday. It was a gorgeous day, and it was nice to stop thinking about the news for a bit.
Getting Closer Well, time sure does pass quickly. I’ve been busy making lists, buying gear, making mods, and planning how I’m going to pack for the last few months. All of a sudden, the Quota’s maiden BDR trip is only a few short weeks away. Here’s a rundown of what I’ve been up to. HeadersI finally got the old headers off and replaced them with new stainless steel headers from Mistral, to match the previously installed stainless under-belly two-into-one Y pipe. They look so much better, and the sound seems a bit nicer, too. Or maybe I just want them to sound nicer. I’m ok either way, really. The new exhaust flanges help clean up the look, too, though I think they’d look better in black. Fluid Changes and Rear Drive SealChanging fluids on a Moto Guzzi is a three-part operation: Oil change Transmission gear oil change Final drive gear oil change In addition to changing all three, I also replaced the large outer seal on the final drive which I believe to have been the source of some oil spatters collecting on the drive-side of the rear rim. Tubeless ConversionI sent my rear wheel out to Woody’s Wheel Works in Denver to be converted to run without an inner tube. In fact, the UPS guy just dropped it off as I was writing this. The real benefit here is in the repairing of flats in the field. With an inner tube, you have to take the wheel off, break the bead, get the tire half off, pull out the tube and repair (or replace) it, then do all that in reverse. It’s a pain. With a tubeless tire, assuming the rim is not damaged, you just pull out the offending nail (or whatever), insert a plug, and re-inflate. I opted not to do the front for now, since Woody’s really doesn’t want you to (you have to sign a waiver). Supposedly, 80% of flats off highway are in the rear tire. I’m banking on that being true. Having said that, I’m sure I’ll be posting pictures of a flat front tire on the trail. Since I’ll have a tube up front and a tubeless in the back, I’ll be carrying a flat tire kit from BestRest Products that covers both. I’ll also be carrying a spare tube for the rear tire. Why, you ask? Well, the one down side to going tubeless is that if the rim is bent, you cannot inflate it as the tire won’t seat. But a tube will still hold air, and thus inflate the tire, even if the rim is bent, meaning you can hobble out of the backcountry to a place where you can get service. So, the spare tube is essentially a “get out of jail free” card should something happen to the rim. Here’s hoping I don’t need it. Spare FuelI struggled with how to carry spare fuel. I looked at Rotopax solutions. I looked at the Giant Loop Gas Bag. Rotopax was quickly dismissed because I didn’t have a good place to mount them. I seriously considered the Gas Bag. Who doesn’t want to say “there’s a gas bag on the bike, and it isn’t me?” At the end of the day, I could’t visualize how it would work in conjunction with the waterproof duffel I plan to have strapped across the pillion seat. After some more research, I went with two 1.5 liter fuel bottles from Primus, paired with DrySpec bottle mounting brackets from Twisted Throttle. Where, exactly, to mount them was another challenge. I thought I might be able to attach them to the backs of the hard bags I’m using (OEM Hepco & Becker bags), but the bags are too rounded (convex) to get a good solid mount without messing with spacers. Eventually, my attention turned to the flat surface on the “inboard” side of each bag. I’m pretty happy with where they ended up. They’re out of the way and protected and they don’t seem to interfere with pillion passenger legs. I am a little worried about the fact that they’re mounted almost horizontally, since that changes the forces being applied to the plastic they’re attached to. When mounted as designed, the fasteners are vertical, which means sheer forces are all you have to worry about. They way I mounted them, there are also lever or twist forces at play against the mounting bolts, which transfers to the mounting surface. I used very large rubber and steel sealing washers on the inside of the bags; I’m hoping they will support and distribute the additional forces widely enough that it’ll be ok. I’ll have to keep an eye on it. SPOT MountThe SPOT X is a bit too bulky to carry attached to you or in a pocket (I like my ribs), and the antenna needs to be exposed to the sky in order to function as a trip tracker. So, I decided to mount it to the bars up by the phone mount. RAM makes a nice mount specifically for it. The only downside is that, should you get separated from your bike and be unable to get to it, you might as well not have the SPOT device at all. You can’t call for help if you can’t reach the device. Be that as it may, I’ve decided to go this route. I may get a separate, standalone rescue beacon in the future so that I can have something always on me even if I’m down in the bottom of a ravine and the bike isn’t. GPS & MountYes, I decided to buy a GPS. When I first started planning this trip, I was going to use Maps.me for navigation. The ethos for this bike project is “you don’t need the latest adventure bike to do serious adventure travel.” I’m still sticking to that ethos. But, I convinced myself that relying only on my iPhone (and a paper map, of course) for navigation wasn’t a good idea. It becomes a single point of failure. So, the plan now is to use both in tandem, and compare the experience each provides. I’m curious to see if, in the end, I really could do with just Maps.me and forego the expensive and somewhat cumbersome GPS. I opted for the Garmin Montana 680 for a couple of reasons. First, I felt like the GPS units targeted to the ADV Moto segment were actually too much. Too many features, too little battery life, not enough utility outside of moto travel. I wanted something simpler that could be useful for a lot of activities. The Montana 680 is ruggedized, waterproof, has fantastic battery life, and receives both GPS and GLONASS satellite signals to minimize dark spots. No opinion on it yet. I’ll let you know how it works out in the field. I got the AMPS rugged mount Garmin sells to go with it. It holds it securely, and charges as you go. Skid PlateI hired a guy named Trevor (this guy) to custom fab a skid plate. He came over once to do some measuring and make some templates. I’m waiting with bated breath for the finished design, fab, and final installation. I’ve only got two more weekends at home before heading south for the start of the Nevada BDR trip with my brother. Time is running out. It won’t be the end of the world if it doesn’t get done in time, but I’ll be bummed. Fingers crossed. Edit: I heard from Trevor. Unfortunately for me, he’s got a big architectural project that is growing bigger than anticipated and taking up the time that had been planned to finish my small project. Can’t fault the guy…he knows where the money is (and it’s not in my skid plate). So, it looks like I’ll be hitting the Nevada BDR without a skid plate. Honestly, I don’t think it’ll be an issue. I’ll just need to be extra vigilant when choosing my lines. That’s all for now. Gotta go put that wheel back on.
State of the Quota, pt. Two I did not sleep well last night. Sometimes my brain picks up a thread and runs away, taking with it as hostage any hope I had for sleep. Sometimes the brain thread is work stress related. Sometimes it’s born of anticipation or excitement for something I’m working on. Last night, my brain was on about moto camping and the upcoming mods I’m planning for the Nevada BDR trip this spring. Not a bad thing to be on about. Still, sleep would have been nice. In my previous post I outlined what I know of the technical history of the 2000 Moto Guzzi Quota 1100ES (or, a V11 Quota in standard Guzzi parlance) I’ll be riding, including mods I’ve done in the two-ish years I’ve owned it. March is feeling a whole lot closer now than it was when this ride plan was hatched. Maybe that’s why my brain is ramping up the anticipatory noise. Mods & Repairs to ComeSo, what’s left to be done before we go? Skid Plate / Sump Guard The biggest (most challenging) item on the list is acquiring and fitting an aluminum skid plate. Quotas did not come with skid plates when they rolled off the factory floor. It’s unclear to me if anyone ever manufactured an after-market piece. If they did then, they don’t now. The oil sump on the Quota hangs way down below the frame rails; it’s entirely unprotected. And, that whole sump pan unbolts and comes off every time you change the oil. So, I’m hoping to find someone who can design and fabricate something that is both protective and relatively easy to remove and re-install. Changing the oil is a chore enough, already. I really don’t want to make it harder. I’ve spent a fair amount of time scouring Google images and the Adventure Rider Quota thread for photos of Quotas with skid plates that I could use as reference material in coming up with a design. The photo at the top is the best example I’ve seen. It’s a nice wrap-around basket design that protects both the sump and the pipes (as well as the under-belly exhaust crossover) and appears to be fairly easy to remove and re-install. It attaches at mounting tabs that have been welded on to the frame, at the front and sides, in very accessible locations. The only thing I can’t really tell is where the end of the long underbelly section mounts. I’ve got a lead on a guy who does custom m/c fab work who said he’s potentially interested in this project. I’ve sent him the photo for reference. We’ll see where it goes. Mistral Header Pipes This one is more cosmetic and is something I’ve been meaning to do since I got the bike. The original Quota exhaust system has a crossover between the headers placed low and forward, in front of the sump. Aside from being located in a terrible place to route an exhaust pipe (see above about rocks) they also have a tendency to crack from vibration. One of the previous owners of this Quota cut the crossover pipe off where it attached to each header pipe and welded patches in place to close the resulting holes. Apparently it looked like crap, hence all the header wrap you see on there now. I’m not really a fan of unnecessary header wrap in the first place. And this stuff was put on with non-stainless safety wire, which is now rusting away and allowing the wrap to come loose and flap about. Off it comes. Mistral, who makes the stainless under-belly crossover I installed to replace the original equipment middle muffler, also makes a set of stainless header pipes, sans crossover, for the Quota. These are shipped over from Italy on order (they may even be made-to-oder…not sure, but it takes 8 weeks), so I’ll be getting my order in soon and installing them before the trip. General Maintenance & Prep These are general maintenance items that aren’t necessarily related to the trip, but need to be done. Replace “big” rear drive seal (there are two, this one’s leaking and covering the rim with gear oil) Replace all fuel hoses (the ends are drying out…it’s time) Change oil Change transmission oil (Guzzis have a dry clutch and a separate transmission) Change final drive oil (it’s shaft drive; no chain) Set proper valve clearance Replace rear tire tube with heavy duty MX tube (did this on the front already) Set proper rear suspension sag, fully loaded (more on that here) That’s pretty much it. I’ll keep you posted on the skid plate project. I’m most excited about that. Future posts will also deal with gear, luggage, packing lists, and to-do lists. I’m a list maker and I’ve broken my pre-trip to-do list down into four groups: Things to do months before the trip (like, now)Things to do weeks before the tripThings to do days before the tripAnd things to do the day before or immediately before on the day of the start of the trip More on all that soon.
State of the Quota, pt. One If you’ve read my first post or the About section, you know I’m planning on riding a Moto Guzzi Quota 1100ES on the first several sections of the Nevada BDR (along with my brother on his KLR 650) in spring 2020. There’s a lot of prep to do before then, but let’s start with the State of the Quota. The bike in question was made in Mandello del Lario, Italy at the historic Moto Guzzi factory. Moto Guzzi, established in 1921, is the oldest European motorcycle works in continuous production. The Quota 1100ES was made from 1998 to 2001 but was only sent to the United States, in very small quantities, for the 1999 and 2000 model years. I can’t find a definitive source, but the consensus seems to be that only about 130 units total were sent to the US. The one I own is model year 2000 and is the only one I’ve ever seen in real life. It’s probably a safe bet that only half of those original US-bound bikes are still on the road. It’s a very small club. The good news, though, is that, although the frame and body components are entirely unique, the motor and drivetrain are assembled from common Guzzi parts and are easy to come by. That said, it would really be smart to buy a second Quota as a parts donor bike. Some things, like shift levers and body parts, are getting harder to find (and much more expensive). The club is getting smaller. I acquired my Quota in the spring of 2018 from my buddy Patrick in Seattle who collects, builds and barters all things Moto Guzzi. I’m not sure how or why he had it. He’s not an “adventure” rider. I think he just thought it was cool. Which it is. The bike needed a bit of work when I bought it and part of the deal was that we’d do that work together, in his garage, before I trailered it back home to Portland. So, over the course of a weekend, we replaced a head that had a stripped out exhaust stud with a spare Patrick had laying around (see note above about collecting and bartering), swapped out the middle muffler for straight-through Y-pipe, changed the fluids, and adjusted the valves. Sounds all very simple, but there was a hiccup. After installing the replacement head and moving on to reassembly and connection of the accessory components we discovered that there was no place in the new head for the head temp sensor, which is used by the electronic fuel injection (EFI) system. In the original head, there’s a threaded bore into which the threaded end of the brass sensor unit is screwed. No such bore on the donor head. After some calling around to Patrick’s Moto Guzzi mechanic friends, it was decided that the brass heat sink of the temp sensor simply needs to be in contact with the head somewhere and that would provide enough thermal transfer to give the EFI the engine temp info it needs to adjust fuel delivery properly. So, Patrick drilled some small holes into the cooling fins on the inboard side of the head and lashed the temp sensor assembly to the head sideways, brass to aluminum. It seems to work. It’s been working for two years. All the same it’s not like me to jury-rig something like this, and it bugs me constantly. Even more so now that I’ve admitted my mechanical transgression publicly. You’ll note in a later post that I have stainless safety wire on my packing list…and you’ll know why. With that out of the way, here’s a catalog of what’s been done to date and the current state of the Quota. Mods & Repairs To Date Electrical Battery (upgraded to Odyssey AGM) Stator (replaced failing unit)Regulator / Rectifier (retrofit a Drag Specialties Harley Davidson part less finicky about AGM batteries) Headlight (retrofit an MZ Skorpion head - the original is dangerously anemic) Riding / “see me” lights (added)Voltage meter (added to dash) Mechanical Right-side head (replaced with donor)Head temp sensor (bastardized, see above) Middle muffler (replaced with Mistral Y-pipe)Front crank seal (replaced) Exhaust crossover removed, headers wrapped (done by previous owner, these always crack) Running Gear Rear wheel rim (replaced with Sun Rims wheel from a wrecked Quota, found on eBay; the original Excel rears are crack-prone)Tires (Avon Trekriders 50/50 adventure sport)Pinned shift actuator lever to shaft (it kept falling off while I was riding!)AccessoriesUSB charge portPhone mount (Perfect Squeeze from Hondo Garage)Tool tube (from Agri Supply)Barkbusters Heated grips (added by previous owner) The bike also has OEM Hepco+Becker Moto Guzzi hard bags which, in my opinion, are really made for road travel. I’m considering whether to use them on Nevada BDR trip. Leaning toward no; the mounting hardware makes a good platform for soft luggage, though. Next post we’ll look at the to-do and wish lists heading into Nevada.
A Plan Begins to Form I’m 48. Let’s get that out of the way. Since I turned 40, I’ve committed myself to the idea that experiences lived now are more valuable than dreams hoped for in the future. I don’t know if I’ll ever retire. But I do know that I’ve not regretted any of the trips or adventures I’ve undertaken in this lifetime. This will be the story of the latest. With luck, it won’t be the last. I got my first motorcycle (a Honda CT 70) when I was ten years old. Some might say that was the beginning of the end. For me, it was simply the beginning. When I was 19, I rode a Yamaha XT 250 from Plymouth, Michigan to San Diego and back in four weeks. That trip planted a seed that has grown over the decades into a lust for adventure that I haven’t been able to shake. Married life, fatherhood, and a young career changed my focus, for better and for worse, away from motorcycling. By the time my first daughter was born 16 years ago, I’d sold my last motorcycle (a 1989 BMW R100GS). It didn’t get replaced. At 40, the itch for adventure became overwhelming. My marriage was falling apart. My father, who was 50 when I was born, was needing more and more of my time and attention as he aged and insisted on living independently. My brother, Eric, from whom I’d grown quite distant over the years due to our seven year age difference, had re-emerged as a primary familial relationship as we’d begun to discover how important your only sibling is as your parents grow to an age where you simply can’t deny that the end is nigh. It started with surfing. I decided, at 40 and three quarters, that I needed to learn to surf before I turned 41. So I texted my brother: “I want to lean to surf. Let’s take lessons.” “I’m in!” he texted back, with no hesitation. For a few years, that was what we did together. Mostly off the coast of Oregon and at Salt Creek, Washington, on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. I did some on my own, too. I rented a board (and a VW camper) in Newquay, UK, and surfed the Cornish Coast. I did the same on Maui. To this day, I try to surf at least once any time I’m in a new place. Sayulita, Mexico was my last “new spot.” Then Eric got a sailboat. For a few summers that was what we did together (with some surfing mixed in). Every free weekend I’d drive up from Portland to Port Angeles and we’d work on his boat, a 16 foot Prindle he’d named Eldra in honor of our now-passed father, until we could finally launch it. I won’t tell you about how I capsized it the first time he handed me the mainsheet and hiking stick. Suffice it to say we learned how to right it, quick. It’s several years on now and Eric is living in Arizona, 15 miles from the start of the Nevada BDR. He’s got a nice (too nice) KLR 650 begging for abuse, and I am now the latest owner of a 2000 Moto Guzzi Quota 1100 ES, a bike I never knew I wanted that, in the two years I’ve owned it, has become unquestionably the best bike I’ve ever owned. Two adventure bikes and a home base a stone’s throw from the start of a spring-weather BDR? These plans practically make themselves. At the end of March, Eric and I are planning to ride the southern sections of the Nevada BDR, from Oatman, Arizona to Tonopah, Nevada, stopping when the snow pack forces us to. This blog will journal my prep leading up to the trip as well as our days on the trail.