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.

Headers

I 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.

Mistral stainless steel headers

They already don’t look this clean. They’ve darkened up with heat.

Fluid Changes and Rear Drive Seal

Changing 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.

Final drive

Gear oil changed. New seal in. Just waiting for a wheel coming in from Denver.

Tubeless Conversion

I 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 Fuel

I 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 Mount

The 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.

Everything in its SPOT

Was pleasantly surprised to find this SPOT X-specific mount. It’s an oddly shaped device that doesn’t really work with phone mounts.

GPS & Mount

Yes, 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.

Garmin AMPS rugged mount

Wired in and ready to go.

Skid Plate

I 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.

Trevor the fab guy

Taking some initial measurements. Visualizing the mounting locations and methods. I’m actually pretty excited about what he described. I just hope it’s ready before the trip.

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.