What was that?!?

When you hear a pop like a rock hitting your swingarm or panier, pull over and check it out. It might just be something important, but isn't everything on a motorcycle important?

The Triumph shop in Eugene was hosting a group ride to Steamboat Inn for lunch last Sunday so I rode down to join in. I scheduled to meet a new riding buddy Dave and his Bonneville enroute in Monroe and since we had time, I took him down a few backroads to Eugene instead of the long straight boring way. We met another riding friend and regular Saturday Morning Coffee attendee Andy on his black Tiger 955 at the shop. The three of us met with a couple of other riders that we know from previous events and from the shop. We enjoyed conversation over doughnuts and coffee while we waited for more riders to show up.





As motorcyclists the conversation always ends up on the subject of tires and with four of us Tiger riders it was about dualsport tires and Heidenau in particular. I mentioned Cheryl and Leslie's blog and their trip to Alaska on new Tiger 800XCs and on Heidenau K60 Scouts. I mentioned how much I like my Shinko 705s, I find them to be quite capable, trust them in the corners and I can buy a pair for less than one Continental TKC80. I've have 7000 miles on them now so we strolled outside to take a look. We were inspecting them when Andy asked what was going on with my axle. It looked like a piece of wire had wrapped around an axle spacer, hmmm this can't be good and needed closer inspection and a request for confirmation from one of the shop mechanics.





I hefted her up on the center stand while Andy the forklift mechanic and Quentin the shop mechanic poked, prodded, gestured, spun the wheel, gave it a good shake and finally decided that the bearing was still intact and it was just the bearing seal, we'd just keep an eye on it to make sure it was okay. Fortunately it was not an axle bearing but the sprocket carrier bearing. Sweet, I wouldn't have to bail on the ride.

Eventually there were 10 bikes and 11 riders ready to head out. I kept an ear open for any protest from the bearing and we stopped soon enough that I could check on it. It wasn't hot or smoking so we carried on and enjoyed the ride.

We took some backroads that I had never been on before and the route took us to a forest service road that I definitely need to explore some more.

Rod's Demo Tiger 800

The weather was perfect, the road fantastic and we made it Steamboat Inn for lunch.



Not a lot of vegetarian options but they serve breakfast all day so I ordered the potatoes and vegetables with cheese.



It wasn't long before we were out in the parking lot and on our way.






We finished off the ride meandering over and west of the I-5 to Elkton and Drain, the lowest point in Oregon. Fellow riders started peeling off for home and the group got smaller as we got closer and closer to the shop.
Dave, Andy and I thanked Rod for hosting the ride then headed north toward home. Dave stopped for fuel in Junction City and Andy headed north east toward Lebanon as I continued due north to Corvallis.

It was somewhere along the ride when your mind is truly clear that I remembered hearing that pop earlier in the week and thinking the lid to my panier had opened or a rock had hit the swingarm. The bike never developed a vibration or squealing noise and I was running late so by the time I made it to work I had forgotten all about it. I'll bet that's what it was, my bearing had failed.

So after a quick calculation from the time I heard the pop and week of commuting, attending bike nights and Sunday's ride, I rode 600 miles on a failed bearing. Luckily I made it home safely and inspected the bearing a bit closer.

Oh boy, this doesn't look good.

Hmmm, wonder what this is going to cost me?

It looks worse than it was. I cleaned up all the parts, referred to Bike Bandit's schematic, took inventory and only needed to replace the bearing and I replaced all three to be safe.



The hard part was removing the old bearing races from the sprocket hub and the spacer. I managed to get the inner race from the spacer with an angle grinder but I didn't have any way to get the outer race from the hub as my hammer and screwdriver wasn't going to do it.

Andy told me to bring the hub into work and the next morning he was waiting for me in his service van ready to help. With a threat from the die grinder and a little persuasion with the 32oz. ball-peen he got the outer race to see things his way.




It took four days to source the bearings and oil seals locally but she's back together and happy. Now to replace the front ones too... maybe tomorrow.


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My Tent and Billy

Since our adventure down to Wolf Creek, scouting camping sites along the way and missing out on the OBDR I've been wanting to go camping on the bikes. I had all the equipment, just hadn't had the opportunity to put it to use.

While at bike night last week a friend mentioned he had been up to Crater Lake on his bike. The road around the rim had just opened a week or two ago and I had been meaning to get up there since last year. I pulled out the maps, found some campgrounds, loaded up the bikes and last Saturday we were off. I hate making reservations at campgrounds or even hotels for that matter, it puts a sense of urgency and obligation on the trip. You pay a deposit then you have to be there by a certain time or you lose the site/room and it just takes all the spontaneity, fun and adventure out of the trip. I knew there were plenty of campgrounds along the route and we were self sufficient so worst case scenario would be to pull off into the woods and set up camp for the night without a fire.

We left Saturday morning coffee, rode down Peoria Road, Harrisburg over McKenzie View and over to Lowell and up highway 58 to Oakridge where we stopped for a bite to eat and part ways with Andy as he went off to find gravel roads and parts unknown. Trobairitz and I continued on over the Willamette Pass down Hwy 97 into Chemult for something cold to drink before heading off into the woods.



We could have rode down to Klamath Falls and found a hotel too if need be but we found a perfect site at the first campground we pulled into, Farewell Bend Campground off highway 230 just north of Union Creek. Stopping to look at the campground map and avoiding the playground area we eyed a site off at the end of a loop along the river. We couldn't believe it was available and quickly claimed it by parking our bikes and walking up to the camp host site to pay before setting up the tent, starting a fire and making dinner.



A nice little plateau for the tent with a river view.





Of course my billy is the latest in camp technology and worth every cent. I love this thing, it boils water in just a couple minutes and makes one hell of a blow torch to start a campfire.



Sunday morning we were up early, put some hot oatmeal in us for breakfast and went for a walk down the trail to Rogue Gorge.









Then it was off to ride the rim.











We had a great weekend, fantastic weather and an even better ride. Now we can't wait to plan our next camping trip.


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Headed for Home

We followed our friend Dani's ride report and recommendation of the historic Wolf Creek Inn. She rode down here a week earlier to meet her sister from California and posted up a couple of points of interest and I used it as inspiration, making sure I followed her roads and stopped for photos.



Wolf Creek Inn is believed to be the longest running hotel in Oregon and is now an Oregon State Park. There isn't much in Wolf Creek but a general store and a couple of gas stations, we were on the bikes way too long to hop back on in search for dinner. Suspecting dinner at the Inn was going to be pricey we decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. The menu was lacking vegetarian or pescetarian options and limited our choices so for $18.95 a plate we both had a pasta dish with a salad. No food pics, it wasn't anything special and not worthy of going back to the room for the camera.

Our room was sparse with no television, phone or bedside alarm clock. Furniture was of the period although each room was updated with modern plumbing and facilities.



We hadn't made reservations and were fortunate to get a room even if it was two twin beds. Unfortunately, it was on the ground floor and the old building creaked and moaned until the guests above us went to sleep much later than we did.



In the morning, breakfast was included with our room and again it was not worthy of food porn pics. I went and fueled the bikes, loaded up and we were on our way to find Cow Creek Road and Dani's sign.

Dani's bike a week earlier.

And we did.



The road looped from Glendale north to Riddle with plenty of twisties to teach my apprentice cornering and lean angle, now that she was much more bright eyed and bushy tailed. We meandered our way up to Oakland and Dani's next stop at Mildred Kanipe Memorial Park while trying to avoid I-5.

Dani at the park and the peacocks that I so wanted to see.

We didn't see as many peacocks in the parking lot as she did, but the one that greeted us was sure interested to see what we had that might resemble lunch.



After a short visit having no food nor knowing what peacocks eat, it was a quick jaunt up Territorial Road along the Applegate Trail past Eugene and back home to Corvallis. The weather was perfect, not too hot and the trip was well worth it for 11 days post surgery test. I did scope out a few camping spots and I asked Trobairitz if she'd do it again; although it took some thought, she said she would and be up for camping along the way.

Sounds like a plan to me.


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Cleared for take off.

I went to see the doctor Monday morning and he cleared me for take off. So following doctor's orders, I did.

Perusing my Benchmark Atlas of Oregon and messing around on Google maps I put together a ride loosely based on Fuzzy's 3 day, 3 items, $300 Scenario and inspiration from a friend whom just got back from a ride about Southern Oregon. We both had the week off so I loaded the bikes Tuesday night and we left Wednesday.

Although we did take more than 3 items, we did manage to spend less than $300 over 3 days including meals, fuel and accommodation for 2 riders and 2 bikes. I know Fuzzy's intent was as a solo rider, but there was no such a clause in the contract. I suppose I could pare it down to 3 items each if I took the camera, GPS and toiletries while Trobairitz took a map, food and a change of clothes (I said loosely). Regardless, we lived pretty lavishly on $300 and wouldn't have known what to do with the other person's $300.

Mileage was short for three days at 477 miles but this route was single lane, no painted lines or posted signs forest service roads and a novice rider. When you're 50 miles deep in the woods, midweek, without seeing another car for hours, damn straight I used both the GPS and map to figure out where we were.

Let's see, the GPS says we're here... now where's here exactly?

Yes, I got lost a few times but can you blame a guy when he's faced with this!



Now look closer.



Notice anything funky about this map?



For the life of me I could not get my bearings short of standing on my head. What kind of person posts a map upside down with South facing up and North facing down? The answer.... a woman! That's right, I said it. Only a woman would turn a map upside down to read it and thankfully I just happened to have one with me because I never would have gotten out of there without her.

My GPS wasn't any help either. Tootling around close to home, I know where I am and which way is North for the most part so the screen on the GPS is set to rotate around my icon. When you're in a strange neighborhood let alone the woods this is not such a great feature. I went into the menu and set North facing up so my icon would rotate instead of the map. No more getting lost, right? Good thing I had the map too.



We made it South to Reedsport and the coast to stay at the mother-in-law's. We were going to surprise the brother-in-law too but he was out of town on business. Thursday we were Southbound to Coquille and Powers which is pretty much the end of the road as it turned into forest service road 3348.







I thought it was great, the Tiger eats roads like this for breakfast but I sure wouldn't want to do it on a Suzuki Gladius.



We stopped a lot for breaks, views and vistas.



But with the quality of the road, the incline and descending tight turns, my poor navigator was beat and plain tuckered out.



I had to get her into town and fed so we were off to Wolf Creek Inn for the night.




to be continued...





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Take the Course - Get Endorsed

Team Oregon has been doing some advertising lately and what better way than to use the local transit system as a traveling billboard. I thought the ad was very well done, short, simple, effective and to display it on the back is brilliant.



I've seen bus #753 a couple three times around town and it has caught my attention each time, but I've only made note of the bus number twice. Is it on other buses or just this one?

The second time I saw it I wondered what bike they used in the ad, I knew it was a cruiser but I couldn't dismiss it as the usual Harley, it looked too familiar.

The City of Corvallis is celebrating da Vinci Days this weekend and after we met the Brew Crew for Saturday morning coffee we drove downtown to check out the kinetic sculpture vehicles before the parade. Neither one of us do well with large crowds so we went in, did a quick loop and got out. No photos, too many people and we lost interest very quickly.

But, Corvallis City Transit was on site promoting their new fareless system. (Off topic, but $2.75 tacked onto our monthly water bill without property owners being able to vote on it is not fareless). And, they just happened to use bus #753, giving me the opportunity to get up close and look at the bike.



Now I could be wrong but that sure looks like a Triumph America.



I sold my America so I can't take the photo and compare it to the bike itself, but I do have photos.



I'm going to call it as I see it, that is a Triumph America, way to go Team Oregon for using such a great bike in your ad.

Now.....who's the rider?


- Addendum: Saw the ad on another bus, that makes 2.