There is just no telling what might happen along the way, when one wanders and wonders around this amazing land-mass we call North America. Surprises lurk around each bend in the road, and the ‘unexpected’ will jump right out in front of you at the most unlikely times and in the most implausible locales… but, I’m getting a bit ahead of myself here…
We departed Brownfield, TX, and all was well! A wee bit cool to start with, but soon enough the mercury in the glass tube began to rise, and the need to de-layer my attire made its presence felt. What a change from recent days, when the need had been to make more frequent stops, because there are limits to just how many layers one can actually wear while riding!
West Texas isn’t exactly the most scenic area of the planet, and for some it may not suit their tastes at all. Personally, I like it a lot! Wide-open spaces, tough critters and plants, too, that have adapted and evolved over time for survival in harsh conditions…
The people out there, too, are tough. A special breed, those who've chosen to inhabit that landscape, and they are inspirational to anyone who bothers to get to know them. One can’t help but come to respect all things there… including the ‘beauty’ of the place, when everything is viewed in its own context…
What a glorious day to be in the saddle doing what we do! The sun shone brightly, the temps were tolerable and improving; ALI was strutting her stuff, and her companion was wearing an enormous smile from ear to ear! I so don’t miss working in that office dungeon or being ‘confined’ by the regular life I’d known… Fate has surely smiled most kindly upon this previously incarcerated soul!!!
We stopped now and then as the need for whatever arose… and to take a voyeuristic peek at ‘life’ wherever we took a notion. Always fascinating conversation available when the need to socialize or engage in ‘human contact’ was felt, but ample solitude and isolation when that was desired… No pain, no strain, and no effort required… just roll with the flow, be respectful, and... cause no problem, and there will be no problem… A most harmonious condition in a seemingly unlikely place.
By this time, we were on a mission again. Troutdude had invited us back to the ‘north shore’ for another examination of ALI’s identity crisis… For some inexplicable reason, we'd reasoned, she had come to channel an alternative USA made motorcycle and to adopt some of its ‘unique tendencies’… like marking her spot, for instance…
Yep, that wee oil leak was continuing… no worse, but no better, either. We figured he’d just have to have another ‘look under the hood’, as a session on a couch seemed an unlikely solution. No, counseling is not an effective solution for ailments pestering those of the female persuasion… that is, unless the counselor is clever enough to link all negative aspects to ‘masculine toxicity’…
We rode back-roads, as is our preference… We dropped below I-10 at Junction, TX, and we proceeded south to Uvalde with the explicit purpose of riding around San Antonio well to the south in mind. Two nights in Uvalde, by the way, as a light drizzle caught us the morning following our first night there… Not to worry, the motel we’ve stayed at several times has a decent restaurant and a rather nice bar on premises… No hot and cold running blonds, unfortunately, but sometimes you just have to rough-it…
From there, we rode over to Alvin, TX, for another night on the road before arriving at the ‘bike medical center’ on the bayou… We stayed at one of the motels our group uses when we’ve attended the GOTF at HG’s and FB’s place nearby.
I didn’t attempt to contact our good friends, however, because it was dark by the time we arrived, I was tired and wanting to crash early, plus I was planning on leaving early the next morning. I was feeling a need to quicken our pace a bit to avoid more weather barreling down on us… following us across the plains and headed the same way we were going!
We did make it to the cozy home of my good friends, Dennis & Shelia… and to the scene of delicate probing and prodding of ‘our girl’ for signs of leakage and to discover the source… then to affect a remedy. I just love a happy ending, and we did… eventually… come to one.
Troutdude… beginning the diagnostics… optimism and confidence levels were high…
In a couple of hours, he had found that teensy, previously hard-to-find trickle of oil oozing from the crankshaft seal and replaced the offending part with one he happened to have on-hand. As a precaution, he had also replaced the cam shaft seals, as well, for good measure… he had those on-hand, too.
I had mentioned another ‘noise’ that had been more noticeable to me during very cold periods, but there to some degree in all situations… particularly when the engine was ‘under load’. He quickly isolated the source to the alternator… The one we’d used to replace the previous one in Michigan last summer… it had been a used part then. At first, we thought the problem was the ‘coupling’ joint where the alternator connects to the engine, and those fittings were then tightened. That seemed to help.
A test ride late that afternoon seemed to be all thumbs-up, but… now there was a slight ‘ticking’ sound coming from somewhere within our girl… Oh well, we buttoned everything up and called it a day… We dined on some really tasty pasta stuff they had made at their house, and then we retired rather early.
The next morning, we jumped in TD’s pick-up and made the ride over to Ponchatula, LA, to the diner where Magoo and Bee Keeper have breakfast nearly every morning… There I was, sitting in a small-town diner nearly a thousand miles from 'home' with three of my good friends having a great time swapping war stories and exchanging a yarn or two… OK, and telling a couple of outright lies, too… Heck, we’ve all done some fishing at one time or another, right?
None of that would have been possible without the VRCC, and the VRCC would not have been possible for me but for ALI… Coincidence? Fate? Blind-ass luck? Whatever it is, I’m mighty glad it happened!!! While there, we received an invitation to join our friends for supper down the road in Manchac at the same restaurant Magoo and Lisa had held their wedding reception.
Breakfast with old friends… Left to Right, Magoo, DDT, Troutdude, Bee Keeper...
Following an eventful and most enjoyable morning, we returned to the task at hand… Another test ride revealed there simply was no denying a strange noise, somewhat different than before, was still present. ‘Alternator’ noise had returned, so Dennis replaced the unit we were using with another one… he just happened to have on-hand… Are you seeing a pattern here? This guy has a veritable warehouse with a huge parts inventory! He also has access to other stuff through the extensive ‘network’ of like-minded wrenches he has available, too.
And, before I forget to mention it: We’d arrived with a minor ‘coolant leak’ of some sort also having recently developed. Sometime during all the stuff Dennis was doing (I typically have no idea about such things, and it is too much trouble for me or anyone else to try and educate this clueless technophobe at this late date…), I had noticed him poking a long screwdriver up towards somewhere near the top of the engine block. I imagined it was to tighten some clamp in there, but I don’t know for certain just what or where… I do know for certain that has done the trick, though, and not a drop of coolant has dripped since then!
Another test ride late that afternoon seemed to be all thumbs-up, finally, however… now there was a slight ‘ticking’ sound coming from deep within our girl… I didn’t make a big deal of it, because, like her partner, she is getting long-in-the-tooth, and there just seems to be no end to minor aches & pains and other ‘geriatric issues’ that are usually harmless… just annoying. I was hoping, I guess, that it was nothing, and this too would pass… turns out it didn’t… We buttoned everything up again, got ready, and went to supper, where we met-up with Magoo and his bride, Bee Keeper, Moonshine, ‘Mama’, and a couple of their friends… and a great time was had by all!!!
Sunset on the bayou...
The following morning, I was rather eager to get back on the road, as more inclement weather seemed to be stalking us, and I was not feeling any need to set-up house-keeping with my friends… ALI was re-loaded, then Dennis and I rode to the Waffle House for a farewell breakfast… I did feel a need for a grits-fix!
Well, shucks! That slight ticking noise had turned into a louder pinging noise and had gotten worse overnight, it appeared, but in any event, there was no ignoring it now! We returned to the ‘examination table’, hoisted our girl upon it after removing some of her burden… and had more extensive attention applied… Dang! Now the illusive ‘sounds’ seemed to be coming from inside the engine itself… and, from the right side this time…? Dennis removed the right-side valve cover from ALI and took a careful gander at all the pieces and parts.
One obvious indicator of a ‘problem’ was a semi-circular chunk of metal lying loose in the valve cover when the cover was removed from its usual place! The head was then removed for more in-depth examination. It turned out that this 'errant' piece was a broken-off part of the cast aluminum head that served as a ‘keeper’ for the ‘guide ring’ near the front end of the cam shaft. That piece had formed part of the ‘groove’ that the ring, about two inches back from the very front of the shaft and just in front of the first valve lifter, rotated inside. The 'guide' was a wee bit higher than the rest of the shaft and all its symmetrical components. This guide, groove/keeper arrangement is designed to keep the cam shaft in position by preventing the it from slipping forward or aft during operation…
A 'pinging' sound developed… How it’s supposed to look...
How ALI's looked...
The application of ‘Super Glue’ to reinstall that broken piece was quickly, but tactfully, ruled out as a viable repair: So much for my contribution…! lol Yep, our good friend and ‘wonder wrench’ just so happened to have a spare ‘head’ in his inventory, too! So, our girl now has a new to her but slightly used head that did not come with her in the beginning…
Does that mean she is no longer engine repair-free? Hmmm, or, is this simply some sort of consecession she has wangled from us to assuage her angst at having her identity as an HD challenged? Since we’re not going to use a couch for any of this, I guess that last possibility will have to remain unexplored…
Heck! Honda, Harley, Yammazuki, whatever, I don’t care. I love her regardless of her pedigree, because of all she has meant to me!!! We’ve travelled over a thousand miles since that visit to ‘wrench world’; and, no runs, no drips, no errors have occurred… and no animals were harmed… well, unless you count bugs…
DDT
