Four months
since my last post but figured I better get back on-line since we start our
last Leg this week (Salt Lake City, UT (SLC) to Port Orford, OR and the Pacific
Ocean). Lots have happened since last post so will try to fill in the gaps
without boring everyone.
The 4 core
riders (Mike, Terry, Steve and Woodrow) spent two of the last three months
working a project in Florida. Sounds like it would be fun, but it was 7 days a
week 10-12 hours a day so didn’t see much of the outside except for one day
off. Steve and I rented Harley Davidsons in Orlando and made a ~300-mile round
trip to Okeechobee Lake. I have to say the trip wasn’t that much fun. Traffic
getting in and out Orlando was crazy. The bikes were brand new 1200 Sportsters,
but the road was straight as an arrow once out of Orlando and had sand on both
sides with temps in the 80s-90s. Every time we passed a truck it was like
getting sandblasted. Still it was better than setting at a desk all day. We all
returned home around 30 May and realized we had lots to do before launching our
last TAT ride the end of June.
Of our three
TAT legs completed so far, Leg-4 is the most complex as for logistics. Since we
will be starting Leg-4 where we stopped last July in SLC
(www.rvrrunner-020.blogspot.com), we have to get all the bikes, people and gear
back to SLC to start this leg. In addition, once we arrive in Port Orford, we
have to get all that same stuff back to Arkansas. To make it even more complex,
the only flights back to AR from OR are from Portland which is a 5-hour drive
from Port Orford.
As I stated
in my post several months ago, Marty will be our support truck driver again and
we are really looking forward to his excellent effort to keep us all fueled up
and supplied with cold drinks and snacks. My wife Liz will be meeting us at
Port Orford with a 7-passenger van to take the riders to Portland who are
flying home. As of now we have all the airline reservations made, motels
reserved at the critical spots and everyone has been preparing their bikes and
gear for this last push.
Just to
refresh your memory, here are the riders and their bikes:
·
Mike
– KTM 350 EXC-F (used on Leg-3)
·
Terry
– KTM 690 Enduro (used on Leg-2 & 3)
·
Steve
– Yamaha WR250R (used on Legs-1, 2 & 3)
·
Woodrow
– Honda CRF 250L (used on Legs-1, 2 & 3)
·
Jeff
– Yamaha WR250R (used on Legs-2 & 3)
·
Matty
– Honda CRF 250L (used on Leg-3)
·
Jason
- Yamaha WR250R (first time TAT rider)
Bike/Gear
preparation:
I stated
last post that Steve and I were considering installing tubeless tire systems on
our bikes. We decided not to make this change. It has pros and cons but we all
know how to fix flats and I am taking my “Baja No-pinch” kit so removing tires
is a no-brainer.
Terry’s KTM
690 – Terry finally got around to checking over his bike a few weeks ago and
found that the thing wouldn’t change gears! Of course, we all started to panic
considering the short time to fix this. After getting it into the local KTM
shop they found the Rekluse clutch wasn’t adjusted properly. Easy fix and his
bike is now ready to go.
Mike’s KTM
350 EXC-F – After being gone for 2 months I tried to start the KTM and the
battery was dead or almost dead because I got it started with the kick starter.
I’ll never understand why they took kick starters off dirt bikes but my KTM has
one and I love it. I ordered and installed a Lithium battery and it works great
plus is so much lighter. I also took my KTM to the local dealer for a full
service and good inspection for the next ride.
Seems like a
trend with the KTMs.
The Yamaha’s
and Honda’s all had minor problems but are ready to go as well. Both Honda’s have
been serviced at the dealer to include overhauls of the front forks. They both
had front fork leaks either on the last TAT leg or shortly after returning
home. The WR’s seem to be bulletproof
with only minor problems. Of all the bikes, I would get a WR for the whole trip
if I was just starting this ride.
Three of us
have Rekluse clutches, Mike, Terry and Jeff. I loved mine during Leg 3,
especially while doing the CO mountain passes. Terry also likes his but has had
more problems as described above and in previous post. First time use for Jeff
but pretty sure he will feel the same. They do take some attention to keep them
adjusted but make rough riding so much more enjoyable.
New gadget!
– I bought a Satellite phone for this last TAT leg. My wife and I do a lot of
wilderness white water river trips in very remote locations in the USA. Several
of our friends are alive today because the trip carried a sat phone and it was
needed to get these guys off the river and to emergency care; i.e. Grand
Canyon. Interesting that the hardest part of the TAT is behind us, but I figured
I wanted one for our future river trip adventures so why not get it now. It
will also let us keep in touch with the support truck and family when we are
out of cell coverage. It is a Inmarsat 2 using BlueCosmo service. I’ve used Sat
phones before, but they belonged to other members of our trip. Pretty expensive
for the phone and the service isn’t cheap either. My riding buddies think I’m crazy
but that will only last until we need support or emergency help 50 miles out in
the desert. Two of us also carry SPOT satellite tracking systems so it is overkill,
but I don’t care, I love technology.
Now all 7
riders have the Sena 30K intercom with Mesh connectivity. The last 2 riders got
their systems a week ago, so we are all learning how to use them. We hope this
is better than the Bluetooth system we used on previous rides which continually
kept dropping off riders. As I’ve stated before, one to three riders on Bluetooth
seems to work pretty good but reliability goes down quickly with 4 and above. Range
and battery life is a concern for these Sena 30K units so I will give a full
report at the end of the ride.
We loaded
the bikes on the trailer this past week-end and that is a big concern now eliminated.
On Leg 3 we loaded 6 bikes on this same trailer and we all remembered that it
was a pretty tight fit. We were pretty sure we could get a 7th on if
we packed them closed so we asked Jason to go on Leg-4. He’s a long-time friend
and just retired from the Air Force as a C-130 pilot. He needs to now enjoy
civilian life. 7 were loaded successfully and we think we could even get one
more on but not for this trip. We must be getting better at this.
Plan
summary:
Several days
from now Terry, Steve, Woodrow and Matty leave for the 2-day drive to SLC where
they will check into the motel. Two days later Mike, Marty, Jeff and Jason fly
to SLC where they will be picked up by Terry and taken to the motel. If all
goes well, the bikes will have already been unloaded from the trailer by the
truck riders. All the riders will spend the evening packing their gear and
prepping the bikes for an early launch the next morning. The downside to this
plan is after doing basically the same thing for Leg-3, the riders who flew in
found their bikes decorated with all kinds of inappropriate items. Just a
warning that pay-back is a B_____!
We plan for
a 9-day ride averaging 150 to 190 miles a day. The terrain will be a mixture of
dessert, mountains (under 10K) and heavy forest. Because several of the day’s
ride are beyond the fuel range of some of the bikes (Hondas) we plan on hooking
up with the support truck in several spots along the route for refuel.
Once we
reach Port Orford on day 9 we will splash Pacific water on our bikes like four
of us did from the Atlantic in 2016. Liz will meet us at the end point for a
short celebration and pictures then we will all (bikes, support truck and
7-passenger van) head for our motel 30 miles north of Port Orford. That was the
closest we could find motel rooms because of all the tourist along the beach.
At the motel
we will load the bikes onto the trailer, get cleaned up and have a proper
celebration including cold beverages. That will complete our 5,000+ mile ride
across the USA on dual-sport motorcycles.
Early the
next morning the truck, trailer and bikes will head for AR with Terry and Steve
driving. They expect 3 days max to get home. The rest of us will head to Portland
in the van to catch flights home that evening or early the next morning:
·
Liz
·
Mike
·
Jeff
·
Marty
·
Woodrow
·
Matty
·
Jason
This will
complete our TAT adventure with a summary of the different legs below:
·
Leg-1
(Mar 2016) – Charleston, SC (Atlantic Ocean) to Little Rock, AR
·
Leg-2
(Aug 2016) – Little Rock, AR to Lake City, CO
·
Leg-3
(Jul 2017) – Lake City, CO to Salt Lake City, UT (including 3 days riding Moab,
UT)
·
Leg-4
(Jul 2018) – Salt Lake City to Port Orford, OR (Pacific Ocean)
I plan on
posting trip reports every evening while on the trail with pictures. Until then
–
BTW I’ve
included several pictures of our bike loading effort including one of Terry reinstalling
a part to his KTM 690 that dropped off on Leg-3. We have plenty of tie-wraps in
out repair kit, so we should be alright for Leg-4.
Next post
should be from the hotel the evening before day 1 of Leg-4.
Ride Safe!
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