DMT - Day minus 40 - Spring time filled with anticipation

These are home made churros which are linear donuts coated with sugar and cinnamon. These are really good and remind me of the ones I got from a street vendor in Baja on the trip with Marty. After the first one I was hooked and immediately had 3 more!

The bikes are all set to come out of winter hibernation. There is energy massing in their engines and wheels that I can feel as I walk amongst them. I whisper, "Be patient, soon we will go out to play. I haven't forgotten you." They grumble as they shake off the winter cold.

Even the Taco and trailer are ready for the trip. We have decided to trailer the bikes from Tooele to Beatty, NV. It is a long, hot, boring ride across desolate territory. We will have more than enough riding on this trip to forgo this tedious slab of blacktop. 

The plan is to drive to Beatty, spend the night in a motel, and leave the Taco. On the way back we will reverse the plan and ride home in air conditioned comfort while preparing our tales of daring do for all to hear. 

Assuming that we make it, that is ...

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DMT - Day minus 45 - Shady Character

Applied for my passport which required a new photo. 

I have to admit that i'm not sure if I'd let this person into my country. 

Especially knowing his past history. This picture only misses having an InterPol tag and a number below it.

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DMT - Day minus 54 - Duhh

It's the little things that kill you. Small details that get overlooked and then bite you in the butt. A good case in point is my passport.

I was applying for a SENTRI pass which would get me into the fast lane at the border. I already have a Trusted Traveler number which gets me into the TSA Pre lane but this is apparently something slightly different.

A few more dollars so that I don't sit in an interminable line in the hot sun like I did when returning from my last trip to Mexico. I'm assuming it will be even worse with all of the immigrants trying to flood across the border.

Name, date of birth, color of eyes, all the standard stuff. Blah, blah, blah, ... Until I get to the method of verification.

No problem. I get out my passport and as I scan down the page for the number I notice one small detail that I had overlooked.

Date of expiration: 02 Jul 2018

Not Good - Not Good At All!

My ToDo list (I use Google Keep which is excellent if you are an Android person) is now topped with "Renew Passport"

It's the little things like this that would put me in line with Juan and Consuela applying for entry into the United States. On the plus side, maybe they could help me improve my Spanish.

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DMT - Day minus 56 - Directions

The heads are on their way to the people at Hord Power. They are the experts on the Hawk GT family of Honda 52° v-twin engines. This includes the 500cc Ascot, the 600cc Transalp, the 650cc Hawk GT, and the 750cc Africa Twin, as well as an assortment of Shadow cruisers.

In the mean time there are plans to be made including where to go when we get there. Wherever that may be.

I'm a big fan of GPS but prefer old school paper maps. For one thing, a map gives you a much broader scope. For another, it gives you much better detail. Even Google Maps is limited by the size of your screen as you scroll up and down and zoom in and out. Plus I can make notes on a map and highlight trails and points of interest. I know people who have clamped a small laptop to their handlebars but you become a robot following a robot. Not my idea of adventure.

Another point, maps don't need batteries and don't break when you drop them. I carry a GPS as a backup when I need to know exactly where I am so that I can figure out where to go next or how far to get gas. Other than that it stays in my tank bag.

Right next to my trusty compass. Another, I don't need no stinking batteries, low tech gadget that has gotten me straightened out many times. This one has been with me for years and has always been ready to point me in the right direction. Good for finding north at dusk when I'm stetting up for a night star picture while I can still see what I'm doing.

A shout out to Mexico Maps. They have always been my go-to place for south of the border maps. Great selection and the service is unbelievable.

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DMT - Day minus 60 - My heads on the bench

Finally got all the tubes and hoses out of the way and just kept taking off things until it all got loose. Admittedly crude, but effective.

You can see two jacks under the bike. The swing arm pivot bolt is also the rear engine mounting point. Makes for a more rigid frame and better handling but is a real pain in the butt for taking the engine out.

The frame member comes off so you can get the engine out.

I don't have one of those clever time-lapse videos of the disassembly. It would only show how confused I was about what to do next.

You can't see it here but the shift shaft on the other side hangs up on the drive chain which has no master link. 

If I did this a couple of more times I think I could get the hang of it.
I'm glad I'm not paying myself by the hour!

All apart on the workbench waiting to be sent out for head work.

A few people have asked why I'm doing all this. Certainly not because I have too much money or spare time. The compression after the last trip to Baja and the Copper Canyon was only 125# instead of the factory specification of 175#. Time for a refresh.

In the morning I'll be making calls to find a shop that will do head work and then ordering parts from abroad.

Oh, the joy of owning an exotic bike!

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DMT - Day minus 69 - Trouble with my head

This is how it goes with the Africa Twin engine

Freaking hoses everywhere!

The biggest pain with all of this is getting all the emissions tubing out and labeled so that it will all fit back together correctly

The hoses are all disconnected and the valve covers are off.

The rear head come off pretty easily, slipping through the frame rails

No such luck with the front head. The head slides up on the studs and runs into the frame down tube. 

The two options are: 

• Unscrew the studs and hope they will seat properly when I put them back in.
• Pull the engine.

I'm thinking that even though pulling the engine is (a lot) more work it is the more prudent of the two choices.

Let's see what happens in the morning.

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