motorcycles – Page 13

No motorcycles today :-(

Diane’s bike is done but the the R1200GS is still being reassembled. Joe the service manager called at 17:15 (they close at 18:00) and said that it would be ‘really close to 18:00’, if at all, that the bike would be ready. By the time the cab would have gotten to the campground, plus rush hour traffic we may have not made it to the dealer by the time they closed.

Since we had already planned on staying until tomorrow anyway we decided it would be best to pick up the bikes tomorrow morning. Should be early in the morning – they open at 9:00. I’d rather not have the mechanic rush to finish by tonight and then forget something – oops left over pieces :-o. Not good, especially since there are no BMW dealers where we are heading.

So, another night and morning without our cooking gear since we left the panniers at the dealer (note to self: if bringing in the bikes for service, leave the panniers wherever we are staying). Dinner tonight was some vegetarian sushi rolls and beer – the sushi we picked up at a restaurant within walking distance from the campground, the beer at the campground store.

The natives are getting restless :-).

Motorcycle Update

We arrived at the dealer shortly after they opened. The plan was for them to fix the leaking transmission/final drive/counterbalancer (?) seal on the R1200GS and get the valves on Diane’s F650GS checked. After browsing the store we set up shop in the very nice customer lounge area were I hooked up the Apple Airport Express so we could get wireless access. Continue reading Motorcycle Update

Sandpoint, ID to Missoula, MT

Blue skies and temperature in the low 70’s by the time we leave. Todays ride was on ID/MT 200, the Pend Oreille (pronounced “pon-der-ay”) Scenic Byway, a scenic route along the Clark Fork river through valleys gradually opening up into large vistas. Nothing technical, just gentle hills and turns – all the while enjoying the scenery. I know, this is starting to sound repetitive, but hey that’s what we are doing ;-). Continue reading Sandpoint, ID to Missoula, MT

Lewiston, ID to Sandpoint, ID

Not a very exciting ride. We rode north on US 95 all day through western Idaho. Mostly farming and national forest. A busy road without much of a shoulder to pull over and take pictures. We stopped in Coeur de Alene for lunch before heading to Sandpoint where we spent the night in a hotel close to downtown so we could walk around.

While traffic was crazy when we arrived, by the time we went looking for a restaurant the place was close to deserted. Ended up in a ‘Gingerman like’ pub with a very good menu, i.e. lots of vegetarian choices, called Eichardt’s Pub Grill & Coffee House. Not much else to report.

Here’s todays route.

: Lewiston Hill – scenic overlook showing Lewiston and Clarkston along the snake river

: Lewiston Hill – scenic overlook showing Lewiston and Clarkston along the snake river

: Lewiston Hill – scenic overlook showing Lewiston and Clarkston along the snake river

: Lewiston Hill – scenic overlook showing Lewiston and Clarkston along the snake river

: Hells Gate State Park, ID

: Hells Gate State Park, ID

: Hells Gate State Park, ID

: Hells Gate State Park, ID

: Hells Gate State Park, ID

: Hells Gate State Park, ID

: Hells Gate State Park, ID

: Hells Gate State Park, ID

: before going to bed

: tent gear loft – very usefull to help organize things in the tent (in the roof of the tent)

: Hells Gate State Park, ID

: Lewiston Hill – scenic overlook showing Lewiston and Clarkston along the snake river

: Lewiston Hill – scenic overlook showing Lewiston and Clarkston along the snake river

: Lewiston Hill – scenic overlook showing Lewiston and Clarkston along the snake river

: The state park is on the left side after the second bridge – way in the background

: Lewiston Hill – scenic overlook showing Lewiston and Clarkston along the snake river

: Lewiston Hill – scenic overlook showing Lewiston and Clarkston along the snake river

: Along US 95 heading towards Sandpoint – rolling hills of golden wheat(?) ringed by mountains

: Along US 95 heading towards Sandpoint – rolling hills of golden wheat(?) ringed by mountains

: Along US 95 heading towards Sandpoint – rolling hills of golden wheat(?) ringed by mountains

: Along US 95 heading towards Sandpoint – rolling hills of golden wheat(?) ringed by mountains

: Along US 95 heading towards Sandpoint – rolling hills of golden wheat(?) ringed by mountains

: Along US 95 heading towards Sandpoint – rolling hills of golden wheat(?) ringed by mountains

: power setup – the extension cord we brought along and two MacBook power bricks

La Grande, OR to Lewiston, ID

Having experienced the mosquito attack at dusk last night there was no way I was getting up before sunrise so I just laid in my sleeping bag, waking up, waiting for the sun to rise over the horizon. Even then, there were plenty of mosquitos around – what a PITA. We fought them all morning while getting ready, watching each other to see if they landed on either of us. Killed a bunch but one or two got through :-(. Continue reading La Grande, OR to Lewiston, ID

Brooks Memorial SP, WA to La Grande, OR

It was cold this morning! According to weather.com the temperature was 47F (8.3 C). No wonder my hands felt like ice blocks while making coffee. I’m a warm weather person so 47F is down right ‘wintery’ for me ;-). By my standards that’s damn cold for July. Continue reading Brooks Memorial SP, WA to La Grande, OR

Bend, OR to Brooks Memorial State Park, WA

We spent the morning in our hotel room catching up on our blog postings and pictures as well as planning our route for the day. After finishing off cold leftover pizza from last nights dinner 😉 we left the hotel at 11:00 and after a quick grocery stop at Safeway were on our way towards Maryhill State Park in Washington. I had called the reservation phone number and although I couldn’t make reservations for the same day found out that they still had five camp sites available. Pretty good odds I thought. Continue reading Bend, OR to Brooks Memorial State Park, WA

Unity, OR to Bend, OR

We spent quite a bit of time planning our route for the next six days since we have to be in Missoula, MT on the 23rd. Weighing all the options/routes, etc. The park host had dropped off a book of all the state rec areas and parks so we scoped out which ones we might want to stay. Since we are in Oregon I wanted to check out Bend. Continue reading Unity, OR to Bend, OR

Boise, ID to Unity, OR

We arrived at the BMW dealer shortly after 9:00 for our appointment to have the fork seal on the F650GS replaced. Not too busy, seemingly only one gentleman in front of us. Looked like we would be able to get back on the road by 12:00. Hah. Wrong. Continue reading Boise, ID to Unity, OR

Now it’s the R1200GS turn to have ‘issues’

Yes, more motorcycle issues. I have been noticing oil weeping at the back of the engine/transmission on the my bike even before we left Austin. I had always just attributed it to excess oil left over from oil changes. Yes, not very smart, actually I thought it was normal. Well, I had cleaned it all before we left on our trip and now after about 2500 miles it’s all covered in a film of what smells like gear oil :-(. Continue reading Now it’s the R1200GS turn to have ‘issues’