The Wanderings of a 36 year old Electraglide

[John Nash]

When you mentioned Salmon Arm BC early on in your RR..I was there last month on my cross country trip.I had left Calgary around noon on a Sat. morning headed to Banff and north towards Jasper.Somehow I ended up in construction and stopped for a coffee at Tim Hortons in Golden BC..took a wrong turn somewhere. What a nice ride from there to Salmon Arm and along the lake.Ended up spending the night in Vernon.From there I went to Kalowna then north to Cashe Creek then south on Rte 99 to Whistler.Your other picture north of Boise Idaho on 55 was also a road I was on this trip..The night before I stayed in Salmon River, Idaho.Have a great trip and thanks for sharing it with us.

[BC Brian]

Originally Posted by indianscout

I really enjoy seeing that old iron back on the road again where it belongs. Subscribed!

Glad you are liking my RR indianscout.

I agree.And I enjoyed seeing the guy on the old Laverda, and the it sounds like the Panhead lady rides hers as well.

[BC Brian]

Originally Posted by rascalman

Really good report......I'm subscribed!

Thanks Rascalman

I hope you enjoy it

[BC Brian]

Originally Posted by WayFar

Nice. Mine recently went through a total rebuild, and is a 98" now. My Dad has a 93" shovel, and I couldn't bear the thought of the old man being faster than me. I bought him that bike for Father's Day a few years ago, and that's what induced me to get one of my own. I love seeing yours on this trip, makes me want to do the same.

Big Bore !! Sweet

Sounds like your Dad raised a pretty good son.

I hope you get lots of riding in with him.

[BC Brian]

Originally Posted by John Nash

When you mentioned Salmon Arm BC early on in your RR..I was there last month on my cross country trip.I had left Calgary around noon on a Sat. morning headed to Banff and north towards Jasper.Somehow I ended up in construction and stopped for a coffee at Tim Hortons in Golden BC..took a wrong turn somewhere. What a nice ride from there to Salmon Arm and along the lake.Ended up spending the night in Vernon.From there I went to Kalowna then north to Cashe Creek then south on Rte 99 to Whistler.Your other picture north of Boise Idaho on 55 was also a road I was on this trip..The night before I stayed in Salmon River, Idaho.Have a great trip and thanks for sharing it with us.

Ahh, the never ending construction at the Icefields Hwy....

Sounds like you seen some prety good riding

I love the road from Lillooet to Pemberton. Done it many times, on many different bikes. Always awesome!!

Thanks John Nash, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the ride

[Roostre]

Dang Brian, wish i would have known you were in the neighborhood!

Would've been cool to grab a burger and check out that Shovel. Maybe point out the "don't miss" roads heading south out of saltopolis...

[BC Brian]

The plan was to get up early, do a bit of maintenance, hit the road and get lots of miles in today.

Ha!

I went out to do my morning check for loose bolts and any issues. My derby cover had been leaking slightly since I got the bike, and even after Starsky changed the stator, it was still leaking a bit. It was bugging me, so this morning I thought I would pull the cover, install the new gasket Starsky had given me, and plug that leak. I got it all buttoned up, went back inside to shower and dick around while I let the sealant cure, came out, packed the bike, and off for breakfast. When I came out after breakfast, I looked under the bike, and it was like someone had opened the tap.

Crap




So, In the McDonalds parking lot, I pulled the cover, cleaned it up real good, added MORE silicone ( actually, there is a flaw in the primary cover that someone had tried to fix at one time) bolted it back up. Now just to let it cure for a couple of hours. What to do while I waited. Checkout time in my room wasn’t for a couple more hours, and I am sure the housecleaning staff would let me back in. I could go watch TV.

Screw that! I went for a walk around the Lehi area of Salt Lake City for a couple hours.










I headed back to the bike, fired it up, rode it a couple of blocks, back on the kickstand. No leaking. I rode it a couple of miles, parked it for a bit, no leaking. Sweet!!

I figured I should pick up another gasket in case I needed back in there to adjust the clutch or something, so I had searched “Harley” in my google maps app. It came up with a Harley Dealer on my way south, but also Grimms Cycle Salvage about 10 miles south of me. I checked their website, and they dealt with all brands of bikes, but seemed to specialise in American Iron. That sounds like my kind of place. I found it all right, walked in, and that’s when I met Sean and Kat.



I got the gasket from Kat and got to talking bikes. Sean comes out and we start talking. I mention riding my Buell to Guatemala, and his interest peaks up. Seems he is planning to ride to Costa Rica to see his buddy, and, well, we got to talking even more.

Turns out he has an FXR and a couple of tuber Buells. He comes out to look at my shovel, notices my muffler, which I have known for a while could use some welding, but is not leaking exhaust or going anywhere. He asks me if I want to weld it. I say “sure”. He asks if I can weld, and I tell him “nope” He says he is a good welder, but has a dislocated shoulder (he also has a WR450). He says if I pull it, do all the prep work, help him support the cable, he will weld it up. Sounds good. So we dick around with it for a bit, BSing the whole time. He welds it, I clean it up with a die grinder, still BSing about bikes and stuff.

While I am reinstalling the muffler, he starts talking about some work he wants to do with one of his Buells. I mention that I met a guy from Corpus Christi last January while riding through Mexico who built some Buell choppers. He looks at me funny, says was he on his way to Costa Rica, and I says “yeah…..”

Turns out he is real good friends with the fellow I met at a gas station on my birthday last winter and that’s who he was going to ride down and see. Click Here to see the post.

I head out, well into the afternoon. Sean gives me his card, and says if I need anything, he probably has it, and he will ship it to me. I invite him and Kat to come and stay with me and my family when he does his trip to Alaska in a couple years.

Sean and Kat have a motorcycle salvage, new and used parts and repair business for all makes and models. He fabs parts and builds awesome custom bikes. If you are looking for parts for whatever you’re riding, there is a good chance he has it or can get it. Click Here for their website (a shameless plug)




Away I go, with a welded muffler and a couple of good gaskets should I need them.

I turn onto Hwy 6 East, and am caught off guard by the colors of the changing leaves.



It was nice to get off the freeway again.



It was a great road, with great scenery.



I stopped at Green River for gas and got talking to an older biker from Colorado for a while. He told me about some good riding in his area I might check out.

I turned towards Moab, and stopped for a shot of the hills.


I also took the opportunity to get yet another picture of my bike, cause, well, I don’t have enough yet J




I pull into Moab, and it’s crazy busy. It’s, like, Monday night, and the traffic is nuts. I whip into a Motel 6 to get a room, and she asks If I have a reservation. “for a Motel 6” I said. And she says, “yes”, like it’s the most normal thing in the world. Turns out they were booked solid, and almost every other motel had a “No Vacancy” sign out.

Crap

I found one run down looking place with rooms still. $135 a night. I said “Wow” and left.

I checked one more place before I thought I would have to ride back to Green River, and was able to get a nice room for an almost reasonable rate.

Moab is pretty touristy, and walking down town showed it. Almost every business, store or restaurant was geared towards tourists. And it was super busy everywhere. I asked one local about it, and he said because now was cool enough for people to enjoy it here.

I checked out a Chinese buffet and headed back to my room for the night.

And…. There is still no oil under my bike!!

[sintax]

Please excuse me if you already know this, but I figure I should put it out there. The shovels, from the factory, recycled the oil in the primary back into the oil supply. A lot of guys have isolated the primaries in the past, its a VERY popular mod. But If your primary was not isolated, that silicone can very easily end up in your engine and block oil passages. It happens very frequently and is a killer. I would hate to jinx you, but just thought I should throw the warning out.

Looks like you are having a great trip!

[BC Brian]

Originally Posted by sintax

Please excuse me if you already know this, but I figure I should put it out there. The shovels, from the factory, recycled the oil in the primary back into the oil supply. A lot of guys have isolated the primaries in the past, its a VERY popular mod. But If your primary was not isolated, that silicone can very easily end up in your engine and block oil passages. It happens very frequently and is a killer. I would hate to jinx you, but just thought I should throw the warning out.

Looks like you are having a great trip!

Thanks for mentioning it sintax

Yeah, not one of Harleys better idea.Putting oil from a chain drive primary back into the engine oil. Mod was done before I got it, and I have done the mod to my bikes in the past.

Having a great time. Loving Utah. I am thinking Colorado tomorrow.....we'll see what happens :)

[Ruud109]

Great RR so far. I have a '78 FHL myself and love it!

Ruud

[WayFar]

Still really enjoying this RR. You're adding places to my list to hit on the way to AK next year!

[MadScotsman]

Hey Brian,

We passed through Sandpoint on the morning of September 21st on our way from Libby, Montana to Winthrop, Wa. Too bad we didn't cross paths... Looks you're in for another gooder.

Some great roads in Western Montana and Eastern Washington. I noticed you really liked 31, New Denver/Kaslo, one of my faves as well. Found a little backroad off Wa 20 at Usk to Chewelah (Flowery Trail Road I think) it was a real treat! You'll have to try it sometime.

Enjoy your trip buddy and stay safe! I'm subscribed!

Derek

[1955BIKER]

[BC Brian]

Originally Posted by Roostre

Dang Brian, wish i would have known you were in the neighborhood!

Would've been cool to grab a burger and check out that Shovel. Maybe point out the "don't miss" roads heading south out of saltopolis...

Hi Roostre

Yeah, bummer. It would have been nice to chat for a bit.

Thing about travelling without a schedule is ya never know where you are going to be on a given day.

There seems to be a lot of great roads around there. A guy really needs more time to check out all there is to see.

[BC Brian]

Originally Posted by Ruud109

Great RR so far. I have a '78 FHL myself and love it!

Ruud

Thanks Ruud.

I am glad you are enjoying the RR (and your shovel)