From Madol-Duuwa to around the world

[jamesm417]

Originally Posted by Dylan.S

I'd like to think that it's not the gear box. I'll know tomorrow for sure when I take the drive-line to bits. The big question is, why does it block the rear wheel when the gear in neutral position? Hm.....

If you have something broken in the drive line between the gearbox and the rear wheel, it may be binding enough to keep the rear wheel from moving freely in neutral.

JMHO.

[HayDuchessLives]

Wow - I'm sure sorry to hear about your problems with Bruce. I hope you were able to find him and figure out what's wrong. This has got to be rather disheartening and about the only thing I can do to help is send some warm, sunny smiles your direction that will hopefully bring you a little bit of good cheer.



My friends and I skied back to the glacier in the background on the left. It was another AWESOME day in Alaska's amazing backcountry!

Good luck getting Bruce up and running again.

[0theories]

Originally Posted by Dylan.S

...Later in the evening only I realized that I don't have a clue where about we dropped Bruce off. I know it's about in a two kilometer radius from the hostel. I'm going to have a long day tomorrow and I have no idea how many kilometers I'll be walking before I find Bruce.

Oh man, I was going to congratulate you on getting Bruce somewhere safe until you said you LOST him On the bright side, Leon is a great place to hang out for a while. It's beautiful with lots of amenities (and cheap street food if I remember correctly). What hostel are you staying in?

[Dylan.S]

Changing roles. The rider becomes the mechanic and the mechanic become a photographer.




It took me two hours of roaming around the streets of Leon to find the Garage where I had dropped off Bruce on the previous day. But once I was there, I started the work very quickly. Washed the bike thoroughly, (something which only the rain took care off in the last few months) and the mechanics assisted me in various ways. As some of you had suggested, it was the shaft and the front universal joint which were defect. But it wasn't just defect, it was broken into pieces! Anyhow it's a reason for a sigh of relief. A problem with the gearbox would've meant, no riding, probably, for weeks!

I was all optimistic. This kind of problems could be solved without having to buy the expensive part and wait for them till they arrive from somewhere far away. But it was up to the local mechanics, who had the necessary tools to mend the broken part. I took the drive train apart within one hour, and brought the old and new spare parts to the specialists (Supposed to be the best in town) I explained them what I needed done. They asked me to come back in the afternoon at three to pick up the repaired shaft.

At three O'clock they were still busy repairing my drive shaft but half of the work was done. When I inspected their finished work, I was disappointed with the workmanship quality. Bruce wouldn't have lasted more than 1000km with the new repairs. So I showed them what wasn't good and they were nice enough to admit their mistakes. However, they failed each time to deliver the good workmanship. Four times they sawed the pieces and re-welded because I noticed that it was crooked or misaligned. They were simply not trained enough to do a proper job.

Where you needed to use a saw they used a chisel. When you needed a vernier caliper they used the thumb. Not that they didn't have those proper tools. They simply didn't know when to use them. I felt very sorry for the workers and they accepted my critics and demands each time. Just before it was dark, it was my turn to ask them a favour.
"Will you let me do the work in your workshop?" I think they were relieved. They stretched their hands and showed me the workbenches and the tools. "Please, consider it's your workshop", they said.
From 5 p.m. till 7.30p.m. I took charge and nearly got all the work done. Tomorrow morning I shall be continuing on the fine works. Hopefully before midday I shall be on the road and stay on the road without problems :-)

Wish me luck folks!

[Dylan.S]

Originally Posted by HayDuchessLives

Wow - I'm sure sorry to hear about your problems with Bruce. I hope you were able to find him and figure out what's wrong. This has got to be rather disheartening and about the only thing I can do to help is send some warm, sunny smiles your direction that will hopefully bring you a little bit of good cheer.



My friends and I skied back to the glacier in the background on the left. It was another AWESOME day in Alaska's amazing backcountry!

Good luck getting Bruce up and running again.

Hey,

Thanks a lot! I know lot of people don't say a single word but read only. But I can tell you how powerful and how much they can help you when you're stuck somewhere feeling helpless. I appreciate it!

Have a nice day!

[Dylan.S]

Originally Posted by 0theories

Oh man, I was going to congratulate you on getting Bruce somewhere safe until you said you LOST him On the bright side, Leon is a great place to hang out for a while. It's beautiful with lots of amenities (and cheap street food if I remember correctly). What hostel are you staying in?

Hi friend!

Hope you guys making progress and didn't ride that terrible bridge :-)

Things looking good over here (I said "looking")

Ride safe!

[Dylan.S]

Originally Posted by jamesm417

If you have something broken in the drive line between the gearbox and the rear wheel, it may be binding enough to keep the rear wheel from moving freely in neutral.

JMHO.

Thanks for that friend. Yes, it made sense! And it was the front universal joint which was broken.

[Dylan.S]

Originally Posted by OldPete

Wow!

Good thing it did not break while you were getting off the bike trapping the left leg.

An IT tech friend from Guyana told me that the north east corner of SA is quite poor as it is so remote.

I'm working my way through your blog, well written.

Thanks OldPete,

Yes, I was lucky that it didn't cause any other damages. Enjoy the posts!

[Dylan.S]

Originally Posted by WhicheverAnyWayCan

Dylan, you forgot to share the story I read on other riding report over at KLR forum about your cooking chicken immediately after you and other riders saw the bear walking away from the campsite in Coldfoot, AK (I think if the location is correct?). The other guys weren't sure if you were crazy or stupid or brave! I laughed when I read that story and you should share your side of it.. these guys were terrified but to their surprise the bear never came back.. But you want to know this that the guy admit he normally doesn't like the spice you added to the chicken but with your cooking you changed his mind so that is a compliment for you!

Thanks for that reminder I had a great time riding with those guys. It was only a very few days but we hit it off nicely. I didn't forget those stories. I simply didn't start my RR until very recently. There are a few more stories to catch up with. I'm sure you'll hear them when the time is right.
Thanks for those words!

[Dylan.S]

Originally Posted by Earth

Sorry to read this, friend.
Obviously you won't know what's wrong until you perform the surgery but I'd start at the final drive unit. There are ring and pinion-style gears in there but also a few universal joints on a driveshaft along with splined end shafts. Hopefully you blew a spline or U-joint in the driveshaft and nothing in the gearbox!

Sorry again for your driveline failure but everything happens for a reason...

Thank you Earth!

Yes, it was exactly that you had hoped for. Shaft and U joint were gone to pieces.

Have a nice day!

[Earth]

Originally Posted by Dylan.S

Thank you Earth!

Yes, it was exactly that you had hoped for. Shaft and U joint were gone to pieces.

Have a nice day!

Yes, finding Neutral would be almost impossible with a shattered gearbox! So glad it was "minor".

Can't wait to read more. I have a fun life here in Chicago but reading your reports take me away from the concrete jungle.

Ride on!

[0theories]

Originally Posted by Dylan.S

Changing roles. The rider becomes the mechanic and the mechanic become a photographer.

Oh wow Dylan! You are having the most amazing adventure (in the someone-else-far-away sense) I'm so glad I'm reading this and not living it (well, kind of). Looking back (and forward to a possible future) maybe I should have been an engineer and not a biologist Loving it!

[agplant]

Good to see that you will be able to get back on the road without a more major repair. Really enjoying your report, we crossed paths at the HU meeting in Nakusp in late August and loved your presentation. Will be following along.

[Dylan.S]

This is the broken drive-shaft. As you can see it's not just worn out. It's broken to pieces






From the car spare part shop, I bought this universal joint of a Japanese car





The little one helped me to get the parts cleaned, The housing was full of debris.






The masterpiece!

[Dylan.S]

** Sorry, what was the brand name of the bike?**

After the recent repairs, I started riding through Nicaragua towards Costa Rica. At this point of writing, I had done nearly 600km and the bike seems to be running smoothly and without any problems.
On the Nicaraguan side, there seem to be too many police checkpoints. Shmuel Avital, my riding partner for two days decided to accompany me down to the Costa Rican border. Twice we ran into the arms of the waiting police because we were overtaking other vehicles where it was forbidden. In the first instance when we got pulled over, one of the officers asked for my papers and then started writing down my particulars. Though he had all my documents in his hand, he still asked me questions such as, what my name is, and what the vehicle registration number is, and so on and so forth in Spanish. Then there was the next question. What was the brand name of the motorcycle? Since my Spanish isn't that good and hence didn't understand the question right, I paused. Then the police officer repeated the question. The other police officer who was standing next to the bike, took a good look at my bike and gave the answer.
"Cambodia" he said!