Gettin' Dirty with the Wans: 8400 miles - UTBDR, KLIM rally, Canada, WABDR, OBDR +

I'm so sad to hear you guys aren't going for a ride next summer.

Wow! Intense! I didn't think I would ever catch up. You were posting faster than I could follow.

A few thank-you's are in order.

First, thanks for the response regarding your rims. Makes a lot of sense and mirrors what I've experienced. I'm still trying to tweak the stock suspension before I shell out for Superplush.

Second, thanks for all the effort posting this RR. I've done a few, abbreviated ones and know how much time they take. I can't imagine the hours you've put into this. Love the combination of photos, video, very entertaining text, and the weird extras you post.

Finally, thanks for posting a couple of spills and falls. Nice to know you and Matt are human after all. Well, maybe not human, but not full blown Mount Olympus gods either. Demi-gods (e.g. Hercules)? The single track where you had to flip the 990 around was my favorite, though the balancing act to get to the bridge (Canada?) was a close second. Awesome trip.

More posts on the way??

Leo

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If the WANs don't go for a ride what are we going to read when we are supposed to be doing important things? You know things that we should be doing but we're not, because we are learning important lessons about Memeshiba and clinking on wacky links. Totally ignoring other important things , like work.

Here is my new favorite Mameshiba...

BTW, my daughter loves Mameshiba now thanks to you Kelly... Now I have to find a costume before halloween or learn how to sew...

BTW, that dessert you had kind of looks like this...

Yummy!!

JG

Aw, don't worry, Dave. You'll be dead, remember?

Aw, don't worry, Bronco. You'll be dead, too!

Thanks, Leo!
You're very welcome. I hope you get your suspension worked out - it makes such a huge difference.


I wish we had some super powers or something! That would be cool.
No, just dumb and lucky. You'll notice I only do these reports once we're home safely.
Sometimes it's hard to revisit all the stupid things we do.
We're so human, it hurts.

In fact, I was just reminding Matt that exactly a year ago,
I was clomping around in an air cast after getting my foot/ankle mashed on some rocks (Goat Mountain).
Good times!

Hey JG.
Thanks. I think?


Oh!I found the perfect answer to your costume dilemma - all you need is paint and cardboard!


See more on Know Your Meme



Your daughter is going to be pretty frickin' cute as a Mameshiba...

Ya gotta post up some photos after Halloween!










Days 47-48 8/7-8/8/12
Walla Walla, WA Lay Day






Before we left Radek's, we ordered new tires and had them shipped to Walla Walla.
We figured a week would be enough time, considering they would be shipping from Oregon.
Unfortunately, one tire came from Oregon and one came from Kentucky.
(Doh! We always forget about the KY warehouse)!



The one from Oregon had arrived on time and was waiting for us.
The one from Kentucky was still in transit.
On our way downtown, we saw this guy...

Dude! Where's my tire?







Saw these funny sculptures on the way...















The bike was really sounding like crap.
In addition to the "whomp whomp whomp" noise we had had since Nighthawk,
it was also starting to clack and rattle.
Not good.



The counter sprocket was still loose, so Matt wanted to find a place to borrow some tools.
We asked around and the guys at Napa auto parts recommended a shop down the street.
It was perfect - Ralph and Mike's Conoco. linky







Mike and Jake (not sure where Ralph was...) were really nice.
They didn't have the 32mm that Matt needed, but a 1-1/4" socket was close enough.






While we were there, Mike's friend drove up.
Mike called us over, he really wanted Matt to take a look at this car...
a 1931 Ford Model A.


That's the friend on the left, and Mike (wearing the shirt that says, "Mike")






I wish I could remember the friend's name. He was really interesting.
A former Navy seal and underwater demolition expert,
he had painted this car with ordinary housepaint.







It was really neat.




Imitation woodgrain is known as "faux bois." I learned that from Martha Stewart!



I tried hard to find that topless martha stewart Xmas special (SNL),
but martha has effectively made it go away.
except for this:








Heh. Anyway, This is all faux bois, done with housepaint.



Matt correctly guessed that the "plugs" were made with a pencil eraser.
Ingenious!




Dash.








The back bumper piece was amazing.












Isn't that cool?



After Matt tightened the counter sprocket,
we thanked Mike profusely and went to check on our tires.
We had sent them to the UPS store, which was just across the street.


Hopefully the front had arrived from Kentucky...





For some reason I woke up at 3:30 this morning and couldn't fall back to sleep.
I thought I'd work on the RR for a while and now I can't keep my eyes open...
Heh, hope it doesn't have that effect on everyone...



I'll be back to finish this later...

Days 47-48 8/7-8/8/12 continued
Walla Walla, WA Lay Days






After leaving Mike’'s, we went to the UPS store.
The front still hadn'’t come in.
Well, time for an oil transfusion then.
Matt bought a gallon of water and 2 quarts of high quality synthetic oil.
Found a nice spot in a park and went to work.



The water was dumped out (watering the plants) and the old oil was drained into the empty container.





It wasn'’t a full oil change, but hopefully, putting in 2 fresh quarts of new oil would help.
More tar-coated gravel pieces...
(matt said that when he took out the battery last week - oct 2012 - he found a few more pieces of gravel that had made their way up into the bike)







After dropping off the used oil, we checked the UPS store again...







Yay! it was there!
Back to the park, Beverly Hillbillies-style...





Obviously, we'’re not fully loaded in that photo,
but Matt always talks about getting a toy rocking chair to strap on top of the luggage.



Haha, no.
It’'s hard enough for me to get my stumpy legs over the back as it is.







I was soooo happy to have a new back tire...




















Matt did not fully appreciate my enthusiasm...










But, look at the old one!








Here’'s some photos of our dented A60 for Leo...


















Our wheels don'’t get nice soft grass very often...














Now, the rear...








While I was down there, I took a couple good photos of our Black Dog bash plate.
Still hard at work...







I never take pics at this angle...







Check out our mucked up sprocket...







It was missing at least 3 teeth...




Yikes. That's something to think about...
(We'll get to that later)





Back to the tire change...









Airplane pic for larryboy!








Here’'s a good shot of our new back rim - Excel 2.5” (also superlaced).
As I mentioned (back in Salina, UT) the stock rim for the 990 was 4.25” wide -
we blew out 2 spokes and dented the crap out of it.
This Excel has been great.
















Uh oh! Cheeze it - it’s the fuzz!








Guess they didn'’t want us after all. whew!








Goodbye, crappy old clapped-out MT21!







Hello, sexy (rawr!) new D908 rally raid!








Schwing!








Old front (we probably could have gotten another 1K out of it, if we had to...)







New front







Now, where to dispose of the old tires...







Hey, Les Schwab! They'’ve always been so nice...







This time was no exception.
We rode up and asked an employee if there was a place we could get rid of our tires.
He said, “you mean you want to throw them away? Sure! Just toss them in that trailer over there...”
Thank you!





Smell ya later MT21!








Oh, look - a map! Google maps and I got along really well today.
In this one map, you can see Mike'’s service station, the UPS store, the Les Schwab old tire trailer, and the park!








The bike was still making horrible noises. Less whomping, but more clacking and rattling.
Matt was starting to worry that we couldn'’t even make it home on the highway at this rate...
riding home through the forest was probably a bad idea.
So, we bit the bullet and had Scuderia/KTM twins overnight a new sprocket and counter sprocket.
It wouldn'’t be cheap, but at least we'’d be able to enjoy the dirt the rest of the way home.





In the meantime, we suffered in our air conditioned room.
(Walla Walla was still having a heat wave).








I think maybe we got *too* comfortable...








We did laundry, and relaxed.
I got caught up in my journal and tried to get a handle on the photos.
Matt enjoyed the cable tv.


Although, I really questioned his viewing choices.
He watched Zombieland
and, Deliverance (not once, but twice! ).


Can you think of worse movies to watch just before you go camping in the woods?!






We enjoyed another dinner at that Thai restaurant...







Yellow curry again, with Pad Kee Mow noodles (again).












With the addition of Pad Gra Pow.
The waiter said that Pad Gra Pow traditionally comes served with a fried egg on top...
OK.

Weird, but was good.




No dessert tonight. Too full.




That was the best Thai food we had had in a long time!
Haven’'t had anything as good since coming home, either.
Our favorite restaurant has gone through some changes and it’'s terrible now.
I miss Phoumy’s.






We drove by this dog statue a bunch. This time, I finally got a photo!







Here'’s a goofy fan-made Mameshiba...





Kind of lame, but appropriate (and sweet).
I had my 44th birthday in Walla Walla.
It sucks getting older...









Don't forget to go out and enjoy yourselves before the end of days...

New tires!! Hooray!!

If my Japanese is not too far off, that second to last clip should be called "Nekoshiba" and not "Mameshiba"

JG

Got your use out those sprockets.
Ok all caught up, time to go ridin'

That yellow Thai curry looked really, really good!:dg

Thanks for all your hard work Kelly, I'm gonna miss these RR's severely when you're finished.

I think you're right about Neko meaning "cat," but Mame is "bean" and Shiba is "puppy" or "toy dog"...
so, I think it would actually be Mameneko.
I'm impressed with your effort, though!

Hey, you didn't say anything about the costume idea!






Thanks, Redog!
hope you had a great ride!

Scottmac, it was. All of that thai food was amazing.

Well, I just looked and we have a bunch of video for the OBDR and the bit of the PCQ we did,
so I'll have pretty good coverage for the rest of the ride...
But, thanks, I'm glad you enjoy these!










Day 49: 8/9/12
Walla Walla, WA to near Ukiah, OR 148 miles







There were some issues with our overnighted sprockets.
Mainly, UPS sucks.
KTM Twins got the parts out right away, the package made it to the plane...
and then the UPS plane sat on the runway in SoCal.



Eventually, the package showed up - on the 9th, not the 8th
(but we got a refund for the shipping charges - thanks, KTM Twins!)
We started off the day with cookies and milk.







Leaving the Holiday Inn.







Oh hai, we actually did spend some time in our bathing suits...





Went to UPS and picked up the package,
then went to the donut shop and picked up some donuts...
For Mike and Jake...
Hey, fellas!




They were surprised to see us again, but welcomed us back.
Of course, Matt could use their tools again...
They had a slow morning and invited him to use one of the shop bays.
Sweet!







Mike and Jake were actually pretty interested in the whole thing.







Old sprocket - they don'’t even sell this one at KTM twins anymore.
it'’s a piece of crap.








New sprockets









Old 45 th and new 45 th. (we'’re actually using this sprocket now. There's nothing wrong with the one in this pic, the linked one is just better)







Old 16 and new 16. (new one is this counter sprocket)








counter sprocket







We should have put on a new chain at the same time,
but there was no way we wanted to pay overnight charges for that!





By the way, that was the first (and last) time Matt had used an RK chain.
Usually, he gets a DID 525 VX chain and that'’s what we’'re back to now.
Still not sure what happened - maybe it was just the cheaper sprockets and chain,
maybe the chain was too tight (the new suspension has little to no sag)?






Thanks, Mike and Jake!
They were a little shy, but we got them to pose for a photo.








We did some last minute errands, including ice cream for oldtrucks...
This wonky-ass cone was made by the McD manager.
Matt was not impressed.








Always.









We didn'’t get on the road until after 2pm. A late start.
Here we are, the Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route - OBDR!








We were going the opposite direction than last time, so things looked different than I remembered...








We actually saw a bear here!
A big one,
No pics, he ran across the road so fast!
Across the road and down into the trees...
























Rutty.








You know what Matt always says..."I. like. big. ruts. and I cannot lie..."






I wanted to use this back at Bethel Ridge and totally forgot about it.
So, these ruts aren'’t as big as they could have been.
But, whatever.

I've got to use this before it gets blocked by youtube!


All together now - "I. like. big. ruts. and I cannot lie..."








I love that.



OK, I'm totally late for work now, gotta go!
have a good one, you guys!

Way cool hot rod paint!!

Will Ferrell happy dance.

OBDR...

I love seeing these small shops letting you guys use a bay and tools to work on the bike. Reminds me of some of my bike adventures. OK, so we know you made it home, obviously, but did the sprockets make the rest of the "clack and rattle" and "whomp whomp whomp" noises go away?

Hey kvanderploeg,
yes, the new counter sprocket took care of the whomping,
the new sprocket took care of the clack and rattle.

(sorry, should have mentioned that. I was in a big hurry this morning)

Now that we're home, with a new chain and a new chain slider, the bike sounds perfect again.

I didn't know what a chain slider was.
here's the pic from the KTM parts microfiche...



chainslider is part #7 (it goes inside the swingarm).




Hi Rob, I thought you would like that paintjob!
Feel free to chime in on any of the upcoming OBDR stuff...
I'll have questions, I'm sure.




Haha, thanks jmcg!
I'm glad they didn't block that one down under!

Oh, I forgot to mention - if you click on the CC button (closed captioning) for the Baby Got Back video,
you can see the name of the movie (and the year) for each one of the clips.
Pretty cool, huh? what a ton of work!





Speaking of work - Sorry you guys, I wanted to have another post tonight, but today was absolute crap.
Just finished dinner and I'm not quite done with the next batch of pics.
Tomorrow is probably going to be long, too.


Drone mode, activate!

All caught up. That yellow curry did look good. We have 1-2 ok Asian food places in St. George, but always hopeful for more. We do have lots of root beer and jello, but that's for another thread . . .

Enjoying your RR, as always. Just have to mention again that the video from Radek, the "Canimal" was awesome.

Dang it!


Now I've got to use Oh Hai to git rid of BIG RUTS, and I'm hopelessly stuck now.

Compared with the photo of your bash plate, I'd say the A60 looks like its doing its job!

Happy Halloween!!

Thanks, glad you're still with us!

heh. I've had Big Ruts stuck in my head for days myself...

Well, Captain kirk is climbing a mountain is pretty catchy...
and then there'’s always the Bob Loblaw song...








Day 49: 8/9/12 continued
Walla Walla, WA to near Ukiah, OR 148 miles





We were doing route 5 of the Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route - info here
and here's a short ADV thread about gas stops, etc...




The OBDR is so much faster than the WABDR!
In case you forgot, we had left Walla Walla after 2pm.
We weren’'t even trying and we just flew through these roads.
It was great.







Hey, do you remember Dan, the crazy flute dude? (from the Summer of Stupid)







We stopped at the campground where Dan had the 36 hr conversation with the wolf...
Didn'’t see any wolves, but there was nice clean water pouring out of this faucet...
we filled up our dromedary bag for the night’'s camping.







Mottet campground.















Didn'’t stop at Jubilee Lake, didn'’t stop at Tollgate...
Just made great time on these fast roads.







I think Tollgate was to the right.








Back in the dirt.







It was pretty up there.






This gravel road is kind of sketchy. It's the thick, marble-y kind of gravel.
Some spots are pretty deep.







We almost ate it on this road last time. Going too fast in the gravel.







Maybe here? (looking back at our dust)






The full dromedary bag was so heavy, we were feeling it.








We skipped the Mount Emily lookout this time...







Hmm. I think that’s hwy 84...






















Kamela.
Hi Ron and Janice! Remember them? They gave us venison last time.
At least, we hoped it was venison. Not Victor Burger.







Indian Lake is that way. ------>
Home of Jason. ki ki ki ah ah ah...














Hmm. That doesn'’t look good.







There were times when we found ourselves on closed or impassable roads.
Sometimes it was a routing error, sometimes it was just Oregon being Oregon.








But, it was always pretty easy to get back on track.
































Anyone who has done the OBDR will recognize the next section...















It’'s overgrown and full of whoops.
This pic is small because it’'s blurry. Too rough.
But you get the idea.














There’'s usually some mud, too.
We got lucky this time. A lot less mud in August than in July.







A few more whoops.













After being on the crowded WABDR, it was nice to be on the OBDR.
We had these roads all to ourselves.







Aside from a couple cars near Tollgate (on the slab), and the vehicles we could see on Hwy 84,
we hadn'’t seen a soul.






















We had water, so we could have camped anywhere.
This spot appeared out of nowhere and was perfect.







No facilities, but it was free and there was a picnic table.
Later, we realized we were really close to a road, but only 2 cars went by all night.







Sweet chili noodles with bell pepper, onion and a can of chicken.








Norm was behaving himself.




Short day.


I couldn'’t find a name or anything for this campsite.
But, we were just off hwy 244, with the closest town being Ukiah, OR (maybe 25 miles away).
I put Norm’'s coordinates in google and we’'re that red thing on the map.







A couple halloween-ish videos, just for fun...










my dad took me to see Halloween. I was 10.
the music still freaks me out.

Thanks, Rwelch!
Happy Halloween to you, too.
Hope you're having fun with Landon!

I tried to find a picture of someone dressed as that Oh Hai cat, but no luck.
Here's some dogs instead.

Read the OBDR part but need to go way back as I lost track of your awesome saga and must catch up.

That Pirelli was chundered

'Smell ya later MT21' -


Happy Halloween !