Stage 14

Stage 14 started nice as we headed out of Lake Havasu into the desert. We had a hundred mile stretch with no services, so everyone was carrying spare fuel. My fuel tank had been leaking again the day before, and last night repairs were on my mind.

 It was a beautiful morning, on spectacular roads as we crossed into California. The grade kept dropping, and at about 50 miles we started across the desert. 100 miles of nothing, and I was glad it was early so the temps were only approaching 90.

We headed south towards Palm Desert, crossing thru Joshua Tree and the Painted Canyon.

  

The day ended with the bike running fairly well, but the clutch throw out bearing howling. These bikes are tired, they were never designed for this, and add a century of aging and it is pretty amazing we are even here. We serviced the clutch, repaired some brackets, and bled the oil pump. Now we only have the Sierras to cross in the morning.

Tomorrow we will end this journey in Carlsbad. Excited and a little sad to see it. Got to get there first, one more day headed west.

Stage 13 : Route 66

the day started out nice and cool, with a good ride down old Route 66. We followed the old route from Williams Az to Lake Havasu City. There is a lot of history along that old road, along with the remnants of days gone by. The thought I kept having was that I was riding a machine from an era even before Route 66. Kind of amazing.

Our lunch stop was hosted by Mother Road Harley Davidson, and as with all the previous stops the crowd was huge. The people really turn out to see the old bikes. I pulled in with Victor, only to discover my fuel tank was leaking again.

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The road after lunch took us down from 7000 ft to 400 ft. Temperatures picked up also, as we head towards California. Still tracing Rote 66,

we got Havasu City by 4 pm, and had a reception with another large crowd.

Then it's back to the motel to get ready for Stage 14. Got to fix a broken rear fender, install another brake band, fix a fuel tank, load tomorrow's route, and whatever else we find. It all makes for a pretty long day. 

Williams Az

Getting  ready to head down from 7000 ft to 400 ft. It's 35 degrees, heading to 90. Gonna be a challenge. At least it's not raining.

Some pretty cool Michael Lichter shots

Probably the only thing I've passed

Climbing a Grade

Grand Canyon

Durango to Page Az for stage 9 was a beautiful run. Southwest Colorado is a beautiful place, then the canyons of the Navahoe are special. You just can't ride thru without thinking of the history. We went thru four corners, then followed the high plains into Page Az. Crossed lake Powell on the way in. The bike really ran well with all the "adjustments". Valves seem to be seated well, and the domes are holding.

Stage 10 took us to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. I was looking foward to today for many reasons, but the weather had another idea. The  rain and wind were so hard that it was hard to ride, and the canyon was completely socked in with fog. Made all the miles again for the 2nd day since all the valve problems.

The Grand Canyon 

Headed up the road 

Durango Colorado

its been a couple of tuff days for. Team 96. Leaving Dodge City, I completely blew the top off both intake valve domes. 13 miles into the day and I was done. Being early, I decided to take the penalty points and leave course with my support. We drove on to Pueblo and I rebuilt the top end in the back of the van.

Getting ready to run the following morning, it became obvious I had bigger problems. The valves
would not seal, and I would have to do a complete valve job. So we loaded the van and headed over Wolf Creek Pass to Durango. It was tough to be not riding on some of my favorite roads.

We got to Durango in time to make the repairs, and are ready for Wednesday morning.

Rest Day

The rest day. A chance to take a little break, get a few items sorted on the bike, and relax.
Not today.

We started around 9:30 am, and packed it in at 9:00 pm. 12 hours in the parking lot, trying to get things patched up. The rear tire was changed, along with repackaging the loose ball bearings. The brake band was bent, so a little time and some persuasion was applied. We then reclined a spare brake band with the new material sent from Dalton.

The valve pockets and heads were removed. All 4 valves were removed, cleaned, and lapped. The rear intake spring had collapsed, just like the front had done back in West Va. I was lucky it cost me points yesterday. We found some high temperature sealant to try on the domes, and are hoping it works. I got some new stainless springs for the intakes.

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As of 10:30 pm, the bike is ready again. I think it is back in pretty good shape for the second half of the a Cannonball. We will find out starting at 8:00 am.

Headed to Colorado!

Stage 8

Stage 8 was a 184 mile run from Wichita to Dodge City Kansas. The roads took us the farm land of central Kansas, and was a good ride. The bike was not behaving today, with the intake seals leaking and I'm having fueling problems. I stopped twice to drain the float bowl, letting water and trash out. The air leaks on the valve domes continue to be a problem. In the old days these were sealed with asbestos, but that is hard to come by today.

I limped along with very limited power, thank goodness the roads were ere flat. I pulled into the finish at the foot of Boot Hill, barley running and proud to be there. Tomorrow is the rest day, and I'll have to get this thing running better. I'll have to get it running a lot better before Colorado.

Dodge City Kansas

Wyatt Earp old Jail

New Brakes

I have been wondering about my decision to ride this bike in its original condition. The brakes are next to nothing, which becomes challenging in traffic. So we have been trying to come up with a solution. The boys back home sent word they come up with a plan they thought would help, and had forwarded the parts to Wichita. I was excited to finally be getting some help.

We got the box from and front desk, and went to work with the installation. Thankfully they included instructions.

So within minutes I was ready to go

Stage 7

Stage 7 started in Springfield Missouri with a ride to Wichita Kansas. Beautiful riding, but some nasty black clouds were waiting. Not long after we stated, it became obvious were going to get wet.

It rained so hard I could hardly se the road at times, but the bike never missed a lick. Arriving at the lunch stop, with even worse weather headed our way, the organizers called the day.

The day officially ended at the Twisted Oz Motorcycle Museum. The fed all the riders, and we enjoyed the museum.

Days 3 thru 6

the pace moves awfully fast on these rally's. Riding 250 miles at 40 mph, then doing the events, then working on the bike makes for a long day. The attrition rate has been higher than 2014, and everyone is having problems keeping the bikes going. The organizers added 30 minutes to our grace period at the end of each day, which will help bikes make it in if they are having problems.

The days seem to blend together, with the exception of day 4. At about 165 miles the bike started losing power. I tried adjusting the carb on the fly, but at mile 170 wound up on the side of the road. Checking the valves, I found the front intake flopping loose, so l pulled the intake dome and the spring had completely collapsed. I tried to remove the tappets and run it as a single, but with the intake, not sealing, my day was over. I got my first ride on the bus. Along night later the bike was up and running, with complete scores on days 5 and 6.

Each day brings a new challenge with these bikes. It's amazing how much difference a few years in design and development was made during this period. It's completely different from the experience I had with the 29 Indian. So far we have lined 3 brake bands, changed 3 head gaskets, 4 intake seals, 1 intake seal, solder a leaking fuel tank, and nursed a poorly designed clutch.

But we're still in it, and heading for California. It's 6 am, and time to make the donuts.

Day 2

Day 2 was another tuff day. The mountains of Pennsylvania and West Virginia are a bit much for a 100 year old single speed motorcycle. More problems with the clutch, brakes, and valves. Quickly going through my supply of brake linings. It is suppose to flatten out tomorrow, so hoping for the best.

Saturday nights action in the parking lot

Tonight we got to work on them inside the Harley dealer in Morgantown.

Still running with all the miles, so we rebuild it to go again tomorrow.

Day 1

6:00 am in Atlantic City. Nervous Anticipation. The common attitude seems to be that with this old a bike, you just never know. It all starts at 8:10. I can only hope for the best, and maybe a little luck!

10:00 am everyone is ready at the boardwalk.

The he route for Stage 1 was tuff due to the red lights, heat and traffic. It is pretty hard to ride a 7 hp single speed motorcycle in a contested city . The congestion stayed with us for most of 150 mile first day, taking its toll on a lot of bikes.

We finished the 1st day with a blown head gasket, worn brake, and a abused clutch, but we got all the miles without penalty. Repairs were completed by 9:00 pm, and tomorrow's route is loaded. We get in some mountains tomorrow, so we will she how she climbs.

Atlantic City

Ready to sign in.

Showtime

the final preparations for the 2016 Cannonball were a little different than I had planned. I was hoping to be going over small details, but the indian had other plans. Between stuck rings, stripped buttress threads, sticking valves, and broken valve domes the stress level remained intense right up to the end. i have to thank my buddies at Perpetual Machine Co for all the help in getting these issues sorted out. They really stepped up!

So with odometers and tool kits mounted, # plates secured, and the van all packed, Team 96 is ready to head north to Atlantic City. It doesn't seem possible that it is here. It seems like yesterday we were heading to Daytona for the 2014 Cannonball. I can only hope this one is as good.

Team 96 is ready to go!