CN - Tuesday
We got up early Tuesday morning and starting tearing down my bike's electrical and carburetor (again) to try to find the stumbling problem. Carb looked good (again) so we moved to the wiring systems that affect the ignition - kick stand and handlebar kill switches. It appeared the handlebar kill wire was a little loose, but not entirely sure. The kickstand switch had been bypassed but the wiring was just twisted together and duct taped so not really a solid splice job. Put those two things back together, fixed an unrelated short in my tail light, and then put enough back together to start it and see how it idled. Amazingly no stutter anymore at idle! Not to get too excited yet, we put the tank and seat back on to take it for a ride - and it ran great! Hurray! Marco called off the truck that was going to come at noon and take the bike to his mechanic friend for him to check it out. Seems the problems are corrected.
With the bike sorted Marco suggested we go out in the field behind his house and give the sidecar rigs a try. He and Elena have a V-Strom with and an old Honda 250 set up with hacks. Needless to say we had a blast racing around the field on these cool bikes. Neither of us had ever ridden a sidecar set up so it was a new experience as they handle much different than a motorcycle on two wheels. In no time we were lifting the 3rd wheel off the ground and "flying the car". So much fun!
We then went back to the house and took care of a few other maintenance items on my bike - front brake pads we knew were close to gone and a new set of bearings for the rear wheel. Ken also fixed his rear signal light that had been hanging by the wires. We were carrying parts for both these jobs. I think both bikes are now in the best shape since we started and we only lost a day to our original plan of staying two nights at Amigomoto.
That evening Marco and Elena invited several local friends over and we had a big fire in the pit grilling carne asada paired with tortillas, guacamole and beans. Best meal of the trip so far - fresh and delicious. Marco really knows how to marinate the meat for a perfect carne asada. We were up late listing to music, watching moto videos Elena and Marco had made and enjoying good conversation with new friends. We even got to practice some Spanish with some of the partygoers that didn't speak English. Good times!
I can't say enough about the hospitality Marco and Elena have shown us during our stay. Having a safe, friendly place to sort out the bike issues has been extremely comforting and they both have bent over backwards to help us out. This is the best part about traveling - meeting wonderful people along the way and making friends for life.
On Wednesday morning we will head out to Lake Chapala - Mexico's largest lake and spend a night. From there we are planning to head to Sayulita on the west coast just north of Puerto Vallarta. Good to know we are going to be moving again!
We got up early Tuesday morning and starting tearing down my bike's electrical and carburetor (again) to try to find the stumbling problem. Carb looked good (again) so we moved to the wiring systems that affect the ignition - kick stand and handlebar kill switches. It appeared the handlebar kill wire was a little loose, but not entirely sure. The kickstand switch had been bypassed but the wiring was just twisted together and duct taped so not really a solid splice job. Put those two things back together, fixed an unrelated short in my tail light, and then put enough back together to start it and see how it idled. Amazingly no stutter anymore at idle! Not to get too excited yet, we put the tank and seat back on to take it for a ride - and it ran great! Hurray! Marco called off the truck that was going to come at noon and take the bike to his mechanic friend for him to check it out. Seems the problems are corrected.
With the bike sorted Marco suggested we go out in the field behind his house and give the sidecar rigs a try. He and Elena have a V-Strom with and an old Honda 250 set up with hacks. Needless to say we had a blast racing around the field on these cool bikes. Neither of us had ever ridden a sidecar set up so it was a new experience as they handle much different than a motorcycle on two wheels. In no time we were lifting the 3rd wheel off the ground and "flying the car". So much fun!
We then went back to the house and took care of a few other maintenance items on my bike - front brake pads we knew were close to gone and a new set of bearings for the rear wheel. Ken also fixed his rear signal light that had been hanging by the wires. We were carrying parts for both these jobs. I think both bikes are now in the best shape since we started and we only lost a day to our original plan of staying two nights at Amigomoto.
That evening Marco and Elena invited several local friends over and we had a big fire in the pit grilling carne asada paired with tortillas, guacamole and beans. Best meal of the trip so far - fresh and delicious. Marco really knows how to marinate the meat for a perfect carne asada. We were up late listing to music, watching moto videos Elena and Marco had made and enjoying good conversation with new friends. We even got to practice some Spanish with some of the partygoers that didn't speak English. Good times!
I can't say enough about the hospitality Marco and Elena have shown us during our stay. Having a safe, friendly place to sort out the bike issues has been extremely comforting and they both have bent over backwards to help us out. This is the best part about traveling - meeting wonderful people along the way and making friends for life.
On Wednesday morning we will head out to Lake Chapala - Mexico's largest lake and spend a night. From there we are planning to head to Sayulita on the west coast just north of Puerto Vallarta. Good to know we are going to be moving again!
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| Where is the problem? |
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| Ken testing voltage through the wires. |
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| Marco on his Honda 250. |
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| Ken giving the V-Strom hack a try. |
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| My turn. |
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| Party in the Bird House. |
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| Yum! |
Thank you guys and here's the vid: https://vimeo.com/241741023
ReplyDeleteNice video. I love the vintage look and music at the beginning.
ReplyDelete