Oh well, shoot, dang....I'll be working. There for a minute I thought maybe Jeff and I could take a nice ride out to the crossing to say howdy, snap some pictures and wish you all well.
I know, I know, this is the second time I bailed on the Baja event. I promise you big brother, once I get my teeth fixed we will put an epic ride together. As a matter of fact I won't ever have the excuse of bad teeth again, they are going to remove all of them then they are going to cut open my jaw and remove some fairly large sections of bone, rebuild the bone structure and fit me for dentures (at least for now, implants may come later). This all happens in one day so you can see that I wouldn't be the best of company right about that time. Besides the doc says I have to take it easy for about a week.
I called George & Ioneater (Pacific NW). I believe things are about as arranged as they ever will be. If plans got more detailed things would change anyway - several combinations of small details have been thoroughly discussed and things are going well.
Thanks Dean: Life threw me a few curves over the last year and half but I'm optimistic that I'm past, or almost past most of them now.
Egads That sounds like a whole lot of not fun Good luck with it, Rajo We promise not to talk about you, since you won't be there and all... WoodsChick
It might be possible that a 3rd chase truck could be handy. Especially if I keep stopping at different locations to take pictures and videos of the riders as they pass. And of course if there is a major breakdown of bike or rider that which required a truck to go to civilization it might be better to have a 3rd truck. We can decide once we get down there, I'm just tossing the idea out for people to think about. There will be many trucks down there that can be used.
I told the big TE that we wouldn't be making this trip and she was heartbroken so I told her I'd see if anyone wanted to take her along. Is there a need for for a spare or back-up bike on this trip?
I have extra 91 oct. also, will bring as much as needed. Can brig 5, 10, 15 or 20 if needed. See you tomorrow George. Looks like this trip is going to be great. Gary
A question of reliability... OK, I just discovered yesterday that the CCT on my 610 (which only has less than 2900 miles on it, most of them dirt) is 11 clicks out. Yes, it got removed properly and yes, it got re-installed properly. Am I going to lunch my motor if I ride it in Baja? To say that I am not pleased by this little revelation would be a huge understatement... WoodsChick
The short answer is no. The worst thing that would happen is that there is a small reed valve that sits next to the chain and if it gets enough slack in it it can chew into the reed valve. It's not a catastrophic failure unless you continue to ride with the reed valve completely gone at which point the cam and valves wont get proper lube. It's not like you're engine is going to detonate just because you have reached the limit of the cct and there is some evidence that the chain may not stretch much more after the the cct is fully extended. You should replace the cam chain at you're earliest opportunity but I wouldn't let it stop you from this trip. If you're really uncomfortable with it there could possibly be an alternative bike for you to ride.
This is with ALL DUE RESPECT.... How did you count??? the exposed grooves only??? or???? please don't take this the wrong way, I'm hoping there is a mistake in there somewhere..........
No worries at all, Stroker Ace; I'm hoping there's a mistake in there somewhere, too When you pull it out, there are grooves and ridges, right? There are 14 ridges total. There are 10 ridges showing between the knob and doodad that clicks into the grooves, and 4 to go behind it, so the tensioner is in the groove between the 10th and 11th ridge...does that make sense? I'm sorry if my ultra-high-tech language is confusing I rode the bike around for about 10 miles yesterday before changing the oil. We're going to pull it out again tomorrow and see what it looks like just to be sure. It self-adjusts itself once it gets put back in, right?The thing is, I would think the bike would be clattering a lot more than it is if my cam chain was flappin' around in there. The motor has always been, uh, a bit of a talker, but it is no louder now than it has ever been. Also, I'm sorry for hijacking the Baja thread (jeez, where's that darned moderator when you need her?) I posted up something about this in the 610 forum if y'all would like to take it over there. I really appreciate everyone's input And now back to your regularly scheduled programming WoodsChick
No worries just ride it. They can't stretch enough to tear at the reed only the plate. Don't worry just like the Marine Corps we leave no one behind. I go by 4 or less left then it means its a little worn and then get one on order. No one has ever to my knowledge broken one. Later George
Yess! This is exactly what I wanted to hear! And you're the man I wanted to hear it from So, uh...what are the chances that you've got a cam chain in stock for an `07 SM610? Thanks, George; I owe you a beer in Mexico Or a shot of tequila... Or a fish taco... Or whatever you want! WoodsChick
There you go..... Now it's time to "psych up" for the trip I'm starting off with Timerider (of course), then Vanishing Point (to get me there), Then because we'll be on the Mexican coast I'll top it off with "Fun in Acapulco" with my man Elvis, then I'll be ready ready teddy You all should do the same, it's good for the soul. See you at the border !!
If I was any more psyched up I'd have to take a Valium I'm actually trying to keep it low-key, as bad things tend to happen when I get too excited to ride. I wanted to watch Dust To Glory before heading down there, but that's just flirtin' with disaster...especially since I won't be on any of my real dirtbikes and will have to be cool with the SM. Let's just say I'm going to have to rein in my natural enthusiasm a little bit Thanks a ton for your help, Stroker Ace! I'm looking forward to meeting you...and everyone! WoodsChick
