The Wanderings of a 36 year old Electraglide

Before returning home from my riding my Buell Ulysses through Mexico, Guatemala, the USA and Eastern Canada ( Click link HERE ) my wife and I had discussed me going on another extended trip in the fall. After spending a fantastic summer home with the family, fall was approaching and I still didn`t have a firm plan as to what that trip was going to look like. I had many options, each with its own merits. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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After weighing each option carefully, the decision was made for me between surfing Craigslist and reading between the lines of my understanding but somewhat frustrated wife’s comments.<o></o>
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Click HERE for more on that. Post #592<o></o>
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I ended up spending a chunk of my travel money on a 1976 FLH Police Special, <o></o>
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and made a plan to ride from my home in Northern British Columbia back towards Texas for a few weeks, where I had enjoyed myself on my last trip.<o></o>
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Please follow along as we see how that plan turns out.<o></o>

This morning I waited with the kids for the school bus, checked the bike over one more time, kissed my wife, twice, and headed out on the road. I had to run into town first to pick up yet another prescription that should help with the medical issue I have been dealing with (Click HERE, post #1) <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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While waiting for the prescription, my phone rang. Turns out one of my 8 year olds had, while on the school playground, tripped and landed face first on a bee. <o></o>
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I met my wife at the school, gave my girl a hug and promised I wouldn`t kiss her J<o></o>
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I said goodbye again, kissed my wife again, and I was on the road.<o></o>
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I have only had the bike a short time, and had gone over it carefully, replacing and fixing what was needed, but it was still an old bike unknown to me, so I took it easy, stopping occasionally to check things out on the way. I have had old Harleys before, and am quite accustomed to daily and even hourly maintenance. I am sure this bike will be no different. Locktite is my friend J <o></o>
Except for bit of pinging, which I straightened out by tweaking the timing, the old girl ran like a clock. After the first 2 or 3 hundred kilometers, I was feeling a bit more confident with it.<o></o>
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The weather was warm, bordering on hot. I didn`t stop much, except for gas and to look the bike over until I got to McLeese Lake, where I found some shade to stop for a break.<o></o>
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I rode as far as Williams Lake, to my good friends` house.<o></o>
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Inmate Sonic1c, his better half, and their 2 dogs, Shrek and Fiona.<o></o>
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I hadn`t seen them much in the last while, so it was nice to visit and talk about old times<o></o>

beautiful shovel!

I have a 78 myself. I've ridden plenty of new Harley's but there is nothing quite like a shovel.

I'll be watching this closely. I plan on a So.Cal to Texas trip on mine this coming spring.

Hey Brian,

Glad you had a good summer and I hope you are feeling well. I am looking forward to another great ride report. Ride safe and have fun. Keep us posted if and when you get to Texas. My house is open to you anytime.

I headed out before it had warmed up much, but was only riding into town to meet a friend of mine for breakfast. I had known and worked with Ian for many years at many different mines. I hadn’t seen him since last year, so we caught up, talked about mining, our KLRs and he told me how all about how much he was enjoying the Ducati I sold him last year J <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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I had a couple of stops I wanted to make, and I was looking for a right hand mirror for my bike, so I also headed up to see mi amigo Dave at New Life Cycle. He looked through his Big Box of Used Mirrors, but didn’t have the one I needed. We did get in a good visit before I headed out.<o></o>
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It had warmed up considerably by the time I got out of Williams Lake. I rode along, the bike running good.<o></o>
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From 100 Mile House, I turned off on to one of my favorite local roads, Horse Lake road, heading towards Little Fort. I stopped to make my bladder gladder along the way.<o></o>
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When I started the bike, the starter seemed to turn over kind of……….. slowly.<o></o>
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Hmmmm………..<o></o>
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Well, I know these old bikes don’t have the best charging systems, and I had bought a halogen light for it, and had been running with the light on for a couple of days ( it didn’t occur to me at the time that I had ran the light all day yesterday with no problems), so I would just run with the light off for a while to get the battery back up.<o></o>
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I wanted to stop and see good friend (inmate BucknBC) to see if he had a mirror that would work on my bike, so I stopped at his work, but he didn’t have one. We visited for a while, and when I went to start the bike……. Good thing I have a kickstarter………<o></o>
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I figured I would ride a while further, and see if I could get anything more out of the battery. I got to Kamloops, bought a multi meter, (of course mine was sitting on my bench at home), and I was putting out zip for volts.<o></o>
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Crap.<o></o>
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A friend of mine. Starsky, near Salmon Arm was a millwright / bodyman / painter / bike mechanic and had recently opened a bike / paint shop in Grinrod and specialised in working on old Harleys. I had been planning on stopping and seeing him anyhow in search of a mirror, so I called him, told him what was going on and he said he would stay open, call Terry, the wiring specialist, also a friend of mine, who worked at the shop with him, and that he would see me soon, and to call if my bike quit.<o></o>
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So away I went, sans headlight, for the hour and a half ride to Starsky’s shop. I stopped once for gas (thank goodness for kick starters) and made it in record time.<o></o>
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I pulled in right about closing time, another buddy, Heath, showed up with a 6 pack, looking for parts for his shovelhead, so we visited a bit until Terry (aka “The Doctor of Darkeness ) showed up ( he had already gone home for the day)<o></o>
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After a beer and some BSing, they tested the charging system, and, yep, I had fried the stator. No big deal, Starsky had a used stator that tested good and away we went to work. Well, Starsky and Doc went to work, while Heath and I had another beer and helped where we could.<o></o>
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The Doctor of Darkness<o></o>
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Heath<o></o>
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Starsky hard at it.<o></o>
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Terry headed out after a while, then Heath, so Starsky and I stayed till quite late, working on the bike and visiting. We got it mostly done, and planned to button it up in the morning.<o></o>

Looking forward to your RR.

This trip has all the ingredients for an adventure....

We got back on the bike in the morning and had it all together in no time.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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The stator that went on me looked like the original stator, and the one Starsky had was a newer, higher output one, so Terry suggested we use the regulator that came off the same bike as the stator. We spent the rest of the morning dicking around with my bike. One of them would look at something on my bike and say something like “well, what you got there is OK, but if we just did this or this with it, I think it would be a bit better”<o></o>
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After it was all said and done, and they were happy that they had tweaked every little thing I would let them, it was time to settle up. I was hoping for a bit of a deal, as I had known these guys for quite a while, but I understood that this was how they made their living and was willing to pay whatever the bill came to. <o></o>
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Well………. Starsky says, with the parts, and gaskets and labor…….. and tells me this ridiculously low number. I was like, “ Are you sure” and they say yep, that’s what it comes to”, So I says, “ Well, what about the Doctor of Darkness’ part?” and they say , “yep, that’s included” <o></o>
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I tell them that’s ridiculous, pay Starsky the original amount, give Terry some more, and thank them.<o></o>
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We visit for a while more, say our goodbyes, and I head out, happy that my bike is leaving the shop with a working charging system and some other things tweaked.<o></o>
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And….. they threw in the mirror. J<o></o>
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Starsky<o></o>
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I rode towards Revelstoke, then down hwy 23 towards Nakusp . On the ferry, I got talking to a trucker who had just bought a Harley, and a local guy on a CBR 1000RR.<o></o>
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On the ferry<o></o>
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When we got to the other side, CBR guy says, “I am turning soon to go to the hotsprings, so you may as well unload ahead of me.”<o></o>
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Ummmmmm…….lets see, old fat guy on a 36 year old, 60 horsepower bike, and a young guy on a new 180 horsepower bike and twisty roads ahead.<o></o>
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I say, “No, that’s OK, you go ahead, I am going to go slow and enjoy the view” J<o></o>
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And away he went….. I never saw him again or where he turned off for the Hotsprings.<o></o>
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I rode into Nakusp and got a room for the night.<o></o>

I am in for this one. I enjoyed your last trip south and I am sure you won't disappoint this time around.

Later
John

Thanks

You're right. There is something about an old shovel. I had an 05 Road Glide that I liked a lot, but selling it didn't hurt me much. I have a feeling that this bike will be around a loooong time :)

I am hoping it cools down in texas a bit before I get there. I have become accustomed to cooler weather, me thinks....

LOL
Anyone can do it on a bike they KNOW is gonna make it :)

Thanks John

I will try to keep it interesting :)

Thanks EricD10563

When I get a chance I am going to read about you riding around an Island again, and again, and again.......

Thanks jimbowie

When I get closer, I will let you know. I am not sure what part of Texas you are in, but I have been know to make big detours just to meet good people :)

When I got to Nakusp I didn’t see much besides the hotel and the pizza place I went to pick up my supper, so I took a walk around town before heading out.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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Google maps said the quickest way to Creston and the border was to head South towards Nelson, so I followed the signs towards New Denver and Kaslo instead. It was a great road with lots of “slow to 60 kmh” or “slow to 30 kmh” signs. I was pretty impressed with the old shovel, I was taking the “60” corners at about 90 or 100, and the “30” corners at around 50. No shaking or scraping. After A while I looked in the mirrors and saw…… something…… behind me. Kind of a different looking motorcycle gaining fast. <o></o>
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I pulled over to the right to let him by, and I hear this growl as he went by. What is that? Looks Italian. Hey, that’s a Laverda!! (OK, I saw that the back of his jacket said Laverda)<o></o>
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And he was gone.<o></o>
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I stopped for a look around at a rest area.<o></o>
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After a few miles, I saw the Laverda in my mirrors again. I moved over, and away he went. Sweet!!<o></o>
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I turned onto hwy 31 at New Denver. Now this road is twisty. The same “slow to” signs on the corners, but the corners weren’t quite the same. I was dragging floorboards just trying to do the posted speed. Whoo hoo.<o></o>
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If you like bikes, you would like riding in the Kootenays. <o></o>
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I rode into Kaslo, where I stopped for lunch.<o></o>
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I rode along the lake, stopping here and there for a look around<o></o>
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On the ferry I visited with a local fellow riding a BMW 650GS. He told me about all the great riding in the area.<o></o>
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I stopped for gas in Creston and got talking to a guy on a newer Harley. He told me the best way to the border ( I was planning on going to go to a different, further away crossing)<o></o>
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Got to the border and the border guard asked me all the standard questions. No problem, this is going smooth. She asks me where I work and how I am going to support myself in the USA (uh oh) then she looks at me funny and asks “have you ever been arrested or refused entry to the USA”. <o></o>
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Crap<o></o>
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Go inside and see the guy.<o></o>
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He asks me the standard questions, gives me my passport back after a bit and away I go. I just was thinking that whenever I ride a Harley to the border I get questioned, and when I ride something else I am left alone, and maybe there was something to that, when the guy behind me on the KTM 990 with Nevada plates gets hauled in. Well, there goes that theory.<o></o>
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I rode to Bonners Ferry where I picked up some maps and went to the Bank to deposit some money so I could use my handy dandy Wells Fargo debit card I had picked up last spring in Texas.<o></o>
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I rode into Sandpoint. Picked up some groceries and talked bikes to a couple of guys in front of the grocery store, and headed off to a campsite for the night.<o></o>
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I wanted to go over my bike this morning, so I packed up my camp, got out the wrenches and went over the bolts I thought needed checking. As expected a couple were loosening a little, so I tightened them up, checked a few things I was watching, loaded up and hit the road.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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As I rode it got hotter and smokier. When I stopped for gas or a break, people were commenting about the heat and the smoke. Everybody seemed to think the heat would break by next week, and all thought I was nuts heading towards Texas in this heat, and everybody said the smoke was because there were fires near some town called Grangeville, to the South.<o></o>
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There were lots of historic sites along the way, and made for good places to stop, have a drink of water, and read the signs stating the historic significance. <o></o>
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I stopped in Moscow, Idaho for a bit, and found they had Motorcycle parking only spaces on main street ( I like motorcycle only parking spaces)<o></o>
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Moscow is a college town, with lots of young, artsy types running around. It was kind of tough finding a restaurant with anything I wanted on the menu. J<o></o>
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The downtown area was nice, with lots of trees and well taken care of old buildings<o></o>
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As I headed south, the smoke got thicker. So thick you could taste it. I had to stop to wipe my eyes as they were stinging from the smoke.<o></o>
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I had been watching the time on my GPS, and figured I would tough out the smoke and ride for another hour or so. Once, when I stopped yet again to wipe my eyes, I checked the time on my phone, and it was an hour later than the GPS. I figured I must have crossed a time zone, so I decided to get a room in the next town. I pulled in to Grangeville, apparently the closest town to all the fires and got a room. When I looked at the time on the hotel clock, it said the same time as my GPS. I guess this part of Idaho is on Washington time or something………<o></o>

The smoke in Grangeville was even thicker this morning.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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I ate my complimentary cereal and toast and headed south in the smoke. About 20 miles south of town I went past the helicopter and fire crew camps set up on the side of the road. The smoke was even thicker, and it was hard to see oncoming cars, even the ones with their headlights on (can you believe there were a lot of vehicle WITHOUT headlights on in the smoke)<o></o>
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I stopped at a viewpoint, and I can only take their word for it there was a view.<o></o>
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As I got further south, the smoke lessened, traffic picked up, the sun was able to get a bit of heat through the smoke and it turned into a pretty OK day for riding. Not clear of smoke, but not sickenly thick.<o></o>
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Hwy 95 south of Grangeville is an awesome road. Lots of twisting and turning. Up mountains, down mountains, through valleys, then back up a mountain.<o></o>
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At New Meadows, I turned onto hwy 55, and went up, and up, and up to a little resort town of McColl. I thought the town looked pretty cool, so I stopped for a picture, and ended up staying quite a while.<o></o>
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It was a quiet little resort town, and everyone was wandering around, not in a rush. I have been feeling pretty relaxed on this trip, but just being in McColl made me feel even more so.<o></o>
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They had a pretty cool idea for crosswalks there, one that I had never seen before. At every intersection down town, there was a rack of red flags on sticks, and pedestrians could take a flag, cross the street holding the flag up for traffic to see, the deposit the flag in a rack on the other side of the street. (It took me a bit to figure out what the flags were for J )<o></o>
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I headed down hwy 55, the road winding along the river in places.<o></o>
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I rode into Boise, and had a look around for a bit. I wanted to find an auto parts store and a camping place. Finding Cabelas was a bit tricky with just my iPhone maps, but finding my way out of town was pretty easy, as Cabelas was right next to the freeway (wish I had known that coming IN to town)<o></o>
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Out of Boise I hit my first bit of actual freeway on the trip so far (boooring)<o></o>
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The speed limit is 75 mph on the freeway, but I kept to a sedate 65, not wanting to over tax the old bike for too long. I am not used to being on the freeway and having everybody passing me (75 is the speed limit. Most everybody was doing WAY over that)<o></o>
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I stopped at a little one horse town for gas.<o></o>
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I got talking to an older guy about bikes. He was pretty interested in my bike, and had a 05 Fat Boy at home.<o></o>
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I rode into Twin Falls, hoping to get there before 6 so I could buy a headlight at the Harley shop (mine burnt out. I knew that automotive headlights would shake apart in an old shovel when I installed it, but I installed it anyway) I got to town just before 6, but couldn’t find the Harley shop until just after closing. Crap.<o></o>
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I got a room at a Motel 6, and they directed me to the motorcycle parking right outside my room<o></o>
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Nice Shovel! I've got a 73 E-glide myself. These old bikes might be slow, but they have SOUL.

What an awesome beautiful bike, I can imagine you´ll never sell it, I wouldn´t....
Enjoy your trip, we will...
Greetz, Hans.