Day 8: Rest and Repairs
Day 8 of the Riding Vintage cross-country ride was a shorter Kansas leg on the 1933 Harley-Davidson VL and 1934 Harley-Davidson VLD, but it became an important mid-trip maintenance stop at George and Kim’s garage.
Day 8 Ride Stats
- Date: September 26, 2015
- Start: El Dorado State Park, Kansas
- Finish: George and Kim’s garage in Kansas
- Distance: about 120 miles
- Route: El Dorado State Park west across Kansas to George and Kim’s garage
- Motorcycles: 1933 Harley-Davidson VL and 1934 Harley-Davidson VLD
- Gas added: 2.770 gallons total
- Oil added: 1 quart total
- Maintenance/service: clutch pedal perch rivets tightened; primary chain, rear chain, rear brake linkage, and clutch linkage adjusted; valves and timing checked; Alemite fittings greased; tires topped off; transmission refilled; fresh oil pumped into crankcase
- Roadside issues: none noted
Day 8 Ride Journal
Growing up on the coast, I knew that there was an unwritten rule among fishermen that no time was too early to fish. I now know that this is not a regional mindset, but something shared by fishermen across the country. About 4 AM, the boats started cranking up and heading out across Lake El Dorado. What was different about the fish here in Kansas was that they must be attracted to 1960s music as the boat anchored closest to our tent was blaring Led Zeppelin. I must be getting old, because I found I had no appreciation for rock & roll that time of the morning. Apparently the fish didn’t either and the boat soon moved on.
After getting a couple more hours of sleep, it was time to pack up and head west once again. For the first time in a week, we actually had a destination already mapped out and a list of tasks to accomplish. About three hours down the road was the home of our good friend George and his wife Kim. George is a vintage bike nut just like us and was nice enough to let us spend the afternoon dripping oil all over his garage while we worked on our bikes. We are about halfway across the country, so now is the time for doing a thorough check of both bikes.
While we let the fluids drain from our engines and transmissions, we headed out for lunch in a neighboring town. Right away, I noticed that they had mountain oysters on the menu. For those who don’t know, mountain oysters are nothing like their sea-dwelling namesake, but actually deep-fried bull testicles. George ordered up a basket of them for us to try, which came with cocktail sauce for dipping. Turns out deep-fried bull testicles are pretty good, I just wouldn’t want to be the guy who harvests them...
After filling up on testicles and chicken-fried steak sandwiches, it was back to George’s to turn some wrenches. Both bikes were gone over from top to bottom. I started with tightening the rivets on my clutch pedal perch. These were getting loose and if they pulled free there would be no way to shift the bike. Luckily fixing rivets translates into just pounding on them with a hammer, so that was easy enough. Since I already removed my floorboard and clutch pedal assembly, I went ahead and pulled the primary cover and adjusted the primary chain.
To adjust the primary chain, you have to move the transmission, which then means you have to also adjust your rear chain, rear brake linkage and clutch linkage. Once I had all those readjusted, I double-checked my valves and timing. Then I greased all the Alemite fittings on the bike (there must be two dozen), topped off the air in the tires, refilled the transmission and pumped fresh oil into the crankcase.
George was a huge help, acting as crew chief as we went through the bikes. He provided the necessary tools, fluids and most importantly knowledge to make sure both bikes were ready for the second half of the journey. He also put us up for the night, ran our filthy laundry through his washer and took us to dinner. Thank you George and Kim for all the help and hospitality!
A mere 120 miles today, but a lot of work was done to help ensure a successful second half of our ride.
