The plan for the first real day was to ride up through Kananaskis, Banff, Lake Louise then finally Jasper. World famous and amazing scenery the whole way. But it did not quite turn out the way we planned however.
Here is our actual route for Day 1. I combined my first leg from Lethbridge to the Crowness Pass into it as well. We certainly did not put on the miles on that we envisioned.
The day started off well. We rode out of the mountains into more foothills terrain with a large number of ranching operations in this area.
We continued north to Longview and the The Twin Cities Hotel.
I fueled up here and due to my lack of a gas gauge (there is a warning light only) and small tank this was to become a very familiar task.
A very nice Ford Model A was lurking nearby.
I love the simplicity of these early cars. A Model A would be an ideal veteran car with good parts supply, modern style controls and reasonable performance.
The rear plate indicates this one is a 1929 model.
We were off again and back in to the mountains, this time the very scenic Kananaskis area.
Unfortunately we did not make it far. His bike would not restart after we stopped to take the above photo. No power. No electrical. Dead. To top it off we were well out of cell phone range.
He rolled it down the hill to a nearby parking lot where we went into troubleshooting mode. We examined fuses and swapped them around. Jiggled any connections that we could access. We even swapped batteries from my bike to his with no change. Reluctantly we came to the conclusion that we were not fixing it with the limited tools we had brought with us. This break down was rather annoying as he bought a relatively new Suzuki V-Strom 1000 for the trip, a bike with a reputation for bullet proof reliability.
I sent him back on my bike to find cell phone reception and decide what he wanted to do next. This meant I had a pile of time to kill at the side of road and unfortunately the book I had packed was still on my bike. I still had my phone (without reception) so here is a photo of some wild flowers.
When he came back (eventually) it was with a tow truck. Not a great sign. The closest bike mechanic was in Black Diamond roughly 60-70kms away which meant an expensive tow.
By the time we made it to the local bike shop it was just about closing time but we managed to convince them to take a quick look. The bad news was that they would need more time. Good news is they were willing to bump him to the front of the line the next morning. We had planned to camp the entire trip but now only had one working bike (and the small one at that) so therefor we were stuck within walking distance of the bike shop. Luckily a hotel was near by.
The Black Diamond Hotel is where we landed for the night and as luck would have it there was also a bar where we had some drinks and food to drown our sorrows. We had a booked an expensive ferry in a couple of days and were unsure if we could continue the trip at this point.
It was in the mechanics hands at this point so nothing else to do but have a few more drinks and play some pool.
I managed a quick wander around the block and came across this neat Chevrolet Monza. It has been a while since I have seen a road going example.
Those side window louvers are an interesting touch.
This Chevy looks to be still hard at work.
As I headed back to the hotel the 1929 Ford Model A for earlier in the day drove by proving it was a driver as a well as a looker. The intersection outside our hotel room was busy with motorcycle traffic that evening and we could only be jealous of them and their working bikes. To be continued …
The full trip log:
Road Trip: Part 1 – Preparation and Starting a 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 2 – Best Laid Plans on a 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 3 – Making up Time – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 4 – The Miles Pile On Up North – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 5 – Heading for the Coast – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 6 – A Coastal Ferry Cruise – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 7 – Vancouver Island and Rain – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 8 – Rain, Rain and More Rain – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 10 – Riding Nirvana – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 12 – Beer, Dune Buggy and a Ferry – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 13 – Finale – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Ha, what an irony that the big VStrom proves less suitable for this ride than the little 250. But rather surprising … my 650 VStrom was stone reliable for over 55K miles. And what a treat to see a Model A and a Monza. Wildly disparate, but two of my favorite American cars.
That’s the one problem with modern motorcycles: They’re virtually unrepairable by the side of the road. Given they’ve got electronics and black boxes that’ll compete with a car, sorting out any kinds of problems other than the simplest is usually an impossibility.
And, unfortunately, they’ve never standardized on a diagnostic port like automobiles have, nor a code reader. Some of the bikes we have coming into the shop (looking at you Can-Am Spyder) doesn’t even get looked at without hooking up the mechanic’s laptop.
The only reason that the onboard diagnoistics system and ports and codes are standardized is because the US gov’t mandated it. Before 1996 the differences were great and most didn’t have a port to communicate with. For example on Hondas you had 4 leds on the computer visible through a window and the exact combination of lights that was on gave you your code. On the other end you had live data on GMs or the ability to do specific tests on Fords.
Think Norton Commando, the old one, fault tolerant!!!! with two of carbs, points condensers, plugs, cylinders and six diodes on 3 permanent magnet alternator phases. If the zener fails the battery regulates voltage (a bit) till it boils dry and a large capacitor to provide electricity from said permanent non brushes alternator for ignition purposes if the battery is totally flat 🙂
After a push rod failed I once rode 1600 km on mine as a 375 single with the faulty cylinders plug removed.
Hmm, that’s a bummer. Mentioning Kananaskis reminds me of our 500cc SilverWing struggling into the mountains loaded with two people and hard saddlebags.
http://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/born-to-be-wild-at-least-once-our-cross-canadian-motorcycle-trip/
A buddy of mine had a similar problem this year on his CBR954 in the middle of nowhere Utah. They traced it to a broken wire on the side stand switch. Jumpered it out and continued, but spent an uncomfortable hot hour sitting at the side of the highway.
I once got stranded in the mountains on my ’85 Yamaha 700 Maxim, a woman in an old Subaru decided to back up at a stop sign to turn right without looking behind her, I turned left but had to lift my right leg out of the way as my foot peg gouged a long dent into her 1/4 panel. After she finally heard me yelling at her to stop, she pulled forward and I thought all was well, just a little scratch on the side of the brake pedal. Her husband yelled at me for “being too close behind her”. I told him if he valued his teeth he should get back in the car and they should both leave now.
After she left, I started my bike, ran fine but would die when I put it in gear. After a few minutes I pulled the wires of the kickstand switch, twisted them together and all was well. I still don’t see how the switch was damaged as she hit the other side of the bike, maybe just coincidence?
Kickstand safety switches are the lawyer’s gift from hell to motorcycles. The T3 Triumphs invariably have a switch that’ll age badly (probably the only electrical gremlin on the bike – no, it wasn’t built by Lucas), and all three of mine have eventually had the problem.
It’s gotten to the point that I automatically reach down and pull on the plunger to get it to extend that unseeable micro-millimeter it takes to get it to work first ride in the morning after sitting overnight.
Hmmm, few things worse than a mechanical failure that soon into the trip.
A Model A does indeed make a great hobby car. Rock simple, few things to go wrong and will cruise comfortably on secondary roads. Paint it tan instead of red and this looks very much like the 29 I owned for about 4 years up until 1993.
Bummer!
Going this far from the grid lo tech beats hi tech. I think DougD is on the right track. Odds are a safeguard is overzealous. I hope the mechanic will find it in a hurry.
“ A Model A would be an ideal veteran car with good parts supply, modern style controls and reasonable performance.”
ISWYDT
(c:
Bummer about the early breakdown. I had to push a 125cc dirt bike about three miles (mostly uphill) out of the woods once when it broke down in a similar manner.
Thanks for this post, and beautiful photos David. It’s always a disappointment when a big trip gets curtailed, or held up. Given how thoroughly you usually prepare for your journeys in advance, I wonder if your friend did a complete inspection before heading out. At least the issue was discovered relatively early.
Quite amazing that you shot a Monza. I haven’t seen one daily driven in decades. Like the Mustang II, a car I don’t especially miss. The hood scoop and front air dam, don’t improve the looks of this one.
Looking forward to the rest of your travelogue. The thoroughness of your posts is much enjoyed, and appreciated.
Wow, an Esso station…. How retro!
Sorry to hear about your friend’s troubles with his bike, David. Hopefully the repair bill wasn’t too high and you all could get going again and make it to your boat.
By the way, booting a broke down traveler to the front of the repair line is normal courtesy for any motorcycle shop. It’s not like they can let you camp out for days until they get around to you. And, in the summer, a three week repair backlog is not odd when it comes to bikes.
I had a similar problem on a Suzuki SV650S. The side stand switch had already been bypassed, yet the bike would die each time I put it in gear. An internet post confirmed the trouble with the circuit. I traced the wiring to the black box. Ended up grounding that wire to the frame. That fixed it. Never had any more trouble with that issue. I hope the repair shop finds the trouble to be an equally simple fix.
BTW, your route seems to duplicate some of the roads traveled on The Great Beater Challenge. Enjoy the view from a different perspective.
There was some common ground but tomorrow we will get to some new stuff.