Date: Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Location: Chenoa, IL
Departure Time: 9:50
Starting Mileage: DK
Last night when we landed in the restaurant parking lot Lee asked why we didn’t order a generator the other day. I explained that the part I was shown as a cross referenced replacement was different and required the pulley to be swapped. That fact alone gave me pause.
I also explained that the problem could be in the wiring, I just didn’t know. When we went in to eat I sat in the booth feeling overwhelmed.
Back at the motel I weighed our options and came to what I believed to be a workable plan.
In the room I explained to Lee that we could continue to expend time, energy and money fighting the problem or simply live with it. That we saw yesterday the bike will run a lot of miles as long as the headlight isn’t used. I told her I had a plan to remedy that. Lee agreed that the approach made sense.
She got out the maps and spent about two hours plotting the best route for the next couple of days. Laying in bed I refined my daytime headlight fix so we could meet the requirements of the law.
One of the first things I did to prepare for this trip was to make a spreadsheet containing the motorcycle laws for each state so we didn’t run afoul of them and put it in the map pocket of the tank bag.
OUR NEW HEADLIGHT BULB WITH THE LEADS SOLDERED ON
ZIP TIE BULB SUPPORT
One of the bulbs Don gave was put to use as a low power driving light.
With the meter I confirmed a power connection in the fuse board that energized when the key was turned on. I then pulled the bullet terminal out, slipped the bare end of the power wire from the bulb in and reinserted the bullet connector. The soldered loop on the bulb ground wire was screwed in place. I now had a daytime light that left the existing headlight wiring untouched and worked with the other lights off.
Back on RT 24 Bubba was switched to velocity mode.
The generator light was out giving me hope. We passed a few semi’s and kept rolling. At one point the Flying J pulled onto RT 24 several hundred feet ahead. I eased up and ran behind him to Watseka, IL where he waved me past.
THE FLYING J
Entering Watseka the generator light blinked on then went out. From that point on it was on and off.
East of Reynolds I had to switch to reserve. There were no gas stations selling high test in view, but a hardware store with an equipment repair business attached to it looked like a good place to fuel up out of the trailer and check the battery.
Mike told me to pull up to the second open overhead door. He was great and liked Bubba.
TALKING TO MIKE
When plugged in, the charger indicated a 68% charge. Mike suggested we walk over to the USA Family Restaurant for lunch while the battery charged. He said we wouldn’t be disappointed. We weren’t. The fried chicken was dangerously good.
ALL FOR LESS THAN $20!
While eating we realized that we had crossed into the eastern time zone. That fact cut an hour off our available time to travel. A lost hour we could ill afford, but there was nothing we could do about it.
When talking about charging the bike Lee said, “so basically we have an electric vehicle.” Later I thought, yea, an Italian hybrid.
Back at the bike the charger read 86%. I emptied one of the fuel jugs into the tank. When Lee went back to the restaurant to fill our water bottles I sat on a pallet of ready mix and updated the blog.
The charger read 93%, time to make tracks for Decatur.
Instead of stopping in Decatur we pressed on to Van Wert, OH.
Entering Ohio was a huge psychological boost. It proved that we can get the mileage in by stopping every 100 miles or so to charge the battery.
In Van Wert the bike and empty gas jug were filled. We then headed for a NAPA a few blocks away. Joe was great, letting me unplug their sign so I’d have a source of power for the charger. It read 57% charged.
Bubba was getting noisy so I decided that I needed to check the valve clearances. The issue being my missing socket set, a total mystery.
NAPA provided the needed tools and chemicals to get the job done. I hope.
It was just past 6:00 pm when we pulled into NAPA so the day was fading. Joe recommend a place in Delphos, we decided to head there and call it a day.
Running at night was too stressful. Last night on RT 24 we passed a big DuPont plant. Suddenly I thought I saw a fork truck in my lane coming right at me. In reality it was the lights from a distant car and some shadows playing tricks with my mind. Just seeing the road and anticipating what was coming was mentally draining.
From the hotel we walked about a mile to Cabos for dinner. We squeaked in 20 minutes before their 9:00 pm closing time.
The food was great and a couple cold beers were a welcome treat.
GOOD VITTALS!
Back at the room I put my work cloths on and headed outside. Bubba was parked in front of a side door with lots of light. There was a wall outlet just inside the door so I connected the charger and plugged it in before checking the valves.
The left valve cover lifted right off, there was oil under the gasket. The intake valve clearance was over spec. Before adjusting it I checked the tightness of one of the head bolt nuts. It turned without much force on the ratchet. The rocker arms were removed and all the cylinder head nuts tightened. Once that was done I reinstalled the rocker arms and set the valve clearance.
Using the brake cleaner from NAPA the gasket surfaces were cleaned then copper coat gasket cement was sprayed onto the gasket. With the left cylinder done I moved to the right one. The head bolt nuts were tight as was the exhaust valve clearance. With that taken care of the engine and rear drive oil was topped off. It was 12:15 am when I got back upstairs.
Adventures With Bubba 