We had a good trip to the Salem Rally. Weather was quite warm on the first 2 days out......across some desolate desert roads going west out of Arizona and on westward and then north up through California, a short distance in Nevada, then up to Oregon. We rode about 425 miles each day. The third day from Susanville, California to Salem, Or was more comfortable up until the last 2 hours where we again required our cooling vests and a stop every hour for more water. We had only a sprinkle of rain on the way home along the eastern edge of the Sierra Mountains where a heavy thunderstorm was giving us a lightning show just off our right side. As soon as we donned our rain gear, the rain was no more & we packed them away again at the next rest.
Upon starting out, we soon realized that the final items I stuffed into the tank bag made it just too tall to ride. We stopped about 25 miles out to take some stuff out of the center expando section and later a trip to Wal-Mart, purchasing a large duffle bag to tie up on top of the top box. All in all we had a lot of top heavy weight on board but the k handled well on the new "Contis". Mechanically, the bike was perfect except for a small irregularity on the first day of the return trip where the engine appeared to have a partial miss on 1 cylinder that I could hear in the zorst as well. It was quite warm when we pulled in.......I haven't checked it out yet but I'm guessing I have an exhaust valve receding, hence zero clearance when the engine and oil is at it's very hottest. It ran well the last 2 days of the trip and did not miss unless very warm both inside & out. I will check it out & report back soon.
I did have one other small distraction when I met an Oregon State trooper coming the opposite direction on a wonderful 2 lane road engulfed with tall evergreen trees and straight as an arrow for miles. He had automatic radar running and clocked me at 79 mph in a 55 mph zone.
The end result was a $160 donation to the Klamath County Circuit Court for a "high speed driving permit"......LOL.
Attending our first BMWMOA rally was quite wonderful......we would guess maybe nearly 3000 people, (another user thinks it was closer to 6000) may have been there. We had a side trip on Saturday to the beautiful Oregon coast and more eye popping scenery through the mountain roads heavily forested in Conifers, Sequoias, Fir trees and various other evergreens.
This is obviously Gods Christmas tree farm. So many trees, so tall & perfect.
Another side trip was made to see Portland.....Nice but anti-climactic after the wonderful coast roads.
We visited 2 Botanical Gardens there as well for the wife to inspect the local foliage!
Back at the rally, we were fortunate enough to contact and hook up with K75RTKeith, KiltedK100 & Brickryder......though not all at the same time. I was disappointed to find that I had not taken pictures of all of us......we will post one of Ibjman & Brickryder taken by my wife.
Over the journey, we covered nearly 3000 miles and averaged 42.7 mpg. Great!
It appears that we consumed NO oil as the sight glass level is exactly in the center, just as it was 4000 miles ago when I serviced it. The rear Conti appears to have a little more than 1/2 of it's original tread left.
Posted below are some pics for your enjoyment/comment!
Regards, Ibj...
WHO'S GOING to SALEM? Thu Jul 04, 2013 12:16 pm
