On my first trip of the season around BC, riding two up with the better half, had a good ride of some 1700 Kms with onlly one hiccup - had to replace the fuel pump on returning. The bike operated well on this trip considering it is 33 years old, and we were in the mountains. Looked at my fuel logs and we averaged 45 to 48 mpg over the four day trip.
We started with a ferry trip from Swartz bay over to Tsawwassen on the mainland. Rode to Hope then through the Fraser Canyon past Hell's Gate, onto Cache Creek, through Kamloops to Vernon for the first night. Second day on the road took us from Vernon over to Kaslo, a lovely small town that should be on the destination of anyone touring BC. Thrid day took us to Princeton via Nelson, Trail, Rossland, Castlegar, and Osoyoos to name a few of the great towns along the way. Also stopped at Toad Rock motorcycle camp ground for a visit. Last day was a jaunt over the Hope-Princeton to Vancouver with a stop at the Hope Slide. Got back after the four days feeling great having been on the road again.
Did some additional maintenance after getting home in addition to a new fuel pump. Installed new refurbished injectors, bled the clutch system again - almost have it back to 100% - more on this later. Also identified the need, for myself to renew the coils. This is simply becasue of time and coils degrade over time.
Looked into MSD and Accel coil upgrade(s) and was impressed but also looked at YouTube videos regarding what performance benefits could be achieved by using these automotive coils. Saw a video where a relatvely new Mustang was put on a dyno and a comarison was done between the OEM coils and Accel coils. There was a diference but mostly at the top end of the spectrum, not a lot of difference at the normal operating ranges.
To this end I'm of the opinion that new, OEM style coils will give me the operating performance I want. I also looked at 1500 coils - same 3 ohm specs as the 1200 - and used car coils as well. I ruled out used becasue the new OEM style, direct replacement coils I found are reasonably priced for myself here in Canada - comparable to used 1500 and car coils that have been used and should do the job.
With having done the maintenance I needed to do in preparation for the next trip around BC with my friends and their HDs, I relaxed and just rode the bike around town and area. Took a short trip up island to Chemainus for coffee and met thePO of my bike. We had a good chat and he offered up some spare parts that he had in his garage. We negotiated a very good price andhad a deal done. Will be keeping in contact with him.
Second trip has been good so far. We have estimated it will cover some 2000 kms - good weeks riding.
Finished our third day on the road and are hunkered down in Trail BC for the night.
The first day was over to Vancouver via the 0700 ferry, through Vancouver and past Horseshoe Bay en route to Squamish for coffee. Rode past Whistler and on to Pemberton where we had lunch. This day was overcast and we did have some wet sprinkles but nothing that detered our spirits. Made it in to Lilloet for coffee after a great ride through the mountains. Lilloet is known to be the hottest town in BC and we were not disappointed. After havng coffee we rode on through Cache Creek to Kamloops for the night.
Our second day was not as nice, had rain on and off for 350 Kms. Got a late start because we had to make a stop at the local HD shop so Mark could have the oil chnged in his 2017 Limited with the Milwauki Eight engine - it was the first oil change from new - only has some 2000 kms on it right now. We stopped in Salmon Arm for lunch with Mark's daughter. We left there and made it into Golden for the night and we're quite exhausted. Riding in the rain taks a lot of mental concentration. We were also at the snow line when we went through Roger's Pass. Lots of construction on the Trans Canada highway.
Had a restful night and got on the road for our third day at 0830. It was cloudy and overcast for the start of the day, but cleared up nicely. We have visited all the HD shops along the way for my friends with the neatest one being in Cranbrook. Left Cranbrook and headed to Trail BC as we decided that would be the place to overnight. Went over one of the mountain passes that was the highest in the Kootenay's (name ecapes me at the moment) and found out just how much altitude really affects the bike's performance. Nearing the top of the pass I realized I had the throttle wide open doing 105 Kms and turning 3450 RPM and there was nothing left. My friend on his 2017 only had a bit more and could just edge past me. Made me feel pretty good about the performance of my 33 year old bike. At the summit of the pass had to get off the throttle real quick because when I crested and started down the other side, the bike decided to use all of the throttle and the speed increased significantly, real quick.
Even though I know that altitude affects a vehicles performance, this ride is really bringingthis issue to the fore. More fuel is consumed, and there is less power available the higher you go - my impression of this issue. Will have to keep this in mind whenever I'm going through the mountains solo or riding two-up. This was mentioned to me in another thread I had regarding the fuel pump issue.
After this pass everything was downhill - literally - for some 15 to 20 KM. Great ride and kept us really focused.
My friend on his 2017 HD got hit by a rock and it took a 1" by 4" chucnk out of thetop of his windscreen. He is okay but a new windscreen is in the offing. Only issue to date.
Tomorrow we are off to Castlegar, Osoyoos and Princeton for the day, and on Friday over the Hope-Princeton and home to Victoria.
All in all a good ride so far. My friends are pleased with how the '85 is holding up and how strong it is performing as am I. My bike has also been part of conversation(s) with other people we have met along the way. Had a fellow come alongside me at a stop light in Cranbrook BC (he was looking down from the cab of his dump truck) and ask about the bike and the Kms on it. We had a good quick chat and had a good laugh when I told him I had two HDs in tow. These older bikes are great coversation pieces.
This is a tribute to doing the maintenance required, replacing old parts with new, and progressig with maintenance/work that for me, should be done. Everyone who takes on an older GW and makes it their prefered ride, or those who have had theirs for years should take pride in having a bike that can and will ride with the latest and greatest - something to be said for the build quality of these older bikes.
That is all for tonight and will follow up when the ride is finished. Having way too much fun.
Cheers
We started with a ferry trip from Swartz bay over to Tsawwassen on the mainland. Rode to Hope then through the Fraser Canyon past Hell's Gate, onto Cache Creek, through Kamloops to Vernon for the first night. Second day on the road took us from Vernon over to Kaslo, a lovely small town that should be on the destination of anyone touring BC. Thrid day took us to Princeton via Nelson, Trail, Rossland, Castlegar, and Osoyoos to name a few of the great towns along the way. Also stopped at Toad Rock motorcycle camp ground for a visit. Last day was a jaunt over the Hope-Princeton to Vancouver with a stop at the Hope Slide. Got back after the four days feeling great having been on the road again.
Did some additional maintenance after getting home in addition to a new fuel pump. Installed new refurbished injectors, bled the clutch system again - almost have it back to 100% - more on this later. Also identified the need, for myself to renew the coils. This is simply becasue of time and coils degrade over time.
Looked into MSD and Accel coil upgrade(s) and was impressed but also looked at YouTube videos regarding what performance benefits could be achieved by using these automotive coils. Saw a video where a relatvely new Mustang was put on a dyno and a comarison was done between the OEM coils and Accel coils. There was a diference but mostly at the top end of the spectrum, not a lot of difference at the normal operating ranges.
To this end I'm of the opinion that new, OEM style coils will give me the operating performance I want. I also looked at 1500 coils - same 3 ohm specs as the 1200 - and used car coils as well. I ruled out used becasue the new OEM style, direct replacement coils I found are reasonably priced for myself here in Canada - comparable to used 1500 and car coils that have been used and should do the job.
With having done the maintenance I needed to do in preparation for the next trip around BC with my friends and their HDs, I relaxed and just rode the bike around town and area. Took a short trip up island to Chemainus for coffee and met thePO of my bike. We had a good chat and he offered up some spare parts that he had in his garage. We negotiated a very good price andhad a deal done. Will be keeping in contact with him.
Second trip has been good so far. We have estimated it will cover some 2000 kms - good weeks riding.
Finished our third day on the road and are hunkered down in Trail BC for the night.
The first day was over to Vancouver via the 0700 ferry, through Vancouver and past Horseshoe Bay en route to Squamish for coffee. Rode past Whistler and on to Pemberton where we had lunch. This day was overcast and we did have some wet sprinkles but nothing that detered our spirits. Made it in to Lilloet for coffee after a great ride through the mountains. Lilloet is known to be the hottest town in BC and we were not disappointed. After havng coffee we rode on through Cache Creek to Kamloops for the night.
Our second day was not as nice, had rain on and off for 350 Kms. Got a late start because we had to make a stop at the local HD shop so Mark could have the oil chnged in his 2017 Limited with the Milwauki Eight engine - it was the first oil change from new - only has some 2000 kms on it right now. We stopped in Salmon Arm for lunch with Mark's daughter. We left there and made it into Golden for the night and we're quite exhausted. Riding in the rain taks a lot of mental concentration. We were also at the snow line when we went through Roger's Pass. Lots of construction on the Trans Canada highway.
Had a restful night and got on the road for our third day at 0830. It was cloudy and overcast for the start of the day, but cleared up nicely. We have visited all the HD shops along the way for my friends with the neatest one being in Cranbrook. Left Cranbrook and headed to Trail BC as we decided that would be the place to overnight. Went over one of the mountain passes that was the highest in the Kootenay's (name ecapes me at the moment) and found out just how much altitude really affects the bike's performance. Nearing the top of the pass I realized I had the throttle wide open doing 105 Kms and turning 3450 RPM and there was nothing left. My friend on his 2017 only had a bit more and could just edge past me. Made me feel pretty good about the performance of my 33 year old bike. At the summit of the pass had to get off the throttle real quick because when I crested and started down the other side, the bike decided to use all of the throttle and the speed increased significantly, real quick.
Even though I know that altitude affects a vehicles performance, this ride is really bringingthis issue to the fore. More fuel is consumed, and there is less power available the higher you go - my impression of this issue. Will have to keep this in mind whenever I'm going through the mountains solo or riding two-up. This was mentioned to me in another thread I had regarding the fuel pump issue.
After this pass everything was downhill - literally - for some 15 to 20 KM. Great ride and kept us really focused.
My friend on his 2017 HD got hit by a rock and it took a 1" by 4" chucnk out of thetop of his windscreen. He is okay but a new windscreen is in the offing. Only issue to date.
Tomorrow we are off to Castlegar, Osoyoos and Princeton for the day, and on Friday over the Hope-Princeton and home to Victoria.
All in all a good ride so far. My friends are pleased with how the '85 is holding up and how strong it is performing as am I. My bike has also been part of conversation(s) with other people we have met along the way. Had a fellow come alongside me at a stop light in Cranbrook BC (he was looking down from the cab of his dump truck) and ask about the bike and the Kms on it. We had a good quick chat and had a good laugh when I told him I had two HDs in tow. These older bikes are great coversation pieces.
This is a tribute to doing the maintenance required, replacing old parts with new, and progressig with maintenance/work that for me, should be done. Everyone who takes on an older GW and makes it their prefered ride, or those who have had theirs for years should take pride in having a bike that can and will ride with the latest and greatest - something to be said for the build quality of these older bikes.
That is all for tonight and will follow up when the ride is finished. Having way too much fun.
Cheers
arty: :yes: :clapping:
