Big Sur Ride Addendum - Flight of the Canada Goldwing

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[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=196746#p196746:1rv77dhd said:
Rednaxs60 » Fri Oct 13, 2017 1:13 am[/url]":1rv77dhd]
Update on the alternator repair. The shop was very supportive and extremely helpful in everything. Tim and Steve in the service department couldn't have been better. Tim was a little frustrated yesterday because I did not have the info he needed, but with a browse of the forums came up with a suitable replacement out of a 1998 Firefly 1.0 litre turbo. Once we did that and ordered it we all settled in for the wait. The alternator came in at noon today from NAPA. We had a good look at the footprint and it was the same except that we had to cut off the rear foot as has been detailed in a lot of alt conversions. Will have to do some modification when I get home to make everything fit properly, but for the short interim, all is well.

They had the alt installed and ready for me before 2:00 PM and I was on the road before 2:30 PM. The bill was also very good considering the time spent at NAPA as well. 2 hours labour and the alt - came in just shy of $370.00 USD. Not complaining, I thought it would be significantly more.

Nice ride from Redding; except I hit Sacramento at rush hour, slowed my progress down significantly. 356 miles in 7 1/2 hours - good progress. Tried doing the Iron Butt but a call to Dan and we arranged an alternate meet in Gorman for 0900.

No pictures but a good day considering. The guys at Lee's Honda went out of their way to make sure I was taken care of and this being a surprise visit to their shop.

Will post my thoughts on my time spent at Lee's Honda in Redding.

More to follow.

Cheers
So glad to read such a glowing report from a dealership. Honda dealer here sucks. :head bang: :head bang:
 
Great to hear that Lee's Honda ended up being a great place to have a breakdown, 2 hours labour seems more than fair especially if two techs were helping out. :good:
 
Lee's Honda in Redding was a lifesaver. The service manager, Tim Fleig, who has been there for 34 years, took this on as an alternator replacement and to get me back on the road. He had Kelsy Maasen, one of his mechanics take the bike in immediately and remove the alternator. Kelsey was excellent, and even though he did not have a lot of experience with these older bikes, he did not shy away from the challenge. The service advisor, Steve Helow was a wealth of knowledge about the area and directed me to where I needed to be while the bike was in the shop.

Once I had identified a replacement, Steve ordered it from NAPA. The next morning Steve was on NAPA for delivery. Once the alternator was received, Tim made sure that it would bolt up and I authorized the removal of the rear connecting foot. Once this was done I owned it. It fit and was installed just like the one removed. Kelsey was pleased with his work and so he should be.

I can't say enough about the service I received and the effort that Tim and his staff did to get me back on the road as soon as possible.

The number for Lee's Honda is: (530) 221-9247 Toll free: 1-800-542-9697 www.leeshonda.com
Address: 2230 Larkspur Lane, Redding, CA 96002

If you are in the area drop in.

Cheers
 
Got on the road about 1430 (2:30 PM) on 12 Oct. Nice afternoon, warm and I was looking at LA that night. Once on the I5, set cruise control at 3400 RPM and about 65 MPH, and settled in for an iron butt ride to LA. Had a slight hiccup in that I hit Sacramento at about 1700 (5:00 PM) at rush hour, slowed my progress down significantly.

Once I cleared Sacramento, all went well. Stopped only for gas and quick coffee as I headed towards LA. Got to Coalinga turnoff at about 2130 (9:30 PM) and contacted Dan. We decided that it would be better for me to overnight where I was - Motel 6 - and meet in the morning at about 0900 at the McDs in Gorman.

Nice morning ride, clear and cool to start off for the morning ride:
Morning 12 Oct - 2.jpg
. Got to Gorman, met up with Dan, Sam, Brent and Alex.
Meet Up at McDs in Gorman.jpg


First order of business was a coffee. We set up our communicators, and were off to Big Sur. Great ride, a bit warm but enjoyable. Stopped outside a vineyard en route:
Stop on way to Big Sur - 13 Oct.jpg


Beautiful countryside, lovely ocean views, and great company made the trip and tribulations worth while. Dan provided great support and even had some plans to make sure I was not stranded in Redding. The camping was very nice, and was well worth the trip as well:
Big Sur Campground - 13 Oct.jpg


Had an interesting night, got a bit cool. Up at 0600 and started to break down the campground. Sam was a savior with coffee. We got on the road at 0730. Nice ride back to LA, took a road that is posted on the Big Sur Ride thread. It was the road from hell, reminded all of us of the roads we have seen on TV in places like South America. It felt real good to be through it and onto more civilized roads.

The ride into LA was quite warm. Said our goodbye(s) to Sam, and carried on to Dan's place in LA.

At Dan's, did some final work on the bike - added a battery sense line to the new alternator for the way north.

Great few days and a great group to ride with.

A very special thanks to Dan's wife, Anita, for picking Sonya up at the Burbank Airport. Considering this was a leap of faith on both sides it worked out well. Can't say how much this has meant to Sonya and I. We hope to be able to reciprocate, and provide Dan and Anita with as enjoyable a visit up north as we had there, if only for a short time.

Cheers
 
Skiri's coffee was great, got the blood circulating.

Working on the post for the remainder of the trip north.

Got some maintenance done, oil and oil filter change, new air filter and adjusted the new alternator for fit. Emptied the storage tank that is connected to the air intake. Did some minor cleaning as well.

Had a good look at the tires, Michelin Commander II - front and rear - and there is still a significant amount of tread remaining even after the 20,000 Kms these tires have endured. I have been diligent in monitoring the tire pressure and keep both at the 40 PSI mark, give or take a pound.

Now for the alternator. Have done some testing of the old alternator in accordance with a good tutorial on line. The regulator cannot be tested because I do not have the necessary unit to do the testing of this. The bridge rectifier is a bit dodgy in that it did pass the tests but the diodes should have been all the same and they were not. The rotor passed the two tests recommended.

Now for the one that surprised me a bit, but not really. The stator failed the second test which is the winding to ground. Each winding displayed continuity and this is not to be the case.

So why it happened I do not know but the alternator is toast. Will double check tomorrow, but expect the same results.

If the rotor, stator and bridge rectifier all passed (even if the bridge rectifier is not quite consistent) could have bought a cheap regulator on line for about $15.00 with free shipping. Would have been a good experiment and possible spare.

This is also the first time I have taken an alternator apart to test. Wasn't as involved as I thought.

Thought I'd update regarding the alternator issue. No guarantee I will not run into it again.

Cheers
 
If the stator is still connected to the bridge rectifier it will test to ground. Normally if the stator has been faulty you will see a darker colour of the varnish caused by heat. Most alternator failures are regulator/brushes, rectifier, stator and very rarely rotors.
 
Found this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at_R7sENE0s

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at_R7sENE0s[/video]

Used it as the basis for my testing. Have the alternator completely apart. Not much to these items. The new alternator will never be able to go back because I cut the rear foot off it. Will be checking with the local auto wrecker for a spare, should be less expensive then a new refurbished one. With what I have learned, the 3 wire unit is my preference even though there are a lot of one wire units out there.

Cheers
 
Thinking this will be the last post regarding our trip north from LA. Got the pictures sorted and ready to go.

Sunday 15 Oct 2017

Got going at around 0830 and headed for Santa Monica Pier. Gorgeous day, rather warm even at 0830. Lots of people were already there when we arrived. Walked the pier, had a coffee, tea and blueberry scone.
Ernie - Santa Monica Pier.jpg
Sonya - Santa Monica Pier - 15 Oct 17.jpg
There was alos a tribute to the Arlington Cemetery in DC - Arlington West:
Arlington West - Santa Monica Pier.jpg
Left the pier and headed north up the coast highway. Beautiful scenery. There was a bicycle marathon on and lots of Tour de France wannabees, all decked out in their finery.

Stopped for coffee in Solvang. Danish heritage and the downtown was very eclectic:
Downtown Solvang.jpg
Sonya originally thought it was Dutch heritage, but the Danes and Dutch share a lot of the same architectural and cultural aspects because these countries are side by each:
Sonya - Solvang Windmill.jpg


Made it to Monterey for the night. Good ride and lots of miles behind us.

Monday 16 Oct 2017

Left Monterey the next morning heading for the Golden Gate Bridge. Another lovely day, and warm again. The entrance is quite spectacular with two towers bracketing the way in:
Entering Golden Gate Bridge.jpg
(Sonya is learning to take photos while we are moving). The Golden Gate Bridge is quite the sight, lots of people walking and riding their bicycles across the expanse - not my cup of tea:
Over Golden Gate Bridge - 2.jpg
The scenery from the bridge lookout(s) is spectacular. Here are a couple of photos of us and the bridge, and with San Francisco/Alcatraz as background:
Ernie - Sonya at Golden Gate Bridge - 2.jpg
Ernie - Sonya with San Fran and Alcatras.jpg

Highway 101 was open to travel so instead of heading over to the I5 and up to Redding, we motored on up the 101. Came to a major slow down around Petaluma in Sonoma County. We did about 20 miles in an hour, and again it was extremely warm. Once we got going it was quite nice.

The scenery was quite often very majestic:
Beautiful Vistas en route north.jpg

Had to change to high test - 91 octane - as the bike was pinging a bit. As soon as I had high test in the bike the pinging went away which is what you would expect to happen. I know there is a lot of discussion on octane ratings, but octane is there to prevent predetonation, and unless you have a high compression engine, or operating in extreme heat, use the fuel as recommended by the manufacturer.

I also noticed that not all high test with the same octane rating is the same. The reason for this I do not know, but not all gas is created equal. Could tell by the engine sound. It was still better than travelling using 87 octane.

Stayed in Eureka for the night of 16 October at another Motel 6 - bare bones, but inexpensive.
 
Tuesday 17 Oct 2017

Slept in this morning and got going around 1000. Started out overcast and slight drizzle but this changed some 50 miles north of Eureka. Beautiful scenery as we headed north along the coast.

To let everyone know that I have left the state of California, here is a picture to verify:
Ernie - Entering Oregon with Bike.jpg
Ernie - Leaving California - Heading North - 2.jpg
I am NOT giving the finger to California, wrong digit.

Continued up the Oregon coast and the scenery was spectacular:
Oregon Rock Mural.jpg
Beautiful Vistas en route north - 2.jpg


Stopped at Klamath Falls and did the Tour Through The Tree:
Sonya and the Tour Through Tree.jpg


Made it to Coos Bay for the night of 17 October - short riding day.

So far some 1560 Kms (969 miles) since leaving LA. Making good time.

Wednesday 18 Oct 2017

Had breakfast at a small Mom and Pop diner called Mom's Kitchen. Lots of locals and regulars, and good food. There was an older gentleman in the diner who asked about the GW and we had a good chat. We also learned that the rock formations we saw coming up the coast are called "murals" (we checked this out when we got home). Learn something new every day.

Left Coos Bay under cloudy, ominous looking skies. It never did clear up. There was also a weather advisory for the coast as we went north.

Stopped at the Sea Lion Cave on the way. Interesting spot, but no sea lions:
Sea Lion Cave Monument.jpg
Apparently the sea lions are out feeding during this time of year, and are more likely to be in the cave during December to February time frame. Since the sea lions were out and about, we were given rain checks (good for a year) so we can come back and view.

There are 2 different sea lions that use the cave. The largest are the stellar sea lions that can be upwards of 2000 pounds and the size of a small car. This is the sea lion cave, sans sea lions:
Sea Lion Cave - empty.jpg


Here are a picture to describe the day's riding:
Ernie - Looking Out of Sea Lion Cave.jpg

The coast was still spectacular, the waves were quite majestic. The wind was a bit brutal, lots of buffeting and every now and then we'd get thrown around so to speak. Paid good attention to the road and speed limits during this ride north.

Made it without incident to Astoria. Went across the Megler Bridge into Washington State. Lots of wind and were subjected to cross winds which are no fun even at sea level.

Stopped at the Columbia River Roadhouse in Chinook, WA, and warmed up with coffee and chowder. The waitress there mentioned that the weather forecast was for winds in excess of 50 MPH further up the coast and a bad storm was coming in. We had planned to continue up the coast but decided to instead head inland to the I5 on route number 4. Good decision as there was very little wind buffeting us, and the ride was much more enjoyable.

Once we hit the I5 we were going to ride to the north side of Seattle to get a head start on the last leg home, but the rain started and driving in the rain at night is not enjoyable so we pulled into Centrailia, and yes, to stay at another Motel 6 for the night. Only had about 30 minutes of wet work, but that was enough.

Thursday 19 Oct 2017

Morning wasn't pleasant, still raining. Since we only had some 200 miles left to go we were not in any hurry. Had breakfast and fortunately the rain stopped. Got on the road and headed into Seattle expecting rush hour and traffic to be light, but this was not the case. Even at 1000 hours there is still a significant amount of traffic. There was also a lot of road infrastructure work being done.

Even with the traffic and road work we made good progress getting through Seattle by 1200. The rest of the way was uneventful until Mount Vernon and the rain began. Had a run of about 40 miles to the border all in the wet. Riding a Goldwing in the wet is not that bad because you really don't get wet as long as you are moving. The stop at the Peace Arch for the border was where we got wet becasue the line up was a 20 minute wait.

Got through quite quickly, fellow was surprised when I mentioned I went to LA on the bike and back.

Quick 50 Km run to the BC ferry terminal and the rain stopped en route. Good to be back with only a ferry ride to go:
Sonya - Entering Swartz Bay on Ferry - Almost Home.jpg


Got home about 1700, unpacked the bike and put her away for the evening.

All in all a good ride. Met some very fine folks, had a lovely evening at Big Sur, and an enjoyable, but short visit with Dan, Anita and family.

There was lots of roadwork going on on the coast highway in Oregon. Was very fortunate not to have to wait too long when stopped.

Other than an alternator issue in Redding CA, the bike ran flawlessly. It cruised all day long at 3400 RPM – approximately 65 MPH – solo or two up. On the way north riding two up, other than having to change fuel to a higher octane, the bike again ran well. Noticed that the ride with two up, rear shock springs adjusted to the max setting (Progressive non-air Series 12 shocks 14.5” eye to eye), the ride was very smooth and no bottoming at all regardless of road condition.

Have maintenance to do now, fork oil change – have Race Tech springs and emulators installed – expect to use the same amount of oil as per OEM. Remove rear and lube all splines. Looking at a mod to the rear wheel rim so that a CT can be put on, and the possibility of machining the bearing cavity to use a two bearing setup. Also be looking at wiring (never satisfied with routing and what is on each new circuit), and adjusting the new alternator to fit better. Will be taking the old alternator in to determine what went wrong.

Some stats from the trip.

Travelled 5346 Kms (3322 miles)
Average fuel consumption: 47 IMPG (39 US MPG)
Maintenance work: one new alternator in Redding California – 1/2 quart of oil at the half way point – used no oil after this

The odyssey is now complete - I'm very glad that I did it and that Sonya was with me on the way back home. Starting to think of trips for next year. Still going to ride as much as possible, but it will be local. Looking forward to next year.

Cheers
 
Great ride report. My compliments to the photographer! One of my next trips will be up that way north along the California/Oregon’s coast. Beautiful country.

We really enjoyed meeting you both and the little time we had to share. It served as a reminder that there are still some really great people out there!
 
[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=197105#p197105:117z8zuq said:
dan filipi » 18 minutes ago[/url]":117z8zuq]
Great ride report. My compliments to the photographer! One of my next trips will be up that way north along the California/Oregon’s coast. Beautiful country.

We really enjoyed meeting you both and the little time we had to share. It served as a reminder that there are still some really great people out there!

Let me know when and we'll meet up. Thinking next year around the WA/OR coast, over to Mount Rushmore/Crazy Horse Monument/Custer's Last Stand/Badlands area, back up through Winthrop and home.

Next trip around BC with the HD crowd. Over to the mainland, up through Whistler, over to Cache Creek/Kamloops. Into Kaslo. down through Osoyoos and over to Princeton then back home.

Last one for the year, over to Ontario to visit family and friends, down through the US to the GW wingding in Knoxville Tennessee, then home to BC. Want to stop in to the Traxxion shop as well.

This is my wish list, never know.

Cheers
 
Great trip Ernest, glad to hear that it all went so well. :thanks: for the pictures and great write up. :good: :salute:
 
[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=197110#p197110:3ut355t4 said:
Ansimp » Yesterday, 6:14 pm[/url]":3ut355t4]
Great trip Ernest, glad to hear that it all went so well. :thanks: for the pictures and great write up. :good: :salute:

Have to start on my 65th birthday ride - Australia!! :music: :music:
 
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