| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
Possibilities I’m seriously considering hitting the road for a while when the weather gets warmer. It’s been decades since I lived as a true Tramp and since I’m not nearly as young and flexible as I used to be, I have to think things out a bit first. I have a good tent, and it should be adequate for at least this summer. I’ll probably want to get a better sleeping bag; and I think I should get an air mattress. I’ve been using a couple of Thermarest pads, but I think one air mattress would be a better idea than two pads on top of each other. Also, I think I should get a Jet Boil. I’ve really become addicted to my morning coffee. Another thing I‘m pondering is what bike should I ride. I thought about getting a cheap used Guzzi. (a Tonti five speed in some flavor), but finding shops is kinda tough sometimes, and I still haven’t gotten over the time my 850 T ate it’s u-joint in Minneapolis. There was only one dealership in the state, and they didn’t have one. I had to leave my bike there for a month, then fly back and pick it up. Then I had to redo the job out in the parking lot, as the kid who worked on the bike didn’t know much about the bike, and didn’t do the job right. My Norge has lost its sparkle for me. It’s got less than 65,000 miles, and it just doesn’t quite give me the feeling that it would be trouble free enough. Add to that the scarcity of Guzzi dealers, and using it looks even less attractive. I don’t know if I’ll sell it or store it. I’ve thought seriously about getting an old Buell S3-T, but they’re getting pretty scarce, and they aren’t quite as cheap as they were a few years ago. The problems that plagued my old ’98 have been addressed, and the bike could be pretty reliable. If I could find one cheap enough, it would be a serious contender. I’m thinking about getting a used Sportster; preferably one from between ’91 and ’03. The Sportster has an incredibly stout engine. It should be good for close to 100,000 miles without serious maintenance. If I get a 5 speed, it’ll have belt drive, which is low maintenance, and should it become necessary, easy to replace. Oil changes are a snap as is primary chain adjustment. And if something does go wrong that I can’t fix on the side of the road, there are Harley dealers everywhere. And there are even more decent Independent repair shops. Yeah, Sportsters vibrate; but I used to drill rock for a living and the vibes are nothing compared to what a Jackleg drill produces. I can handle the vibes. I’ve owned a few Sportsters over the years, and I’ve put tens of thousands of miles on them. Right now, there’s a glut of used Sportsters on the market, and the prices are really affordable. I’ve found three this week alone on Craigslist for well under 3 grand (two are $2500 and the prettiest one is at two grand). One thing I have to consider is how much it will cost me to set up the bike. I don’t like forward controls or ape hangers. If I’m going to be riding this bike for days at a time, I want it to be comfortable. Mid controls and Highway pegs work for me, and I know what bars would be right, as well (they came stock on a ’79 FXEF, along with many other models). Plus, I want waterproof hard bags. That could be a bit tough to find, but I know they’re out there. So far, it all looks pretty much doable. There’s only one small problem, and that’s medical. I have to take a blood thinner every day, and the level of it in my blood is critical. Too much, and I could bleed to death; too little and I’m likely to have a stroke. I’ve been getting my blood drawn every week or two to measure the levels and that involves going to the hospital and having them stick me with a needle. I know that there’s a device that measures the levels that works in a similar manner to what diabetics do to measure their sugar. I prick my finger and place a drop of blood on a little piece of film, then insert it into this device that reads the level of Warfarin in my blood. For some stupid reason, the insurance company won’t pay for this device even though it would save them thousands in short order. They will pay for the supplies for it, though. I guess I’ll just have to pony up the cash and buy the tester on my own (Any time you think dealing with a government bureaucracy is bad; just try dealing with an Insurance Company bureaucracy. They make the Feds look streamlined). Back when I was a Tramp, one of my travelling companions was David Kaelin. He never paid rent anywhere. He had a job working on a Tow Boat pushing barges on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, and he worked one month on, one month off. When he was at work, he lived on the boat. When he was off the boat, he would get on his bike and travel. I learned a lot from him about how to live on the road. I think it can be done for a reasonable price. I have many friends and Family that I haven’t seen for a long time. I’d really enjoy travelling around, maybe catching a few Flat Track races, and visiting my two brothers and sister and their families, and seeing my friends across the country. I also want to see a few things that I just never got around to; like Monument Valley or Las Vegas or the North side of Lake Superior; or maybe even Alaska. I still have the itch to ride up to the Arctic Circle. After doing this for the summer, I could jump on a plane and fly to Brisbane and spend some time with Ron and Melia and let the winter here pass by. For once, I could do North in the summer and South in the winter. For years, I would go to a warm climate in the summer, then come back to New England for the winter months. I didn’t even have the sense that God gave a duck! Oh; one other thing I’d have to get is a laptop computer so I could keep in touch with everybody and post on my favorite forums. I also have to learn how to take pictures with my cell phone, but that will be easy enough, or maybe just get an inexpensive Point and Shoot camera. Things are looking pretty interesting for the coming year! | ||
| Thumper74 |
If you're just using it to keep us up to date on your expeditions, you can get a Chromebook/netbook for $200.00. Add in a water proof camera for under $200, and you're golden. | ||
| Badlionsfan |
Bonneville! | ||
| Zane |
What about getting a medium sized Honda. No character but very reliable, cheap to acquire and operate. They're smooth and you can't swing a cat by the tail without hitting a dealership for parts. All you'd have to do is learn to live with an ordinary bike. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Sounds like a cool plan. If you haven't already, I'd suggest you start hanging out at ADVrider.com and following the "ride reports" section. There are quite a few folks that have done or are doing what you're suggesting, and you may pick up some good info and tips there. | ||
| 86129squids |
What Hugh said! The ADV peeps are dedicated, creative enough to figure things out, and wacky enough to make things fun! There was a catalog I got from Aerostitch, IIRC, and they had several great-sounding books I wanted to buy that either chronicled rides like what you're thinking of, or advised as how to go about doing one. Zane is also onto something with a metric bike, I'd go with a Yamaha- they're better for build quality, certainly more character... I can see your sensibility about a Sporty, but for LD travel, none of them have a tall enough final gear for me- YMMV. Once you nail down your health maintenance needs, everything else should fall into place. Sounds like you've put quite a bit of thought into things... and "you only live once", right? Whatever you do, KEEP A JOURNAL. Your posts here on BW are always fun to read- not too many people nowadays have the gift for prose like you do. | ||
| Chauly |
I can see the Reality Show now: "Then Came Crusty" They'd think it was a spin-off of "The Simpsons"  |
