Friday I had to work a half day and then quickly head home, finish packing the bike and then we would head out. I hate working half days because the morning just drags on and on and you just want to leave already. But that is just the way it had to be for this trip. I’m just so grateful to be able to be in a place that I can take trips like this without too much effort.
I finished my work, jammed home and packed up the bike and headed over to Aric’s place. We stopped for a bite to eat and then jetted up 680, then over a bridge, under a hole yadda yadda yadda and then onto I80. We pulled off the hwy and stopped at a stop sign when Aric turned to me and said something before he took off in a cloud of dust. I didn’t hear what he said, but I could guess what he was saying. “The ride starts here!”

It was too bad that my brother couldn’t find a bike for this trip. It was a good one at over 800 miles. Turned out to be just me and Aric on this journey as we set our destination to be the infamous HWY 36 which is 140 miles of roller coaster hills that are set in some really beautiful big redwoods country.

Our ride really did start at that stop sign at the beginning of Suisun Valley Road. We made our way up by Lake Berryessa and through Clear Lake and HWYs 29, 53 and 20. Just beautiful roads with perfect weather and I couldn’t ask for anything more. We had no first night destination which is the best kind of destination to have. As the Sun was setting we happened across the Calusa Casino which worked out well and after bargaining down the room price we settled on it. We had some dinner and listened to the live band in the lounge which was actually pretty good even if they didn’t move much. How can you play any ZZ Top song and just stand there… I don’t get it.

Day two was even better and when we got to HWY 36 we stopped and had to take this shot.

It was a fantastic road that didn’t seem to end. We just kept going and going and going.

Here’s a couple video clips:

At the end of the road I was running on fumes and we stopped at a little side shack for a break and chatted with the locals. Then we headed over to hwy 101 which was unbelievable. I’d never been on 101 this far north before as we always use 5. But wow… it is a perfect road that twists it’s way through huge redwood forest and these beautiful little old logging towns. No pics of that though… we were having too much fun riding.

We took turn off for Humboldt Redwoods Park and road down the Ave Of The Giants which zig zags across 101 as you ride through huge redwoods. Then back onto 101 which is just a great big twisty 4 laner with no one on it. Craziness.
From that point we came down 101 and stopped in Willits and made our way to the nearest pizza joint and we compared pictures and videos and basically crashed as we had over 300 miles that day.

The final day came and our main destination was Skaggs Springs Road. This road is completely sick. I actually reduced my chicken strips on this one. The road made me feel so comfortable on my bike I thought I was gonna scrap my side bags.

Then it was onward and home bound and we came down off of our “high” as we headed back into the bay area. It was a great trip and I was so happy to get out onto these amazing roads. When’s the next trip?

Here is a slideshow of our complete trip. Hope you enjoy the pics.

here is our mapped route:

I’ve done my research, I’ve read the manual, I’ve got the tools, I’ve stocked the fridge – I’m ready.. Now its just a matter of getting it done.

Being able to do my own valve adjustment is what owning a boxer twin is all about. I really really enjoy the idea of working on my own bike. I will grant you that the BMW is quite complex with it’s ABS and fuel injection and mototronic electronics. But as far as valve adjustments, this is something I can really get into.

Let me start off by saying that I’m far from a mechanical genius. I like to say that I’m no “Joel”. You see my brother Joel has mechanical instinct. He was touched early on by the “shining” err.. the “greasing” maybe. I witnessed it once when I was 8 years old. There was my dad cursing for hours wishing death upon Henry Ford and Walter P. Chrysler. Meanwhile, Joel patiently standing on the front bumper looking into the engine bay next to dad shouted, “hey dad, what about that thing there!” Sure enough it was solution. I never had that special inclination. I guess I never needed it though with a brother like that. It became such that I wouldn’t even consider doing a job on an engine without first consulting Joel.

Why am I telling you all this? Well just to prove that this valve adjustment job is pretty simple and straight forward and that it’s really easier than changing the oil. If I can do it you can too.

Task 1: Valve Adjustment
Well I don’t have picture by picture instructions but you know what… you don’t need them. It is all contained in this very detailed and funny tutorial I found online Oilhead Valve Adjustment For Dummies, from John Jen, Marc and Javarilla:

Oilhead Valve Adjustment For Dummies

That file contains all the info you need to know in order to perform this task. I’ll just emphasize a couple things here.

Tools you’ll need:

After rotating the engine to TDC you will see the OT mark through the side viewing cut out just above the throttle bodies. Don’t be alarmed if the valves are still tight and you can’t fit the gauges in the tappets. I spent ten minutes before I realized that I needed to rotate the motor one more revolution to free up the other side.

The adjusting went quick and once you get used to the long push and pull technique you will be able to move quicker.

Task 2: Alternator Belt Replacement
The alternator belt is supposed to be replaced at 36k. I popped off the front engine cover and loosened the three bolts to slacken the alternator. I removed the air intake duct and that made super easy access to bolts. One thing that made this go much easier was having my wife come out and help me set the tension. I wish I had taken pics of her holding that screw driver up against the alternator. It was pretty exciting I have to say. Piece of cake!

Here’s the old belt, looks a little frayed on the sides and starting to show small cracks:

And here’s the new one installed:

I got everything buttoned up and started it up and checked for leaks. All is good and ready to go.

Now get back to work. Have a nice week!