Traveling by Van

[Moparnut72]

"She has concerns when I start modifying stuff."

Especially when it is "her" trailer.   
kk

[antmanbee]

Here are a few more pictures from Texas. I spent the night here at this overlook near Sheffield Tx.








Somewhere near Marfa Tx.


Where I spent the night at the Marfa lights observation point.



 
I camped here about 25 miles before I entered Big Bend National Park.

[tazio]

Marfa,TX.
Did you see the ghost of James Dean?..
Safe travels my friend!

[antmanbee]

Marfa,TX.
Did you see the ghost of James Dean?..
Safe travels my friend!

There is supposed to be some lights on the horizon, but I stared for a long time until I hallucinated. Maybe I got my moneys worth from a flashback from the late 60's. However I did not see James Dean's ghost or the Marfa lights.

[guzzisteve]

There is supposed to be some lights on the horizon, but I stared for a long time until I hallucinated. Maybe I got my moneys worth from a flashback from the late 60's. However I did not see James Dean's ghost or the Marfa lights.

Better go look for some cow pies.

[antmanbee]

A few pictures from Big Bend National Park,

[Ncdan]

You getting that bike off the rack any?

[EldoEVert]

AMB, If you ever get back to PA, you should pm me. I'm in the Lancaster area. We could meet for dinner or lunch. We did meet once for a short period of time. It was along route 220 at Lock Haven. I was pulling a trailer with my EV and my wife's V65SP on it. You were on I believe a V7 heading to Florida if I remember correctly.

[antmanbee]

AMB, If you ever get back to PA, you should pm me. I'm in the Lancaster area. We could meet for dinner or lunch. We did meet once for a short period of time. It was along route 220 at Lock Haven. I was pulling a trailer with my EV and my wife's V65SP on it. You were on I believe a V7 heading to Florida if I remember correctly.

Hi EldoEVert,
I certainly do remember you. Glad to hear from you. It was a little more than just a meet, it was a rescue. I was on a Breva 750 that I had just purchased the day before on a fly and ride from Rochester NY and the fuel idiot light did not work. I had run out of gas and was sitting on the side of the road having a snack, figuring out what I was going to do. I had only been there for maybe 10 minutes before I saw you drive by and I waved but you were pretty well past me but I saw the two Guzzi's in the trailer. It took about 15 minutes or more but you had to go down the road a ways to exit and circle back. During that time I had no idea if you realized I needed assistance and were coming back.
When I saw you pulling in next to me I couldn't believe it. What are the odds of even seeing another Guzzi on the road let alone being rescued by a fellow Guzzi owner?
Once again, many thanks!
I was in Pennsylvania in October of 2022, traveling in my van, just before I went to South Carolina where I purchased the V7.
If I go through again I will definitely get in touch with you.
For the next few months I will be in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California and possibly Utah and Colorado as it starts to warm. I will then try to get up to Oregon and Washington and maybe Idaho.

[antmanbee]

You getting that bike off the rack any?

I have not got it off the rack yet, however I did put some gas in it today in anticipation of getting it off the rack soon.
I am still hoping that some south western members will want to show me a couple of their favorite rides out here.
Either way, now that it is warming up, I hope to do a bit of riding.

[antmanbee]

Pictures of White Sands National Park.








The morning view out my window while in bed.

[Ncdan]

Nice👍

[antmanbee]

From a week ago outside of Alamogordo the sunset and facing opposite at the same time of day.




Bisbee Az. from a couple of days ago.




Lowell, Just a few miles south of Bisbee. These old cars are there all the time.








image uploader


No more riding the bike for a little while. I converted the rims to tubeless but the front is now leaking air. It dropped from 40 to about 12 in a few days. I am not sure what I will do to remedy it. Stop leak? Or put a tube in the front. I don't really have a good way to jack up the bike and do it my self so I am leaning to stop leak.

[Ncdan]

I would vote for figuring out a way to get the front wheel off the ground high enough to remove and tube it.
I feel sure a motorcycle shop would be glad to offer an ole drifter like you done tools to do the job behind the building 👍

[tris]

I missed this thread so far, but it looks like a might fine mission to undertake. 

One thing.
Why did you move the ECU & Temp sensor?
Was it some sort of concern of the elevated temperatures that you might encounter on your travels

Relocated the ECU and air temp sensor.

[egschade]

No more riding the bike for a little while. I converted the rims to tubeless but the front is now leaking air. It dropped from 40 to about 12 in a few days. I am not sure what I will do to remedy it. Stop leak? Or put a tube in the front. I don't really have a good way to jack up the bike and do it my self so I am leaning to stop leak.

Try using some soapy water or windex to find where it's leaking before jumping to a tube. Could be a puncture you missed or just a loose valve / valve stem.

[antmanbee]

I missed this thread so far, but it looks like a might fine mission to undertake. 

One thing.
Why did you move the ECU & Temp sensor?
Was it some sort of concern of the elevated temperatures that you might encounter on your travels

I did an airbox delete and that stuff was attached to the airbox. I don't delete the box for performance, I get rid of it to make servicing easier. There is now plenty of space between the cylinders.

[antmanbee]

Try using some soapy water or windex to find where it's leaking before jumping to a tube. Could be a puncture you missed or just a loose valve / valve stem.

I am going to test with some soap suds when I get the tire pressurized again. My feeling is the seal around one of the spokes has failed. To fix that will require removing the tire, cleaning out the old sealant and reapplying. I am not sure to trust the sealing of the spokes anymore. They did hold for several months though.

[tris]

I did an airbox delete and that stuff was attached to the airbox. I don't delete the box for performance, I get rid of it to make servicing easier. There is now plenty of space between the cylinders.

Ah, thanks for enlightening me

[antmanbee]

I've been busy traveling and not posted for a while. I am currently in southern Utah and northern Arizona, driving in circles. 
I spent almost 2 weeks in San Diego and did a little riding. I had to fix my leaky front tubeless rim first. I had a nice trip up to Mt Palomar and Lake Henshaw.






I was up and down the coast from Oceanside to Chula Vista.






Where I camped for several days 30 miles east of Oceanside.


Then dropping down to Borrego, the Salton Sea and onto Lake Havasu.

[e.cleven]

Hi Alan, looks like your having an amazing trip, I'm happy for you.
What was the cause of the front tire leak?
Good luck on the rest of the trip and thanks for keeping us posted.

Ride Safe
Earl

[antmanbee]

Hi Alan, looks like your having an amazing trip, I'm happy for you.
What was the cause of the front tire leak?
Good luck on the rest of the trip and thanks for keeping us posted.

Ride Safe
Earl

Hi Earl,  The leak was from around a spoke where the sealant I used must have failed. It was a very slow leak as it took a few days to deflate. In my travels I had run into a guy who was an engineer at Michelin for many years and he was also an avid bicyclist. He recommended some stuff called 'Stans no tubes' and I put about 4oz in the tire and the leak stopped completely. I will probably put 4oz in the rear too as a precautionary measure. Stans claims that it will seal punctures up to 1/4 inch. I'm sure mine was only a pinhole.

[Vagrant]

I had a lot of those leaks when I used the 5200 marine sealant. In reality, that stuff takes a week to dry completely. I always wondered about using a fix like you used, but I figured it would be thrown to the outside and wouldn't get to a spoke leak. Let us know if it continues to work.

[antmanbee]

I had a lot of those leaks when I used the 5200 marine sealant. In reality, that stuff takes a week to dry completely. I always wondered about using a fix like you used, but I figured it would be thrown to the outside and wouldn't get to a spoke leak. Let us know if it continues to work.

It's been in there for almost a month now and no drop in pressure. I was concerned about it fixing a spoke leak too but the stuff is pretty low viscosity and it must have flung around sufficiently. The leak stopped immediately.
I was a few miles from Green Valley 5-6 weeks ago. I went up I19 from Nogales to Arivaca Rd and went west to Arivaca and continued west to 286. Beautiful road.

[Vagrant]

I live about 6 miles from the start of Arivaca rd in the winter. Love it.

[nwguy]

Antmanbee, what hitch carrier do you have? Black Widow? What's the brand/model? I have a Promaster 136" high roof with a factory tow package and am shopping for a motorcycle carrier for a lightweight (sub 400 lb) bike.

[antmanbee]

Antmanbee, what hitch carrier do you have? Black Widow? What's the brand/model? I have a Promaster 136" high roof with a factory tow package and am shopping for a motorcycle carrier for a lightweight (sub 400 lb) bike.

My carrier is a black widow that is rated for 600lbs. I would not trust it with that weight though. I reinforced mine and now I think it could hold the 600lbs.
My bike is about 400 with fuel and I had it on the rack before I modified it and it bounced around a bit but I had no issues. I just wasn't confident for taking it over bumpy roads with the flexing it did.
If you want, PM me your phone number and I will give you a call to go into more detail about it.

[Huzo]

Jeez Antie, that’s a beaut concept of a trip you have hatched, just such get-up-and-go to conceive of such a thing.
That van looks damn good, very damn good…..
If I lived in the ‘States, I’d make darn sure that I made it onto your list of places to drop by and would ensure that any of my cohorts that were not too low life, could catch you on your whistle stop adventure. It’s so handy and appreciated to have a place to change the oil and do preventative/routine maintenance on the machines.

If you are ever here in Oz, I’d collect you at Melbourne International and bring you home to the hills for a couple of days r&r, then you can take my V85 away for as long as you like to tour Australia, free of course.
I hope you’ll get some good interest and offers of lodging along your intended route, but I guess it’d have to be publicised a bit in advance, that might be a fly in the ointment.
I’d sure as hell want you to drop by, you’d have an encyclopaedia of anecdotes and memories from “the road” to share.
Good luck and hope you hear from Wild Guzzi members in your area.
Peter.

[antmanbee]

Jeez Antie, that’s a beaut concept of a trip you have hatched, just such get-up-and-go to conceive of such a thing.
That van looks damn good, very damn good…..
If I lived in the ‘States, I’d make darn sure that I made it onto your list of places to drop by and would ensure that any of my cohorts that were not too low life, could catch you on your whistle stop adventure. It’s so handy and appreciated to have a place to change the oil and do preventative/routine maintenance on the machines.

If you are ever here in Oz, I’d collect you at Melbourne International and bring you home to the hills for a couple of days r&r, then you can take my V85 away for as long as you like to tour Australia, free of course.
I hope you’ll get some good interest and offers of lodging along your intended route, but I guess it’d have to be publicised a bit in advance, that might be a fly in the ointment.
I’d sure as hell want you to drop by, you’d have an encyclopaedia of anecdotes and memories from “the road” to share.
Good luck and hope you hear from Wild Guzzi members in your area.
Peter.

Peter, I may in the future take you up on your offer. When I am tired of van travel my plan is to head overseas. Top areas on my list are South America and SE Asia.
I intend to slow travel spending 1-3 months in each location. Just living out of a carry on sized bag. In SE Asia I hope to make it to Bali too, which is a relatively short hop to Oz from there. Too many places to go and not enough time. I should have started younger.
If you're inclined to come visit the western US I will meet you at the airport of your choice and then you can use my V7 to travel about the west for as long as you like too (free of course).
On my traveling by van, I'm not in need of lodging, I always stay in my van. I was hoping some members had a place to park my van for a couple of days or so and then show and ride with me on some of their local nice 50-200 mile rides in the area.
I am just meandering around out west at the moment. I will be going through Zion National Park tomorrow and Coral Pink Sand Dunes the following day. After thta I am not sure. Mostly just traveling where it is not too hot or cold and something scenic to look at.
Thanks for the well wishes.
Alan

[Huzo]

Peter, I may in the future take you up on your offer. When I am tired of van travel my plan is to head overseas. Top areas on my list are South America and SE Asia.
I intend to slow travel spending 1-3 months in each location. Just living out of a carry on sized bag. In SE Asia I hope to make it to Bali too, which is a relatively short hop to Oz from there. Too many places to go and not enough time. I should have started younger.
If you're inclined to come visit the western US I will meet you at the airport of your choice and then you can use my V7 to travel about the west for as long as you like too (free of course).
On my traveling by van, I'm not in need of lodging, I always stay in my van. I was hoping some members had a place to park my van for a couple of days or so and then show and ride with me on some of their local nice 50-200 mile rides in the area.
I am just meandering around out west at the moment. I will be going through Zion National Park tomorrow and Coral Pink Sand Dunes the following day. After thta I am not sure. Mostly just traveling where it is not too hot or cold and something scenic to look at.
Thanks for the well wishes.
Alan

Yeah AMB that is a slam dunk if you are in Australia, consider it done.
Your shots are spectacular and I imagine being tucked up nice and warm in the van is just great, stay safe.
I’ll be living vicariously through your travels, see you in Oz….