Welcome to the 2021 road reportS CONTINUATION

   After 3 1/2 months of the trike being in the shop for a total rebuild, it is time to pick it up and restart this adventure AGAIN!!! Josh the mechanic just finished doing a 15-mile test run when I arrived at the dealership. He was very happy with everything and proud of how wonderful the trike was performing. After all considered the pistons, rings, valves, all gears in the transmission, all hoses and filters were replaced, as well as all fluids changed,

   I paid the remaining balance due and talked with Josh and Joe the service manager about break-in requirements and future maintenance schedule.

   The weather gods had decided to bless this restart with wonderful blue skies and warm temperatures, which afforded me the opportunity to do the T-shirt and blue jeans look. The break-in schedule called for the first hundred miles to vary the RPMs and never go over 3500 rpms, then I could open it up and start using the cruise control. An oil change would be necessary at 1000 miles, which I made an appointment for on July 30th.

   Jumping on the highway and heading home I made the requisite speeding up slowing down maneuvers to fluctuate the RPMs up and down. The engine sounded awesome and smooth running even when accelerating from a slow speed in the higher gears. The transmission transitioned between gears with great precision. The ride home was hassle-free besides not being able to use cruise control and watching my speed so as not to slow down traffic.

 THE PLAN - Going to the dealership for service on the trike, then by a car going to Santa Barbara to make a food dash to several restaurants to get meals for future dining at home. 

ACTUALITY - The plan to have the dealership do a full service to get the trike roadworthy for longer runs, has changed. During our last run on 3-13-21, a "clunking" sound diagnosed as "something going on in the rear end," turned into in my opinion, a "transmission/cable problem." So I'm going to pay for the parts that the shop bought, to be used on a future full-service appointment. Instead, I want them to focus on the transmission and see if I have a shift linkage that is not on the shaft in the correct position and just re-indexing it on the splines will make full engagement for OD, or are they going to have to pull the engine and crack the case to fix the OD gearing. The portion of this run where we will be going to Santa Barbara is still set to happen as first planned.

   7:30 - KSU (kick stands up) and headed towards gas station to fill up with fuel, then heading south on US-101. The weather is a crisp 44 degrees and it is partially overcast which is an improvement over the rain we just had 12 hrs. earlier.
  After fueling up at the gas station merged onto US-101 S. I'm running in my second highest gear to avoid the OD gear. Set the cruise control to 65 mph and the RPMs are a steady 3 1/2, by the way, it redlines at 6. She's humming along without any "clunking" sounds and the ride is smooth and enjoyable. There is no change in the temperature gauge so it all looks like a good ride is ahead for us.

   Made it to the service center without having to slow down at all and had surplus time to unload any gear I didn't want to leave on the trike while in for service. To my surprise, when the shop opened its doors to start their day, lo-and-behold, Shannon and Mark pulls up in their car. They were my pick-up ride and the plan was to call them when I was finished checking in the trike. It appears that Mark also had an appointment for his car in the neighborhood, so after dropping off his car, they decided to just come to the service center, instead of waiting for my call.

   The mechanic "Josh", was very familiar with the situation going on with the trike and said it was probably the shift linkage not on the shaft in the correct position - But - to fix it he would have to pull the engine and crack the case. So it is now the plan that while he has the engine out and the case cracked not only would he fix the shift linkage on the shaft but he would also replace the rings on the pistons and clean, seat, and adjust the valves and do anything else in there to create a new / refreshed engine. So instead of paying for the parts ordered for a future appointment, they would all be used in this servicing. So the bottom line is I won't be doing any runs for at least 4 to 6 weeks, but at the end of the service I will have virtually a new trike that will certainly meet all my needs for any of the future runs I have planned.

   After finishing up my business with the service center Shannon, Mark, and I headed to their house, so I could change out of my riding clothes and get ready for the trip to Santa Barbara CA. Shortly after I was changed, Una arrived and Shannon, Una, and I loaded up into Shannon's car and headed south on US-101.

   The ride to Santa Barbara was very pleasant. The weather had cleared up and the weather became "T-shirt-wearing" comfortable. The hills were all turning green and the wildflowers were starting to tint the landscape. The ocean was clear, flat, and a beautiful blue.

   We went to eat at a wonderful fish restaurant along the oceanfront in Santa Barbara and made plans for our excursion into the city. After eating we parked in a lot off of State St. and visited Shannon's old stomping grounds/workplace. Of course, the place had changed but that didn't stop all the stories about how it was from flowing forth. We walked State St and visited several shops and venues. Made a few purchases and then headed to Shannon's favorite Vietnamese restaurant for the future meals planned.

   We headed to Shannon's home afterward, just in time to take Mark to pick up his car, then Una and I headed to our home. All in all, this was a good run and I enjoyed myself. Looking forward to the trike getting finished and once again returning to the roads with the wind in our faces.

   9:00 all geared up and arrived on the southbound entrance ramp of Highway 101 at Curbaril Ave in Atascadero, where I was waiting to meet up with Bob and Barbara Dowdy, who was coming from Paso Robles Ca. The previous two days had brought us much-needed rain and some hail to create a bit of excitement. Today was a dry day but started overcast. It wasn't a particularly cold morning, 55 degrees, and my regular riding gear did the job, as I never really felt a chill.

  Bob and Barbara arrived a few minutes later on their silver Goldwing, and we headed south on the 101. Bob took the lead, as he knew where we were going. He did a great job of it, signaling well in advance of lane changes and setting a casual pace.

  The traffic was light and we didn't have any occasions where we had to slow down. By the time we reached Pismo Ca., the overcast had turned into large patches of clouds with a beautiful blue sky promising a great day behind them.

  At 9:55 we arrived at Kathy Boyd's work facility in the Industrial Parkway, Santa Maria. Shortly afterward Larry Clark, who I had the pleasure of meeting before in the SLO Costco parking lot, arrived on his white Goldwing, sporting a newly painted cargo trailer. He had a later start time and ended up ghosting us on the highway.

  The meeting started at 10:00. Everyone was very friendly, introducing themselves, welcoming me and sharing a little bit about where they lived, and humorously ribbing each other about individual quirks. They all sat around a large table and made plans for the upcoming 6 months. Some of the things planned were rides to other districts' rallies, camping runs, RTEs (rides to eat) at various restaurants, and the upcoming Wing Ding in Missouri. It appears there will be many things to do with the group. The first thing on the agenda is an RTE at "Cool Hand Luke's" in Santa Maria Ca. on the 31st of the month. At the meeting, I learned the process needed to use my CB with my Cardo Bluetooth setup. This will be an advantage as all the members seem to have and use CBs on runs.

  At 13:00 the meeting ended. Bob and Barbara, Larry Clark and I geared up and headed N on Hwy 101 towards our home destinations. The weather had turned into a brilliant spring day with the blue skies taking the center stage, and the clouds becoming large, slow-moving pillows.

  Bob once again took the lead, followed by me then Larry. Everything was going along swimmingly, with only a few forced lane changes because of traffic until we started up the grade north of San Luis Obispo. A "clunking sound", which was first diagnosed at the Honda Service Center, as "something going on with the rear end of the trike", became a major issue. All of a sudden while driving in the OD gear, the "clunking sound" became a constant "grinding sound", and I lost all forward motion. I pulled over to the side of the highway followed by Larry, who contacted Bob via CB. While I was pulling over to the side I had downshifted to a lower gear, and lo-and-behold all of a sudden I had power in my forward motion. It turns out (at least in my opinion), that the "clunking sound" wasn't a problem with the rear end but a problem with the transmission, as I could drive just fine in the lower gears but only had a problem when I shifted into the highest "OD" gear. This made me think back that historically I only heard the "clunking sound" in the OD gear. It was decided that I would take the lead followed by Bob and then Larry. I was able to drive along in the 2nd highest gear doing the speed limit with the RPM's not getting above 3 and no change in the temperature of the engine. When we reached the Curbaril exit in Atascadero Ca. I took the exit and Bob, Barbara, and Larry continued north toward their destinations.

  Upon arriving home, I called the Honda Service Center and informed them what had happened. It was decided that the appointment I have on the 20th of the month for fluid changes and inspection would now become a transmission repair job. I would pay for the parts they ordered for a future appointment, and the time that they reserved would be focused on the transmission only.

  Even taking into consideration all that happened, I enjoyed this run and meeting all the people. I would, as they say, "give it 1 & 1/2 thumbs up".

 KSU (kickstands up) @ 10:00, Headed toward highway 41 via Atascadero Lake. It is a nice spring day with a few puffy clouds slowly moving across the blue sky. The temperature I would suggest was "crisp", not needing heating gear, but not T-shirt weather. Beings that this was a Wednesday, there was very little traffic on 41. We never found ourselves behind a car looking for the double yellow line to break so we could shoot by in a blur. The wildflowers were just starting to make their annual appearance and the smell of mother nature was invigorating. When we reached the end of 41 we turned right onto Hwy 1 and started heading North. It had started to warm up a bit and was officially out of the "crisp" stage and now into what I would call "pleasant riding weather" We hadn't gotten the new Bluetooth set up for both Una's and my helmets, so we were running the old intercom system with the old helmets, and was having problems conversing with each other so we decided we would stop in Cambria and sort out the problem. After fixing communications problems and enjoying a wonderful cup of coffee from one of the shops on the main street, we headed north on highway 1. Traffic was extremely light due to highway 1 being closed further north from a landslide that took out the road, as well as a significant chunk of the hillside. With no winds, the ocean was a brilliant blue and flat as a pancake, with no white caps as far as the eye could see. Hearst Castle was closed due to the Covid 19 situation. There were only a few cars at the lion seals viewing area, and just a few more than that at Ragged Point. All the way to Gorda we never had a vehicle in front or behind us. Upon arriving in Gorda, we parked in front of the only restaurant in town. The place was empty but "it was open for business" outside dining only, which was ok as the scenery around the place was beautiful and quiet, aside from the occasional truck hauling landfill to the road construction that was approximately 20 more miles up the road. The gas station in Gorda wants an arm and a leg for a gallon of gas, so I advise that you at least fill up in San Simeon if you heading north to Monterey (when the road opens again). Speaking of road opening, Cal Trans has projected that highway 1 will be fully open by the summer of this year 2021. I was stunned to hear this, as the last time it closed down, it took years to reopen, but I'll take this summer happily. We highly recommend eating at the restaurant, as the food is excellent albeit a bit pricey, $30 for a hamburger with fries, and a turkey avocado cheese sandwich. Check out the map and all the beautiful pictures.

  After several years of not having a motorcycle, the temptation to have my face once again in the wind was getting stronger and stronger. Having just refinanced our mortgage and paid off all our debts, it seemed like the perfect time to start dreaming and saving some money.

The new ride had to be, without a second thought about it, a Goldwing. Taking that idea one step further, a trike would allow both Una and me to drive the bike, as the possibility of falling over would be eliminated.

  Started scouring the internet for sales of trikes in December 2020 and found many available, so was able to create in my mind what an average price would be. Not wanting to acquire new debt, I started stashing away cash and waited for the right trike to materialize at the magic moment that I had the money together.

  As happenstance would have it, at the beginning of February 2021, I saw a listing in the "Cycle Trader", that was only two days old, and was in the range of the money I had squirreled away. As a sweetener to the possibility it was located in California, so I wouldn't have to wait for the state borders to open from the Covid restrictions. Calling the number listed, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was still available!! We talked for quite a while discussing the condition of the trike, service history, reason for wanting to sell it, and arranging a time I could come out to see it.

  Now, at this point, I should add that I had no idea where Temecula California was located. On the 7th of February, at 8:00, we loaded the address into the GPS in our car, and Una, our friend Ed and I headed out to see this beauty. The 290 miles the GPS calculated for the trip seemed a tad bit far but what the hell it was now officially "an adventure".

  As we got closer to Temecula we were all amazed at where we were. We knew it was somewhere near San Diego, (actually Temecula is 90 miles from San Diego), but here we were in the California desert. The upside to this location was the weather had become very clear, and warm.

  At 13:00 we arrived at the location and there she was a shiny, chrome-reflecting, dark cherry red trike. After knocking on the door and the seller joining us around the trike, we started going over it from its front wheel to its two back wheels. It is a 2007 Goldwing with a 2011 Champion Trike conversion. Aside from a few scratches and dings in the paint from road riding, it was in perfect condition. Took it for a test drive in the area and everything operated as it should. Except for trying to lean into corners, using the handlebars to turn, and the muscle memory of wanting to put my feet down when I came to a stop, it was just like riding my earlier Goldwing.

  Upon returning from the test drive, it was very apparent to me that we were going to purchase the trike. Una proceeded into the house with the seller, to count out the money and arrange for the transfer of title and bill of sale, while I attached some items I had brought with me, (gps, phone, and intercom hookup), for the ride home.

  At 14:00 after completing the transfer of title and bill of sale form, I suited up with the gear I had brought with us. The seller's wife was standing next to the trike somberly looking at it. She stated, "I'm gonna miss the good times we were having with her." I reassured her that the trike's "good times," were only going to be enhanced and that she was going to a good home where she will be well cared for, and more importantly, going to be ridden at the frequency a Goldwing should be ridden, as the seller hadn't put many miles on her after acquisition. The seller stated just as I was leaving, "Well, now I have to call 5 other guys up that were all hoping you wouldn't show up to purchase the trike." All I can say to those other 5 guys is hang in there, keep looking, it will happen, and "I GOT MINE, BITCHES."

  Heading North on the I-15, our itinerary was to go to Una's brother's house in Huntington Beach Ca. for dinner and see their new grandbabies, then continue North on the 101 highway to home in Atascadero Ca.

  The trike handled just fine the whole run, and the only thing that wasn't right was the roads and traffic in Los Angeles County. From this run forward,  I pledge to never bitch about the roads or traffic in my county again, at least for the foreseeable future anyways, as the roads and traffic starting at the LA county line to the Ventura County line, how can I say it, oh yeah "THEY SUCK."

  By the time we got to Huntington Beach Ca., it was starting to get dark, and the temperature was falling like a rock. We had a wonderful tamale dinner and visited with all of the relatives that came over. Good times were had by all.

  After about an hour and a half, I suited up with all the riding gear I had brought with me and headed north again toward home in Atascadero Ca. Once I crossed the county line into Ventura County the roads became much better maintained and the traffic thinned out. When I was getting ready to make the turn at Gaviota Pass on Highway 101, it became very apparent to me that I was going to start getting all my winter riding gear out of boxes at home, as the temperature had dropped to a cold 36 degrees. A new modular helmet both for me and Una was now placed on the shopping list. 

  At 23:00 I arrived home with our newly acquired beauty. It was a long 15 hr. day and I was ready to cover up the trike and change into warm PJs and jump under the covers in bed.