September 23rd 2023 – Mancos, CO

Utah continued to deliver as we left St George and traveled east. The riding was fun and the scenery spectacular. Our route took us through Zion National Park.

Late in the morning we stopped for coffee in Hatch where we had stayed almost 3 months earlier on our way north. Like last time we headed north out of town and passed through Red Canyon. This time we followed Hwy 12 all the way to Escalante.
Because of the elevation the temperatures remain  pleasant all day.

After a quick fuelstop we rode to Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. We got the last available tent space at the campground. We later learned that we had been very lucky. Normally the campground is fully booked months in advance even off season. I understand why. It’s a small charming place located right by a lake where you can go for a swim. There is a good 3 mile hiking trail/loop and I’ve never seen nicer restrooms and showers at a campground. To top things off, they sell cold soft drinks and it’s one of the cheaper campsites we have stayed at so far.

We made good use of everything they had to offer. In the evening we tried out the Jetboil Stash. It worked like a charm and the freeze dried Peak Refuel meal tasted great. We have used the stove several times since then and really appreciate the advantages it offers.

I’m running out of superlatives to describe the following days riding and scenery. I’ll let the pictures do the most of the talking.

It was still a bit early for a proper lunch when we reached The Burr Trail Grill. We split a plate of green fried tomatoes. Never had it before – it was delicious! Now the real fun was about to begin.

As we got back to the bikes after a stroll around The Singing Canyon a character on a banged up HD pulled over to say hello. It turned out to be “The Desert Doctor”. The kind of person to spice up your day.

Soon after we ran out of tarmac. Katrine learned that she really doesn’t like loose sand!

A series of steep switchbacks spiced up the ride – followed by several sections with more loose sand.
Katrine almost cried with relief when we finally reached tarmac again. 
However, the day’s trials were far from over.

We managed to get a glimpse of the rapidly shrinking Lake Powell before we hit a small water crossing.

By the end of the day after having crossed The Colorado River we got introduced to The Moki Dugway overlooking Valley of The Gods.

On the way down as I stopped to take a picture I noticed that the rear of my bike was covered in oil.
I brought the bike down to level ground to inspect further. The oil came from my airbox. It was still pissing out. I checked the oil level. It was fine. The bike started and ran fine. It did feel a bit down on power though. We stopped at the gas station in Mexican Hat to fill up and look for a place to stay. The nearest suitable place was a campground in Bluff 25 miles further east. The bike made it there just fine while leaving a trail of oil the whole way.

We arrived at the campsite as the sun was setting after a long day with a lot of ups and one big down.
I was very frustrated and not in a good mood.
One of the reasons we had picked the Rallys for this journey was the renowned Honda reliability. I hadn’t expected something like this to happen – especially not this early in the trip.

There is a very small time window where the conditions are ideal to explore Colorado on a motorcycle and as luck would have it we had arrived just at the right time and the weather was perfect..
All my well laid plans for Colorado were now in jeopardy.

It was pitch black by the time the tent was up and dinner consumed.
Instead of digging into the bike, I spent the evening communicating with Paul @rtwpaul and Mark @Schroeder. They both have much more technical insight than I and were kind enough to provide me with qualified suggestions as to what could be the problem, how to investigate further and possible solutions.

My head was spinning when I hit the sack. I had a busy day to look forward to.

The following day was a Monday and all motorcycle shops in the area were closed.
We decided to stay put and spent the day investigating and weighing our options.
I started with having a closer look at the bike.
There was no more oil coming out the air box. The oil level was low but not critical.
When I opened up the airbox I found a completely soaked air filter. I removed it and cleaned up the airbox. I then took the bike for a short spin without the air filter.
It fired up and ran fine. When I got back there was no new oil in the air box.
It made me feel slightly more comfortable. Maybe it was just an odd coincidence of circumstances that had caused the issue – overheating, temporarily blocked oil circulation, a faulty reed valve or something like that..?

I decided to go hunting for some engine oil to top off the bike so we would be ready to go, when the dealers opened the next day.
It turned out to be a bit of a hassle.
The local gas station in Bluff didn’t have anything I could use.
I then called the gas station in Mexican Hat. They told me they had motorcycle specific engine oil.
I went there on Katrine’s bike. It turned out they had been talking shit. They didn’t have any oil for me. While I was reading on the back of all the oil bottles in the shop several bikes pulled in to fill up.
Every time I went out and asked if they had some spare oil I could buy from them. Nobody had anything I could use, but everyone was extremely friendly and helpful.
In the end I returned to the gas station in Bluff. The plan was to ask around to see if there maybe was someone in town with the oil I needed.

Just before I arrived in Bluff I was overtaken by a KTM 690 loaded with luggage and covered in dust.

My first thought was: “What a nice bike” followed closely by “A KTM on a long trip must be carrying extra engine oil”. I picked up my pace and managed to catch him just as we entered Bluff. I waved him over and he was kind enough to comply. It was Austin Heeringa on his way to complete the CO BDR after having done the UT BDR. I explained my predicament. Unfortunately he had to disappoint me. He had been traveling all over on his bike. It was a 2015 with 55.000 miles on the clock. He used to bring oil with him on trips, but as the bike never burned anything he had stopped doing that…

Back at the gas station I asked around. A woman working there told me that the closest place for me to get the right kind of oil was in Blanding. She even told me which shop. I called them. The woman answering the phone confirmed they had what I was looking for. I asked her to double check. She put me on hold and did. She got back and confirmed yet again.

It was getting late in the day and the weather was building up with dark clouds and lightning in every direction as I traveled north towards Blanding.
I had escaped with a few drops of rain when I pulled up in front of the store.
I went searching for the auto section. They didn’t have any motorcycle oil or any other kind of oil I could use. I had an employee triple check it for me. I remained polite but made it crystal clear that I was less than impressed!

I was ready to throw in the towel. I passed a gas station as I was leaving town and pulled in on a whim without any expectations. Lo and behold – as my eyes sweeped the small store they stumbled across a whole display with several brands of motorcycle oil. They even had exactly the Pro Honda stuff I had been using.
The weather not only held but turned into a beautiful sunset as I rode back to Bluff.
Just as I pulled off my helmet, I received a call from Austin on the 690. He had reached Durango and found suitable oil for my bike. I was pleased to tell him that I was all good – but appreciated his call.

We got up early and broke camp before I started calling around as soon as the shops opened.

I knew I needed a new air filter. Besides that I would like to have a skilled and experienced mechanic look at the bike and maybe do some trouble shooting. This was above my level of expertise.
Mesa Verde Motorsports in Cortez 60 miles away was the closest Honda dealer. They didn’t have an air filter in stock and would not be able to look at my bike for at least another week. They referred me to another Honda dealer – Handlebar Motorsports in Durango 50 miles further east.
Handlebar had one air filter in stock. They agreed to put it aside for me and take a look at the bike when I arrived.

Before we left Bluff I installed a sock as a pre-filter. I didn’t have the nerve to ride 110 miles  without any kind of air filter. I used several zip ties to secure that the motor under no circumstances would inhale it.
I topped the oil up to just below the full mark and off we went.

I kept revs down and tried not to stress the engine. We pulled in at every gas station and checked for oil leaks and the oil level. Nothing to report on either account and the bike was running fine all the way. Is was a really nice ride
I was rather optimistic  when we pulled up at Handlebar. 

The parts guy had the air filter ready for me. He then introduced me to the head of the service department.
I explained the situation and asked his opinion. He was positive that the bike was fine and just needed a new air filter. I suggested some of the possible culprits for the oil leak. He blankly refused all of them. When I mentioned the reed valve on the valve cover he refused that my bike had one…
I soon came to the conclusion that the best I could do was to install the air filter, cross my fingers and head out. They were kind enough to lend me shade for the job. It was nice to be under cover when it started pouring down as I was strapping on the luggage.

I didn’t really believe that the problem was solved but decided to give it a chance – I was kind of running out of options to do anything else.

We waited out the shower before heading back towards Cortez to resume our intended route. We made it to Mesa Verde National Park. We had planned to stay at the campground. As we got off the bikes at the entrance I saw that oil was pissing out the airbox worse than ever.
It was an all time low for me on this trip. I felt I was going in circles and running out of options.

We got to our campsite. Katrine put up the tent and I checked my phone. There was no cell reception but good wifi all over the campground.

The same morning I had mentioned on my ride report that we were experiencing mechanical problems. That had activated friends and fellow inmates.
I have to say a special thanks to Gustavo, Jim and Carl who really stepped up, but also to a number of other advrider inmates who all chimed in.
I was optimistic when we  went to bed that night.

Katrine encountered a Black Widow at the restroom. It reminded us that we were on an adventure – the problems with the bike was just a part of it and we would have to take it in stride.

In the morning I received a message from Chris. He lives a few miles from where we were camped and offered to host us and help get the bike fixed.

We broke camp. I added oil to the bike and we took off. For the first time the bike was difficult to start but it still ran ok. It was downhill most of the way to Chris’ house. I babied the bike the best I could.

Chris greeted us when we arrived and showed us to our room. We then discussed our options.
My first choice  would be if we could get a good repair shop to do the troubleshooting and subsequently fix the bike.
Chris had a place like that in mind: Mancos Motorsports in Dolores – a small family owned repair shop with skilled mechanics and an excellent reputation. He gave them a call and left a message on their answering machine.
Plan B  would be to do the troubleshooting and repair myself. Chris had a nice shop and the skills to help me out.
In the afternoon Chris got hold of Mancos Motorsports. They had a full schedule but sympathized with our situation and agreed to have a look at my bike.

Chris and I loaded it on a trailer and drove to Dolores.
At MM we were greeted by Brian and Noah. I immediately liked the guys. They listened to my story and had a quick look at the bike. With the bike running Brian unscrewed the oil filler cap. It was blowing way more air out than it should. This started to smell like a  piston/piston ring  problem. We left the bike with them. They would get back to me by the end of the next day with a final verdict.
I left with a good feeling. The bike might be in worse shape than first expected but I felt confident that it was in capable hands.

Back at the house we were introduced to Chris’ wife Stephanie who had been at work earlier.

The next day Chris and Stephanie were busy with work and other stuff. Katrine and I stayed at the house, waiting for the phone to ring, while catching up on the stuff we had neglected the last few days while all energy had been spent dealing with the bike issue.

Brian called me late in the afternoon. He had both good and bad news.
The good news: They had located the cause of the problem, ordered the parts needed to fix it and would do the repair for me.
The bad news: Both piston and cylinder was fucked. They expected to receive the parts within 7-10 days. We weren’t going anywhere any time soon.

Initially when the bike started leaking oil, one of my concerns had been the potential expenses connected with that. As earlier mentioned it had also annoyed me that all my well laid plans could be threatened by a mechanical failure.
By now I had reached a point where the costs to get it fixed didn’t concern me as long as the bike got fixed properly and 1-2 weeks delay seemed insignificant compared to the feeling of being stranded with no way out I had experienced only 2 days before.
This whole ordeal has been a lesson in perspective and an eye opening  experience that will help us grow both as travelers and persons. At least that is my hope.

I asked Brian at MM to examine every part of the engine that could have been affected and replace whatever he deemed necessary. I stressed to him that I would rather cry over the bill in a few days than cry over a broken down bike later on.
We agreed that I would stop by the following day to have a look at the bike and the broken parts.

Katrine and I went for a run first thing in the morning. At almost 7.000 feet it was a struggle. Stephanie, who is an ultra marathon runner and trains at this altitude daily, has my respect!

Chris lent us one of his trucks to go check on my bike.
Dave, Brians’ father, greeted us when we arrived at MM and escorted us to the shop where my bike was parked. It didn’t look pretty with the heart ripped out. Brian and Noah joined us, went through their findings and showed us the damaged parts. They really didn’t look pretty. Considering the damage they were surprised how well the bike had been running up until the end.

We talked about what could have caused the piston and piston rings to fail. Their best guess was either that the bike had overheated at some point before I got it or that there had been a production flaw in the parts.
It could explain why my bike had been running rougher and been down on power compared with Katrines ever since we picked them up. The difference was noticeable but within what I had judged to be reasonable between bikes run in by different people and mounted with different exhaust systems.
Brian had closely examined every part of the engine that could have been affected, but had found everything in good shape except the piston, piston rings and cylinder. He promised me that the bike would be as good as new when I got it back.

The plan had been to service the bikes when we reached Denver. We have an old friend living there who had offered that we could use her garage and stay for as long as we liked.
When I get my bike back it will be fully serviced (and then some). To avoid having down time shortly after we start moving again I decided to do some of the work I had planned for Denver now instead.
I have managed to redirect the parts I had ordered for delivery in Denver to Chris’ address. Everything should arrive next week before my own bike is ready.

I cautiously asked Brian if they would do the valves on Katrines bike while we were waiting on parts for mine or if it was too much to ask. He just laughed and told me to drop the bike off sometime mid next week and they would do it for me. They were only happy to help us out and allow our adventure to continue.
As we left the shop Katrine agreed with my assessment that the bike was in good hands and the guys at Mancos Motorsports were top-notch.

We did some shopping on our way home and cooked dinner for Chris in the evening – Stephanie had left us for the weekend to go running with a group of likeminded gals.

With luck the bikes will be ready in a week or so. We won’t be idle until then and hopefully we’ll be able to squeeze in a bit of  adventure despite the circumstances.