mc2

Wow, was I lucky.
A day after returning 250 miles from Saigon through a monsoonal rain I began preparations for yet another ride into the remote regions of Vietnam.

Conditions here can be rough, wet and very dirty. I'll pull the wheels, remove the fuel tank and air cleaner, loosen the voltage regulator and remove panels behind it. My eyes or hands will inspect every practical nut, bolt and connection.

With new rubber mounted front and rear the bearings looked fine on the outside but the front spun to easily and I could feel individual balls rolling. Not good.
The back looked fine also and were difficult to spin, as they normally are.
My records showed I replace both front and rear at 17 k miles. Now at 34 k I decided to replace all bearings.
Good thing.
3 of the 4 bearings were checking out with seals leaking on the inside.
Extraction and insertion went as smooths as ever with my handy dandy homemade tools.

The front end had slight movement, so a simple tightening of the top nut resolved that matter.

Replaced bulbs in the auxillary lamps. Gosh, I go through a lot of these!

Further along I squirt a little WD 40 down the throttle cables and began readjusting.

Thats when the idle cable broke about 5" from the top.
Had this not happened until I was deep in the mountains I would have no choice but to ride on with just the throttle cable, but that is not a place one wants to be concerned about compounding consequences.

Anybody ever run with just the throttle cable?

It's time well spent to make many pre-trip inspections that result in no serious repair, but just one inspection that brings out a serious matter is worth all the other time spent.

Cables will be expressed in from Singapore and I hope to be on the road this weekend.

Ride Safe & Enjoy

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Breeze3at

I know of several people that run with only one cable. I wouldn't do it, and in your situation it would be very chancy.

I'll bet there are more than a few of us forum regulars that would like to see pictures and read some trip reports of your travels. I am particularly interested in the interaction you have with people that are isolated from the "modern" world. Gas stations, hotels, etc.

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I don't ride fast, but I do ride far.

mc2

Thanks for your reply and request.

It will certianly be one of, if not thee greatest adventure rides I ever had.

What started as riding for the pure pleasure of it turned into a series of opportunities, followed by a realization of something much more thought provoking and meaningful; a quest or obligation was before me.

I am in the early process of building an appropriate web site to further introduce my adventures, experiences and share personal thoughts about laying 38,000 miles of Harley Tracks in Vietnam, mostly solo through the extremes of every element nature would throw at me.

A book is in the works.

I will post notice of these as they become available.

You can check out a couple of my albums for a preview of my trips.

thanks again
Ride Safe & Enjoy

Breeze3at

Wow! there are some spectacular photos there. Just thinking of riding anything on those roads makes me dizzy. Thanks

To view mc2's albums, click on his name, then click "view forum profile", then find an album on the right of the screen, and open it.

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I don't ride fast, but I do ride far.

The Tank

They are great pictures. Here is a direct link to mc2's albums...


mc2 Albums - Harley Davidson Community

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