Seattle to Portland the hard way

Jake and I rode down to Portland this past weekend. We decided to just see if we could get sick of riding and go say hi to Max and Jasin, who were up visiting. **Not sure who shot the pic. below, but it's nice. M on left, J on right. Maybe Pommier?**




We headed south from Seattle for 1.5 hours, cut due west for another couple to the coast, and caught 101. The first hour of the ride was dry. The rest was wet. Wet clothes aren't that bad. Wet shoes are bad. The wind dries everything but your shoes.

We stopped a lot for gas, as we both have small tanks. We had burgers with a lot of onions on them.

The ride across the Columbia river bridge was amazing. Epic. Huge expanse of water, huge bridge, huge wind, huge rain. That rain hurt bad, but It helped me find my "special place." When things are tough, you here people say "go to your special place inside your head." I found mine on that bridge.

Bare down. Go fast. Don't think.

An hour outside of Portland the bike was unhappy. Jake's bike was fine. Jake's bike is always fine. Vibration had snapped what was left of my rear exhaust spiggot and the bike was sorely limping along. The plug fouled, I'd used up my last set, and the only thing I could think to do was get up to speed and hope the plug burned clean. I pulled second gear for a few minutes with that rear plug popping to life a little here and a little there. I wasn't ready for what was coming, and when that plug came back to life it was violent. Being right in the middle of the power band of second gear, lots of torque hit hard. The rear tire broke loose and the bike went sideways. I'm glad those roads were wet and slippery, because a dry patch and traction would have killed me.

The final hour of the ride into Portland was tough. The bike still wasn't that happy and only wanted to run wide open. No exhaust backpressure does bad things to plugs. We figured out where we were going, upset some Ben & Jerry's patrons, and got stuck waiting for the longest, slowest moving train I've ever seen. We made it to the hotel, got one of the last three available rooms from a desk guy who quickly stashed his gallon jug of Vodka upon our arrival, ate and drank, and slept. With the normal company I keep the drinking would have continued, but Jake keeps me grounded like that. Somebody needs to, I wish it could be me.

We slept in the next day and then made a run to the parts store for bulbs, plugs, and hose clamps to secure my waggling pipe. I'm glad I wasn't hung over; I wouldn't have dealt with the young kids trying to be condescending if I would have been. Kill em' with kindness, they never know how to take that one.

Lunch with Max and Jasin was good. It took a long time to get our Chorrizo, but it gave us some time to talk and drink coffee. I think a lot of Max, that's common knowledge- what surprised me though was how nice and friendly Jasin was. What a neat guy. No ego, no cool guy act, no fear of smiling and joking, nothing. And man, it was just hilarious to see this big, gnarly biker with full beard in effect come rolling out of that restaurant with a little tea cup with flowers on it and his pinkey out. It was beautiful.

We hit the road after breakfast, rode hard up I5 until we hit traffic, and just rolled with it, but not before an intervention.

I'm impatient and dangerous on a motorcycle. If the bike fits through a hole, I go through the hole. If there's stop and go traffic and the break down lane is open, I ride in the break down lane. I'll ride in it for an hour. I'll always be 16 on a motorcycle because it's the ultimate toy to me. Always has been. Burn outs, wheelies, and repetitive hole shots in traffic are just a way to pass the time. It's all I know.

I'm 75 years old in a car. It's a way to get from point a to point b.

The one thing I don't do is drive for a living. Jake does. If I get a ticket I pay it and my insurance goes up. If I get ten I take the bus or ride or drive without a license. I can still get to work. The livelihood of Jake's family depends on him driving, so I appreciated his stepping up and telling me that. Honesty and frankness are two of the most important ingredients of friendships. I also suspect that Jake may be just a bit more cautious and responsible than me. I need someone like that around. I hope the guy gets something from me too.

Home. Things to fix. Fun.

Stuff that broke on the Pan

1. Rear exhaust spiggot- It was all cracked up before we took off, but it's completely gone now. Internal combustion things like smooth exhaust flow and only run wide open without it. Time to pull the head.

2. Plate/light bracket- Don't quench metal after you weld it, it'll get brittle. Jake's welds were great, the bracket snapped right in the middle of a piece of flat bar.

3. Hand shift lever- Those little bolts sure do back out and snap easy, even with Red Loctite. I'm drilling and tapping to a larger size.

Things I learned

1. Mechanical brakes suck. They just do. They look real neat but they suck.

2. Jasin Phares is really nice and that Generator Shovel he did is amazing. Just amazing. Such a smart chopper that stops on a dime, goes like hell, and looks great. I'd never bite on it, but it changed my whole outlook on this stuff. I guess it's what you'd call "an important bike."

3. Max and Jasin's bikes are much cooler in person than in pictures, and they've got this shit figured out. 600 miles up the coast and nothing broke or fell off on either one. It'll probably be the same story for them on the way home. I hope so. The Oakland boys rule.

4. When planning your ride, plan an extra 8 hours in for weather, fixing things, closed bridges, etc. Your wife will appreciate it.

5. The next bike I put together after finishing the 64 will be a road bike, not a stylized historical representation of blah, blah, blah. Big stroker, flowed heads, highway geared or close ratio 6 speed, disc brakes, reworked bob tanks, magneto, super E, no switches, Nyloc or drilled and safety wired everything, and as few welds as possible. 100 miles between gas stops or bust.

6. Jake is cool, his wife is cool, and his kids are cool. A special "I'm sorry" to his wife for keeping him away longer than we'd intended.






Sorry I didn't take any pictures, but this ride wasn't really about that for me. I just wanted an adventure. We got it.