Riding Log – Page 34 – Not Your Average Engineer

August 30, 2008July 1, 2020

Lewisburg Saddle past the garbage dump and back again

After the oil change where I drained out the seafoam and replaced the filter, it was time for a test ride. First stop was at the gas station to get some gas. I put in 1.967 gallons on 80.4 miles driven. That worked out to about 40mpg which is not bad considering all of the riding I did in 1st gear at very high RPM in Walla Walla and the long session of parking lot riding to break the clutch loose.

From difficulties on a previous ride finding a paved connector between the Camp Adair Road and the Kings Valley Highway, I decided to try and find a route from the other direction. No such route presented itself. After a few miles, Tampico Road turns into gravel. I turned around at this point and headed back out to 99W and back to Corvallis.

The bike ran like an absolute dream. It shifted very well, was responsive, and handled quite admirably.

My odometer read 36 miles for the ride.

Map of route.

August 29, 2008July 1, 2020

A quick jaunt along 53rd Avenue

To give my bike one last test of the now-fixed transmission before draining the oil and Seafoam out and replacing the fluid, I went on a quick jaunt up and around 53rd Avenue. Everything went very well. My bike shifted like nothing at all. Smooth and clean. I did notice that trying to turn the left turn signal on and off is getting a bit more difficult. One of these days I really need to clean that switch assembly out.

My odometer indicated about 15 miles.

Map of ride.

August 24, 2008November 9, 2009

From Pullman to Broke Down in Walla Walla

After having driven from Corvallis to Pullman, Washington following Drew in U-Haul with all of Drew’s possessions and Carl’s and my motorcycles the night before, we woke up early to hit the highway for Oregon. The first leg took us from Drew’s new apartment in Pullman, Washington, to Dayton, Washington where we stopped to get fuel. 2.158 gallons purchased. Average speed was around 60-65mph. 50.8 mpg. 109.7 Miles. Running with fully loaded saddle bags, tank bag, and gear tied onto passenger seat. Stayed on main highways.

From Dayton, Washington we went to just south of Walla Walla, Washington. Had been having troubles shifting out of first gear since the beginning of the morning. Added more oil to the engine in Dayton which helped temporarily. In Walla Walla, the bike would no longer go out of 1st. Tried adding more oil but it didn’t help. Bike was burning a LOT of oil. Turned out that I was running the wrong weight (50 instead of 10W40). Had to trailer bike to Richland and then U-Haul to Corvallis. See Maintenance Log for more. Air temp was hot (90+) for most of the ride starting at 6am.