Fri, 10/05/2012 - 11:28
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R26 Long Trip
I’m taking my R26 for a 1,177 mile trip, from Vanderpool, Texas to the Big Bend and back.
This is my itinerary:
Saturday October 6; Today’s ride 116 miles
From Vanderpool to Del Rio
Sunday October 7; Today’s ride 175 miles
Del Rio to Marathon.
Monday October 8; Today’s ride 128 miles
Marathon to Fort Davis.
Tuesday October 9; Today’s ride about 110 miles
Fort Davis to Marfa
Wednesday October 10; Today’s ride 127 miles
Marfa to Terlingua
Thursday October 11; Today’s ride about 85 miles
Lajitas to the Chisos Basin.
Friday October 12; Today’s ride about 106 miles
Chisos Basin to Alpine.
Saturday October 13; Today’s ride 330 miles to Vanderpool
Alpine to Vanderpool.
Last year I had an engine failure and couldn’t finish.
I had to leave my bike “Zenaida” with Chris King in Alpine, Texas. Chris helped my overhauling the engine and gearbox.
We suspect a Loose as hell oil pump, greatly reduced pressure and oil flow to the top end, damaging the rings and so on.Oil pump
Anyway this is our second attempt.
I’ll post information and more pictures during the trip.
- 6546 reads
Sun, 10/07/2012 - 00:54
#2
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Getting ready.
Getting all our gear ready for the trip.
Skip Mascorro, from Motodiscovery was kind enough, as always, to lend me his trailer.
We haul the bikes to Vanderpool on Friday night.
Sun, 10/07/2012 - 01:28
#3
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Good, bad and good news.
The good news is that Zenaida was running beautiful.
We were doing 65 no problem.
I went uphill to Leakey and Camp Wood, TX. In 3rd and 4th gear.
Here my wife and I in Camp Wood, TX.
Close to Brackettville Zenaida started sttutering. I thought it was gas and I turn the petcock to reserve, nothing. A little latter it got better but I started to lose power, I was left behind the group.
I decided to stop and put Zenaida in the trailer.
Two possible causes came to mind.
A few weeks ago I replaced the voltage regulator, or
I'm still running with he original coil.
This is the reason why I changed the voltage regulator.
As soon as I got to Del Rio I opened the front cover and found the terminal that goes from the voltage regulator to the positive pole of the carbon brushes loose.
I tight the cable into the terminal and I started Zenaida. She is back!
Here is Zenaida resting next to her british cousin. A nice Comet.
Tomorrow morning I'll go for a test ride.
Sun, 10/07/2012 - 09:21
#4
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Cold start
Is overcast and 40F. A typical british spring morning!
Mon, 10/08/2012 - 07:59
#6
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Cold and raining
It was a very cold start.
This is my office for the week.
A few miles down the road, Zenaida started to misfire at high RPM.
I thought it was gas starvation. I stopped and rich the mixture, it got better, but still to slow.
I put her back in the trailer. Temp was now 38F. It was nice to ride inside the truck, warm and dry.
All the restaurants in Sanderson and even the small towns like Dreyden are closed and empty.
The gas station is the only place you can find food between Del Rio and Sanderson, fuel too. Is very sad.
Finally Sunny in Marathon.
Chris King drove from Alpine to meet us. He checked Zenaida. First suspect, the points. Nothing.
It was a bad condenser. We test ride it, and she is running again.
As always there was a lot of wrenching and cleaning.
And some drinking.
Thanks for following us!
Mon, 10/08/2012 - 10:51
#7
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Breakfast in Mrathon
I love small diners, here at Johnny B's
Getting ready for another cold start.
Mon, 10/08/2012 - 19:40
#8
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Misfiring!!
15 miles out of Alpine on our way to Fort Davis, Zenaida started to misfiring again.
Chris and Buster the Ballast Dog were behind me.
Chris went back to Alpine to bring his truck. We place the bike on the operation table.
The stupid coil cable came loose!
Close to Fort Davis the charge light came on. It was the only cable missing.
I finally got to Fort Davids. We are staying at the Limpia Hotel.
The rooms are very nice.
Mon, 10/08/2012 - 20:35
#9
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Unexpected visit.
We found a tarantula crawling near the motorcycles.
The AJS was the first casualty of the trip.
Cracked case.
Some general pictures of the other motorcycle on the trip. Some british iron.
The group getting ready for the next drink.
Tue, 10/09/2012 - 09:59
#10
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Easy start in Alpine
Wed, 10/10/2012 - 00:09
#11
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Advice needed
[h3]Zenaida is misfiring again. I already changed the coil and the condenser. Could the new condenser be bad too? I need suggestions and advice.
The first time it came out of nowhere, one second I was flying and the next started misfiring and lost power.
I changed the condenser the following day. It started great but slowly lost power and started misfiring again.
I changed the coil yesterday.
Today I lost power throughout the day. It was failing at full throttle and was loosing power too. First I thought it was because of the 5,500 altitude, but the power was not there.
I changed the spark plug but couldn't start it and put it back in the trailer.
I just cleaned the points and put a little more tension into the spring by adding a spacer. It was too late to test it, but i sound well.
Tomorrow morning I will check the battery and terminals.
What m I missing? [/h3
Wed, 10/10/2012 - 07:00
#12
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Have you checked the timing
Have you checked the timing with a timing light? Is the gap closing up? The rubbing block on the points can wear down thus changing the timing. You've changed just about everything. What about the spark plug wire and cap...how old are they? On my R25/2, the plug wire is soldered to the coil...maybe on the R26 it has a screw terminal or plugs in.
Wed, 10/10/2012 - 09:01
#13
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Thanks Kurt
I'll check the timing and change the spark plug wire.
And report later today.
Wed, 10/10/2012 - 20:12
#14
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Wonderful sounding trip!! Too
Wonderful sounding trip!! Too bad you are having mechanical trouble. Good luck and keep us posted!
Wed, 10/10/2012 - 20:12
#15
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Nop, same thing
[h3]If I put preasure into the the point's tension blade or spring it sounds better.
Yesterday I was to busy pin pointing the electrical problems of Zenaida, no luck.
We went up to the McDonald Observatory and did the roll down.
Everybody coasts without an engine, and who ever get further wins .
Zenaida was running ok. She made it to the top.
Here are some pictures of the racers!
We road back to Fort Davis for repairs and beers.
I put Zenaida back on the trailer!!
Wed, 10/10/2012 - 22:57
#16
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Marfa, Tx.
Light dinner at the Paisano Hotel.
And breakfast at Skeeze Marfa another great coffe house.
Our bikes in front of the Paisano Hotel before starting.
Zenaida, again.
Working on the centrifugal.
Wed, 10/10/2012 - 23:07
#17
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Presidio
We had lunch in Presidio.
We made some repairs but somehow the advance weights got stuck in place. Go figure.
This is group sans Zenaida and I near Terlingua.
Wed, 10/10/2012 - 23:26
#18
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Terlingua
They have a nice souvenir shop, with beer and all.
And dinner at the Starlight Theatre
Thu, 10/11/2012 - 23:19
#19
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Chisos Basin
I worked on Zenaida all night. I put a little more tension on the points. Timed it and adjust the carburetor. It run ok all the way up the Chisos Basin. Visiting the Big Bend National Park is a must.
There are several wonderful roads inside the Park.
We are staying at the Chisos Basin Hotel. The view is fantastic.
We had our traditional Pick Nick at the Fastelon Station
Fierros viejos
Thu, 10/11/2012 - 23:36
#20
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Chisos Basin and a bad ground
Riding inside the park makes you hungry.
This was a good foto op. I love the red bike.
Right or left? I got lost.
I was not the only one lost. Hahahaha.
Allan with an ammeter in hand discovered a bad ground in Zenaida's generator. It was a loose connector for the coil ground. I started Zenaida and she sounds strong. I'll let you know how it goes.
Good night!
P.S. Jeffrey, thanks for helping me with the posts.
Fri, 10/12/2012 - 23:41
#21
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Big Bend ride
It was a beautiful morning in the Big Bend National Park.
We roll down from Chisos Basin early in the Morning.
Zenaida is working great.
We stopped for gas in Panther Srping.
There were Tarantulas every where.
We went for Ocotillo for lunch.
Sun, 10/14/2012 - 22:59
#22
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Boquillas
We stopped at the Boquillas Canyon and latter at Panter Juntion for lunch
The BSA had a puncture and Zenaida reuse to start and we put her in the back of the pickup.
I love picnics with my motorcycles friends! Don't you?
At Alpine we left Zenaida at Chris's shop. He will decipher the electrical problem affecting her. The ammeter showed I had electricity at the coil, but when I kick started the ammeter goes crazy, any ideas will be welcome.
Here at Chris' shop with his new project.
Back at the hotel Chris prepare for us his famous stuffed japeños.
My wife texting from the swimming-pool at the Maverick Hotel in Alpine.
The morning of our departure I found this beautiful R100CS with only 10k.
The trailer was not immune to trouble, we got a flat close to Sabinal.
Back in Vanderpool.
Getting ready to unwind.
In the next few days I'll post more pictures and more comments about the R26.
Sun, 10/14/2012 - 23:11
#23
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Thanks for sharing. Keep'em
Thanks for sharing. Keep'em coming
Mon, 10/15/2012 - 11:55
#24
Mon, 10/15/2012 - 23:59
#25
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Wed, 10/17/2012 - 12:47
#26
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Prolog
Prolog:
Zenaida, McDonald Observatory
Zenaida’s electrical problems.
There was no way I could anticipate the generator frame to crack.
Since I was braking-in the engine I didn’t stress it to the point of failure before my trip.
My suggestion for future trips, test ride your bike. Long tests are a must.
Regrouping in Marathon
Even when everybody agreed it was a ground problem, since it was intermittent, it was very difficult to pinpoint.
Ghost towns, Hwy 90, Texas
Between all my colleges and I we invest well over 12 hours locating the problems and trying vain solutions.
In route to Fort Davis, not me.
Hardware.
Since Zenaida only had 20% of the original hardware, instead of cleaning and tropicalizing the old fasteners I decided to purchase a new stainless set. Do to the difference in hardness I lost a few new bolts and several did come loose throughout the trip. Vibrations in our R26s at 55 Mph sustained speeds are tremendous. My hands are still numb!
Beautiful New Imperial
Seat
My Pagusa seat is very comfortable during the first 6 hours, after that it was unbearable.
McDonald Observatory and the infamous downhill race.
Handlebar grips and the accelerator.
I sincerely thought I was going to get used to the vibrations, I didn’t. I was constantly switching hands to release the numbness.
The group resting before the Big Bend National Park
Since I don’t like the looks of the padded grips I will install a mechanical cruise control. This will also allow me to operate my SLR camera with the right hand. (Please don’t ever let go the handle bars is dangerous).
Tools
The smallest wrench in my tool box is a 10mm. We had a sag wagon with a huge tool box however almost all were whitworth and standard with only a few metric, this was a big inconvenience. My pocket knife style Allen set is useless if you can’t separate each individual wrench.
Unexpected four wheel visitors
Gear
I was prepared for the rain, but I didn’t anticipate the cold front. I left my warm water-proof gloves at home. Our old bikes require a lot of pushing, walking, stopping and wrenching on the fly, modular helmets and good comfortable boots are a must.
My wife went down, nothing serious..
Our classic bikes, specially the twins drip gas, usually on top of the boots dissolving the glue that hold them together. My next boots will be the stitched sole kind.
THE R80GS
Tires
I love my Heidenaus tires! I was amazed how good Zenaida curved and learned to respect the front break. Earles will race the suspension and straighten the motorcycle in a second. Once I got the rhythm it became a waltz.
Tire change in Alpine
Zenaida was a lot of fun to ride, she was not that slow, it obviously lacks the torque of the 500cc English bikes and I suffered a little going up hill, but I could sustain a steady speed of 55 mph. I'll try again next year!
Thanks for following my posts.
San Arthur
Mon, 04/30/2018 - 22:28
#27
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Third Parts of Zenaida
This is the third part or topic of my R26, Zenaida.
Hi. I enjoyed the story of your trip last year. I have an R26 also, and can't imagine riding it that far! Hope she runs good for the whole trip this time.