The Nomads

No Travel Days

Port Angeles, Washington

Temps: 21 C average daytime high
9 C average night-time

Sunny, Clouds, Cool

Not much happening in Port Angeles. We were waiting to get the bike in on Tuesday when the shop opened and got the bad news on Wednesday that the engine and tranny would cost more than the bike was worth to repair. We spent the next two days agonizing over options and the difficult final decision to buy a new one at quite a good price so that we could finish our trip.

It turns out that the fuel pump on the 98and 99 models had plastic gears which were known to fail around 60-70 thousand but there was a retrofit pump that should have been installed unbeknownst to me. I’m surprised the dealer back home didn’t mention it or do anything about it when I took it in for a full servicing the week before leaving on the trip. For want of a new pump replacement costing a few hundred, I had to write off a bike worth over eight thousand!

The stumbling blocks were new insurance, customs red tape over importation rules, three day hold for VIN registration at border, temp trip permit for bike in transit, taxation and duties, OEM Recall Clearance papers, financing…...more issues sure to pop up before we’re away clear, I’m certain.

We were traveling by bus back and forth and pretty much spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at the dealership, trying to work out the details.

Thursday evening we went down to the wharf where there is a park similar to Officer’s Square. There was a bandstand set up and the locals were gathered to listen to an outdoor concert by a rock and folk group; tunes from the sixties and seventies. Once the music wound down we went for a long walk along the shoreline (Juan de Fueca Strait) then back to the motel for the evening.

Friday saw us back at the dealer’s to clean out the bags and finish getting our gear off the bike, arrange the last minute details and pick up the new bike for the weekend while waiting for the crash bars and back-rack to come in Tuesday. It broke my heart to see the bike all tore down and abandoned there.

We went on a cruise up to Sequim(pronounced “Squim”) in the early evening. I really liked the balance of the new bike! Of course it was practically naked and will have a very different COG and feel once it is loaded for the road, but there should be no shortage of power. It has the biggest touring motor for metrics on the road today!

We are now mobile on the new bike but only in the US because the customs paperwork will take three days to process before we can get into Canada with it.

Tomorrow the plan is to head back to Sequim for the Lavender festival.

http://www.lavenderfestival.com/

Kilometres - Daytrip: 0 km total: 24,163

Gas: $0 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Flagstone Motel