EL GUAPO’S GREAT ADVENTURE

An Adventure ride was forming and somehow I got sucked into it.  El Guapo (Kerry) wanted to do an Adventure ride so I agreed to be his wingman. I thought maybe I would need some help and maybe a bike! So I solicited Buck of SBB suspension fame and Jess aka Hose-b of Phariss RV Park, owner, assistant manager and maintenance man to back me up with getting El Guapo through the ordeal.  Our group was now four so on to my next dilemma. The bike! I needed one to ride, lol.

Since I didn’t have anything with me but a Honda ST 1100 and a KTM 450 I would have to start shopping for an acceptable bike. I started on craigslist locally and found a clean looking older KTM 690.  Locally means I drove 5 hours over to buy it and 5 hrs back to the RV park. Went over it, tested a bit, bought a few accessories and I was set. Fingers crossed!

Meeting day is set and everyone meets at MX43.com headquarters, Art’s house to leave vehicles and begin our trip on the Idaho portion of the well renowned BDR adventure route. Almost everyone already knows each other so it is an easy meeting, BS session and then after a bit of prep work heading off to bed.

The trip was really fun with all of the terrain covered from rolling hills to beautiful mountains and rivers pretty much all day long!  By the end of the first day I was hoping this day was not an indication of things to come. Hose-b got a rear puncture and that kicked it off. We fixed it having seen the hole and diagnosing it as a pinch flat or maybe the rim lock. New tube and during inflation El Guapo strolls by and says “STOP!”  he apparently noticed a screw sticking out from between the knobs.  Too late! Poked a hole in that tube, so on to the next one.  The next one was a bad tube, had a small hole. My fault as I never inspected it and trusted it as a replacement tube from someone on a previous ride. All in all it was a 2 Plus hour stop to change the rear until we were out of tubes and had to put a 21” front in to get back on the trail. We started out in the shade on the side of the road, but we were there so long we had to move to the other side of the road to get shade. Some of the boys took a lunch and I think El Guapo even had a nap! Finally, tire fixed and back on the trail.

While all of this is going on we learn that El Guapo has had to clean the air filter on his KLR 650 already. The first of many stops we will make to service El Guapo’s air filter, ongoing problem just not sure why.  But in the course of his repetitive cleaning sessions El Guapo with the assistance of Buck can service a KLR 650 filter like he is on a NASCAR pit crew!

That night we stayed at a 100-year-old hotel run by a very nice woman named Darlene. She loved telling us stories and history. It was a truly memorable evening. She got up to make us cinnamon rolls in the morning.

Our next interaction came after a few more filter cleaning sessions, an off course excursion to a town to buy spare tubes and get something to eat because we knew we would be late getting into our destination that evening.  Luckily in our tube search we stopped at a shop called GPS.  But that actually stood for Gosselaar Power Sports, YES THAT Gosselaar, as in Mike Gosselaar, Ricky Carmichael’s mechanic back in the day.  We had a great time talking to him and he was very helpful and friendly. We wrapped up our business and having wasted enough of his time we were ready to leave. I asked him if I could put a #33 sticker in his shop somewhere.  He said to put it on his tool box!  I did and now feel honored to be able to tell people I have a spot on his tool box!

Our overnight stay had us at a motel with other riders and there was an older KLR 650. Later we would learn by meeting the original owner who is 85 years old and the guy he was riding with that this 1997 KLR 650 was original and had 115 K miles on it! Yes! One Hundred and Fifteen Thousand miles and had never been rebuilt. The Old-timer began to tell us stories at breakfast of being in this town, Elk City about 1952. He told us of his first Indian motorcycle with the Left Hand Throttle. El Guapo asked them if they had a spare air filter for a KLR but they of course did not. But since they seemed to be done riding and heading back in a truck they would be willing to sell El Guapo the one from the 1997 siting out in the parking lot. They made the deal and off we went to cannibalize the KLR, unfortunately it had a K&N and El Guapo was looking for the foam to be able to service it on the trail. So away we went, anticipating more NASCAR type stops with El Guapo providing the entertainment at each stop. Another rear flat on Hose-b’s bike a few more filter stops and we made our camping/Hot Springs destination.

The next morning suited up ready for the ride and discovered El Guapo’s bike would no longer start. A tow strap took care of that little problem and away we went after deciding that with Fire/construction/slides on the intended route and El Guapo’s bike not being totally reliable we decided to ride the hiway to Hose-b’s house. We did stop along the way to pick up a K&N air filter kit and some Lucas Oil additive to try to soldier on with El Guapo’s ailing scooter. We also had the battery tested on a diagnostic machine and found it was ok even though we had run it down trying to start the bike. But it was discovered that the terminals were a bit loose. So much for you position on the NASCAR crew El Guapo!!!

In the morning we were on the fence whether to continue the last 3 scheduled days of the ride with all the mechanical trouble we had been having on El Guapo’s bike. Then as the rain began to fall and the weather reports being of heavy rains beginning that day and following us the next couple of days the general consensus was to call it.  It had been a most memorable trip, fun, entertaining, a lot of ribbing morning to night and we all felt pretty good about ending on a good note. It was decided that we load the two bikes in the truck and drive them back to Buck’s truck at MX43.com headquarters.  Good call as it rained the whole way there!

I am sure this crew will be back to either do this one again and complete all of it or pick another section and give it a go.  I know I would be in, sometimes my sides hurt from laughing around these guys.

#33

‘it doesn’t have to be perfect for it to be Great!’