Prospect purchase

[Arnie]

Yeah, Congratulations Kyle.  You've done a whole lot better than I thought you would.
Maybe give the bike some part of the credit, but you've done most of it ;-)
Well done.

Arnie

[1tinindian]

Well done Kyle!
Once you can sort out the small problems with your FJ (now that you are back home) you will  have an even better understanding of why we all love the FJ.
We would still appreciate your updates on the bike along with a few pictures.
We are here to help.
I hope to meet you someday at one of our rallys.

Leon

[Mark Olson]

way to go Kyle 

you got the right stuff.

come back to california for the west coast rally in june .

[fintip]

Man, I'm still exhausted. I've been trying to throw together a basic collection of video from the trip, but given that my computer with Sony Vegas was stolen in Austin, I'm programless. I've spent the last few hours trying to find some kind of basic free editor (  ), but nothing will edit MP4's that's free (since that's not an open source codec, so any company that includes that codec in their program has to pay to be able to give it... And even if you have the codec for other programs, it has to be specified for each app... I digress).

So we'll get to that soon enough. In the meantime, I managed to snap a handful of pictures on the Iron Butt run:

Looking up Monkey's address on some guy's smartphone in the middle of the night, just trying to figure out where the exit is. I got this picture because in Israel there's a major chain of mini grocery stores called AM/PM, so it was weird. (We don't have these in Texas, don't know if they're common out here or if this one is solo.) Anyways, I mostly took this for friends on Facebook:


Most expensive gas I found in the whole US. It was after a huge stretch of nothing, on the edge of the border of California, (literally, my memory is telling me it was more than 100 miles, don't remember exactly). I walked into the gas station and asked the attendant, 'hey, is there any cheaper gas around here?'

He looked around nervously and made sure his boss wasn't around. "Can you go 21 miles?"

"21 miles?"

"21 miles down you can make it to the next town over the border, and it's like a dollar cheaper there."

"Appreciate that."

Got a little gas just to make sure I could make it there, and drove over the border to fill up. Crazy. Cheapest gas, by the way, was small town Texas. I found a few places with gas for $3.02.





At that cheaper gas station... Obviously dressed for function, not style, haha:



It was a long ride out there, but I finally made it to the Grand Canyon... I had already gone through two waves of sleepiness that almost pushed me to stop and pull over, but I powered through and hit my 2nd wind.









I stopped for pictures once more that day. Had a lot more I wanted to, but I had a lot of miles to cover, and every stop hurts.




Thought it was pretty cool to drive through during their centennial, so I wanted a picture with the sign while it was up during the year.

Here's the whole trip... Route starts from LA: http://goo.gl/maps/8dEJf

Driving all day wasn't very eventful, except to note that I was driving FAST. These roads out in the middle of nowhere, with almost an hour between towns... Not much enforcement in backwoods Arizona. My speedometer is shot, but not completely, and based on seat-of-pants feel and comparison with the rest of traffic and the best I can make of my screwy speedo, I think I cruised at 110mph for a pretty sizable chunk of the trip in AZ and NM. I left at 6:57AM (Monkey's wife saw me off, but she was more interested in making me coffee than helping me rush out the door, and I couldn't quite bear to rush her, as she and a neighbor were going to be my witnesses, haha), and by the time I had gotten back to flagstaff from the Grand Canyon, it was getting dark.

And then, true to Movenon's words, it got cold. DAMN cold. Not quite as cold as Oregon, but not by much... I was at 5000 and 6000 feet for most of the night, and I felt every bit of the cold. The one advantage of the cold was that it did help keep me awake. I was exhausted, but on the fritz, so my focus was spent on trying to keep feeling in my legs and hands.

I had stopped more often than anticipated, but had sped more than anticipated, so I ended up arriving in Albuquerque a little ahead of schedule, around 10PM. I found my couchsurfing host (can't believe I got a host with only a 2 day in advance notice for Thanksgiving night). He was a guy in his 40's who had done a fair amount of traveling and had recently started art school and had a lot of stuff he was working on in his living room. It was a small duplex in a backalley that felt like an oven inside--I got the impression that it was always on and the only control he had was to open the door to cool down. It was humble, but the guy was very kind. I felt bad, but while he obviously had wanted to talk some, he knew from my couch request that I was in a huge timecrunch and wouldn't be able to talk at all. After about 30 minutes, he got the hint as I was laying on the futon with the blankets up and starting to want to doze off. 5.5 hours later, at 4am LA time, I woke up. By 4:30, I was packed up and back on the road. These hours of sleep were actually restful.

I had pulled off somewhere in the low 900's upon arrival to albuquerque as far as mileage, but hadn't followed my exact route yesterday, and so wasn't sure. I still had between 2 and 2 and a half hours to finish my SaddleSore 1000. The sun had not yet risen, though the horizon was a beautiful dark blue with a light blue rim. It was cold. Real cold. At the Grand Canyon, I had filled up my big aquafina bottle (empty) with water from a tap that had spring water from the Grand Canyon. That bottle was strapped by a bungee cord right behind me, in such a way that the wind was hitting it. Well, when I pulled over after 1.5 hours or so of driving, there was ice forming in the bottle. THAT cold. I took a little video of it just to prove it.

Why was I pulled over taking a video? My odometer showed I had passed 1000 miles, but they mention on their website that odometers can be off by as much as 4% sometimes (40 miles indicated per 1000 miles real travel)... So I had driven to about 1050, and at this point was just looking for the next gas station, and I was about an hour ahead of schedule all together. Then...

Bam. Fuel starvation. What? I filled up just before I got to my host's house in Albuquerque, and it had been like 100-120 miles on the odometer! Did I not actually fill it up? Did gas leak somehow overnight? Crap. I coast over. There's nothing around. Dawn is just about to break; it's 5:35AM. I start pushing the bike up the moderate incline. As a testament to how cold it was, even with my heated jacket (unplugged while off bike), covered by leather jacket, covered by rain shell, pushing the bike with luggage up a hill, I wasn't exactly breaking a sweat... I was definitely seeing the condensation from my breath, though. I push, then stop and rest and try and flag down help, then push, then try and flag down help. Finally, after about 20 minutes of that, a trucker stops, bless him. I explain that I seem to have run out of gas; he doesn't have a jerrycan, but says he can give me a lift to the next gas station, and then I can get a lift from someone else back to the bike. I say, hey, I can just take off my gas tank and bring it with me, fill it up at the station, and bring it back, so I don't have to buy a jerry can. He says sure, and starts to wait.

I go back to the bike, bring it off the shoulder into the grass, and start disassembling it. As I go to lift it, I realize, wait a second--there's definitely still gas in here. I open it--plenty of gas. I run over and apologize for wasting his time, shake his hand and thank him, and run back to the bike to diagnose. Flipping the kill switch back and forth hadn't worked earlier, which was the first thing I had done--it was cranking, but not firing. So I pull a plug and check for spark--not the strongest spark (still need to get new spark plugs... These may well be 10 years old) but spark nonetheless. I put the plug back in.

And something occurs to me. While I was at Monkey's, he had shown me something about the petcock. He mentioned that when he got a new 84/85 style petcock, he had tested the vacuum seal, and realized that a proper vacuum petcock doesn't require a steady suction to work, but just seals with a 'thunk' when you suck on it, and remains open as long as the pressure is held. Mine didn't do that, and neither did his when he finally replaced it. He said that mine was on the way to failing--could be days, could be months, could be years, no one knows--and that when it did, it would show fuel starvation symptoms. I give my petcock a suck and realize that the flow does seem a bit more hesitant, a bit weaker than before. I was cruising on these deserted roads at 4 and 5 am at 110mph or so, and remembered having really leaned back on the throttle there at the end before it sputtered and died. Maybe that was it. I put it all back together and decide to 'prime' it by just sitting on the starter button for a while.

After a few tries, it barely stumbles to life and idles at what sounds like 400 or 500 rpm. Still, remembering from my reading on the forum about how the boost/vacuum advance unit worked, I had learned that when one cuts the throttle, the vacuum goes up (and the boost unit interprets that as a need to spark a bit earlier to kill the extra rich mixture resulting from less air). Knowing that, I left the bike idling off throttle for a while, so as to let the bowls fill up easier and keep the petcock a little more open, while I repack and put the back fully back together. By the time I'm done, I take off, and am ready to go.

I start flying again, but this time not pushing it above 90/95 or so (estimate, again, as speedo doesn't work... I think it might be giving me the howl of doom, by the way). Finally, having taken off at around 6:10 and having driven another 20 minutes or so, I make it to a gas station that's open. I pull in and fill up, some Shell. I fill up and get my receipt.

1000+ miles in 24 hours. I fill out my log. An old guy with a broom walks out, sweeping before he opens shop. I tell him what I have just done. Tells me it's risky. Asks where I came from, where I'm going. Asks if I saw the Grand Canyon. I say I did, and ask if he's been. Oh, he's been, loves it, would like to go again one more time he says. Talk for a minute while I fill up and put stuff back together. He tells me I'll enjoy this one day when I get to look back on it.

Me at the gas station, attendant in question taking the picture:




And I take off--500 miles in the next 12 hours to go. At the 12 hour mark yesterday, I had done an indicated 800 miles (so probably more like a true 775 or so, but I'll take it). Today, though, most of my miles will be in Texas... And I'm a little more nervous about speeding in Texas.

I start getting sleepy after this, a couple more hours into driving. Hungry, too. I finally pull over somewhere, and am told that I'm 18 miles from the Texas border. Figuring I've been making good time and that I'm exhaust, I take it slow, pull out all my food, and munch on various things. Ask the gas station attendant a couple questions, what's the high today? She doesn't know, but she does know that it hit freezing last night for the first time--and that's here, where the elevation is lower than where I was driving all through the night... Explains my water bottle, when wind chill is taken into account... What's the high lately? High sixties, low seventies. Elevation? She doesn't know. She doesn't seem very interested or interesting, and isn't keen on conversation so I mostly leave her alone and munch. Probably take a little too long there, but it worked out in the end, yeah? Get back on the road, and another 30 minutes, I feel tired again. I cross the border into Texas. Tired.

In Texas, the driving changes. The speed limits are higher--Texas has the 3rd highest speed limits in the world!--but after I get off I-40 and start heading down 287 from Amarillo, I'm constantly hitting small towns set up as speed traps. It's nerve wracking. I see several cops in my first 200 miles in Texas, and several cops throughout Texas. I keep feeling like I want to fall asleep at the controls for what seems like forever, barely holding myself together... It's warming up, and I'm at lower elevation now. To help keep me focused, I leave the heated jacket on high heat, even though it is getting really hot. I found out later, once I had arrived, that I actually was burning my arm during this period. I have red marks that lasted a full day after I took off the jacket, mild burns from the sleeve wires being on almost direct contact with my skin. (Because I wear short sleeved shirts underneath, my arms always feel warmer in the jacket than my torso, since there's no cloth between my arms and the jacket like my torso has.)

Eventually I hit another wind and power on. Texas was the longest part, because it seems like I'm so close--it's the last leg of the trip, and it's in the same state!--but it just keeps on going. Also, all the low speed driving in the towns, and not being able to speed as much for fear of worse repercussions and fear or more enforcement... Plus, even on areas I feel like I could fly, I have the potential fuel starvation issue.

Which I confirmed. A couple stretches, when I hit it, I got the bike to start starving. Once, almost just to test it, I got the full issue--high speeds, enough to start emptying the bowls faster than a weak vacuum petcock could supply it, for a minute or two, and the bike started stuttering. This time I chopped the throttle and pulled in the clutch, started coasting on the shoulder. Shifted down to third as I slowed. Popped the clutch but kept the throttle closed. Rolled, still not biting. Pulled in clutch some more. Rolled. Released clutch, throttle still closed. Downshift to second. Stuttering! bike starts coming back a bit! Keep the throttle closed. Pull in clutch. Idling. Rolling real slow. Idle starts to pick up. 20 more seconds and I take off in second, and the bike is fine.

A couple more times in the day I jumped up to high speeds for a 30 second burst or so, passing traffic and such on two lane roads--always made sure to pull it back to 85 for a while and let the bowls refill a bit and I didn't seem to have any trouble, though I did feel like I might be on the edge once or twice.

I end up missing a turn (supposed to hit 82 east--82 east and 287 south are the same road for a while, then 82 turns off. I must have missed it.) I have a feeling that something isn't right, though, and pull over for gas a little earlier than I need to to check things. I pull out my Nexus and check on the GPS--sure enough, knowing that I am supposed to pass through Paris, TX, I realize I must have missed the turn. I don't have internet, so my map is a very basic one that the maps app happened to cache last time I was online and had wifi, but I figure I must need to keep heading south to Decatur and take 308 south. The guy at the gas station agrees, and I head that way.

And that's it. Nothing notable happened until I was about 80 miles from my uncle's. I'm in the final stretch, on schedule but not as much ahead of schedule as I would like, and I've hit the part of 308 that is a bunch of stoplights. I end up coming up on two Harleys, modern ones that have obviously had the factory or some such do some engine and cosmetic upgrade work--louder exhaust that sounds a bit meaner than the average harley. Two guys driving are older, leathered up. One of them has his SO on the back, just a half helmet on top. I amiably cruise around behind them, then next to them--traffic is moving steady, but cars are packed enough around us that there's no flying ahead without risking a serious violation, and we're basically in a township, so that would be really unwise even if you wanted to. But we end up coming to a stop next to each other. They seem to be avoiding my gaze, playing cool, and I'm driving some Jap Crotchrocket as best they can tell, even if I do have luggage. They talk to each other and ignore me. When it turns green, they blast off ahead, like they expected me to try and show them up and race off. I'm caught off guard. Funny.

We end up coming to a second light a bit later. I tap the throttle, not hard, twice, to give them enough of a hint that I *might* be thinking about taking off quick, and then speed up quickly, but not full speed. They both fly ahead, roaring. I start grinning. This will be fun...

When we're getting to the edge of the stoplight area, obviously a lot less populated, after a while where it looked like we wouldn't get our chance, we end up coming next to each other on a third stoplight. This time, I pull back the throttle all the way. They didn't have a chance. Nervous--I really don't want to worry about a ticket for racing--I let off the throttle after about 4 seconds when I'm obviously clearly in the lead. The guy with his wife on the bike is still pulling hard and then starts to passing me, but has misjudged, and has to all but slam his brakes to keep from hitting an SUV in front of him that's just up front and right from me. I smirk to myself... I pull ahead quickly and get in front of the SUV so they have room to pass around. They do, and his buddy gives me the finger as they do so. They turn right at the next light, and I'm back alone again.

Another hour and I made it. My cousin was just getting off work. I follow him to my uncle's (his dad's) house, and I have them check the odometer. I am about an hour early, and on the odometer I show something like 1800 total miles--google maps says 1649.

And there you go. That's how it's done. Lots of video to edit, will be working on that at some point in the next few days.

Oh yeah. My original reason--Thanksgiving Saturday--ended up all being for naught. My mom called me the night before take-off and said that stuff had come up, and so she needed to reschedule for sometime next week. Ha. Such is life. So I'm hanging out here in East Texas for a few days, catching up on sleep, catching up with family, playing with my younger cousins, catching up on typing... And hopefully, soon, catching up on video editing.

Thanks for reading, and thanks so much for the support. You guys were great encouragement to write this all down, and I will be so glad that I wrote it later on in life--I'm sure if I have kids, they'll be grateful that there were people around asking me to write it all down so they can have it to read too.

Definitely hoping to make it out to Cali next summer. We'll see what I can manage--if not this summer, then some summer soon!

Kookaloo!

Kyle

PS--HAHAHA! I almost just lost everything I typed because of the silly default login that's 60 minutes... I think I would have just about cried, I've been writing this for a couple hours now and I'm about to fall asleep at the keyboard.

[The General]

Wow Kyle. Congratulations. You are infectious.  Hope the next Doco is Down Under. Doug

[93fj1200]

Great story Kyle, I wish more people would put up their stories.  I have done over 20,000 kms in 23 days on one ride from Canada to Panama and a circle tour of all the borders and coasts of Mexico thrown in as well, as well as Baja California.  I started on that trip with my newly bought  93 FJ1200 without test driving more than half a kilometer.  Damn, FJs are good bikes.  Have always loved the satisfaction received from doing those long runs.  Crossed Canada many times, once on a 750 Seca and 9 times on an FJ1100.  The truly dedicated FJ riders seem to be a very hardy bunch of guys who enjoy all aspects of bike riding.  When I talk to my friends about making the changes that we make to our bikes, they just really don´t get it. Almost all are quite content to just buy a bike and shine it up and drive it once in awhile.  To be honest, I don´t think it has ever entered their minds that it is possible to make a great bike even better.  Down here in Panama, the first thing everybody asks about my bike is how much it costs.  I have been putting some money and time into the bike lately, (New carbs, fuel pump, rims & brake swaps) and sometimes it seems to be a lot of money to invest in a 20 year old bike but I honestly cannot think of a new bike that I would prefer to drive more often.  When I go to bike events here in latin america, there is always a crowd near my bike, even when there is new FJRs there.  It could be because they know the bike has gone further and been more places than almost all of them.  I haven´t yet met anyone here who has driven up to Canada or even the States yet. Maybe soon. Anyway, congratulations on meeting your goals, it is quite an accomplishment, keep it up!!

[FJmonkey]

Glad you made it Kyle, even an FJ with issues can take you the distance. Good thing we checked the petcock when we synced your carbs. By simply knowing what the issue was, you modified your riding style and kept on schedule. Well done.

[movenon]

You did great ! Get some rest. When it's time, fix the minor issues on the FJ. There are a lot of places out West to see and visit. Hope you can come back when you have more time and during better weather. There are AM/PM's in  Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona. Fuel prices looked fairly high from your photo's but when you are on the road that's the way it is. They know you don't have time or know where to go for a better price. Locally here fuel is 3.50 - 3.85 a gal.. I have a station close by that sells non alcohol laced fuel. Good old plain gas. That's what I try to run in the FJ when I can. For sure its in the tank during the the winter here.
We have been down the same route as you went many times as motorcyclist and in the RV. Normally we spend the winter's in Yuma, AZ but this year due to family events we will stay put here for the winter. Going to miss the warm sunny days and an occasional trip to the "In and Out".......
A comment on your interface with the RV for fuel in one of your posts. Most, if not all RV'ers are armed when "boondocking" (parked in a remote location with no services often by themselves) they are informed/taught/learned to not open there door or leave there unit in the middle of the night when someone is outside beating on there door. It is a security issue for them. They will most likely ignore you, offer yelling through a window to call 911 for you or inform you that they are armed and to "please" leave the area while they are calling the cops. You have to put yourself in there shoes, inside there RV they have some control,  once they open there door and step out in the middle of the night they loose the high ground so to speak and can't cover there back or side's well. A couple were robbed a killed in Canada and also in Oregon within the last few years by getting out of there RV in the middle of the night and being overwhelmed. The guy knocking on the door is just a distraction, you don't see the others off to the side or in the shadows waiting for you to expose yourself. The RVer's inside armed with a pistol or pistol's and a pump 12 gauge riot shot gun and cell phone have input to events. Like one said "they might be in a box end canyon, but there's going to be noise, light and casualties".
Back to motorcycling. I am glad you did not hit any snow or ice between Flagstaff ABQ and into Amarillo. That's a lonesome stretch of road at night. Got few stories about that area and South down to Roswell and into Pecos's, TX..  Probably good for you but sad to see your trip at an end ) It's been a good read. Now what the hell are we going to stir up for the rest of the winter......

[fj11.5]

Well done mate, glad you made it home,, now you know why we love Fj,s ,, bet you glad she has a corbin 

[racerman_27410]

Great ADVENTURE!

Anything on TV pales in comparison!


KOokaloo!


Frank

[Big D]

Thanks for the great story Kyle, who's next? I loved reading this one so much.....

[I make oil]

Glad you made it.  Looking forward to reading about your next adventure.   

[aviationfred]

Kyle, yours was an awesome adventure and proof of the strengths and general ease of maintenance of our bikes. For you to receive a bike sight unseen with electrical and fuel issues, ride it around 2000 miles with minor hiccups is a testement of the greatness of the FJ and the people that own them. My hat is off to you. 

Fred

[fintip]

Wind Chill: 1000 miles in the cold

Finally uploaded a video. Probably will put some other ones up soon and add them here as well. This one just stood out, though.

[fintip]

Better late than never:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Took 6 months (Didn't have enough money to mail in and get the process started until January) to get the verification process done, because I didn't perfectly comply with all procedures during the ride. (Supposed to start from a gas station; I filled up the night before and just got signatures for my start, since I didn't want to have to push start in the morning and then re-push start right after a gas station) (Also they wanted a copy of my grand canyon receipt to verify that extra 60 miles two ways veer-off up to the canyon rim).

Notice the license plate back I just installed with the built in tool kit.

Special thanks to Mr. Bean and Monkey, and everyone on this forum whose advice helped make this trip happen. Without Mark's advice on the petcock in LA, I almost certainly wouldn't have made my 1000 in 24!

I am holding my two certificates, one for the 1000 miles in 24 hours (which I did almost on the nose--900 or so in one run, a four hour nap in albuquerque, and then filming the video in my last post after taking off at 4AM), the other certificate for 1500 in 36 (I actually did 1660 in 35!).

They read:

This is to Certify that on the 22nd of November, 2012, L. Kyle Baker rode a 1986 Yamaha FJ1200 a total of 1,022 grueling miles in less than twenty-four hours starting in Los Angeles, California continuing on to Kingman, Arizona, Grand Canyon National Park and Albuquerque, New Mexico before ending in Santa Rosa, New Mexico while participating in the SaddleSore 1000.

This is to Certify that in November of 2012, L. Kyle Baker rode a 1986 Yamaha FJ1200 a total of 1,660 grueling miles in less than thirty-six hours starting in Los Angeles, California continuing across the Mojave Desert and  the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park, across Arizona and New Mexico before ending in Mount Pleasant, Texas while participating in the Bun Burner 1500.