Hurricane Arthur, the east coast ride, and Lammyjammy. Part 1 of ?

Pre trip

The week before

This is the last upgrade that I've been meaning to do to the BMW, it's the dreaded top box latch upgrade! One of the great things about the bmwlt forum and forums in general is that they help you keep your bike/scooter running at a fraction of what it would cost to use a dealer. Plus they help you with preventive maintenance, and that's saving big bucks down the road. So, one of the design faults (among a few) on my LT, is that the top box latch has 2 weak points that some time down the road "will" fail. But thanks to people on the forum and some small companies, they come up with solutions on how to fix and upgrade the problems. Here's one company that has the latch problem covered:

Lt trunk latch.com 

Not where you/I want to be.

Nice piece of kit, eh!

As I already know by the forums, this is kind of a pain to install. But at least you get suggestions on how to do it the easiest, ie: remove the topbox from the bike. Which I do. I bring it home and put the box on the couch, hey, might as well be comfortable. So around 30 aggravating minutes later I have it installed. Thank god you (I) only have to do it once. 

As you can see that the replacement (if it breaks) is around $1200 if you let BMW (Bring More Wallet) do it  for you, or if you buy the replacement latch here it's still $375. So I'm glad that's done, but one of the more aggravating things that I've had to do on the bike. Funny on how it is, I spend 10 minutes trying to line up a pin with a hole and also hold back the latch spring. Then all of a sudden it all comes together in one second. 

A great company to deal with, fast shipping and a well made product. All pics used in this bit are from their website.

The night and day before

So here we are, the day before the trip and I've got Hurricane Arthur coming up the east coast. It's not what I wanted, but that's one of the reasons I try to keep flexible on my travel plans. The only thing that I've booked so far is a night in Montreal. So we'll see how it goes, and I've already PMed Patrick to see what's happening in Montreal this weekend.  I can think of worse things than having to spend an extra day in Montreal :-)) My motto on my travels is "Take it one day at a time". The bonus, and the way I look at things is, that at least it didn't happen on the Lammyjammy weekend.

So one of the decisions I had to make for this trip is to change the oil. I've got 500 miles to go before I need to change it, so what to do. I could get it changed on the road, but I'm cheap so off to the store to get some supplies. Usually I buy my oil when I'm down in the US, as it's about $10 cheaper, or $20 if you buy your Mobil 1 at Canadian tire. So having to go oil shopping, I head over to Canadian tire which wants $49 for the Mobil 1 oil that I pay $29 for in the US. ouch!. That is if they carried 15W50, which they only carry in 1 litre bottles. Wallymart was better as they only wanted $39 for Mobil 1, but again only had it in 1 lt bottles. So it looks like the bike is getting some good old dino oil this time. Well,  it will be a semi synthetic oil change as I've still got some Mobil 1 left over from last change.  I also picked up a Wix oil filter over the winter that they were able to cross reference @(Partsource) for my bike, so I've got that covered. So I pick up 3 litres of oil and a few other things while I'm there. One of the reasons I hate going to Wallymart is the always long, long lines. Here's a tip, do your shopping and then go check out in the "Garden Centre". Never any lines there,  and your out in a flash. So I ended up picking up some Valvoline and some Castol for $5.97 a litre. But at the check out they come up as $6.47, which I point out to the cashier. 

So here's my philosophy on price checks. If you correct it with no hassle, I'm usually happy to be on my way, but if you give me a hard time, attitude etc, you bet I'm going to go for the "item's free up to $10 for the first item" from the Scanner code of Conduct.

 Since both the Valvoline and Castol came up wrong, that's 2 items free. So we go through the song and dance of checking the price and calling the customer manger, but in the end I got my 2 liters of oil for free. Not the first time at Wallymart either. So keep an eye out. 

So after work, that is after being stuck in the tunnel for an extra hour and 45 min due to a signal box roasting up in the yard, and the signal guys not being able to fix it. But kudos to my day 1 trainee student, who roughed it out even when I offered to let him go early! So now I head over to my locker to do the oil change at 4:30 am ;-(.  But I've still got that caffeine buzz from the McD's latte earlier so no problems. I drain the oil, pull the old K&N filter, which I love due to the nut welded on the end for easy removal. Go to re install the Wix oil filter only to find it's the wrong one!  With Canada day tomorrow, or today, as it's 5am, I've got no choice and quit for the night and pick up a K&N on Wednesday ;-(

So on Wednesday I'm up and out of my house early and over to all the great motorcycle shops out in Oshawa. First stop is "Re-gear" as I dropped of a few items off a few months ago and could use the money for the trip, plus it's the furthest out. Well that didn't go as planned as he had a red Shoei 3/4 lid in for $70. It's an older model, no flip down sun visor, but nothing fits like a Shoei.  Plus my cheepo chinese lid is getting warn, so this gets added to the helmet collection. 

So after spending money instead of picking it up, I head over to Royal distributing to pick up a pair of those gloves that got pinched on my Route 6 trip at the end of May, and to pick up a K&N oil filter.

It's right side up, otherwise the left over
oil would drain out.

 Which surprisingly they don't have in stock, but luckily for me, both my oil and filter are also used on Harley Davidson's, so it's a common enough filter and easily (or so I thought) to find. With nothing else on sale, I head over to GP cycles. They've got the oil filter so no problem, and up I go to check out the clearance section upstairs. Damn,  a real nice pair of Sidi waterproof touring boots for $150 or 1/2 off. I check the online reviews, and double damn, as they are a recommended buy. So now were into a $225 oil change. Actually after last trip in the rain to PVSC, the only part of me that got wet was my lower leg and my not so water proof  Harley Davidson boots. Having said that, they were never advertised as waterproof and my foot was only slightly wet. 

Nice reflective bit, eh!

I've liked all my Sidi boots so far and these fit well in the store, so really a no brainer. So with the upcoming hurricane they might get put to the test. So it's off to work and back to the locker at 3 am to finish the oil change. No problems there except the funnel takes forever to fill up the bike. Start it up, top the oil off. Refill the oil container for the bike with Dino oil as I used the rest of the Mobil 1 for this change.

Finished loading everything from the locker.

Bikes ready to go, I dropped it off at the condo, scoots back in the locker and it's 4 am. Time to hit the sack. So now all that's left is to go to the bank, pick up some yank money and start the final packing tomorrow.

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Finally the day has arrived

Well it's 3 am and I'm having my morning coffee and checking up on the weather. So it's looking like Hurricane Arthur will (hopefully) only affect my Saturday plans. But today looks fine. By leaving early, like at 5 am, I'll miss all the morning traffic and have tons of time to do the long way to Montreal. I'm thinking of doing the American side of the St Lawrence river, crossing over at Wolfe Island in Kingston and along the river from there.  We'll see how it goes.

Well no problems getting out of the city, and the sun came up at 5:45 am, I should know, I had to stop in Bowmanville to put on my sunglasses. Then on my way. I hit the Onroute in Port Hope, as they have a Starbucks and those comfortable chairs.

Some coffee and some Oatmeal and I'm ready to go. I did meet a nice guy on a BMW gs. This would set the stage for all the other motorcyclelists that I would meet for the day, nice. 

From here it's off the 401 and on to Hyw 2. A nice quiet drive till I stopped to take this pic.

I stopped here 25 years ago (or so), at night for a smoke break going to a (some) scooter run. A full moon reflected off Lake Ontario. It's just one of those things that has really stood out in my mind for all these years. So I wanted to get a pic of that spot. Which as you can see I did. Just after I took this pic the bike rolled forward and fell over. No pics taken to protect the stupid (me) for not putting it into gear. Just a few scrapes on the bike, and the mirror came off. I got the bike back up and the mirror attached. Nothing but my pride hurt, or so I thought. 

A turn south at Brighton and down to Picton and the ferry. As I was driving I came across this sign and had to stop

"The oldest road in Ontario"

So after posing for this I'm on my way, but now I've got a problem. The bike won't shift into 3rd gear. First I think clutch, but I narrow it down to the shifter linkage. Just like a Lambretta that can't shift into fourth, or so I hope. So I find a place to stop, and park, and dig out the tools. I pop off the cover and take a look. Damn, everything looks good. Now I'm wondering if I got to get it towed, etc. But I'm kind if figureing that the linkage got bent and if I can readjust it I might get it shifting again. I did that, put it back together and hoped for the best. 

Now I'm back on the bike and go for it. It worked, well almost. I adjusted it a little low, but I can readjust it when I get to the hotel tonight. The trip is back on :-) , Hopefully.

I head to Picton to catch the ferry. When I get there it just had arrived,  and the line is small, so no worries.

Not even time to use the washroom, but no problem as they have one on each side, and not the side of the boat, I mean the dock's.

Now on to Kingston. I make a stop at Reid's Dairy for a ice cream. From there I check the ferry schedule and find out I have 20 minutes to get there, as it leaves only once a hour. I dump what's left of the ice cream and quickly head over. I make it with 5 minutes to spare. But it really didn't matter as it was 15 minutes late anyway. But there's lots of cars waiting, too many in fact,  as I get put into the overflow line. I started talking to a few people and they said we "might" get on. So worst to worst, I don't get on the ferry and I ride on the Canadian side of the river. Lucky for me and one other BMW motorcycle they had just that much room.

Old BMW, new expensive BMW. Guess which one I own?

This was the biggest ferry of the day, but not the last. 15 minutes later we're on Wolfe island,  and now a 15 minute down to the last ferry that will take me over to the US. I get there just as it left :-(  Their web page says they leave every hour, O well. So I get talking to a couple and they said not to worry, he'll be back in 20 minutes, and he was. It's a private ferry service, which means I have to pay, but not wait an hour. That's a fair trade. 

Good bye Canada.

It's a little windy.

Cruising the St Lawrence river

Hello America.

Guess who's first off and first for US Customs. No problems and no hassles. Though I filled up before I left home, I've done 200 miles with around 50 miles left. So when I see a gas station I should stop. 10 miles down the road I find one.

Cheaper gas prices than what I pay at home is always welcome. I notice how quite it is due to it being July 4th. It's nice and it makes for a nice peaceful and quite ride. Quiter than on the Canadian side. I'm getting hungry and pass a dinner. Today's special is "Mac & Cheese" for $3.99 . How can I resist. So I turn around and park.

It was really good. Just like the way I make it, with lots of real Cheddar cheese. 

There are some good vista's of the St Lawrence on this ride, but it doesn't beat riding Hwy 2 on the Canadian side. But now at least I know. 

I love this sign, choices, choices, but I still head on. The next thing I come to is the Mohawk Reservation. Boy the Canadian natives have nothing on these guys. Cheap gas, smokes, and even a full Casino. These boys are organized.  

Well I'm coming up to the Quebec/Canada border, so time to top up the bike. We all know how cheap gasoline is in Quebec ;-)

Unlike the border crossings that I'm used to, these are quiet.

No waiting

Welcome to Quebec 

Kind of the same as the American side, it's quite here as well. That hopefully means a fast run up to the Bar-B-Barn in Pointe- Clarie. But what's Quebec without summer construction. This time it's Hyw 40. Surprisingly it moves pretty fast and I get there more or less on GPS time. 

The guy had the same bike parked just over from mine.

Just the meat please! Still as good as ever :-))

I've been going here for over 30 years, that is if you include the Guy street location in downtown Montreal. 

From here it's over to the hotel to check in and also readjust the shifter linkage. We'll find out tomorrow if it's better. Catch up on the blog and get some sleep, it's been a long day.

Day 1

383 miles/ 616 km

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