Day 19 - The trip with no name - Tuesday 26 Feb 2013

Bad news, good news, bad news good news.

As one of the people I admire a great would say "Its not a holiday, its an adventure".

First the bad news.

This morning I learnt that not only was the clutch worn through normal wear and tear but also the final drive was completely trashed. The Yamaha V-Star 650 and 1100 models have a shaft drive and apparently the splines on the shaft need to be regularly re-lubricated. I actually only just read about this about four weeks ago on a Yamaha forum. My Yamaha service manual doesn't cover it and I believe that Yamaha released a circular/memo/email reminding dealers of the need to do this but I generally don't use a Yamaha dealer as the nearest from home is about 30 minutes drive away. At the time I read about it, I wasn't concerned as the forum post said that it normally gets done when you replace the tyres which is fine as I've replaced the rear tyre a few times and guessed that the re-lube would have been done then.

Hmmm ... not true. The mechanics at the Yamaha dealership doubt that it has ever been done. New parts costs around $2,000.00 and take about two weeks as they are flown from Japan.

More bad news.

The accomodation I had arranged through Horizons has fallen through. This could be a problem as the Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar race is in twon this weekend and accomodation will become an issue.

Now the good news.

I'm in Adelaide. What a beatiful place. At least four locals asked about where I'm from, the trip etc. All wished me well.

During the day I spoke to an old friend of mine, Barry, who is now retired but has a full machine shop in his shed. In the worst case scenario we can ship the bike home and build the parts from scratch. Having a backup plan is great but it was also uplifting to chat to Barry; he is another amongst many who is supporting me in spirit on this trip.

After taking to Barry, the guys at the Yamaha dealership found a full set of second hand parts - shaft, pinion and drive from a wreck with only 2,000 kilometres on it. The parts are in Melbourne and can be shipped overnight; the price is right too.

More good news.

The cost of the clutch was about $200.00 less than I expected. The valves clearances have been checked and they are fine; this was a concern as the bike was running fairly lean. So hopefully the bike will be back together with a new clutch and driveline, the engine fuel/air mixture right, fresh oil etc. Hopefully the bike will run so well that I will dismiss thoughts of a new bike.


Adelaide - well if you have to be stuck somewhere, here is the place to be! I don't consider myself to be a romantic person but twice in the last three months I've been in a garden that has made me feel romantic. The first was in the Magnolia Gardens in Southern Carolina when I visited with Karen and then second was in the park and gardens opposite the St Peters Cathedral here in Adelaide. Unfortunately for this visit Karen is back home working and so the best I could do is to take a photo with the phone and send it to her in a text. Anyhow, here is a selction of photos from today.















Day 18 - The trip with no name - Monday 25 Feb 2013

Today, success!

I was fortunate enough to book my bike into Pitmans Yamaha. The ride across was interesting because, you guessed it, it was raining. What was it that the locals were saying? Shane, you should bring the rain with you! Compliant aren't I? Honesty, people need to start paying me for breaking droughts in their shires!

Anyhow, got the bike there and "Blue" was able to take the bike straight into the workshop. The clutch parts may be an issue but last night I heard from one of the Horizons Unlimited guys with a spare room and so I should be AOK there as well.

With those worries taken care of, I was able to catch a bus back to Adelaide city and then a tram to Glenelg. Glenelg and Holdfast Bay is the original settlement of Adelaide and holds a lot of history. A good place to start is the town hall and Bay Discovery Centre and just follow on from there.














Tomorrow I will set off early to visit the National Trust site "Ayers House Museum". That's just a tram ride away back to Adelaide city and whilst there I should get instructions to other National Trust properties that I can access via public transport.

Day 17 - The trip with no name - Sunday 24 Feb 2013

Kangaroo Island to Adelaide

On Sunday I made the sad journey from Kangaroo Island to Adelaide. Sad because I've realised that KI needs at least week to fully experience and also sad because I had to nurse the bike to Adelaide. The clutch is definately an issue and Monday will be spent trying to get the bike serviced.

Nontheless it was overall a good day. Started off with an early morning swim in the tidal pool at Kingscote, which I felt was a necessary part of the Kingscot experience. After a shower and breakfast a church service at the Kingscote Uniting Church.

Later in the day it appearred that I may have a chance of getting the bike looked at on Monday and so I changed my ferry booking and away I went. My stary was far too short and I owe a great thanks to John and Marilyn for their hospitality. A visit to Kangaroo Island with Karen in the future is definately something to look forward to.

One of my pet peeves is the cruel use of dogs as "companion pets". Little dogs who have to sit in plastic handbags or locked in little cages for the amusement of some, not a setting for the dog's benefit at all. Dogs are pack animals, who need attention, exercise and also be properly cared for, not to be ignored or just looked at and then scolded because they bark out of boredom. That's why I could not resist this photo. The dog and its owner are well known and the owner was had his ute modified to properly cater for this lovely animal. Apparently the dog goes everywhere and has a ball. Fantastic; loved it.


Once I got to Adelaide, I booked into a hotel at Glenelg and whilst out for a walk noticed this plaque. Sounds like an interesting excuse for a trip back!


Day 16 - The trip with no name - Saturday 23 Feb 2013

Kangaroo Island, Kingscote

Saturday morning I spent working on the bike. I've been playing with the needle jets for some months but it clearly was running too lean and I had to move the C clip on the adjustable needles. This was a fairly easy job and took only about an hour.

However ... over the last few days my clutch had started slipping when cold and when I took the bike for a test ride to check on the needles I could properly recreate the problem. This is a big problem and so I need to arrange a repair ASAP. I will also try to get the valve clearances checked as worn valves can occur when an engine runs too lean, the cam chain checked and get the shaft drive splines checked and lubricated.

In the afternoon I visited the Kingscote museum, which is also a National Trust property.











After this I spent quite a few hours downloading the videos from the helmet camera and turning them into a format suitable for Youtube. These will be available in the Video library once I get to a place I can upload them to Youtube.

Day 15 - The trip with no name - Friday 22 Feb 2013

Mount Gambier - Kangaroo Island