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.
