Just a teaser...of DirtQuake USA stuff....

The man in the British Policeman's hat above...is Anthony of Cobuilt...they build really nice motorcycles in England. You can follow them at cobuilt_anthony and cobuilt_geoff on Instagram. They also race flattrack in the UK in the DTRA series.


One of the reasons I haven't got around to posting more DQUSA pics, is my on-going turmoil... of the aftermath...of my smashed ex-Toyota...in other words, been burning up vacation days to get some wheels under me....at least the temps have dropped since I started this post last week...gonna top out at 87 degrees today...nice!  So, last week it was:

Sheeeeesh! It's 101 degrees in the shade at four in the afternoon here at the not ready to go back to work, works....it topped out at 103 a bit after this...and now at seven it's just a paltry 87 degrees. Been wanting to get the whole DirtQuakeUSA posts done...but the still not resolved issue of coming up with some transportation to work thing....keeps rearing it's ugly head...

To make things more interesting...in a moment of weakness I bought an old car...a !970 Karmann Ghia (see Dave...I spelled it right this time...)

They always look better at night....

First things first, a proper motorcycle oriented sticker to add to the collection of stickers it came with...

Since I started this post I've replaced the leaky "doughnuts" and other gaskets on the exhaust system, adjusted valves and timing, found some interesting "bodges" that would make John Muir of the "Complete Idiots guide to VW Maintenance" fame happy. He'd refer to fixes such as these as "Muldooning" it...in honor of a friend famous for coming up with fixes that would get you down the road till later...This Hershey's can fix  that the previous owner Jack came up with will stay....this is where the "fresh air" tube slips over...works quite well !

So, a few quick pics from DQUSA:

Here's "Casey", (I met him the night before as he and his friends came spilling out of the mosh pit of the Canadian band "Vicious Cycles")....I think he's cleaned some of the blood and mud off...for this portrait being taken by Michael Lichter...

Modern Triumph engine in a self-brewed nickel-plated,brazed (or bronze-welded) chromoly frame. He's currently building another one, you can follow him at Instagram as "Frankenstrange".

He used to race a Triumph Cub based speedway bike...with the transmission cut off. 

And yes, they raced "Choppers"...one even had a side car...Ladies and Gentlemen....I give you "Medievalean" !!

 Honda 750 Chopper with an Equalean sidecar mounted in a fixed positioning.

"Crewchief" aka my traveling companion Rick looks like he's not quite sure what to make of all of this...

You can imagine my relief to meet such a normal American couple.....

We'll be back with more pics from DQUSA....stay tuned....

DQUSA 2014

Rick's 'medicine', he tested it last night to see if it was safe to offer to any injured visitors from the UK... 

It's friday morning...Sitting in a motel in Albany Oregon, waiting for the 'continental breakfast'....trying not to worry about the several things yet to do on the bike. My 'crew chief' is a seasoned traveler. Being retired, he and his wife have spent a lot of time in the Pacific Northwest bicycling. Good to have a good navigator. I haven't been up this way since I was a little boy and my father was stationed up this way.

After all the trials and tribulations with my car being totaled...and realizing it's harder to deal with bikes from the 70's these days...(most Honda shops in my home area look at you like you're strange, if you are looking for parts for your old Honda....)...managed to get one of the Honda SL-100's going. Was going to try to get a couple of spare bikes going as well...but, was done in by rusty tanks, disintegrating brake shoes...and running out of time... Did manage to find some good parts at a local dismantlers  in Rancho Cordova, and at a shop in Auburn that specializes in older bikes. So, have parts that will come in handy later.

So, here we are in Oregon...just a little ways from our destination in Washington. We'll be checking in at See See Coffees and Motorcycles this afternoon, and see what we are getting into this evening....oh yeah, also figuring out where we are bedding down tonight...the camping at the track doesn't happen till saturday...

My friend's Brian and Christie were ever so kind as to loan a truck to us, that made this all possible. My old Jeep Cherokee is awaiting a little work and re-commissioning. Thanks so much guys. 

This is what happens to brake shoes that get soaked with water too many times...

Rust just never takes a holiday...

Thursday morn...loaded up...off to pick up my .'crew chief' and seasoned traveler...

Rick...who looks more ready for this than I am.

Mt. Shasta ahead...

Ahhhh....

to be continued....