Deciding to take the adventure was the answer to the question of "what was I going to do for my 50th birthday." It also solved the problem I was having of choosing my next project. I decided to build my DRZ 400s into an adventure ready, lightweight, go-anywhere two wheeled mule. Cool. I had a goal.
As processes go, this build wasn't planned A-Z. It was more of a scribble through a wish list in my head that was transferred to multiple written lists on sticky notes, notepads, backs of receipts, and Excel spread sheets. It existed everywhere I did. Work, garage, wallet, workshop, etc. I sourced parts from sketch-bay, Evilamazon, some dude in Canada, and online warehouses. I tried to shop locally, but the local shops never had what I was looking for and always offered to order it for me. Most likely they were ordering from the same places I was, so I said "See'ya middle man," and did it myself..
I can't recall how many times I tore the bike down (I know I had the carburetor apart 7 times, F-king carburetors!) to either replace weak parts with more robust parts, mod existing parts or systems, or to simple adjust things back to where they where after I futzed with them too much. Monday of this week I realized with some sadness that my tinkering time was over and it was time to button up Doom (the motorcycle's full name is The Doomicorn) for it's ride. Dammit, I was having fun! Oh well, you know the old saying, "All good things must come to an end because you're an adult and adults don't get everlasting happiness, so quit whining, you're ruining the the suffering for the rest of us" or something like that.
So, the ride begins tomorrow. I'll post pix when I can, but don't expect pearls of wisdom from an old biker, or ruminations from the road, or some shit like that. I'm doing this for me, not you, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate you. :)
Note: I have to give props to Kate for her support during this exercise. Maybe she doesn't completely understand my project-needing neurosis, but she puts up with it because she knows it drives me crazy (which she finds amusing) and makes me happy. I like to think she gets a chuckle watching me do the same thing over and over and expect a different result. She lived through my boat building stage after all, and maybe she understands it could be worse.
Above is the bike in various states of undress.
Below is what it looks like 24 hours before departure
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