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Yesterday, a mile and a half after my first fuel stop in Burlingame, Kansas, I experienced a very serious problem with the engine. The symptom (at steady cruise about 45 mph) was that a sudden noise began, sounding like someone had dumped gravel into the transmission. I pulled over to the side of the road and shut it down. It became quickly apparent that the engine was no longer able to drive the transmission and we were done riding. The photo above is the likely area of failure, where the crankshaft mates with the flywheel.
We trailered the bike for an unscheduled stop in Emporia, Kansas, for the night. While there, Loring and Willie went to work on the engine, removing it from the bike and splitting the case. Once inside, I was happy to see the transmission was fine and the engine was fine. The trouble was somewhere between (clutch, crankshaft, keys). Without a good shop to tear it down further, we put the engine back in the bike and planned to make a bee-line for Cañon City, just south of the Royal Gorge, where we already had a three-day stop planned.
At the very least, we are going to continue generally on schedule as a “tour” because the bike can’t be ridden. We’ll be skipping a couple of stops. After Royal Gorge, we will stop in Trinidad, Colorado, spend the night there and stop for two nights in Santa Fe. From there, we’ll head southwest through Albuquerque then over to Arizona to the Petrified Forest to stop in Holbrook, AZ. The next day, we get to Flagstaff, for two days. I need to re-confirm the details, but plan to host a reception at the Weatherford Hotel on July 26 and then head up to the Grand Canyon the next day, pausing to take some photos and video along the way. We’ll spend two nights on the South Rim and have dinner with C.K. Shepherd’s son and his wife on July 27. After that, we will probably head back to Ohio where I will lick my “wounds” and evaluate what happens next. I will try to fix up the route page tonight.
I will continue to update as we go, but it would be an understatement to say I am profoundly sad about these turns of events. I had my engine rebuilt with as many original parts as possible, including extraordinary efforts needed to re-true my original crankshaft made in 1919. But it looks like 100 years is asking too much and my crankshaft reached halfway across the country and said “no more.” I checked my operating manual and it said that the parts were only guaranteed for 90 days from purchase, but the parts list from 1919 said the crankshaft was only $15.00, so I figured it would be a cheap fix. I tried contacting the manufacturer to order a new crankshaft but it seems they closed in 1931. Still, these parts lasted over 99 years longer than their warranty. Not too bad after all.
I have felt and thought about C.K. many times on this ride, and remember that he had his engine overhauled three times on his way, and I am still alive, never had a crash at speed, all my fingers and toes are still connected and unbroken, so I will count my blessings and keep going.
Thank you all for your support and encouragement! |
