A KTM with fuel issues ….. never

After a big farewell to the Howell’s (thanks again guys, it was awesome) it was time to get this bike sorted. I’d been pretty keen to use Big Twin Motorcycles due to their sponsorship of the IDBDR and had sent an email detailing my power issues to Terry on Monday asking if he could look at this, as well as fit my tyres.  I’d had a response from him that morning saying no problems and to bring it in at 9.00 am.

I was there right on time and had a good yarn to him about the whole thing. He was very helpful and his thoughts were that it was more likely to be a fuel pump issue. ‘Let me put our diagnostic tool onto it, which we will be able to do (they were BMW dealers rather than KTM) and we’ll see what shows up’. I saw it being taken for a test ride an hour and a bit later …….hmmmm, a good sign I thought (hoped)!?! Terry came back in – ‘tyres are on, but KTM has blocked our testing capacity. Rather than spending the day pulling the bike apart to try and diagnose the issue, I’m thinking you’d be better off going to Carl’s Motorcycles (KTM amongst other brands) and have them check it out. They’re expecting you’. We’d discussed this as an option earlier and I was grateful to him for doing what was, after all, the sensible thing. I paid the bill (not cheap I have to say – $100 in labour and $330 for tyres and that’s USD, so about 25% more when you convert it to Aussie), went over some maps and bid Terry farewell. A good guy who was very disappointed he couldn’t have done more for me.

It was 20 minutes across town to Carl’s where I was met pretty matter of factly. ‘What’s the issue? Leave it with us. We’ll call you’. I went to Eddie’s Fifties Diner a quarter of a mile down the road and got a call a bit later. At 12.55 pm I was back in the shop. They ‘thought’ it was the fuel pump, particularly as they’d had another bike in a month ago with exactly the same issues where this proved to be the case. They were a bit ambiguous about it, I have to say. Patrick recommended replacing it, which also meant new fuel lines and filters. So, I’ll never know with 100% certainty which it was, but it was better than breaking down out in the bush. You, my friends, will definately have thoughts – I’m keen to hear them. If I gave Patrick the go ahead and they ordered the parts by 1.00 pm, he’d have them by 10.00 am the next day and I’d be on the road by noon. Decisions. I didn’t have a choice really, so gave them the nod and went back to the diner. I heard someone trying to book a bike in for a service the following day, only to be told that the next spot was a month away. They put me right on the top of the list without a murmur – people always seem keen to help a traveller. I was very grateful.

I did some writing and made a few calls from Eddie’s. My server was very pleased to see me again and kept me topped up with WIFI and coffee all afternoon. I spoke to the US insurer that I’d taken a policy out with just before I left. Roadside assistance was part of the deal and it would pay the bulk of a nights accomodation and meals in this situation. I know Paris and Dean will be cranky with me when they read this, but I wanted to give them some space, there was motel just nearby that would actually send a car for me and I had a lot to catch up on (the Howell’s hospitality had been simply too good in some ways). So I stayed put.

I checked into the Riverview Motel around 5.00 pm. It was pretty swanky by comparison to what I’d been used to, with a proper reception, concierge and piano bar with live music. A bit different to the Featherville Hotel. I cleaned up (after getting the usual funny looks in the reception) then came down for dinner. I purposely kept to myself that evening and got a heap of things done. I had a light meal – a chicken tortilla soup and a blackened salmon salad. Just as well I’m riding hard!

Was back at Carl’s around noon to be told the bike was ready and catch you later. As simple as that. I paid the bill ($750 USD – ouch), fuelled up (they were very apologetic, they usually send people off with a full tank, but they’d run out) and hit the road. On Terry’s suggestion, I decided to go back south to Silver City and head into Oregon from there.

It was a twisty windy ride up to Silver City, going once again into fairly high country. The sign at the bottom saying that ‘people entering the area will be responsible for the cost of their own recovery’ was slightly disconcerting. I’m still wondering where all the people are when you get out of the major towns. The road up was as deserted as the town proved to be. It was as if the people had just packed up and walked out 100 years ago.

There was plenty to look at and I wandered around for an hour or more. Some of the buildings were huge, but in very poor repair, albeit the dry desert weather had helped with their preservation.

‘Silver City is a ghost town.  At it’s height in the 1880s, it was both a gold and silver mining town with a population of around 2,500 and over 75 businesses. It was so big, it served as the county seat for Owyhee County from 1867 to 1934. Today, the town has about 70 standing buildings, all of which are privately owned. Many of the owners are third or fourth generation descendants of the original miners. There are a handful of small businesses, but they are rarely open.

Trespassing, as the multitude of signs say, is absolutely forbidden. I’ve put a link discussing the towns history here

Jordan Valley was definitely cowboy country – big hats, boots, deep voices and loud conversations. No one takes their hats off inside, not even when sitting down to have a meal in a restaurant at night. I wondered how different it would have been in the traditional cattle country like Texas? I walked from my campsite down to the Flat Iron Steakhouse. The menu was excellent, but a lot of people were still eating burgers – everything comes with fries. I had a 12 oz eye fillet steak with mash, salad, soup and my choice of 2 sides. It was huge and virtually every diner in the place left with a doggy bag. Margaritas are the drink of choice here – so many different types and not bad at all. The steak was very tasty, but half of it was fat. ‘Good eh’, said my server with as much relish as if she’d eaten it herself.

Early to bed and ready for a big one tomorrow – a new state and new country to explore. Could be good.