Danimal

The new Goldwimg could suck your dick while riding for all I care. Can’t see myself on one for any reason.

Yeah I’m getting pretty excited. And having a new bike under me will allow a little leeway in how I treat it as far as pushing through some bad roads. If I hit the weather right, the roads between Inuvik and Tuktoyuktuk should be passable. If rainy, the 13” calcium chloride road base turns to the slickest snot imaginable, and clings and dries to a state that is almost not-completely-removable, even with pressure washers. So things I am studying: Bear sprays and deterrence mosquito issues (100%deet required) spares (I have friends in Palmer Alaska and I’ll be sending fresh tires to her along with chain, sprockets and brake pads) pre-spraying the bike with various coatings to help with calcium chloride sticking upgrading my satellite com system from my old SPOT Gen3 to a Garmin Inreach Mini2 getting a new FOBO motorcycle TPMS that integrates with my CarPlay unit that’s about it

Thanks man. Yeah it’s going to be epic. I really was trying to explore the northern limits in Quebec when the old bike gave up the ghost. There are thousands of miles of rugged gravel and dirt roads across Canada and there is a lot of excellent wild camping and fishing along the way. I intend on exploring both. There is little that tastes better than fresh fish cooked over a fire next to your tent by an unnamed lake. Throw in legal weed and good beer and that’s going to be like heaven. There are areas of BC near Banff I hear are spectacular as well. And that’s all before I see Alaska! New decal will read: Cycle South 2024 Ohio to the Arctic Circle on a motorcycle.

I completed the new bike today. First startup went well. Time for break in miles Alaska here I come

Like this? https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/klim-quench-pak?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA98WrBhAYEiwA2WvhOkwwiwtwNjjKvfBa93a7XiZcjSQ5OUG1XxGZUPnyt-WQ9dCEIF_ZihoCM8EQAvD_BwE&sku_id=1318863

Oh so close now.

Mounted and balanced the new tires. Then took the rear rotor off the stock wheel and mounted it to the new rear wheel from Woodys. Then mounted the 320mm front rotor and mounted the wheels for the first time on the new bike. After that I installed the Safari tank (all new hardware, new petcocks, new fuel line and fittings) and plumbed the fuel lines. Then installed the fairing and re-aimed the headlight and light bar. The last item is the new shock being built for the bike by Cogent Dynamics. For the 82,000 miles on the original Sunny I ran a Cogent Mojave shock. This bike is getting a new Cogent Mojave Pro model (large remote reservoir with adjustable compression damping as well) as well as their hydraulic preload adjuster. It’ll be awesome to be able to soften the preload bit when riding the bike without all the luggage. Once the shock is in, fuel is going in and startup!! It’ll be great to see how it runs. I only rode it 10 miles or so before tearing the bike down. Some minor changes have been made from stock. Better air filter. Carb rejetted and modified with ethanol-proof o-rings and gaskets as well as a remote choke knob and manual air/fuel mixture screw (only needed one tweak on old carb in all those miles. Had to open up the air in Peru when over 16,000 ft). I’m also running a different exhaust can. The bike ripped stock. I’m sure it’ll be sweet. Alaska Ho!

The 6” adjustable jaw is from Lobster in Japan. The skeleton wrenches and ratchet are from Asahi in Japan (their Lightool series) the weird lockjaw pliers are from Knipex

The Dakar version is too stiff for hand mounting etc on the DR and kind of overkill Brian. Still a great tire. tool roll almost complete

New tires. New rear wheel (Warp 9 hub broke. They replaced hub and Woodys rebuilt) new tool roll being assembled. Starting to get those feelings when a trip’s reality sets in. Tuktoyaktuk is a long ways away

Any of you guys considering a big ride up north in the spring let me know. I’ll be heading NE to Newfoundland, then west across Canada on the TCAT (Trans-Canadian Adventure Trail, 70% dirt across the country. Similar to BDR routes but a bit easier until the extreme NW territory ) to Tuk and then Alaska on the new bike and it’d be cool to not be solo the whole way this time. I’m getting older and the breakdown in Hudson Bay kinda made me rethink things a bit. ( I’m sure the feeling will pass once I’m back on the road)Not a sprint.

No, it came from a pile of skins being sold at a gas station in Southern Argentina. It was much bigger for a while but has gradually tattered. I assumed it was sheep. In that area were tons of guanaco, a kinda cross between a llama and a deer. Pretty sure it’s not lamb. Last year when deciding to keep it or ditch it, I got a steel comb and tore into it and pulled off a ton of wool along with lots of dirt. That tattered it even further, but it’s still plenty big and now nice and soft and not matted any longer. It’s got a lot of miles on it

Sunny 2.0 is nearly complete. I flew to Denver to attend services for TG Woody Witte, owner of Woodys Wheel Works in Denver who had recently passed away. The day I arrived in Denver I became terribly ill and ended up in the hospital for four days being treated for acute pancreatitis. Man that was fucking painful. Just discharged yesterday. And I missed the services and memorial ride. Hundreds attended the ride from all over the world. Woody had a great influence in the world of overlanding motorcyclist. It began for sure with him creating wheels that can withstand years of abuse without fail, but evolved into his mentorship and deep friendships with so so many world travelers. Myself eventually included. Aside from supplying me wheels, he gave me a place to live for 18 months while recuperating from having my leg crushed directly after returning to the US from a year long lockdown in Brasil. Even with his own health failing he tried to take care of me in my wheelchair. It was symbiotic. When Woody heard that Sunny had died in Quebec, he not only was instrumental in helping find the low-mile DR that is now 2.0, he offered to buy it for me, wanting the original Sunny to have a place in his Museum above the shop. Not having the funds to totally recreate the bike from scratch, I declined both offers and bought it the next day myself. And here I sit now in Denver, getting on a bus tonight back to Akron. Thinking of him and our times together, and trying to think ahead to more crazy travels and next Spring’s conquest of Newfoundland, the TCAT, then north to Tuk and Alaska and the Arctic Circle. Woody approves.