I've been stuck in the house the last few days while workers shuttle through putting a new roof on and fixing the ceiling after we discovered water damage due to the old roof. But it was a chance to get my summer ride recorded on the blog.
One issue left over from the summer was the oil leak from the front forks. I picked up the leak while riding through road repairs in Yellowstone on the way up to Canada. I tried to get it repaired up there, but the Ducati dealership in Saskatoon didn't have the parts. On the way back I tried to get it repaired in Albuquerque, but they didn't have the right size fork seals either. And they suggested it wouldn't be covered under warrantee. Does it seem strange that this would happen to an adventure tourer with less than 3K miles on it?
Shortly after getting back, I was up for the 7,500 mile maintenance. I live in the black hole of Ducati dealerships. The Albuquerque, El Paso, Austin, and Fort Worth dealerships are all roughly 350 miles away from my home. I had planned on returning to Albuquerque since my aunt lived there and I could get free lodging overnight. But I didn't feel appreciated as a customer there. And my wife was going to Austin on business, so I could spend the night with her while Trigger was getting all his innerds checked. I also decided to upgrade the suspension CPU. Ohlins recently introduced a semi-active suspension upgrade similar to the Skyhook suspension introduced on the 2013 Multistrada. This is only $300 and is just a plug-and-play installation.
The ride into Austin was great. I got to ride RM-1431 from just west of Buchanan Lake, through Mable Falls, and ends at U.S. 183 in north Austin. It has some of the best twisties in Texas. I had called ahead to schedule my maintenance and it turned out to be one of my better ideas. The maintenance manager was able to determine the leaking fork seal was covered under warrantee, had the Ohlin's CPU in stock, and a technician ready to get on the bike right away. I didn't arrive until nearly 4 p.m., so I wasn't expecting to get Trigger back until the next day. So Amanda, the sales associate at Ducati Austin gave me a ride to the hotel where I was staying with my wife. Austin Ducati makes me feel their appreciation for my business. I don't know if it was because I bought my Multistrada from them, or if they are just more appreciative of my business, but now I won't take Trigger anywhere else for service.
The next day I was told the front tire was nearly unusable. I might be able to get home, but I'd need to ride carefully. So I went ahead and had a new Pirelli Scorpion Trail on the front. While this was going on I was getting bored so I asked Amanda if I could test ride a Hyperstrada while I was waiting. Bingo! Why of course I could. I'm a valued customer! I flogged that little beast around Austin for a couple hours. It is a miniature version of the Multistrada. It would handle dirt better because it is lighter, but it wouldn't be much good for distance touring. The seat is not going to provide adequate support for a 500 mile/day trip.
Well, I got Trigger back later. But it was already getting dark, so back to the hotel for the night. I found covered parking at the hotel in the corner where no cage driver could damage it except purposely. Locked down, I felt Trigger was safe for the night and my wife and I took in some fine dining and a movie. The next morning we both left Austin at first light. My wife flew Southwest back to Midland while I retraced my route coming into Austin, including RM-1431.
I haven't done much riding since then because the weather has been ugly. But I get out at least once a week so I don't have to winterize Trigger. It looks like this weekend may be nice. I've heard of a group of riders that congregate at a convenience store/gas station in Odessa on Sundays. This might be the time to get out of the house now that the repairs are finished.
Rock Chalk, y'all!
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