Waiting on parts is a fun game, but once it was over, it was a two day sprint to get ready to roll. Somewhere during those two days we had an impassioned discussion with José, the mechanic cutting the new valve seat, regarding lapping techniques. After several rounds of polite but firm back and forth José got the message that he should just cut it and polish it as best as he can and to not do any lapping.
In the end we replaced 3 of the 4 valves (one of the exhaust valves was still looking mint), lapped the exhaust valves, as well as replaced all the valve stem seals and the valve lifter on the previously damaged intake valve. Fixed up the valve clearances and put everything together. Hooking up the throttle cable is always the most annoying part of the job.
We did not bid a full adieu to our generous hosts Paula and Dave, as we were going to return after a quick 1000 mile test ride to check if everything is holding up well. Although our general direction was south, that meant Mexico was only a day or two away. We figured if we needed to order more OEM parts for whatever reason, it’s better to do it north of the border. So we sketched out a four day loop hitting some backroads in Arizona instead.
We didn’t leave Phoenix metro area until after 3 pm, which to some people sounds like a good time to arrive somewhere for the day, not leave. That’s fine, our plan was not ambitious, we only aimed to reach Tucson, although we didn’t do the direct run along I10, but a more circuitous route swinging south to Little Ajo Mountains. After about an hour we had to stop and put our heated gear on. It was already December and a single base layer under a riding jacket was just not enough.
The highlight of the evening, aside from having no bike issues, was the dinner in Mercado San Agustin. It was a cozy courtyard with live music, surrounded by several restaurants and bars. We ordered tacos and were not disappointed.
The next morning we started off with Mount Lemmon. It surprised us because at the top they had snow and were apparently prepping for ski season. Skiing! In Southern Arizona! Every day I learn something new.
The paved route up was reasonably busy, but the unpaved Old Mount Lemmon Rd we took to get down was mostly empty, except for some bored cows. We were not sure how broken this road would be, and kept our tire pressure high for a bit too long. Once we caved in and stopped to lower it, the ride became much more pleasant.
It was already dark when we rolled into Show Low. We considered camping but the temperatures were approaching freezing already. Instead of looking for a late night diner in this small town (it was past 7 pm which is LATE for these parts), we got a roasted chicken and some veggies in a Walmart (there is always a Walmart). With another test day done, we felt like Mexico was getting closer and closer, despite the freezing cold outside.
One thing many travelers have in abundance are random pins on a map that someone at some point suggested they visit. Many of them are in far flung places that will never be along the way and will forever stay unexplored. This bonus loop around Arizona gave us a chance to visit one such spot – Petrified Forest National Park.
The landscape is flat and does not look as impressive as the various mountainous national parks in the country, but the natural processes that made this place what it is are beyond fascinating. 200 million years go, as trees fell into streams and got buried by sand, the conditions became such that instead of just decaying, the organic matter was slowly replaced by silica and other minerals in the sand. The trees became rocks! The erosion resurfaced these petrified trunks and you can observe their tree rings and details of the bark. It’s unbelievable that what you’re looking at is completely inorganic matter.
We hiked around for a bit. Reds and washed out purples dominated the subdued color palette of the place, with the overcast sky erasing any sense of time. After two hours in the park we hit the road. We aimed to get to Sedona that day, where our faithful friend, Bobbie, offered to treat us to a home cooked dinner.
Avoiding the interstates and putting a little extra mileage on the engine were some of our goals, so we planned to pass through Payson, adding 60 miles or so to the most direct route, which seemed like a feasible plan even with the shorter December days.
What we did not expect was that the smooth and flowy state route 260 was closed in the middle due to a serious traffic accident and we didn’t quite get the memo until we were stuck in standstill with other vehicles with the friendly police officer insisting that there was absolutely zero chance they would let us through, even though we were on small bikes and cute and cuddly and if we waited for it clear or turned back it would get dark way before we reached our destination. We pleaded some more, but although that line of reasoning works most of the time, today was not that day.
We pondered at the map. It showed plenty of dirt tracks in the area, which should technically allow us to bypass the closed section. There were concerns of possible snow because locals stop using those roads at the end of November and nobody could comment on the likely conditions we would face. If it gets tricky, we might be stuck on these dirt tracks at night, which is really not what we wanted to do. We wanted home cooked dinner in Sedona.
So we did the most sensible thing. We got onto a moderate double track near Forest Lakes to bypass the police blocks, briefly popped back onto the deserted 260 and escaped to the unpaved Rim Road, a jewel of Arizona that sits on the edge of the Mogollon Rim. With peak elevation of almost 8000 ft there were definitely signs of snow, but the rim is so exposed, it melted pretty fast and posed no issues. We were still there on the edge when the sun finally set. I got a few bars of signal on my phone and texted Bobbie to hang tight, we were definitely coming!
By the time we reached the next paved road it was pitch black. Thankfully we thought of installing bright auxiliary lights on these bikes. The relationship between adventure riding and darkness goes like this:
Rule 1. Do not ride at night.
Rule 2. If you ride at night, just don’t do it offroad.
Rule 3. If you ride offroad at night, just don’t hit the cows.
Rule 4. After you arrive at your destination in the darkness, remind everyone that you never ride at night.
Bobbie was super understanding about our delay and it was so worth it to push on instead of stopping in a random cold town. We shared our holiday plans while getting second helpings of dinner, and to no one’s surprise we all planned to head to Mexico. Great minds think alike.
For the final leg of this great test ride we doubled the shortest distance between Sedona and Phoenix by checking out some cool dirt tracks north of Jerome and visiting a very off the beaten path little town of Bagdad. There we found Arizona’s cheeriest fire station, all decked out in inflatable Christmas decorations. The roads were an absolute bliss – twisting delightfully between dry canyons and rocky hills, they were empty of traffic and full of meditative beauty.
With fading light we came back to Paula and Dave’s garage, and later that evening the verdict was in: the valves were perfectly in spec! We changed the oil and filter in this now broken in engine and double checked that our passports were ready for some fresh stamps.
