August 1, 2011
It seems like the majority of the time on the motorcycle I had been either bored or scared, but today was different. Last night we stayed with a very nice German woman who lives in Marquette, Michigan. After the wonderful tour of the town and the lakefront, she asked us about our plans for the next day. Not being familiar with the area we naturally didn't really have any. Despite declaring the merits of navigating without a map, our host pulled one out and began showing us a little road running along the coast. The map indicated gravel, but according to her it had just been paved, so the next day we headed that direction. After a stop at the Lake Superior National Lakeshore (where I bought an awesome knots book) and a coffee break at a diner with, according to Amelia, a disturbing amount of taxidermy, we were off down the unmarked road.
The road started off pretty poor actually, with the usual assortment of potholes and tar snakes slithering across the slow meandering corners, but that all changed. A few miles past the diner the pavement suddenly changed. Gone were the bumps, gone were potholes and there was not a tar snake in sight. I found all my aches fading away as the bike and I became one. Without glancing at the speedometer I knew how fast we were going. Drift to the outside and gently roll off, downshift, look through the corner, roll on... Outside, inside, outside. Man, machine and asphalt all working together in harmony. I can only describe it as a feeling of meditation mixed with flying. A feeling of freedom and absolute awareness of everything around me.
As long as I'm talking about the bike, I should probably update everyone on the situation. Since first discovering the leak we've covered another 2000 miles and so far there has been no change. It's still dripping oil, but the clutch feels fine. I've talked to a few more people, all of whom have said pretty much that if it's a small leak it could drip for a long time before causing any problems. I also have narrowed it down to three possible shops to do the work. Two dealers in New Hampshire and one independent shop in Boston. I also have three estimates: $1200 and $900 respectively for the NH dealers and $4-600 for the independent shop in Boston (well, Maynard). Needless to say, I think I'll be taking the bike in to Maynard. As a note to my father: you're probably right that I could ride the bike back with the leak, but with another 6000 miles to go on the trip I'd rather not take the risk. It's better for both our peace of mind if we just get it fixed soon.
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