Help needed- rider from England stuck in Connecticut

Can anyone help this British rider and his GF?

I am forwarding this from the Yankee Beemer forum.



My buddy in CA just forwarded me this message about these adventurers from England. I don't know if they've found help or not.

This message is for newenglandsouth FROM:

fname: Byron
lname: Vincent

city: London

country: England

Byron said:

Hi everyone,

My girlfriend and I are currently on a round the world trip on our trusty 1979 R100rs.

So far we have driven from Alaska to New York without too many problems. However today I gave the bike a service and changed the oils. I noticed that when I changed the oil in the drive shaft there was a lot of mettallic paste on both the drain plug and filler bolts. There was also some bits of metal in the final drive oil too, but not as much.

I have been changing these oils once every 9000 miles max. I changed the gear box oil at the same time and that came out as clean as new oil and no deposits on the drain plug.. So I figure the problem must be just in the drive shaft and final drive.

We are currently staying with my girlfriends aunt and uncle in Stamford Connecticut, but were intending to ride West from here over to California via route 66.

Unfortunately I only have very limited tools and have never done any work on the those parts of the bike before so am a little nervous about just getting stuck in. We have very limited funds and they need to last us all the way to South America, so going to a dealer is out of the question if at all possible!

Is there anybody out there who has experience in doing this sort of work that wouldn't mind helping me to identify and fix the problem? The bike is still riding so I could possibly get over to where you might be.. Provided it doesn't go before then!

In return I would be very happy to help with any chores you have around the house or garden etc.

I know it is a long shot and a big ask. We would both be eternally grateful if anyone could help, and could repay the favour by accommodating you if ever you came over to England once we are back.

If you would like to know more about the trip, please see blog details below:

http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/A...he-flying-aga/

Hope to hear from you soon,

Byron

Andy "The Music Man"



Here is the YB thread:

www.yankeebeemers.org/forum/showthread.php?3128-help-requested-from-the-English&p=23854#post23854

Some paste is normal...slivers and chunks are not. If it's paste, I'd be inclined to change oils and move on. Obviously the idea of heading to South America with something questionable might not be wise.

Maybe change oils and find some spot to recheck on the way to the west coast. There are Airhead friendly shops along the way...check the link the Resources and Links thread. Matt Parkhouse lives in Colorado Springs...he doesn't take much work on but his is as wise as they come. Plenty of non-dealer Airhead shows on the west coast...Ted Porter comes to mind in NorCal.

I live in Arkansas. Not too far south from route 66. Come on down and we will figure something out. nothing else I can let ya have mine and I can get a gear set and rebuild yours....I've done it before,can do it again. And I have more stuff in the garage to ride. P.M. Me...Oh yeah we live in the country and have room for ya too.

Layton yer a fer sure True Scout!

Help needed-rider from England stuck in Connecticut

I live about 25-30 minutes from Stamford, Ct. in New Rochelle, NY. I am off all day tomorrow (Saturday). I have a garage and a lot of tools. I'm not sure if I can help you with this problem but you are welcome to come by and take apart what you need to get a better idea of condition. I have a workshop manual but it is for an Oilhead. The way the issue is described does not sound too bad for an older r series. kinda like my Ural. Anyway e-mail me if you want to come over and I will give directions.

Mike Wex
stagewex@aol.com

Byron and Isabel are with us here in Yardley, PA. We have their rear drive apart to replace a dual-row bearing which failed due to the pinion nut loosening. While we are in there we will replace the driveshaft assembly because the cush-drive mechanism is allowing about 1/3 turn of free rotation, too much driveline slop!

Tom Cutter
Yardley, PA
www.RubberChickenRacing Garage.com

Great Stuff!

Hands across the sea. . .beautiful!

What an adventure for these guys -- takes many of us back to an earlier time. I bet there are a lot of us willing to help along the way, so keep the Anonymous Book handy.

I sure hope this Cutter guy knows what he's doing! LOL

Walking Eagle

so that is what you have to do in order

to get a spot in Tom's garage?

They are in very capable hands.....

Way To Go, Tom!!! And we're enjoying your write-ups in the News, too!

Great news to hear this issue is being taken care of. Thanks to everyone who is involved. This is big part of what makes being part of the MOA so great.

And we though the world had gone to hell !
Mike

Byron and Isabel are back on the road, headed North and West, looking to out-flank a bad weather system moving East from the Chicago area. Eventually they are headed to Argentina...

It was a real pleasure to have them with us for a visit and some much needed work on their ride. Watch for them on the road, they are a really nice couple.

Mexico

As reluctant as I am to add a serious note to this love-fest. . .

There are REAL dangers lurking in Mexico for those traveling alone. This has been somewhat explored in articles/letters in the MOA mag lately, and the main danger is a lack of any "authority" in many places. It's unlikely that the "cartels" are going to kidnap a couple of gringo travelers, but if something breaks or if there is an accident and if so-called "law enforcement" gets involved. . .well, anything can happen.

IMHO, Mexico (yes, been there on two wheels, more than once) IS NOW A FAILED STATE, WITH NO recognizable RULE OF LAW. Yes, the "odds" are still in your favor for a safe passage, but there are real risks.

Crossing Mexico with a couple of other bikes would dramatically improve the chances of a fun and marvelous experience. The PEOPLE of Mexico are wonderful once you get away from the -ah- influence of the southern border of U.S., which proximity tends to attract the worst elements of their troubled society.

Baja is generally very safe. . .and you can probably catch a ship headed south, past the Darien Gap. . .

I'd hope that somebody more experienced and knowledgeable about these topics can have this conversation with these delightful folks before they head that way.

Sorry for the seriousness. . .

Walking Eagle