Another great trip ends in the back of a moving truck (cam chain tensioner #2)

[hop along]

This past weekend was set up to be a great trip-and it was.  I've been itching to visit Black Mesa in extreme NW Oklahoma since I moved here, based on suggestions from a riding friend. 
This was an opportunity to ride on my lonesome, which I do enjoy.  I also especially enjoy riding to areas that would be considered lonesome, and the Black Mesa area certainly qualifies. 
Riding west from OKC to Amarillo, then due north takes you most of the way.  From Amarillo, you see less and less people, as you ride uphill to the Black Mesa area.  Getting into the campground area (just a few miles from the Mesa high point trailhead) you are crossing cattle guards on the only state highway that goes there.  The last cattle guard into the park was even being grown over with grass and weeds-this was just a confirmation for me that I was heading the right direction, away from people.

I set up camp (love that hammock tent) next to the water.  On the way out of camp to explore before sunset were the small curvy roads.  Typical to find free range cattle in the road.

[hop along]

Among other interesting things in the area are a 'monument' to the intersection of the states of Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado.  One only has to drive down the paved road til it ends, take a left at the Y in the dirt road, and then go to the second cattle guard where the  monument will be just to the right. 
Due to recent rains there was even a brief mud crossing, it was fun.  I was glad I didn't drop the bike.  I hadn't seen anyone since I'd left the campground, about 10 miles away.
So I rode around the monument a few times just to ride in 3 states within a matter of seconds 

Nearby, heading west through the extremely small town of Kenton, OK takes you into New Mexico by paved road.  Mesas as far as the eye can see....

[hootmon]

going by the title here...
I've got 80K+ on one Magna and 22K on the other... Never had a Cam Tensioner issue. (Yet).. Knock on wood..

Really enjoyed the pictures.. Interesting tent!!

[hop along]

After an early nights rest, and early morning rise, I went back to the trailhead of Black Mesa Summit proper.  4.2 miles each way, most of it flat, almost all of it rocky to some extent.  Did I mention that while OKC was suffering temps in the mid 90s with humidity, I slept in 60 degree weather and the highs during the daytime up there were cloudy and mid 80's?  EVen while hiking-and I hiked this in 3 hours round trip-I barely broke a sweat.  The essence of perfect riding weather for me. 
Views hiking up were great.  Short in elevation gain, but great.  There was also a monument at the highest point of Black Mesa.  I think there had been some Canadians there at some point.... note the rock statue just below the bush in the photo.

[hop along]

The view at the trail summit was great too-it was another half mile across the Mesa to the monument at the high point.

Now I know why you're all reading this... it's because of the cam chain tensioner bit, right?

Well, a man's gotta eat after all that early morning hiking.  Besides, I had 8 hours to get back to the OKC area before sunset.  The nearest town that had any businesses is Boise City, 30 some miles away. 

After breakfast I stopped to get a shot of the view of the area.  This is typical, hard farming up in these parts.  By now the Black Mesa was long out of view, and as you head east you are going ever so slightly downhill. 

[TLRam1]

Yes, thanks for the ride report and the photos, sorry to hear about the tensioner, glad you had a good trip though.

What is the bag hanging from the tent, is that your water?

[hop along]

It was not long after this that I was thinking a lot (hey, its flat, its straight, there's no traffic.  It was thinking time.)

So I was thinking to myself: "Self (as the conversation goes in my head), Self, you gotta call Brad soon.  At MOOTmag you two talked about getting together to change a tire and look at cam chain tensioners, Brad wanted to see how to change the front in case his ever had a failure, so he'd know how to do it real easy like."

And then I heard that sound, which is now familiar to me (the front failed on me last summer).  So I stopped taking pictures.  I rode @20 more miles to the nearest town of Guymon, OK where I hoped to get cell service-and did.  

Now, both times there has abeen a failure, there have a few consistencies (by chance, who knows?):
TEMPS WERE IN THE MID 80'S
I WAS RIDING AT EXTENDED HIGHER SPEEDS, WITH @5000 RPM OR A LITTLE OVER-but maintaining a consistent speed.

I have no idea if the consistent high speed is a culprit.  But those are the only consistencies I notice.

[hop along]

Hoot and Terry, the hammock tent is great, as long as you tie it up correct 
The little bag is the bag the tent stores in; I hang it by the entrance and put in a water bottle, bike cover, etc to store things.  But not food.  Food+tent=nighttime visitors! 
All said and done, the tent is huge, and packs in about the size of two motorcycle covers.  It takes up a little under half of one of my saddlebags. 

[TLRam1]

I don't think the constant speed has anything to do with it, Hoots 82k, you don't get there without a lot of constant speed a one time or another, but good to post it anyway.

[TLRam1]

Wish I could sleep out in the heat but I need cold weather at night and something comfortable to sleep on, that limits me to the cooler months only and I don't think the curvature of the hammock would work for me....my loss.

[hop along]

Oh yeah.  so how did I get home?

Well, I have a Roadside America towing policy through my local Honda dealer (YES! Honda has a Roadside policy available but the dealerships don't sell it much, you have to ask for it).  It took awhile (and some negotiating with them) but they agreed to tow me to Amarillo-FOR FREE-from which point I could get a U-Haul.  I'd tried a few routes of getting friends or family to pick up me up, but Guymon is near 12 hours round trip.  Amarillo is 8 or so round trip.  I'd hoped Brad had a 'ready to go' tensioner which I could replace, but alas no luck.  I was stuck.

It took 4 hours for the tow truck to show up, they could only deliver me to a Honda dealer (which was closed at 9pm on a Sunday), I gingerly rode to a hotel near one of the 2 Amarillo U-hual locations, followed the wrong directions from the hotel to the U-Haul, got there, found out the 10 ft U-Haul trucks didn't have a loading ramp, had to taxi to the *other* Amarillo U-Haul where they gave me a 14ft truck with ramp for the price of the 10ft, and got back to the OKC area just in time for evening rush hour.  

So I have already ordered a new front cam chain tensioner, and another new one as a spare.  And one on Brad's behalf because I have free shipping from Bike Bandit    Last time it took near two weeks for a new cam chain tensioner to show up, and when it did, the shipping label was from Japan.  

And for the record, my original tensioner lasted something like 105,000 miles (mostly in northern climes where there are hills the roads go 'round).  The replacement a paltry 13,000 miles!  (mostly the plains part of the US)

Here is to hoping I get an average of say, 60,000 miles out of the next one  

Hop Along.

[hop along]

I don't think the constant speed has anything to do with it, Hoots 82k, you don't get there without a lot of constant speed a one time or another, but good to post it anyway.

I certainly don't understand the vagaries of these things, but I'm at a loss to find any other similarities in my experience.  And even with free towing, and a hoped-for AMA benefit to cover some other costs, it was still an expensive weekend.  But it *did* get me out of work on Monday :-/

Terry, you'll also notice the tank bag on the bike, in the background of the hammock tent 
Hop Along

[TLRam1]

Terry, you'll also notice the tank bag on the bike, in the background of the hammock tent  
Hop Along

I didn't see the bag on the tank, so is it either on the ground below the tent or the back of the bike?

Are you getting use to it being on the tank?

[Brad Badgett]

I hiked the Black Mesa 'OK High Point' trail ~ 20 yrs. ago.  Easy as hikes go, but if one likes wide open spaces and unlimited vistas, Black Mesa is the place.  Nearby are dinosaur tracks in the Cimmarron River bed.  The road West from Kenton to Folsom, NM is very scenic.  The road was mostly dirt 20 yrs ago, but is paved now.  Scott- ordered a new front tire and steel 90 degree valve stems today.  Also, when we change the tire, need to change fork oil.  I will always carry a spare cam chain tensioner from now on.  Glad you finally made it back to Norman.

Brad

[lragan]

So now I am worried about cam chain tensioners, when I thought my only worry was regulator/rectifier!!  How big a deal is it to install one in the field?