Next we stopped at Oceano dunes OHV area (Pismo) to take a look and get
some info for future dirt rides. Imre’s forks started clanking from
lack of oil (leaky seals) and we ended up going back to a shop in SLO
to get it fixed properly. This cost us most of the day, so once we were
rolling again we pushed hard and arrived in Santa Barbara in foggy, cold
darkness. The second of many Motel 6’s was our bed for the night.
The road from Santa Maria to SB was very hilly and scenic, but the 2 lane
twisties we enjoyed earlier were replaced with 4 lane freeway. |
![]() Our next stop was the famous Venice beach. Parking was tricky, but a lot easier with MCs than a car. We took a short walk amongst throngs of tourists and small shops. A local informed Imre that our saddlebags were not safe to leave unattended in this neighborhood even for a short time. I took another walk while Imre watched the bikes.
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We left Venice and went South through Redondo Beach and Long Beach. I
thought these areas were a bit dirty and gross (what I saw from the coast
highway anyhow). Huntington Beach and Newport Beach are opposite –
much nicer areas. After a day of heavy traffic, my left hand was hurting
from lots of clutch work and my butt was aching worse than ever. It was
a big relief to arrive at Imre’s Mom’s place near Irvine.
We spent a comfortable night there and got a slow start in the morning. |
![]() My old KZ started getting down on power. Cruising across the desert at 80 mph was a bit much for the old air-cooled motor. An inspection revealed that a previously slow oil leak had gotten much worse that day and the engine was quite low on oil – no wonder it got hot! I felt dumb for not having oil with me (it never went down before!), but Imre solved the problem by riding about 15 miles back to Adelanto to buy oil. While I waited I sat by a small bush which gave a tiny bit of shade and I kept an eye out for snakes or scorpions. I felt like I was in a movie about someone lost in the desert! I did a crude repair job by smearing epoxy on the leak. This slowed it considerably. The added oil and some cool down time brought new life to the KZ. We continued through the heat to Ridgecrest where we were a little reluctant to stop because there was lots of daylight left. Since we were unsure about finding a hotel farther on we stayed at another Motel 6 for the low price of $42. This was the cheapest hotel night of the trip. |