Tuesday, 8/15 – Fairmont Hot Springs, BC to Deer Lodge, MT

This day was Beth’s birthday. She appreciates the many happy birthday wishes she received on Facebook.

As I mentioned at the end of the last post, I discovered oil on the right underside of the Goldwing. It appears to be coming from the differential. This morning I called Roadsmith Trikes, the trike kit manufacturer, in MN. The tech was not concerned about the differential oil leak. He suggested I could ride it home and not worry about it.

I thought maybe it would be better to have the leak looked at by an “expert,” so I called the dealer, H&H Trikes, in Kalispell. He said he’d look at it.

We first went to the do-it-yourself car wash and washed some of the construction “mud” off the bikes. That stuff is corrosive and sticks like glue. We managed to get the worst of it off.

We hooked the trailer to Beth’s bike and headed for Kalispell. We crossed the border without any difficulty and stopped for gas in Eureka, MT. Gas was $4.99 a gallon, but that was much less than in Canada. I think the highest we paid in Canada was 6.80$US per gallon.

We found a museum in Eureka. We didn’t have time to go in, but there was a picnic table on the grounds.

While we were eating, we watched a doe and two fauns grazing. When the fauns had had enough, they plopped down for a nap and mom kept watch.

When we got to H&H Trikes in Kalispell, the “shop” was closed. The shop was just a commercial garage, not the building pictured on his website. I called the guy. He said he had other things to do, so he closed up shop and went home. He told me to come back at 10 in the morning.

We moved on.

We rode through the Flathead National Forest. The road had a 70mph speed limit, but we couldn’t do more than 55 to 65. Of course, there was a long construction zone at the south end of Swan Lake.

We tried to find a hotel room in Deer Lodge, MT, but there were no vacancies. We had no trouble getting a campsite at the local campground. We were both very tired after riding 387 miles in the 97 degree heat. By the time we got everything set up, we ate dinner after dark.

Wednesday, 8/16 – Deer Lodge, MT to Billings, MT

We woke up refreshed, packed up, and had breakfast at MacDonald’s.

Besides the differential oil leak, both bikes needed front tires and the trailer needs two new spare tires. The Goldwing needs new steering head bearings and a new auxiliary fuel transfer pump. Our friend, Cindy Black, in Billings, secured a front tire for the GW at the Honda shop in Billings. I called Lisac’s Tire in Billings; they had plenty of trailer tires in stock. Cindy also special-ordered the bearings.

We stopped at Yellowstone Harley in Belgrade, MT and got a new front tire for Beth’s bike. We ate lunch under the tent outside the service entrance.

Notice the difference in the sky in these two pictures. The smoke rolled in while we were waiting.

Can you make out the mountains in the distance?

We made it to Cindy and Brentlys in time to fix our dinner and go to bed early.

Thursday, 8/17 – Billings, MT

I did a lot of work today and didn’t take pictures. I started by removing the front wheel of the Goldwing and the two worn, spare tires of the trailer. We loaded the tires in Brently’s truck and dropped off the wheel at the Honda shop. The bearings had come in, but they couldn’t schedule me in to install them until September 1. Sheesh!

Next we dropped off the trailer wheels at the tire shop. For those who are interested, this is how the trailer tires wear unevenly.

I called Roadsmith again and Mike, the tech, said he could fix the differential seals, install new steering head bearings, and replace the transfer pump. We are planning to visit friends in Minneapolis, so we’ll be able to drop off the bike for repairs while we are there.

While waiting for the tires to be mounted, Cindy’s handyman welded the bracket that holds the second spare tire on the trailer. One end came undone when I removed the spare.

Beth went along with me to pick up all the new tires. Along the way we stopped at the rehab hospital where she spent two weeks a year ago. She wanted to thank the staff and show them that she had fully recovered. They appreciated her visit.

To finish off my workday, I mounted the GW front tire and the two trailer tires. Cindy fixed a wonderful beef roast with baked potatoes and vegetables. We haven’t had a home-cooked meal like that in a long while.

Friday, 8/18 – Billings, MT

Beth and Cindy left this morning on a Motor Maids get-away to Gillette, WY. I’m sure they’ll be posting about their adventure in Facebook.

I’ve spent the day catching up with computer work and composing this blog post.