As the adventure continues the next day we split into a group of 2 and the other group will have 4. Our group of 4 make the trek down the inland coast which is a beautiful ride. The other two, Bob G and Bob J, take a more adventurous route out to the Pacific that could be a bit too much for our group with the bigger Adventure bikes. Since Tracy is limping along on a taco front rim that has been beaten back into shape and I am limping along on a mashed foot from Adventure bike wrestling when I got my butt whooped! We decided to take the easier route. We will ride with Brian and Jeff and do some sightseeing along the way. We have a great ride day with a bit of exploring and photo opportunities.
Along the way Jeff leads us on a turn off which is a dirt road and has no real marking indicating there would be much down the road. We ride out 10 miles on this dirt road, lo and behold there is a community of rather large houses right on the gulf coast. These houses are like an upper scale American community with a small airport alongside the community. By Baja standards these would fall into the mansion category. I found this rather interesting and just figured with no markings on the hiway pointing this direction these people must want to be left alone in their vacation homes. Jeff says there used to be a very nice Hotel there but we find it has been long gone and overgrown. An interesting place. Don’t know how you would ever find it unless someone told you or showed you. 10 miles down a dirt road with no real markings.
Back on the main road and we roll on down to Loreto. We stay at another hotel Bob G likes and it is right on the water with great sunrises and a view of the water right out the door of the hotel. Our group of 4 pull in and check in. We hop back on the bikes and head for the rooms to off load our gear. I am unloading my stuff and Tracy comes in pushing his bike. He says it wouldn’t start once he shut it off at check in. Of course my first thought is he hit a kill switch other than the key and I ask. He said no, he had already checked. Gotta be a simple solution, we almost never shut a bike off and just not restart 5 min later. I am thinking battery; I have had batteries go dead instantly when they go. But Tracy says it cranks over just fine but won’t start. Uh oh, that becomes a bit more serious like an ignition problem or fuel pump, neither of which we can fix on the road. Everyone messes around with it for a bit and no one has an instant solution so after a while it is decided since it is late now we will go have dinner and then come back to work on it or continue diagnosing tomorrow since we were planning to stay a day anyway. Good plan, rest and thinking are a better first step.
Dinner was nice, very nice with more of a restaurant patio atmosphere overlooking the water that we would have taken our wives to instead of sitting here with 5 other Geezers!
The next day we start to work on the big KTM and several of us had reached out the night before seeking input from our contacts back in the USA as to what we should be looking for. I had a couple of people scouring message boards and service manuals for potential causes. The others had feelers out to people at dealerships and we got a fair amount of response. Thanks everyone (BearMeister) who took their time to try to rescue us!
I have had KTM fuel filters clog and the bike starts but won’t run with throttle. So I looked toward fuel pump filter issues. Other ideas came in with all sorts of magical remedies, turn the key on for 15 seconds, turn the throttle 3 times, turn the key off and back on for 15 seconds then hit the starter button. There were several variations of these ‘fixes’ but none of them worked or maybe we didn’t hold our lower lip just right. So after trying everything suggested it was still not running. Next internet suggestion was a possible low voltage that wouldn’t allow the bike to start, so we hooked a jumper box up to the battery and still no luck. So now desperation is beginning to set in because if this thing doesn’t run we are looking at having to have it trucked back to the states, Doh! So now even with all the help from our friends back in the States we are running out of options. So the next step is to remove the fuel pump from the tank and see if it may be the filter. It seems Brian has removed a fuel filter on one of these bikes before so away he goes. He jumps right in and starts dismantling with some help from the peanut gallery, mostly giving free unsolicited advice! I mostly stay out of the way and watch, I remember hearing someone once saying something about too many cooks. We do hand him tools time to time. Not only does Brian get it out he disassembles the pump which appears to be designed as not to be disassembled. You go Boy! As each new step or challenge arises we go looking for the next needed tool that may work. By now we have everyone’s tool packs open and spread out all around the bike which sits directly in front of our hotel rooms. Good thing they assigned us dirt bag motorcycle riders the furthermost rooms at the end of the hotel. Made for a great outdoor workshop and we didn’t have a bunch of lookie loos gettin’ all up in our business and complaining to management.
Brian gets the pump disassembled and removes the filter, it is indeed discolored and restricted. The bike has about 16k miles on it. It is a specialty filter of course and we now have to decide to attempt to clean, modify, jerry rig a replacement or remove it altogether. The general consensus after all the brainstorming and with all of our combined intellect, it was a rather small storm, it is decided to reinstall without a filter to see if it ran at all. Brian, the now Head Mechanic reassembles and installs the pump. Checks for leaks, turns the key on and……………..Nothing but a cranking motorcycle. One attempt is made to take apart the Fly by Wire throttle assembly, no throttle cable just a twist grip with sensors, a gear cam system and a last item that Jeff called a ‘sypgmomanometeroccullator’, or something like that! I had no idea what the hell that was but it sounded kinda like a rheostat for a throttle. Someone said if it got dirty it could quit working. Didn’t seem logical to me on an Off Road Adventure bike, but it seems we have run out of ideas, options and time since it is now most of the way through our Rest Day in Loreto. Apart, cleaned and back together. No dice! Snake Eyes! So Tracy throws in the towel and begins to look for ways to get the bike back to the states while exploring flights that he could book to get himself home. He finds a flight if he stays over a day and arranges with the management to store the big Adventure bike at the hotel until it can be picked up in a couple of weeks. It seems a plan is coming together but not one any of us wanted to have to arrange.
Tracy begins to off load his gear from the bike and pack it into backpacks and plans on buying a sports bag at a local sporting goods store to pack what won’t fit and carry it home with him. I am sharing a room with Tracy, we have been cellies for the week so far. So I hear him mumble, ‘O-shit’ as he is organizing and packing his gear and wonder what else could go wrong. He doesn’t say any more and heads back outside with his key for the KTM. Inserts the key, presses the starter button and the big Adventure bike comes to life!!! I see this and wonder how the hell did he do that. The rest of the crew is hanging around outside and turn to see why Tracy was starting someone else’s bike. When they realized it was his bike the looks on the faces were raging from dumbfounded, to incredulous and all the way to ‘what the Freak did you do to fix it’!
It seems at check in Tracy had shut his bike off, put his key in his pocket and when he returned to start the bike grabbed ANOTHER key he carried for the gas tank that DOES NOT RUN the bike! We had been working with that key that was NEVER going to start that bike for the last 24 hrs. I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or cry. I think everyone else was in amazement not quite sure how to react. When everyone gathered around the now running KTM it was time for Tracy to explain how he ‘Fixed’ his bike. The story was told and none of us knew of the second key until he laid it out to us. So from that time on he is going to be known to me as Tracy “2-Key” P*******. Now you didn’t really think I would use his whole last name did ya’! I can’t throw a homie under the bus, but I can tell the story, lol.
So it was decided that the other four, Bob J, Bob G, Brian and Jeff would continue on the intended route and 2-Key would head back directly on the shortest route. Since he was now riding with no fuel filter in the tank on a fuel injected bike. As his cellie and wing man I figured it would not be a good idea for him to ride alone 800 miles in Baja without a backup. Everyone else agreed and we parted ways the next day. The Boyz headed for St Javier Mission and on over to the coast. 2-Key and I headed for the border at Mexicali with a stopover in San Felipe. We had a good ride with zero issues going home and enjoyed our shortened ride every bit as much. We made good time and 2-Key’s bike never missed a beat. We crossed the border easily on the motorcycles, Mr. Border Patrol at the crossing needed a class in public relations though, and parted ways after a quick breakfast. My ride home seemed a bit longer since now I was riding alone, but I occasionally I caught myself laughing as I heard myself say 2-Key Tracy out loud in my helmet.
I guess now I will have to upgrade the little V-Strom to a more off road worthy bike if I ever do this again.
#33
‘It’s not the destination, it’s the Ride’
Sunday, April 12, 2020 at 5:53PM 
