out of eastern Colorado into western Kansas - no much to see besides some of this

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/e...SAM1101-XL.jpg

...and then some of this...:wink:

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/e...SAM1102-XL.jpg

...and lots of these abandoned homesteads

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/e...SAM1100-XL.jpg

but seeing all this very rare hamburger in the stockyards awaiting its fate made me hungry

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/e...SAM1106-XL.jpg

Hi paul hows the bike standing up engine etc.

its good, i'm at about 58,000 miles right now, no issues...only had one strange thing happen, went thru a front tire in 6000 miles that would normally last about 12-15,000

also and i have no idea how this happened a rock/ stone had broken the little plastic cap on the left side of the throttle body, (the one held in place with a phillips screw) this caused the idle to increase at altitude above 7000 feet or if the bike was very hot, i went to a yamaha dealer to see if it was available and you have to buy the whole throttle body assembly - about $600!!!

blob of silicone and its back to normal

so my main focus in Kansas was Garmin and my now defunct Garmin Zumo 550, i was kind of using Kansas as a good excuse not to have to ride all the way across Texas again...seeing i did that in June this year already

so off to head office...

i walked in the front door, grubby dirty adventure rider, not knowing what to expect...what i got was the warmest welcome, the epitome of professionalism from EVERY single person i spoke to, even people passing in the lobby (with Garmin Badges on) stopped to say hello, it was very refreshing and when i met "Mr. Zumo" he was the most helpful and professional of everyone i had met so far.

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/k.../SAM1119-L.jpg

The Zumo 550 is now obsolete but Garmin are still having parts made but they are in short supply and as my luck would have it they were out right then, so i had two choices: wait for a delivery, there was a date but it was possible it could change (not good for a RTW rider) or an offer of a move to a different unit of my choice. They did not try and downgrade me, quite the opposite, i walked out with a new zumo 660 and all the fixings!!!

i left the building refreshed by the genuine care that was offered to me from a big corporation, and Mr. Zumo if you're reading this, thank you again

riding thru Kansas was a refreshing change, some rolling hills, temperatures were not too bad considering the time of year but in another way it was depressing.

The other side of corporate America had pushed out the small family farmers and taken over on a major scale, lots of abandoned buildings and homes that were not needed now that a fat guy in some big office with gravy running thru his viens was in control getting his annual bonus. He doesn't care where the family are and what happened to their farm and home that had been with them for generations, and they were left to rot and be taken back by the land

some of what i saw...

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/k...IMG0198-XL.jpg
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/k...SAM1110-XL.jpg
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/k...IMG0200-XL.jpg
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/k...IMG0201-XL.jpg
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/k...IMG0203-XL.jpg
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/k...IMG0206-XL.jpg
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/k...SAM1125-XL.jpg

i ended the day crossing the state line into Missouri, taking a few dirt roads as a bridge was out and camped in Stockton State Park and had the place to myself

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/k...SAM1133-XL.jpg
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/k...SAM1135-XL.jpg
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/k...SAM1137-XL.jpg

heading south down route 7 in Arkansas most of the way to Louisiana, if you haven't ridden it you should nice curves the whole way, minimal traffic, friendly people, small towns.

the ride back t LA was pretty uneventful except for a snapped chain that happened at about 50mph on a bend, could have been bad :huh

it just left me searching thru my bags for a link to make a repair as no one was stopping even the guy on the red sport touring bike who came by as i was rolling my bike backwards down a hill looking for a flat spot to work on it...he literally turned his head away and accelerated over the horizon!!! If you are reading this whoever you are karmas a *****

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/k...SAM1139-XL.jpg
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/k...SAM1140-XL.jpg
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/k...SAM1141-XL.jpg


the rest of the ride was rain off and on for hours so the cameras stayed tucked away

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/k...SAM1147-XL.jpg

in Louisiana for a week or so, mainly doing a few little odds and ends on the bike, but some riding as well, if you get down here there are a few things to see out of the ordinary as the landscape kind of sucks unless you are really into swampland

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/l...IMG8597-XL.jpg
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/l...IMG8603-XL.jpg
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/l...IMG8606-XL.jpg
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/l...MG86221-XL.jpg
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/l...SAM0363-XL.jpg

this is a real shot,not photo shopped

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/l...IMG9415-XL.jpg

now imagine this...my friend told me he remembered riding down a road in the swamps early one morning, and the whole road was covered with them, but because of the light he didn't notice them straight away...then the whole road started jumping. the way he descibes it..."lets just say my bike was a real mess by the time i stopped" :puke1

Hi PAUL good pics as usual,that chain link looked very dry. Depressing looking farm buildings,all taken over by mister big.RIDE SAFE look forward to the next report. BARRY U.K.:brave:

lubed the chain the night before...third time i have had a link issue on this bike

Looks awesome!!! I haven't had time to look at the entire thread, but did the OP mention 15 year journey? Would an XT last this long?? It also sounds VERY expensive!