Back to the '71 road trip. Heading out of LA on the I15, I opened up the throttle going up Cajon Pass just before Victorville. The engine started to whine three quarters up the pass. Reduced speed and later stopped in Barstow for a rest. Found out I lost first gear. Stopped at the Honda shop where the owner told me they couldn't work on the bike for 4 weeks as their local costumers come first. Thought I was screwed. Four weeks in Barstow? We set up camp (in town) right on Route 66 on what appeared to be an old homestead plot. There was an old mattress which fit perfectly inside our tent! Later that evening a guy came to our camp who had overheard my conversation at the Honda shop. He checked with the Yamaha shop and they would take care of me right away. In order to save money, I removed all connections to the engine at camp. All that was left was the frame, wheels and engine, which I then walked to the Yamaha shop. A week later we were back on the road.
Next rest stop was Ludlow. A lady there asked us if we were planning on settling down there. By then we had enough of the desert.
That was the last of mechanical problems with the bike. I did wear out 2 chains. A chain broke heading into Dallas Tx. It got wrapped around the sprocket and got bent up. I was using a rock as a hammer to straighten the chain. Some old guy saw this and he took me to a bike shop. They didn't have my chain, but got a master link to get the old chain back on. The old guy then bought me a bag of groceries and drove me back to the bike.
There are some very friendly helpful people out there.
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