Smokies Ride—Some Mechanical Prep

When I was replacing all the gaskets to cure my oil leaks and got to reassembling everything, I noticed the left intake boot had a crack in it. I went ahead and put it back in, but lately the bike has had a tendency to idle high when stopped, a sure sign of an intake leak. Suspecting the crack may have made it all the way through the boot, I thought it wise to go ahead and order a new one before the trip. Here's the old one and the crack is obvious around the bottom inside of the boot.

I popped the new one in this afternoon and buttoned it all back up. That should take care of the last of the mechanical tweaks.

Next is the long wait until departure and the joy of packing spares, tent, bedroll, and four or five days' worth of clothing on the little CB.

Road Dog

"Ride Your Own Ride."