Elliott's Cross Country Motorcycle Trip: Bummed...

It turns out Malta, Montana is going to be the end of this trip. Scott and I pulled the bike apart this morning and found a small tear in a rubber diaphragm inside of the carburetor. Unfortunately this can't be fixed because gasoline will eventually dissolve any kind of glue or rubber cement and then I could break down again in an even more remote area.

Here were my options

1. Order the part. I called about 10 places and no one had it in stock. They could have ordered one from BMW and then "overnighted" it to me in Malta. But there actually is no overnight service to Malta so it would have been Friday at the earliest but maybe not until Tuesday (and I'm supposed to be back to work on Tuesday).

2. Try to glue it and hope it holds for 400 miles to the nearest dealership in Sturgis, SD. I wanted to do this, but if the glue doesn't hold I break down in an even more remote part of Montana. If I break down within an indian reservation that would not be good. Fort Peck Indian Reservation has the highest per-capita murder rate in the US.

3. Ditch the bike. Although Malta is 200 miles from any kind of minor airport, Amtrak does roll through town and the train goes all the way to Chicago. Scott would let me leave the bike in his garage and will even fix it once I send him the parts. Of course I'll have to go back in get it.

I'm writing this email and about to get on the train. I so badly wanted to try to jury-rig the diaphragm but I guess I pussed out. Fuck.

When I think about it though, I can't really complain. I rode almost 2400 miles, saw some of the most ridiculous scenery and met some amazing people along the way. I guess I'll be figuring out when I can go back to Malta to pick that bike up and properly finish this trip.

Some pics from the past few days:

our friend Rick who we met at Glacier and was riding his bike to Portland