Dear Readers.
Please forgive my lack of knowledge of the English language. I've tried to tell a story in a (for me) foreign language, of a trip which I enjoyed very much. My intention is solely telling a story. And maybe give some friendly "kicks" ;-)

My trip to New Mexico...

Thursday, Sept. 23rd. 1999

Left Oslo airport, Gardermoen, Norway at 13.35 hrs. bound for Minneapolis/St. Paul, the Twin Cities. Arrived at 15.15 local time (just a 1 ¾ hrs. trip ;-)) Immigration was no problem as I had filled in the right form on the flight. And having all the languages in the world to chose from, my form was in Italian !!!! How come ?? Destiny !! - I was after all on my way to New Mexico to ride an Italian Motorcycle :-) Had to wait 5 ¼ hr. for a corresponding plane to Albuquerque - it left the Twin Cities at 20.30 hrs. Arrived Albuquerque 22.14 ??. Tom met me with a big Yahoo in the arrival hall .... I guess he had had some beers while waiting ;-) We shook hands and yahoo-ed together. He much louder than me. Having arrived at Tom's apartment, he showed me my room for the stay. Then we sat down and had some (too many) beers. We went to bed at 04.30 in the morning. Both pissed.

Friday, Sept. 24th

When wakening the next morning, we both admitted that we should have gone to bed 2-3 beers earlier. Great weather, not a cloud in the sky (that's common according to Tom). For me it was like one of Those Great Summer's days. And during my 10 days stay, I just noticed 3-three clouds !! It must be like heaven living like this; Let yourself decide whether to ride - not the weather.... After about a gallon of coffee, we tried to push-start the GT ...... No luck .... it backfired a couple of times, but wouldn't start.......We tried start-gas, pumping the carbs (one of the pumpers didn't work, so we had to take the carb apart to try to find what was wrong, but all looked OK. Maybe the diaphragm was blown, we couldn't find out), more pushing, kick-starting...... No luck..... Imagine two guys who both smoke wayyyy too much try to push-start a bike for a couple of hours.... For those of you who do exercises regularly, it must have been quite a sight... Puhhhhhh. Finally we gave up, and took the bike inside again too look at it the next day. After discussing the problem, Tom asked me if we should visit one of his favorite restaurants. And of course I agreed. I was hungry for some New Mexican food (h"#¤, that was one of those things I really was looking forward to before leaving Norway, eating my can-food or my dry slices of bread) He took me to a really fine Italian Restaurant, and we ate a great meal. The portion was wayyy too much for me, though. (when I've ordered a meal anywhere else, the portions have been rather small, but not in NM.....) I was quite bothered when Tom asked me if I wanted to bring the rest with me, and at the same time got hold of the waiter telling him to wrap it up for me. (I'm not used to that, it's kind of rude / cheap the way I'm brought up) We were both quite tired, ( how come ??), so we went to bed at about 9PM.

Saturday, Sept. 25th

When waking up on Saturday, we both agreed that we were to get the GT started before doing any sort of sight-seeing. The intention was after all bike-riding, besides the visit, of course. We decided to check the timing, so we took the covers off. After having checked it and compared the timing to the position where the front cylinder was to ignite we definitely knew something was wayyyyy wrong. The rear cylinder seemed to ignite at the right spot. Hmmmmmm, strange !! The timing marks were checked over and over. The engine was turned forwards and backwards over and over again, and if we had had the chance, I guess we would have turned it upwards and downwards too. Something WAS wrong !!!! But what ???? We got connected to the net, and tried to get wiser by asking the List and by searching for articles. We found some articles, and contacted Godfrey and sat down at the right side of the bike again, determined not to give up !! The front cylinder head "had" to be taken off. Our conclusion was that the front cam had been rotated 180° as the ignition-point for that cylinder was after TDC in stead of before. Checked again and made a degree wheel of cardboard. Turned the engine again, and found out that the cam opened at the right spots. What was wrong ?? We could still not determine ..... The ignition-points were adjusted, but as Tom remembered having two new sets, he would change for new ones as the points had some grooves. Problems hadn't stopped appearing .... the small screw holding the points to their base-plate wouldn't come loose, blaaa! That was enough problems for one day, and we hadn't solved the problem with the front cylinder firing at the wrong spot........ yet....... Dinnertime !! Late dinnertime.... And Tom obviously knew more fine restaurants, Mexican this time :-) Hot, hot food but incredibly tasty .... ah, and Mexican beer of course. Tired from the day's problems and fiddling, we went to bed after returning home.

Sunday, Sept. 26th

I woke up from the sound of mechanical work; it was Tom fiddling with that breaker-point base plate. He was to widen the grooves of the screws holding the points, in order to use a bigger screwdriver. After finishing the Dremel-work, the screws came loose, and that problem was solved. The points were changed for the new sets, and our "brains" were again concentrating on the wrong ignition setting of the fore cylinder ........ We went on as the day before ... turning the engine back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.... until finally ---- we came to the conclusion that the base plate MUST be 180 degr. off..... Tom gathered all he'd got of literature regarding the GT that containing pictures. And both looking through them, we suddenly stopped, looking at each other with a funny look in our faces. The pictures all showed that the base plate WAS 180 degr. off !!!! We fitted the plate the right way, checked the gap of the points and finally set the ignition using our cardboard degree wheel. Everything was spot on ! At last ...... All the covers were refitted, oil was poured in, and the carbs were pumped some times ..... The down pipes were not fitted yet. 1-2-3-4-5 kicks and she ignited.. 2 more kicks and she started ! And what a sound, indoors, without Anything restricting the gooood vibes. We stopped her and let her cool down. After a while I saw a little devil in Tom's eyes ; "I'll call Ed" he said, jumped over to the phone, and called Ed. When he heard it ring in the other end, he handed the telephone receiver to me and told me to tell Ed that he should just listen. And listen, Ed did... Tom started the GT and reved her up as he shouted to me to come as close as possible to the exhaust with the receiver. I'm not sure if Ed still has got his hearing-ability ;-) Then the mufflers were refitted and the bike taken outside for a test. And of course Tom was the one to test her. He, after all was the owner and he knows her (well, I'm not at this stage sure that he knows her, as she MUST act different with her breakerpoint-baseplate fitted right ;-) He was all smiles when he returned. And now it was my turn. Back and forth the street outside Tom's flat. Wonderful feeling ..... my first ride on a bike in the US :-) As we now had got the GT started, it was the Darmah's turn. And according to, Tom she would start. As she always had !! We drove over to Tom's garage (in his Audi) to check if the Darmah was OK. We had to be sure before dressing up for a ride on the next day. To make a long story short --- the Darmah didn't start, so we had to bring her battery along to the apartment to get it charged. (but I did get some nice pictures of an other Italian which WAS running (sorry it was a 4-wheeler, but it was an Italian)). A Maserati cab. Wonderful !! Getting back to the apartment, we showered (not together, you stupid !! :-)), collected Tom's mom, and went out for a pizza. (an other example of "Tom's" excellent taste). Back home, Tom taught me how to prepare belt buckles. All the way from scratch to a representative buckle which can be sent to a customer longing for one. We did one each, so I actually can say that I've "prepared for sale" one of Tom's buckles :-) I have to admit that making those buckles as Tom does, make each and one of them into a piece of hand-crafted art well worth buying. In bed at 04.00.....

Monday, Sept. 27th

Me, being a tourist and a guest didn't have anything but my self to worry about, but Tom had to keep up to his everyday obligations. Therefore, the day started by picking up some wax casts for buckles. 2 castings of silver were also picked up. New spark-plugs were bought for the Darmah, and we fitted the recharged battery. Then it was time for our first run :-) Me on the GT, and Tom on the Darmah. The Darmah didn't act at her best .... she wouldn't rev more than 3000.., but Tom insisted that she had acted fine the last time he rode her, and that she would increase once we were speeding up on the interstate. We headed for the Sandia Mountains (10.678 ft), and what roads !!! :-) I wish I had known that road and those curves better, so that I could have taken the GT to my limits :-) I'm glad that Tom was riding ahead on the misfiring and spitting Darmah, watching me as a dad (I guess he was afraid of what I could do to the GT ;-)), cause those hairpins were quite sharp. Some of them were more than 90 degr. and appeared very suddenly..... When we had reached the top, bought some souvenirs, and looked at the view for a while, we headed down again. The Darmah acted better downhill, but not at all as she would have, being all healthy. The GT, however, acted like in a sweet dream :-) And how did she start? When cold: two pumps, and two kicks. Warm: did hardly have to touch the kick starter.... We were back at 17.00, and parked both bikes in the garage. Dinnertime :-) New Mexican this time :-) :-).

Tuesday, Sept. 28th

This morning Tom was to visit his mother (he's taking very good care of her). One of her cats had disappeared last Sunday, and Tom offered finding it. He didn't, and was quite angry at his mom who had let the cat out after just having it for 2 weeks. We had lunch at a local restaurant, and when returning, Tom again went looking for the cat . He now found it, and was quite happy with himself :-) To fill the day with some events, we decided to act like tourists (I was, he wasn't). Tom had got orders from one of his colleagues at work to show me some of the cultural places of New Mexico / Albuquerque !! Not just biking !! We spent the rest of the day in old town. Shopping and looking around. Tom had great joy from me buying Mexican Jumping Beans and Saguaro cactus seeds. Why, I don't know. I could not find anything more New Mexican than Saguaro. Tom wondered if I was to make my own Tequila. Maybe some day, if the seeds grow to a decent cactus. We had an early night after noticing that the weather was getting cooler.

Wednesday, Sept. 29th

Got up early. Started for a bike ride which Tom said would be a nice one. And it was. We headed for Jemez Springs and the Caldera Mountains. As we rode along, we encountered that the Darmah consumed about twice as much gas as the GT, and she didn't pull properly either. The Darmah often let some blue smoke out from "somewhere" ( I couldn't figure out where, but as we were on Indian territory, I guess Tom had a meaning by letting her :-) ) The roads were once again just fun. We stopped at the Los Ojojos Bar for a decent lunch. After short stops at the Jemez hot springs and in the crater of the Caldera Vulcano, we headed for the Bandelier National Monument where we spent some hours. We drove through Los Alamos and Santa Fe on our way home (those places reminds me of the Wild West novels I read as a kid, and having been in those historic places make me devoted in some way.....) On the Interstage, just south of Santa Fe, while I was going through the impressions of the day, I suddenly noticed that Tom's driving was getting strange, and he pulled over. After coming to a complete stop, I asked him what was the matter. He told me he was driving as he had for the last hours, and then suddenly he heard a whirling sound from the bike. He grabbed the clutch and pulled over. When looking at the poor Darmah, I just hardly could hold back my tears (As someone has stated earlier: I am softhearted ;-)). She was seeping oil from the fore cylinder head, and the exhaust pipe and muffler was blue all the way to the end. Boy, it must have been hot :-( We could do nothing but push the Darmah to the next turnoff. So that was what we did. Tom started. I was catching him up with the GT, when the clutch-cable broke. Da** ! I turned the ignition off, and started to push. When I was catching up with Tom, he said he was lucky that we at least had one bike running. Looking at him, trying to hide my smile, I said : "Do we ?" He said : "Don't we ? ", and I told him that the clutch-cable of the GT was broken. As usual, Tom said : "No problem !" , and picked up a spare one from the fairing of the Darmah. From that moment, I know that the clutch-cables on them are interchangeable. It was my turn to push, so I started. Tom was catching up with me a second later, and drove 600 ft. past me and parked. As he did that, a service-truck pulled over and stopped just in front of me. The driver, Robert, came out, and asked if he could help. I noticed that he had a crane mounted at the rear of the truck, and answered "Maybe". "Maybe", because the truck was so loaded with goods, that I could hardly imagine how the big Darmah would get enough room in between.... We were of course willing to try, and we made it :-) And off to Tom's place we drove; Tom ahead on the GT to lead the way, me together with Robert in the truck. We got home at 08.00 p.m, lifted the Darmah down, and tried to make Robert accept some money for the job. He refused, but after negotiating for some time, Tom told him to take his wife out for dinner to make up for his delay that day. He finally accepted. When Robert had left , we gave the da**, ordered a pizza and got pissed. While we ate, Tom reportedto The List, calling himself a Darmah-killer.

Thursday, Sept. 30th

Tom got up early to check the response to his mail the day before. We got lots of sympathetic answers. Tom even got a buckle-order to help him get enough money to pay for the repair of the Darmah. We took the day off, and we went just about "everywhere" to find a special pair of jeans for my daughter. Did not succeed ! In the evening Tom showed his abilities in the art of cooking at his mother's place, and served us a delicious meal of meatballs and spaghetti, with lots of wine to it ..... When being satisfied, we returned home, and went through the e-mails of the day.. and Tom -- by now known as a person who likes dead bevels -- noticed an ad. on the Ducati-list regarding a '73 GT for sale. He wanted it as a parts bin for his own GT. What a vulture !! ;-)

Friday, Oct. 1st (Are we there yet..)

The day had come to prepare for my flight home. Every thing was settled, except that Tom didn't accept the fact that I was booked on a flight that left Albuquerque on Saturday just to spend a night and the next day in Minneapolis. Two hrs. of overseas phone-calls told us (me) what was already a fact, I had to leave on Saturday. Final ! Tom, however, did not give up; he called the local North West counter. The supervisor told us to show up at the counter and present the problem to the person in charge. And so we did. 30 min. later, my departure was delayed by 24 hrs. Thanks to the "stubborn little fart" @ tm (TR) ;-> The rest of the day was used to drive sight - seeing (by Audi) to Embudo, Santa Fe, Taos Ski Valley, Rio Grande Gorge Bridge and more. A very interesting trip. The fact that we drove by car, made it possible for me to ask Tom all those crazy questions that tourists always ask. He was polite, and answered every question to my contentment.

Saturday, Oct. 2nd

This was the day of the Great Balloon Fiesta, and we could see lots of them from Tom's place as early as 8 a.m. Great sight. All those shapes of balloons. I even got some close-ups of a couple of them. Most of the day was spent by watching balloons, until Tom suddenly became eager to visit the store he buys his silver - rods for the buckles from. I had asked Tom if tools for Dremels were cheap in the US, and he told me could have a look. They are cheaper than in Norway, and I bought more than I actually need, as usual. Old Men's porn is what some women like to call it (the heap of "nice to have tools") Nice to hold and look at, but actually don't know when and where to use it, or why it was bought. We had dinner, and returned to Tom's place to get the Darmah indoors, and let me do my pack up for the next day. Tom was working hard to get a silver-buckle finished. I thought he had promised it to someone and was late. How wrong could I be ......

Sunday, Oct. 3rd

Time to leave :-(
Tom was still working frenetic on that silver-buckle. And when he was finished, he handed it to me and what I thought of it. As all the buckles that have left his hand for some customer's belt : It was a piece of art !! He told me to have a look at the backside of it. And there he had stamped my initials on it. It was his go-away present to me :-) Boy, was I happy ?? And the reason why he had stamped it, he said, was so that I wouldn't sell it !!! Clever little Bast*** @ tm:-)
Thanks Tom! I really appreciate it. Then he drove me to the airport, and I left New Mexico with a great wish to return to that friendly sunny state....... I counted 3 three - clouds while my stay lasted.

If you have had the patience to read all this, you probably want to take a trip yourself :-) That is if I've managed to impart Tom and his friends the credit they deserve.

That's all folks .......

Knut Johan Wille
kwille@online.no