Seattle will be our 3rd maintenance stop. It will also mark our 180 days on the road. The friendly people from Delta marine have been receiving various orders we placed in anticipation of our maintenance stop and sorted us out with a place to work on our bikes and a prefab office in which we could sleep.
The day started off by riding to Seattle to run some errands. From our campsite we took a detour to avoid traffic and headed north of the city to pick up a part for Zoe’s bike from the BMW dealer, after that we went to find an electronics repair man to install new batteries in our phones. Meanwhile we had a delicious, genuine Italian lunch in the neighbourhood and moments later we were on our way to Delta.
Seattle skyline tiramisu
Graeme, one of the project managers with whom I have dealt with in the past set us up with our accommodation and a great work space. We also paid a quick visit to our friends on Triton, then settled into our new home. At 15:30 the yard closes for the day and everything went quiet. We went out to a local micro brewery and had a beer while our laundry was doing its thing at the next door laundromat. Dinner was just across the road at a Mexican place and then itwas bed time.
Our accommodation at Delta Marine
The yard alarm goes off at 06:30 with workers arriving and getting ready for the day. So there is no sleeping in here! At around 7:30 we got our bikes into the sheds and got ready to work. A coffee stop at Triton and then we started stripping the bikes. Zoe’s had a leaky fork and that’s where we started. Once that was in pieces we realised that we needed some new bushings we didn’t carry. I got going on my machine and pretty much worked all day while Zoe started working on replacing her chain and sprockets. With my bike 80% done we called it a day and joined our friends Paul and Vic of Triton for dinner. It was at a cozy upscale Mexican place right on the water.
Rebuilding the fork
The next morning with a quiet yard (Saturday) I went to finish off my bike only to find out that the dreaded rumours about BMW final drives are not just rumours! I did the service but noticed the main bearing was making horrible noises. I put the bike back together anyway and went to the dealer to pick up Zoe’s fork parts. Traffic sucked but I was quite happy going slow knowing the back end of my bike wasn’t doing to good! Once back at our workshop we put together Zoe’s fork and I installed the spare final drive I had been carrying all this time. It was another full day of work but both machines were once again serviced, tuned and ready to go.
Time for a new final drive after 100,000kms (rebuilt unit went in)
Sunday was day off… We spent the day being tourists. A late start followed by a long breakfast at the “Hanger Cafe”, a small and busy place close by. (Possibly the best savoury crepes I’ve had… city food is where it’s at!-Z)From there we went to The Museum of Flight at Boeing airfield and spent a few hours looking at planes ranging from WWI antiques to 787 Dreamliners via WWII, SR71 and Concord. Next up we headed downtown for the famous Seattle Undergound tour, covering some history and visiting the undergroundparts of Seattle.
Seattle was raised after its major fire (in 1889) to be above the tide line. Since most of the buildings were still at the original level, they have a full floor or 2 underground once the streets had been raised. Along that was the original pavement that had been covered up later when the city was raised. A really interesting tour with a humourous guide.
Seattle underground tour
After a short walk along the docks we headed over the bridge to see Seattle skyline from across the water. Zoe took a few shots (I left my camera behind) and then we had a nice desert and hot chocolate and Baileys to warm ourselves up (it’s rather chilly at night here!)
On our 5th day we woke up late sleeping right though the yards alarm. Zoe went to do some more laundry while I chased up the last missing package and tidied up our workspace.
Paul and Vic took us out to lunch after which we went back into town. We spent an hour so browsing through Pikes Place market picking up a few healthy snacks. From there we went to REI, the flagship store of the iconic US outdoor gear specialist. We spent a few hours there and inevitably came out with a few new goodies!
Shannon and Mike, a world travelling couple we met at the HU meeting in Nakusp and who had just returned to their home town after 3 years on the road, had invited us for dinner. It was great sharing stories and listening to their adventures. See www.s&mboilerworks.com
Our last day in Seattle… we were waiting for a last package to arrive, so we had brunch at the “Hanger Cafe” again, much quieter than last Sunday. We paid a swift visit to Touratech USA for no other reasons than I wanted to see where so much of my money had gone over the years of owning my bike and then we packed up the bikes.
Touratech USA visit
Graeme, the project manager at Delta who looked after us so well took us around the facility showing us the various departments and construction halls. It never ceases to amaze me how these large luxurious yachts come together one little piece at the time. Early afternoon we said our farewells to Paul, Vic, Graeme and Michelle and hit the road. My bike ran sooooo much better after that tune up!
We stopped for the night an hour south east of Seattle in a very quiet and seriously cold campground
A cold evening by the fire
Hopefully no more maintenance stops until San Diego!
TA
Haha, seems we’re on the same timeline more or less!
This stop was about technics and food, seems the food in Seattle is better than in the bush!
Nostalgia when visiting Triton? Always look forward, never back.
Serviced and rested to head South now.
Baci da papa
This Seattle stop over was a very busy one indeed. Highly technical for both beamers.. Hard work en well done !
I can imagine it must have been time consuming to find the proper shop to get all the bits and pieces and parts of the 2 beamers together especially when you have frequently WiFi disconnections.
It’s always nice to get together with some friends and talk about common interests and here you had 2 occasions in one place !
Must have been strange for you Tanguy, to walk on the boat you lived and worked on for 4,5 years … Am I right ? Nice to meet your mates again as well l
All together a high quality pit stop and an interesting touristical visit to the city of Seattle .
Now it’s time to try out your hard work on the horses and hit the road back to nature,
Enjoy the autumn colors and many thanks to both of you for sharing them with us 🙂
Can’t wait to see them 😉
xxx Mum