Binh Makes it Home

Binh finally makes it home from his trip to the Arctic Circle and back:

Just got home late last night.

The last few days have been bittersweet knowing that the trip is coming to an end.

Riding into WA it got very warm and nothing but blue skies.  Rode through the way that I had originally intended to go north where I got stuck in the snow.  There was only a few patches of snow left on the side of the road.  Went into Portland and stopped by the SYM dealership there and did an oil change. Thanks for the oil guys!  They have tons of Symbas in stock.  The heat wave was happening all in the Northwest, it was almost 100-degrees in the Portland Area.  Got
to the coast and it got cold and foggy.  Put the rain suit back on. The fog lasted all the way home.  Once I got to Highway 1 I rode the bike harder then I had ever ridden it, WOT all the way. 

 I love CA and it's twisty roads.  Canada and Alaska didn't have many twisties at all.  Their roads are meant for 18-wheelers.

The bike is very balanced and handles really well.  The suspension works great for what it is.  I was able to pass up cars in the technical sections of Highway 1.

Got into SF and was pulled over for a burnt out license plate light.  When I got back into the USA I was really thrown off by the traffic density and over- stimulation of signs.  It was a strange feeling, almost overwhelming confusion..got used to being in Canada and Alaska with not many people or advertisement.

It felt good riding familiar roads again.  What I was surprised of in Canada and Alaska was the lack of big trees.  Most all the big trees there were only about a foot in diameter and maybe 20-30 feet in height, very small compared to the big trees here in California.

Up loaded more pics.  I'll write up a summary later on, think I need a break and go on a ride with my CB.

Binh Heads West

Binh checks in from Hope Canada before crossing the Canada/US border and heading over to the coast.

It is amazing how everything looks differently with clear blue skies.  Yesterday
was the first day that I was able to ride without my rain suit since I left California.  The trees, mountains, towns and people seems so much more colorful when the sun is out.  Canada is much more beautiful under the sun instead of constant gray clouds.

The riding has been going quickly.  There is mostly a tail wind.  From Cache Creek down it is constant down hill following a river.  Camped out just past Hells Gate and for the first time on this trip there were almost no mosquitoes.

Went through the second rear tire.  The stock back tire lasted about 4k miles.  I switched back to the stock front tires and threw theGazelle that was on front to the back.

Binh's Journey Continues...

Woke up to clear sunny skies this morning, first warm dry day in two weeks.  The last couple days have been COLD and WET. I actually got chilled yesterday for the first time on this trip.  I was told today by road crew that it had snowed a little last night in the mountains where I had rode through today.  Good thing I decided to stop early before the mountainous section.

Had to fix the rear flat again.  Seems like the Slime patches I got doesn't work very well, it is the pre-glued type.  When it is cold the patch works fine but once the road dried and the tires got warm the patch fails.  So I spent some time on the side of the road again but at least it was dry gravel instead of mud.  I tried "fix a flat" in a can and it just squirted out the puncture.  I think I'm only gonna use thick rubber patches with vulcanizing rubber cement from now on.  Before the trip started my main concern with the bike was tubes.  I'm not a fan of tube tire set up. They take a lot of time to repair and is more prone to flats.  Tubeless are much less troublesome, even my mountain bike uses tubeless tires.

The bike has been running really smooth.  I had flooded the motor a few times from over filling the gas.  If you fill up make sure to stop once it gets to the top and not try to squeeze in that last ounce of gas other wise it will overflow into the evap canister.  Once the canister fills it will overflow into the air box, and that will fill and gas will flood the carb then the motor.  I also use a whole bottle of oil instead of the recommended 800ml..it fills up to the very top of the full mark.  Taking out the oil screen/filter will allow you to drain out more oil then just the drain plug.  The chain has stretched more then I had expected but the chain ring still looks good.  Not sure how much the chain cover has protected it from dirt/dust.  May be in normal round town riding it would be fine but dirt road riding gets dirt EVERYWHERE.

The road between Watson Lake and Fort Nelson had lots of wildlife, tons of black bears, buffalo and some reindeer.  Hwy 97 is a very scenic road just as nice as Hwy 37, different but nice.

Had my first camp fire last night of the whole trip, probably my last one.  Needed it to warm up.  Covering so many miles per day doesn't leave time to enjoy camping life.  The last few day's pace has been a little slower.  I think the next few days I'll cover more distance until I hit the coast then slow down again.

Binh checks in from a visitor's center in Fort Nelson, BC.

Since I left Whitehorse it has been nothing but cold and rain.  The Alcan is very scenic between Watson Lake and Fort Nelson (Rocky Mtns.) with lots of wild life. Saw more black bears and a herd of buffalo.  It is by far the most varied roadway for this trip to Canada and Alaska.  The north is very well developed; I didn't go for more then an hour without seeing another person...actually when I was lost in the mountains near Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens I went longer without see another person then I ever did in Alaska and Canada north.  Because of the remoteness of the north there are only a few highways so everyone has to travel the same roads. 

Last night I had a cinnabon and a brownie for dinner-- places here close EARLY.  I've been eating well this whole trip except last night.  All restaurant, home cooking is my preference.  I budgeted $30 a day for food and more or less am in the ballpark.  I only eat two meals a day to save $$ and also travel time.  So far I'd only paid for 3 camp sites and [squatted] camp all other times. 

Changed out the rear Gazelle tire in the rain and mud, they lasted about 2k miles, was well past the wear bars, almost bald.  I'm running the OEM rear now and just had a flat, repaired the flat in the mud...at least it wasn't raining during the repair.

I'm out of the mountains now so hopefully it will warm up.

Whitehorse was the first night in a while where it got kinda dark at night...the days are now getting shorter.  Which means I have to wake up earlier and stop sooner

Binh's Heading Home

Binh checks in from Whitehorse, Canada:

Seems like the ride back is going way faster then the way there.  I think I had a headwind north to Fairbanks.  Today has been really cold, hands constantly numb.  I didn't stay in Tok last night, was making such good time that I was able to cross the border and stayed just past Beaver Creek.  Tomorrow might be a lazy day.  Once back in the States I'm going to go down the coast all the way home.  Think I'm gonna take the Alcan all the way back to Prince George, more inland means more warmth.  It'll add about 100miles no big deal.

Saw three moose in all...boy they are BIG.  The scenery in Alaska as well as most of the Yukon is very similar and is very consistent; not much variety.

Gas in AK is about $3.50 while here in Canada about $4-$5+ per gallon.  The roads in Canada are much nicer then AK.

The bike is covered in Alaska dirt.  I'll need to find a place to rinse that stuff off the wheels for easy tire changes.  Also caked on dirt will reduce engine cooling efficiency.  Will do some maintenance tonight.  I'm gonna have to change the rear tire soon, down to the wear bar already.  Think I'll throw the stock rear back on till that is all the way worn.  The Michelin Gazelle didn't seem to handle gravel much better then the stock tires.  My gas mileage has been about 100mpg give or take.

Folks have been reacting in awe of the trip on such a small bike.  The most shocked folks are the BIG bike riders, they just can't believe that I'm on this trip.  The usual questions from folks about the bike are expected: how fast, what cc, mpg?, how far on a tank.  The question for me are you are from where!!? Alabama!? No, I tell them JUST riding from CA.
[Binh's loaner Symba is registered in Alabama. -Ed.]

Arctic Circle? Check!

Binh checks in from Fairbanks after making it to the Arctic Circle:

Made it to the Arctic Circle yesterday around 3pm.  The Dalton wasn't as bad as everyone said.  It was a very nice dirt/gravel road.  The only parts that was rough was the road construction sections.  Nearing the Circle it had started raining then stopped. Surprisingly, It was  very warm there.  I had to take off all my layers and still got sweaty.  It rained all the way back.  The dirt/gravel road got very slippery but for the most part stayed in tack.  There were several spots where I almost crashed but managed.  I was able to do mostly 40mph through most of it.

The Michelin Gazelle is wearing out faster then the stock tires....could be the gravel road accelerating the wear but seems like they are just softer.  The rear is almost worn out after only a little over a thousand miles.  Before putting them on I thought I had brought too many tires but now think I have just enough to get back home.

I'm going to Tok tonight and staying at the all/only motorcycle camping site I was told about the other day.  I should be passing through Whitehorse on the 2nd.

Quick Binh post...

Another update from Binh:

I'm in Prince George, BC now and will go maybe another 200 miles today.

Yesterday was a long 400+ mile day.  Canada Customs thought my trip was pretty outrageous so they had me go through the questioning area so it took a while.  Hit the Trans-Canada Hwy 1 for 70+km bike was able to go 55-60mph the whole way.  Camped a few miles shy of 150 Mile House.  BC Hwy 97 looks a lot like hwy 395 in California. After this I won't update till I get to Whitehorse (the next large town).

On the Road with Binh

As promised, here is the next installment on Binh's Journey. He has posted some photos and sent some brief updates on his first few days on the road:

First day:  a late start only did about 250miles thru the Central Valley.  Stayed just north of Chico on Highway 32.  Did the second oil change around 300 miles.

Second day:  a long one, over 450miles.  I wanted to make the ride into Seattle a shorter one for the third day.  Stayed a little past Bend, Oregon.  Did the third oil change around 600 miles.

Third day:  This day had some drama.  My original route was snowed covered.  I had planned to go over the Gifford Pinchot National Forest passes but got stuck in the snow.  Had to turn around and go around.  This added over 150 miles to Seattle, turned out to be a 450+ miles instead of the 300 as planned.  I had to go by local direction which made it take even longer.  The bike started to make funny noises and I noticed the license plate starting to crack. Epoxyed it.

I was only going to stay the night and continue north but decide to stay in Seattle for a day then head north.  This break gave me time to do break in maintenance: valve adjust, chain adjust, clutch adjust,
4th oil change around 1,275 miles started using synthetic.  Bike sounds normal now and runs much smoother and quieter then the previous day.  The funny noises was cause by a very loose drive chain.

Epoxy didn't hold up so my buddy Fred here in Seattle made me a backing plate for the license plate so it can be held using all 4 holes.  Bike now has over 1,300 miles and runs strong.  The fastest I got it up to was just shy of 70mph down hill and about 60mph on the flats.

More posts to come...

Binh to Alaska?

When the Scoot! staff created the Buyer's Guide, we remarked that 125cc scooters best were suited for "Cross-town riding, casual weekend excursions, light passengers on flat terrain for short distances." This is typically true, but every once in a while there is someone who breaks the stereotype and shows that the 125cc scooter cannot be underestimated.

Recently, our friend and local scooterist Binh Cheung embarked upon a real adventure riding from San Jose to the Arctic Circle along the Dalton Highway on a 125cc SYM Symba. Binh estimates that this trip will take about a month and log about 8,000 miles on the little Symba.  "Almost everyone thinks I'm crazy to do this trip on such a small bike, but that is what I find challenging and adventurous," he says.

This isn't his first long-distance trip on a smaller scooter. A few years back he and Jason from BattleScooter.com rode to Denver, CO on 50cc Honda Ruckuses. Binh also rode to Seattle on his Honda Metropolitan. His longest stretch riding was 540 miles in a day. Why do such a long and intense trip on a small scooter? Binh has a larger motorcycle, yet he says he find that is "too easy and isn't as enjoyable as a small bike."

We reviewed the Symba in Scoot! issue # 52 (October 2009) and had a blast zooming around town, but never thought that the bike would be a one to attempt a journey like Binh's. He originally planned to use his own Metropolitan, until the SYM distributor stepped in to offer the Symba. While a new bike is a great asset, it did offer a few challenges. First, Binh had to break in the engine. The standard break-in period is 500-miles, but Binh only had a few days. So, with just over 70 miles on the odometer he took off. The first leg to Seattle would have to function as the break-in period.

Daring adventures are quite the fashion on television shows. But, those trips are often accompanied by cameramen, producers, technical advisers and chase vehicles. Binh is doing his trip without all those conveniences. It's just him, his scooter, a backpack and a loaded rack. Have you seen the rear rack on the Symba? If so, you're probably surprised to hear that his holds a spare set of tires and camping gear. His front rack holds an auxiliary gas can.

Binh had originally planned to undertake this trip last year, but was unable to. At that time I had asked him if he needed any help from us. He only wanted help to share his story. No plea for money, "sponsorship" or free swag; just an interest in spreading the word. He's a pretty self-sufficient guy. "I'm self-reliant so this trip is a self sustain[ed] one…I like to keep it as simple and spontaneous as possible. No real plan or destination really 'cause the journey is the soul of the trip," he says.

I'll do my part by sharing Binh's story as it unfolds. Check back tomorrow for an update.

Blog Entry Soundtrack: "Dark Eyes" by Iron and Wine + Calexico

Sneak Peek: Issue #52 ships next week!

Here is a sneak peek at the next issue of Scoot! which should be shipping out from the printers on Monday. In this issue we have:

• Scooter reviews: SYM Symba, Yamaha TMAX, Honda Elite 110
• Scootin' in Maui
• On the Road with punk rock scooterists: Rise Against
• Polini Cup Scooter Racing
• Reader's Rides
• Product Reviews
• Amerivespa 2009 report
• Rally in Puerto Rico

Subscribers should have their issues by the 3rd week of October. Shops and bookstores should have their issues by the first week of October.

I'm already working on the December issue! If you have any suggestions on topics we should cover, let me know.

SYM Elicits Déjà Vu with the SYMBA

This year SYM introduces the SYMBA, a 101cc 4-speed semi-automatic scooter based on Honda's best selling CUB. When we say best selling, we mean it: the CUB has sold over 60 million units! Honda pulled the CUB from the US in the 80s, but SYM (who has made/sold the bike in Taiwan for decades) is bringing it back and expects it to sell exceptionally well. The bike is said to get over 100 MPG and achieve 49 MPH on 2.5" x 17" tires. All this and two-toned seats for $2,598. Find out more at the SYMBA page or check out the Team SYMBA fan page.

ps: wasn't the cub in The Lion King names Simba? Coincidence? I think not...

UPDATE: I mistakenly listed it as a 50cc when it is actually a 101.4cc. Thanks Suzanne!


Blog entry soundtrack: "Inland Sea" by ...And you will know us by the trail of dead...