If you've been following the trip planning on this blog, you will know that not only do I have to get my own KLR650 (Rosa) fully modified in time for the upcoming adventure through the Americas, but I also have to do the same to Tom's KLR650 (The Odyssey).  With our planned departure date of June 1st, 2007 quickly approaching, I have to admit that I have been feeling anxious about whether I will be ready to leave in time.

Progress has been slow, for a number of reasons.  For one, it is hard to find time with the demands of medical school.  Also, my mechanical skills (although improving) are such that it takes me significantly longer than a trained professional to do most modifications to the bikes.  Keep in mind that before I started doing modifications to my motorcycle, the most "mechanical" jobs I had ever undertaken were assembling Ikea furniture.  At least I knew what an Allen key was.  I now feel confident that I can do most basic motorcycle jobs if given enough time.

Unfortunately time is a luxury that I do not have.  Most of the remaining time before we leave will have to be spent studying the inner workings of humans as opposed to motorbikes.  So, to save time, I spent all day yesterday at T.O. Cycle to have Jeremy work on The Odyssey.  Jeremy installed The Odyssey's braided brake lines & galfer pads, drilled the frame for the subframe bolt upgrade kit, installed the rear suspension and dialed it up for a heavy load, changed the doohickey (a big job), and installed the engine guard and left tank guard.  Getting the engine guard to fit with the bashplate installed proved to require a lot hammering and even some grinding.

The Odyssey is now nearly ready for the Kid's arrival.  I went for a spin on her today and snapped these shots.  The top left picture was taken in Nathan Phillips square in front of city hall.  The bottom right picture was taken on the sidewalk on Spadina.  The top right and bottom left pictures were taken on the steps of the provincial legislature building.  While the bike was, er, well off the road, a police cruiser drove by.  I thought I'd get told to move the bike (at the very least), but I didn't even draw a second glance.  This was lucky because I'm not even sure which license plate was on the bike, and whether or not it even matched the registration/insurance that I had in my pocket.  Whew.  Oh well, I guess I've found a new parking spot.  From the picture below, you can see that the Odyssey is good at climbing stairs.




As an aside, one thing I can check off the list of things to do before departing is medications/vaccinations.  I've been poked for Hepatitis A & B, yellow fever, and typhoid.  I just spent $202 on 5 different drugs:
Chloroquine (anti-malarial; 2 tablets/week)
Doxycycline (anti-malarial; 1 tablet/day)
Malarone (anti-malarial; 1 tablet/day; causes hallucinations and intense dreams...cool)
Acetazolamide (for altitude sickness; 1/2 tablet 2x/day)
Cipro ("when" not "if" I get diarrhea with fever & bloody stool; 1 tablet 2x/day).