Tow truck rides are always interesting. You don't quite know whats going transpire as you chug along down the road. Does your tow truck driver like plushy dolls but is burly and covered in tattoos? Is he a member of the local motorcycle gang? Does he rock a side gig of dressing like a clown for kid's birthday parties?
Luckily, only one of those statements were true (bike gang). Interestingly enough we spent the ride talking about the area and about all the interesting characters that life in and around Coos Bay. He described his bike gang as a "friendly no b.s. group of guys." There were tattoos, Harley's and even a club house to speak of. I was impressed.
One of the nicest things to appreciate though is the fact that you're not operating the vehicle and you're getting somewhere. You can enjoy the view without a sense of responsibility only the sense of doom of how much money you're about to spend at the BMW dealer...
We roll up in Eugene and get the bike off the flatbed. I meet Jeff in the service department (he's the coordinator/manager). We start hashing through the details while Jeff (#2 - the technition) immediately gets the bike on the lift and starts taking the rear drive apart. At this point i'm already impressed with Jeff (#2) with his thoroughness and immediate response for help. It's reassuring to find guys like this that will help another 1000+ miles from where they started from. (home? kinda? sorta?)
Jeff (#2) noticed that there was some oil leaking at the top seal (where the shaft enters the rear drive) and obviously finds that there is something amiss with the rear drive. Despite my almost certainty about what's wrong, he listened to my story and came to his own conclusion. See below:
(New and improved lighter final drive bearing!)
So my predicament was as follows: BMW Dealers are closed (as most dealers) on Sunday and Monday. No work would be done until Tuesday, at the earliest. This all depended on parts which were far away in some California warehouse. I was to wait, at least until Tuesday... So what does a guy do? He takes a Bolt Bus to Portland. Not exactly adventure motorcycling but definitely better than the alternative..
Resources
Read Jared W.'s review of Marche on Yelp
Read Jared W.'s review of Kun Fusion Grill on Yelp
Read Jared W.'s review of European Motorcycles of Western Oregon on Yelp