Texas Sidecar Trip - Palo Duro Canyon

South of Amarillo the terrain rolls and affords distant views of the plains. Out of nowhere a small canyon appears and before you know it the canyon opens up for miles.

The first hint that there is a canyon at all.

We pulled in at the entrance to the State Park and took a break before entering. A large group of riders where grouped up heading out of the park. I think they were with the "Christian Motorcycle Riders Club". I have never been fond of riding in even a small group much less a group as big as this. Riding in a group is O.K. as long as people spread way out. I've had friends pile up due to a impulsive quick move of anoher rider.

After entering the Park this is one of the initial views. Very pretty place with a lot of Red Rock formations. There is a 10 percent grade going in for a few miles.

The road wanders in about 18 miles and doe a large loop. The majority of the canyon is only accessable on foot or horse back. We came across a series of "Water Crossings" all dry until I came to this one.........

I stopped for a moment and the flood gauge showed basically "0" feet so I went for it. As luck would have it the water was not near "0" but more like a foot or a little less. The exhaust was bubbling going through.


"Lying Flood Gauge"

Road going back out of the canyon.

Last view looking back.

Texas / Oklahoma Sidecar Trip - Old Route 66

On the road Saturday morning. Thunderstorms were forecast for the entire weekend. We headed out under some blue sky with a lot of clouds skudding about. We headed south down to Panhandle Texas to avoid driving through Amarillo. We crossed Interstate 40 which parallels the old route 66.

"Woody's Cafe" was likely a very prosperous little business back in its' hey day. Woody had a couple of gas pumps , cafe, and what appears to be a four room motor hotel. We saw a number of these old type motels on this trip and I am always amazed how small / narrow the little "garages" are. The 40's -50's cars weren't that much smaller, were they?

The center units had to share a parking garage.

Woody's joint kind of looks like a time capsule as there were old cars , trucks and buses out back. They looked like they've been there for many years.

Years of Gravity are taking a toll on Woody's garage.


My better half, co-pilot, navigator and lovely passenger soaking up some sun. The clouds would come and go all day, warm...cool....warm...cool....etc.

Texas Sidecar Trip

Another nice week in Texas. Not to hot, not too cool, no rain or tornado's! Looking forward to the upcoming three day weekend. The weatherman is forecasting a chance of rain each day but we think we'll brave the elements and take a little sidecar trip around the area. I see some scenic canyon areas to the south of us so we'll take a lot of back roads and work our way down south.


We are presently at the town of Fritch Texas, which is next to Lake Meredith at the top left of map. We'll likely head south near Borger and work our way to Palo Duro Canyon. I've heard that this is a real beautiful area. We will hit the back ways to avoid driving through Amarillo. There is another area, Caprock Canyons, further east so we'll check that out too. Coming back north we'll go through Lefors & Pampa Texas. Both these towns were hit by a tornado last week. Not sure if we'll camp or motel it this trip. A lot of folks like to camp around here, and campsites are few and far between so maybe we'll just motel up for the one night.

Some one sent me this photo of a "Babe Cage" mounted on a Harley. I'm not too sure about this theory.(?) I guess it would might give a paranoid passenger have a false sense of security. Maybe they will come out with suits of "Babe Armor" next.


This is a new bike which recently hit the market. I think it was a 454 cubic inch twin. doesn't appear too out of the ordinary til you see the next photo.......................................................................

I don't think she is a little person either. I think this monster weighed in at over 1000 lbs. Not a canyon carver I bet. Man if a piston came lose you'd be a goner. Chain drive looks real safe too.

I'll post a few trip photos after our Texas road Trip. Later.....

Texas Tornado Alley......BMW Touring Tank / Solo Seat

I have always heard of the Famous "Tornado Alley". Little did I know that I would be spending a summer in the middle of it. The above photo was taken three weeks ago about 25 miles from our present location. Friday night we had Tornado warnings and one hit a Pampa Texas, a little town 35 miles southeast of us. It missed the town proper but did wreck some buildings, threw vehicles around and took out dozens of power poles. Luck of the draw I guess. The news reports tell people to "take shelter' during eminent events but Fritch Texas has no such place to hide. I asked one of the Park Ranger officers I know about that and he said to "curl up in a ball and kiss your ass goodbye" if you are caught in one. RV living is not very reassuring in such a weather area. Darians car got dinged up a bit three weeks ago ....hail about the size of quarters hit us. The storm at Pampa dropped hailstones the size of tennis balls and bigger. Some up to 4 1/2 inches. Just glad it missed us.

I took this 6.2 gallon touring tank to a local paint shop and decided to have it fixed up. The tank was in fair shape except for the right side had a puncture wound in it. The wound had been soldered up years back but was not well done. The body guy will grind it all out , re weld and repair the tank. BMW black and 5 coats of clear should make it look like new again. I couldn't find any other dents in it. The previous owner said the bike fell over onto something, puncturing the tank. I have the 6.2 gallon police tank for the R100S project so I'll probably sell this tank. It will probably cost me more for repairs ($200.00) than what I can sell it for. We'll see......

I snooped around town after work the other night and found a well renowned upholstery guy in Fritch. I took this ugly old 1000 mile solo seat in for him to recover. He said it'll be three weeks or so but at $85.00 the price is definitely right. The old white cover is rotten and was not fitted properly. It will look real nice when done.

We'll pull the R75/5 out of the trailer this week and get the sidecar hitched up. Maybe we'll take a road trip the coming three day weekend. Not too many places to see around here but I've spotted a couple of scenic canyon areas within a hundred miles so maybe that willl be our goal. There are hundreds of small towns around here and a multitude of secondary roads running every where. The scenery leaves a little to be desired but actually is kind of pretty now that things are greening up.

The one thing that has really struck s about this area is the friendliness of the locals. People go out of their way to visit and be helpful. Texas is a pretty good place so far............except for the tornados and the hail.

Proper Motorcycle Sidecar Loading.....More or Less.....

When I laid my eyes on this photo I immediately thought of a typical "Smith" sidecar loading scenario.



There is actually a motorcycle, sidecar and passenger in there somewhere!

After years of riding solo motorcycles, one of the thoughts I had about side car riding was" We can haul more stuff"
Well ,as these photos show we have been been very successful with that task. we sometimes go out for a week so there
are numerous items we always think we need. Darian must have her favorite pillow, which of course is understandable.
It has volume but no weight so I have no issue with that. Besides, if she's happy, I'm happy. Every time we travel I
attempt to ween down the "stuff". Obviously I'm not having much luck at that. I've got it down to a somewhat clean (in my opinion)
looking pile . I try to stay away from "bungee' straps and have generally succeeded in that.

Check list: Let's see........two sleeping bags, two inflatable sleeping pads (one with a leak that Darian always seems to get), two small camping pillows, One tent, two chairs, Darians' favorite (leopard skin motif) blanket, stove, extra fuel, frying pan, coffee cups, a couple of changes of clothes, two thin towels....It seems that those are the main necessities. So what the hell is the rest of the stuff? ......tools, more tools, enough spare BMW parts to rebuild 3 bikes, did I mention tools? My tank bag has crap in it I have never used, but "maybe I'll need it some time" is my answer to that. Every year I inventory the tank bag and " Jeez I wondered where that was" is always repeated. The trunk on the sidecar is kind of an "over flow" deal so we can stuff our extra coats in when the day warms up. additionally is two sets of rain gear, drinking water, a bottle of booze (for me of course), two tent tarps, my faithful, always -included -army surplus canteen, enough batteries (some dead) to power part of Denver, three extra flashlights that I never use, A psychedelic spinning fan, ( in case of a flashback from the 60's), four or five different knives, an extra (crappy) camera , binoculars (which I try to use once each trip to justify them). Let's not forget the portable DVD Player for those early to bed nights. My shortwave radio, which works some of the time, (the batteries hemorrhaged at one point), Cooking utensils, a folding wash basin, a portable wind screen for the stove, the stove container (which is also a cooking pot - slow aluminum poisoning for one and all), 10 extra bungee cords (which I never use, but "just in case"). I know I've forgotten a bunch of stuff. Like I always say, "I know it's here somewhere". I occasionally carry my portable 1960's Travel Aire Bar (platter, 4 cups, utensils, three bottles), My 9MM pistol with extra ammo. Oh yea we always carry a pair of flip-flops for both of us, extra gloves, four different stocking caps/neck warmers/hats, two cell phones (why 2?) a couple of books for when we've finished with the DVD's, a couple of outdated MOA "anonymous" books, (hand me downs from my brother), a few old "Air Mail" magazines, shop rags, paper towels, napkins, rubber surgical gloves, (I have an aversion to greasy hands/fingernails after being a mechanic for a few years). Wow, we haven't got to the food , utinsels, personal hygiene, the portable table I sometimes "need", and condiment section yet. I think you get the point.......There's no hope...........

I'm actually fearful to weigh the loaded machine. I know it would scare me......

BMW /5 Touring , Toaster , and Heinrich Fuel Tanks

I never had any intention of purchasing a Heinrich Tank as they are pretty hard to find plus when you do find them they are usually high priced. I purchased this basket case bike last year via craigslist. I didn't even know what year or model of BMW my $100.00 had purchased until I drove the 350 miles to pick the bike up. Surprise, Surprise.....a junk R60/6 but a BIG fuel tank I knew nothing about Heinrich Tanks and had never seen one. All I knew was that it was BIG and it was perfect for the Sidecar Rig.


The tank sat on the front of the seat so eventually I modified the seat mount to adjust the seat back further. I used an old "1000 mile solo seat owners trick" and stuffed a tennis ball between the bottom of the seat and the mounting frame. This keeps the seat from bottoming out on the mounts and relieves some of the stress from the "mouse trap" suspension spring.

The lower frame tank mounts were all in place so I attached the thing to my /5. Surprisingly, even though the bike sat out for years with no fuel cap, the tank was pretty clean No rust to be seen, only some dust and a leaf or two in the tank. I flushed a bit of gas around the thing and on it went. Bought a $5.00 Napa fuel cap, had to punch out the one way vent to relieve tank pressure, and gassed her up. I found a NOS Fuel Cap from H-G tanks for $29.00. I also found a $450.00 reproduction Tool Box Aluminum cover but decided to pass on that. I eventually found a used, somewhat rough original Heinrich cover for $50.00. H-G also supplied a new lock and key set. This particular tank fits pre 1974 models. Later models mounted the brake master cylinder under the fuel tank. Those tanks had cut outs underneath to allow clearance for the master cylinder.

I found a reasonable automotive custom painter and he stripped the tank to metal, finding no bondo or previous damage. He painted and sprayed about 5 coats of clear over it for under $150.00. I had read that these tanks were 9-10 gallons but have found that mine is about a 7.5 to 8 gallon tank. These tanks were all hand built and it appears that their capacities vary from tank to tank.
I've stuffed 7.5 gallons in mine when low on fuel. I've never filled it to the brim so think it is probably an 8 gallon tank.

A view of the tool box interior. I carry a pretty oversize tool kit and there is still room for other junk. The tank mounts up through the bottom with a special mount which utilizes the stock BMW frame tank mounts. I had the tank mount from the R60/6 but H-G Fuel Tanks also has this special mount in his sales site.

My old beemer started life as a Toaster Tank model. After 10 years of riding and wanting to do something different the Toaster was sacrificed (sorry "purists") for a reasonable capacity for a side car. The 4.5 gallons wasn't going to cut it.

If the rig never left town the little tank would suffice but that wasn't the case for our use as we planned on a touring type scenario.

Darians' SWB Toaster /5 , now gone to a new owner.

This is a cheapo 1973 SWB R75/5 Toaster I picked up last winter. $300.00 took it home. It was a very sorry old girl. She had a life of hard use and abuse and went under the knife as a parts bike. Just wouldn't be worth the cost to restore.

Before our first road trip (and before the Heinrich Tank was acquired) I hunted down a 6.2 gallon touring tank and installed it for the needed range. We made our first road trips with this tank.
After the Heinrich Tank came along I auctioned this off on EBay. It brought a surprising $350.00 sale price, even with a disclosed, stained, rattle can paint job.

I ended up trading my black toaster tank for this old /6 German cop tank. The tank has been repainted and will go on my latest side hack tug project.

This is the same tank after paint, a freshly polished aluminum fuel cap, new repro. tool box key and new BMW Roundels. I haven't installed the rubber knee pads yet. This was a $75.00 Mexico paint job with 4 -5 coats of clear. They did a fine paint job but the right knee pad indent is a little deformed at the bottom rear corner.

This is an R60/6 I bought in Yuma AZ. a few years ago for $1100.00. It was a pretty good little runner. She was original and unmolested except for the painted mufflers. The fuel tank style is nearly the same as the Toaster Tank except for the lack of the chrome panels. I think that after 1973 BMW had the under tank master cylinder cut out on all there tanks. This 1975(?) /6 had front drum brakes and did have the under tank cut out.

The 1974 R90/6 donor bike has an identical tank to the R60/6. I think the small tank and the 6.2 gallon tank were the only tanks BMW provided. That is where the after market fuel tank makers stepped in. There were a lot of large tanks made. Some were made of fiberglass and I've read that todays' fuels will eat some of them up. Most of the after market tanks came from Europe but there were a few U.S. makers too. "Johns Beemer Garage" has a huge section of BMW Fuel Tank examples.

BMW Final Drive / Heinrich Tank Knee Pads

After 10K side car miles I've decided to regear the BMW /5 with some higher drive gears. When I swapped to the 900cc top end I changed out to a 32:9 Final Drive. I'm finding that the engine is running rather hot when trying to run at Interstate speeds. I sold off my old 32:10 final drive as the splines were about 40% worn. I found a very good looking replacement 32:10 final drive via EBay. I think that the 900cc power band will work with the 32:10 gearing. With the 750cc displacement the power output wasn't good under load with the higher gearing. Running the 32:10 will lower the engine RPM at interstate speeds and hopefully get the oil temp down to a lower level. At 65 MPH the engine was at 4000RPM and the oil temperature was hitting 120 Celsius, which is about the max. temp. it should run. Ideally a 37:11 drive would work. It is the ratio between the 32:9 and the 32:10. Unfortunately the 37:11 is a tough one to find. The few I've found are either worn out or at a very high price.
I could install an after market /5 oil cooler but clearance issues come up since the oil cooler assembly attaches at the oil filter cover where the side car attachments come in. I don't think a cooler will fit as things are somewhat crowded in that area. I've already installed a 4 quart oil pan to increase oil / cooling area.
The downside to the increased oil pan size is the clearance.....I've whacked it on a rock while on a crappy goat-trail road and also scraped on a speed bump in a parking lot. The bike was way loaded up with gear and passenger when that happened.

After a year of searching I finally came up with a set of Heinrich Tank Knee pads. H-G Fuel Tanks has begin making some replacement rubber knee pads. H-G has been an invaluable parts source as they have supplied a NOS Heinrich Fuel Cap and a replacement Heinrich Tool Box Lock and Key Set. I haven't had time to install the new knee pads yet but it is on my "To Do" list. H-G Fuel Tanks also markets restored Heinrich Tanks , Hoske Tanks, and numerous impossible to find replacement parts.

I'm tempted to replace the after market mufflers with some stock mufflers I have on hand. The ones pictured are a style I prefer as they are a lower sitting / longer muffler and get the exhaust noise down and away better than the Dunstall mufflers I have. The problem is that their baffling is minimal and they are just too loud. That gets annoying after 6-8 hours on the road! I may try to figure a way to baffle the pipes more cause I do like the look of them. I would really like to install a 2-1 exhaust header but every one I've seen is a right side mount. I'd have to have a left side mount to get away from the sidecar mountings.

The R100S / R90 hack tug project is sitting for a while. The weather here in Texas has been pretty volatile the last few weeks with storms, wind, and rain. Not really into working on the project right now. I went to install the new knee pads on the black cop tank on the bike and found that the body man who repainted the tank has the pad indent on one side a little deformed. The new knee pads don't fit right on one side. Looks good until you hold the knee pad up. I'll have to do a little trimming to make things fit right. The Tug Project has a long way to go. Still have engine top end work to perform and wiring to complete. The "QSL 1000 Mile Tuetonic Solo Seat" will also need recovering. Maybe I'll have it going next winter......

466th Bomb Group , ATC Clandestine Missions into Sweden, April 1945

466th Bomb Group Crew #555 missions List. I find different information listing them in both the 784th and 785th squadrons. I remember seeing my Dads' uniform as a child and he wore the 785th shoulder patch.

This is the list of my Dads' (36) Combat missions, (he flew one additional mission as a Navigator was needed. His first and 2nd. to last missions were to Berlin) provided by the co-pilot, Wesley Vawter.
After completing these combat missions he volunteered with the ATC (Air Transport Command) and flew a number of clandestine missions into Sweden. Described here....

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/bbalchen.htm

(This is taken from a site concerning Col. Balchens' military service)

"Whereas Bernt Balchen, between November 1944 and April 1945, commanded a clandestine air transport operation that, again in defiance of severe enemy opposition, transported from England to Sweden 200 tons of arctic equipment and operational supplies that were used to make clandestine overland transport from Sweden to Norway possible;" From Nov. 44 through April 45.

Dad flew in the later part of the transport with a partial crew (#553) piloted by Melvin Westbrook, co-piloted by Bill Pond. Not sure of the names of the other two crewman, but think they are from Westbrooks crew. (pictured below)
Bill pond is on the right...Westbrook is on his right. Photo taken by my Father in Stockholm in April 1945. They flew as civilians.

I don't think any of the crews involved in this operation received any sort of recognition. My Dad knew very little of the details about the operation. He did not even know who Col. Bernt Balchens was until I researched the details of the operation recently. I don't think any of these guys ever sought any type of recognition anyway. They were just happy to get home alive and get on with their lives.

This is my Dad, taken at the same time in Stockholm. They were laid over due to weather. Had to avoid German radar equipped night fighters more than once. They had no guns or gunners so had to fly at wave top level. Came in to Sweden from the North sea. Dad Navigated , they flew only at night and were always solo flights. He said those missions were a bit hairy due to German Night Fighters, weather, wind and the crews total reliance on his navigation skills.

This is the "Mel Westbrook' crew (Crew #553) during combat tours. Westbrook is on upper left, Bill Pond is
Third from left, standing.

Photo of the main Stockholm train station. They used it to get around while "sightseeing" there. The War was still going but Sweden was a neutral country. That is why they flew as civilians in the unmarked, unarmed B-24's. Dad said they were painted all black for less visibility at night.

This car must have caught my Dads' attention while in Stockholm. It appears to have a coal / alternate fuel burning apparatus mounted in the front due to the shortage of gasoline......

This is a photo of a black painted B-24. Possibly like the converted planes they flew into Sweden. Dad said their planes had no military markings on them though.




During the advance of the forces in Europe the B-24 crews had to haul gasoline into France, the "Gas Truckin" missions. The crews did not get credit for these flights as they were not combat missions. There were as dangerous (if not more dangerous) than the combat missions. "Jamaica" was shot down during one of those missions. Dad said he saw more than one of the planes crash on take off due to the over loading of the fuel containers they carried, The crews had no chance to get out on take off and always burned up with the plane. Pretty scary stuff. D.S.

Yuma Moon / more 466th Bomb Group Research

Took a few moonrise photos on a clear night in Yuma and this one had some odd apparition going on......didn't think my front yard is haunted.......didn't appear in any of the other photos.
Well, been a while since a post....we've traveled thousands of miles in the past 4 weeks. Currently in Fritch Texas which is in the panhandle. Had tremendous storms last Thursday night accompanied by tornado warnings. Nothing happened here except for torrential rain most of the night. So far we are enjoying Texas. Very nice people and pretty although mostly flat country. We are working at a marina on a lake so have some scenery to look at each day. I'll get some photos up one of these days.
Got an email from another son of a 466Th Bomb Group member. His Dad flew in a few of the same planes my Dad flew on. They were stationed in England at the same time and same place. He has some photos to share and I'll do the same. Talked with Dad today but the fellow airman's name didn't ring a bell. It has been a lot of years ago....The crewman's name was Alexander Boris. I did some research tonight but didn't find out too much. One of the planes he flew on was lost with all on board KIA in Sept. 1944 on the gas hauling missions. Dad flew a number of these gas trucking missions also. I found the MACR (Missing Air Crew Report) one of the planes that airman Boris had flown on. The MACR's describe the circumstances surrounding the loss of the plane and the men lost or captured. Unfortunately he never shared much of his service history with his son so there are mysteries to unravel.

No motorcycle stuff going on for a while and the current side car project is kind of on hold right now. I'll get into things later this spring. Work is taking up most of my time at this point.
All is well in the Smith world........Later......