Local motorcyclist still finds time for self-discovery
Bob Grange, of St. Augustine, still has a soft spot for the open road and he's willing to get his hands dirty to get there.
The 79-year-old is replacing the engine on a BMW motorcycle that has taken him more than 250,000 miles. He's ridden from the First Coast to the back roads of Alaska and everywhere in between.
Originally from Manhattan, N.Y., Grange grew up playing stickball on 16th Street. He served in the Marine Corps toward the end of the Korean War and worked as a software developer for IBM.
Grange got the itch for travel and started riding in the late 1960s. Since then, he's visited every one of the states on his motorcycle except Hawaii.
His favorite part of the country to ride in is the Rocky Mountains.
So, what brought him to Hidden Harbor Marina in St. Augustine?
"A mid-life crisis," he said, laughing. "Always wanted to sail, got a sailboat and wound up down here."
Dale Wilson, who has a boat and motorcycle in St. Augustine, said he had arrived in town just two days before but was immediately struck by Grange's endurance.
"I'm just absolutely amazed at his skill and his persistence and the project itself," he said. "Then you find out that he's got 300,000 miles on this motorcycle, most of which he put on himself, and the stories that go with it."
Grange said he still takes long trips and plans on many more to come.
He has even participated in the Iron Butt Rally, which takes riders to the four corners of the U.S.
"Typically to win that, you have to ride 1,000 miles a day for 11 days," he said. "Don't think I'll do that again."
His latest journey will be one of self-discovery and patience.
The no-system plan
His bike had been trouble-free, in terms of maintenance, since buying it about 25 years ago. But the latest issue required pulling the aging engine apart.
While thinking about how he would fix it, a new engine became available, already together and running, and with one-fifth of the miles.
"It was sort of a no-brainer to get it and do this," he said.
This will be his first time replacing the engine on the bike. He's enlisted the help of Wilson and visiting boater Bill Hoffman, who had sailed down from Maine in route to Cuba and points beyond.
Grange said the newer motor has about 50,000 miles on it. Although he was able to get the engine and new transmission for $170, he had to travel to Pittsburgh, Penn., to get it.
"They told me that it runs well but I haven't heard it run," he said. "If it doesn't run, I've told the guys here, I'm going to lay down and cry."
He hopes it will take about two weeks to get everything up and running.
"Doesn't look bad compared to the other day," Hoffman said.
Grange has another bike to stay mobile in the meantime.
"I've learned a lot about using tools just from watching this," Wilson said. "Just to have this type of master craftsmanship with his imagination and gumption, if that's the word, is educational."
It's been anything but easy.
The fun parts
"Every time we tried to lift the frame off we found another wire or cable," Grange said, amid scattered parts and a Domino Sugar container full of nuts and bolts.
He may have lost the owner's manual a few thousand miles back, but he's confident it wouldn't have helped.
"They don't have a chapter for this kind of stuff," he said. "It will be a voyage of discovery putting it back together."
With help from Wilson and Hoffman, he was able to make some reassuring progress.
"Hey, that's dynamite," Grange said as they mounted the frame onto the new engine. "Perfect fit."
But there's still a long way to go.
"This has been going on for several days. It just didn't seem like I'd ever get there," Grange said. "Now it's just a matter of finding the mates for all this junk."
He began circling the bike with his container of small parts, holding various nuts and bolts into the sunlight for a better look.
"I've been riding bikes a long time so I'm living the life with my motorcycles and my boat," he said. "All I need now is some women."
