I head for the border in damp condition on a very bad, sealed road with much reconstruction work. I get another collar for the bike at the border, and then I’m into Nicaragua. The engine gets a miss on one cylinder, and it stops completely near the small town of Jinotepe. While I study the problem, a missionary from the United States called Freddie Cross appears.
I ride the bike on one cylinder and park up in his workshop/chicken coop. He turns a light on and we bring out the tools. It’s off with the cylinder head and barrels, to find that a piston has lost its top ring through a hole burnt in the side of it. The total mileage for the bike at this point is 18,812; 9,750 for the trip. This is a bummer; I really thought I could get 25,000 miles before needing this repair.
In the morning, Freddie drives me into the capital, Managua, to the local motorbike shop, and for $15.75 I buy the only piston in the country, complete with rings. Two would be preferable, but I think myself lucky getting even one.
We travel back, getting a view of the 100-mile long Lake Nicaragua, the only lake in the world with freshwater sharks. By 10:00 a.m. we are fully assembled and running again.