Archive for the ‘Motorcycle Gear’ Category

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Good Power Again On The V-Strom

Thursday, October 28th, 2021

This is just a section of the incredibly filthy air filter that came out of my V-Strom.

I got the V-Strom back from Joel and what a difference!

The chain and sprockets were badly worn and I guess that can contribute to a loss of power but the real factor seems to have been the air filter. You can see in that photo just how bad that was. When I started looking into when I had last had that replaced I was more than a little embarrassed to find the answer was, oh, maybe seven years ago.

I had been out on a four-day Colorado Cruise with the RMMRC about a month ago and really noticed that the bike had trouble going over the higher passes and also in keeping up with the rest of the group on their big, powerful bikes. One night on that trip I did some googling and ran across something that said a worn chain will reduce power, and that was what got me thinking about that.

But when I mentioned it to Joel he said yeah, that might have a tiny impact, but not all that much. That’s when I started thinking about other possibilities. When I hit on the air filter it all made a lot more sense. It’s really hard to give your all when you’re struggling just to breathe.

And did you look at that filter? All those bugs and other debris embedded in it? Not to mention the whole load of dirt! Man, if anyone ever wondered why you need an air filter, just imagine all that crap being sucked into your combustion chamber. Yikes!

So within an hour after Joel dropped the bike back at my place I was out on it seeing how it would run now. Night and day. Joel told me he figured it would have a lot more zip and boy was he right. Plus, with the new chain and sprockets all that slapping I had heard for so long was just gone. Yahoo!

I can’t say enough about having machines that work well. Not to mention having the money to keep them working well. Too well I remember my younger days driving crap cars because that was all I could afford. I don’t miss those days.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if it’s impossible to see out of your car or trucks rear window because of all the Harley stickers.

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Posted in Motorcycle Gear, motorcycle problems, Suzuki motorcycles, V-Strom | No Comments »

False Security

Thursday, October 21st, 2021

I was off with the OFMC this summer on our annual ride and saw something that made me shake my head. We were in the Black Hills and somewhere along the way I saw this guy on a motorcycle wearing a helmet that I can only describe as a hard yarmulke, or kepi. This thing would have provided exactly zero protection if he went down so why would he bother? I mean, heck, with just a chin strap it would probably just come right off in a fall.

Dennis in his half-helmet.

But that line of thinking leads to a larger group of riders. People like Bill and Dennis, my riding companions. That’s Dennis in the photo.

Both of them have full-face helmets that they bring along but much of the time they wear these half-helmets. That seems pointless to me, too.

I used to ride without a helmet at all, much of the time, but at the point when I decided not to do that any more I just went the entire other direction. I mean, look at Dennis. His face is totally exposed. How much of his chin do you suppose would get scraped off in a fall? How much of his nose? At least that chin strap is a bit more secure than the one on that guy with the hard yarmulke.

I figure if I’m going to wear a helmet I want all the protection a helmet has to offer. I’ve heard of people losing half their teeth in serious crash, and having their jaws mangled. I want a helmet that will . . . wait for it . . . protect my head. All of my head.

I know, I know. There are people who would criticize me because I don’t wear my reinforced riding pants all the time. I just wear jeans most of the time in summer. That’s not ATGATT. So I probably shouldn’t roll my eyes too much at people who feel differently than me on these other things. And I don’t. I never say anything to Bill or Dennis but I do say things to myself. I guess we all get to choose our own version of stupid.

Biker Quote for Today

100 reasons not to date a biker: 36. We think leather bras are fine lingerie.

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Loving My Top Bag

Monday, October 18th, 2021

It took some doing to get this top bag mounted on my Concours, but now that it’s there, I love it.

I talked about what it took to get this top bag attached to my Concours, and now I’ve had it for a while and have had a number of chances to put it to use. I have to say, I love it.

I got it on in time to have it on the OFMC trip in July and it proved every bit as welcome as I expected it would. For years I had envied my friends and how when we would stop somewhere they would just take off their helmets and jackets, drop them in their top bag, close it, and walk away. Meanwhile I was locking my helmet to the bike and hauling my heavy, bulky jacket with me everywhere I went. Now, I know a lot of people just leave their jackets on their bikes, unsecured, but I carry my wallet with my ID and credit cards in my jacket pocket and there’s no way I want to leave that just draped over the seat or the tank. And the wallet is too bulky to comfortably carry in my pants pocket. Plus, I guess I’m not as trusting as some people that no one will take my unsecured jacket. Heck, one time someone stole Bill’s mirror right off his bike. Some people really are low.

So the bag was a huge success on the trip. It’s also nice on other rides. I just pop it open, toss in my rain suit and warmer gloves, maybe an extra layer–whatever I want. It’s much easier than using the side bags. They open sideways and it’s easy for stuff to spill out. Plus, on one side I secure the thing with a strap because it has been known to come off the rail next thing I know it’s dangling out over the road, held on only by the lock. So that’s just another nuisance, undoing and then redoing that strap.

Around home, for errands, it’s great. Once a month I make a trip to the wine store and the bread store. Now I put the wine in the side bag without the strap but the bread goes in the top bag where it won’t get crushed.

All of this totally ignores the options this opens up when Judy and I ride together. When I’m traveling the side bags are generally full and I put my rain suit in my tank bag. With Judy it gets complicated. Not only do we have more stuff but more stuff to secure when we stop. Now we can put both jackets in the top bag while securing the helmets to the bike, as before.

I could go on but there’s no point. This thing is great. It was worth the extra effort.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker when your dirty clothes smell like exhaust and beer.

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Summer Is Definitely Over

Monday, October 4th, 2021

Stopping on top of Wolf Creek Pass. Guess what? It was cold.

If there was one thing that became abundantly clear to me on this recent RMMRC Colorado Cruise was that if you are riding in the high country, summer is over.

I very foolishly wore my mesh jacket and I intended to find the liner but forgot it, and that was quite a mistake. Every time we got up high–which was frequently–I was cold because that cold air just cut through that mesh. That’s what they’re for, to give you nice ventilation on hot days. But these were not hot days. So why was I wearing mesh? Idiot.

I did finally think to use my rain jacket as a wind breaker and should have done so a lot sooner. Sometimes your brain works better than other times.

At the same time, it’s not cold yet down here on the prairie. Shortly after getting home I took the Honda out for a ride and, having gotten plenty chilled again and again on the last trip, I pulled on leather AND a sweatshirt, and for good measure, my winter gloves. Out I went and gosh, who coulda thunk it, I was way too hot. I mean, heck, it was all of 80 degrees or more. But my brain was still back on top of Cottonwood Pass and Red Mountain Pass and you know, you can never be too cautious.

Yes you can.

So here’s a little simple, very obvious advice. At this time of year, if you’re going up high, dress for cold. If you’re staying down low, and the temperature is above 75, expect warmth. How difficult is that? I don’t know, apparently for some of us (me) it’s not as simple as you might think. Maybe some day I’ll figure it out.

Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than women: The rashes you get from motorcycles go away without those painful penicillin shots.

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Posted in Colorado motorcycle rides, Motorcycle Gear, Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club | No Comments »

New Rubber

Thursday, July 15th, 2021

I’m still counting on taking the Kawi on the OFMC trip very shortly but nothing has happened yet on the carburetor issue. For insurance I got a new rear tire on the V-Strom a couple days ago.

Nice to have new rubber on the V-Strom. That insures I’ll have something to ride when the OFMC takes off soon.

I got this recommendation from both Bill and Dennis, that I get the tire at Let It Ride, on 8425 W. Colfax, and then take it next door to 1 Down, Four Up Motorsports, at 8427 W. Colfax, to be mounted. That worked out great. I called ahead about the tire and they had it in stock. I asked them to hold it for me and made an appointment so I could have it mounted while I waited.

Mid-way through the job, the guy (whose name I can’t remember–I really should make note of these things) asked if I wanted new rear brake pads because with the old ones, “there’s almost nothing there.” That didn’t surprise me; I had been thinking about that possibility. So sure, put on new pads. He said the front pads are fine.

Then as I was paying he told me they had adjusted the chain as good as they could but there was some stretching and really, the chain and sprockets need to be replaced. That didn’t surprise me either.

The ride home proved interesting then. Of course I was doing some swerving to scuff up the edges of the new tire but I wasn’t so busy with that as not to notice something else. A noise I had wondered about for quite awhile was not there.

This noise is something I’ve always thought of as maybe the chain slapping. I’ve tried adjusting the tension but never made a difference. I take it now that the shop did a better job of adjusting it than I did and at least for now that slapping–which is apparently what it was–is gone. At the very least, the noise is gone. So OK, that’s something to take care of after the trip.

Biker Quote for Today

I was born intelligent, but my bike ruined me.

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Posted in Motorcycle Gear, Suzuki motorcycles | No Comments »

What I Dislike The Most About My CB750

Monday, May 10th, 2021

Just getting to the bolt that holds the seat on is difficult.

My 1980 Honda CB750 Custom was my first motorcycle and I still have it and I have always loved it. That said, nobody–and nothing–is perfect.

I can say for one thing that I’m not crazy about the chain drive. Having to lube that chain, adjust it occasionally, and replace both it and the sprockets at times is a bit of an annoyance and also a bit of expense. But I live with it. And from what I’ve read, chain drive has some advantages over shaft drive, though I’m not particularly attuned to those sorts of things. I just ride the bike.

Upside down here, this is the flange under the seat.

There is one thing, though, that is just an out and out pain: unmounting and mounting the seat.

Motorcycle design has changed in a huge way since 1980 and getting the seat off and on is one in which the improvement is especially huge. On both my 1999 Kawasaki Concours and my 2006 Suzuki V-Strom all you have to do is insert the key and turn it, then pop the seat off. To put it back on you just position it properly and press down till it clicks. Couldn’t be simpler.

Not so on the CB.

On this bike there are two bolts that go through holes in two flanges that extend downward from the seat frame. You can see the flange in the photo at right. These bolts screw into the frame of the bike. Under the best conditions this is a simple process with a wrench. I do not enjoy the best conditions.

First off, the seat, after 41 years, seems not to be completely symmetrical and so I find it necessary to lay across the seat from the left, putting my weight on the seat to push it down just enough to free up the bolt. Then on the right I have to lift the seat just enough to free up the bolt.

On top of that, when I first bought the bike it came with a sissy bar already on it, which is great, I like that. But the rail attaches the sissy bar to the frame of the bike in a way that blocks access to the seat bolts. I don’t have to take the sissy bar off, but it is definitely awkward reaching around it to get at the bolts.

What this amounts to is that an operation that takes about three seconds on my other two bikes takes at least five minutes on the Honda and I need to have the proper tools to do it. OK, so if this is the toughest thing I’ve got going in my life I know I’m not getting any sympathy from anyone. And I’m not asking for sympathy–just making note of one of life’s little irritations. I’ll live with it. Heck, I’ve lived with it for more than 30 years already.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if your ponytail comes off with your cap.

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Posted in Motorcycle Gear | No Comments »

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