Archive for the ‘motorcycle problems’ Category

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Replacing The Broken Peg

Thursday, March 26th, 2026


The old peg that broke off and the jerry-rigged buddy peg in its place.

My left peg broke off when I dropped the bike up in Estes Park last Wednesday so I needed to replace it. Looking online I found exactly what I needed on eBay for all of $12, no cost for shipping. Nice.

The set of pegs arrived a couple days ago so I set about replacing them.

First I had to remove the buddy peg Bruce had moved up and held on with duct tape, and put that back where it belonged. No problem there. Then I had to bend the bracket the peg attaches to, because in order to fit that buddy peg in place it had been necessary to bend the sides of the bracket toward each other. OK, still not a problem.

I had been surprised when this peg had broken off because I had assumed they were steel but looking at it I could see it was just pot metal. The pictures on eBay looked like the new pegs were steel but when I unwrapped them I saw they, too, were pot metal. Oh well, it is what it is.


You can see the one broken flange. You can also see how the spring is supposed to go on.

Very quickly the issue became trying to crimp the spring and slip it down in the bracket and then slip the bolt through. I tried bending the two ends toward each other and slipping it down in there but it was just not happening. So I took a look at the peg on the other side to see if that might tell me something. It did, but not what I expected.

It turned out that of the two flanges on the other peg, one of them was broken off. Next time the bike gets dropped on the right side it will probably break the other one off, too. Dang pot metal. The pegs came as a set so I could have replaced them both but I figure why bother, I’ll just throw the extra new one in the bag and if I need it I’ll have it.

But what to do about the spring? I looked at it, and its function. It appears its function is to keep the peg up if you flip it up. OK. I don’t generally have any reason to flip the peg up and because I jimmyed with the bracket it is now quite snug and if I raise the peg it stays firmly in place. Who needs the spring? Not me. I’m taking the easy way out here.

So all in all it was a pretty easy fix. And I’ll know exactly what to do when and if the other peg breaks off.

Now all I need to do is fix the hand guard. Did I mention that the left handguard also broke off when I dropped the bike? It did. I have more repair to do. Dropping the bike can be such a pain.

Biker Quote for Today

Riding a motorcycle is like experiencing life in fast forward.

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Posted in Motorcycle Gear, motorcycle mechanics, motorcycle problems, Motorcycle repair, Suzuki motorcycles, V-Strom | 1 Comment »

A New Toy For The Tool Kit

Monday, February 16th, 2026

This compact air compressor will now be a regular item I carry with me.

Someone brought a bunch of gear from a former member to last month’s RMMRC meeting and I managed to snag something that could be useful.

This thing is a Pittsburgh Automotive air compressor that is small enough to fit into the top bag or one of the side bags on the V-Strom just to be there when needed. Nice.

The one thing it did not have with it was any way to connect it to the battery on the bike. It has one of those connectors that you plug into what used to be called the cigarette lighter in a car, but my bike does not have one of those. I needed to go to some auto supply place to find one.

But then I was at the Colorado Motorcycle Expo a couple weeks ago and as I was walking around in an area where there were vendors set up tables filled with parts it occurred to me that someone might have what I needed. Sure enough, I found a pigtail with the right kind of plug and it was $5. I was happy to hand the guy the five.

I could just go ahead and connect it to the battery now, as I have with the connector for my electric vest, but I won’t do that. For one thing, if I do end up getting a second bike that would leave me with only the one bike ready when this thing might be needed.

No, I’ll just stick it in the top bag and let it ride around with me everywhere I go. Hopefully I’ll never need it, but if I do, or someone else needs it, it will be there.

Biker Quote for Today

A world of endless roads is calling. Get out and ride them. — Eric Trow

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Posted in Motorcycle Gear, motorcycle problems, Motorcycle repair, Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club, Suzuki motorcycles, V-Strom | No Comments »

Run Out Of Gas Recently?

Thursday, September 25th, 2025

Two groups, both out for cruises.

There’s a thread on Adventure Rider that I have mined for interesting remarks once or twice. It asks, “When was the last time you ran out of gas? Tell your story.” Here are some more. I do particularly like the attitude in the first one.

  • Mid 2000’s, on way from Atlanta to Baton Rouge, R1200ADV fuel gauge issue … A good way to meet nice folks
  • 1984 Yamaha Maxim 750 – Heading home on West 494 in the Twin Cities. Ran out of gas and managed to get off onto an exit ramp and coast to the top. Push my bike across the street to a gas station. I had no money in my wallet or pockets but found a quarter in my tank bag. Do I squeeze a quarters worth of gas in my tank? Or do I use the quarter to call my roommate to bring me some gas. So I’m standing in line with helmet on and I tell the cashier pump 4, he looks a me and goes, A quarter? I hand him a quarter and ride the 4 miles to home. My roommate wasn’t at the house.
  • As a 19 year old I was riding an interstate here in Australia on a Kawasaki Z900 with a pillion, who actually owned the bike but was too young to ride with a pillion, so I got the job. We knew fuel was low, but no options other than to keep going to reduce the distance we would have to push it. Bike started to cough and surge a short distance out of town, but we were going fast enough that I got it into neutral and coasted the last mile into the petrol station in silence and bone dry!
  • Last week on the way to work. Forgot to flip the display to the trip meter on the Z900 RS when I started it. Had push it 2.1 miles to the next station in the dark. The 1,000 cars and half dozen motorcycles who passed me honking their horns were extremely helpful…

I’m going to pipe up right here. I came across a post that is much too long to paste in here so I’ll summarize and add my own comment in response. What the guy was saying is that if you don’t run low enough to go to Reserve you really ought to deliberately do so now and then just to make sure the fuel line used by Reserve does not get plugged. I had exactly that happen a few years ago. I was on my now departed Honda CB750 and I knew I was getting close to Reserve but we were heading to a gas station to meet up with others and I figured I’d fill the tank there. Well, part way there my bike started stuttering and I flipped the petcock. And the bike died.

Fortunately Roy had a can of gas and I put that in and all was fine. When we reached the gas station I filled up and it only took 3 gallons for this 5.5 gallon tank, confirming that I was not dry. That bike soon paid a visit to the shop to clear that fuel line.

Now back to the stories.

  • I haven’t run out of gas in a long time but I have run out of money to buy gas. It now takes more than a ten dollar bill to fill the 2014 Honda Forza 300 maxi-scooter. The horrors.
  • Years ago I rode my 99 SV650 to the Red Cross to donate blood. After the donation, they ask you to rest, have a snack, a drink, and warn you not to exert yourself for the rest of the day. On the way home the low fuel light was on, I passed a few stations as I was trying to make it to my favorite non-ethanol station. I ran out of gas and had to push it about 1/2 mile to the station, at least I didn’t have to put ethanol fuel in it.
  • My now wife was taking her 2nd ride ever (at 48) on my old Shovelhead. We ran out of gas at dusk. I offered the option of walking about a mile and a half or staying with the bike. She walked. After a few minutes enough fuel drained over to the petcock side that I could make it to the station as she walked up. To this day I’m not totally sure she believes we actually ran out. She got her license and rides her own bike now…

OK. So there’s your reminder. As Dennis likes to say, the only time you have too much gas is when you’re on fire. Stop and fill that tank.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if the only reason you have a scooter is because your brother is C&W singer Doug Stone and he gave you his old hog.

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Posted in Honda motorcycles, motorcycle problems | No Comments »

Going Riding Today (Or Not)

Monday, June 23rd, 2025

The Honda is sitting there charging as I write this.

Today is June 23 and I have not ridden either of my bikes yet this month. What the hey?

June has been extreme. We’ve had a lot of spring this year, and that means a lot of rain. Then, in between the rain storms, we have had blistering heat. Neither one makes you yearn to get out on the road. But today was going to be different.

Today is cool with rain forecast for the afternoon. Fine. I’m getting on the Honda to go for a ride in the morning. The Suzuki will take care of itself; I’m taking off tomorrow–regardless of the weather–with the RMMRC on an overnight trip up into the hills.

So what happens? I geared up, rolled the Honda out, swung my leg over, and hit the start button. And the motor turned but didn’t quite catch. I kept trying, and it kept trying, but eventually it wore down. This bike is going nowhere until it has more juice in the battery.

I put the charge unit to work, which is where it is now, and will try to get it going in about an hour.

The thing is, I thought about exactly this yesterday but didn’t do anything about it. I had the thought that because it had been a while since I’ve run this bike, maybe the battery would be low. I could have tried starting it yesterday, or I could have just put the charger on figuring there was no downside to that. But I didn’t. And now here I sit.

And it’s not like I can give it three or four hours if need be and then ride. I have a standing engagement on Mondays at 2:30 p.m. I intended to be on the road before 10 a.m. and then be back in plenty of time. I can still do that if it starts an hour from now. If not . . .

Oh, and I checked my records. I just bought this battery in August 2023, so it should still be good. That should not be the problem. Apparently it just sat too long. Dang.

Update:
Now 11:10 a.m. and I had a thought. It occurred to me that the mileage on the tripmeter was right at the point where I need to go to Reserve. Maybe it would have caught if it had been getting gas. So I flipped to Reserve before pushing the start button. The motor turned over strongly but still did not catch, like it needed gas but the line was dry. It takes a moment in this kind of case to get gas flowing again, so I’m hoping the next time I try it will catch. We’ll see.

Biker Quote for Today

If I was interested in dying, I wouldn’t dress up like a neon green clown before every ride.

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Posted in Biker Issues, Honda motorcycles, motorcycle problems, Suzuki motorcycles | No Comments »

Run Out Of Gas Lately?

Thursday, June 12th, 2025

Not the place you want to be when you discover you have no more gas.

We’ve all run out of gas at some point. On this Adventure Riders thread some folks tell their stories. I’m just passing along the most interesting or amusing.

  • Last year my brother in law was riding my 1989 NX650 which had recently had the petcock replaced because it would not shut off. The new replacement petcock came from Amazon.com. (You know where this is going) He went on reserve with 5 miles to the gas station. He coasted in, had to push it the last 50 yards. Got a replacement petcock that now gives me a measured 15 miles on reserve, but had to splice an extra shutoff valve into the petcock-to-carb line to actually shut off all fuel flow as the OFF position on the current petcock still dribbles.
  • 3 months ago. On my way from home in Sacramento to Moraga to watch a rugby match. I thought there was a litre of fuel in the tube behind the pannier and decided I would try to see exactly how far this new-to-me ST would go before she ran out. Well, the answer was two miles before the next exit/fuel station.
  • When my Ford failed to start at a family picnic (and appeared to not be getting gas) I immediately switched out the fuel pump. To no avail. Fortunately, a much more mechanically savvy relative pointed out that even hot rod Fords needed gas to run. Yep, tank was empty. Lesson learned. First and only time I’ve run out of fuel.
  • 2015, the one and only time. I was completing a 40K-mile round the world trip and was a day from home on my 2008 12gs. Since filling up in the morning I was averaging about 50 mph on old US highways. I recall looking at the fuel gage, which read a quarter tank and at the odometer, which said 245 miles and I thought I was going to break my record of 270 miles between fill ups! A minute later it died.
  • I ran out on the 101 coming into Santa Barbara once on the KLR. It died just as I made the exit for my planned stop. The freeway was elevated at that point, so the exit was downhill… I made a right turn without stopping & just about rolled in front of the pump!
  • My son ran out of gas on the freeway. I had to drive up there about 45 miles to give him some gas. Turned out he didn’t realize he had a reserve position on the petcock.
  • 2 years ago riding along the Wisconsin river. My new bike had a low gas light that was impossible to see in the daytime so I used the trip meter as my gas gauge. Of course I forgot to reset it. I puttered to a stop in a turn out. To far to walk to the next town so I stuck my thumb out. Young guy pulled over and gave me a ride to the next town where I got a gas can and he returned me to my bike. Of course I left my action cam in his car so I had to chase him down as he was returning the gas can to the station.

Running out of gas. What fun. I know none of us will make those mistakes again. We’ll just make new ones.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycles are a solitary endeavor, and the experience enhances life and death in a singular way. — Jon Robertson

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Posted in motorcycle problems | No Comments »

New Tire Pre-Trip Or Not

Monday, March 31st, 2025

Using the old penny trick it looks like I need a new tire before this trip.

Here’s a question I know most of you have asked at one time or another: Should I get a new tire on my bike before I leave on this trip?

I’ll be heading out in late April on this 3,200-mile California trip with several guys from the RMMRC, riding my V-Strom. The front tire is definitely not shot but 3,200 miles is a lot. Does it have enough tread to make it?

My friend Jungle has always taken the approach of putting new tires on all around any time he and Willie are setting out on a long trip. But Jungle is a motorcycle mechanic and he can do the swap himself at no cost and then keep the old tire(s) around to put back on when the new one(s) are wearing out. For me or you that swap is going to cost about $60. Or more.

So how to decide? I pulled out my paperwork and found that I bought this tire two years ago and it has 6,000 miles on it. Now, I had the tire put on by one shop and six months later I had that bike in to another shop where they told me I should replace it, not because it was worn out but because it was built in 2017. Well, I just had it put on six months earlier and there was no way I was going to replace it then.

How many miles can I expect to get on this tire? I consulted the Stromtroopers forum, which is for V-Strom riders. Although those guys acknowledge that you might wear out this tire in as little as 5,000 miles, the consensus was that you should generally expect to get 10,000 to 12,000 miles on it. That suggests that I’m good. But I figured I’d check further.

I had the idea of measuring the tread in the brand new tire I just had put on my Honda and comparing it to what is left on the V. It was a rough measurement but the new tire seems to have about twice the tread that the old one has. That would suggest again that I do have enough rubber to do this trip, with the expectation of replacing the tire soon after getting home. I wasn’t done looking around, though.

The next question I Googled was how to know when a motorcycle tire needs to be replaced. Here I came up with an old rule of thumb I had not thought about: They say to put a penny in the groove and if you can see all of the top of Lincoln’s head it is time to replace the tire. I tried that and yeah, I can see all of his head. That suggests I should replace it.

I was talking with my wife about this at dinner last night and her thinking was that putting a new tire on would allow my wife (her, of course) to have peace of mind while I’m gone. And wouldn’t I hate to have trouble on the road, and put my riding companions at such an inconvenience? Particularly when for under $200 I can eliminate all such concern?

I think I can see where this is headed.

Biker Quote for Today

Keep the wheels turning and the adventure burning.

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Posted in motorcycle mechanics, motorcycle problems, Motorcycle repair, Motorcycle Safety, motorcycle touring, Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club, Suzuki motorcycles, V-Strom | No Comments »

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