Remember Maxwell Smart?

What's he got to do with Motorcycles you ask?

"Missed it be THAT much!" Just imagine Max's voice :)

I haven't gotten Sonja put back together yet...

But I came close... I found a five dollar tool for plumbing (a nipple extractor) that gripped the curbside damper rod perfectly, allowing me to torque the bolt holding the tubes together...

That center offset section "cams" or turns eccentrically and wedges into smooth round holes to grip.

A small collection of extensions gave me the length needed to reach down inside the fork...

The first tube was torqued in but a few seconds... so excited that I'd have her back together in another hour or so I slid the contraption down the second tube and turned it to lock in place... and turned it to lock in place... and turned it, and turned it... and whispered a curse... and turned it...

Nothing! What worked 100% perfect a foot away in the other identical tube... wouldn't grip even a slight bit in the second... arrrrrrgggggghhhhhh!

Sooooo... I spent five hours running around, calling, walking through tool/hardware stores trying to scheme and option... went back to the garage and tried again... fail... ugh...

I smell that sorry little irish again. Who else do you know, 'cept for me, takes a two hour job and converts it into a three week ordeal? That pest Murphy has GOT to be mixed up in this ;)

Well... I finally surrendered and called Motorcycle Superstore to order the "Pro" tool... which of course they have to get from THEIR supplier... which is identical to the plumbing tool I used to sell in MY hardware days... which they no longer manufacture as a Five dollar plumbing tool.

Nope... it's a $25 dollar Motorcycle Damper Rod Holder tool! or more if you go to the wrong place. :) So... I wait another week for the HOPEFULLY last tool to arrive so I can put my girl back together!

I did succeed in finding a boot that will, also Hopefully, protect the forks from future premature fork seal failure from dirt...

I located a pair of what were manufactured as Rancho Suspension Shock boots that fit near perfectly. They'll keep grit and rocks and bugs from either dingin' the tubes or getting into the seals and causing future leaks.

Kinda old school and I'm sure the chrome and flashy paint boys will thumb their noses... but then... I've never seen the chrome and flashy paint boys on the roads I ride. :) How-some-ever... I HAVE seen plenty of grit and rocks and bugs...

... and it wasn't just in my bed roll!

Another week and she'll be healthy again... my fingers are tightly crossed...  Until then... I walk over to the garage twice a day and ring that gremlin bell you can see danglin' just under the frame below the gear lever...

Oh yeah... I don't think I told you here... maybe it was just on that "other" blog...The RV one ;) (that story starts here)... I'm still dealing with wasps on the roof of the rig that won't let me up there to do THAT maintenance either... So I built a tent to hang a pest strip in, and traps all around to kill the nasty little parasites...

*Bug tent on the 5th wheels roof surrounded by traps*

Tough as they are... I'm more stubborn than they are (Yosemite Sam genetics prolly) and I'm winning that battle too, if slowly... My "bug tent" is knocking them down day by day...

Putting my frickin frackin motorcyclin' butt back in the wind will be a VERY appreciated day! :) ... even if it IS on a Yamaha... bwahahahahahahaha

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

Sometimes When it Comes to Motorcycle Maintenance... Cheap Don't Pay

Sometimes a guy just walks along shakin' his head... He's walkin'... cuz the bozo is too cheap for his own good.

Got the forks torn down with very little trouble really. Turned out I needed to enlist a buddy with an impact wrench to provide enough "ooomph" to pop the bolts that hold the forks together. To get them back together I've got to fabricate a "Damper tube holder".

Not a big deal... just one of the "lil' details" nobody seems to mention in their "Easy Job" write ups. ;)

I also need to break down and pick up at least a cheapie impact wrench...

The MAIN obtructification standing in my way is that bit of mush that slops around between my ears. A couple of weeks back when I ordered the fork seals... I was trying to be frugal, conservative... penny wise... yeah lots of fine sounding words that mostly mean tight wad dumb ass to cheap for his own good! ;)

What I DIDN'T order were fresh bushings. Dumb move. When I got the forks apart it was clear and plain they were worn way to much to leave... so they've been ordered now and I wait again for new parts.

In the mean time I decided to make an "Old School" modification to protect those fork seals in the future.

I started hunting around for fork boots.

Only... near as I can tell, Nobody builds any that fit the forks of a Yamaha Raider...

Most of my life, spent on the ranches, has been figgerin' ways to make what you HAVE, do the job you need it to do. So I've developed a pretty good ability to find new parts that were mistakenly believed to be something else!

Like Rancho Truck Shock Boots. Those aren't shock boots! Them there are Yamaha Raider Fork Boots! :)

Yup... their nice rubber boots fit like a freakin' glove. Takes a good bit of effort to get that skinny end started but once you do it fits like it was designed for the purpose.

I'll zip tie the ends with black ties (which will be nigh on to invisible) and dirt getting to the fork seals will not be a problem in the future!

Suh-Wheet!

Now I know... Rubber boots are not gonna appeal to folks that are all into chrome and polish, and I understand that, and that's fine.

But me? I'm into snoopin' around back roads. Signs that say "Pavement ends" don't turn me back like they tend to do for the spit and polish boys...

The only problem with that is, my ride tends to experience a bit more grit and grime than the average big red cruiser..

*Up in the Yukon*

This bike is gonna take me back to Alaska again... it's gonna take me hopefully to the Maritimes... and lots of other places in between... and lots and lots of Places and visions those riders that have to fret about their chrome will never see...except in the pictures made by nut jobs like me. :)

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

Finally! She's Back Toghether and On The Road.

Got the Raider mostly put back together last Thursday... Took some bit of gymnastics since senility seems to be advancing at an alarming rate.

I drilled things out to give better relief for the wire that feeds the license plate late this time. That's what failed on the last one. The wire got pinched until it failed.

So then...

I hooked up all the wiring for the new signal/running lights from "Back Off" and the replacement illuminated license plate bracket from "Radiantz"... and had signal and break lights, but no running lights in either the factory tail light OR the new signal lights... and no illumination light on the plate...

So... tracing wires, rechecking connections, checking fuses... check check check and nothing. After several hours of frustration, and after having called Yamaha to see if there was a hidden fuse somewhere... I'm standing there scratching my head and wondering WTF!!!

While I'm scratching... my eyes come to rest on a small black box RIGHT BESIDE the main fuse box under the seat. A small black box I MUST have seen three dozen times in the past few hours...

Any idea what is in that lil' box? grrrrrrr... yup... THE tail light fuse that was causing all my gyrations... Hell, I'd taken half of the the back of that bike apart hunting for what was causing my troubles and there it sat... right there hidden in plain sight... just plain pathetic...

So... the bags are repaired, repainted and reinstalled.

The new lights are on and working.

The shift lever is repaired and straight.

The pipes are refinished and reinstalled.



The damaged wheel finish is polished up and they're looking good...

Sonja the Raider is back on the road.

I much like the new light and license plate layout better than before. It's a lot cleaner.

My only gripe is that when they're on, those signal/running lights aren't quite as bright in the daylight as I'd like them to be...

...soooo... I plan to add a second set right above the existing ones... just double 'em up. I think that'll work just fine.

So Friday I took a quick ride over to the carwash to clean off a few weeks of dust and stuff that had collected from sitting on the jack in the garage for so long.


... And of course... washing any sort of a vehicle makes it rain right?

This was no exception... just as soon as I pulled out of the carwash with a shiny squared up scooter... it started raining...

Well... if I'm gonna waste a wash might as well at least make it worth my while so instead of just goin' on home I turned west for Poudre Canyon.

The farther I rode west the darker the skies got... and the more frequent the rain squalls... The river up there was running bank full.

Fact is now today, it's really starting to flood roads and such again down here on the flat lands. Everyone is kinda nervous considering what happened last September... and repairs from all that aren't even close to being done yet...

With the skies looking ever more ominous to the west I chose to just turn 'round and head back through the lighter rain goin' east ;)

I don't mind the rain... hell I sort of enjoy it. I'm not what you might call a fair weather biker... but to be honest... I was starting to feel kinda puny...

So I turned back.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny but by mid day I was feeling kinda blah again. Thought maybe a ride up Big Thompson Canyon would lift my spirits some...

... That river, the next big canyon south, is running fairly full too, but not as heavy it seems as the Poudre.

Buuuuut... by the time I ran the Canyon and got home... I was feeling like I'd run a marathon with a 300 pound whore on my back... yup... that "puny" feeling was some sort of a flu coming on...

... which has been whuppin' my butt since Saturday afternoon... and continues today...

So I guess... for the next few days it's lay about waiting for this crud to run its course...

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

I Can See The Light At The End of The Tunnel...

... hopefully it's not a Freightliner goin' the wrong way.

The fiberglassed signal light recesses got bondoed... re-bondoed... and then spot puttied...

... and primered...

... and still... I can't but admit... there are blemishes if you look.

A body man I ain't... but it'll keep the rain and dust out.

The finish paint was put on yesterday... in enough time that I could get the garage door closed before the days storm arrived.

That few additional coats of epoxie paint will have to cure for a couple of days before I go to handling it much doing the reinstall.

... as well as the installing the new turn signals and license plate carrier frame I'm waiting on from J & P cycles...

In the mean time I've been conjuring ways to carry my auxiliary fuel bottles on long rides...

How I carried them to Alaska worked pretty well. But, I've not got that ruck any more... (that's a picture of it that generally comes in the popular posts gizmo on the right sidebar)

I've thought of racks bolted on somewhere... or plates zip tied under the new tail rack that will be going on shortly... but... nothing seemed to fit or "Feel" right...

So... with the painting done and a storm brewing... I took to experimenting with a piece of old canvas I had stuffed in a compartment, my fuel bottles and some barge cement.

One thing I'd decided was I didn't want a "permanent" mount.

No need to carry those bottles on day rides...

Only when I'm gonna be out in unfamiliar country and long rides where I might find a stretch with 150 miles 'tween filling stations.

Like on that return ride I'm planning on making to the Yukon and Alaska...

That brought me back to that ruck mounted carry.

I've drawn up all sorts of complicated racks with clamps and straps and pockets and ... to hell with all that... I decided that simple and easily replaced if it wears out, breaks, is stolen or I simply want to try something new... is best...

So... I've got most of a prototype, auxiliary, fuel bottle bag worked up. The idea being that it will strap/clip to my current ruck sitting on the tail rack, or whatever cargo bag occupies that space...

One piece of canvas cut to fold and glue/stitch/rivet into a bag that will hold the bottles securely but still allow easy access.

 I'm planning on adding a quick release strap running from side to side through the loops in the caps to assure retention...

 

And still need to add a couple straps to close the flap and straps that will secure the fuel bag to whatever part of the camp cargo I tie it too... and probably soak it in some black or OD dye ;) ... and... set some rivets to make sure the barge don't let things go... but not too bad for 45 minutes of fiddling with canvas and cement.

Need to get her done... and on the road again...

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

SpringTime in the Rockies is Obstructing My Progress...

I got two coats of epoxy resin applied to the bad lid before things went south... Put the first coat on, and it was so cool it took overnight to cure.

So... I sanded it fairly smooth and after brushing on the second coat I hung a heat lamp to bring it along quicker.

*Saddle bag lid with two coats of epoxy resin applied*

I sanded that as best I could... but I was truly wanting to NOT sand off all the resin I'd just put on!

Along in here is where I've really remembered myself that I'm NOT a body man. ;) This is the second primer coat I've applied after filling with a spot glazing putty and sanding "defects" that the first coat made real clear!

I'll sand this and likely do one more spot glazing of any small lil' faults I find... then put on the finish coat of flat black I'm refinishing the bags with...

*Sanding Primer applied*

So... I'd been hoping to do that today... and that's where things went "south"...

Momma nature had somethin' else to say 'bout that. Never thought of the Ol' girl as bein' bitchy... but I'm gettin' weary of her "spring" weather.

Since that shop building over across the way there is unheated... the temperature is 'bout 30 if you're generous... and most of what I'm using says wait for it to be 60 or better...

THIS kinda shut down the works. :)

... and then it kept on snowin'... added a few inches of wet sloppy crap on top of this...

SO... I'm sittin' inside, drinkin' too much coffee and workin' on fiction books and other projects... waiting for spring to find it's way back to Colorado with enough energy to push this gol durn #@$% winter... OUT!

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

Back on the Front Range and the Work Begins...

I've returned, early in the season to Fort Collins. A good friend of mine has a small farm over on the east side. She's off on Active Duty with the Army so having someone just being here is a worry off her mind, and it gives me a place to do the work I need to do.

The bike is now in one of her garages to be shined up and made ready for the lucky bugger that gets to be carried on her into the future.

I've spent a couple of days just lining out what I need to do and where to get the "Stuff" to do that.

I'll start in today pulling the saddlebags and pipes that need to be refinished. The paint in one spot on the bags got spiderwebbed a bit and you all know of my issues with Hard Chrome's ceramic coating on the pipes.

I've found some 2000 degree Header paint as well as 2000 degree clear coat to refinish those... as well as some words about preparation and Proper Curing so the finish is reasonably durable...

I also found a kit to try taking out a hail dent on the tank... and I'm going to try my hand at an Artistic treatment of a scratch on the rear fender... from waaaaay back when that first backrest parted ways with the bike at 70 mph!

Then there's replacing the tweaked shift lever from that U-turn didoe up on San Juan Island a couple years ago... and also on a tangent... I'm going to repaint the Black Widow 12' folding ramp... as that will be sold as well.

It's not a happy thing to have to do... and maybe if the Leather shop I'm putting back together does well enough... fast enough... I'll be able to get back between a pair of wheels before I'm too old to keep 'em from falling over...

But... right now I can't dwell on the potholes... just the slope ahead that I've got to climb.

Grab Your Handles and Ride (you never know when you're gonna loose your wheels)
Brian

Bikes along the Road...

This one I spotted when we pulled into the Wildflower Bread Company cafe in Sedona the other day.

I've only ever seen these Boss Hoss bikes in photographs. Never on the road. They've always made me wonder how they handled.

Think about it for a second... A V-Twin... and most all motorcycle motors... the rotaion of the engine is pretty much inline with the bike...

This Chevy V8 is spinnin' cross ways...

Years ago I'd built a hot rod chevy pickup. The 350 V8 motor in that thing was close to 400 HP. If I blipped the throttle on that truck, the whole rig rocked. SO... I always thought with these Boss Hoss motorcycles... blip the throttle and the scooter's likely to throw itself on the ground! :)

As luck would have it, I managed to find us a table right beside the guy... who appeared to be about my age an' not much bigger... who was ridin' this Beast of a Motorcycle.

He told me that he'd had an old BMW bike with that opposed motor that torqued the bike more than this big American Iron brute. The fella swore it wasn't much and he didn't even notice it...

Whatever, the bike is an Awesome machine... it's pretty intimidating to look at... I thought my 113 cubic inch Raider was a big bike... not so much... 350+- Chevy cubes kinda takes that prize don't it! :)

Only thing I can say is... at 1200#'s or so, 350ci +- and 445hp!!!... The Boss Hoss is juuuuuuust a bit more bike than I wanna Horse around! :)

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

Pristine and Showroom Condition?... or ... The Patina of Many Miles?

I've seen some blogs lately, and had a conversation or two about the nicks and dings bikes get goin' down the road.

Many riders work and spend hundreds, thousands even, keeping their rides in showroom condition. The other end of the biker spectrum bein' the rat rides that are kept together mechanically... but look like rolling wrecks otherwise. ;)

I gotta say... there's something about those battered but not beaten bikes that capture my imagination. I can't help but wonder about all the roads that old Indian I crossed paths with, up in Tok, has seen...

*a 1936 Indian I met on my Alaska run*

You can't help but wonder about the stories behind that scratch or this scrape... or that bent fender...

When I see a clean, unblemished motorcycle the first thought in my head, right or wrong, is; Too bad that guy don't ride much. He'd be a lot happier! ;)

I've talked and schemed a lot in the past about hangin' some fancy paint on Sonja and some other flashy farkles... For a bit the scratches, dings and worn spots bothered me.

Somewhere in there that being bothered about it got to bothering me and I really started looking around and thinkin' on it. Do that and you start to see a lot. Some riders polish... and some riders ride.

I came to the conclusion that other than making repairs to the mechanical faults, keeping her sound and road worthy, doing much in the way of cosmetic repairs... simply erases miles of joyous memories.

Leaving that road patina alone is like maintaining a 3D rolling book of memories! ;)

That was in my mind when I started doing some mods on Sonja this past summer. I began moving away from that spit and polish motorcycle philosophy as I changed over to the blacked out Hard Chrome pipes and powder coated Yamaha Backrest. The main motivation was to improve function, with little thought about the Showroom appearance.

In the bargain I discovered all that chrome really didn't suit me very well. I ended up with her showing a personality I'm a lot more comfortable with. Awesome!

I believe that the future will continue to see Sonja wearing the battle scars of her travels like badges of honor, and a visible testimony of the miles she's carried me.

*The road is nowhere for a weak spirit*

I can't hide the dings, limps and scars I've picked up. I don't believe I should hide those. They're more like beauty marks to a travelin' man whether they be on me... or... my motorcycle. I can't bring myself to call 'em damage. I want people to know... neither me nor Sonja are some prissy trailer queens! ;)

We ride in the rain. We rattle down the back roads. We take our lumps and we keep it in the wind!

And if somebody thinks it's wrong... He can sit in his garage polishin', paintin' and primpin' all he wants. Me and Sonja will be out in the wind somewhere, dusty, dinged and weathered! ;)

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

Pushin' Into the Wind to Make This Trip Happen...

Scrambling trying to get the bike and my gear together as well as locking down all the other bits and pieces around the rig so I have the "Window" to ride for a week or ten days...

Got back to a friends farm in Fort Collins the other day to do some maintenance work on the scooter and install the New Yamaha back rest that goes along with the change of saddlebags and pipes.

Turned into a standard bit of an ordeal. The bolts that came with the backrest were to short to accommodate both the backrest AND the Tsukayu saddlebag mounts. Took me most of a half dozen hours chasing bolts to finally think of tryin' Yamaha. :) They had a couple layin' 'bout the shop and just handed 'em to me. Awesome.

So... I race on back to the rig and put everything together... only to find that the heads of the new bolts were too thick to let the lids of the saddlebags close... arrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhh!

Came whisker close to pullin' the offending bolts and applying their heads to the working end of a grinder. Then the thought crossed my mind; "That miserably shyster Murphy like as not has some unintended consequences hidden in there"... so I took another angle at it.

I drug out my angle grinder and drill and quick fabbed up some shims out of bar stock aluminum to space my Tsukayu saddlebags over a 1/4 inch to give enough space for the lids to close past the offending forward fender strut bolt heads.

They worked before 'cause the original bolts were thin headed hex bolts... and the new bolts for the backrest are Allen headed and quite a bit thicker...

But it's all bolted back in place and she's lookin' pretty ready for the road.

*The Raider with the new Yamaha Backrest*

 So those are the first pics of this summers modifications... the 3" Hard Chrome big straight pipes, the Tsukayu Coner bags, the New Yamaha powder coated back rest and the License plate sub fender shaved with the plate relocated to under the left bag.

I'm likin' how she's looking. I've come to the realization that I'm not a Chromed out Scooter sort of rider. The subdued black with chrome accents fits me far better...

Just have the oil change, air filter and spark plugs... as well as a few family tasks to lock down... so it's looking now like mid to late week... and I'm gettin' anxious as hell...

It's a race 'tween time... and what lil' dinero remains in my pocket to ride with! :)

Pushin' Hard
Brian

Comfort and Motorcycles

Completed the refit of the Raider yesterday. The Tsukayu Hard Bags are on along with the Hard Chrome pipes.

*Yamaha Raider with the Hard Chrome pipes and Tsukayu Saddle Bags*

I also shaved the plastic sub fender under the tail light; relocating the license plate and shaving the turn signal lollipops since the new bags have built in turn signal lights.

In the process I've seen quite a few conversations on forums and had 'em in person where the subject of "comfort" always seems to enter the dialog.

I think ~ pure comfort ~ has somehow seized too big a place in peoples thinking. Especially when it comes to motorcycles.

The refit I did was not for comfort but for function and convenience. The Raider has always been sufficiently comfortable.

But... what is comfort? Do you climb a mountain to be comfortable? Is Riding a horse comfortable? Is golfing comfortable?

I mean... sure you don't want ill fitting shoes to go hikng in. You don't want jeans so tight they put your feet to sleep. You don't want to wear a heavy down coat when it's 95 degrees. But, it seems the FIRST thing that enters peoples mind when they start doing ANYTHING is Comfort!!!

Not the experience of LIVING... but... doing it without risking being ~ GASP! ~ the least bit un-comfortable.

I've heard people say; "That bike is too uncomfortable for me"; yet when asked, they've NEVER even ridden the bike they're criticising! ... Huh? ...

I've heard people say; "It was raining... it's too uncomfortable to ride in the rain... it's too hot... it's too cold... it's this or it's that"... and on and on and on...

The thing that has come home to me is that "society" has devolved to where anything that is a risk... any risk at all is WRONG... anything that is less comfortable than a flotation topped mattress... is WRONG. Anything that provides SENSATION of the world around you is WRONG.

Anything that provides a tactile sensation of actually being alive is "Un-Comfortable" ... Oh Boo Freakin' Hoo!

If COMFORT is your controlling motivation, which must be satisfied BEFORE all else... what the hell are you doing on a Motorcycle? Get yourself a chauffeur and one of those limousines with climate control and a hot tub... I'll bet you can even hire a waitress to serve you as you ride around... we don't want to see you get strained by having to pour your own seltezer water... and make sure you keep the windows rolled up... Don't suffer the discomfort of Wind in your face!!!

I guess a "Good" Motorcycle is supposed to roll you through the west with No wind, No rain, No heat, No cold, No traffic, No fuel stops, No dust, No skeeters... No No No No No No...

No Freakin' Sensation of Life!

Geeze... You might as well just lay in one of those sensory deprivation tanks and just look at post cards with a triple insulated flashlight... held by someone else of course... We don't want your hand to be subjected to the discomfort of having to hold up a heavy, lumpy flashlight.

Yeah... a postcard with a PICTURE of a Motorcycle being ridden in the wind and rain... and you can read the lil' blurb on the back that TELLS you what it feels like.

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Making Progress on My Tsukayu Saddlebag Install

The only real obstruction is we're parked in Fort Collins and the bike is in my kid's garage way down in Northglenn... about a 75 mile commute. ;)

A pretty efficient way to do a saddlebag installation! It adds juuuuust a mite to the cost of a custom saddlebag installation! :)

But I am making progress on it.

*New pipes and Old Saddlebags*

*New Tsukayu Saddle bags on and waiting for Paint*

*Old Bags and Plate Placement*

*New Bags and Plate Placement*

The bags have been mounted to test fit and placement. They'll come back off today to prep for painting... as soon as I work out the wiring placement and a few other lil' odds and ends.

I did a mediocre job of shaving that factory plastic bit that carries the plate and turn signals... That's what happens when you have a brain fart and you start cutting on the wrong side of your scribe line! :) It will go back on today. The saving grace is that the "rough" part of my mod will be tucked up under the fender... but... sheesh! what a squibb move.

With those bags set a couple inches lower and tighter to the fender... and all that junk NOT hanging off the fender... To MY eye it looks MUCH better! It's gonna perform far better for my Long Rides to boot!

* Easy access bags will be SWEET on the Road!*

I discovered a secondary function of the Tsukayu Designed Motorcycle Saddlebags... With the gas cylinder lid lift system they make pretty fair Air Brakes! :) Get too crazy on the throttle of that big 113 cid V-Twin and you'll need all the help you can pulling that big Yamaha back down below the sound barrier... :))

That original cast aluminum chromed back rest has been sold and will ship out in a couple of days. It's replacement is a steel  powder coated unit that is "lighter in appearance and is going to fit into the whole design scheme a lot better.

The bags are to be painted Tomorrow morning by my Son-in-law... They'll be a version of Yamaha metallic grey with a matte finish... the idea is to match the engine case/frame color...

Gotta head for Denver... again... and pick up some wiring bits along the way... so I'm in the wind again... though this time behind a dodge windshield.

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Less is More...

 I frequently hold with that school of thought when it comes to "Aesthetic" design. Sometimes there's just too much "junk" in the way to see the real form...

There's a small little thing that a lot of Raider Riders do to shine up their ride... and I suppose it hurts the feeling of some designer sitting in an office somewhere that designed this lil' bit... but those Raider Riders shave off that lil' bit of plastic chrome flash on the tank...

*The Raider with the new pipes and still with the Tank Flash*

Since I'm working toward a more subdued appearance with this machine that tank flash had to go. I'd been thinking that for a long time... and to tell the truth I'd been hoping to even have the bike painted by now...

Something in the last week, not sure what, triggered me to start pulling the trigger on several of the "I'd kinda like to" jobs I've had floating around in my brain pan for a while. So yesterday afternoon I got out the credit card, some rags and 3M Adhesive remover and went to work.

I sat the bike in the sun for a bit to warm the tank up and then went to cutting the mounting tape under the Flash with an old, out of service credit card... which of course left a considerable amount of adhesive and foam residue on both sides of the fuel tank...

The next 45 minutes or an hour was spent soaking the crud with that 3M adhesive remover... squeegeeing the bulk off with the credit card and then scrubbing the remainder off with an old T-Shirt with liberal use of the adhesive remover.

The result is a clean tank!

*Raider with the Tank Flash Removed*

I'm liking the direction I'm going. Sometimes they put, IMHO, Too much "stuff" on a bike. Too much flash and Farkle. The chrome accents of the Heads and other bits and pieces work better I think against the matte black and red of the balance of the bike.

I want my new Tsukayu Saddle Bags NOW! :-/ My patience waiting for THAT order to come is not enduring well. :)

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share...  Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
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My Raider Refit has Begun!

I got the first step of refitting my Yamaha Raider for Motorcycle Touring done Friday afternoon.

After riding the bike for a couple of years with the leather Osprey saddlebags I decided that I needed to rework the setup.

The bags have served well, but as it turns out, the conditions I live in now are not made for the endurance of leather saddlebags. I just can't keep ahead of the abuse the weather puts on the leather bags that are exposed to the elements 100% of the time.

But, to change to the fiberglass hard bags I'm going to install, it required the replacement of the existing, factory exhaust pipes.

*Yamaha Raider with Factory Pipes*

 That dogleg in the pipes rises up so high it's pretty hard to squeeze in any sort of a hard bag with the size I want to go to.

That's the other thing working here. I wanted to enlarge the bags a bit to improve their capacity for Motorcycle Touring on my Yamaha sled.

I chewed on this for a long time... flopping back and forth from one style to another... and finally settled on the 3" Big Straights from Hard Chrome in the Black version.

*Yamaha Raider with 3" Big Straights by Hard Chrome*

Geeze... You'd think a guy taking a portrait of his most favorite motorcycle of all time would remember to pull the protective masking tape off the frame first! :)

But look at the difference in space twixt the pipes and the bags... I'm impatiently waiting now for my new Tsukayu Coner saddlebags to arrive!

That and the noise... I'm not real BIG on Loud Pipes... I was nervous about these being too noisy... So far? I'm happy. They've got a deep burbling rumble to 'em without that ear cracking edge. If you stay off the throttle in the "neighborhood" and keep your rpm down the neighbors have nothing to complain about.

On the Highway, where before I couldn't even hear the motor over the wind... I now have that nice, deep rumble that always tickles the giggles of a "Motorhead"... OK... so I'm a partial motorhead. So far it's a real pleasing note... needs be, I can swap the baffles for a "quieter" variety... but with the pipes being the long style, I think they'll ride just as they are.

I was a lil' anxious about going in the Blacked out "direction" but, already, I'm liking the more subdued style of 'em. Since I live in the "you can polish 'em or you can ride 'em" school of thought ... and sit solidly on the Ride 'em side ;) I think the black is gonna do better in that situation than chrome!

Riding the bike back to the rig from my kids place in Denver... I rolled up I-25. One of the first things I noticed was there seemed to be a bit more vibration. The second was that my fuel mileage kinda went to hell!

Geeze! And I thought it would improve a bit...

Then... I looked down at the speedo... Hmmm...

Ya think that maybe all those extra numbers I found when I looked at the speedometer might have something to do with more vibration and poorer fuel economy? :))

Took a roll up Poudre Canyon yesterday... at my more "normal" cruising speed and that idea seems to have been borne out... Mileage seems to be back in the 48-52 mpg range that I normally run. Guess I'll have to guard against the Thunder Induced Velocity!

Now that I "played" for a couple of days...

It's back to work for me now.
Brian

The IBA... It's Capturing My Imagination

In contrast to the past where sheer miles was never a goal... something is tickling me...

I don't know. Maybe I just need a challenge that combines tests of mind and body that I can get my teeth into. Maybe it's just that the lust for a Ribbon of Highway has finally made my brain go soft! :)

But the Iron Butt Association is rumbling its way into my thoughts more and more these days...

There's a rally coming in June in Colorado... The Ultimate Coast to Coast... "Florida to Alaska", every two year, marathon in 2013... a 48 states in 10 days asphalt burner, 50 National Parks in 25 States within one year... and all sorts of other rides and ideas for rides that test man, machine and inject a bit of adventure into life on two wheels.

I've had some of those rides, or rides awful close to 'em listed on my Motorcycle "Bucket List" for quite a while... maybe this is the jab I needed to start dingin' 'em off... one... or three... at a time!

Whatever. It's got my imagination lit up... in a way that it hasn't in quite a while. Awesome... though... now it also takes me back to the Sketch Pad... to tinker with the remodeling I want to do on the Raider. I need to tweak a few things... I wonder how many other Factory Choppers there are on the Iron Butt rides? :)

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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In Pursuit of a Major Motorcycle Rebuild

I don't suppose the Raider is a quarter of the way through it's likely life span. She's carried me on a lot of roads in the dress she wore when she rolled off the Star Motorcycle Assembly line back in 2008.

I have a hunger to tailor her to better fit the current "Me" that has evolved ... or some might claim "De-Volved" the past few years.

While I haven't solved the big question yet; "Where's the dinero for her Makeover gonna come from?", I am zeroing in on what the makeover is going to look like. :)

... and some of it just might mean I've got another meal of crow feathers coming! :)

There's a few issues I'm looking to address. After many miles, all sorts of weather and the changes of thinking that life carries, I've decided I want to change from Leather Saddlebags to Fiberglass Hard bags. The Tsukayu Coners are currently standing at the head of the line, and will most likely be the Vinyl Wrapped variety.

To do that though, I must first swap exhaust pipes to make room... and here I'm waffling between Vance and Hines and going a bit different direction with Hard Chrome Black Ceramic 3" Res-Tec drag pipes...(their websites is dinged up so I can't show the link)

Then... up on the front end... the possible source of the Crow Feathers meal... another Tsukayu product...

Yeah... I know... Naked Motorcycle... It's pretty much been my Mantra... What can I say... maybe it's time for a change! :) I want the tunes and a few of the niceties in my old age!

The other major thing I would really LIKE to do... is custom paint... I'm still working on that... I've had a sketch I drew up, for a long time, of what I would like to do... time will only tell if I manage to pull the trigger on that...

This is... sort of... the color... I'm thinking a deep, metalic, burnt umber sort of Orange... hard to find in a colored pen! ;)

... and then the smiling Skull... and "Flames" that are sort of a hybrid between fire and dreadlocks :)... sure to offend some... :) ah well, If I quit offending it likely means I've died... so I'll live with it.

The base paint is the most likely... and then possibly as a "Phase II" the airbrush work... if somebody feels the need to read enough of my "westerns" to permit all that anyway! :) not to mention the grips, mirrors, shift linkage, tail light (making the turn signals integral) and a few other odds and ends...

The hardest part after finding the cash to shine her up... is the taking her off the road for the amount of time it will require to get it all done! :( ...

Ah well... if you're gonna own horses... there's a lot of shoveling that has to be done.

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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An Update on the Avon Tires on My Raider

I've got a couple hundred miles on my Avon Cobra tires now... and have to say I'm still happy with 'em.

We did a hundred and fifty miles or so, two up today, winding through the Arizona hills in the Tonto Basin, under the Mogollon Rim of Arizona.

I'm the first to admit that when you dump a few hundred bucks on something you tend to try and find a way to describe it in ways that makes your decision sound smart. :) That said, I'm as sure as ever that changing from Metzler tires and the stock 210 on the Back to Avon Cobra's and a 240 on the back was the right thing to do.

The first thing I noticed was a change in handling. Now... there wasn't a band playing and fireworks and such... but there was still this certain sure feeling that... something ... was different.

I remember running through fast sweeper corners on the Metzlers and thinking; "I must be getting old". It seemed like I was multiple "apexing" way too much.

The difference with these Avon's that I'm still seeing is that the bike rolls from one side to the other smoother and more fluidly... there doesn't seem to be anywhere near the volume of small "inputs" required to hold the line I want that was required with the Metzler tires.

Thinking about that I remember how the Metzler was crowned in the center. That and the radius of the tread seems to vary across the profile of the tire. Then, when you've put a few miles on it that crown wears into a flat spot around the center of the tire...

I wonder if, as you leaned into a corner, the bike goes through those varying tread radius and then on top of that hits that "Edge" of the worn flat crown area and kind of "pops" over into the area with a new "radius"?

Not sure I've described the sensation clearly... but... it always seemed like the "input" was changing... constantly having to adjust... I thought it was me. Thought I must be getting old (which I am!) but, it's turning out to have been, at least to a great degree, the tires...

The Avon Motorcycle Tires on the Raider now are feeling smoother, more fluid in their handling and though it never felt insecure with the Metzler tires on it... I'm noticing a more solid, confident feeling with the handling of the bike.

It's going to take time to see how the mileage wears... but if the rubber compound is anything close to that of the Metzler, with the tremendous increase in tread depth, I should come back with a shiny report on that!

The only other thing I can't report about is their handling in the rain... I ain't got rained on... and pardon me if I don't care if that review don't happen real soon either! :)

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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A Motorcycle... uh... Roof... Sort of... Kinda... well... NOT!

 Seriously... a... motorcycle top... er roof... sorta kinda...

Let me explain...

Ok... I'm gonna step on a few toes and be politically incorrect here... but I can't help it...

We were in Quarzsite town this afternoon to get water for the rig. I'd filled my jugs and had pulled up into the driveway to turn back onto the highway...

... and I had to wait...

Wait... for the dumbest thing I think I've seen in... as long as I can remember.

I've seen some ugly rigs here this winter. I've seen some weird combinations of bits and parts assembled to be some sort of an RV...

I've seen Million Dollar Plus Rolling Mansion Buses... I've seen all sorts and types of rigs, and buggys and bikes...

And now today... I've seen a Gold Wing...

This Gold Wing had been modified... into a Trike... So... That's OK... right? I mean... I'm not a fan of trikes... they just don't suit me... just like sport bikes... and red leather don't. Those are all fine, just not my choice or style.

And tolerance of other sorts of bikes and styles is all proper and good... the way it should be... right?

But... isn't there a line... where, you can say... THAT... machine is at the top of the leader-board in the competition for the dumbest things ever done to a fine motorcycle?

...and wouldn't,  A Trike, a Gold Wing... that had been adorned... with Sort of a Rag Top? ... Qualify?

Sort of?

I Vow! This thing came rollin' by... There was some sort of a tube frame sticking up behind the "driver". Like, two "Hoops"... one right behind the driver... another right behind where the passenger seat is...

They stuck up maybe a foot over the "Drivers" head... a little higher in the passenger position... and then...

... and THEN ... and THEN! a piece of plastic sheeting!!!! maybe 18" wide... was strung from the top of the windshield up over those "Hoops" and attached to the back, behind the passenger position...

WHAT in THE hell was THAT? !!!!!

If you wanted a roof... and more wheels... you might as well add doors and call it a Freakin' Cage! :)

I sat there with my mouth workin' like a guppy havin' a heart attack... tryin' to say something... and all I could do was shake my head and choke! :) wish I'd had the presence of mind to catch a picture of the thing...

Yeah... I know... Bad Cowboy! But what can I say? I ain't bein' intolerant. I ain't! Fella can run down the road lookin' dumb all he wants... I won't ever tell him he can't... but... if you are gonna go runnin' around making an extra special effort to look like some sort of... Oh never mind... Just don't expect me to not laugh about it!!!

... and when I do something dumb... You have my permission to feel free to laugh... at ME!

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Making the Cruiser Motorcycle That Touched Your Soul, Your Own

You buy a bike and you ride it for a while. You come to love it. You put it in the wind and you love it. It fills your soul with something that you've never found, anywhere else. It's only a machine, but, it's a machine that touches your soul.

Then one day, you walk out, and it strikes you... that it looks just like everyone else's. Somehow, to you, the machine, the Motorcycle has a personality of it's own, but, it LOOKS like every other Motorcycle of that make and model that was ever built... and... THAT, ain't right!

Thoughts of how to put you, into the bike start rattling through your head. Thoughts of how to bring out that inner personality of the machine that you believe exists.

Now, you know as well as I do, that folks that don't ride, think when a guy starts talkin' like this; Why, he's gone 'round the bend and has fell down so many times that he's, by God bent something bad. and he is now... whooooee! Tee Total WhAcko! :)

Yeah well... Ok. :)

Well, WhAcko or not, this past summer, sitting up in the Montana high country, those thoughts of making my Raider my own started rattling in my head... and I started doing some doodling.

Not sure when the dinero is going to happen, to make this happen... but I've got a pretty clear idea of what my Raider should look like.

The first thing I did was envision a paint scheme... at first I was just thinking pretty conservative, solid color... but... it just didn't ring the bell... Like they say; "It wasn't happening."

Finally, one day when I wasn't even thinkin' on it, the idea struck me, ding! ding! ding! That bell started ringin'... and I went to work sketching it out...

Now, this ain't THE correct and proper orange. I didn't have the right colored pen for that ;) but... picture it with a deeper, bronzier or browner, metalic orange on my Raiders tank...

It's gonna be a hard time to have the bike down for the time it'll take to get this air brushing done... when that time does come.

Then... my current, traditional, Leather Saddlebags would be changed out to Tsyukayu Coner hard bags... of course, painted to match the tank color...

*Tsukayu Coner Hard bags on a Raider*

Even though I like the Factory Star Pipes... so that the bags will fit... I'll have to change out the factory pipes, to get 'em lower.  Not sure what brand the 2 into 1 style is in the Coner bag pic... but... I'm kinda Partial to the 2 in it 2 Vance and Hines pipes...

*Vance and Hines 2 into 2 exhaust pipes*

There are a couple other pieces and parts I'd like to change... but these are the big ticket, and major design ideas that have been collecting in those moments when I've got time between getting my next book finished and repairing broken parts on the fifth wheel, so we can get back on the road. :)

I can't wait to give my Raider the custom look the machine deserves... and put her in the wind touring on a long wide circle. The fact is simple and true. Machine or not. It touches my soul in a way nothing else does.

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Just Found Out... I Got a Custom Motorcycle Painter in the Family

My son-in-law... when he's not running cranes for his day job... works on his dream of a Custom Car and/or Motorcycle Shop...

He texted me a couple of pics the past couple of days of a bike he's working on now.  A guy he knows traded him a Genuine "Basket Case" Sportster... for some restoration work on another bike...

So...he's taken that Sporty, and has been doin' a Bobber Customizing job on it... that and just putting it back together... It was litterally a bare frame and there weren't two other pieces that were bolted together, all in several boxes... Took him a bit, just to figure out what was missing, and find the parts!

*Sportster 'Bobber' in Progress*

*Josh's Work on the Sportster Fuel Tank*

These pics are just little captures by his phone... and I'll get some better pics in a couple days when I get to Denver... but... They've got me to thinking... He's got another project coming up... some custom paint on the Raider! :)

I've got a couple sizeable Hail dings in the tank... and a scrape on the rear fender from where the Backrest came loose last summer... So... in doing those cosmetic repairs... I might as well go ahead and get something fine and Custom done!

... and since it looks like I've got a Custom Paint/Custom Fabrication Artist in the Family... might as well point my work his way, don't you think?

He's also got me to cogitating about another "project" I've wanted to do for a while... Different then a Custom Paint and Chrome Bike... Something more along the lines of a "Rat Bike"... but more of the "Survival Bike" variety... I've seen some Suzuki's, Yamaha's... and Kawi's blacked out... knobbies... stripped down and looking kind of sinister... I've wanted to do something like that for myself, for a while... just never pushed it into reality... maybe, it's time!

I've got a few "twists" of my own I think would be cool... Sort of a Survival Touring Bike! :) ... so much to do... so little time!

I know, I know... "So Quit Talkin' and start doin!" :) ... well, tell you what... I hawk a few more books... and I'll do just that! :)

If you're in the Denver area (or Colorado for that matter)... and thinkin' of looking around for a guy to do some nice work for you... at a less than the national debt price, drop me a line...  I'll put you in touch with this guy... maybe we can poke him into doin' more Motorcycle art for us!

I think we'll all be hearing more out of him, along the lines of Custom Motorcycle Painting in the future...

You could get some really fine quality work done... for a working mans price... Josh could get a couple more good pieces of work under his belt... and I can claim some responsibility for poking and prodding to "make it happen!" (which will win me some points with my Daughter!) a win-win-win situtation! :)

Now... I need to go scrape together some more of that folding green paper... so I can get my fiberglass saddlebags... If he's going to be repainting my bike... might as well do the whole deal! Right? :) ... and he might be my son-in-law... but... there ain't no free rides! :)

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Not yet 30,000 miles, and Already Time for an Overhaul?

I've been riding my Raider for almost a year now. Put a lot of miles on her riding through the tail end of our last winter ... or early spring in Colorado... Straddled her up the Alaskan Highway and back...

... put her tires on the ground, rolling along the Pacific Coast Highway in Oregon... Leaned through the twisties of Northern California and Yosemite... I've run her on the desert roads of Arizona this winter...

I've done a little customizing, to tune her to my likes, but nothing radical, and some of them, truly a compromise to make the back seat a mite more comfortable for the female side of this family.

Now... as that Star Raider and I start into our second spring together... my Likes... seem to be changing.

Though I'm one of the few who apparently like the lines of the stock pipes, they get in the way of mounting saddlebags for ease of packing gear for touring.... and I've come around, anyway, to wanting to change out the leather bags I have now... for fiberglass, hard bags... painted to match... and painted to show off! :o)

So... no idea when or how I'll fit these motorcycle mods into my anemic budget... considering we're planning on hauling the whole dang rig (fifth wheel and Raider) back to Alaska this year... :o) but...

I am planning on some major re-working of my most treasured ride.

From motorcycle exhaust pipes and motorcycle saddlebags ... to a full, custom paint scheme...hell... maybe I'll even turn 180 degrees away from a nekkid bike... and add a fairing! :o) ... that'd have me eating some crow feathers!

Guess I better get to work and sell some more books huh? :)

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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