I've Been Reworking Some of My Touring Gear

I picked up a New Ultra Touring Bag from Kuryakyn about a week ago. Found it in the Beaver's Den Motorcycle Leather shop on a ride up Highway 34 west of Loveland...

*My New Kuryakyn Ultra Tour Bag*

There's been a bit of evolution over the years... for how I pack my gear.

*How I packed my gear on my Alaskan ride*

*Another evolution from a ride a couple years back*

*My current packing and gear arrangement*

I used to carry the tent up on the bars. Not a bad way... but there was some interference with the ignition key... so I'm trying out some new packing of that.

Also, I abandoned my old mummy bag. I just can't tolerate the confines of that thing... and I'm now carrying a cheapie walmart rectangular bag that seems to keep me as warm and a hell of a lot more spacious. But it is a bit more bulky. 

The Kuryakyn tour bag so far is proving out well. I took it on a "Test ride" up a twisting mountain canyon and into Rocky Mountain National park the other day. I thought it a good idea to test it and the way I've got everything packed now on a real world hundred mile ride... before I take off on a weeklong trip hopefully later this week... and it all rode without a hitch.

The bag is something I'm becoming real happy with. It carries actually more clothes than I took to Alaska... and does it without having to stuff and punch to get it in. The quality of the bag seems top notch...

This is what I put in it... and still have a bit of space if I DID feel like stuffing... Likely I don't need that much... you just stop at a laundry a bit more often. :)

 ... and this pic doesn't include the drinking water bladder I'm testing out in the top road side pocket... a convenient place for drinking water on the road (one of the bigger mistakes people make on long hot tours... they fail to drink enough water) Make it convenient to get a drink... It should improve that... which makes you a safer rider. (dehydration is going to slow down your thinking/reaction time)

Likely one of the biggest improvements for me is that it attaches rock solid. I've tried to cheap out for a while, (not a good choice really) using "other" gear and not bags designed explicitly for bikes. That left me always having to conjure up ways of strapping it on secure.

This bag locks onto my seat with two built in straps from the bottom front and a wide, velcro strap that wraps around the back rest.

Combined with two straps from D-rings on top of the tour bag that I use as anchor points to secure the tent...which is also secured to the sleeping bag below it... which is secured to the luggage rack... it is a rock solid load.

It does come with a heavy duty rain cover... but with all my other gear, that doesn't look like it's going to fit. The bag itself seems like it should be pretty water resistant... but I'm scouting for a rain cover that will cover the whole load... thinking maybe a light nylon tarp sized right and a lil' bigger net to secure it... always some sort of gear to fiddle with...

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

Paint Repair For Poorboys

A few years back I had a bit of a didoe. I'd recently installed Yamahas' high dollar, chrome, quick disconnect backrest on the Raider. 

At something like 65 mph it disconnected all on its own and, unseen, left the scooter. I didn't even feel it when it gouged the crap out of the fender in the leaving.

Spent the better part of an hour driving up and down the road I'd rode... in the dark... trying to find that $1000 piece of chromed aluminum. Well, I found it and kept on using it, more carefully, for a couple years. But, that nasty gouge in the paint remained to poke and irritate me. 

I kept thinking the right "applique" would cover that just fine. And it would... but it took me till today to stumble across the right one! 

And I believe, the red is just the right contrast to work well! This one came from an outfit called Lethal Threat... they have some pretty cool decals. It's only been on for like an hour... so I can't review the long term quality, but the weight and feel of the vinyl gives me confidence.

So one more thing clicked off my list... without a $1500 paint job to fix it. :)

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

Itchty and Antsy... I'm Ready For The Road...

Wednesday morning I'll swing a leg, twist the throttle and put it in the wind.

Yesterday Sonja got her fresh oil to ready her for the road. I hope she appreciates it. At better than $10 a quart and needing better than five quarts (more than my old 390 cubic inch V8 Hot rod from years ago!!)...

... Oil changes are a pricy bit of maintenance!

Especially when you move away from Dino oil and go full synthetic... This is my first full syn run... buuut it's supposed to be better on your machine. Since I seem to be a lil' hard on 'em... I finally decided I should go with some of the more modern technology.

That's not an easy task with a Raider neither!

That bike has THREE drain plugs! and of course, they're set right where the jack needs to be to lift the bike high enough off the ground so you can swing a wrench... since two of 'em are on the side tucked in between the crankcase and the frame...

So... you have a bit of a balancing act to get the bike up straight... and just high enough to clear for the drain pan and wrench access... which puts it kinda far back...

It be a bit spooky workin' under near 800 lbs as it teeters and wiggles balanced up on that jack. :) Her tires are barely touching the ground. Only lift a couple inches... But I got her done with no great excitement so she's ready to roll!

Finished up checking and rechecking my gear... almost couldn't stop just swinging a leg and leaving early!!!

*Sonja be like; "Le's go dude!"

Though I'm only rolling for a week... That load is actually sufficient for a run to Alaska! ;) I've distilled it again after all these years... I carried too damn much clothes to the Yukon... Three/Four days of changes is plenty... you just hit a laundry a lil oftener. ;)

Oh yeah... I found a bit of special gear that is, so far, pretty cool.

I was watching a movie just last week; "Lone Survivor"... The tale of Marcus Lutrell and what I think is a pretty awesome movie. One lil' thing caught my eye... which has nothing to do with that story...

All of those guys, Warriors in the Finest Sense of the word, were all wearing Mechanix  brand gloves. I did a lil snooping and discovered they have a style that they call "Tactical"... that has good finger and knuckle protection for soldiers/sportsmen etc.

Then being textile, they should be a lot more comfortable in summer weather. You can find 'em in cammo prints too, not just black.

I've seen MECHANIX gloves many times before... made for mechanics... but those were bright blue and such... never gave 'em a thought...

But these... they call the M-pact style.

Fit like a "Glove" :) are comfortable and even have a vibration absorbing pad material on the palms...

The two pads are a "Poron" material under the synthetic "leather" that are supposed to soak up vibration and impact...

... and it don't hurt that they look Bad Ass ;) and are priced at Sportsman's Warehouse at just $25 bucks.

Even us poor boys can afford that!

... So now it's watch the clock... watch the calendar... and get ready to put my knees in the wind again.

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

New Gear and Making Ready for a Circle

A few guys from a forum I frequent are having a "mini" rally down in Flagstaff. It's one of those "Brand" sort of rallys. I sorta wanted to go... buuuuut... really, when I look in my wallet... there ain't much in there but space... still...

Then one of the fellas wrote and sorta pestered me to meet up with 'em... so I said... What the hell... and so I'm goin'. Don't know how... maybe a liquor store or two ;) ... but come the 18th I'll be hangin' it in the wind for a 1500 mile circle to Flagstaff and back. 

That said... my road outfit has gotten a bit scattered so I have to whip it into shape and quick.

One of the things needed has been a new tail rack.

I been meaning to put that on ever since I swapped out the back rest... near two years ago now. It just never seemed to make it to the top of the list...

But, lashing a camp on a bike without one is fairly difficult... so I found the dinero and got it ordered in.

You know... Yamaha is a lot like HD when it comes to parts. HD might mean "hundred doller"... but I'm thinkin' "Yamaha" must mean "Lots of cash" in Japanese...

anyhoo... with the saddlebag repairs and paint done, the pipes refinished, the signal lights and plate carrier and the charging block all finished up...

The old scooter is lookin' pretty good to me. :) She's ready for a ride...

Another part of my outfit that's been needing attention is my bedroll... thinking about that I thought of making part of this a motel run... if I could get one or two nights at cheap Motel 6's along the way...

You know... $36 bucks and all that? Wellll... I checked up on one in Moab... Which would be 'bout the halfway mark and a decent near 400 mile ride that first day... "The cheapest of any chain"??? well... how does $160 bucks for ONE NIGHT in Moab sound? Pretty reasonable huh? Bwahahahahahhahahahahaha!!!

Well... I know this pretty lil' meadow just west of Durango... just before you get to Mesa Verde that'll make a nice lil' FREE camp half way to Flag... Sorry Motel 6 but 160 bucks for ONE night is NOT any sort of a reasonable rate! ;)

So... my circle will be made under canvas! Buuuuut... that's a problem too... cuz my last circle I discovered that my old mummy bag is no longer tolerable. I just can't stand the confinement... but... sleeping bags are costly!!

Then... I was walking through good Ol' Walmart... getting some lil' bit of something or other and happened to notice their sleeping bags... polyester just like the big high $$$ backpacking brands. Same weight of fill...

... and $32 bucks compared to a hundred and better for the big names... So I got to thinking about bags.

You know they've always been sort of a problem... summer weight or winter weight. You're too warm or too cold... And with their cost... who can afford all sorts of different bags?

 Well... I got this "idea" for a relatively low cost experiment... with seeing Wally worlds price... I got to thinking... IF... they were decent quality... a guy could carry a couple of the lighter ones... and layer them just like we do our clothes! My imagined "problem" would be solved.

They've got like three weights... warm, cool and cold... and ALL below $40 bucks!... so... even if a guy goes with two... he'd have a bag a lot warmer than the "big" brands... at less than half the price when you look at the cold weather grades.

...so I grabbed a cool weather for $32... and it's rectangular so I eliminate that confinement issue I built up with the damned old mummy bag.

Gave it a "soft" test last night. The weather here went pretty chilly and wet last night. I left the windows and roof vents open and checked that bag for comfort and warmth.

That cheap $32 cool weather bag was almost too warm :) and more... though one night don't measure it for sure... I can't see a fault in the quality of materials. it's the Coleman brand, which has always served me well... how much variation can there really be in polyester these days?

I've got a couple of poncho liners I can pin in or around it to add a few degrees if necessary... and After the "real test" of this circle... I believe I'll add that second Walmart discount sleeping bag... for the earlier spring rides and late into the fall.

I saw one really light thing. Only like a pound of fill... THAT would make an excellent liner.

So... Nigh on to ready to roll

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 Keep On Keepin' On...

I keep making progress on the bike... in between the wind storms. I can honestly say I don't care much for such work in the jaws of a Rocky Mountain Wind... and the folks that sited this garage, being farm folk; that's the sort that spend their lives... living on the land... I have to say WTF?

... You Should know better! You don't site your doors facing the prevailing wind! I don't care if you ARE behind a windbreak... it's just dumb... Man... You open that door and those gusts come a whooshin' in and send stuff flying everywhere...

Yeah sure, there's lights inside and I COULD close the door... Lil' 60 watt bulbs ten feet in the air and spaced about fifteen feet apart. It's like trying to light up a stadium with a bic lighter. ;)

 So anyway... I got to polishing on those Yamaha wheels.. Honestly, I thought I was pretty screwed...

They appeared to have gone through some sort of a warzone... and I never saw it... just saw the wheels after. No idea of where it happened.

They looked like gravel just got in there and rolled around for a few miles... 'cept... I was never in any when they got dinged up.



Figured it would take damn near grinding to bring 'em back to anything respectable...

Lucky for me, it was one more time I've been found to be wrong... As it turns out, Yamaha has 'em coated with some variety of clear coat.

I don't know what did the damage but the damage is only to that clear coat.

I found that wet sanding with a fine sponge sanding pad takes that finish off and leaves a nice clean undamaged wheel behind...

Cool...

It's not an especially quick process... I suppose it might be if I used a coarser sponge sanding pad? buuuuuut... My thinking is I can do a lot of damage a lot slower... with the fine pad. ;)

That allows me more time to catch my self doing something wrong so I can... STOP!

So... slowly I go.

 Got back to work on the saddlebags today... wind or no wind... and no wind could only be called a wish... When I made a run for a bit more sandpaper and some dust masks... it was pushing that truck around...which weighing maybe 8500 or so, takes some doing!

But... I got the "Bad" lid stripped down to and through the Gel Coat where needed...

The more finish I took off the more cracks were revealed... as well as significant areas of pinholes.

The circled areas are where the cracks are... the "dotted" areas are some of the pinholed areas revealed when I started sanding the primer layer.

The gel coat on this particular lid seems to be total junk...

As soon as the top finish was gone and I started into the primer... the pinholes appeared...

...and penetrated a ways into the gel coat.

Luckily that ALL seems to be confined to the gel coat... which is the lighter blue colored area.

Where the cracking was the worst I took the gel coat clean off down to the fiberglass... which eliminated all those cracks. There seems to be no failure of the basic fiberglass itself, only a bad gel coat.

Thing is... THAT would have been clearly visible when it left the glass shop at Tsukayu and went to the paint shop to be primer painted. Either somebody didn't do his job or... company policy is screwin' the pooch (and the customer) just a bit.

Anyway, I finished taking off ALL of that grey layer, which is the primer...

So now the damaged lid is ready to coat with a layer or two of resin to seal it up.

Then primer and repaint...

Along with repainting the other lid and two tubs.

And then get 'em all hung back on the bike.

Tsukayu warranty is only 6 months. So... a "Good" price is not so good... when you have a failure at about 18 months of age that they won't make right... Life in the west.

The scrubbing of the fins on the jugs is going slowly too... that west coast salt sea air might be good for your lungs... and a beautiful place to see... but it's hell on aluminum parts. :) That black oxidation on Aluminum is a piece of work to remove...

If I ever go back I'm going to have to find a way to coat or treat the exposed parts some way to resist that oxidation. Maybe a whole lot of carwashes and that "Protectant" spray. :)

All this work, has given my head the time required to turn itself inside out trying to conjure alternatives to what had been "the Plan"... I may just end up with a shined up scooter..

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

 

The Cleanup Work Continues

Not being a "body man" ... is not an asset when you're trying to do "minor" jobs...

Sanding the "shine" off saddlebags to repaint shouldn't be that big a deal should it... Ha... only me could make it be. Turns out... Fiberglass ain't that level, so even a quarter sheet sander with really fine sandpaper finds all sorts of low spots... and taking the "shine" off to repaint turns out to be a lot more work than it would seem. ;)

ah well... she'll look good once I get the job done.

I've been stalling during a patch of iffy and windy weather... too cold to paint so why sand... right? ha ha... good excuse for procrastination... and giving the vagaries of life an opportunity to bail my ass out of having to sell her off? ... yeah well... that hasn't worked yet...

Got the pipes back from the powder coater... He's done several motorcycle and atv exhaust systems and one set of sprint car headers... with this high temp (1000 degree) material and says after a few months he's seen no failures... so I took the $145 chance.

Yeah... unlikely to get that back... but my thinking ran this way... with the pipes UGLY... it just might interfere with selling at all... so... a "had to" sort of thing...

*Custom Coatings in Berthoud Colorado - Refinished Motorcycle exhaust*

Big improvement over how they'd come to look. One thing I'll say... if I'm ever in the market for aftermarket pipes again... I will NEVER... buy Hard Chrome brand...

*Hard Chrome Big Straights finish Failure*

Maybe this failure of the finish IS just a weird freak that will never happen again... but that's not my problem... the Refusal of the Hard Chrome company to even communicate and address the issue is the deal... Their "Customer Service" in this instance SUCKED big time...

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... Shame on me... They'll not get a second chance.

The weather seems to be breaking and I'm nearing completion of the Stitching Horse I'm working on to help with the restarting of my Leather Shop... So I should be able to bring myself to get back onto the bike polishing in the next day or so...

One issue I'm not sure what to do about are the wheels... Having been Not Shy about the roads we've wandered... those aluminum wheels have apparently gotten dinged pretty hard by gravel... 360 degrees...

Polishing by hand doesn't touch the gouges that can be felt... I can't decide whether to just leave it alone and accept it... or take a fine emery... and try to erase those marks... again... a lot of work... but the bike deserves it... just can't decide if I'm up for the task...

It would be another way to "Stall" the inevitable I guess...

Grab your handles and ride
Brian

Making Progress Slowly

Work on the bike goes slow... Partly because it's been a bit cold... and it's not a really happy bit of work... but...

...mostly because I've become unsure of the route I'd picked out. That's the problem with reading more... AFTER... you made a choice.

 

I got the pipes pretty much stripped ready to paint... and just got the quivers. I know I'm only doing it to sell the scoot... but... I don't want to be the guy that sold her with a crap job done. I've made enough bad turns in this life, no need to add to it.

I found several people doing exactly what I am... and using the high temperature paint I was intending to use... who had the stuff fail... as they were going through the curing process!!!

So... a few more phone calls and I found a guy doing powder coating with a High Temp coating that's supposed to be rated to 1000 degrees. Now, those shrouds around the pipes get warm... but when my leg is sitting an inch or so from 'em at a stop... I can't believe that the pipe shroud is anything close to a thousand degrees.

That, he told me could be done for 'bout $150 bucks... since the paint and such is gonna cost upwards of $40 or so, if not more, I figure... seems like a good bet... and a better deal for whoever Sonja goes home with in the future. I think that's the way I'll go... I don't want to send her off with a lousy job of it.

Then... on to the Harbor Freight "Dent Repair Kit"... um... NO.

So... fourteen bucks. Read the reviews on the website... and all sorts of guys claim they were "Surprised" when it worked like a champ.


This ol' cowboy was not... surprised.


Cuz... it didn't work. Not even a quivering grunt of a try.

The glue stick stuck to the tank just fine... but it wouldn't hold to THEIR puller part.

As soon as I'd start screwing up the pulling tab... POP! it just camp loose. Didn't pull that dent a sliver.

The dent is a hail dent... from a big honkin' hunk of hail...

It's been there as long as Sonja has been with me... and kinda irritated me at times...

But also... it was/is kinda cool at the same time. Some of that "patina" that you can't find on "Show" bikes...

The scars of the road wars that tell the power that lives inside a person... or a machine.

I put the glue on the pulling tab... just like they said.

...after cleaning the dent area with their "release" agent...

And stuck the pulling tab to the dent... NOT pushing it in... just like they said...

I waited for several minutes to make sure the glue had time to set up and hold...

Then I attached the crossbar gizmoe... spun the knob onto the pulling tab... and started "screwing"...

Well... crap... might as well have been making a pass at a statue... I tried a dozen times... cleaned the tab... cleaned the tank... held my left ear with my right hand and wiggled my butt like a gypsy hooker...

and EVERY time... EVERY time... the tab just let go. I even put glue on to wrap up around the tab trying to get a good mechanical hold... NADA.. works bout as good as a hooker in a convent.

The glue stuck fine to the tank... and cleaned off ok to try again... but it's a $14 dollar profit maker for the boys selling it. It don't work.

The dent is still there and ain't even a whisker off a fleas butt smaller.

So... tomorrow I scrub up the Saddlebags...

The left one there developed some cracks that I'm just not willing to send on to a new owner.

The majority are on that front sloped surface of the lid...

and a few more on the very top.

No idea why. I watched the guy that painted them.

He was finicky about how they were handled and what was used to clean them.

Some sort of special degreaser/cleaner just for the purpose...

And he put that high dollar paint on there awful thin with each coat... but... like you can see there... after a couple of years... it's cracked...

So... I'll sand down the cracked areas to smooth it out... and take the shine off the rest... and then do a cowboy paint job with plain black and clear coat... and call it good.

Sometime in April I suppose I'll have to pull the trigger and put up the sales advert... gonna be a melancholy day...

Ride if You Can
Brian

I Don't CARE if They ARE Pro-Feshunals... CHECK Their Work!

That, combined with a baaaaaad case of rapidly advancing Old Timers Syndrome contributed to a story that's... there's no other way to say it... The fable of the Invincibility of Experience.

Been there, done that, have the T-shirt so... I know what I'm talkin' 'Bout! .... Right?

Ha ha! Not so fast Grasshopper!

Some time ago, while still wintering in Arizona... nearly 9000 miles by Motorcycle Tire time, I had a pair of Fine Avon Cobra Tires installed. I thought; Take it to a pro shop and save myself the hassle of swapping the tires on my beast.

Well, I did that and... WhooooooWHeeee! They performed SO much better than the Metzler tires I'd been running.

But... as time wore on... an unusual thing was noticed... the front tire was wearing unusually fast. A Raider with its 113 cubic inches of Bad Attitude has a reputation for stripping the rubber off a BACK tire.

I've routinely gone through ONE back tire for every TWO up front.

On this pair that routine is being reversed... Weird. At right on 9000 miles on the tires, the back has several thousand more miles easily left in her... the front is already down into the Wear Bars. Crap.

So... I'm out looking at the wheel to make sure I have the tire size and model number wrote down right...

Looks pretty normal... don't it?

Yeah? Well... Look again... Here's a pic of a Factory Raider to compare it to...

Do you see anything "ODD" ??? ... keep looking... I'll Wait....

Don't see it? Look again... Look for DETAIL...

Can't find it?

Give up?

Look at the SPOKES on the front wheels... Of MY bike... and then the Factory Raider pic...

Uh HUH! 9000 miles or so ago I had those tires mounted at a YAMAHA Dealer... and they mounted the TIRE exactly right... and then... and THEN... and THEN!!! put the WHEEL on BASS AKWARDS!!!

The things that come into play there are these;

1. The Tires Tread is designed by the engineers who do such things to shed water optimally. If you run the thing backwards... OPTIMAL performance is unlikely...

2. When they build tires... the TREAD, is initially in a long flat strip, which as I understand it is then applied to the carcass of the tire. Where the two ends are joined they cut those ends at an angle, rather than just a straight cut, to increase the bonding area of the splice. Now... they point that splice in a specific direction related to rotation so that on the back tire, the force of acceleration pushes the splice together rather than pulling it apart.

On the FRONT tire, they reverse that, so that under heavy braking (the front tire does as much as 85% of braking) the same thing happens. The splice is compressed together not pulled apart...

SO... the Rotational direction of a tire installation is a lil bit important...

I'm still uninformed of what affect it can have on tread wear itself. It seems reasonable to expect a rather increased rate of rubber going on vacation when it's running opposite to the design rotation.

So.. if you have a lil' bit of an inclination toward Old Timers Induced Observational Retardation of Important details... commonly referred to as being a DUMB ASS... Like a certain fella I have intimate knowledge of... I'd suggest taking a few extra minutes when you pick up your machine when somebody has worked on it... and double check that things are right and correct.

... or... when YOU have worked on it... and make for certain sure that the worker bee wasn't laboring under the burden of severe Cranial Inversion... otherwise known as suffering from the odoriferous affliction of placing ones Head in Rectal Defilade...

Now... I have some emails to write to Motorcycle Dealerships and Tire manufacturers to get myself educated a mite more...

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

Stacking Up A Biker's Wish List Faster Than I Can Check 'em Off

A fella with my finances has plenty of time to drool over gear catalogs, and build lists. He's got lil' fear of emptying the list faster than he can add to it! But I can hope!

I've got motorcycle wish lists that run from bikes themselves to Riding and Motorcycle Camp gear to a bucket list of Long Rides in the Wind I'd like to get done before I get too old and feeble to keep the scooter upright.

My Motorcycle Wish List; I'd really like to be able to add two scooters to my bike garage before I'm too decrepit to ride 'em;

*The first is a step out of the comfort zone; I'd like to build a mix of a mechanically correct military matt finish - sand colored? chromeless, metric, back roadable, bobbed, semi knobbied, bagger, rat ride, dual purpose, 650+- give 'er hell and let-the-chips-fall scooter with an attitude!

Starting from maybe a Yamaha Seca core? ;) ... yup... twist the imagination a touch.

I've just found a representative pic that gives a flavor of the vision I have in me warped brain... ;)

...just shave the teeth and such. ;) make the bags bigger 20mm. cans use a 650-750 for enough juice to get deeper into trouble a lil' quicker ;) ...THIS just looks like a fun ass hoot of a project to me!

*The second would be a normal KLR sort of good and proper dual purpose back roader that I could explore with while NOT getting so many stares of What-the-hell-izzat?" from folks. :)

Then there's the Motorcycle Gear Wish List;

Lux Lite cot; This has been recommended to me by several riders as the cat's meow for aging bones that still admire to sleep under canvas motorcycle camping on their touring rides... I want one!

Bohn Armor;

I've wanted a full set of this gear for a while. It'd be nice to allow a lil' less weighty and cumbersome motorcycle safety gear on those 90 degree summer runs...

Being able to wear full impact and skid protection under my jeans and shirt would be a nice change I believe.







Yamaha Parts;

First, the Yamaha Tail rack in the black powder coated version. It's my intention to add this to my existing Yamaha back rest in the very near future. I lost the rack when I swapped out my back rest last year. I truly need to find the dinero to complete that change!

and second, the Yamaha Tank Bag designed specifically for my Roadstar Raider...

Having a convenient place for cameras, maps, and all the miscellaneous bits and pieces you want quick access to on the road is a big improvement on those long rides.



Gear Dry Bag;

 I like the look of this bag from Wolfman luggage by way of Revzilla.

There's nothing worse at the end of a long wet day in the saddle and you pull gear out of your bag, hoping to change into something dry... only the waterproof tail bag wasn't... and you have no dry socks to put on. arrrggggghhhh.

A true DRY BAG is a change I'm gonna make and forget the failed but flashy cruiser bags and covered duffles I've used and seen in the past.

If they keep a rafters gear dry on a river... they should keep a bikers gear dry on the asphalt.

LED Camp Lantern;

Reading at night in the tent on the road is problematical for motorcycle touring. But now-a-days with the rapid improvements in LED technology... the problem's been solved!

...and they've got 'em at my favorite motorcycle camping gear provider; REI. They sell the lux lite cots too!



A better camp chair;

 While this isn't really on my list any more... 'cause I already got one! ;) I thought I'd include it here 'cause it is a big improvement in a small saddle bag suitable package... for more comfortable camp sitting.

It beats the old, flat, sit on the ground stadium seat I've been using ... by a pretty wide margin.


Semi Rectangular Sleeping bag

I've changed a mite in the past few years and the mummy bag I've used for a long, long time is now just way too tight for comfort. I just can't stand being that snugly wrapped any more.

I want to change out to a lil' roomier sort of bag that can still compact as needed for packing on the bike.


Somewhere soon I need to replace my stolen motorcycle helmet cam... I'm leaning toward the Drift Ghost video camera

 My HD 170 predecessor was one of the camera's that got stolen.

I liked the way it fit far more compactly and aerodynamically than the Go Pro arrangement... against my helmet or bike... buuut the new Go Pro's still look pretty good too! ;)

Then of course, there is the seemingly unending search for Truly Waterproof, comfortable and functional Touring Gloves... since I can't say I've found anything that's really impressed me... I'm still looking for them...

... as well as a few ideas I have for a custom, removable, fuel bottle rack mounted under the yamaha tail rack using Quick fist clamps to hold fuel bottles for my Auxiliary fuel... and the fuel bottles to go on it...

 I'm leaning hard there toward replacing the thin walled, backpacking MSR bottles I've been using with something like these from Tour Tank.

I've got a "Design" rattling around in my head of a poly plate with those quick fist clamps mounted to it that could be strongly zip tied under the tail rack; for those trips in places where the distance between fuel stations are stretched out to make a rider like me a lil' nervous.

Yup... I just keep adding wishes to my list faster than my anemic earning ability can add 'em to the bike! :)

Keep tuned in... the next bit of my wish list is the Motorcycle Touring Bucket list of Rides...

Grab Your Handles and Ride.
Brian

Getting the Last Good Out of a Motorcycle Helmet

I replaced my Nolan N103 Helmet a few weeks ago. It should have had another year or two before needing to be replaced, for safety reasons from the shell age... but the mechanisms in it to operate the the visors and the modular face shield were coming to operate so poorly I was fed up with it.

I opted this time for a cheaper but better fitting HJC CL16, Standard full face.

The only problem with this new helmet was that it doesn't have the slick and still operating well, chin strap quick release that's built into the Nolan Helmets.

I picked up a variety of quick release when I bought the HJC...

But... I can't say I'm satisfied with it.

It laces onto the existing helmet chin straps... but for me it operates kind of clumsy/awkward.

Once you have it laced in and adjusted up right... You have to have the prongs aimed just right for it to fit into the slot...

Which for a lot of riders might NOT be an issue...

For me it has proven to be. Funbling around with something under my chin, that I can't see, is apparently... NOT... a skill of mine.

I got the dang thing wedged wrong a couple of times... and had a hell of a time getting it loose so I could take the helmet off. :)

Sooooo.... since that Old Nolan was still cluttering up the floor of the rig (I hadn't used it as dumpster filler yet) I had the bright Idea of scavenging it's Nolan quick release and splicing it onto my HJC Helmet!

Only took a couple minutes spinning a grinding stone in my Dewalt cordless to wear off the rivets and yank the whole strap system out of the Nolan N103.

It turns out... I could have just cut the hardware loose for the most part.

After I cut a couple of bits loose from the straps on the HJC helmet and one piece of the Nolan's strapping, to let me lace in the hardware I was in business.

The male piece just laced right onto the Longer of the HJC straps. Snugged up tight it was right where it needed to be.

On the other side... the female piece, is right up against the D-rings. It adjusts up snug enough but there's nothing left if I get any scrawnyer!

I can still work the red release lever to pull it when I'm taking it off.

If I gain the ambition I may just remove the D-rings and rivet the strap holding the Female end of the Helmet Strap quick release to the HJC factory strap. That would allow me to bump it over a lil' bit and gain a little more adjustment flexibility in the system... but for now, being lazy... I'll just use it as it is, since it is secure and works!

You just push the male end in slick and easy. A lot smoother system. Was I HJC I think I'd try to license the use of Nolan's Motorcycle helmet quick release! :) 

As for the strength of the rivets I'd use? ... Having run my own custom leather and tack repair shop for ten years or so... The helmet would rip my head off before four or so of those rivets would break! So on that account I'm not concerned at all.

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian