Rain, Rides and Repairs
May. 26th, 2008 03:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tugrikThis weekend was the '49er BMW Rally up in Auburn, CA. I'd picked it as one to day-trip attend, in hopes of re-meeting-up with some old friends from my riders'-board. I'm still not sure if I'm ready for long distance trips on the Dragon, though. There's nothing really stopping me, per se... more that I just haven't done it. My intent on attending this ride was to just get over it and go. Auburn is far enough away to be a real trip while close enough to be safe and harmless.
I fretted about if I should go Saturday or Sunday. How much prep should I really do? Should I get a motel room, or just single-day it? Just grab my celphone and go, or should I be packing down the bike like a proper long trip? There were a host of other related worries running through my mind as I finally crashed out to sleep Friday night. I woke up Saturday morning to two SMS pages from a friend. The first one said "Rain?"... followed a moment later by affirmation: "Rain!"
Sure enough, the sky was leaking. Not much, really... but a quick check of the radar map showed that the entire central valley route to Auburn was getting soaked. Even Dusty, on his way up to Reno for motorcross races, had texted me in true Ollie Williams fashion: it's rainin' sideways! With the raindrops came a huge feeling of relief. I had no more rally decisions to make; I wasn't going. The combination of no rain gear and slick roads (the first rain after a long period of dry makes the roads out here into Spy-Hunter grade oil slicks) meant it simply wasn't a good idea to go. Now I had a three day weekend to do whatever I wanted.
What I wanted was to just enjoy the half-lit skies and soft rain while hanging out with friends. That is exactly what I got to do.
With the help of both Revar and the Clymer Service Manual, I figured out how to take the tank off of the Dragon. The frame is far beefier than I would have suspected... and it gives me many ideas for possible future modifications. I opened up the airbox and found a filter that most likely hasn't been changed in the entire ten years the bike's been ridden. Naaaaaaasty. A new one will be on order once Tuesday rolls around. This is probably the biggest source of the off-idle stumbles as the bike warms up. Spark-plugs and a valve timing check will follow shortly after.
The goal on Saturday was to install the last of the stainless steel cables on the bike, except for the clutch (which will take Dusty's help). The choke and speedo cables were pretty easy, but the throttle push/pull set was a bit more of a pain. After some trial and error and head-scratching re-readings of the manual, we finally figured out how to get things in place. Before putting the tank back on I installed a proper quick-disconnect to make it easier next time. Now all I have to do is disable a certain emission system to get a few HP back and lose a number of annoying vacuum hoses... *whistles innocently*
The last thing to go on was the new LED tail-light replacement, since it showed up in the mail Saturday morning. It's stupidly brighter than the stock tail-light. LED lights on a vehicle are the Way and the Light, in my opinion; their advantages are worth the cost. The instant on / instant off is much more visible. The bulbs last 10x as long before they burn out. They're all but vibration proof. And, on the nifty-bling side, they're clear when off. Matched with a clear lens it gives the bike a nice look when it's powered down, without removing a bit of safety or functionality once things are running. Soon I'll hunt down LED turn-signal replacements as well, and have clear lenses all 'round on the bike.
~~~~~
I didn't get to ride much this weekend; mostly just to and from the shop where I did the work. Even so, with all the new cables on the bike everything just worked so much more fluidly. Acceleration is smoother. The brakes are both more snappy and more controllable at the same time. The new suspension is also finally settling in after a few weeks of taking my weight, leaving the bike feeling more planted to the road. With the tires getting more grippy, this smooth, overall sense of comfort is starting to return.
My old 1150GS had that feeling. The bike, the road and the rider all melding together into a comfortable, alive sense. While I'll have to put more thought into this, the best way I can state it right now is that the Valk is starting to get that feel when I ride it... though the vibe is different. On the GS it was all about distant adventures, leaving the beaten path and grunty performance. On the Valk it's shaping up more like the ability to just be in motion along with the road; loping along at an even, connected pace. If I can get the ergos dialed in for all-day-riding comfort, I could so easily see this kind of bike finally being the one that I criss-cross the nation on.
~~~~
In the short term, I have to finish the LED lights and get some stainless steel wrap for the electric cables. Then I'm going to add the more traditional saddlebag brackets and a proper set of leather-and-buckles saddlebags to replace the nerby plastic ones I dislike so much. I'll get 1" lowering peg brackets to help my knees un-kink a bit and some Mick-o-Pegs (a brand of fold-away highway pegs) for long-haul slabbing. Those things mixed with basic maintenance to clear up the engine performance and I should be good to go for trips both short and long. Sure, I might add more gadgets (like a proper intercom setup), but those aren't really necessary.
In the long term, I really want to pick a theme for the bike and give it a try. I could see taking off all the plastics and paint, then re-doing the entire bike in Steam Victorian styling. Or, maybe, Mad-Max. Something, anything to get away from the norm of "looks like a cruiser" pseudo-retro. The trick will be to find something that I can expand on with my own metalworking skill-sets instead of just something I can 'buy into'. There's more to this line of thought, but it's way too early in the morning to puzzle it out.
I've got one more day of weekend left. If my big-sis is still doing a Memorial Day BBQ I'll probably head over there. If not, I might go hit the coast on the motorbike; anything but sit in the house all day. I need out and about!
I fretted about if I should go Saturday or Sunday. How much prep should I really do? Should I get a motel room, or just single-day it? Just grab my celphone and go, or should I be packing down the bike like a proper long trip? There were a host of other related worries running through my mind as I finally crashed out to sleep Friday night. I woke up Saturday morning to two SMS pages from a friend. The first one said "Rain?"... followed a moment later by affirmation: "Rain!"
Sure enough, the sky was leaking. Not much, really... but a quick check of the radar map showed that the entire central valley route to Auburn was getting soaked. Even Dusty, on his way up to Reno for motorcross races, had texted me in true Ollie Williams fashion: it's rainin' sideways! With the raindrops came a huge feeling of relief. I had no more rally decisions to make; I wasn't going. The combination of no rain gear and slick roads (the first rain after a long period of dry makes the roads out here into Spy-Hunter grade oil slicks) meant it simply wasn't a good idea to go. Now I had a three day weekend to do whatever I wanted.
What I wanted was to just enjoy the half-lit skies and soft rain while hanging out with friends. That is exactly what I got to do.
With the help of both Revar and the Clymer Service Manual, I figured out how to take the tank off of the Dragon. The frame is far beefier than I would have suspected... and it gives me many ideas for possible future modifications. I opened up the airbox and found a filter that most likely hasn't been changed in the entire ten years the bike's been ridden. Naaaaaaasty. A new one will be on order once Tuesday rolls around. This is probably the biggest source of the off-idle stumbles as the bike warms up. Spark-plugs and a valve timing check will follow shortly after.
The goal on Saturday was to install the last of the stainless steel cables on the bike, except for the clutch (which will take Dusty's help). The choke and speedo cables were pretty easy, but the throttle push/pull set was a bit more of a pain. After some trial and error and head-scratching re-readings of the manual, we finally figured out how to get things in place. Before putting the tank back on I installed a proper quick-disconnect to make it easier next time. Now all I have to do is disable a certain emission system to get a few HP back and lose a number of annoying vacuum hoses... *whistles innocently*
The last thing to go on was the new LED tail-light replacement, since it showed up in the mail Saturday morning. It's stupidly brighter than the stock tail-light. LED lights on a vehicle are the Way and the Light, in my opinion; their advantages are worth the cost. The instant on / instant off is much more visible. The bulbs last 10x as long before they burn out. They're all but vibration proof. And, on the nifty-bling side, they're clear when off. Matched with a clear lens it gives the bike a nice look when it's powered down, without removing a bit of safety or functionality once things are running. Soon I'll hunt down LED turn-signal replacements as well, and have clear lenses all 'round on the bike.
I didn't get to ride much this weekend; mostly just to and from the shop where I did the work. Even so, with all the new cables on the bike everything just worked so much more fluidly. Acceleration is smoother. The brakes are both more snappy and more controllable at the same time. The new suspension is also finally settling in after a few weeks of taking my weight, leaving the bike feeling more planted to the road. With the tires getting more grippy, this smooth, overall sense of comfort is starting to return.
My old 1150GS had that feeling. The bike, the road and the rider all melding together into a comfortable, alive sense. While I'll have to put more thought into this, the best way I can state it right now is that the Valk is starting to get that feel when I ride it... though the vibe is different. On the GS it was all about distant adventures, leaving the beaten path and grunty performance. On the Valk it's shaping up more like the ability to just be in motion along with the road; loping along at an even, connected pace. If I can get the ergos dialed in for all-day-riding comfort, I could so easily see this kind of bike finally being the one that I criss-cross the nation on.
In the short term, I have to finish the LED lights and get some stainless steel wrap for the electric cables. Then I'm going to add the more traditional saddlebag brackets and a proper set of leather-and-buckles saddlebags to replace the nerby plastic ones I dislike so much. I'll get 1" lowering peg brackets to help my knees un-kink a bit and some Mick-o-Pegs (a brand of fold-away highway pegs) for long-haul slabbing. Those things mixed with basic maintenance to clear up the engine performance and I should be good to go for trips both short and long. Sure, I might add more gadgets (like a proper intercom setup), but those aren't really necessary.
In the long term, I really want to pick a theme for the bike and give it a try. I could see taking off all the plastics and paint, then re-doing the entire bike in Steam Victorian styling. Or, maybe, Mad-Max. Something, anything to get away from the norm of "looks like a cruiser" pseudo-retro. The trick will be to find something that I can expand on with my own metalworking skill-sets instead of just something I can 'buy into'. There's more to this line of thought, but it's way too early in the morning to puzzle it out.
I've got one more day of weekend left. If my big-sis is still doing a Memorial Day BBQ I'll probably head over there. If not, I might go hit the coast on the motorbike; anything but sit in the house all day. I need out and about!
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Date: 2008-05-26 02:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-26 09:33 pm (UTC)