I rode to work today. Yes I took the long way. It was a great ride to and fro work today. Plan to do the same tomorrow, but a few more back roads.
Where did you ride today?
- Thread starter W0QNX
- Start date
Well, this morning I had another delightful adventure - in the flipping rain - AGAIN!
With my new knee install in January/2019, I simply couldn’t do the necessary maintenance and repairs on my ST1300 this past winter. The bike is 12 years old and has gone ~72,000 km (40,000 miles) and it needed fork seals and bushings and steering head bearings.
It also required a valve clearance check - which is a fairly significant task. I wanted to ride it this spring and as mentioned, my knee wasn’t up to a lot of time in the unheated DCW. Sooo, I had the work done at a shop (Bob’s Motorsports) in Chatham which is about 80 km (~50 miles) east of Windsor. They did a great job and I got the bike back a couple of weeks ago but they wanted to check the steering head bearings after I had ridden it for a while so I took it to Chatham early this morning under threatening skies because I am taking off on my spring biker buddy trip tomorrow morning. We’re headed to New Hampshire via Peterborough, ON and northern New York.
Well, todays short expedition went great until....I was about halfway home and then the frickin’ skies opened up on me. Man, did I get wet. Oh well, the engine is running like new (none of the 16 valve shims needed to be changed) and the steering head bearings feel awesomely smooth and steady. The difference in overall chassis noise level and steadiness of handling after this final seating adjustment is quite noticeable. Eventually, I got home and stood dripping in the garage for a few minutes. Then I disassembled my multi-layer jacked and popped everything into the dryer. All good now and just as I was finishing my lunch, the nice folks from Canada Post delivered Lucille’s (my 1976 Yamaha XS650C) new tires - yay!
I wonder why the inner tubes (which I ordered 15 minutes after I ordered the tires) didn’t come at the same time. Hmmmm....
[/QUOTE]
All-in-all, a good but very wet day. I must say, I am getting sick and tired of the crummy weather - and that’s saying something because I am Canadian, so I am accustomed to crummy weather.
Pete
With my new knee install in January/2019, I simply couldn’t do the necessary maintenance and repairs on my ST1300 this past winter. The bike is 12 years old and has gone ~72,000 km (40,000 miles) and it needed fork seals and bushings and steering head bearings.
It also required a valve clearance check - which is a fairly significant task. I wanted to ride it this spring and as mentioned, my knee wasn’t up to a lot of time in the unheated DCW. Sooo, I had the work done at a shop (Bob’s Motorsports) in Chatham which is about 80 km (~50 miles) east of Windsor. They did a great job and I got the bike back a couple of weeks ago but they wanted to check the steering head bearings after I had ridden it for a while so I took it to Chatham early this morning under threatening skies because I am taking off on my spring biker buddy trip tomorrow morning. We’re headed to New Hampshire via Peterborough, ON and northern New York.
Well, todays short expedition went great until....I was about halfway home and then the frickin’ skies opened up on me. Man, did I get wet. Oh well, the engine is running like new (none of the 16 valve shims needed to be changed) and the steering head bearings feel awesomely smooth and steady. The difference in overall chassis noise level and steadiness of handling after this final seating adjustment is quite noticeable. Eventually, I got home and stood dripping in the garage for a few minutes. Then I disassembled my multi-layer jacked and popped everything into the dryer. All good now and just as I was finishing my lunch, the nice folks from Canada Post delivered Lucille’s (my 1976 Yamaha XS650C) new tires - yay!
I wonder why the inner tubes (which I ordered 15 minutes after I ordered the tires) didn’t come at the same time. Hmmmm....
[/QUOTE]
All-in-all, a good but very wet day. I must say, I am getting sick and tired of the crummy weather - and that’s saying something because I am Canadian, so I am accustomed to crummy weather.
Pete
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I rode to Kamiah, Idaho last Friday for a Kawasaki COG rally. The way over was wet, but I stayed bone dry. Good gear makes it doable and enjoyable.
Here's what it was like going over Snoqualmie Pass on Friday.
Saturday and Sunday were like this:
Here's Snoqualmie Pass headed home on Sunday. Very different.
Chris
Here's what it was like going over Snoqualmie Pass on Friday.
Saturday and Sunday were like this:
Here's Snoqualmie Pass headed home on Sunday. Very different.
Chris
Well, this morning I had another delightful adventure - in the flipping rain - AGAIN!
With my new knee install in January/2019, I simply couldn’t do the necessary maintenance and repairs on my ST1300 this past winter. The bike is 12 years old and has gone ~72,000 km (40,000 miles) and it needed fork seals and bushings and steering head bearings.
It also required a valve clearance check - which is a fairly significant task. I wanted to ride it this spring and as mentioned, my knee wasn’t up to a lot of time in the unheated DCW. Sooo, I had the work done at a shop (Bob’s Motorsports) in Chatham which is about 80 km (~50 miles) east of Windsor. They did a great job and I got the bike back a couple of weeks ago but they wanted to check the steering head bearings after I had ridden it for a while so I took it to Chatham early this morning under threatening skies because I am taking off on my spring biker buddy trip tomorrow morning. We’re headed to New Hampshire via Peterborough, ON and northern New York.
Well, todays short expedition went great until....I was about halfway home and then the frickin’ skies opened up on me. Man, did I get wet. Oh well, the engine is running like new (none of the 16 valve shims needed to be changed) and the steering head bearings feel awesomely smooth and steady. The difference in overall chassis noise level and steadiness of handling after this final seating adjustment is quite noticeable. Eventually, I got home and stood dripping in the garage for a few minutes. Then I disassembled my multi-layer jacked and popped everything into the dryer. All good now and just as I was finishing my lunch, the nice folks from Canada Post delivered Lucille’s (my 1976 Yamaha XS650C) new tires - yay!
I wonder why the inner tubes (which I ordered 15 minutes after I ordered the tires) didn’t come at the same time. Hmmmm....
All-in-all, a good but very wet day. I must say, I am getting sick and tired of the crummy weather - and that’s saying something because I am Canadian, so I am accustomed to crummy weather.
Pete
[/QUOTE]
Congrats on your new knee.
Hope you have a memorable biker buddy trip tomorrow.
scootac
Will Ride for Food
Gulfport, MS
Short ride after work today, North end of Lake Texoma. Water levels are up here, Washita River out of its banks in places.
Bald Eagle in the dead top tree and Youngster Eagle in the nest, center of the green foliage. My phone doesn't take very good distance pix. :-(
Bald Eagle in the dead top tree and Youngster Eagle in the nest, center of the green foliage. My phone doesn't take very good distance pix. :-(
scootac
Will Ride for Food
Dauphin Island, AL
Wes
Site Supporter
With the beautiful day yesterday, a bit warm, but not too bad, I rode over to Pensacola, FL, picked up my daughter, and took her on a 200 mile ride up into south Alabama and lunch in Excel, AL!!! A total round trip of 309 miles! The video also includes my ride home along the Gulf Island National Seashore between Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach. If you enjoy a beach view, then next time you are riding I-10 through the Florida panhandle, take a detour!
This ride also took me over the 10,000 mile mark since buying my ST last June!
This ride also took me over the 10,000 mile mark since buying my ST last June!
Nowhere! AmethyST has been abandoned and is sitting at home in Cornwall sulking. I am over in Normandy for 3 weeks for the D-Day 75th Anniversary celebrations and will bring her over in September if thing go according to plan. She will also come over next year for a long tour round Europe as I hope to retire at Christmas.
scootac
Will Ride for Food
We're heading into late autumn here so the riding is cooling down. I spent a few evenings wiring up heated grips and got to test them in anger on Sunday, and was extremely grateful for them. I also didn't notice any heat coming from the engine...
I headed off at 0600 into the dark and cold, and the temperature dropped as low as 5C at one point, about the same time that I hit fog. The fog was a constant for most of the 600km ride, occasionally I'd be in bright sunshine then plunge back into the gloom. I headed towards the Kawhia Harbour, then back past Waitomo Caves and Te Kuiti, across to Whakamaru and then turned back north and followed the Waikato River and lakes Waipapa and Arapuni. The 1300 was beautifully behaved but kept going faster than I was planning on...
I was also very grateful for a Pinlock visor insert and my toasty Alpinestars suit. With the screen raised all of the fog was heading over my helmet and I only had to wipe it a few times. I also started using Plexus plastic cleaner and that seems to have been a really good investment for keeping the view clear.
I headed off at 0600 into the dark and cold, and the temperature dropped as low as 5C at one point, about the same time that I hit fog. The fog was a constant for most of the 600km ride, occasionally I'd be in bright sunshine then plunge back into the gloom. I headed towards the Kawhia Harbour, then back past Waitomo Caves and Te Kuiti, across to Whakamaru and then turned back north and followed the Waikato River and lakes Waipapa and Arapuni. The 1300 was beautifully behaved but kept going faster than I was planning on...
I was also very grateful for a Pinlock visor insert and my toasty Alpinestars suit. With the screen raised all of the fog was heading over my helmet and I only had to wipe it a few times. I also started using Plexus plastic cleaner and that seems to have been a really good investment for keeping the view clear.
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Do I get credit for taking the cover off the bike?
No.
Upt'North.
Here, taking a learning ride to get familiar with my new GPS before I need to use it for something important:
That is a big deal too. But I did have another small victory today. I dropped a bolt and didn't have to get Anita to find it for me. Oh and there was one other too. After several days looking for the drill template for my EVO tank bag, I finally found that too. smh
scootac
Will Ride for Food
Hey....me TOO!!!!
That water looked soooo inviting!!!
Saw 95 a few times till I got to the room.