Windy City M/C Riders

Toys for Tots 2011

2011-10-03T15:58:00.002-05:00

It's that time of year again, as I begin to start wearing the thermals and heavy leather gear for riding that thoughts go to Christmas and the Chicago Toys for Tots Parade.

Last year, you all humbled me with your generosity and fellowship to donate to good causes like Toys for Tots.Our family got together and shopped for toys with your donated cash - I chipped in the cost of tax so that your money

I'd like to appeal to you again to support us again this year. $1, $5, $10, $20 - it all makes the difference in the world, especially in this day and age with the economy sputtering and people long out of work. I will once again chip in the gas, the sweat equity and my cold ass shivering on a bike on parade (provided we don't get ICE like we did last year - that did keep me home, unfortunately, I donated the toys as a drop off to their warehouse.)

The PayPal button on the left over there will take you to a Paypal donation form. You do need a paypal account. If you'd rather mail me a donation, that's fine as well, just drop me an email.

Thank you so much, and blessings to you for your generosity.

Take the IL DOT Survey - give 'em hell!

2011-09-30T14:40:00.004-05:00

I received the following email from the Illinois Dept of Transportation. I went and took the survey and then in the comments, let them know that the bigger issues are distracted/texting drivers or the continued RoW accidents. You should go take this too and let the Dept know how you feel.

From: dot-tsmcsafety@lists.illinois.gov

Dear Motorcyclist,

Illinois Department of Transportation is interested in your opinion and input on motorcycle rider behavior and issues related to rider safety. The main purposes of this survey are: 1) to conduct study and gather information about motorcycle rider characteristics, experiences and preferences; and 2) to develop strategies to improve the existing motorcycle safety program in Illinois. To accomplish this study, your help is needed. You were selected from a list of people who have enrolled in a motorcycle rider safety program sponsored by the Illinois Department of Transportation. Please complete an online questionnaire found at

http://www.dot.il.gov/Checkbox/Survey.aspx?s=e56163980f8f40cd98f52b8a25a5a2ef.

The questionnaire will take about 10 minutes to complete. We ask that you submit your completed questionnaire by October 31, 2011.

Participation in the research is voluntary. It is your right to discontinue participation at any point or to refuse to answer any question. All responses will be anonymous, and the information you provide will not be associated with any personal identification.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reply to this email (no phone calls please).

If you would like to see a copy of the final report, please provide us your email address in the survey questionnaire.

Sincerely,

Terry C. Redman

Manager of Regulation and Training

Division of Traffic Safety

Illinois Department of Transportation

Springfield, IL 62702

My side of the line

2011-06-29T09:30:00.001-05:00

The weather in Chicago has finally moved from the mon-fucking-soon season to possibly summer. June was the fifth wettest one on record and it sure as hell felt like it. This is the first time all year I've been able to ride the Sporty 3 days in a row. Feels good.

The title of the post reflects a question that's been in my head for a few days now. I've noticed that a common factor in when those friendly Chicago commuters decide to "share" my lane with me (usually crowding me into the emergency lane as I accelerate past them and let the know how I feel about their action) ... that common denominator is that I've been left of center, putting myself to where the driver in front of me can see me in his side view. That's what the Basic MSP video showed - remember? The cute chickie on the bike who had been riding center scoots to the left and viola! Safety reigns.

I did an experiment of sorts in my own cage and looked to when I most see cars on my left side and it's the light or area of vehicle that is right of center that stands out first. So when most of the traffic is to my right, I put myself right of center. Yea, it's closer to the cages, but I'm trading about 2 to 3 feet for more visibility. Seems to make sense to me and so far, nobody's crowded my lane yet. When I've got traffic on both sides, it's center straight up.

What do you do? (He asks the echo chamber...)

(Picture from Netherlands Department of Transportation)

ChicagoWiz's Law #8 - Torquey Sportsters...

2011-06-01T08:33:00.000-05:00

Torquey Sportsters were made to be romped, not cruised. Thou shalt romp at the fastest, sanest[1], safest to yourself[1] and others[2] speed possible. Amen.

[1] These being subjective, of course...
[2] ... but this one isn't. I'd rather be dumb to myself than bring someone else into it.

"Tourster" updates

2011-05-24T10:45:00.000-05:00

It was a long, cold, icy winter and it's been a fucking wet and nasty spring, but with some sunshine peeking through, I have been doing some riding and finally got to wrenching my next update on my "Tourster" mods for my Sporty - the Road King shocks. This is the last of the big updates, as the luggage rack is going to be pretty simple and straight forward.

Road King shocks are air shocks, as compared to the spring shocks that come stock on the Sportster. They have the potential to provide a much more smoother, comfortable ride than the stock Sport shocks. The good news is that RK shocks are a straight bolt on replacement. The only thing most people have to do is supply a couple of thick 1/2" washers between the shock and the lower mount on the right hand side so that the shock doesn't rub the belt guard.

This link provides a nice thread on the Road King shock part numbers and the height of the shock. For my XLC, the stock shocks are 11.5", and since I didn't want to raise the bike all that much, I decided to go with a 12" shock, so I ended up buying a pair of 54661-02A's off of eBay. These are Street Glide "lowered" shocks.

Using my homebuilt lift, I raised the rear end off of the ground. I've got the shop manual for the 05, but really, it's damn easy to remove the shocks. Remove the bottom bolt using a big-ass star bit and a wrench to hold the lock nut, and the same star bit to back out the top bolt. Remove both shocks at the same time so you can easily put on the new ones (since you're changing the height) but remember to put something under your rear wheel cause the back end and wheel to drop, causing the unsuspecting dumb-ass a heart attack. It doesn't hurt anything, it's a swing arm... but freaked me out. Heh.

Installation is the reverse. Make sure to use blue locktite on the top bolt like the manual says and torque the bolts to 50 ft/lbs. I pointed the valves to the front. Right now, I've still got the plugs in them, I'll be buying Schraeder valves and the HD low pressure pump (although a ghetto substitute is my old portable tank filled to 20psi or so..) so I can pump them up and experiment on what feels good with me and with both of us on.

~~So, in a completely safe manner, I tested the ride in a low speed, easy going environment...~~ who the fuck am I kidding? I rode to work on them for the first time, at speed, and wow, what a difference. The Sportster is a dynamic bike and ride, but the RKs smoothed out the rough edges. Cornering and response felt "crisper" if I'm using that term right. I didn't feel any bottoming out on some places like I used to.

Highly, highly recommend this mod if you're using your Sporty for all sorts of riding. It's another tax payment, but if you prowl around eBay or the swap meets, you're sure to find someone selling their stockers for cheap.

117 days ago...

2011-03-17T11:43:00.000-05:00

... was Nov 22nd. That's the last day I rode last year, at least according to my BikerOrNot feed.

Until today. Last night, took the bike out for the first time this year, go get some wonderful chinese from Dragon Star on Hawley. This is the best Chinese food in Mundelein. I couldn't wipe the grin off my fast last night.

Rode in to work today and it was sweet! Still the damn construction on River Rd. at Touhy, so I'm going to have to take the freeway home tonight. Oh well. *grin* I did remember why I don't wear the deerskin gloves under 50deg. Damn hands froze!

I still got that grin though... and the bike works like a champ. I'm at 15,400 so time for the 15k maintenance now that the weather allows me to work in the garage. Also throw on the Road King shocks and start tweaking that carb.

So how was your winter? Rode yet?

Rider blessings for 2011

2010-12-31T15:42:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year! May your 2011 be full of good fortune, good cheer, good health and lots of laughter and love... and lots of warm, sunny days with open roads and no cagers around!

Happy Holidays

2010-12-25T10:52:00.001-06:00

Kellemes Karácsonyt

Frohe Weihnachten

Merry Christmas!

From my family and myself to you and your family, may this blessed holiday bring you much cheer and joy.

Toys for Tots - doing what's important

2010-12-06T08:42:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the very generous folks who read my Gamer Geek [1] blog, I had $145.00 to donate to Toys for Tots. Some of the older experienced folks who got me interested in this charity recommended I take the money and buy toys with it, so after checking with the donors, I did. I got the whole family involved, so they could be a part of it. It was great!

My band of elves... something about "we'll get ice cream after" [2] seemed to encourage them all...

Busy shopping!

Santa dude's dressed in his alternative "Chicago Bears fan" outfit and has a list!

Ho Ho Ho! My littlelest daughter who helped pick out some of the toys.

My better half elf

Here's the loot! It's kinda depressing how fast $150 goes, but we shopped for all ages and tried to find the best deals. At the end of the day, I think it came out really well!

The elves are packing the bag for the drop-off.

And here's the packed bag! That's my old Air Force flight bag.

All Santa dudes gotta get kisses from their better half elf. :)

Unfortunately, Jack Frost had other plans for the weekend and Chicago had snow Saturday. We got about 4 inches or so up here in the-way-the-hell-Northern suburbs and the roads were really shitty at 2am on Sunday morning - the car was slipping/sliding. It was an hour ride to the parade, I had no idea how the roads were and an hour back. So I opted to cage the toys to the drop off on Sunday. As much as I wanted to ride, and I REALLY wanted to ride, it wasn't worth the risk - the toys to the kids were the most important piece of it.

Of course, I got there too late, so I'm off to one of the regional drop offs today after work.

As far as riding in the parade? Maybe next year... [3]

To all of those in the gaming community who generously donated, thank you. It was nice getting everyone involved and it means a lot to the kids. I hope next year to get things started even sooner - maybe even host some sort of gaming event/motorcycle deal to get some donations.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Holidays to you all. This was what Christmas is about.

[1] I like to call myself a leather-wearing, cigar-chomping, mc-riding, Dungeons and Dragons nerd :)
[2] The little granddaughter had a huge screaming over-tired meltdown in Toys R Us, which cut the outing short, but I've got holiday ice cream treats for our tree trimming tonight. I didn't forget!
[3] Spoken like a true Chicago Cubs fan

Preparing for Sunday's Toys for Tots Parade

2010-12-03T11:08:00.000-06:00

I laughed at Tom Skilling (the local respected weatherman on WGN 9) all summer as he predicted rain and then it would miss us. Well, Tom's getting the last laugh. As most of you in the Chicagoland area know, snow will start tonight and continue thru Saturday with total accumulation to average from 4 to 6 inches. It will be heavier north of Chicago. Temps on Sunday? Teens to twenties.

And where do I live? North of Chicago, near the Wisconsin border.

The annual Toys for Tots Motorcycle Parade will be this Sunday, lineup from 6pm to 9.30pm, parade starts at 9.30 till 1 or so. Total ride time to the starting gate? about an hour fifteen normal. Probably 2 hours given the weather.

I said I would do this, I've raised money so I could buy toys and ride in it, so I will. I may have to take two to three hours to get there, but so be it. I may have to hand wash my bike in a semi-heated garage afterwards from all the road salt, but so be it. This is something I've been working on/for all autumn and it's going to take a blizzard or extremely dangerous conditions to keep me from riding. Unfortunately, depending on how long/late the snow lasts, it may just be those conditions. Fuck.

Hell, if I have to, I'll take the cage down and drop the toys off, as much as that would suck. That's the most important thing.

Well damn... we'll see what happens. I'll take pics.

Well crap! No rentals in winter?

2010-11-29T13:37:00.000-06:00

It seems that the Chicagoland area rental shops stop renting in November through March. Makes business sense, I suppose, but it's disappointing. I have a friend in from the UK where he/they ride all year round and he won't be able to ride in the Toys for Tots parade. Color me disappointed.

Riding and writing...

2010-11-18T08:46:00.000-06:00

Winter is starting to take hold around these parts and that means making more choices about when to ride. It fluctuates from day to day, but right now my guidelines are not riding if it's below freezing and the roads were wet, or if it's going to stay below freezing the whole day, snow/ice on the ground or lightning. Sometimes I'll take the chance, sometimes I won't. I'm still feeling out how the bike feels on nasty roads.

My old lady had a good question as well -- instead of spending a fortune on Redhead lined jeans (my favorite for winter) and thermals, why don't I just buy snowmobile pants. Right away, my thoughts turn to this:

Randy from "A Christmas Story" -- "Wait for me, guys!"

Well, it's a good question, so I'm going to have to find out if there are decent looking snow pants that could give me some cold weather protection and not suck on a motorcycle. Any suggestions/recommendations?

I've completed the biggest of my "Cheap Harley Owner" purchases to make a "Tourster" bike - my Road King shocks. I have a pair of 2002 Ultra Classic (P/N 54661-02A) from Ebay which are about 12" eye to eye - so they should work very well. I'll still need to get the Schrader Valves though. they were $84 after I managed to get the right bid at the right time (ie., last minute sweating that someone else would outbid me...) since these puppies had been going for $100+ in other auctions. Once I get these guys on, my last purchases will be a luggage rack for the detachable Harley sissy bar, and then luggage itself. And still everything at about 50% of retail. So far, so good!

The floorboards I bought last month worked out well and I did a modification to my Sporty - minor but it'll help me out. The floorboards didn't sit quite right - visually that is. They work just fine and fold up just fine, but I didn't like the look. The clevis that holds the pegs/boards in the bracket uses a goddamn snap ring from hell which is a PITA with the bracket on the bike. Since flexibility is the name of the game for my "Tourster", I asked around on options - someone on BikerOrNot suggested I use a shoulder bolt. Well damn, that just worked out great! So now I can easily switch between pegs and boards - I'll put the boards on when we're doing some serious long distance riding and I'm less worried about looks.

Finally... my ugly mug is on the Harley Davidson Facebook page under the Military Riders section. It's a page that honors Military members and encourages vets and active members to send in their photos and talk about being a Harley Owner. I used a pic from September's Wisconsin Dells trip. I've cropped my page from the site - it's based on a Flash scroller so I can't give you the direct link.

Warp Speed to Surreality

2010-11-03T08:59:00.000-05:00

I've been layering up and wearing the full-face helmet on these cold days and I've noticed something really odd. On the freeway, I get to above 65mph and the sounds of my engine "disappear." I know the bike is running, I can feel the vibration and we're moving. The effect though, is as if I'm gliding effortlessly and silently above the ground, the wind buffeting the windshield and the bits of my body that aren't behind it.

It happened yesterday and I found myself trying to figure out how to groove with it. You know what I mean, you take the experiences and sensory input and you work out a flow with it - how you react to it, how you keep your wits and mental acuity sharp while enjoying the experience. It's almost a feeling of comfort when that flow happens, and that's when my ride really begins.

So this morning I knew what to expect when the engine noise disappeared while I was on the freeway and two phrases came to mind: "surreal" and "Warp Speed, Mr. Scott!" The effect of gliding is surreal to me, and if we ever do find Warp Speed, I have a feeling it'll be like what I was feeling - gliding effortlessly, everything in perfect harmony and the physical barriers between my bike and body seem to melt to where I am the bike is me.

Perfect.

The sunrise over Chicago was amazing this morning - lines of cloud layers in pink/blue/white and the glow of the sun just peeking over the horizon. My old lady took these pictures from our house this morning - what a beautiful sight.

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Cold Chicago Weather riding

2010-11-02T08:54:00.000-05:00

The past couple of days have been in the upper 20s/low 30s when I roll the bike out of the garage to fire it up. Well, I say "fire it up" but it's more like "poke the damn thing awake and let it rumble for a few moments, then ease it down the driveway, onto the street, tickle the wick, poke along with it coughing and sputtering like a 90-year-old-asthmatic and eventually it will stumble around enough to get rolling good."

My Harley is definitely a male bike. A female bike would tell me to go fuck myself, she ain't gettin' out of bed this early/cold and roll over and pull the covers into a cocoon. At least that's the way it's worked with the old lady a time or two...

Aside from the thermals, fleece lined jeans, double socks, gauntlets, leather jacket, ski mask that's been opened up at the top, I've also added two more things to the cold weather gear - windshield and full face helmet. The windshield is a godsend, cuts down so much on the air hitting my body. It acts like a sail at times, but no real difference than the wind hitting my body. The full face helmet makes managing the fogging a bit easier and I'm not suffering from tiny parts of my head getting numb from not being covered.

One friend suggested a "neoprene full face mask" but I look at those and I think "bondage S/m gear" and in that realm, I'm in the Top half, not the bottom half - the bottom half would wear those types of things.

Nah, not for me.

I'm thinking that once the high is in the 30s and the lows are in the low 20s, I'm keeping the bike parked. According to the owners manual I need to run 10w40 with ambient temps lower than 40 degrees, I'm running 20w50 currently. That's OK, it's close enough to 5k - I'm at 14,300. Almost 8 grand so far since May.

I'm also hearing what I think is pinging. It's a weird sound, not like the "damn hot knock" I heard - if I wasn't sure it's because the bike is running lean (still need to do the DocTramp CV Carb mod), I'd almost say maybe I've got a lifter that's sticky. It only happens ~3,000rpm and only when the bike is still cold. Weird. I don't like running when I'm hearing a lot of pinging, so some plug pulling this weekend when I'm changing the oil.

Still worth it though. Everyone else is shut up in their little warm metal boxes and I've got the wind around me, the smells and if I crack the windshield, fall is still in the air. I feel alive.

BTW, Chicago commute drivers - there still are bikes on the road. Not as many, but we're still there. Don't look so damn surprised when I'm passing you. And don't run my ass over, OK?

"Tourster" Sportster eBay find

2010-10-26T10:56:00.000-05:00

In my ongoing "Tourster" conversion, the old lady and I decided that she needed floorboards versus the passenger pegs, especially for long trips. Problem is, those seem to be hard to find, especially at reasonable prices (under $50). I finally found something that isn't the shiniest/brightest item, but it'll work and it's about a third that I would have paid for Kurakayan floor boards. When I get them on, I'll post some updated pics, but I'm hopeful these will work:

From 2 Orange Harleys.

It should be said that the description was upfront: "The bottom side is not "show quality chrome". Recommended for passenger pegs. These floorboards are not nearly adjustable enough to work properly as driver floorboards. We have had customers make them work as driver boards, but we do not recommend them for that application."

For me, right now, function is more important than all chrome, all the time.

So left on the "Cheap Harley Owner" "Tourster" updates is:

Backrest luggage rack
Backrest luggage kit
Road King lowering shocks (12")

Completed/purchased (* means bought used/found another source at 50% of retail) is:

Windshield *
Detachable backrest *
Mustange Vintage solo seat + Wide Vintage pillion pad *
Footboards *

More Adventures of the Dumbass DIY'er...

2010-10-20T13:28:00.000-05:00

One of the things I love about being a biker is working on my own bike. To me, that's half the experience - doing your own fixes and maintenance. I have been my own wrench for as long as I've owned vehicles and I'm pretty comfortable with that.

I'm also completely familiar with the dumbass ways a DIY'er can dig themselves. I've snapped bolts, broken parts, lost pieces and ended up doing dumbass things that cost me a lot of money to fix. Just the way it is and a person has to accept it or end up paying the stealership prices to have someone else do that and add a line item called "other" to your bill.

That's what just happened to me with my fix from the other week with my Rattle-of-Death from the primary. I had taken off the primary cover and in doing so, had taken off the clutch cable. I was very happy to have fixed the rattle, but I struggled wrenching the cable back into the cover. The cable was loose, just like the manual said, but it wouldn't rotate when I was trying to set it back in. I kept trying and eventually the end fitting started spinning... because it had separated from the cable itself - the area where it's crimped on.

Well damn... but that wasn't all. The fitting started feeling like I was set to strip it out, so I backed it out and reset it in. I thought I had it right and turned... and turned... and turned... and dammit, it WAS stripped! It wouldn't tighten down, but I could back it off. So now I had to consider if the cable itself was stripped or the case threads were stripped. If it was the latter, I'd have to pull the case off and either clean the threads or use helicoil to make new ones. Either way, I'd screwed up and it was going to cost me money. I get pretty damn mad at myself when I screw up enough to cost me money.

And then the leaking of primary oil began... a drop here and there. Riding made it a bit worse. I was between paychecks and I didn't know how bad this was going to be. I also had a ride coming up that I wanted to go on - taking off the cover to fix it would put me down a day or two, and I like to assume the worst when I'm wrenching - it usually happens! So I grabbed a tube of RTV and hoped it would work. Well, it did - kinda, sorta. It didn't keep the leaking from occuring, but it did keep it to a minimum for awhile, long enough for me to get the ride to Holy Hill in. Then it got worse.

So I knew that I was going to have to see how bad it was going to be. I bought a new clutch cable ($65 with tax) and removed the old one, praying that the fitting end was softer than the case and it was the stripped part. Fortunately for me, it was. The new cable fit right in and tightened down... not too tight though - didn't want to break the fitting off. I also discovered the bottom portion of the cable is supposed to rotate when you're wrenching it in - my old cable did not, which is probably why following the FSM got me in trouble. This time, I left the top disconnected and the cable flopped around while I fit it into the case.

All buttoned up, clutch readjusted (we won't talk about how I thought I had misadjusted it ... three times ... ) and fired it up and away I went. No leaks that I can see from the cable end and the ground's been as dry as a bone for the past couple of rides.

Ahhh... that's the way DIY'ing *should* finish, with a happy ending.

Holy Hill Ride - 10/16 - Video and Vol 3 of pics

2010-10-19T09:44:00.000-05:00

Holy Hill Ride 10-16 - Vol 2

2010-10-18T08:46:00.000-05:00

I am collecting monetary donations for the 2010 Chicagoland Toys for Tots Motorcycle Parade to be held on Dec 6th. This is a great charity where the Marines distribute Christmas toys to needy kids. To donate, please use the donation button in the sidebar. Thank you!

Holy Hill Ride 10-16 - Vol 1

2010-10-17T14:37:00.000-05:00

"BIC fixing" my Harley

2010-10-12T08:53:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned a time or two that I used to race stock cars at Lake Geneva Raceway. I only raced for three years, as Lake Geneva Raceway (LGR) closed at the end of the 2006 season. Racing at LGR was an experience of a lifetime as I learned more in 3 years than I ever thought I would. It also taught me that necessity and DIY fixes are nothing to be sneered at.

I learned that by racing pure stock 4 cylinder cars, known at LGR as BIC cars. (Basic International Cars). The track promoter, Kevin Dawson, was reputed to have said that the little 4 cylinders were like BIC pens, numerous, easy to obtain, easier to use up and toss aside. And indeed they were. I bought my first race car for $200. It was a stripped out/down 1992 Nissan Sentra. I had a seat, 4 point belt, steering wheel and basic gauges, an engine, frame, body and that's about it. And some tires. I went racin'!

When BIC cars broke, as they often did, duct tape, JB Weld, hose clamps, vise grips, super glue and prayer was the "BIC fix" - you did what you had to do to pass the tech inspection and get on the track! Soon enough, the phrase "BIC fix" was applied to just about any repair that was "less than OEM, but better than bubble gum" in nature. BIC fixes warm the cockles of my cheap Harley rider's heart and I'm already applying them. If the o-ring looks good, or the retaining clip is obviously not shot, reuse it. If the chrome has a bit of rust, remove it and keep the part. Do what you have to do to keep riding until you can get the right thing, or until it fails completely.

Most old school bikers didn't need the previous three paragraphs, they would hear "duct tape", "quick fix", "get back on the track" and be nodding in memory/agreement and moving on. BIC fixes are what I've come to trust and work with. There's some electrical tape here and there on my bike where I'd probably should replace the wire, but it works. I've made do with reusing some parts after a cleaning and rebending. My bike lift is a $30 collection of lumber and pipe and cheapass carpet that I bought for $1 from Menards. And don't ask me about the staple gun...

Example is what I'm doing tonight, I'm BIC-fixing my clutch cable. I either stripped the threads on the fitting or the threads in the primary case, but I had a little oily surprise under my primary case this morning. The cable is staying attached to the case so I know it's not going to flop out or anything like that. I know I have to get a new clutch cable and possibly repair the threads with Heli-coil, but in the meantime, some RTV right in that area where the clutch cable threads in, and around the fitting and I'll be back on the road tomorrow morning. BIC fix.

Share your BIC fixes, please... I'm dyin' to learn some new ones!

Sheridan Road, revisited

2010-10-11T11:28:00.000-05:00

Autumn's hit Chicago like a ton of bricks - the leaves are changing fast. The weather here was perfect - 70s in the day, cool evenings and nights. My old lady was doing a weekend event in Chicago, so I had the pleasure of taking afternoon rides on Saturday and Sunday to go meet up with her for dinner.

Back in June, I took Sheridan Road on a motorcycle for the first time and 4 months later, I revisited it, twice. Amazing foliage - I wish I had my camera and I'm hoping for another cruise down it next weekend with the old lady so we can enjoy it and take some photos. The explosion of yellows/browns/oranges/reds is a concert of visual contrasts.

It's funny how random thoughts will just hit you out of nowhere. For me, I suddenly realized I'd spent the last few miles wondering what the hell caused plants to actually change those colors. Is it something in the leaf? Is it some sort of evolutionary mechanism? If so, what does it do? If not, then what causes such wild variations? Then someone pulled out in the road and I had to slow down and the thought was gone - for awhile.

In just five months, I've ridden almost 7,000 miles and I can feel the difference. Where I would cautiously take corners, I'm now approaching with more confidence in the bike and myself. So much so I pulled over to let some slow cars get way the hell down the road so I could enjoy the rolling hills and twisties with a bit of speed.

I've got a leak somewhere on my primary cover gasket, probably from the other week's fixes. I'll recheck the torques and worse comes to worse, I'll have to pay the Harley tax on doing maintenance and replace the damn thing. I've also got a broken truck I need to fix - damn EPA attachments - something is wrong, I've got all sorts of codes and a lot of mysteries to solve. It's always something.

I'd rather be riding.

Serenity in violence

2010-10-07T16:28:00.000-05:00

I was sent to this page on NPR's website by a posting on Hawg Ryder's Tech Shack courtesy of Dr. Tramp (he of the CV Carb Mod reputation). The video is of a motorcycle enthusiast by the name of Shinya Kimura.

The video, by Henrik Hansen, is amazing.

shinya kimura @ chabott engineering from Henrik Hansen on Vimeo.

Update on fixes and CV Carb bling

2010-10-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

I finished fixing my bike and figuring out what the insane rattle/primary chain problem was. As it turns out, my compensator pulley nut was extremely loose - especially when you consider it's supposed to be torqued to 250 ftlbs. I could easily spin the nut off. A couple of drops of red locktite, a torque wrench borrowed from O'Reilly's in Mundelein and Bob's yer uncle.

Surprisingly, this fix also reduced the vibration I was feeling by metric tons. I can't believe how smooth the bike is now and the response to the gear change is sweet! It's a near-religious moment when you first turn on a car or bike after having wrenched it yourself - that half-wondering if you fucked something up, forgot a key bolt or gear or didn't tighten everything down, then relief and joy when it all works.

The commute is starting to get a bit chilly now, I'm enjoying the hell out of these semi-warm days. Not going to be too much longer - the march of the calendar and we'll be in the holiday season. I'm jonesing real bad to be doing some deer hunting, but I may have to sit it out again this year. I am enjoying the rides through the changing foliage. The smells that you get when riding thru the country with the late harvests and the trees turning. Just indescribable.

Odd/funny/sad story about my visit to O'Reilly's to rent the torque wrench.

I used to race stock cars up at Lake Geneva Raceway right before it closed in 2006. My main sponsorship wasn't for cash, it was for the ability to buy auto parts at warehouse prices. If you don't think that saved me a ton of money, let me assure you it did. The sponsor was Quality Auto Parts out of Mundelein. Ed was the owner/manager and he had worked there for almost 30 years. Him and "Joe" at the counter were always friendly and they saved my ass a time or two in advice, parts and helping me. Ed used to do machining as well and when I busted a timing belt on my Neon stocker and bent all 16 damn valves, Ed had my head finished, cleaned, valves done and a bit extra in no time at all.

Well, times change and Ed couldn't compete with the big box/high volume AutoZones, Advance Auto Parts and even his distributor had auto shops so he was competing against his own distributor. Ed closed up shop and took off a year. He has a sweet motorcycle (White Honda IIRC) and he took some time off to ride. The retail space where the shop was is still empty, thanks to the economy, and there's a sad sign on the window telling the tale.

The funny part of this is two parts - one is that I found Ed working at his former competitor's shop - Lee Auto Parts in Mundelein. He got bored, came back and is now a manager there. It was really good to see him. The other funny part is that when I called O'Reilly's to ask about the torque wrench, I heard an all-too familiar voice on the phone - it was "Joe"! Small world -- he's working about 2 miles away from Ed. It brought a smile to my face that these two guys had jobs and were still doing well... but it's still sad that Quality Auto Parts is no more.

Aw shit, I forgot to mention the CV Carb bling when I posted this earlier. Go here. I'm not one for overdoing the chrome bling, but that just looks neat. I'm looking forward to seeing the final product and price.

Opening the primary - finding loose mystery parts

2010-10-04T21:14:00.000-05:00

I yanked the primary cover off of my Sporty tonight. The reason I was yanking the cover was to figure out why I either had a rattle or a whine when I adjusted the primary chain. The rattle of a loose chain started rather suddenly this past Saturday, out of nowhere. If I put the chain within spec, I had a "too tight" whine. If I tried to lose the whine by backing off the tension, it would immediately rattle. There was no inbetween.

The shoe itself looks OK, it has some wear, but I'm not sure this needs replaced after 13k miles:

Here's the mystery part. I had my drain pan under the cover when I cracked it open and as I was taking the pan away, I saw this floating in it. It measure about 1/2" long and about 3/8" wide. It looks like some sort of clamp.

EDITED LATER - the mystery part is an alignment dowel - used to align the primary cover to the engine/tranny when reinstalling the cover. So that's not the source of my rattle. Off to do more things - like check the torque on compensator pulley nut and clutch hub nut.

Travel pictures from September

2010-09-30T09:25:00.000-05:00