Tuesday, September 19, 2017

I Tried To Be Patient...

As always, my quip, my standard line is, "wait for winter...that's when all maintenance/repair will happen.  It breaks, I push it into the corner and ride something else."

My final day of riding in Wyoming was just a bit too much for the old '96 KLR.  Starting out that morning in the Snowy Mountains, I had a bunch of gravel (and less) National Forest roads to explore.  Mid-morning after a very casual and relaxed start to the day, I hadn't ridden very far when I noticed the bike feeling a bit funny.  It wasn't long and funny turned to squirelly.  Looking down at the rear while still in motion, nothing seemed drastically wrong.  In between funny and squirrelly,  I stopped and looked, not really noticing something but then suddenly, it all changed at once.

Just as I've already shared with my close associates, squirrelly turned to "9 inch pogo stick."  The seal had let go on the monoshock and I would soon be hoping for some Dramamine in my tank bag.  Pavement riding was bad enough, but getting back there from my gravel trail was turning downright uncomfortable.  Squat, tire break loose, up, squat, tire break loose, up....and repeat.

So once I got back to camp, the bike went onto the trailer and some planned History Part 2 stops were being planned on my way back to the Midwest. 

Once home, unloaded and "....pushed into the corner...."

Between the shock and my cooling issues on the Kawasaki, it was easy to give it a rest.  It wasn't like I lacked being able to ride something else.  The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me and finally tackling the problem seemed like less trouble than procrastination.  Into the shop and up on the lift.

Here's the nasty old thing....


Shock has been sent away for a rebuild with new spring.  Other things are being adjusted, cleaned, replaced, etc. etc.


After working on the dirty old KlR in the shop I walked out into the garage and looking over the other machines there, noted various colors, hues, bright and dull.  I suddenly realized that brighter, possibly something in more pastel tones was missing.

This one has taken care of that.  From this point forward, it shall be called My Little Jewel.  Possibly a threat to the Hyosung, these two will be separated in the garage from one another to avoid trouble when I'm not watching.  New chain, axle adjusters, an SAE cord, Ram ball, some Velcro stickum for my Timex that moves from bike to bike....I think this one will be ready for the Slimey Crud Run in a couple of weeks.


So, with these repair and maintenance operations being executed, it would appear that in one (and only one) metric, winter has arrived early in the valley.  In every other way, there's a lot more road to explore this fall and you can count on us doing our very best to get that accomplished.  After all, there's a pie chart that's getting filled.

11 comments:

  1. So much exploration and so few bikes!

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    1. I can with great confidence agree with the exploration yet to be done...I best stay a bit quiet on the other part.

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  2. ...look'n forward to pie..a big slice of Helix... or 0'Blue... :)

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    1. I'm looking forward to it while at the same time trying not to play "catchup" with anything. Much more important...just ride the darn things!!

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  3. Nice addition to the bike family.

    Sometimes for the peace of mind we just need to take care of the maintenance right away. Will make you sleep better.

    Enjoy the new toy.

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    1. Thanks Brandy, this one was definitely a whim'd purchase but so far, no regrets.

      Normally easy for me to wait with this sort of thing, something was different about this one. Guilt this time???

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  4. The other day I saw a fellow in a blue sedan bouncing its tail down the road like a rambunctious colt. I can't image how that feels on a bike, on gravel, with no Gravol!

    Nice new ride!

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    1. Thanks David, I'm really looking forward to some miles on the Barbie Honda. Subjective comparisons to my Hyosung have begun.

      New shock arrived today, improvement soon!

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  5. Little Jewel looks like fun - although I expect less so on gravel roads.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Next weekend will be a big test, though I'm sure it will pass with flying colors, me the guy with the "run what you brung" attitude. I had the Hyosung out today and hopefully will get some time on the new one tomorrow. Seat of the pants results?? Hyosung has a stronger feel but so many variables....Redline, 6 vs 5 speed. Using GPS for actual speed, I'll try and be a bit more objective in my comparisons.

      Both the Honda and the Hyo are long, weight down low as are my scooters and I'm convinced that makes a difference

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