Sunday, August 15, 2021

Two Perfect Loops - 2021/08/14

Home from Michigan Friday afternoon, the original plans for the rest of the weekend sort of fell through.  Perfect weather and temperatures, it was only natural to get out on the bike for some late summer miles, my adjustment to the schedule.  Not all that early Saturday morning, I was anxious to take the Elite 250 out for a ride. A couple of weeks ago I rode it into Red Wing and all went well but on the way home, something was going wrong.  The short story, somehow the airbox had come loose, the throttle cable clamp was loose and when I tried to fasten the plenum back on to the carburetor mouth, things just weren't lining up.  Old hard plastic, apparently a bit deformed just wasn't going back into place.  Cable clamp adjusted and tightened but I finally gave up trying to get the air passages back where they belonged.

Taking a better look, there was room for some other filter and a very cheap foam version was found online for a 48mm carb intake.  With no real air filter oil, I just used some straight 30w that I used to run in the tractor.  If I'd been thinking, the Bar Oil would have been a better choice but apparently I wasn't thinking.  So a too short test ride out the driveway was successful, the scooter running at full strength.

Starting out Saturday on the Elite for my Wisconsin loop things soon went awry.  The scooter ran fine on straight petrol, it ran very poorly on straight 30w.  Off and on, on and off, I limped back home.  Any time there was an extra load, the bike would quickly stall out and most of the time keep running.  Most of the time.

I got home and swapped out the Elite for its bigger no-clutch brother, the 400 Auto and that fine machine ran like a top.

The Red loop Saturday on the Honda and the Green loop Sunday on the Morphous.



Bridge painting on the Wabasha-Nelson Bridge...


Along the river in Durand....

 
I know that it must be hard to believe but I've never been here before.

Twisted Sisters Bar.....I didn't stop


Five-Mile Bluff Prairie.....

Guess who I met on a Springfield Blue 2014 Indian this morning??

The Elite has been fiddled with and is now super tuned and race ready!  I plan to share its many strong attributes with the guys at the Hiawatha BMW Rally in September.

5 comments:

  1. I've been thinking of down sizing to a Kawasaki Versys 300 or a Honda CBX 500. This RT I have is a heavy pig and I want to do more exploring while out riding.

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    1. Scott, you know I see the value in moving to something a bit more accommodating, I'd call both of those bikes very balanced and capable.

      I know owners of each of them and they are very happy. One Honda owner is just about ready to embark on the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail. Mostly gravel but some spots along the way with deeper sand. Not sure how gravelly your exploring may be but even if you choose just smaller paved roads, either of the bikes you mentioned would excel...not too much but enough.

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  2. I am actively looking for something. Whether I trade in the bmw or sell it outright. I've heard the Honda is kind of cramped. The Versys looks like it has more space. Of course I'll probably buy something totally opposite. I found a Super Tenere down by Peoria too.

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    1. You'll have to decide how small to go. In my case, all of my 250's work for me but there are roads I wouldn't use them on but very few. For me, they are my Small Bike Threshold and are definitely a compromise. The Versys or 500X would not be compromises in my book but you'll need to decide where and how you go. I'm appreciating small more as time goes on.

      Let me know what you end up with.

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