Connecting and Neglecting

I know I haven't been posting a lot lately, we shut off our TV and have been busy doing other things instead like fixing bearings, bleeding brakes and soon to be changing tires. We've been riding our motorcycles, enjoying summer and traipsing to San Francisco, you know... life.

The most important thing we did was shutting off the TV. After my surgery it was too easy at the end of the day to shut off our brains and zone out in front of the tube until it got dark and then drag ourselves to bed. It's amazing how busy you can be when you take the time to do something, anything.



Then there is the computer and social websites, I was connecting and neglecting, they don't call it "wastebook" for nothing. Forums, Netflix, Facebook, Google+, Craigslist, ebay, when does it end? It ends now. I've neglected the house, the yard, the blog and I've wasted too much time watching videos, reading status updates and commenting on other peoples lives. When I need to be reading the stack of magazines I have on the coffee table, the books sitting on the bookshelf, the blogs you all put so much time and effort into for yourselves but share with us as well.

We shut off the TV, cancelled Netflix, locked down facebook and stopped logging into the forums every hour on the hour. Netflix made it easy with the whole Netflix and Quikster fiasco, they want to change our accounts and separate DVDs and streaming. I was mad at first but realized my energy could be focused elsewhere and closed our account.

Then facebook completely revamped their whole webpage and changed the way they share your information. You think Big Brother was scary, there's a new thug in town.



Google+ is the new social network, I gave that a try until I was banging my head on the desk. Plus one this!



Connecting with friends at Saturday morning coffee every week, bike night once a month and checking the forum once every other day or two should suffice. There is always email and although I despise the cell phone I suppose I could open Skype once in a while.

Anyway, amongst all the online social interaction, we have gone on a few rides. Some on our own, some group rides and a couple of more intimate rides with another couple, Josh and Meg. Trobairitz wrote a bit on our rides so I won't reiterate, but she did leave out the best part at the peacock park.

We met some kids that invited us to go sledding. ATGATT!!!



This is a completely new concept to this Canuck as I never heard of sledding down grass slopes in the middle of summer.



Simply find some cardboard or nylon sheeting, climb a hill and go.



I haven't ROTFLMAO like that in a long time.

Ahhhh, reminiscing.... good times!!

Can't do that on facebook, how's that for a 'Like'.

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Trobairitz has been posting our adventures in San Francisco but hasn't got to Sunday yet when we went to Alameda. She wanted to go see the USS Hornet, a World War II aircraft carrier. I won't spoil her tale but I encountered something much more fun than a big old ship.

We boarded the BART system to Oakland and hopped a bus to Alameda. The bus dropped us off just outside the Naval Air Station so we walked a few blocks. We didn't see the MythBusters but could see the Hornet in the distance.
When we came around the corner I had to stop to take a photo, what wonderful fun is this?



What a great photo op, of course you know of whom I thought.



But then we got closer and spotted... *rubbing my eyes*... could it be?




Sophie with a Hi-vis jacket on the ground beside her?



Irondad!!! We found your doppelganger!!!! Or did we slip back in time? A younger, dapper Dan?




To train and to learn under the watchful eyes of an aircraft carrier would be pretty cool. I could've stood there all day watching bikes go round and round.




Even from the control tower...



the captain's chair...



and the flight deck, I did.




Seeing these bikes on the course gave me something to think about, now I have all this spare time.




"A tribute to learning is teaching." -Wise Saying from the Orient

Why I shouldn't work on my own bike...

While dealing with my bearing fiasco, I noticed that my rear brake pads were due for replacement and promptly ordered new pads all the way around. The front pads were fine but I knew I'd better have a set in my tool chest for when the time came to change them out. While picking up the pads from the shop, the ever helpful young man at the counter asked when the last time I changed the brake fluid in the bike. Way to up-sell. Well I said, I haven't had the bike a year yet and the previous owner was a retired shop class teacher and we know how meticulous they can be, so I would say about a year. I checked the sight glass in the front master cylinder/reservoir and sure enough it could definitely use a change.

I bought some Speed Bleeders over a wet dream I had thinking I'd attempt bleeding my own brakes. I've bled brakes before and it is so much easier with two people but I am more work at my own pace, enjoy the peace and quiet, mutter to myself, kinda guy. Speed Bleeders would make the job so much easier and maybe, just maybe I wouldn't be so reluctant to change my brake fluid next time.

After a week of going round and round looking for the absolute best, high performance, race quality, motorcycle specific DOT4 brake fluid that money could buy, I settled on Galfer Brand and I was all set.

I started with the front bleeders and had the old ones out and the new ones installed in no time at all. I was standing proud in my garage that I hadn't stripped out the aluminum threads on the brake calipers. However, in my eagerness I realized that now I was committed. The delicate integrity of brake fluid has been tainted, the seal broken and there is air in the system, there is no pressure behind the lever and the bike is officially out of commission. I gazed upon the two little innocent looking Phillips bolt heads holding down the cover of the reservoir.

Being from Canada I was born and raised on Robertson drivers, such a wonderful invention, I applaud you Mr. Robertson.

And I have learned to appreciate many other socket type heads throughout the years.

I have a set of hex keys and even a few torx driver bits in my arsenal. All wonderful to use but seeing a Phillips type head will bring this grown man to tears. Why, oh why does this style still exist? Most useless fads come and go, giving way for new and innovative replacements. Take music media for example, just in my lifetime I've seen vinyl records, reel to reel and 8 track tapes make way for cassette tapes and compact discs. Now they're obsolete with MP3 and digital media taking over to the point that I don't even know what to call it. (Where's my cane?) So why do we hold on to such a poor design as the Phillips head? Why?

So anyway, you see where this is going, right? Yes, these two little thorns would be no different and knowing that an aluminum reservoir and steel bolts create a wonderful galvanic reaction, I took my time and approached the task slowly, delicately and with utmost precision. Needless to say, I stripped out the head and reached for my drill. I drilled out the first bolt head hoping to leave enough material to grab with a pair of vise-grips once I got the cover off... well, it worked in theory.I went after the other side and drilled a small hole being careful not to lose the head of the bolt this time. I inserted a screw extractor, with a few taps of the hammer I managed to get a good purchase on the screw and slowly turned counterclockwise until... the extractor snapped. Shit! Shit! Shit! and much, much more expletives.

Deep breath and muttering to myself. I used a center punch and hammer, slowly tapping the screw from its grip. That's one out, the cover is off and I emptied the reservoir and stuffed a paper towel to catch any shavings, now back to the other side. Using a smaller bit I drilled out the broken bolt just a wee bit more and the next day I bought another extractor. You would think I'd be smart and buy a better quality extractor than the one I just broke right? The new extractor filled the well I had just drilled and the drill bit is no match for the remnants of the new extractor.

I went ahead and flushed the system, bled the brakes and replaced the cover with the one bolt while I ponder going after the other with a rotary tool and left hand drill bit, purchasing a better quality extractor or replacing the whole reservoir and master cylinder. As long as I get to it before the rain comes.

And I did replace the one bolt with a stainless steel hex head.

I did ride to work today, what a difference new fluid makes. The Speed Bleeders made it simple to flush and bleed the system. I recommend them.

What was that?!?

When you hear a pop like a rock hitting your swingarm or panier, pull over and check it out. It might just be something important, but isn't everything on a motorcycle important?

The Triumph shop in Eugene was hosting a group ride to Steamboat Inn for lunch last Sunday so I rode down to join in. I scheduled to meet a new riding buddy Dave and his Bonneville enroute in Monroe and since we had time, I took him down a few backroads to Eugene instead of the long straight boring way. We met another riding friend and regular Saturday Morning Coffee attendee Andy on his black Tiger 955 at the shop. The three of us met with a couple of other riders that we know from previous events and from the shop. We enjoyed conversation over doughnuts and coffee while we waited for more riders to show up.





As motorcyclists the conversation always ends up on the subject of tires and with four of us Tiger riders it was about dualsport tires and Heidenau in particular. I mentioned Cheryl and Leslie's blog and their trip to Alaska on new Tiger 800XCs and on Heidenau K60 Scouts. I mentioned how much I like my Shinko 705s, I find them to be quite capable, trust them in the corners and I can buy a pair for less than one Continental TKC80. I've have 7000 miles on them now so we strolled outside to take a look. We were inspecting them when Andy asked what was going on with my axle. It looked like a piece of wire had wrapped around an axle spacer, hmmm this can't be good and needed closer inspection and a request for confirmation from one of the shop mechanics.





I hefted her up on the center stand while Andy the forklift mechanic and Quentin the shop mechanic poked, prodded, gestured, spun the wheel, gave it a good shake and finally decided that the bearing was still intact and it was just the bearing seal, we'd just keep an eye on it to make sure it was okay. Fortunately it was not an axle bearing but the sprocket carrier bearing. Sweet, I wouldn't have to bail on the ride.

Eventually there were 10 bikes and 11 riders ready to head out. I kept an ear open for any protest from the bearing and we stopped soon enough that I could check on it. It wasn't hot or smoking so we carried on and enjoyed the ride.

We took some backroads that I had never been on before and the route took us to a forest service road that I definitely need to explore some more.

Rod's Demo Tiger 800

The weather was perfect, the road fantastic and we made it Steamboat Inn for lunch.



Not a lot of vegetarian options but they serve breakfast all day so I ordered the potatoes and vegetables with cheese.



It wasn't long before we were out in the parking lot and on our way.






We finished off the ride meandering over and west of the I-5 to Elkton and Drain, the lowest point in Oregon. Fellow riders started peeling off for home and the group got smaller as we got closer and closer to the shop.
Dave, Andy and I thanked Rod for hosting the ride then headed north toward home. Dave stopped for fuel in Junction City and Andy headed north east toward Lebanon as I continued due north to Corvallis.

It was somewhere along the ride when your mind is truly clear that I remembered hearing that pop earlier in the week and thinking the lid to my panier had opened or a rock had hit the swingarm. The bike never developed a vibration or squealing noise and I was running late so by the time I made it to work I had forgotten all about it. I'll bet that's what it was, my bearing had failed.

So after a quick calculation from the time I heard the pop and week of commuting, attending bike nights and Sunday's ride, I rode 600 miles on a failed bearing. Luckily I made it home safely and inspected the bearing a bit closer.

Oh boy, this doesn't look good.

Hmmm, wonder what this is going to cost me?

It looks worse than it was. I cleaned up all the parts, referred to Bike Bandit's schematic, took inventory and only needed to replace the bearing and I replaced all three to be safe.



The hard part was removing the old bearing races from the sprocket hub and the spacer. I managed to get the inner race from the spacer with an angle grinder but I didn't have any way to get the outer race from the hub as my hammer and screwdriver wasn't going to do it.

Andy told me to bring the hub into work and the next morning he was waiting for me in his service van ready to help. With a threat from the die grinder and a little persuasion with the 32oz. ball-peen he got the outer race to see things his way.




It took four days to source the bearings and oil seals locally but she's back together and happy. Now to replace the front ones too... maybe tomorrow.


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My Tent and Billy

Since our adventure down to Wolf Creek, scouting camping sites along the way and missing out on the OBDR I've been wanting to go camping on the bikes. I had all the equipment, just hadn't had the opportunity to put it to use.

While at bike night last week a friend mentioned he had been up to Crater Lake on his bike. The road around the rim had just opened a week or two ago and I had been meaning to get up there since last year. I pulled out the maps, found some campgrounds, loaded up the bikes and last Saturday we were off. I hate making reservations at campgrounds or even hotels for that matter, it puts a sense of urgency and obligation on the trip. You pay a deposit then you have to be there by a certain time or you lose the site/room and it just takes all the spontaneity, fun and adventure out of the trip. I knew there were plenty of campgrounds along the route and we were self sufficient so worst case scenario would be to pull off into the woods and set up camp for the night without a fire.

We left Saturday morning coffee, rode down Peoria Road, Harrisburg over McKenzie View and over to Lowell and up highway 58 to Oakridge where we stopped for a bite to eat and part ways with Andy as he went off to find gravel roads and parts unknown. Trobairitz and I continued on over the Willamette Pass down Hwy 97 into Chemult for something cold to drink before heading off into the woods.



We could have rode down to Klamath Falls and found a hotel too if need be but we found a perfect site at the first campground we pulled into, Farewell Bend Campground off highway 230 just north of Union Creek. Stopping to look at the campground map and avoiding the playground area we eyed a site off at the end of a loop along the river. We couldn't believe it was available and quickly claimed it by parking our bikes and walking up to the camp host site to pay before setting up the tent, starting a fire and making dinner.



A nice little plateau for the tent with a river view.





Of course my billy is the latest in camp technology and worth every cent. I love this thing, it boils water in just a couple minutes and makes one hell of a blow torch to start a campfire.



Sunday morning we were up early, put some hot oatmeal in us for breakfast and went for a walk down the trail to Rogue Gorge.









Then it was off to ride the rim.











We had a great weekend, fantastic weather and an even better ride. Now we can't wait to plan our next camping trip.


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