Hydraulic Clutch Bleed Walk-through--with pics!

http://redlegsrides.blogspot.com/2007/11/bleeding-hydraulic-clutch-circuit-on.html

Garmin GPS Handlebar Mount

After staring at my Garmin i3’s socket-and-suction-cup mount for a couple of minutes, the answer turned out to be almost as easy as raiding the kid’s toy box.

It looked like all that was needed was a proper sized bead, a handlebar mount and a machine screw to join the two (Figs 1, 2, 3). So a look in the Yellow Pages revealed a local business whose sole existence was based on the selling of beads, and this was in a town of only 16, 000 people.

It looked like Beads-R-Us when I walked through the door. The woman who ran the place had heard it all before, so when I asked for a 17 mm diameter bead she didn’t even blink. And did the nice man want it in clay, glass, wood, ceramic or resin? How about colours and maybe place of origin?

She advised against wood because humidity can cause it to swell and make removal a risky job; glass and ceramics preclude any fine-tuning such as shaping and drilling.

I settled on a bike-matching burgundy resin bead of 17 mm in diameter (in one axis it was), all from the exotic location of Indonesia. So for $1.00 plus tax I was on my way. Grrrr, they came 5 to a bag. read more:...http://www.webbikeworld.com/garmin-gps/garmin-gps-handlebar-mount/

See other maintenance procedures: http://redlegsrides.blogspot.com/search/label/Maintenance

Brake Bleed

My First Brake Bleed for Maria

Today was the day I'd been prepping for about a month, with some of the parts bought months ago. I had, when I first bought the motorcycle a year ago, let the Beemer dealer whom I don't trust anymore to service my bike; do the annual brake bleeding of the wheel circuits and the bi-annual bleeding of the ABS control circuits in November.

So, Maria, my R1150RT was due again for the required annual bleeding of the wheel circuits for both front and rear brakes. read more: http://redlegsrides.blogspot.com/2007/11/my-first-brake-bleed-for-maria.html

Watch For Ice

When the potential for slick roads increases I make a number of riding adjustments. The first is occasional stops to assess available traction. I want something other than the tires telling me they are breaking loose.

I also decrease speed. Depending on where I am and what the weather is like it can be pretty dramatic. Other times it means slowing to the speed limit, which this morning meant I had instant company on my back wheel. I’ll pull over or just keep moving along but I usually can’t be coaxed to go faster. The creative driver though can influence me to go much slower though.

Finally, I choose different routes. Usually choices are made in order to have less traffic and always mean longer distances and slower speeds. But they are safer in bad weather. I’m fortunate to have good alternative routes.
http://vespalx150.blogspot.com/2007/11/watch-for-ice.html

Day Ride - Navada City, CA

Never underestimate a heavy load

Well I guess I found out the hard way about loads on a bike. I am on my longgggggggg.... trip to pheonix and loaded my bike up with my new T-Bag ultimate expandable (3.5 cu total) and my extra large River road saddle bags. And to top it off my laptop backpack fully loaded. All totaled I will guess it to be around an extra 200 pounds of dead weight (a guess!) I wish I would have taken the time to load up the bike and drive it around to test out before leaving on my grand journey. Instead I load it up Wendsday morning and embark (A week late mind you. Waiting for my T-Bag to get to me) to Phoenix.
So everything is going ok as I get on the interstate heading south, except that the bike feels real stiff and the front forks seem to flex instead of turn. I did crank my rear shock to the second to last notch, but didn't know if there was a way to set the forks for higher load. She rides nice and smooth at highway speeds and stops real quick too (bad traffic in Kansas city) its just the slow speed handling is gone.
All this information has lead me to believe I have overloaded my bike and I got to learn this lesson the hard way, cause just 2 hours after taking off from Grand forks. I came to my first refueling stop and as I came to a stop on the off ramp (which was rough and had gravel on it) I laid the bike down. Thank the stars I had the engine guard on cause the only thing damaged was the chrome on the guard got gouged and my mirror (which I was going to replace anyways). I also think I sprained my toe or bruised it cause it is swelling up and aches a bit. I will have a doc look at it when I get home if it doesn't change. Oh and my pride was a casualty as someone had to help me lift my bike up. Under its normal load, I would have kept it upright. Of course from then on I have been extra careful when I stop trying not to use the front brake for slow speed stops.
Then the real embarrassing thing happened that same evening. I am just out side Omaha (My first evenings stop) and I needed to read my directions to find out what exit to take. So I slow down and pull off onto the wide paved shoulder and come to a smooth stop, but as I put my feet down my left hit ground but my right foot didn't. And over I went, in slow motion, with me trying in vain to stop the bike from going down. I think if it was on video it might have been kinda funny, but for me it wasn't. The bike gracefully laid on its side as I rolled down the steep embankment. Again the bike wasn't injured but my pride was. I could not for the life of me lift the bike. I tried what I seen in the video and all that. I finally had to take off the T-Bag and my laptop case and then lift it up right. It went up easily and thankful for the video, cause I remembered to put the kick stand down before lifting it.

So the lesson I learned is to keep the bike lean and will use whats learned this spring when I head back up to ND from AZ. I think i will just put pillows in the T-bag.

Sorry for the long winded post but I am horrible at getting to the point of what I am trying to say.

Later. Heres hoping I can make it to Phoenix without anymore mishaps.
__________________
Joe
Plasma Blue 2007 Custom 900

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