Got my new helmet!

Got my new Nolan N102 Com helmet. Its a flip-up helmet, has a sun visor, and has inbuilt bluetooth capability. Its awesome! Haven’t tried it out while riding yet. Hopefully, the noise levels will be lower than my current cheapie helmet that I got from ebay.

 

Trip to Bardstown, KY

The weekend weather was great for riding and Angie and I made a little trip to Bardstown, KY on Saturday. Bardstown is about 150 miles south of Cincinnati and we took US127 to get there. It didn’t seem like there was much going on when we got there at about 5 pm. After setting up camp at the My Old Kentucky Home state park, which is also a golf course, we headed into town to find dinner. The obvious choice was the Old Talbot Tavern, which has been in business since 1797. We were expecting a tasty southern meal but were disappointed. The fried green tomatoes were a bit too salty, the pork chops were just ok and the salmon was bland. For the price we paid ( $50 for two ), it was not quite worth it. The evening was spent by the campfire drinking beer.

I had planned to do a couple of hundred miles of riding around Bardstown before heading back home, but we ended up doing only a small, 50 mile loop, stopping at Abraham Lincoln’s boyhood home in Knob Creek, 5 miles south of New Haven and the Heaven Hill Distillery Bourbon Heritage Center. (By the way, they don’t do bourbon tasting tours on Sunday). We were back in Bardstown for lunch and chose an artsy little cafe called Java Joint on N. Third St (highly recommended!). After an excellent and inexpensive meal from the brunch menu there, we rode back to Cincinnati on route 127.

The cruise control device worked well on those long stretches when we were cruising at 70mph on the Blue Grass parkway. But bike needs a new turn signal bulb and the gear-shifter is getting sticky again. I plan to install a Zerk fitting at the shifter pivot, so that I can lube it without taking it apart every time this happens.

 

Installed “cruise control”

I installed the Universal Vista throttle lock yesterday and got a chance to test it out. While its not a true cruise control that holds the speed constant, this is a clever device that could prove to be very effective in relieving wrist cramps on long rides. There were more expensive options available, including electronic cruise control systems, but I wanted something simple and cheap. I’m not a big fan of interstate cruising anyway, so I would be using the device only on those flat, long stretches of interstate when I need to get somewhere fast. When set, the device holds the throttle at its position, but it can be easily overridden manually in case of an emergency. I’ll get a chance to test it out on the interstate this weekend on the trip to Bardstown, KY.

First post on the new blog!

The last couple of weeks have been quite busy. Two weeks ago, I had started a rejet project on Angie’s Honda Shadow VLX. To make a long story short, the rejet went smoothly but the bike wouldn’t start! On seeking advice on some forums, a mechanical genius suggested that the intake hose clamp might not be sealed properly. Sure enough, the following week, when I readjusted the hose and tightened it, the bike started right up! I then re-rejetted my bike as well. It had been running a little rich and I had to put in a smaller main jet to fix that. I think I’ve got it exactly right this time, but I’ll need to ride some more to establish that. Speaking of riding, last weekend, I rode with some of my Harley riding buddies to Madison, IN. It was a great day to be out riding and we put about 175 miles on the clock.

I received my Tour Master gear on Thursday. Everything fits well and looks great. The jacket is thoughtfully designed and very comfortable. I got a chance to test it out yesterday and I was very pleased. Today (Sunday), I did another 100 miles, this time with the inner liner of the jacket taken out. The jacket has plenty of zippered vents for air flow on hot days. (Pictures soon!)

One of the simplest mods one could do on the bike is putting reflective tape to increase visibility at night. I had ordered some black reflective tape (made by 3M) a while back and I finally got around to pasting a couple of pieces on the back end of the saddlebags and sissy-bar. They blend in very well with the black leather and are not visible during the day but at night, they glow very brightly when light falls on them. The picture below was taken in the garage.

Season 3 !

Spring is here! The weather’s been on the cooler side but we did have some sunny days last week. I took the bike out for a short ride on Sunday, my first ride this season. Bike runs great, though I suspect its running slightly rich-might have to put in a smaller main jet or tweak the mixture screw.
In preparation for The Big Out-West trip later this year ( more on that soon!) I purchased some touring gear today. I’d been looking at all-weather touring jackets and finally settled on the Tour Master Transition jacket. It looks great, is waterproof and is loaded with features including vents, armor, multiple pockets and removable inner liner for cold weather. And its very reasonably priced compared to similar jackets by Aerostitch or Firstgear. To go with it, I bought the Tour Master Venture pants. I should be receiving both items next week and I plan to test them out on a 2 day trip riding the back roads in Indiana. Next month, I’ll be getting a new helmet- this time I’m going for the modular (flip-up) style full face helmet.

Tour Master Transition

Tour Master Venture

Great Website

Check out this website: http://www.openroadjourney.com/. They have a growing database of motorcycle roads, route mapping based on Google Maps, motorcycle forums and articles.

Which one should I buy?

Lately, I’ve been thinking about adding another steed to my stable, maybe later this year. I love my cruiser but I have been yearning for a bike that has the handling and horsepower of a high performance sports bike and is also comfortable for long distance touring. So I’ve been looking at these sport-touring bikes as potential candidates for my next bike. The pictures below are of the 07 models but I would probably get a used one. Which one would you buy?!

Honda ST 1300

Yamaha FJR 1300A


Kawasaki Concours 14


BMW R1200 RT


Moto Guzzi Norge 1200


Triumph Sprint ST

Reading the Winter Blues Away!

While winter has been unusually mild thus far, I haven’t been out riding since I put the bike away in early December. I have, however, been reading some interesting books related to motorcycling. Here is my review of two of my favorite books. I’ll be posting some more books reviews occasionally.

Subscribers of Cycle World magazine might be familiar with the writings of Peter Egan. I was aware of his popular column Side Glances in Road and Track, and had assumed he was simply a car nut. Then I came across two books, Leanings and Leanings 2, both compilations of his articles in Cycle World over the last 25 years. Peter Egan is, I realized, first and foremost, a motorcycle enthusiast. His writing is essentially about his lifelong love affair with motorcycles. He has owned over 40 bikes, of all types from vintage Nortons and Vincents to modern Ducatis and Harley Davidson Electra Glides. He has ridden on some of the best motorcycling roads in the world, from touring the Alps and the Isle of Man to off-roading in Baja California to riding the length and breadth of North America. His essays, based on his experiences, take the reader along on the journey, with his vivid descriptions, heartfelt emotions and poignant observations. For many of us, his is the life we dream of: days spent riding in exotic locales or tinkering with vintage motorcycles in the garage, evenings spent in the company of like minded friends or, occasionally on the computer hammering out another heartwarming story that millions will read. But Egan beguiles the reader into thinking that, despite his enviable lifestyle, he is one of us. He yearns to spend more time riding, or wishes he had the means to lay his hands on that old Triumph. And in doing so, he echoes the same desires in his writing that his readers have – to do more of what they are passionate about. And for readers who “get it”, who share this passion for motorcycles, these two books are literary gems.

Last ride of the season

I didn’t think I’d still be riding in mid-December but I managed to go on a short 40 mile ride last Sunday before winterizing the bike. Compared to last week’s (daytime) temperatures in the mid 20s, Sunday’s 45° was almost warm! The light dusting of snow we got last week could still be seen in patches out in the countryside and the roads were heavily salted. After nearly losing traction on a couple of corners because of the salt, I changed my riding style to a more leisurely one. I cruised along the Ohio river, took some pictures and then decided that puttering around on salty back roads wasn’t my thing, so I returned. Added Stabil to the gas, took the battery out and put it on a float charger, gave the bike a final wipe-down and called it a season.

I have a brand new bike!

Well, not really…..I should say its almost like having a brand new bike! I finally got around to making all the performance modifications I wanted to on the bike. The rejet kit and air filter had been gathering dust for several weeks. I also wanted to drill and de-baffle the exhaust pipes, not just for a better sound but to open up the exhaust a bit, since I was going to put a K&N filter in. ( The idea is to let more air in by using the K&N filter, mix it with more gas in the carburetor by replacing the jets with bigger jets and then open up the exhaust for gettting all the gases out quickly).
On Saturday, my brother and I finally started working on the bike around noon. We drilled out the pipes using a hole-saw and broke the baffles off to open up the exhaust. Resisting the urge to start up the bike to hear the new sound, we then removed the tank and opened up the carburetor. Changing the jets is not really a difficult job- if you know what you are doing. Fortunately, I had printed instructions and pictures from this site. The rejet went pretty smoothly, except for the panic attack I had when I thought I had lost a tiny ‘O’ ring in the carburetor. I replaced the stock main jet with the 155 main jet from the Dynojet kit and also replaced the jet needle and spring. Dynojet does not provide a pilot jet, instead they recommend backing out the mixture screw 3.5 turns. By the time we dropped the K&N filter in and put the tank back on, it was almost 6:00pm. I was quite nervous when it was time to fire up the bike. Had we missed something? Did we put the carb back together properly or were we going to hear horrible, grinding noises and see black smoke and sparks?
It took a couple of tries for the gas to get to the engine but once it fired up….man, what a sound. The de-baffled pipes sound a lot better ( and louder!) than stock. I took a ride around the block and right off the bat, I notice that the throttle was more responsive.The real test would be the mid-range and top end response, but it had gotten cold and dark by then. Happy that at least I hadn’t screwed it up, I reluctantly parked the bike for the night.
On Sunday, I went to my first NFL game ( The Cincinnati Bengals vs the San Diego Chargers). It was a great game, but the Bengals lost. This morning (Monday) I finally tested the bike for a couple of hours on some local back-roads. I must say I am extremely pleased with the results. It feels like there is more torque in every gear and the throttle response is phenomenal-snap it open and the bike takes off like a scalded cat. Ok, so I still can’t pop a wheelie, but gimme a break, its a 600lb cruiser!
After the test ride, I let the bike cool down and then used some Blue-Job to restore the discolored chrome on the front cylinder header pipe. Blue-Job actually works-the chrome is almost back to its original luster. Now that the bike is not running lean ( i.e. high air to fuel ratio), the pipes won’t get so hot and discolor again.
Its mid-November but riding season is not yet over for me. As long as there’s no snow or black ice out there, I intend to ride!