Sunday, October 14, 2012

Sunrise is Getting Later

The sun was still below the horizon at 8:30 this morning. I love it when the sun shines on the bottom of the clouds from over the horizon. You can also see that we got our first dusting of snow today and it continued to fall for most of the day. I did manage to get in one last ride yesterday afternoon but wasn't out too long as the bike was feeling a bit "squirrelly" due to little patches of ice on the road. We have a lot of households in Fairbanks who haul their own water. I.e. they have a 300 gallon tank in the back of their pickup and buy water in town and haul it to their house where they empty it into a water tank. If they are sloppy, water overflows into the truck bed and on every uphill section, water dribbles out onto the road which promptly freezes into a patch or a strip of ice. So on any uphill section, you need to examine the road for these patches of ice. I think that it's about 1¢ per gallon if you haul it yourself and about 6¢ per gallon delivered.

By evening, most of the snow was gone but the forecast is for continued light snow for the rest of the week. I guess riding season is really over. Some have been asking about a sidecar. The owner of the nice Cozy sidecar currently attached to his R100/7 agreed to sell me just the sidecar. He also has a subframe he purchased from Dauntless Motors/DMC still wrapped in the original shipping material. Jay from DMC, confirmed that there is very little difference between the /7 and my RT and the subframe should fit just fine. Since I didn't really want to learn how to drive a sidecar rig in the middle of winter, we agreed that I could pick it up closer to Spring.

I ended up riding 9,470 miles this riding season and averaged 40.0 mpg. The mileage isn't too bad but not great either. It has been steadily dropping since about the middle of July which suggests carb work. Another local Airhead member volunteered to go through the carbs with me as I have never taken apart a constant velocity (CV) carburator such as the Bings. The maintenance list for the bike isn't too long this Winter.

  • Transmission input shaft spline lube
  • Replace rear brake pads
  • Grease and adjust the rear swingarm
  • Rebuild carbs
  • Replace fork boots
  • Replace front fork oil
  • Replace brake fluid
  • Replace oil in transmission, drive shaft and final drive
  • Replace fuel filters
No long motorcycle trips are planned for next summer.
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    18 comments:

    1. TrobairitzOctober 15, 2012 at 5:58 AM

      Brrrr snow. At least it waited until October and picking up the sidecar closer to spring gives you something to look forward too besides more light and warmer temps.

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      Replies
      1. RichardMOctober 15, 2012 at 8:21 AM

        A lot of people are waiting for the snow as the transition times seem to be bad. Too cold for summer activities and no snow for the winter ones.

        Delete
    2. redlegsridesOctober 15, 2012 at 7:08 AM

      You've more patience than I Richard

      Dom

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      Replies
      1. RichardMOctober 15, 2012 at 8:22 AM

        I figured that I would want to be out as soon as it was ready to go. In the middle of winter may not be the best time...

        Delete
    3. Erik ROctober 15, 2012 at 7:12 AM

      The days are getting shorter down here too. It feels like it's dark at 5:00 p.m. Oh well 2 and a half months and the days will start getting longer again. It will be riding time before we know it (I keep telling myself).

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      Replies
      1. RichardMOctober 15, 2012 at 8:24 AM

        Riding is at least 6 months away but I have a winter trip to look forward to and plan for.

        Delete
    4. UnknownOctober 15, 2012 at 7:55 AM

      Richard:

      I've got no patience. I don't think I could wait for Spring if I wanted that Sidecar

      Our monsoon season has started. Over 4 inches of rain this weekend and more storms on the Horizon. You can't ride here either with all the pooling water which you can't see until it is too late

      so sorry about next year being a non-touring year . . .

      bob
      Riding the Wet Coast
      My Flickr // My YouTube

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. RichardMOctober 15, 2012 at 5:51 PM

        I'm impatient too which is why I'm choosing to not pick it up. I know that as soon as its together, I'll want to start driving it. I felt that I should wait just for my own survival...

        Delete
    5. Gary FranceOctober 15, 2012 at 10:33 AM

      Love that first picture. I went out yesterday on my bike at 34F and I thought that was cold. I admire your fortitude, living where you do.

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      1. RichardMOctober 15, 2012 at 10:52 AM

        Some call it stubbornness or stupidity for living where it is winter for half of the year. 34°F isn't bad at all if you have a fairing and a large windshield. Add in a heated liner and 9°F wasn't too cold...

        Delete
    6. UnknownOctober 15, 2012 at 2:29 PM

      Richard:

      Lately I have been going to SPAM everywhere, and I don't know why

      bob
      Riding the Wet Coast
      My YouTube

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. RichardMOctober 15, 2012 at 5:49 PM

        Yep, your first comment was in the SPAM folder...

        Google must not like you...

        Delete
    7. Martha October 17, 2012 at 1:10 PM

      I can really feel that photo of the cold sunrise. Our 7AM is not what it used to be by a long shot. :^ (

      ReplyDelete
    8. ChrisOctober 22, 2012 at 5:51 AM

      have to agree with Dom. More patience than me. I bought my Ural at the beginning of december. learning to ride it in the winter was 'exciting' :)

      wow. $0.01 per gallon huh? I think we pay $0.01 per 1000 gallons here for city water.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. RichardMOctober 30, 2012 at 9:57 AM

        I think I will pass on the "exciting" but then again, running off the road in the winter wouldn't do as much damage as during the summer...

        Even at that price, it is a bargain compared to a well these days. I think they are running about $45/ft. 200 foot will buys quite a few tanks of water.

        Delete
    9. BeemerGirlOctober 30, 2012 at 6:24 AM

      Cool news on the sidecar!! I'm with Dom. I wouldn't have the patience. But it does sound like you have some good work ahead of you dueling the winter.

      As for the no trips planned for next year yet...that will change, I am sure. ;)

      ReplyDelete

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