Monday, December 23, 2013

Merry Christmas

First of all, I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. The picture on the right came through my Twitter feed though I'm not sure who posted it or who to attribute it to. But I thought it was too cool not to share and it fit with my geeky nature.

I'm still attempting to make a slideshow ala Bobskoot but it's still uploading. And no music.

 

We got quite a bunch of fresh snow over the weekend and since I didn't get out and clear the driveway (again), I opted not to ride in this morning. Most of the roads weren't very clear so I'm it was probably a good decision. I think it took longer to dig the truck out of the snow than it would've taken me to ride in. The snow on the sides were well above the top of the tires so some shoveling was needed just to open the door. Most of the university is shut down for a couple of weeks and I just came in to get a proposal finished up and submitted.

Yesterday morning, I rode around the area looking for photo opportunities but nothing really stood out. With the heavy snowfall, I really didn't want to venture off of the main roads and visibility was poor plus it was dark. It sounds like I'm full of excuses for not stopping to take pictures. It was a challenge getting back up our subdivision road with a lot of fishtailing while heading up the hill due to the fresh snow. The bike ran really well and I hope this whole "water in the gas" thing is behind me.

This morning, Shawn from Adventure Cycleworks, dropped off a new rear tire at my office (how can you beat service like that!). It is a Heidenau K28 and will be the new summer tire for the rear of the bike. It is a sidecar specific tire in the correct "inch" size for the bike. Note the square profile to put a little more rubber on the road and the two ribs down the middle should contribute to longer life. I had heard about this tire at the BMWMOA rally last summer in Salem, OR, and needed to show the brochure to Shawn to try and order it. Heidenau US had just began importing these tires but they've been available in Europe for a while.

Once the Christmas break starts, I plan on removing the sidecar and performing some maintenance on the bike including:

  • Transmission input spline lube
  • Change front and rear brake fluid
  • Renew anti-sieze on the exhaust nuts
  • Rear wheel spline lube
  • Adjust valves
  • Replace oil filter
  • Check pads, plugs, hoses, wheel bearings
  • Grease swingarm pivots
  • Grease clutch cable pivots

Other items include:

  • Check out horn and headlight wiring problem
  • Check sidecar alignment
  • Check clutch for wear
  • Install new horn
  • Clean starter and replace bushing in the nose
  • Re-route positive battery cable
  • Sidecar battery blanket

 

13 comments:

  1. Merry Christmas to you and Bridget

    can't wait to hear the vocals to your slide show. Should have just stayed home as you had an excuse. your truck was encased in ice

    Nice new tire. Looks like you are planning another ride this summer. don't forget this may be an iMBC year, that's probably why you are getting your hack ready

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

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    1. There will be no vocals though I'm still thinking of striping yours out and using them (properly attributed, of course!).

      No, I hadn't thought about an IMBC though I am planning a longish road trip this summer.

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  2. Happy Holidays, Richard. Obviously winter is nature's way of telling you to do motorcycle maintenance. I admire that you have the skills and room to do it yourself. Looking forward to your slide show.

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    1. Isn't that what winter is for? I was originally planning on starting earlier but real winter has arrived late. Who would've thought that I would be riding just about all the way to Christmas!

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  3. That's quite the list of maintenance tasks, I hope you'll document the "check clutch for wear" task with pictures.

    Momentum is the key when going uphill on snow, of course if you had a Ural...... :)

    Merry Christmas to you and Bridget and yours!

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    1. Not too long, I hope. As far as checking the clutch, I'll be pulling the transmission for the spline lube instead of just pulling it back.

      Momentum is key. These days, in order to get up the driveway, I back into the garage and take off fast from the inside up the drive.

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  4. Merry Christmas, Richard! Best to you and your family! WI seems to be competing for coldest windchills lately. I hope you win...

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    1. Thank you! I hope we don't win but we probably already have. This morning it was -19°F with a slight breeze. Supposedly working its way down to the mid -30s.

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  5. Nothing wrong with being lazy and taking the truck - although it sounds like digging it out might have been more work. Think of it as healthy exercise.

    Merry Christmas to you and Bridget and family.

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    1. Okay, taking the truck is healthy exercise but only if I have to dig it out...

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  6. Note to myself, stop complaining about having to scrape the windshield. I haven't had to dig my car out in a long, long, long time...

    Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

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    1. And that was on the drivers side where it's been stomped down a couple of times. The passenger side was up to the mirrors from snow that was swept off.

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  7. Merry Christmas, Richard.

    I do not miss shoveling snow. I know it would make many children happy here to have a white Christmas, but I'm quite happy that it looks like we won't. It is even supposed to be the warmest day of the week.

    Again, Merry Christmas!
    ~k

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