Catching Up With The Mods

No, not the scooter riding, skinny tie wearing, dedicated followers of fashion. The other kind of mods.

Around the same time I replaced the stock signals with the "bullet style" ones, I also ditched the stock tail light in favor of a "lucas style" one. This was one of my most anticipated mods, because I really don't like the look of the plastic spaceship look of the stock ones, and I had been wanting to ditch them since I got the bike.

So far I've been really happy with the new signals and tail light. The only thing I wasn't really happy with was the lack of brightness from the dim bulb. I went ahead and ordered an LED bulb from Super Bright LEDs. Specifically, I got the 45HP-LED BA15 Tower Bulb. There's definitely a big difference in brightness, so I'm really glad I made the switch.


The rain has been near biblical in these parts for the last couple of weeks. Luckily it let up a bit just before Chrsitmas, so I got to go for a brief but grin inducing ride up and down the Hollywood canyons. With no work left until New Years, I'm hoping the weather will cooperate enough for me to squeeze in a few more rides in 2010.

Rain And More Rain

I'm over it. Let the sun shine.

Sleigh My Ass...

5 december: Sinterklaas, Holland
Sinterklaas is a traditional children's gift-giving feast in the Netherlands. He is celebrated annually on Saint Nicholas' eve, 5 December. The feast celebrates the name day of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of Amsterdam, children and sailors. He is the basis of the mythical holiday figure of Santa Claus in the United States. Sinterklaas rides his (iron)horse assisted by his Moorish helpers called 'Zwarte Pieten'.

Wired

I spent last weekend finally modding my taillight and signals. I've never liked the stock ones, so I've really been looking forward to changing them out. I went with a Lucas style taillight and bullet style signals. Drilling the rear fender and wiring everything for the taillight and rear signals was a bigger job than I was expecting, but I managed to get it done late Sunday. I figured that the front signals would be a breeze, until I realized that the new left signal blocks the key when it's in the OFF position!


What a pain in the ass this turned out to be! I managed to get it to work temporarily by shimming it out with some rubber, but I've got an ignition relocation kit on it's way for a more permanent solution.

Garage Company

Yesterday I finally made it down to Garage Company in Inglewood. I had heard about it from a couple of BIR folks, so I really wanted to check it out after the things I had heard abou it. Well, it was very cool. It's such a unique place and very surprising to find something like this here in L.A. It's part museum and part store. Lots of beautiful vintage motorcycles and every part you could imagine. And just when I thought I'd seen all of it, there would be another back room or the cavernous garage packed full of hundreds of bikes, some of which were being worked on while I was there.






I didn't end up buying anything this time, but I have a feeling I'll be back when I have some more scratch in my pocket.

A Triumph That Leaks Oil?!

Yeah, I know it's a shocker. I've been getting some leakage from my valve cover for awhile now, and it seemed to be getting worse lately. So I finally ordered a new valve cover gasket and gaskets for the individual bolts too. In the meantime I had heard that it was worth checking the tightness on the bolts to see if they need a little extra action. To my surprise and frustration (there may have been some cussing), one of the cam caps where the bolt screws in, was STRIPPED!!!! Great! I went ahead and installed all of the new gaskets anyway, and the leak seemed to get slightly less serious, but it obviously still needed to be dealt with.



I've never drilled and tapped a thread before, and I only get one shot at it in this case. If I fuck it up, I have to replace the ENTIRE HEAD! Time to call a professional for some assistance. I called a couple of places, but it seemed like my best bet was the guys down at BA Moto down in Garden Grove. They used to work at the old OTD in the OC, but started their own shop. So you get their experience, without having to get gauged by dealer prices. And on top of that, you get to hang out and watch while they work on your bike!


It turns out that the other three bolts were on the verge of stripping, because when Jaime (the mechanic) went to tighten them down, they stripped right out too!!! You can see grooves on the cam caps where some monkey just tightened the heel out of the bolts and they dug down into the aluminum. Why wouldn't you do this the right way, and torque them down to the factory specs???!!! That's just lazy,sloppy, stupid work. Luckily Jaime seems to have the same hatred for that kind of work that I do. Thank god a I brought the bike down to them. I saved myself a lot of time and frustration. I asked tons of questions, ate some pho from a local spot, and it was a great experience all around.

So far, so good. Hopefully this solved the problem. I'll be monitoring this closely and we'll see if we can be leak free for awhile. My bike might look like a classic, but that doesn't mean I want it to leak like one.

Cooling Off In the Driveway

Had a good little ride out to Thousand Oaks to meet up with some BIR chaps and then up to the Reagan Library for a look at the motorcycle exhibit last weekend. There were some great classic bikes there, not to mention the old Air Force One. It's pretty cool to walk through the plane and check out all of the bitchin' 80s wood panelling, formica tables and more jars of jelly beans than you could possibly imagine. So Reagan: Terrible President, Cool Library.

Epic Ride (For Me)

On Saturday I joined three other chaps for a long ride. We went up Little Tujunga, through Bouquet Canyon, past Lake Hughes, Qual Lake, Frazier Park, through Los Padres Forest, Ojai and Santa Paula. I don't know the exact route because I was following them the whole time (slowly I might add) and most of the time I had no idea where I was. That only made it more fun for me. Parts of it were hot as hell, others not so bad. I got pretty fatigued in some of the longer stretches and almost had to pull over. I'm just not used to riding that much all at once. Luckily the guys I rode with were really patient with my slowness and waited for me along the way. Towards the end we stopped at a little Mexican place and I had what might be the best carne asada I've ever eaten. It was a great ride and I'm looking forward to doing one again soon.

Too Close To Home

These ads are kind of eerie. Not saying I don't like them, but that first bike definitely looks like a Bonnie, and that hits a little close to home. Ouch.

On Second Thought...

...maybe this is what my bike needs...

Better, But Not The Best

So last weekends tinkering seem to have improved how things are running, but I don't feel like it's where I want it to be. She seems to run fine once she's up to temperature, but still a bitch to start up. These bikes are naturally cold blooded, so I know some of this goes with the territory, but it still seems like something's not quite right. Now I'm starting to think there might be a leak in the exhaust somewhere. Time for more poking around...

More Fun With Carbs

I finally got around to attempting to install the jets that came with Norman Hyde exhaust I bought and installed after I bought the cycle. I was hoping to do this without actually having to remove the carbs from the engine, but unfortunately, the stock carb bowl screws are made of butter instead of metal. I managed to get most of the them off, but of course I needed to get all of them, and the ones that are nearly impossible to get to weren't cooperating at all. Only one carb ended up getting re-jetted, so I was stuck.

So pulled off the tank, yanked out the carbs and installed the left side jet. It was easier than I expected to get all of this disassembled and put back together. There were a couple of annoying clamps and hoses to get free, but all-in-all, a not too painful experience.


I also took the opportunity to drop in some new plugs and re-adjust the carb mixture screws. I re-synched the carbs and tomorrow I'll try to see if any of this will help solve my rough idle problem. At this point, the only things I can think of changing are the carb mix screws or replacing worn out rubber. This was a fun project! Nice to tear it down ia little and see what's really goin' on.

Carb-tastic!

I finally synced my carbs last weekend. I bought the Motion Pro Carb Tuner at New Bonneville. I was a little nervous about the whole liquid mercury thing. The EPA website managed to scare me shitless about splling mercury on my hand, or the floor, or on my dog, or well...pretty much anywhere. I was trying to imagine explaining to my girlfriend why a Haz-Mat team was in our utility room because I decided to give my bike a tune-up.

After "manning-up," I realized that it wasn't really a big deal. I just made sure not to spill any when I poured it into the little reservoir on the back, and then made sure it was sealed up tight. All-in-all, the syncing was really easy. The only hard part was getting an angled screwdriver on the adjustment screw. It's kind of hard to get in there, and I was way too lazy to remove the gas tank this time around. I think I might save that for my upcoming re-jet.

So the verdict: The idle seems slightly smoother, and my morning start ups seem to be a little more hassle free, since the engine isn't stalling out as easily as it warms up. I can't really tell a big difference in performance though. I'm hoping new plugs might pep things up a little. I'm going to try to work on that this weekend. I've a got socket that's the right size, but the walls are too thick! So I either need to find a bigger socket, or take a bench grinder to the one I've got. Oh the trials and tribulations of a wannabe mechanic...

Dainese Boots Rule!

I've been using the Dainese Torque Out boots I posted about earlier for the last few days and the verdict is in. THEY RULE!

They are exactly what I was looking for. They have great ankle support, which I have learned the hard way is VERY important. You don't need to be riding fast or reckless to break your ankle on a motorcycle. I was only going about 10 miles an hour and all it took was one idiotic old fool to stop paying attention and hit me, sending me into a low-side and breaking my ankle.

They also look great, are extremely comfortable, and are very flexible considering the amount of protection they provide. They also fit dead on true to size. Just be sure to look at the Dainese sizing chart.

I highly recommend these boots to anyone who rides, not matter what kind of bike you have. I'm shocked at how the great majority of motorcycle boots offer little to NO PROTECTION FOR YOUR ANKLES!!!!! This, despite the fact that ankle injuries are the most common type for motorcyclists. Sure these boots cost a bit more than a lot of other options, but how much do you think you'll spend on medical bills for a broken ankle? And how much is three months of your time worth? Because you won't be having ANY fun crutching around in that cast for 6 weeks, or spending another 6 learning how to walk without pain again.

The other thing that pisses me off is how hard it is to find boots like these. I had to do way too much digging to find these, or anything like them. If you're looking for a pair, look no further than Cycle Gear. I'm not getting any kickbacks for plugging them (I wish), but ordering was a breeze and the boots were shipped fast and hassle free. They even called me to make sure somebody wasn't using my credit card fraudulently!!! That's great customer service if you ask me.

Smell Of Oil

Ankle Chronicles

In the interests of protecting my ankles from any future injuries, I've been searching for a decent pair of proper moto boots. The main problem is that most of the boots that do a good job of keeping your ankle from twisting/bending also look like moon boots. You also have to sacrifice a lot of mobility. The guy at the local motorcycle dealer recommended these:


Sidi Vortice

He said that he had broken his ankle, and that now these were all that he would be willing to wear. He also said that they were $500!!! Obvisouly that's a hell a lot cheaper than ankle surgery / rehab etc., but after doing research on the inter-web, I realized that these are designed to be top of the line RACING boots. As in, they are built to be used on a race track and are not ideal for everyday things that regular type people like me need to do. You know, like shifting, parking, and actually being able to walk somewhere when you get to your destination.

So after some exhaustive research I began narrowing it down and came up with these finalists:


Puma 1000 v2


TDX S-Race


Dainese Torque Out

The Pumas looked way to cumbersome and inflexible. I tried to find the TCX boots EVERYWHERE, but nobody had them in stock. That ended up being a good thing though, because after even more digging I found out about the Dainese Torque Out boots. They seem to be the perfect balance between ankle protection and mobility. And while they still look like something RoboCop might like to slip on, they don't look ridiculous to me.

More later after I actually try them out.

The Beast Has Awoken

I'm just starting to walk without crutches for the first time since the accident. I'm still not ready to start riding again, but I took the opportunity to fire up the Bonnie yesterday. It sounded...excellent.

I can't wait to get back on the road.

Nitro Nicky

Good Thing I Was Wearing a Helmet

Being in a cast for over a month is going to suck. There is no way around it. I must say though, that I'm really glad that I had a good helmet, gloves and jacket when I was hit on my bike. The first new purchase before I get back on my motorcycle will be a good pair of riding boots. I was wearing Doc Martens and they did NOTHING to protect my ankle. I'm looking at SIDI, Alpinestars and TCX, as they seem to be the best in the business. Sure they look like moon boots, but if it's the difference between being in one of these damned casts and looking like an astronaut, then...to the moon Alice!!

I Have Been Initiated

So I have officially been initiated into the world of motorcycling. Some numbskull took me out with his car last Monday. Luckily it was at low speed. Damage to my bike is mostly cosmetic, with the exception of the shifter which sheared off.

Damage to me is a fractured and sprained left ankle. So I'm in a cast for the next 4-6 weeks. AAARRRGGHHH!!!!

Triumph Live 2010

I wish I was in the U.K. for this one:

"Saturday 18 September – a date definitely not to be missed by any Triumph enthusiast. It’s our biggest ever party, to celebrate 20 years of Triumph Hinckley and taking place at the Triumph Factory and Mallory Park Circuit."

"Off-track, visitors will be able to view the latest range of Triumph motorcycles, together with a selection of some of the UK’s best customised Triumphs. Key bikes from Triumph’s history will also be on display, as part of a unique exhibition exploring 20 years of Hinckley."

Yes, I have officially drunken the punch...

New Mirrors from Bellacorse

When I bought my Bonneville, it came with one left hand Napoleon bar-end mirror installed by the previous owner. I liked the look, but being a motorcycle newbie, I wanted two mirrors so I could see as much aft driver stupidity as possible when I needed to. When it came time to drop some dough on the right side mirror though, I realized something...

Lane-splitting is a must here in Los Angeles. Sitting and stewing in traffic is strictly for the caged, which is a big part of why I got into bicycle riding and motorcycling in the first place. Few things beat whizzing past a bunch of "parked cars" in gridlocked traffic. Especially right after the douchebag in his Mustang just tried to start a drag race with you on the way home, and now has to just sit helplessly behind the wheel, gritting his teeth and punching the dashboard repeatedly while you downshift and pass him with a big, stupid grin on your face.

Unfortunately, despite their good looks, bar-end mirrors suck for lane splitting. I knew that my side clearance was really going to be compromised with two of those puppies jutting out of my M-Bars. The problem is, the options out there for stylish and functional Bonneville compatible mirrors, well...kind of suck. They are either super machined custom chopperized jobs with spiderwebs and other crap all over them, or cheap plastic pieces of...plastic, or worse, they have horrible reviews on visibility.

After searching all of the internets, luckily I stumbled upon the aptly named "Vintage Looking British Round Mirrors" from Bellacorse. These were exactly what I was looking for. Something that stayed true to the vintage look of the new Bonnevilles, without looking quite as much like a pair of antennae as the stock mirrors. I opted for the long stemmed version since I was willing to sacrifice a little style for the added visibility.


The mirrors were shipped quickly and arrived with all of the necessary parts and instructions for an extremely easy installation. After riding with them for the last couple of weeks, I can report that they are everything I wanted in a mirror setup. Vibration is minimal, visibility is great, and although I still prefer the look of bar-ends, these will do nicely. Now I can look stylish and I can see more stupid!

Camping Was A Bust

Last minute "planning" and indecisive friends = no camping this weekend. What a drag.

Another Reason To Go To Bonneville?

Moto-Camping

It looks like I'm taking the Bonnie on her first camping trip this weekend. Destination unknown, but it will probably be somewhere on the Ventura County coastline. I'm cramming on the forums for good ideas on compact tents and jury-rigged luggage options.

Full ride report on the other side!

What Motorcycle?

Tail Bag

I wasn't digging my alternative saddlebag option, which wasn't really a true saddlebag anyway.

I went to the local surplus store and picked up a $7 canvas army gas mask bag, and a $2 bungee cord. I removed the seat and looped the bungee through either end of the frame. Then I just attached the bungee hooks to either side of the bag and voilà! A tail bag!

Of course there not a ton of room in there, but it can hold a cable lock for my helmet, a leatherman-like multi-tool, a disc lock and a little room left over for other small items. Plus I still have the cargo net for bigger stuff. This ought to hold me over until I fork out some cash for saddlebag mounts.

Rock Store Run

Since we finally had a sunny weekend, I decided to check out the Rock Store. So many people say that if you ride, you should check it out at least once. I mostly just wanted to go on a longish ride, and most of the time I don't like going on any kind of voyage without some kind of destination. It can be something really arbitrary, I just like to have a reference point. Given it's location, The Rock Store makes a great one, which is it's main selling point in my mind.

I took the side streets from West Hollywood to Santa Monica, then shot up PCH to Malibu. I went early so the traffic was light and stress levels low. It was a nice 55mph affair with long gently winding stretches. The skies had turned a bit overcast as I entered Malibu, and then cut East on Kanan Dume. Lots of green and smooth windy roads. I was able to open up the throttle without having to worry about any surprises. There were far less motorcycles and high octane sports cars than I expected, which was nice. Most of the time I felt like I had these beautiful roads all to myself. In fact, there were more cyclist than anything else, which makes sense given that this is a hill climber's paradise.

Next there was a right on Mullholland to get up to my destination. OK, so HERE is where it gets hairy! Lots of tight turns combined with ascents and descents. Being a novice, I had to take things VERY slowly to avoid flying off the mountain, or running into, well, anything! I'm still getting to know what my motorcycle and I are capable of, and I wasn't willing to take any chances here.


At last, there was the Rock Store up on the right. There's no missing it. I arrived around 8:30 am and there were already a couple of rows of around 30 motorcycles. I hear it gets a lot more crowded later in the day. I bought a $2 cup of coffee and spent about 45 minutes kicking tires and chopping it up with a couple of guys. I didn't try any grub, but it looked like the kind of greasy diner food I admittedly have a weakness for.

As for the Rock Store itself, it could really be just about any sort of landmark and it would be worth going for all of the nice scenic riding necessary to get there, to see a lot of other motorcycle styles up close, and to talk to other riders about motorcycles. I would definitely go back, and hopefully next time I can learn to enjoy those twisties instead of white knuckling the whole way!

Tunnel Of Love

Stock Mufflers

After all of my exhaust craziness, somehow I ended up with 2 sets of stock mufflers to unload!

HELL. YES.

Mods v. Rockers

First Oil Change

Here's everything I used for my first oil change. I went with Motul 15W-50 and a Triumph oil filter. I bought everything at the local dealer except for the oil pan and the filter wrench (they wanted to charge me $22 for one!)



It was a pretty simple job. The only hassle is getting an accurate oil level without a center stand for the bike. Luckily my girlfriend helped me level her out so I could make sure I got the right level.



Now I know my bike has fresh oil and that's one less thing to worry about!

Salty

Toga! Toga!

I fitted the Norman Hyde Toga pipes on to my Bonnie over the weekend and took her out for ride. I have to say...wow! What a difference. It sounds...well..like it should sound. I'll admit that at first I thought they might actually be a little too loud, but once I got used to hearing the sound, I just wanted to keep opening up the throttle so I could hear that growl some more. Are they too loud? Maybe. But compared to the Bubs, they're kittens, so I'm happy.



Another great thing is that as I had hoped, my bike seems to be a lot happier with the free flowing exhaust. The idle seems much smoother, and I don't think I had one backfire for the whole ride!

So combined with not stressing as much about the rough running, and with the new beefier sound, I'm itching to ride this week! And...cue the rain.

First Week Of Moto-Commuting

I successfully finished my first week of motorcycle commuting. By successful I only mean that I'm still alive. I still have plenty of skills to work on. My counter-steering is for crap. I need to trust my bike more and remember that it wants to stay up. I'm still too hesitant in these situations, and while I need to continue to be very cautious, hesitation can be just as dangerous as recklessness.

This weekend I'm driving down to Manhattan Beach to pick up some Norman Hyde Toga silencers that I found on Craigslist. I needed to go back to stock headers because those Bubs the previous owner installed were OBSCENELY loud, and that's not my style. I don't want to be "that guy" who sets off car alarms, scares children and terrorizes my neighbors. I know a lot of motorcyclists are into that and would call me a ll sorts of names for feeling this way, but I could care less. I think they have decided to make a selfish choice to be loud at the expense of everyone else, because they think it's cool. I think that's retarded.

That being said, the stock silencers that came with the stock headers make my bike sound like a sewing machine, and I'd like to spice things up without getting too ridiculous. It sounds like the Togas will do that for me. Unfortunately, it looks like intermittent rain for the next week, so I'll have to try the install and testing whenever I can find some dry roads. I don't know if I'm ready to tackle the rain just yet.

Maiden Voyage

ample parking

Today was the maiden voyage. My first commute to work on my 2007 Triumph Bonneville. After replacing the obscenely loud exhaust that the previous owner had installed (I know "BLASPHEMY!!!! LOAD PIPES SAVE LIVES DUDE!!!!.), and waiting for all of the recent thunderstorms to pass, I was finally ready.

I must say, everything went relatively smoothly. Despite installing the quieter stock pipes (which I did all by myself - thank you very much), I rolled my bike out of the backyard and near the sidewalk so I wouldn't disturb my neighbors. A quick jaunt to the local gas station to check my tire pressure, and I was off! I decided to take the long way to work, following a similar route to my old bicycle commute, through Griffith Park on Crystal Springs Road. As I anticipated, the drive through the park was excellent. I was able to take a few easy curves at higher speeds without having to worry about a lot of traffic. The surroundings are of course beautiful, and I tried hard not to let them distract me.

I was sure there would be at least one embarrassing moment, and I was right - although it was a personal one. I've been constantly reminding myself to keep my head and eyes up (VERY IMPORTANT), but since I'm still getting a feel for what different speeds feel like without looking at the speedometer, I did quickly glance down to see how fast I was going a few times. I was taking it very slow and riding very conservatively the whole time. I was sure that I was doing 35-40 mph a couple of times, but my speedometer always seemed to hover around 30 most of the time. It wasn't until after Griffith Park that I realized that I had been looking at my TACHOMETER THE WHOLE TIME!!!!!!!

Yikes.

I'm a little nervous about the ride home, as it will be my first time riding at night. Here goes nothing...