Wake Up!

Wait...what happened. Huh? What year is it? 2015!!!

Oh well, time to fire this thing back up again. My recent purchase of a 2014 BMW R1200GS (what??!!) is the perfect excuse. Of course, I kept the Bonnie. How could I let her go?

So here's the new best, and she IS a beast!

I've already made a few upgrades since this pic was taken a few weeks ago. Most to them to support some off-pavement adventures. Off-pavement adventures? Why the hell would you want to leave some perfectly good pavement? Well, it IS an adventure bike after all?

Upgrades include:

BMW Nav V

Touratech Zega Pro Panniers (in pic)

Touratech Lower Crash Bars

Touratech Headlight Guard

Touratech Radiator Guards

Touratech (sensing a teme here...) Bar Risers - 40mm

AltRider Side Stand Enlarger Thingy

Continental TKC-80s

Other assorted Equipment:

Wolfman Blackhawk Tank BAg

Wolfman Rolie Dry Bag (Medium)

Upcoming Adventures:

Earthrider Courses (Jan. / Feb.) 

AltRider Taste of Dakar (wtf am I doing?!)

More insanity to come...

Saturday Crest Ride

British Electrical Fun

This is what a burnt out ignition switch looks like. Fun!

Crank Toss II

I had an amazing weekend with my fellow BIR brothers and sisters up near Lake Isabella. Hundreds of miles of backroads and slab. Can't wait for next year.

Brass Balls

via 407autobike

Itchin' For A Ride

SoCal's version of winter decided to overstay it's welcome this year. The rain had me itchin' for a ride, so when it showed the slightest sign of clearing out, I snuck out for a little ripper.

I headed north a bit, then cut east on the 14 and hopped on the Soledad. Still a little wet out so the slab left me cold and damp. No problem because it cleared up as I headed further out. Got back on the highway and it was dead straight and windy all the way to Rosamond.

I've been wanting to check out Willow Springs Raceway for awhile and even though it was what passes for a "slow" day up there, it was still very cool to see. I definitely have the bug to take a rider course up there sometime soon.

On the way back home I took a detour over to Vasquez Rocks. No surprise that they used this as a fake backdrop for old sci-fi movies.

I can't remember if I ever saw them this closely when I was kid. I only remember seeing them from freeway on the way to wherever. The weirdest part was how they just seemed to come out of nowhere as I rode up. I even got to get into a little dirt and mud.
Looking forward to more clear skies this spring.

Pasadena MC Poker Run

Had a great time at the 31st Annual Pasadena Motorcycle Club Poker Run. It was about 240 miles of riding through a lot of areas I've never ridden in before. Ortega Hwy, Lake Elsinore, Hemet, Palm Desert, and back up through Banning.

Lots of laid back people and great riding. On the last leg leading up and out of Banning, we hit the most hardcore wind I've yet encountered yet. The desert was everywhere and dirt was getting blown into the bikes and us pretty hard right before the 10 fwy. Once I was on the freeway it continued, and riding around 80 mph in that kind of wind was let's say...intense.

We Have Power

So far that battery charge did the trick. Looks like the old charger still has some life left in it after all. Had a nice ride scout today through the Santa Monica mountains. As usual, I have little to no idea where we were through some of the parts, but it was beautiful. Looking forward to going back next week for the real deal.

Chaaaaaarge!

So the Bonnie wouldn't start yesterday. Luckily a buddy from work was around to help me bump start her to get home. We had tried jumping it with his car, which I've done before, but I think his cables were bad.

So I broke out the ANCIENT trickle charger that used to belong to my dad. It seems to be working fine so far. I got some advice on the Triumph Rat forum and it sounds like it should be OK to use even though it's a little higher amperage than a typical motorcycle specific charger.

So I guess it's time to let it cook and see what happens in the morning.

Farewell Vacation

It was nice while it lasted. Now back to the grind. arg.

I'm looking to try some new things in 2011 though, so it will be nice to get off my ass. Here's to a safe year full of new adventures.

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...