well and truly done

10/27 we picked up 3". Not so bad, it melted in a day or two. 10/29 we picked up another 7". Okay, I can take a hint. Time to clean and polish and setup for winter.

Off to sleep the winter away, until next spring...

last ride of the season

When you live in the northeast, it has to happen every year. The last ride. It's funny how many of them I can remember from years past. One was memorable because it happened in December, another because it was just me and my longest-time riding buddy, freezing our butts off to get in one last ride. Another because I crashed... but we'll move past that sad state of affairs.

This year we got yet another reprieve and a Sunday forecasted to warm above 50 by mid-day, so a bunch of the regulars met up a couple hours later into the day than we usually would for a group ride.

We went out on a route I was not familiar with, which had a lot of steep downgrades and sharp corners lurking at the bottom, so a few of us hung back a little. With temps cooling our reflexes and the road being even colder, today was not the day to set lap times, so the group settled into 2 packs and everyone ran the pace they wanted.

We stopped off at C&K's house for awhile and hung around and BS'd, then people started to head out. On the way home I took my time and ran down a few backroads for no reason other than to ride a little longer. Just a leisurely pace, enjoying being on the bike.

As it turned out, 3 days later...

a ride at dusk

I cannot remember the last time that I was out riding after dark, on purpose. It was probably in the 1990's though. First thing is that I only own dark shields and that further reduces any chance of seeing anything at night. More importantly though, I hate cleaning the bugs that get splattered over everything...

Friday 9/30 I wanted to get out for a ride in the afternoon as it was again unusually warm, but work kept interfering. Finally at 17:00 it was either mow the front yard or get out for a spin. The grass keeps growing but there are only so many rides left this year.

It was actually darker out than this picture would indicate, and there was a pretty cool sunset in progress behind me, which you can just get a hint of looking at the windscreen, but the phone/camera washed it out.

The temperature was only around 55 when I went out and dropping fast as the sun went down, but I managed 70 miles over an hour and a half and got home just as it was getting really hard to see. The pace was slower but I had to ride. As a bonus, because it's been so cold at night, there were very few bug strikes to deal with.

The end of summer (?)

I was unable to get out riding last Sunday morning for various reasons (ie GDF'n work), but the weather forecast said we would luck out and get a couple exceptionally warm days for this time of year early in the week. So I planned to get away for a lunch time ride both days.

Monday was actually hot as the temps ran up past 80 degrees and clearly the day called for perforated leather. Having been bundled up and dealing with frozen fingers and a fogging faceshield the prior couple of weekends, this was indeed summer's last hurrah.

I got out and tried a couple variations on a route I use frequently when I have about 1 hour to ride, discovered a couple new roads and went past a lake I had never seen before.

It was so warm out I would have needed to remove a lot of gear to stand around more than a minute or so, and I was short on time to get back, but for a little  while, it felt like July again.
- - - - -
Today was in the mid-70's and perfect, though clouds were building. Big, scary clouds announcing the next few days of rain that were coming. I added in two more roads I had been meaning to explore from yesterday and ended up with a nice 50 mile loop. But with the clouds and lower temps, and the smell of dry leaves, there was a strong impression of autumn moving in.

I went past a farm with some seasonal stands out front and decided to loop back for a quick pic. There was a gentleman on a tractor eyeballing me so I first took a couple pics of the signs listing prices of items for sale.

Subterfuge, I thought. I turned around to find a woman standing there... She had come outside and was asking if she could help me, but I had the feeling she was more concerned about her produce than how many pumpkins I would be buying and, what -- sticking in my jacket for the ride home?

A little small talk and I was able to grab the pic I wanted and take my leave.

This Sunday it may or may not stop raining long enough to possibly get up out of the 50's. But I had two nice runs to cap off the warm weather season.

On any Sunday. Again...

After a successful Friday ride with a couple guys 2 weeks earlier, I decided that I really needed to get back into the Sunday rides and this was the day. 4 of us met up and we went out for a run through the eastern foothills.

The pace was quick but there was a lot of concern for the potential of coming around a corner and finding a washed out section of road from all of flooding after nearly two weeks of rain and the occasional hurricane. And we came across a few areas where cones were deployed or road reconstruction had occurred.

Only real issue throughout the ride was a rear tire that went flat after crossing a long section of sharp gravel down as a temporary road patch. My buddy was able to recognize the feel of the tire going flat and pulled over without incident, and as luck would have it, we were only a few miles from his house, so he grabbed a ride and went home for his truck, hauled back and unloaded the S4, fired up the 851 and we continued the ride.

2 of us had to head for home after about 100 miles completed due to the time of day at that point, so that wrapped up my return riding with the regulars. Looking forward to the next time I can get out. With a predicted nightly low temperature of 40 degrees by next weekend, time is running short again.

Where has my summer gone?  Oh, right...

2011 Red Bull Indianapolis GP

I was very fortunate to hook up with some buddies heading to Indianapolis for the MotoGP this year, the fourth year running for this event. I have never been to the track before and was blown away by the immensity of the site.

We arrived Saturday and took in some of the qualifying sessions. 4 classes would be racing during the weekend: the 125, Moto2 and MotoGP, plus there was a Harley 1200 class racing Saturday and Sunday.

Throughout the day we wandered around the infield area where there were displays from many bike manufacturers and accessory vendors

Saturday night after dinner we walked downtown; some street I do not remember. For at least a 1/4 mile -- from the end of the road to the monument and then around the corner -- there was an endless procession of bikes running back and forth, bikes lining every foot of both sides of the street, a stunt show in one parking lot and a band in another...

Sunday is Race Day

First off, when heading to the track for race day, one of the best ways to get there is on a cushy bus that delivers you straight inside the facility. Oh, and a police escort to slice through traffic is highly recommended also

We walked in from the back entrance, through the golf course and around to our seats

We sat and watched the 125 and Moto2 races, ate some lunch and watched the crowd fill in. Later on it was back to the vendor area for some last minute purchases, as an air show went on before the MotoGP race.

We had great seats that overlooked Turn 10 - Turn 16 and then down the front straight, back to the start/finish line. I intended to upload some video of the opening lap, but right now you can see better vid here.

So a still shot will have to do:

After some surprise moves within the pack, like Rossi dropping to last spot for awhile and Hayden moving from 4th to 14th (track announcer: "Oh, Nicky Hayden just had a moment") perhaps due to tire choice, Casey Stoner took a decisive win.

Afterward we watched the second Harley XR1200 race and then back to the bus. Dinner and drinks with a nightcap at the Eagle's Nest while the sun set and the city lights came up. "Um, where is the Men's Room now?"... See, the outer seating area rotates around the central core, and after a couple drinks... Never-mind.

So while back home it was all Hurricane Irene, flooding, power outages and a generally lousy weekend, I spent 90 degree sunny days in bike nirvana. It was an awesome weekend of motorcycling spectacle and I had a great time.

And then it all went bad...

So, I got the S2R back from the shop earlier than I had anticipated -- a good sign to be sure! Picked it up Friday afternoon 05/27 and was psyched for the upcoming holiday weekend. I had plans to go on a group ride Memorial Day, so I went out for a quick 40 mile run Saturday morning to scrub up the new tires. This was pretty much my first ride on the Monster this season as the back tire was nearly bald and I'd been waiting for new rubber before taking it out.

It felt good to get out a spin a few miles, then I spent a couple hours detailing the bike. Ready to ride!

Sunday we're off to a annual family picnic at a state park; fun in the sun, overeating and some games. About 17:00 that day, I learned a valuable life lesson, so pay attention here ==> When diving for 3rd base, always use style. But more importantly, do not twist in the air and land badly.

A broken clavicle is an extremely unpleasant injury. Tremendously painful for an extended period of time, and here's the kicker : 9 out of 10 times they do not perform corrective surgery. I now know a great number of people who have had this injury, and not a one of them had surgery. If you ain't Colin Edwards or someone generally important, they hand you pills and tell you it will heal in some fashion over time. A long, long time to be sure.

It would be about 11 weeks before I felt confident enough that I wasn't impeding healing by getting back in the saddle. My prepaid attendance at Americade came and went; I slept in a chair for 4 weeks. Sunday rides came and went; I repaid my neighbor in beer to mow my lawn for a month. My summer pretty much came and went.

Now if I'd been wearing full leather/armor/Shoei/Sidi while going for that base, different story...

ATGATT

A few mods for me monster

So now that the ZRX is up and running, it's time to focus on the S2R1000. I ordered a set of Pazzo levers and Rizoma bar ends and dropped the bike off at the shop. I had them install a set of Sportmax Q2's, do an oil change and remove that hideous evaporative canister.

Pazzo levers and Rizoma bar ends

 So I get a call from my mechanic and he says "I'm changing the oil and I found 1/2 a valve retainer in the oil cap"...  Uh huh. He tells me that the shop has seen this before, that sometimes during assembly these can drop in and the factory isn't going to waste time going after them. On the other hand, it might be one of yours. Really no way to know without looking.

So rather than spend the rest of the summer wondering when a valve may drop onto a piston, I said go ahead and take it apart... Another couple hour$ labor to learn it was indeed a piece of junk from the factory and mine are all in tact.

I can't swing a multi-thousand dollar exhaust replacement right now so I just removed the heat shield and put in a couple Harley-worthy chromed bolts. I've also removed the rear mudflap, but I left the beer tray as I like the length it adds to the bike, plus everyone else removes their's....

"Look Ma, no mudflap"

So far it's been a series of mostly cosmetic mods: removed evaporative canister, mud flap and muffler heat shield. Swapped front sprocket and added bar riser. Zero Gravity screen, Rizoma mirrors and bar-ends, smoked lenses with orange bulbs, Pazzo levers, Oberon pegs and a Motografix tank pad.

Ready for a great summer of riding!

An inauspicious start to the riding season

It was a VERY snowy winter. Like I remember from childhood, and the type we have not had for some time. Sadly, we have rolled straight into a very wet spring. The only upside to that early on was it cleaned all the crud off the roads.

Middle of April I uncovered the S2R, unplugged the battery tender, rolled out of the garage, turned the key and pushed the starter... and the bike fired up like I'd just ridden the day before. Sweet. I checked lights and adjusted tire pressure and then went out for a 40 mile spin. And it was good.

<insert more rain here>

The following weekend I run the same drill with the ZRX and once again, the bike starts right up. Startron and battery tenders, baby. But this time, my son points to the exhaust and all of the thick white smoke pouring out. I thought maybe it was some condensation in the pipe for the first few seconds, but very quickly I could smell the oil, from my 4-stroke.

Well this can't be good.... Did I lose a gasket or something over the winter? So I made a service appointment thinking it was time for new brakes anyway. I'm walking out to the bike with a mechanic as I describe the problem and he says "Look at your (oil) sight glass, the case is full of gas." And processing that information I respond "Huh?"

There is no off position with the fuel petcock and I guess whatever function of the vacuum advance is supposed to prevent fuel from leaving the tank, didn't. So it was moving down through the carbs, past the pistons an into the engine all winter.

Replace the petcock, tune-up, clean the carbs, replace the floats, change the oil in the very clean case, sync the carbs ... 5 hour$ labor. Turns out he thought the brakes looked okay

There was a long enough break in the rain to allow me to meet up with a bunch of guys the following Sunday and put 170 miles on running the northern route. Had a blast.