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Categories: all aviation bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater Thu, 30 Jun 2005
After a months-long hiatus, I'm finally getting back into flying, I noticed that my medical certificate was expired a few days ago, as I started thinking about the upcoming July 4th holiday, and how much fun I'd had flying around last year on that night. I figured there was no chance I would get my medical exam done between then and Friday (tomorrow), which is the only way I'd be able to fly on the 4th, so I reluctantly gave up on the idea. I called the medical examiner today (whose price has gone from $75 to 85 in the two years since I've been there, I was dissappointed to note), to see when in the next few weeks I could get in to see him. To my complete surprise, there was not one, but two openings tomorrow. Feeling slightly unreal, I scheduled myself, and should be (medically) good to fly by Friday afternoon. Woo! So, I called up Northway, and signed myself up with an instructor and a 172, figuring I'd kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. I need to go up with an instructor anyway, to meet their 60 day policy. I would like to get certified in the 172s, just in case I want to take more than one person if I go up on the 4th (although in the dark with extra people in the plane is not the best way to get acquainted with new flying hardware). Might as well pay an instructor for both things. As long as I was signing up for stuff, I also signed up for my BFR, which I think I did last year around the same time, but I'm feeling pretty fuzzy on a bunch of aviation stuff anyway, so the refresher will be good. Along the "refresher" lines, I tried to fire up Flight Simulator 2004 today and was dismayed to discover that it took 20 minutes to launch (claiming it needed to rebuild some scenery index files, which seemed like a very frivolous thing to do, since it'd already been run many times), and then performed at such a slow frame rate as to be basically unuseable. I've since discovered that there's some kind of disk-related problem, which probably accounts at least for the 20 minute startup, if not the overall performance. That computer doesn't get much attention, and spends most of its time sleeping. I guess I'm paying the price. That tweaks my "computers suck" nerve pretty hard, though. Anyway, overall I'm pretty excited to be doing a bit of flying again, particularly on the 4th if that happens. Posted at 23:02 permanent link category: /aviation Wed, 29 Jun 2005
I'm happy to report that the sidecar rig is entirely capable of In other news, my earplug review has actually left me unhappy even with my old favorites. I now realize that all of the difficulty I've had has always been on my right ear, and there are actually no plugs among the ones I tried that fit as well in the right ear as they do in the left. This means that my left ear is always better protected from noise, which means it always feels, at least a little bit, like my head is on sideways. The 1100s (my favorites for fit) are still acceptable, but it's frustrating to be so aware of their failings. The MAXes, which I said in the review I'd probably be getting, are still fine, in fact they are better in noise reduction, but it sometimes takes me 4-5 tries to get them in correctly. I seem to recall, from back when I first got the big box of 1100s, that I had trouble figuring out how to get them seated correctly, too. So it may be that I just need to get used to the MAXes. Certainly they block more noise, and they seem to fit about the same as the 1100s as long as I get them seated correctly. I've actually ordered a set of SilentEar reuseable earplugs, and I'm looking forward to trying those. Hopefully a large will fit my right ear reasonably well, and an average or small will fit the left. If not, I'll have to figure out which of the 1100s or MAXes I want to get. Whatever the case, I need something for sure until I can get the exhaust replaced on the Goldwing. That sucker's way too loud even around town. Speaking of the Goldwing, I've been driving it around with just two jugs of water instead of the four I'd been carrying before, to see what I think. So far it's mostly fine, but I can tell that the sidecar is still a touch on the light side. This rig really wants to have a person in the chair. I think I'm going to investigate getting someone to make me about a 100 lb weight to bolt into the car's frame, so I don't have to take up the trunk with these big jugs of water just to make it safe to drive. I still need to get myself out to a big parking lot so I can do some testing with no weight in the car at all. That should be exciting. Slooow maneuvering, for sure. Posted at 23:31 permanent link category: /motorcycle Sun, 26 Jun 2005
I finally started the process of taking the radio box off the Le So, the bike is now sitting in a number of parts in the garage, since I am missing some supplies to clean up the installation of the alarm I did when I first got the bike. Hopefully, I can get it cleaned up and finished in the next day or two. I went on a ride with my friend Jean on Saturday, in the sidecar. She was in a motorcycle collision that dinged up her bike and left her right hand bruised and possibly broken, so a sidecar ride was just the thing. We had originally intended to ride together on individual bikes, but the sidecar ride ended up being really fun. I passed her the camera for the latter half of the ride, and she took a few pictures. I haven't decided yet if I am going to write up a more formal ride report. I went to Harbor Freight today to get a magnetic base for my dial indicator, so I could check the runout on the Ninja's new front brake rotor. Of course, while I was there, I found a few other things I just had to have... Harbor Freight is great for cheap cheap cheap tools, but they're all of the "made in China" questionable-quality quality. So, I'm now the proud owner of a 1/2" impact wrench that only cost $18. This goes against my "don't buy cheap tools" preference, but the cheapest impact wrench I'd ever seen before was $50. I figure if I come to depend on it and it breaks, I can always buy a real one. Posted at 22:49 permanent link category: /motorcycle Wed, 22 Jun 2005
I replaced the front brake rotor and pads on the Ninja a couple of Riding around this evening, the disc has already started to take on a polished appearance, and I assume those same few hundred miles will have it looking more like a normal brake disc. I also hope it will take care of one or more sticky spots I was feeling tonight. Right now, coming to a stop is kind of a random affair, as the front brake will be low friction for a few feet, then suddenly grab despite the same lever pressure. My guess is that this is the rotor wearing down a bit unevenly where I applied more pressure at some point. But the new brakes, even now, with only a few miles on them, seem pretty good. They seem to pull a bit harder for the same lever pressure than the stock rotor and the EBC black pads did. I hope that keeps up, these brakes will be much better than stock if it does. I really have to get the steering bearing sorted out, and tune up the engine on the Ninja. The creaking is getting more insistent, and the engine is definitely feeling a touch wonky. Posted at 22:56 permanent link category: /motorcycle Wed, 15 Jun 2005So, last night, I decided it had been far too long since I'd taken the time to read any of the pile of Motorcycle Consumer News issues that have been collecting. I pulled out the May 2005 edition, and started leafing through. Read some of the letters, a few of the news blurbs (ooh, diesel motorcycle! oh, not here). Skipped the Harley VRXXX review (some VRod derivative). Suddenly, I'm looking at their review of the Kawasaki Z750S. Interesting enough. Looks like a cool bike. Hmm. They like it, it hits a lot of the points I care about. By the time I got to the end of the review, it sounded pretty good. I checked one last thing:
Dang. That's the same mileage I'm getting on the Ninja 250. Waitaminnit.
Crap. That's what the Le Mans gets. Thus, "yarg" above. This bike looks like it might well be the perfect replacement for both bikes. The Le Mans, as I've already discussed, doesn't get used. The Ninja is pretty well overused, and has started creaking and making scary noises. I'm probably a touch on the heavy side for it. I had figured when I sold the Le Mans, I'd eventually get a brand new Ninja 250, since I'm pretty happy with it. Then I read a few other reviews. Dang, they really like it too, for the reasons I'd like it. Hmm, and with a 750, I could reasonably replace both bikes -- no lack of power on the freeway, and around town driveability probably wouldn't be bad... I think, at this point, I have to at least go look at one. I don't have $7k just lying around, but if I were to sell both the Le Mans and the Ninja, I could probably scrape it together. Hmmm.... Posted at 12:01 permanent link category: /motorcycle
I went into the garage on Sunday with the intention of starting to I took the front fairings off and read up on the procedure for greasing the steering head bearings. Unfortunately, I didn't have time or the proper tools to do the bearings, but I did make sure the bearings were tensioned correctly. It's going to take forever to tear down the front end enough to grease (and possibly replace) the bearings. It needs to be done, though, because I'm pretty sure now that it's the steering head which is creaking, and dry bearings are a strong contender to be the source. I also checked the front brake disc thickness, and it's only 4.19mm, where it's not supposed to be thinner than 4.5mm. So, the Ninja's grounded for now, while I wait for a new disc and pads to arrive. Pads are actually available right now, but there's no point replacing them until I can do the disc too. The right timing, of course, will be to do the disc and pads at the same time that I tear down the front end and grease the steering head bearings. And that probably won't be for a few weeks. It's never easy. I also picked up a crapload of Delo 400 oil tonight, which is the right spec for the Goldwing, and conveniently also the correct oil for the Z750S, if I end up getting that. I hope to sell the Le Mans before it needs another oil change, and I expect the Ninja will probably also be sold before its next oil change. Of course, I still have two full cases of Mobil 1, which had been intended for the Le Mans and Ninja, and won't work in the Goldwing... sigh. Hopefully I can sell it without too much of a loss. Posted at 11:54 permanent link category: /motorcycle Fri, 10 Jun 2005
Ugh. For some reason, I was awake at 4 AM. I think it was birds The salesman reminded me a lot of Gil from the Simpsons (who is himself a parody one of the characters in Glengarry Glen Ross, as I recall), but more internalized. He looked like he could have been saying to himself, "C'mon now, Gil, don't screw this one up... He's right there, I'm gonna get a sale, now just don't say anything stupid..." As I was perusing the bike, he just kind of hovered, giving off an air of being vaguely uncomfortable. On top of all that, he didn't even know much about the bike, had never ridden one, didn't know anything about aftermarket parts, etc. Not a favorable impression of the dealership, overall, although I'm sure I'll give them another chance. Seeing the bike again cemented a few things in my head. First, the seat would definitely have to change first thing. It's way too sloped forward. Second, I'd have to see about fitting a hugger (a fender that rides close to the rear tire to keep it from flinging mud and road debris all over the rear shock, which is for some reason left entirely unprotected). I noticed in one of the British magazines that I picked up, they said the British spec Z750S has a hugger, so it's possible I could get a factory part without too much hassle. Third, although I was lukewarm on the bike's appearance before, I'm definitely warming up to it. I still feel like I should go ride other bikes to give them their fair due, particularly the SV650, since I have a friend who's willing to loan me his to try out. The tone is definitely shifting towards "when I get the Z750S," though, and not so much "if I get the Z750S." The most secure indicator of that was waking up this morning realizing I was thinking about the bike before I was even conscious. A bit later... Hmm. The pictures I took last night didn't turn out very well. The lighting was pretty terrible inside the dealership, and the flash just made things worse, so the choices are "blurry" or "glare-filled." Sigh I did get a good enough picture to say that the speedometer doesn't go up to 160, but to 170 MPH. 'Cause, you know, anyone riding this bike might go that fast. Riiiight. (Top speed is around 140 MPH, and I would be spending 99% of my time below 85 MPH -- why doesn't anyone make a speedometer that's actually useful?) Anyway, these are the best ones of the bunch:
On a slightly different topic, Aaron at Moto International tells me Progressive makes a set of rear shocks that'll fit the Goldwing for $250ish. That's tempting, since the rear shocks on the Goldwing are making some unhappy squeaking noises, and I don't think they're repairable. They're also sticking, which I think is contributing to a rough ride. He also said he has these Mac exhaust headers which fit the bike perfectly... That would make doing up a custom exhaust much cheaper and easier. That would make me pretty happy, since finding a clean stock exhaust is going to be tricky at best. They all rust so damn fast. (Check it out: type GL1100 exhaust into Ebay's search box, and see how many come back rusted to crap on the bottom.) But yeah, that's got me thinking about exhausts again... So much money to be spent, so little money to spend. A bit later... I've created a for sale page for the Le Mans. It's finally official. The Le Mans is for sale, I just don't ride it enough. I'm not entirely thrilled about selling it, but I think it's ultimately the best choice on a number of levels. Even later... I had an errand to run with the sidecar this evening, and took a moment to adjust the front shock preload, from the stiffest setting to the softest setting. The difference was dramatic. Way more pleasant. Now I just have to fix the rear shocks, which will basically take replacement. They're kind of sticky, so they only move with sharp impacts rather than smoothly tracking the road surface. But after the dramatic difference on the front, the rear shocks are suddenly a priority. The front shocks had been set so stiff to deal with the relatively heavy weight of the fairing, which has since been removed. It was probably too stiff even with the fairing in place, although losing that 50 pounds of fiberglass and radios made it way too stiff. Posted at 21:28 permanent link category: /motorcycle Thu, 09 Jun 2005
Number one reason I don't normally read mainstream motorcycle CUNNING STUNTS! How'd they do that? 'Nuff said. Posted at 10:28 permanent link category: /motorcycle Wed, 08 Jun 2005
The Goldwing sidecar rig is back on the road, finally. There's not I was thinking about this sudden infatuation with the 600-750 "streetbike" class, and pondering especially how the decision was made in the back of my head over the course of a few seconds. This has happened to me in the past. When I was first looking for a motorcycle, the R65LS leapt out at me all of a sudden -- I'd seen it numerous times before on Cascade's web page, but then one day I looked at it as if I'd never seen it before. I can't say what exactly changed that took it from "just another motorcycle" to "the motorcycle for me." Likewise, getting the K75 was kind of like a switch flipped. I don't remember this as clearly, but I recall one day being perfectly happy with the R65, and that afternoon deciding I needed to sell it for a more reliable bike, and washing it down to take in to Cascade for trade-in. In fact, I think the idea for purchasing each of the bikes I've owned was more or less instantaneously formed. The Le Mans was pretty quick, but the Ninja was pretty well planned out, with lots of forethought. This idea for the Z750S came about after reading the Motorcycle Consumer News review (May 2005 issue), but not until I saw their MPG numbers. Snap! The positive review combined with the fuel mileage stats suddenly melded in my brain, and it only took a few minutes' pondering to come up with a plan wherein I'd sell the Le Mans and the Ninja, and get the Z750S. Of course, since then, the rational part of my brain has taken over again, and I'm doing a lot of homework, reading reviews, and checking out other options. For instance, this seems like an excellent time to look more closely into the SV650, which has always seemed like a logical "next bike" for me, if I ever went crazy (just like this) and decided to get rid of one or both of my current bikes. I've also investigated the field of 600-750cc streetbikes/naked bikes, and come up with this list of bikes I should check out (in no particular order):
Notably missing from this list, if you've familiar with the field, is the Honda 599. Between the price, the lack of a fairing, and reviews suggesting it's got a small frame, it doesn't sound that interesting. All these other bikes sound like they have some factors to recommend them, and some which aren't so good. Well, all of them except the Z750S, which seems to be perfect. I'm leery of that evaluation, though, since it was the first bike I "saw" in a sense, so my sense of what's "right" for the class may be unfairly centered around its example. I hope to get myself to a dealership in the next few days, and look at each of these bikes in person. As I said before, the Z750S doesn't actually do anything for me, stylistically. I need to look at the others and see if I have a more emotional reaction to any of them in person. I also need to ride each of them to see how I fit, since this is not a class of large motorcycles, and I'm a large person. Later... I was thinking about what I'd have to do to a Z750S, what "extra" money I'd have to spend to make it right, and I came up with this limited list:
It's not too bad, but it is another chunk of change on top of the $7100 list price, plus doubtless $1000 in setup, delivery and taxes. I've even given some thought to taking delivery of the bike in the crate, so I can set it up myself, although I don't know if I can find a dealership which will do that. I picked up three different magazines with reviews of the Z750S today. Two are British, and basically say, "fine bike, but kind of boring, and it looks like crap." The American review I found pretty much says the same thing, without as much emphasis on how crappy it looks. I think that since the Brits have the Z750 without the fairing to compare against, they are much more concerned with how it looks, since it's otherwise the same bike and they've already reviewed it. In any case, appearance is a very subjective thing: although I initially thought it looked very generic and uninteresting, I find its looks growing on me. We'll see how that pans out. And even later... I just got back from CycleBarn, where I had gone to look at some of the bikes on my list. Naturally, they only had one of the five bikes I was interested to see... I should have known better, CycleBarn continues to suck if you're not a Harley badboy or a crotch-rocket squid. But the real story there is that when I came out to cross over to their used section (in a different building), I noticed a couple of guys pointing at stuff on the sidecar (Jesse and I had ridden up together in the sidecar rig). I walked over and asked if they had any questions. I turns out the guy was there to buy a Triumph Thruxton, which he was planning on taking to Dauntless to turn into a sidecar rig. He actually had a ton of questions, and I tried my best to answer them. The big one, which confounded his trip (for which I felt kind of bad) was the news that you can't really have a rig that makes both a good motorcycle and a good sidecar rig. He had been planning on getting Dauntless to attach a sidecar to the Thruxton such that it could be easily detached, which would likely mean it was a fine motorcycle and a heavy-steering, uncomfortable sidecar rig. I told him as much, and you could actually see his whole demeanor kind of collapse (which is why I felt bad -- I know that exact "buying a bike! no, wait, second thoughts.." feeling). We ended up talking for probably an hour in the parking lot. I gave a few of his friends quick one-lap rides around the lot, which they seemed to enjoy. They seemed like a pretty cool group. (Charlie (I hope I remembered your name right), if you're reading this, I was referring to the sidecar.com Classified section for finding used rigs. They also have The Book I was talking about on this page.) Anyway, it was pretty cool to be able to help him on the road to sidecar-dom. Hopefully he enjoys the class (which I heartily recommended) and finds a setup he likes. Posted at 21:16 permanent link category: /motorcycle Sun, 05 Jun 2005
I went over to Bellevue Kawasaki on Friday, and spent some time In person, the bike looks kind of generic to me. Seems like every motorcycle produced by a Japanese manufacturer has that pinched-nose look, with sharp creases and a double headlight. The engine looked cool, done up in subtle shades of gold and grey. I didn't care for the upswept tail, particularly as it would make mounting a shrimp basket even more annoying than it is on the Ninja 250 now. And a shrimp basket is a necessity for me now. I can't imagine living without one. The bike obviously had some power, pulling with an insistent tug even down in the 3000-4000 RPM range (11.5k redline, I think). It must really scream along when the revs get higher, although as I said, I was limited to 4k. No problems with the bike wanting to leap forward into the car ahead of me. The brakes were fine, although I didn't have much to test them with. The gearbox was Swiss-watch precise, and made the Ninja's gearbox feel like a Soviet built Trabant. Finding neutral was a pain in the ass, though. The seat is really sloped forward. After the lovely custom seat on the Ninja, it felt very odd and almost disconcerting. I would have to change the seat within a few hundred miles of owning the bike. The pegs were a touch closer than on the Ninja, suggesting it would be a cramped thing to ride a long distance -- another reason for a better and taller seat. The rest of the ergonomics were unnoticeable, suggesting they're fine. The exhaust note was very quiet and refined, which I appreciated. It didn't get loud at any point from idle to 4000 RPM, but I suspect it starts to make a howl at high RPM. That's fine, I wouldn't be riding at high RPM unless I was on the freeway or noise was otherwise not a factor. Riding around neighborhoods, it could be very pleasantly quiet. I also appreciate that the stock muffler includes a catalytic converter. That's actually a somewhat compelling reason to upgrade all by itself. I really like the idea of producing less pollution. Under the seat is an amazing amount of room. I was very surprised. The trick is that the splash guard under the seat is also the bottom of the storage tray, so there's very little wasted space. There was even enough room to semi-permanently mount an Autocom... I don't have a strong opinion on the bike at this time. I dislike the complexity of a 4 cylinder engine. I like the idea of a new, FI bike becoming my daily rider again. I like the idea of having more power available when I'm on the freeway, although the Ninja is plenty anywhere up to freeway speeds. I dislike the styling in general, although I appreciate the practical aspects of a fairing that keeps some wind off the rider. I like that it takes "low grade" 87 octane gas, according to the Kawasaki datasheet. I don't know that this bike is necessarily in my future, although I wouldn't discount the possibility. In other news, the Goldwing's headlight bracket is nearly done. Very close. I have to drill out six holes a bit, and drill two new ones, and it'll be ready to go, structurally. The bracket looks like it was designed by a crazed machinist or something, which I really like. I'm even considering not cleaning up the aluminum pieces at all, leaving them "ugly" from having sat out in the rain at Boeing Surplus. It fits with the bike, which is definitely not new and shiny. I'm almost positive I'll have the Goldwing set up with headlights by the end of the day. I spent this afternoon helping a friend get her 1989 Honda Hawk GT running again. We replaced the spark plugs, drained the gas, confirmed a few connections, and recharged the battery. After all that (including fresh new gas), it wouldn't start. I was really dissappointed, since I'd followed all the steps, and there was nothing preventing it from working. We'd just spent about two hours doing all this stuff. I pulled the plugs and tested them for spark, and strangely, none of them sparked when I turned over the motor. That's odd. Then, it hit me. Kill switch. D'oh! It fired right up once I flipped the switch to the RUN position. I felt like a dork, but we had certainly made the bike run better, with the new plugs and TLC. My bonus prize was that I got to ride it around a little bit. I liked it a lot, although the frame is fundamentally too small for me. It's even smaller than the Ninja 250. I don't think I could really ride it long term. I did really like the motor, though, which makes me think I should spend some quality time with an SV650 as a possible both-bikes replacement. That afternoon... Woo! The headlight is installed. I think the bracket looks pretty damned good the way it is, cleaning it up would actually detract from its appearance. So, it will stay slightly grungy and weathered looking. It just matches the bike. Aiming is next, along with getting the turn signal working. I have all the pieces I need for the turn signal, but it's going to take fabricating a bracket, so I decided it would be a separate project, and I'll probably tackle it tomorrow. The light setup definitely looks original. It's almost steampunk in appearance, and would look good (on its own, not on the bike) if done in shades of copper and brass. That night... For the first time in many weeks (6? 7?) I finally got out and rode the sidecar rig. With the headlight finished and my BBQ successfully attended earlier in the day, it only took about an hour to get the turn signal installed. Once that was done, and I'd given the rig a quick look-over for anything I had missed, I fired it up and started out. First up was testing to ensure that the front brakes, an almost entirely new system, was functional. It worked, although the front brake was weak. It improved over the course of my ride, until at the end it felt alright as the pads bedded in. It's not great, though, and I'm pretty sure the system would do better with more bleeding. There's probably still air in the lines. Next, since the brakes were functional, and the front tire and bearings seemed to be working right, I headed down to work, where there was a lovely empty parking garage with bright white walls. There, I took about 10 minutes to aim the new headlights, which were remarkably close to begin with. I got my first glimpse of the beam patterns there. The low beam pattern has a sharp horizontal cutoff, and about a 15° angle up to the right of the centerpoint of the pattern. The high beam is shaped a bit like an infinity symbol, or a numeral 8 on its side, but with only the bottom notch cut out. By the time I was done, it was nice and dark out, and I had a chance to see the patterns in the real world. The low beam looks nice, and includes a brighter triangle that illuminates the road directly in front of the bike. The high beam is a beautiful wash, with the triangle of road in front of the bike left dark (as it should be). It even illuminates the side of the road to show roadside hazards like deer or dogs. I'm very pleased with these headlight modules. While I was out, I filled up the tank, since the fuel gauge was showing nearly empty (at least, nearly to the red RES section). The trip odometer was at 199.6 when I filled up, and the bike took 6.6 gallons. Not bad, considering that 50 of those miles were probably driven with the front brake dragging. I'm very happy to have the sidecar rig back in action. Posted at 23:10 permanent link category: /motorcycle Thu, 02 Jun 2005
I just found out that Referenced from this article. I've wanted an electric motorcycle for a couple of years now, and even tried to find one about a year ago, with no luck. This GPR is really close to what I want (ie, 20-30 miles minimum range, 70 MPH max speed), since that would be an acceptable commuter. I could just plug it in at work and at home, and that would be plenty of range. The 65 MPH top speed is ok, but could be a problem if I decided to go on the freeway (these might not technically be freeway legal, since WA state law says a bike has to be 125cc or larger to be on the freeway). The bad part is that I'd really want to ride one before I'd be willing to drop $6800-8000 on it. That's a lot of cash for a bike you've only seen in pictures on the internet. Late that evening... I just got back from the University of Washington campus, where a friend of mine who works there got me into the mechanical engineering machine shop. I had the assistance of a really nice shop supervisor, who helped me program a CNC mill to drill and cut the holes in the headlight bracket. I now have a beautifully milled front portion of the Goldwing's to-be headlight bracket, and an abiding desire to own a milling machine. With that portion of the bracket done (which was definitely the "crap, how am I going to do this?" portion), I'm pretty sure I can get the rest of it built by the end of the weekend. Hooray! No guarantees it'll get completely installed, but I bet it'll be finished. I'm glad I have a drill press, but it sure would be cool to have a mill.... And Harbor Freight sells one for $500 that would fit nicely in the basement without being too massive.... So many expensive temptations! Posted at 08:55 permanent link category: /motorcycle Categories: all aviation gadgets misc motorcycle theater Written by Ian Johnston. Software is Blosxom. Questions? Please mail me at reaper at obairlann dot net. | ||||||||||||||
