Winter's never an easy season for a motorcyclist, and even less so in Canada where riding in it is a near impossibility. Soon enough we'll be buried in snow and minus double digit temperatures, but I'm not feeling the weight of it like I normally do. A positive change in my working life, an old-bike project in the workshop and a good year of riding have me in a positive place as this riding season draws to a close. I saw a bit of prose by Milne recently that hit the target:
"Yes, I can face the winter with calm.
I suppose I had forgotten what it was really like
I had been thinking of the winter as a horrid wet, dreary time.
Now I can see other things—crisp and sparkling days, long pleasant evenings, cheery fires.
Good work shall be done this winter.
Life shall be lived well.
The end of the summer is not the end of the world."
I got a lot of miles in on both bikes this year, but the Tiger takes it for a couple of reasons. FIrst of all, after some satisfying maintenance over the winter, it's better than it's ever been with new sprockets getting me close to 60mpg and the ultrasonically cleaned fuel injectors that have completely resolved the stalling issues from last year. When the Concours got a flat just before the biggest ride of the summer, the Tiger stepped up and took on that cross province trip without missing a beat. Love that bike!
This is why the Tiger still adorns the header on the blog even though several bikes have come and gone in the meantime.
Evening rides and changeable weather as the summer ends...
The Concours/1400GTR hanging out in a graveyard at sunset... as you do.
***
I've been playing with some design concepts for the WW2 historical fiction novel, Under Dark Skies (coming soon!). I'm currently working on dividing the original manuscript into three young adult sized novels.
I'm always looking for period bike images. Never know when I might be able to use them for a reference on an original drawing. I've been up to those too, creating scenes from the novel:
t-shirt transparency
Sketched variation - I might have put my face on that subconsciously.
... and some sketched (pen and ink) scenes from the novel:
Here's a mock-up book cover concept based on a 1940s comic book style:
I've been monkeying around with the blog logo too:
... and may eventually put a t-shirt out:
***
We managed an afternoon at SMART Adventures before the end of the summer:
It's never a bad time, but I went in the 'expert' group which consisted of a dad who wanted his son on a bike that was too big for him. The kid came off it so often that it became tedious, so we rode back to base and he switched to a smaller bike and then fell off that a lot too. We still got some good trail riding in and our instructor (Louise) was fantastic, but 'expert'? Not so much. We spent a sizable portion of our very short 3 hours picking this kid up or riding back and forth for his various equipment change needs. His finally move was to ride into a massive puddle and drop the bike in the middle of it, causing us to spent 20 minutes getting it out and then following him and his dad as they two-upped back to the office.
I'm not sure how to address that as I've been going to SMART for a long time and I did have a good afternoon, but when I'm paying quite a lot of money for three hours of riding and almost a third of it is taken up with catering to what was clearly a non-expert rider, I'm left feeling (for the first time ) like I didn't get my money's worth.
***
We went to Stratford yesterday to Perth County Moto's 5th anniversary. T'was a good time. If you find your way to Stratford, Ontario at any point, look them up, they're right downtown:
I haven't been spending much time in the garage beyond upkeep and maintenance on the two operational bikes. I'm saving the Bonneville project for the cold months when I need to keep my hands busy and riding is far away, though I did start re-assembling the frame (seemed like a logical place to start).
The oil filters came in for the end of year oil change (I always put in fresh oil and filter and run them through before the big hibernation). It's a depressing delivery, but I've still got another six weeks or so before the snows fall. With the filters I got some tank pads to stop myself sliding around on the Concours.
Next week we're aiming for the Wine y Cheese Rally on September 24th. We're going to head down to St. Catherines on the Friday and then be up and at it by 7am on Saturday morning. This is the only rally we've been able to line up this busy summer, so I'm looking forward to it. We've been fettling the Concours to make it as functional and capable as possible for this long haul. We finished our last one on the Tiger last summer, so I'm not even super concerned with finishing so much as I am just having a good time with it. Signups still seem to be available, so if you're looking for an excuse to ride and ride next weekend (cooler temps but the weather looks good), then give it a go.
Gotta get time in the saddle in before the snows fall!
I had a go at mounting new tires on the 1971 Bonneville project rims today, and what a pain in that ass that has turned into. The rear tire is a mess of strange engineering decisions, including 3 holes for the inner tube valve, two of which are filled with rubber/metal pads with valve stem sized bolts sticking out of them. Why they would do this is beyond me. It creates a needlessly heavy wheel just where you don't want it (where centrifugal force amplifies it at the rim when it spins). Perhaps it has something to do with the spokes and creating a true (round) wheel by adding weight? The rear tire went on easily enough, but the inner tube was a pain to get the valve in place and it doesn't seem to be taking air. I'll have to take that apart again and figure out what the hell is going on.
Also in bizarro British '70s engineering world, the front wheel has the valve stem hole drilled in the worst possible location, right near two spokes, which makes putting the compressor's tire inflation nozzle on it impossible. There are spaces all around the rim where the hole could have been drilled to allow for easier access, but the Meriden Triumph 'technician' threw it in there. If there is an engineering reason for it, it's beyond me. Putting the hole in the space between more distant spokes shouldn't hurt the durability, but they didn't do that.
I've been riding for over a decade now on a lot of different bikes and I've never had a flat tire. A work colleague got one once and it made her quit riding, so the terror of riding a motorcycle with a flat has always had an inflated (ha!) place in my mind.
Last week my son and I went to look for hairy cows (highland cattle up by Creemore) on two wheels. The mission was a success and after a quick lunch in Creemore we headed home. A stop for a stretch in Grand Valley must have picked up a nail as once we were back in motion the tire sensor started flashing on the dash. It should have been more obvious that a catastrophic tire failure was under way except the Kawasaki was also in a panic about being low on fuel. Whoever did the dash layout for the C14 didn't have a good grip on digital ergonomics (a rapid tire decompression shouldn't be vying with early low-fuel warnings on the screen).
I started to feel the back end get squishy so I slowed down and pulled over once I'd sussed out what the panicky dash was trying to tell me. With a 200lb+ passenger on the back this was the worst possible getting-a-flat scenario, yet I found it very manageable. I like to think all that time at SMART Adventures getting used to a bike moving around on loose material helped. We pulled over, the tire was very flat, so we unloaded and then I pushed the bike off the side of the road and into the grass. We were on a country road so there wasn't much of a shoulder and everyone was steaming by at 100kms/hr. I then got on the phone trying to find anyone local who could give us a hand.
Nice spot for a breakdown, as long as you can manhandle the bike away from the verge. No one stopped to check on us or even slowed down or moved out of the lane to avoid us. Country living ain't what it used to be.
No point in being all long faced about it :)
My wife was heading out to ballet but a friend in town, Scott, was around and offered to come out with some spray filler to get us home.
It was a nice day for a flat in a lovely part of the world. Potatoes were growing behind us and cows grazed across the road as the sun streamed down.
Scott was there in a flash. I removed the topbox and Max and it went with Scott in the car (no point in putting more weight on a bad tire than necessary). The spray filler went in and bubbled out of the hole and the bike's pressure sensor said I had 5psi. Perhaps the foam expands as the tire spins and heats up? Scott and Max followed me as I took it slowly down the road toward the village of Belwood, but the fill-in-foam did bugger all.
I was only a few minutes in motion but the tire pressure fell off to zero again and the tire was starting to come off the bead, so I pulled over on the edge of the road in Belwood. Scott and Max went back to Elora to see if he could borrow his neighbour's trailer to get the bike home, but I was in my hood now. Belwood is the edge of the catchment area where I teach and teaching generations of people here means I'm connected, even when I don't know it.
The guy mowing his lawn across the street came over and said he had a portable air compressor and some tire plugs and would I want to give it a try? He came back a minute latter with a rusty old plug kit and the air pump and as he plugged the hole we discovered that he was the uncle of one of my top students (the kid's going to German to do IT this fall!). He waved me off when I offered to pay, but a bottle of Glenfiddich is coming his way next time I'm passing through there. Scotch is cheaper than a tow and I'd like to cultivate what little small town spirit is left in our rapidly urbanizing county.
Plug kits are the way!
The Concours uses tubeless tires on alloy rims, similar to a car, so the plug did the trick and the portable air compressor he had put 20psi into the tire which held all the way home. I stopped half way and texted Scott that I was in motion and they met me at the house. I took it slow and steady but the bike felt fine even at half pressure. If you're frantically worried about getting a flat on a motorcycle get some off road training, it'll make you comfortable with the squirming.
Flats feel like riding on gravel. If that freaks you out, so will getting a flat.
Pressure filler goop doesn't work, it's a waste of money. This was only a nail puncture and it did nothing to solve it.
Plugs are the way! There are moto-friendly options that aren't big (or expensive compared to getting towed) and can get you back in motion.
Don't expect Kawasaki's tire air pressure system to prioritize the danger in any kind of way that makes sense.
Don't expect the biker brotherhood (or anyone else) to pull over and see if you need a hand, they all just potatoed by while we were on the side of the road. In fact, no one stopped to check on us. How's that for country hospitality?
Jeff the motorcycle Jedi suggested getting an all-in-one micro-sized puncture repair kit and suggested the Stop And Go kit which includes all you need for plugging including a mini pump that you can clip onto your battery for under $100. Packs up nice and small too so throwing it in a pannier is no problem.
As for tires, I ended up going with Revco and getting a single new rear tire rather than doing both. When I got the C14 it had a relatively new (2019) front tire and much older rear on it. The front was still nicely rounded (no flat spots), so it stayed on. I didn't want to mismatch tires so I stayed with Michelin Pilot Road 4s. If you want a COVID inflationary kick in the head, the rear tire cost $235 when I looked it up last summer. Your latest inflationary price (Aug, 2022)? $274. That's a 16.6% price jump, aren't economics fun? I can't imagine what the dealership is asking these days, probably five hundred a tire installed.
All that shitty milk in the bottom of the tire? That's courtesy of the utterly useless 'tire repair' foam filler - don't bother with it!
Revco did its usual excellent job getting the tire out (it was here less than 48hrs after ordering). Installation was straightforward and gave me a chance to clean up the rear end and shaft drive which I hadn't been into yet.
Here's where things get even craftier (or Norfolk stingier if you like). I like mechanics, but like my dad before me, they also scratch a why-spend-money-when-you-don't-have-to itch. The tire pressure warning system has been flashing low power warnings at me since I got the bike. I looked up replacements and they are an eye-watering three hundred bucks or more a piece, then I did some research and found this handy video where the guy dismantles the sensors and solders a new lithium battery in. Recommended? Not unless you're really handy soldering (lithium batteries don't like a lot of heat). Fortunately, I'm handy with soldering.
The TPMS (tire pressure measurement system) is a wireless sensor screwed into the valve stem and held in place with a big hex bolt. It sends a wireless signal to the dash once the bike is in motion which gives you your tire pressure in real time. Removing the sensor is easy enough and taking it apart equally so (there is a torx head bolt under the sticker).
Disassembly is straightforward. There are plastic clips on the sides that can't have much to do in a thing spinning round and round inside a hot, pressurized tire. The hidden fastener is a tiny torx head bolt under the sticker.
I removed the old battery and picked up a pack of 4 of the Energizer C2032 batteries (we use them all the time in motherboards at school) for under $10.
I soldered wires onto the extensions from the PCB and then soldered them onto the battery. Solid connections all around and it all went back together nicely. For a hack around a non-repairable high-expense replacement, this went well!
The new tire went on without any headaches. Compared to the winter install of the tubed tires on the Tiger, it was a much easier summer job. No inner tubes to wrangle and (after leaving the tire in the sun for 10 minutes), everything was pliable and easy to stretch over the rim using tire spoons.
I was worried about the tire not inflating if I didn't have a tire installer with rapid inflation on it, but I needn't have worried. Perhaps the Armour All helped (I used it on the rim edge as a lubricant), but the tire started to take in air with a bit of jiggling and once it started filling, at about 20psi the edges popped out onto the bead and were airtight.
I set the tire pressure to 42psi and went for a ride around the block and then up and down the river (about 20kms). Everything it tight and working well, including the tire pressure sensor - no more low power warnings! I'll do the front one when I eventually replace the front tire the same way. A new tire always feels fantastic (like a newly sharpened pencil if you're older enough to know what that feels like) with the bike feeling friskier and more willing to drop into corners. The new tire is a 190/55 rather than the stock 190/50 and it subtly shifts weight forward by lifting the back end up a touch - it felt good, and is a bit less crashy on bumps too (a bit more sidewall means a bit more flex).
Thanks to Steve A on YouTube for some genuinely useful help researching the tire pressure management system and how to hack a fix.
