Motorcycle

You are currently browsing articles tagged Motorcycle.

Rebuilt forks and modified hemlet

March 6, 2010 in Maintenance Log | Please leave a comment

Over the last two weeks I rebuilt the forks on my motorcycle.  After one of the seals blew out I decided it was time.  The oil inside was pretty gross even though it was only serviced a few thousand miles ago.  There is also a strange set of springs inside the forks that no one was able to identify.  Eventually I’ll post photos of the whole operation.

Also I’ve been modifying my helmet to make it quieter.  It’s getting better but still not great.  Next step is to put a sun visor on it and see how that works.  Photos of that eventually, too.

Tags: ,

Riding with Seth on a nice day

March 6, 2010 in Riding Log | Please leave a comment

Today Seth and I went on a leisurely jaunt up the Kings Valley highway and then back through Albany to Corvallis.  This was the test ride for my newly rebuilt shocks and improved helmet.  Both performed well.

The whole ride was about 81 miles.

Tags: , , , , ,

Testing out different windshield configurations

February 23, 2010 in Riding Log | Please leave a comment

Yesterday I went for a quick ride while I was feeling okay (I’ve been sick off and on for the last week and continue to be) to test out different windshield configurations for my PC800.  I’m thinking about getting a taller windshield or making or buying a laminar lip shield.  Still haven’t decided but it was nice to ride with a taller windshield.   Decisions decisions…

Total distance was about 25 miles.  I went back and forth along one stretch of road testing out different shield heights several times.

Now my bike is in pieces again as I try to fix the front fork seals.  Of course I managed to get a bushing stuck and now I have to wait till next Tuesday for a part I need.

Tags: ,

A seal-blowing ride

February 12, 2010 in Riding Log | Please leave a comment

Yesterday I went on a short ride on The Tardis.  When I returned home I found that I had blown out one of my fork seals.  The route was fun but now I know why I’ve been having some funny feelings with steering (squishy in the corners) the last few weeks.  Parts are already on order.

Total distance was about 48 miles.

Tags: , ,

Superbowl Party Ride

February 8, 2010 in Riding Log | Please leave a comment

Yesterday I got done early with my work and went out on a ride to Rick’s house to attend a Superbowl party.  After the party and some Pictionary, I headed south back to Corvallis.  The route took me through Scio and Silverton up the Cascade Highway to Oregon City.  On the way back I used the freeways.

Total distance was 166 miles.  I stopped in Stayton to buy gas where some Harley Davidson motorcycles had pulled up.  They didn’t acknowledge my funny looking plastic-covered motorcycle.  I took on 2.13 gallons of gas after going 100.3 miles.  That gives me 47.1 MPG.

This was also my first ride with my new Honda-brand Regulator/Rectifier.  More on that in another post.

Tags: , , , , ,

Back roads of the Coast Range

January 31, 2010 in Riding Log | Please leave a comment

Today I blew off work for a few hours to go have fun on my motorcycle in the central Oregon coast range mountains.  Out of the 150 miles I drove, I only hit really sketchy gravel and mud for about a mile total.  FYI to all the sport bikes: don’t take Highway 411.  Well, you can… but only if you want to have fun going up and over a tight windy pass in mud and gravel.

I filled up twice during the ride.  The first fuel up I took 3.02 gallons and had driven 134.3 miles.  At this fill-up I topped it off as high as I could for the coming ride.  Even so, I still averaged 44.7 mpg.

The second fill-up happed about 85 miles later.  I didn’t push the trip meter until about 10 miles after the first fill-up so I’m not 100% positive on the distance but it was something like 85 miles.  Another top-off brought me to 1.66 gallons.  That makes for 51.2 mpg.  That’s not bad considering I was going slow along some sketchy back country roads.

Every time I go out and ride my PC800, named The Tardis, it’s like falling in love with the bike all over again.  The Tardis might have a few nagging issues (need new clutch plates soon, back tire will need to be replaced sooner rather than later due to old rubber rot, underpowered stator, etc) but it sure is fun to ride.

In other news, I was having some trouble keeping my heated gear working throughout the ride.  One of the outlets kept cutting out.  I’m not sure if it’s an issue with the Heat Troller, the outlet, or the plug.  Until I get some right-angle plugs for my heated gear I won’t be able to tell for sure.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

New antifreeze for the PC800

January 30, 2010 in Maintenance Log | Please leave a comment

Yet again I put new antifreeze into the PC800.  This time I put in Prestone Dex-Cool Extended Life.  It is orange.  Good thing there isn’t anything but Aluminum in my bike’s engine.  The IPCRC was pretty set against the generic NAPA brand antifreeze that I had filled the bike with 500 miles or so ago.  It seems that there is a high probability of that brand having silicates or borates in it.  With the PC800, any silicates or borates in the coolant will slowly eat away at the water pump until it doesn’t pump anymore and you end up stranded at the side of the road with an overheated bike on a hot day.

Many of the crowd on IPCRC only use the Honda brand pre-mixed motorcycle coolant.  I chose to get this Prestone stuff on the advice of a couple of the members.  It explicitly states that it doesn’t have any borates or silicates in it, it was much closer and easier to buy the Prestone brand, and it was cheaper.  I suppose I’ll find out if it was the right choice if my water pump goes out someday.  Hope it doesn’t!

This servicing was done at a few hundred miles shy of 45k.

In unrelated news,  my clutch is starting to slip when I really hammer on the throttle at high speeds and sometimes when trying to accelerate quickly through the gears.  Hopefully I won’t have to pull the clutch plates and service it until I get 3k to 5k miles out of the oil that is currently in the engine.  Probably around May I will do that job.

Tags: , ,

90 misty miles

January 30, 2010 in Riding Log | Please leave a comment

I ditched studying and work for a bit to go for a quick motorcycle ride this afternoon.  The loop took me up through Kings Valley, Dallas, Rickreal, and Salem.  Then I turned south through Independence and Camp Adair back to Corvallis.  In total it was about 90 miles.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Afternoon ride through Kings Valley

January 26, 2010 in Riding Log | Please leave a comment

This afternoon I took the PC800 out for a quick romp through Kings Valley via Airlie.  On the way there I filled up with gas.  It took 2.77 gallons of gas.  The last tank lasted 129.5 miles giving me a fuel economy of 46.75.  Not too bad considering I was having a lot of fun on the throttle all of those miles.  Tonight’s ride was about 46 miles total.

Tags: , , ,

Wheel plastic troubles on my PC800

January 24, 2010 in Maintenance Log | 7 comments

Since replacing my front tire a month ago I’ve been having a heck of a time figuring out how to get the plastic to snap back on correctly.  The left side piece is not reconnecting correctly.  There were a few posts on IPCRC from a few months ago with someone having the same troubles. I tried to follow the suggestions there but to no avail. Anyone have any ideas how to make my front wheel shroud whole again?

The mud is from doing a little off-roading/gravel/mud roads with the bike.  At the top of the plastic semi-circle you should be able to see where the plastic is separated.  Click through the picture a couple times to get a HUGE version to see what I’m talking about.

Here’s a close-up.  I can’t get the tabs to attach to anything and it seems that maybe the left side plastic is warped or something?

Looking at it from the front.  The right side plastic (left in this photo) is just fine.  The left side piece is screwed up though.  Any thoughts on how to fix it?

Tags: , ,

« Older entries