Gravity Storm

I received an e-mail from my neighbor while we were away. He kindly let me know that my ZX blew over in some heavy winds and was leaking gas. When I arrived home I dove right into CSI mode - looking over the impacted side of the bike for damage. Blinkers, foot peg, clip-on, mirror, body work...

First, a rear turn signal:

This is a PITA because the bodywork that the signal mounts to is cracked. I'll play some games with jbweld and/or super glue to see if I can fashion a fix without having to track down a used part.

Second, a brake lever mount (and really, the whole rearset):

This irked me the most. I mean sh*t, this OEM rearset snapped like peanut brittle. And shouldn't the foot peg have hit first? Why did the brake pedal even make contact with the asphalt? And it hit me a day later - the stock foot pegs always bend up for some odd reason. I'm thinking about grabbing a set of Woodcraft rearsets since a single, used OEM replacement is over $100 (and the Woodcraft basic kit is about $230).

And third, some minor body work:

Disappointing but minor.

The funny part of the story? The local fire department drove their truck on over to right the bike and spread some absorbant on the spilled gasoline. Wish I had a picture of that! *Sigh* - damn gravity storms. They don't give no warning signs...

#29in29 fail

I signed up for the #29in29 challenge, but fell to the flu and gave up after about only 9 days. Oh well, maybe next time...



...on the bright side, I've finally recovered enough to #ride2wrk today in the below-freezing weather! Here's hoping I'm not signing myself up to get sick again :)

Undercover

Been sick the past few days, and bikes have remained undercover...

Rideback

If you like to get lost in the surreal aspects of human/machine relationships, then you'll probably like Rideback. There are some really neat scenes - it's a bit of a goofy show, but it's short and on Netflix!

Consumption

Using stuff up. Nothing like a track day to maximize your rate of consumption.



Some years I managed to squeeze in 3 track weekends, other years just one. But there used to be no question: the weekend before Thanksgiving we'd meet up at Carolina Motorsports Park with Sportbike Track Time's Southern division and tear up one seriously fast track.

But last year I missed that mark, so I've had the blues for a few months now, as I've gone more than a year without extreme go-stop. *sigh* - as my friend would say, "...first world problems." :)

29in29

For the few that follow my blog, I figured I should inform you on my recent posting storm. I found out through Fuzzygalore about a blogging challenge - post a picture each day for this month of February (which happens to have 29 days this year). I accepted the challenge, as did some other moto bloggers. Check 'em out!

• Fuzzygalore.com
• Appalachian Tours
• Bandit Rider
• Bluekat’s Journeys
• Find Me on the Road
• Karina Jean
• Northwest Explore
• Princess Scooterpie
• Stay on the Gas
• Transport of Delight
• Trobairitz’ Tablet
• Troubadour on a Tiger
• Wet Coast Scootin’
• YouMotorcycle

Brand Loyalty Monday: Motus

Everyone who knows me knows I'm excited about Motus Motorcycles. What's not to be excited about? They are an American startup throwing caution to the wind with their ground-up designed sport tourer, the MST.

Their president, Lee Conn, is a slick guy I've had the pleasure of talking to twice, and he's clearly a rider who loves what he's doing and believes in their product. The videos and pictures of their progress over the last few years have been a blast to follow.

No, I will definitely not be able to afford their MST when it comes out this Spring. I'm pegging the cost of the machine at $30k, based on my complete lack of expertise on estimating low production motorcycle costs :) But does a V4 sport tourer with top-shelf components, hydraulic lifters, and easily-accessible valve covers sound good to me? You bet your damn leathers it does. Here's hoping a friend of mine buys one and lets me ride it!

I spy...

... a CBR 250! I finally got to sit on this awesome specimen from Honda at the DC IMS. I was elated to find out that Honda was bringing it to the US, and that it was fuel injected. It's light as hell and I'm sure it would be a blast in the tight twisties.

Steering a Roadster

About as close as I'll get to piloting a Tesla Roadster...

Bringin' my stuff

Good luggage. It's what turns a street bike into a useful commuter. Hard, soft, a rack and bungies - whatever allows you to bring your stuff on two wheels. I left with my portable office and returned a bag of cat litter heavier. Did you bring your stuff on in-line wheels today?

Will he ride?

He digs the wheel ...

... but will he dig the clip-ons?

Speed bleeders

A few years ago I did some brake work on a Honda Civic that required draining the fluid system completely. I used the task as an excuse to try out the Speed Bleeder product. Thanks to those tricky little bleeder valves, I was able to bleed that Civic's brakes by myself.

Fast-forward to last week: I decided to take my ZX6R out for the first time in a month or so.

Warm one in #NoVA! Let's do lunch, ZX :) o-`o

— walk_n_wind (@walk_n_wind) January 24, 2012

I pulled away, squeezed the front brake lever, and found the lever traveled way more than I expected. "Wow, I guess I forgot how late the brake lever tightens-up on this bike," I thought to myself. I learned later in the trip that I was a fool for taking it out and that the brakes were failing.

Anyway, back at my non-garage, I determined I needed to drain and refill the brake fluid system. The reservoir was empty and the fluid looked ... old. Not looking forward to tightening/loosening the bleeder valves for each squeeze of the lever, I called upon the Speed Bleeder product again to make my life easier.

If you've never tried Speed Bleeders, you might want to consider them...