First ride in '12

After a long (well, not so long), cold (well, not so cold either) winter, the F650 is back out on the road. The past couple weeks have been searching, ordering, returning wrong parts and getting tools and other parts together to change out the sprocket and chain. I decided to change the front sprocket to a "taller" profile and was relieved to find the chain and sprocket still fit inside the cover. In the process, it was discovered that the seal in one of the rear wheel bearing had been destroyed along with the spacer on the disk brake side of the bike. All told, front sprocket, rear sprocket, chain, countershaft washer, and the left bearing got changed. Got it all back together and took a short test ride around 4:30 today. A few more things to change (normal wear and tear) out and I'm ready to go for the season!

End of the season

A sad day. The motorcycle is put away in the basement for the winter. I had to take the side cases and top case off to fit it through the door. Now, it's naked and in the house; how sad. While it's in, I will try to figure out how to mount a video camera.

Chilly Saturday Ride

It was just warm enough to take a spin. I procrastinated a while because I thought the day would get warmer, but by 3pm, it wasn't going to improve, so off I went. It was just a short ride around the neighborhood, but it got chilly quickly. I went through the ponds and stopped at a local fishing spot for a quick break. Then back home; the sun was going down and the temperature was dropping quickly. Still, it was nice to get out as it might be the last ride of the season.

Saturday in November

It was an unusually nice day; the temp. got up to about 64F. I got the bike out and ran a few miles to get some fuel stabilizer through the system. I only had a couple hours to ride because I wanted to visit with a friend before the evening. So I set out with a short, slow ride around the neighborhood. I found a dirt road, that I haven't travelled, and started down. I ended up at this pond.

New Toy

This Saturday's ride was quite chilly and my arm was bothering me, so it was just a short ride around the neighborhood, fuel fill up and then back home. This might be the last ride of the season, but I hope not.
I got a new toy. It's a digital camera. The old one took very low resolution images and it's time I bit the bullet and got a better one. This one was not too expensive, but more than I want to pay (I'm very frugal, some would say cheap!). So now, the blog will get some better imagery.

Sunday Beemer Breakfast and rides

Sunday was a little chilly, early on, but a lot of riders made it. My back has been bothering me so after the meeting, I returned home for a rest. Later, feeling better, I went out for a couple of short rides when the weather got warmer.

New (to me) farkles

I just got back from East Providence, a hundred dollars poorer but more space on the motorcycle. I added two side cases. They are not as big as the top case, but this is what I wanted. Now I have some extra storage; enough to go on a short camping trip.
The ride there was a bit long because much of it was in the city. Then trying to find the place was interesting as I had to cross over a large river with limited crossings. Once I found one, finding the guy's house was a bit easier.
My ride home was mostly north on route 114 into Pawtucket, then into Cumberland to Woonsocket then into Blackstone when I stopped in to visit my friend Mike, who wasn't home. I talked with his wife for a short time then continued on my way home.
Riding out after a storm takes a little more concentration because some of the dead leaves have blown off the trees and litter the road. Combine that with some rainwater and you get a slippery areas here and there. A rider must look a little further under these conditions.
I haven't ridden much this month due to colder weather. Today, I waited until 2pm before the temp got over 55^oF. Then I rode out to Pascoag on my way to east Providence. It was chilly and when I started out, my sleeves on my jacket weren't zipped. After stopping for fuel, I made sure I zipped them up. After my first stop, I had to put on my chaps, scarf, and heavy gloves. Then, the rest of my ride was comfortable.