Its (nearly) aliiiive!!!!!!

Moto Photo Blog-o-Rama: Canyons, Chasms, Mountains

Rocky Mountain National Park, me and my 450 Rebel, hubby's CX 500. That was a nice ride and was our longest ride at the time at a little over 100 miles. :-)

I saw this photo theme on: http://bolty.net/

Tha Dance of the Rebels

My lovely hubby has been hard at work on the two parts bike Rebels. You may recall, we purchased a non-running 450 a year or more ago. The idea was it would be spare parts for the daily runner. Or, if we felt so inspired, a practice wrenching bike for me, or even better, a bike hubby could get going for us to sell. Of course, it sat for a while before any of those things came to pass. We did scavenge a few parts from it here and there though. Then, we purchased another 450 for parts. This one had been wrecked in the late 1990s but did have a running engine. No title with it but the first parts bike did come with a title. So, the new plan was to swap out all the good parts to make the titled parts bike a runner. That is where we are now. (And by we, I mean hubby.)
Above is the wrecked bike as hubby was preparing to remove the engine. The original owner (who I think bought it new) t-boned a car. The forks are mashed, the front fender was mangled (long since tossed by us), the gas tank has a massive dent in it where the rider landed on it (ouch!), and once the engine was out, we discovered a crack in the frame.

Below is the parts bike with the engine, among other things, already removed. Hubby thinks the engine is fine and that the starter might be bad. So, he is swapping out all of the keyed bits from the wrecked bike.

Both bikes came with trashed gas tanks. The parts bike had a tank from a 250 that was rusty and had many dents in it. I gave that to some one for the cost of shipping. The wrecked bike, in addition to the big dent, was also rusty inside. This bike had been stored outside since the wreck. Hubby said there was water coming from some of the parts as he removed them. All in all, the thing is in pretty good shape though. Mostly cosmetic issues aside from the wrecked issues. Between the two bikes, there is definitely a very nice running 450 in there. They both had very low miles as well. We'll need to replace the front tire but the rear was brand new when we got the parts bike. So, we'll leave that up to the next owner I think.

Below is the parts bike with the new engine in it. We plan to use the Tank brand gas tank that I bought new last year. (It's not attached yet.) They now have the console in stock so I should probably order one before they raise the prices again. I'll be glad not to need to do business with them any more. What a pain.


Oh, in the midst of this project, hubby also replaced the rear shocks on my daily runner with a pair from one of these parts bikes. He's so fabulous!

There's more completed since these photos were taken so I'll try to keep the updates coming. I'm hoping this blog will be a nice resource for anyone interested in buying one of these 450s. Hubby works faster than I can get photos documenting the job. :-)

G650GS: There and Back Again

So, my new bike deserves a new blog. Plus, this blog is all about the Rebel, so I don't want to steal it's thunder. :-)
http://g650gs.blogspot.com/
Not much there yet but there will be. :-)

Got a new bike!!!!!

2009 BMW G650GS

Oil Leak

See the bolt to the left of center? See the drop of oil clinging to it? And the spot of oil below on the lever? It runs down the lever to the end and drips. Not a lot. That spot in the bottom image is after it sat all day. But, I think most of it comes off as I'm riding. You can see it all caked on the sides of the engine. It's also all over the front and underneath. Bummer. Should probably pay more attention to this. Especially since this isn't new. :-(

It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.

So, I've been riding now for 4 years. I bought the 450 Rebel on July 28, 2006. I saved the email from the transaction, which is also why I know I have put about 14,840 miles on the bike since I've owned it. It has occurred to me that I have a different level of comfort on the the bike this year. I've never felt very intimidated by my bike. I'd learned to ride years before so I didn't really have that anxiety about it when I got it. I knew I liked riding before I got the Rebel. It's always fit me very well too. I can flat foot it which means I can comfortably move it around without dropping it (usually). Or if I drop it, which hasn't happened since that first year, it's because I did something dumb, like forget to put the side stand down. My lovely hubby has customized it to my desired needs or wants. :-) He's the most fabulous hubby of all! :-) It has become "mine" and I feel very in control and comfortable on it.

The thing that is different for me this year is something more vague. Most of the time, after a ride, I'd come home and talk to my hubby about it. We'd basically have a debriefing to discuss the ride with each other. It could be good or bad things that happened, how we'd change what we did or didn't do, situations that we should continue to watch out for, that sort of thing. For me especially, this was part of the learning process. Riding, for me, isn't just the act itself. It is about being able to understand what's going on around you, and understand how your actions create reactions or put you in situations to make the ride better or worse. It is the ability to control your own situation to create a better one. (I think that's what I'm trying to say although that might be a bit too deep.)

This year, I haven't felt the need to debrief as much after every ride. Maybe it's because I'm riding more and after a while it all sounds the same. I think it's because, I feel more comfortable and in control of my riding than I did previously. We do have discussions about specific situations - the day I rode home in the lightning storm was one example. But, not so much after every ride. Now I just enjoy the ride and don't feel as though every day is a learning experience. Most days now, it's just fun to ride. :-)

That's not to say that I think I've learned it all. That will never happen for me. I'm not that kind of person who thinks I can't learn something every day. In fact, I think now would be the perfect time to take a more advanced motorcycle course. I'm starting to feel comfortable and that's when my mind starts to wander and I drop my guard for a second. That's when things can go wrong. I think it was the Hurt Report that mentioned the group of riders most likely to get into an accident had a smaller cc bike and had 3-5 years of experience.

So, now my challenge is to pay closer attention to myself. How do I get from point A to point B? Am I listening and looking? Am I still scanning well ahead? Did I even see that car behind me? How long has that Don't Walk sign been flashing? The bike I can control. It's all the other things around me that I can't. It is time to refocus my learning so I can continue to enjoy the ride.

PS
Name that movie quote in the title of this blog post!