Tools & Maintenance

I took a motorcycle maintenance class last weekend. It was geared toward women and beginners and was taught by a woman out of her garage. She is a mechanic (built her own Harley) and also an MSF instructor. My hubby has taught me a few things and it turns out he'd already taught me most of what we learned in the class. But, it was a good refresher for me and I did learn a few things. And, most importantly, I got to do these things myself on my own bike - which is the main point of the class. We started out by doing a pre-ride check. This is something taught in the BCR but it is so much better to be able to practice it on your own bike. Then we went over what kind of tools were out there, which ones would fit our particular bikes, and discussed which ones we might want to carry all the time versus on a long trip. I was the only person with a chain so I got that one on one instruction. We checked tires and air filter. The other two students were going to change their oil but I didn't need to so I was able to take off early.

The instructor was impressed with the tools that I'd brought with me in my saddle bags so I thought I'd blog a bit about those. Hubby has me set up quite well with tools although I've got my own so we don't have to share. We also have different bikes and I ride more often than not without him (commuting to work) so it is better for me to have my own. Anyway, the tools aren't anything special or expensive.

Aside from the tire pressure gauge and the Sharpies, these are the tools that came with my bike. They came in a plastic case that fit in the little locking compartment under the seat. (You don't have to take the seat off or anything to access it.) I got rid of the plastic case and now carry them in a cloth folding bag that has a velcro strap. The tools include an 8mm & 12mm open ended wrench, a 10mm & 12mm open ended wrench, a 14mm & 17mm open ended wrench, a 24mm box wrench with a leverage extender, two phillips and one flat head with handle, rear shock adjuster tool, and a spark plug tool.

I also carry some pocket or multi-tools. The green one is a torx wrench set. The yellow is a standard allen wrench set. The red one is a tool I got when I became a member of the Honda Riders Club of America. It has 4 different sized metric allen wrenches, two screwdrivers, 8mm, 10mm, and 12mm sockets with an adapter, and 12mm and 14mm small wrenches.





All of these tools fit in my saddle bags without trouble. They also fit nicely in my tool bag but we haven't made a bracket to hold it on the bike since the light bar is on the bike.

I haven't had to use too many of these tools while riding but have used them for some daily stuff. Even though I have a metric bike, there are many parts that are standard. It is an old used bike so things have been replaced or added to the bike that require a multitude of tools. So, it is nice to be able to carry the folding multi-tools.

New Front Tire

I discovered that I needed a new front tire and needed one soon. I called around and found a few places with tires on sale and some local shops who could change it for me for a nominal fee. But, the one local guy was going to be out of town this weekend so that would mean I couldn't get it done until the following weekend. I didn't want to wait that long so I began to talk myself into taking it to a dealership. The price difference between the FLIBS and the stealership was about $40 with install and new tire. That's pretty significant. But, I rationalized, I'll be putting $40 of gas in my car to drive to work for the next 2 weeks anyway. So, I got online to look at the hours for the dealership closest to work. Low and behold they were having a tire install special in the service department. Buy your tires there and they'd install for free! Woo hoo!

I've had fairly lousy experiences at another dealership - the one closest to my house. They always seem to be so put out that they have to work on a Rebel. And I'm not even reading into anything here. The service manager will call out to a service tech, "Will you pull this CMX450 into the garage?" The service tech rolls his eyes and says with a whine, "A Rebel!?" They usually don't find anything wrong with it when I bring it in with a question. I'm pretty sure they don't even try. So, it was with some trepidation that I drove over to Colorado Powersports not because of any prior experience there but because of my past experiences elsewhere.

There was no attitude at all. In fact each time I talked to some one on the phone and told them what kind of bike I had, there was no hesitation about it at all. Now I know some places don't work on older bikes no matter what make or model. But, they seemed to be pretty happy to have me there. Maybe it was because it was just a tire install and just the front tire at that. I don't know. But, I was glad to give them my money. And the tire special is a great deal too.

So, now I've got a brand new Dunlop 404 on the front. The rear is Cheng Shin and still has lots of tread on it. The wrenching bike has a new Dunlop on the rear and the front one is in horrible shape - no tread and much cracking from the weather. I think it may be the original. I saved the old front Cheng Shin so I could practice replacing the tire on the wrenching bike. I'll probably take it to the local shop when it is time to replace it.

Memorable ride home

Yesterday I rode to work under the pretext that I'd be able to drop the bike off at a dealership about 25 blocks from my office. They were having a tire install special - buy tires there, they install for free! Such a good deal. Dropped the bike off about 9:15 so that they could get it done by the end of the day. I have an eco pass through my job which means I can ride public transportation for free. So, I hopped on the bus with all my moto gear and got back to work in no time.

About 4:00 I gave them a call to make sure my ride was going to be done. They said between 5 and 5:30 I'd be good to go. (They close at 6.) So, at 5:00, I geared up again - moto pants, big jacket, boots - packed my duffel that rides on my pillion with my work stuff, grabbed my helmet and, for the 2nd time that day, rode the bus ATGATT. :)

I walked in to Colorado Powersports and the bike was ready. I paid for the service, which was so much better than I've had at another dealership. (The other dealership service guys roll their eyes when I tell them I'm on a Rebel.) These guys were great! He pulled the bike around and I met him outside. When I walked out the door - oh my - the view of the mountains was scary. The wind had picked up tremendously! Dirt and debris was blowing around the parking lot and it really looked like snow coming over the mountains.

Fortunately, I was heading home in the opposite direction. But, this front was moving very fast. I didn't even see it when I walked into the shop!

So, there's nothing left to do really. I had to get home. So, I grab my helmet to walk over to the bike. Dang it! I grabbed it by the strap but the snap came undone and I dropped it! Grrrr. Not a great start to my commute. I strapped the duffel on the pillion. I'd asked them to save my old tire because I wanted to take it home for the parts bike. I was regretting that now with the wind. But, I have a bungee net! Everyone should have a bungee net. It is an amazing accessory. (Unfortunately, my camera was in the bag so no pics of that.)

I hop on the bike and high tail it out of Boulder. I live east and south of Boulder. The storm was blowing in from the west. One of my usual south bound routes home is notorious for high winds (even on good days) so I decided to head east as fast as I could. There were blue skies and puffy clouds in the direction I was headed. So, I was hopeful.

Yeah, that hope was dashed pretty quickly.

The wind was blowing so hard I couldn't even hear. I could see dirt and debris all over the place. I kept scrunching up my shoulders to try to avoid getting stuff in my helmet. I drove through a neighborhood to get out of town. That wasn't so bad. But, as soon as I hit some open space, holy smokes, it was bad. I turned east on South Boulder Road. I was able to maintain the speed limit without any trouble but keeping the bike stable was a lot of trouble. I turned south on highway 42 (accidentally) but it swings around to meet the main road that would take my south to home.

Wadsworth/Hwy 287 is a busy main drag and I generally try to avoid it during my normal commute. But it was as far east as I needed to go. I got on about 13 miles north of home. So, heading south, I can see the mountains and the scary gray clouds to my right rear. I can see blue skies up ahead. And I can see dust, dirt, tumbleweeds, and debris blowing across the road mostly from right to left. But, occasionally, from left to right as well. Sheesh! I am hugging the right side of my right lane. Mostly, I'm being pushed into the center part of my lane but the big gusts of wind are pushing me right to the dashed white line. A few times I could see cars or trucks in the process of passing me swing very wide. Maybe they were avoiding me because I couldn't even tell how far to my left I'd end up. Maybe they were also being pushed by the wind to their left. At any rate, I felt quite confident I wasn't going to get run over that way. All of the movement going on with my bike must have made me quite visible. (Of course they probably thought I was some kind of crazy driver!) Because the sky was so gray, I also turned on my highway lights for some added visibility.

There were several times where I thought I should pull over because I really had no control over the bike. But, this wasn't going to pass. There was no waiting it out. (And Lost was on at 8!) I wasn't that far from home so I pushed on.

I was riding at a dramatic angle the whole trip. When the bike caught a gust of wind, it didn't straighten the bike, it merely effortlessly shoved it over while I was still leaning. It was quite crazy but I knew I wasn't going to fall off or tip over as long as I kept moving. Stopping for a light was the most dangerous and scary part for me. I couldn't control the bike so the wind would blow it around while I was trying to put my foot down. The bike is most stable when it is moving of course. So, stopping and starting up again were not good times. Fortunately, the timing was good and I didn't have to do that too much.

I made it home in one piece. Twigs were caught in the old tire strapped to the back of the bike. But, once i got home I was quite over run with adrenaline. I was excited about getting home so well. It seemed like quite the accomplishment and I was quite proud of myself. It took about half an hour or so to wind down. Then I crashed hard! My arms hurt, my neck hurt, my hands hurt, my eyes were dry and tired, my legs were tired, and I couldn't believe I'd gotten through it all.

What a rush it was but I hope I don't have to do that again any time soon. It was a rough way to bring in the commuting season. But, I did it! :-)

First Day of Spring!

Rode to work again today. The parking lot was quite crowded too. There were only two spaces left when I pulled up. Saw some new bikes this week parked there as well. But, today was the usual suspects, myself, my coworker on his KLR, the BMW, Goldwing and Vulcan.

I pondered for a long time whether I should ride or not. I need a new front tire and the place I wanted to take it wouldn't be able to change it for almost two weeks. But then I learned that the dealership near work was having a tire special. Buy the tires there and they'll install for free! Couldn't pass up that deal. So, this morning I brought it in right when they opened. They said it'll be done by the end of the day. Woo hoo!

My bike sounded great this morning. Felt like it had more power than I remembered too. Can't imagine how that could be true but it sure was nice to be back on the bike again. :-)

Finally!

Rode to work today. Should have ridden yesterday too but it was still below freezing in the morning. This morning it was a nice comfy 40 degrees. Yay! Supposed to get up close to 60 degrees today but now it has turned cloudy. It is a tad windy too but no worries. I was so glad to be out on the bike finally.

Supposed to snow tomorrow.

This Saturday I'm taking a motorcycle maintenance class. I'm really looking forward to that. Will blog all about it later.

Dusted off the bikes

Hubby and I managed a short ride on Saturday and the weather was great! It was a nice calm day and the high made it to 74 degrees. Wow! We only did a short one though because we had plans already to do other things. So, we did the usual route, out to Golden and back. It was quite fortunate that we did get out on Saturday because we woke up on Sunday to white out conditions. Yep, record setting highs on Saturday, snow and blowing snow advisories on Sunday. It sucked. It was not great at all. I don't like the sideways snow.

I haven't decided when to buy a parking pass for work. The price won't change during the month but seeing how March is the snowiest month of the year for us, I'm wondering if I should just wait and buy one April 1st. Sigh. That will make for a very long month indeed. But, I can always run over and buy one the day before a nice day is scheduled. I think I'll wait and do that.