Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial
2 years ago
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Friday, September 04, 2009
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Locked and Loaded
Against my wise daughter's advice I am leaving a blog message tonight.
Yes, it's finally started! The 2009 Iron Butt Rally, which I have dreamed about and planned for well over a year, is underway. We had a long riders meeting this afternoon, then dinner, then the bonus packs were handed out. The theme this year is Crime Scenes. Every bonus location is the scene of something either notorious, grisly, or just plain stupid. I am trying not to pay attention to Higdon's interesting descriptions of each crime, and just focus on what's required to earn the bonus. Maybe later the descriptions will make for good reading.
My first bonus, which most likely everyone will go to, is the BMW factory close to Spartanburg. It's worth a significant 666 bonus points. BMW's "crime" is that they stopped making reliable motorcycles. From there I will head south to Pensacola, FL, and then wind my way back north through the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee. There is a tasty set of bonii in Ohio, close to Pittsburgh, PA. Then I'll head west on I-80 into Chicago. There is a series of bonuses in town that are small but will add up. Hopefully I can execute it all and still have plenty of time to rest at the checkpoint. I think it is a conservative route.
Last reminder: If any of this is ever posted publicly I will be disqualified and never allowed to enter another IBR. It doesn't matter how it gets out, I will be held responsible.
Final odo check tomorrow at 0830. Departure at 1000 sharp.
Nighty night.
Against my wise daughter's advice I am leaving a blog message tonight.
Yes, it's finally started! The 2009 Iron Butt Rally, which I have dreamed about and planned for well over a year, is underway. We had a long riders meeting this afternoon, then dinner, then the bonus packs were handed out. The theme this year is Crime Scenes. Every bonus location is the scene of something either notorious, grisly, or just plain stupid. I am trying not to pay attention to Higdon's interesting descriptions of each crime, and just focus on what's required to earn the bonus. Maybe later the descriptions will make for good reading.
My first bonus, which most likely everyone will go to, is the BMW factory close to Spartanburg. It's worth a significant 666 bonus points. BMW's "crime" is that they stopped making reliable motorcycles. From there I will head south to Pensacola, FL, and then wind my way back north through the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee. There is a tasty set of bonii in Ohio, close to Pittsburgh, PA. Then I'll head west on I-80 into Chicago. There is a series of bonuses in town that are small but will add up. Hopefully I can execute it all and still have plenty of time to rest at the checkpoint. I think it is a conservative route.
Last reminder: If any of this is ever posted publicly I will be disqualified and never allowed to enter another IBR. It doesn't matter how it gets out, I will be held responsible.
Final odo check tomorrow at 0830. Departure at 1000 sharp.
Nighty night.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
A Day of Rally Business
As you saw from my earlier email, we had a rider meeting about media and publicity. You saw the end result. Sorry if it was heavy handed or hurtful. I just wanted to be absolutely clear about the rules and the consequences to me for breaking them.
In happier news, today was a long but productive day. I started at 7:30 AM, moving my bike to the tech inspection area. I was the 4th bike there. By the end of the day all 107 bikes had been through. Tech was uneventful, as was the odometer check. Tom Austin's report yesterday overdramatized the difficulty of that ride.
Then there were a series of other lines to stand in: Registration, camera check, video deposition, DVD biography filming, and two seminars. My final certification and official handshake from Mike Kneebone happened at about 5:30 PM. I never had lunch.
There was an informal dinner at 6, but I opted out. I just needed some quiet time. Ordered room service and watched TV in the room. Then I started getting organized for tomorrow. Went down to the bike to fetch some stuff, and ended up spending an hour or two kicking tires in the garage and then the bar (O'Douls.) Tomorrow I have no obligations until 2 PM, the first of two rider meetings. I may go for a ride earlier, just to clear my head and get centered.
Game On.
As you saw from my earlier email, we had a rider meeting about media and publicity. You saw the end result. Sorry if it was heavy handed or hurtful. I just wanted to be absolutely clear about the rules and the consequences to me for breaking them.
In happier news, today was a long but productive day. I started at 7:30 AM, moving my bike to the tech inspection area. I was the 4th bike there. By the end of the day all 107 bikes had been through. Tech was uneventful, as was the odometer check. Tom Austin's report yesterday overdramatized the difficulty of that ride.
Then there were a series of other lines to stand in: Registration, camera check, video deposition, DVD biography filming, and two seminars. My final certification and official handshake from Mike Kneebone happened at about 5:30 PM. I never had lunch.
There was an informal dinner at 6, but I opted out. I just needed some quiet time. Ordered room service and watched TV in the room. Then I started getting organized for tomorrow. Went down to the bike to fetch some stuff, and ended up spending an hour or two kicking tires in the garage and then the bar (O'Douls.) Tomorrow I have no obligations until 2 PM, the first of two rider meetings. I may go for a ride earlier, just to clear my head and get centered.
Game On.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
In Spartanburg
The ride here was very nice. I started last night from Des Moines around 7:00 PM, and stopped for the night in Hannibal, MO. That ride was 242 miles. Today I left bright and early so that I could get through St. Louis before rush hour, and wound up crossing the Mississipi right around sunrise. I found myself going through Metropolis, IL, and stopped for a picture of the giant Superman statue. I rode the interstates for awhile, then took a detour through the Tennessee back roads, including the famous Tail Of The Dragon, also known as Deal's Gap. This road is billed as 318 curves in 11 miles. It was a lot of fun, better than I expected. Also the roads in and out of that area were also quite nice. I got to the rally hotel at about 8 PM, and went down to the bar to hang out with my rally buddies. Mileage was 821. I was in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Tomorrow is an off day, which I will spend fixing what needs fixing on my bike. My aux fuel cell is not filling the main tank. I suspect a pinched fuel line that was a side effect from the electrical repair in Des Moines. It's an easy fix. I have some replacement parts being delivered tomorrow to fix the flaky comm system too. Everything should be ship shape by the end of the day. Saturday I plan to be downstairs early to get a jump on the required rally check in procedures, which will probably take all day.
My fried stator. The black wires used to be blue.
The ride here was very nice. I started last night from Des Moines around 7:00 PM, and stopped for the night in Hannibal, MO. That ride was 242 miles. Today I left bright and early so that I could get through St. Louis before rush hour, and wound up crossing the Mississipi right around sunrise. I found myself going through Metropolis, IL, and stopped for a picture of the giant Superman statue. I rode the interstates for awhile, then took a detour through the Tennessee back roads, including the famous Tail Of The Dragon, also known as Deal's Gap. This road is billed as 318 curves in 11 miles. It was a lot of fun, better than I expected. Also the roads in and out of that area were also quite nice. I got to the rally hotel at about 8 PM, and went down to the bar to hang out with my rally buddies. Mileage was 821. I was in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Tomorrow is an off day, which I will spend fixing what needs fixing on my bike. My aux fuel cell is not filling the main tank. I suspect a pinched fuel line that was a side effect from the electrical repair in Des Moines. It's an easy fix. I have some replacement parts being delivered tomorrow to fix the flaky comm system too. Everything should be ship shape by the end of the day. Saturday I plan to be downstairs early to get a jump on the required rally check in procedures, which will probably take all day.
My fried stator. The black wires used to be blue.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
What is it about the Iron Butt Rally?
Now that I’m about to go off on this crazy trip, I need to put down in words some kind of explanation. Why would someone with a great “normal” life be drawn to something that seems like a kind of self-imposed torture, with life-threatening consequences thrown in?
First of all, it’s not torture. What’s not to love about riding a motorcycle all over the continent? I’ve ridden straight and curvy roads, flat and hilly, desert and forest, river and ocean. We live in a beautiful country, and I’ve been privileged to see a whole lot of it. Since I’ve been doing endurance rallies, I’ve been to far away and obscure places. Our rallymasters know how to amaze and entertain with their choice of bonus locations. Also, there’s something very magical about riding a motorcycle through the night, seeing the faintest light of daybreak grow stronger, and eventually watching the sun greet you with its full brightness. If you’ve ever pulled an all-nighter, you know this simple pleasure. It never fails to thrill and comfort me.
Then there’s the puzzle aspect of this whole thing. Some riders just love to pull the long miles, and are happy riding a bazillion miles to a single bonus. I like the challenge of the game. Where does the rallymaster want me to go? How can I earn the most points with the fewest miles? Is this a sucker bonus or the rally winner? I am a competitive person. I like to win, to excel where others struggle. It may be egotistical but it’s part of my personality.
Since discovering this “sport” I have made many friends. I am naturally not an outgoing person. I hang back at parties, usually talking only to people I already know. Now I have a pretty big circle of long distance riding buddies. When I show up at a gathering I never lack someone to talk to. Plus there’s the teasing. We give each other all kinds of grief, but all in fun. The rally scene is like a big, moving party. I trust these guys and gals with my life. They’ll unselfishly sacrifice to help me when I need it, and I’ll do the same for them. I imagine that the alumni of the 09 IBR will be my band of brothers forevermore.
Now for the navel gazing. Every Iron Butt ride I’ve ridden boils down to the question: Can I do it? My regular life is lived in the comfort zone. I am blessed with a wonderful family, a good, stable job with good income, and plenty of worldly possessions to keep me entertained. There’s nothing wrong with that, except the lack of challenge. (The exception is fatherhood – plenty of new territory there.) In school I learned that a good story always has a conflict. We keep reading because we want to know how the hero will overcome the conflict. In the story of my life, the conflict needs to be self-generated. So I set up a challenge of some new motorcycle achievement, and then go out and climb the mountain. The IBR is definitely the most challenging thing I have ever tried. I imagine that when I finish, I might feel like Edmund Hillary – someone who has done something few others would even consider trying. In fact, fewer people have ever finished the Iron Butt Rally, since its inception in 1984, than climb Mount Everest in a single year. I want to be one of those few.
At the end of it all, I want to leave a lesson to my daughter. Claire, challenge yourself. Give yourself a rich life. You are the author of your life story, so make it a good one. Don’t settle for the safety zone – push yourself. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish. Follow your dreams.
Now that I’m about to go off on this crazy trip, I need to put down in words some kind of explanation. Why would someone with a great “normal” life be drawn to something that seems like a kind of self-imposed torture, with life-threatening consequences thrown in?
First of all, it’s not torture. What’s not to love about riding a motorcycle all over the continent? I’ve ridden straight and curvy roads, flat and hilly, desert and forest, river and ocean. We live in a beautiful country, and I’ve been privileged to see a whole lot of it. Since I’ve been doing endurance rallies, I’ve been to far away and obscure places. Our rallymasters know how to amaze and entertain with their choice of bonus locations. Also, there’s something very magical about riding a motorcycle through the night, seeing the faintest light of daybreak grow stronger, and eventually watching the sun greet you with its full brightness. If you’ve ever pulled an all-nighter, you know this simple pleasure. It never fails to thrill and comfort me.
Then there’s the puzzle aspect of this whole thing. Some riders just love to pull the long miles, and are happy riding a bazillion miles to a single bonus. I like the challenge of the game. Where does the rallymaster want me to go? How can I earn the most points with the fewest miles? Is this a sucker bonus or the rally winner? I am a competitive person. I like to win, to excel where others struggle. It may be egotistical but it’s part of my personality.
Since discovering this “sport” I have made many friends. I am naturally not an outgoing person. I hang back at parties, usually talking only to people I already know. Now I have a pretty big circle of long distance riding buddies. When I show up at a gathering I never lack someone to talk to. Plus there’s the teasing. We give each other all kinds of grief, but all in fun. The rally scene is like a big, moving party. I trust these guys and gals with my life. They’ll unselfishly sacrifice to help me when I need it, and I’ll do the same for them. I imagine that the alumni of the 09 IBR will be my band of brothers forevermore.
Now for the navel gazing. Every Iron Butt ride I’ve ridden boils down to the question: Can I do it? My regular life is lived in the comfort zone. I am blessed with a wonderful family, a good, stable job with good income, and plenty of worldly possessions to keep me entertained. There’s nothing wrong with that, except the lack of challenge. (The exception is fatherhood – plenty of new territory there.) In school I learned that a good story always has a conflict. We keep reading because we want to know how the hero will overcome the conflict. In the story of my life, the conflict needs to be self-generated. So I set up a challenge of some new motorcycle achievement, and then go out and climb the mountain. The IBR is definitely the most challenging thing I have ever tried. I imagine that when I finish, I might feel like Edmund Hillary – someone who has done something few others would even consider trying. In fact, fewer people have ever finished the Iron Butt Rally, since its inception in 1984, than climb Mount Everest in a single year. I want to be one of those few.
At the end of it all, I want to leave a lesson to my daughter. Claire, challenge yourself. Give yourself a rich life. You are the author of your life story, so make it a good one. Don’t settle for the safety zone – push yourself. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish. Follow your dreams.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Cal 24
Update: I finished 7th! Ride report here.
This weekend is the Cal 24 endurance rally. It will be my fifth Cal 24. It was my very first rally in 2003. I showed up in Antioch that year not knowing a soul, or knowing very much at all about rallying. If you had told me then that in 2009 most of my friends would be LD riders and that I'd be riding in the Iron Butt Rally, I would have said you were crazy. Now it's me who's crazy - crazy for this stuff!!
I've replaced my Star-Traxx satellite tracker with a new one called SPOT. You can track my progress during the rally (7AM Saturday to 7AM Sunday) at THIS LINK.
Or you can click over on the right where it says Where Am I Now? to see the SPOT reports before and after the rally.
I may leave some audio blogs here during the rally, so check back on Saturday.
Update: I finished 7th! Ride report here.
This weekend is the Cal 24 endurance rally. It will be my fifth Cal 24. It was my very first rally in 2003. I showed up in Antioch that year not knowing a soul, or knowing very much at all about rallying. If you had told me then that in 2009 most of my friends would be LD riders and that I'd be riding in the Iron Butt Rally, I would have said you were crazy. Now it's me who's crazy - crazy for this stuff!!
I've replaced my Star-Traxx satellite tracker with a new one called SPOT. You can track my progress during the rally (7AM Saturday to 7AM Sunday) at THIS LINK.
Or you can click over on the right where it says Where Am I Now? to see the SPOT reports before and after the rally.
I may leave some audio blogs here during the rally, so check back on Saturday.
The Bionic Subframe
(This is my post from the FJR Forum. I thought it was worthwhile documenting it here too.)
On my way to the Superior RTE (ride report linky) my rear subframe broke. This is the part of the bike that supports the seats, saddlebags, and topcase. I was using a Garauld support rack and a Pelican 1550 for the topcase. This setup has been fine for 10K street miles. What killed it was 12 miles of rocky washboard up and back (24 total) to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine forest. Once we got back to pavement, my riding partner noticed my topcase bouncing way too much. We took a closer look and saw broken metal. Made it home with some good straps, took it apart, and here's the carnage. The entire piece broke off completely, as well as the two mini gussets.
I vent my frustration.
To reattach the tail lights, I tied a knot in the end of a rope, ran it through the bolt hole, and tied it to the part of the frame that didn't break. Bodywork is back on, and now I can ride to the welder in safety. This shot also shows the blank space above the taillight assembly where the luggage support is supposed to be.
Update as of March 29
I spoke with Garauld. He says he doesn't sell a 5 point mount unit. He also reminds me that the rated weight for the rear rack is 7 lbs, per the sticker underneath the passenger seat. Gary offered to buy back my unit, which I thought was great. However I opted to keep it and reinforce the subframe instead. I weighed my Pelican case - the base weight with Star Traxx unit mounted is 17.2 lbs. I might have had 2 or 3 lbs of contents at the time of the incident.
I have a subframe from a salvage yard on its way to the fabricator in Sacramento. Today I removed my existing subframe and put it back on again, just to get familiar with the procedure. Next Saturday I'll ride up to Sac. While he works on the new subframe, I'll take off my old one. When he's done, I'll install the new one. I bet the whole deal won't take more than half a day.
Update as of June 7 - It's fixed!
Yesterday was welder day. Though actually, John Van Dyke is more than a welder, he is an artist with metal. He's also a cool guy who tells great stories. He's just the kind of gearhead you want to hang out with for a day. His shop is really cool, filled with all kinds of big metalworking machines that I cannot name today. He started with the concept used by Ignacio's repair, but made it his own. He fit and refit the subframe reinforcement plate until it was perfect - punching, grinding, smoothing. Most of his time was spent forming a piece of 3/8" plate, but he did grind the Yamaha frame as well.
Here he is grinding a bit of the frame to get the plate to set down closer to the joint with the main frame.
Here's the finished plate. Check out all the angles and notches. It fits perfectly.
This plate fits the subframe in front, rather than from behind.
Before he could tack it into place he had to remove any paint from the welding area. Here he is at work in the bead blasting machine.
This is what the bead blasting operator sees - the view through a hazy window. The bead gun shoots invisible glass pellets at the work object.
Here he is tacking the plate into place. Warning to reader: Put on your welder's mask before viewing this photo.
Next he made some gussetting arms to lay alongside the central rib of the luggage mount, which is also the passenger seat support tab. These are shaped like a triangular L.
Here they are in place on the unit, prior to being attached.
Everything now fits and is ready to weld. While John is busy at the welding table, I wander around the shop and take some photos. Mixed in with the fabrication stuff is some bike stuff. John told me about his barn at home with 32 bikes in it. The upstairs is like a Guys Den, with couches and big screen TV. His buddies come over and watch MotoGP at 4 AM.
John's shop is a regular Saturday hangout for the neighborhood gearheads. Here's one of the kibitzers getting a closer view of the master at work.
And now we have the finished product.
Rear view.
Top view. Notice the difference in thickness between the frame and the reinforcing plate.
One final shot.
On my ride home from the shop I thought of the old TV show, The Six Million Dollar Man. In the opening credits, Steve Austin is in a fiery rocket crash. In the next shot he's in the hospital and they show the doctors saying, "We have the technology. We can rebuild him. We can make him better." That's what happened with my subframe - though it cost slightly less than $6M. Only slightly.
(This is my post from the FJR Forum. I thought it was worthwhile documenting it here too.)
On my way to the Superior RTE (ride report linky) my rear subframe broke. This is the part of the bike that supports the seats, saddlebags, and topcase. I was using a Garauld support rack and a Pelican 1550 for the topcase. This setup has been fine for 10K street miles. What killed it was 12 miles of rocky washboard up and back (24 total) to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine forest. Once we got back to pavement, my riding partner noticed my topcase bouncing way too much. We took a closer look and saw broken metal. Made it home with some good straps, took it apart, and here's the carnage. The entire piece broke off completely, as well as the two mini gussets.
I vent my frustration.
To reattach the tail lights, I tied a knot in the end of a rope, ran it through the bolt hole, and tied it to the part of the frame that didn't break. Bodywork is back on, and now I can ride to the welder in safety. This shot also shows the blank space above the taillight assembly where the luggage support is supposed to be.
Update as of March 29
I spoke with Garauld. He says he doesn't sell a 5 point mount unit. He also reminds me that the rated weight for the rear rack is 7 lbs, per the sticker underneath the passenger seat. Gary offered to buy back my unit, which I thought was great. However I opted to keep it and reinforce the subframe instead. I weighed my Pelican case - the base weight with Star Traxx unit mounted is 17.2 lbs. I might have had 2 or 3 lbs of contents at the time of the incident.
I have a subframe from a salvage yard on its way to the fabricator in Sacramento. Today I removed my existing subframe and put it back on again, just to get familiar with the procedure. Next Saturday I'll ride up to Sac. While he works on the new subframe, I'll take off my old one. When he's done, I'll install the new one. I bet the whole deal won't take more than half a day.
Update as of June 7 - It's fixed!
Yesterday was welder day. Though actually, John Van Dyke is more than a welder, he is an artist with metal. He's also a cool guy who tells great stories. He's just the kind of gearhead you want to hang out with for a day. His shop is really cool, filled with all kinds of big metalworking machines that I cannot name today. He started with the concept used by Ignacio's repair, but made it his own. He fit and refit the subframe reinforcement plate until it was perfect - punching, grinding, smoothing. Most of his time was spent forming a piece of 3/8" plate, but he did grind the Yamaha frame as well.
Here he is grinding a bit of the frame to get the plate to set down closer to the joint with the main frame.
Here's the finished plate. Check out all the angles and notches. It fits perfectly.
This plate fits the subframe in front, rather than from behind.
Before he could tack it into place he had to remove any paint from the welding area. Here he is at work in the bead blasting machine.
This is what the bead blasting operator sees - the view through a hazy window. The bead gun shoots invisible glass pellets at the work object.
Here he is tacking the plate into place. Warning to reader: Put on your welder's mask before viewing this photo.
Next he made some gussetting arms to lay alongside the central rib of the luggage mount, which is also the passenger seat support tab. These are shaped like a triangular L.
Here they are in place on the unit, prior to being attached.
Everything now fits and is ready to weld. While John is busy at the welding table, I wander around the shop and take some photos. Mixed in with the fabrication stuff is some bike stuff. John told me about his barn at home with 32 bikes in it. The upstairs is like a Guys Den, with couches and big screen TV. His buddies come over and watch MotoGP at 4 AM.
John's shop is a regular Saturday hangout for the neighborhood gearheads. Here's one of the kibitzers getting a closer view of the master at work.
And now we have the finished product.
Rear view.
Top view. Notice the difference in thickness between the frame and the reinforcing plate.
One final shot.
On my ride home from the shop I thought of the old TV show, The Six Million Dollar Man. In the opening credits, Steve Austin is in a fiery rocket crash. In the next shot he's in the hospital and they show the doctors saying, "We have the technology. We can rebuild him. We can make him better." That's what happened with my subframe - though it cost slightly less than $6M. Only slightly.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Done!
On a rainy spring morning, in the garage of Sierra Research of Sacramento, CA, I tightened the hose clamp on a fuel tank vent line. With that turn of the wrist, my motorcycle was ready to rally. The fuel cell came back from BLM at 4.69 gallons, bringing the total capacity of the bike to 11.3 gallons. The rally limit is 11.5, and I calculated that by being two tenths short I'm giving up about 9 miles of range. I can live with that.
It's been a busy and expensive few months since acquiring the FJR, and now all the major work is complete. There will doubtless be minor adjustments ongoing between now and August, but the big stuff is over. It feels good to be at this point with nearly four months until the start. Hopefully it will translate into better sleeping too.
The cell went on just in time for my weekend trip to LA for Steve Hobart's surprise retirement party. (and here too.) Tom Melchild and I rode together, and I dragged him to the Monterey County Courthouse on the way down. 54 down, 4 to go.
On a rainy spring morning, in the garage of Sierra Research of Sacramento, CA, I tightened the hose clamp on a fuel tank vent line. With that turn of the wrist, my motorcycle was ready to rally. The fuel cell came back from BLM at 4.69 gallons, bringing the total capacity of the bike to 11.3 gallons. The rally limit is 11.5, and I calculated that by being two tenths short I'm giving up about 9 miles of range. I can live with that.
It's been a busy and expensive few months since acquiring the FJR, and now all the major work is complete. There will doubtless be minor adjustments ongoing between now and August, but the big stuff is over. It feels good to be at this point with nearly four months until the start. Hopefully it will translate into better sleeping too.
The cell went on just in time for my weekend trip to LA for Steve Hobart's surprise retirement party. (and here too.) Tom Melchild and I rode together, and I dragged him to the Monterey County Courthouse on the way down. 54 down, 4 to go.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Project Update
As mentioned below, I took off the major bodywork on the front of the bike to take care of some lighting upgrades. My nose cone now houses four ballasts for HID lights. They are really shoehorned in, and I honestly think I may be taking a risk with longevity. All they need to last is about 14,000 miles in the hottest part of summer. Keep your fingers crossed! I'll post some more shots when it's all back together and I can light 'em up in the dark.
Here's a shot of the inside of the nose cone. Low beam ballasts are on the left attached to the exterior of the glove box. High beam ballasts are in the center between the factory light assemblies.
This is a shot taken during testing. The new low beams work!
All major electrical work is now complete. I made a schematic which I will laminate and bring with me. Now I can forget how everything is wired and use that brain space for rally business.
As mentioned below, I took off the major bodywork on the front of the bike to take care of some lighting upgrades. My nose cone now houses four ballasts for HID lights. They are really shoehorned in, and I honestly think I may be taking a risk with longevity. All they need to last is about 14,000 miles in the hottest part of summer. Keep your fingers crossed! I'll post some more shots when it's all back together and I can light 'em up in the dark.
Here's a shot of the inside of the nose cone. Low beam ballasts are on the left attached to the exterior of the glove box. High beam ballasts are in the center between the factory light assemblies.
This is a shot taken during testing. The new low beams work!
All major electrical work is now complete. I made a schematic which I will laminate and bring with me. Now I can forget how everything is wired and use that brain space for rally business.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Bits and Pieces Everywhere
My fuel cell is back in the shop of its manufacturer, BLM Accessories. After I sent the dimensions to the IBA tech team, I found that it's too big for the rally. Bill M is going to install a bit of displacement metal, and then ship it to Tom A for measurement, blessing, and certification. Better to get this fixed now than in a parking lot in South Carolina.
Another part miles away from home is my Autocom unit. This item had a defect right out of the box which prevented the cell phone from working. Even though I bought it from a dealer in the USA, I had to mail it back to England to be repaired. Hopefully it survived the US and international postal system and made it to its home country.
I also have a big chunk of bodywork off. The PHID aux lights that came with the bike have always needed attention. Unfortunately I didn't notice this until after I bought the bike, but the ballasts had been installed so that they interfered with the windshield motor. Every time I adjusted the windshield up or down, it would rub against the ballast. So off came all the bodywork. I relocated the ballasts to the center of the nose cone where hopefully they will fit properly.
Also going in at this time is the HID low beam kit I bought back in October. It shouldn't be a problem to properly squeeze in another set of ballasts and ignitors, but we'll see how that goes. Miscellaneous jobs were a repair to the glove box door latch, and a minor windshield motor farkle. Last but not least I have to fix something I broke while doing this job. The windshield mount is made of extremely soft metal. Part of it broke in my hand while I was removing it. That part should be waiting for me when I return to the office next week.
My training rides are just about done. April is an off month. In May I'm finishing the courthouse series, as well as doing a bit of off road practice with some LD pals. We're celebrating with an RTE in Hanford, featuring a house party and some home made gumbo. We've gotten a pretty good response already to the RTE. I'll post a reminder closer to the event and see if that snags any more attendees. Then in June I'm doing the Cal 24, my only rally this year prior to the Butt. And that's it. The SJC10K may turn out to be less than 10K. And that's OK.
My fuel cell is back in the shop of its manufacturer, BLM Accessories. After I sent the dimensions to the IBA tech team, I found that it's too big for the rally. Bill M is going to install a bit of displacement metal, and then ship it to Tom A for measurement, blessing, and certification. Better to get this fixed now than in a parking lot in South Carolina.
Another part miles away from home is my Autocom unit. This item had a defect right out of the box which prevented the cell phone from working. Even though I bought it from a dealer in the USA, I had to mail it back to England to be repaired. Hopefully it survived the US and international postal system and made it to its home country.
I also have a big chunk of bodywork off. The PHID aux lights that came with the bike have always needed attention. Unfortunately I didn't notice this until after I bought the bike, but the ballasts had been installed so that they interfered with the windshield motor. Every time I adjusted the windshield up or down, it would rub against the ballast. So off came all the bodywork. I relocated the ballasts to the center of the nose cone where hopefully they will fit properly.
Also going in at this time is the HID low beam kit I bought back in October. It shouldn't be a problem to properly squeeze in another set of ballasts and ignitors, but we'll see how that goes. Miscellaneous jobs were a repair to the glove box door latch, and a minor windshield motor farkle. Last but not least I have to fix something I broke while doing this job. The windshield mount is made of extremely soft metal. Part of it broke in my hand while I was removing it. That part should be waiting for me when I return to the office next week.
My training rides are just about done. April is an off month. In May I'm finishing the courthouse series, as well as doing a bit of off road practice with some LD pals. We're celebrating with an RTE in Hanford, featuring a house party and some home made gumbo. We've gotten a pretty good response already to the RTE. I'll post a reminder closer to the event and see if that snags any more attendees. Then in June I'm doing the Cal 24, my only rally this year prior to the Butt. And that's it. The SJC10K may turn out to be less than 10K. And that's OK.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Inner Iron Butt Peace
Something has happened to me in the last few days. After months of stress and excitement about this rally, after setting up a new bike, making lists and checking things off the list, after planning and executing a series of training rides, after getting good at the computer side of waypoints and routing, after thinking of a bazillion tiny details and posting every tiny question here on the forum, I realized that it all comes down to a single question:
Can I do it?
And I realized the answer is, Yes. I can do it.
If it turns out that I can’t do it, for whatever reason, it doesn’t really matter. It’s not the end of the world. It’s just a very special summer vacation. No matter what happens during the rally, I’ll have a great time and will always know that I did my best. That’s it. I can fantasize about this finishing position or that one, but where I finish doesn’t define me as a person. It’s just an interesting side product of my summer vacation.
I can’t tell you how much peace this has given me. Suddenly none of it really matters any more. My bike doesn’t have to be perfect. I don’t have to be perfectly trained and practiced. I don’t have to have a plan for every contingency. It’s going to be what it is, and I’ll make the best of it.
Aaaahhhhh.
This doesn’t mean I’m done with the training rides or the lists, or the dumb questions here (sorry!) It just means that the stress around all the preparation is over. I have achieved inner iron butt peace.
See you in Spartanburg.
Something has happened to me in the last few days. After months of stress and excitement about this rally, after setting up a new bike, making lists and checking things off the list, after planning and executing a series of training rides, after getting good at the computer side of waypoints and routing, after thinking of a bazillion tiny details and posting every tiny question here on the forum, I realized that it all comes down to a single question:
Can I do it?
And I realized the answer is, Yes. I can do it.
If it turns out that I can’t do it, for whatever reason, it doesn’t really matter. It’s not the end of the world. It’s just a very special summer vacation. No matter what happens during the rally, I’ll have a great time and will always know that I did my best. That’s it. I can fantasize about this finishing position or that one, but where I finish doesn’t define me as a person. It’s just an interesting side product of my summer vacation.
I can’t tell you how much peace this has given me. Suddenly none of it really matters any more. My bike doesn’t have to be perfect. I don’t have to be perfectly trained and practiced. I don’t have to have a plan for every contingency. It’s going to be what it is, and I’ll make the best of it.
Aaaahhhhh.
This doesn’t mean I’m done with the training rides or the lists, or the dumb questions here (sorry!) It just means that the stress around all the preparation is over. I have achieved inner iron butt peace.
See you in Spartanburg.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Last Farkle
This weekend I installed an Autocom system. This should cure my cell phone blues. I tested it with my friend's Blackberry Curve and it worked great in the garage. Still need to take it for a ride and see how the phone does at speed. Even if performance is not hugely improved, I've got the water-sensitive electronics under the seat now. Won't have to cover the dash if it rains. Mix-It worked great but now it's going into the Bin O Stuff.
Bonus with the Autocom is rider-to-passenger intercom. I wired Claire's helmet with mic and speakers and we went riding around the neighborhood. A real treat to be able to talk to each other. We called home and could both talk and listen at the same time. Cool! I think this could lead to us riding more together.
This weekend the IBA staff sprung a huge surprise on us. I can't say what it is, but I can say I like it. 09 is going to be very interesting.
This weekend I installed an Autocom system. This should cure my cell phone blues. I tested it with my friend's Blackberry Curve and it worked great in the garage. Still need to take it for a ride and see how the phone does at speed. Even if performance is not hugely improved, I've got the water-sensitive electronics under the seat now. Won't have to cover the dash if it rains. Mix-It worked great but now it's going into the Bin O Stuff.
Bonus with the Autocom is rider-to-passenger intercom. I wired Claire's helmet with mic and speakers and we went riding around the neighborhood. A real treat to be able to talk to each other. We called home and could both talk and listen at the same time. Cool! I think this could lead to us riding more together.
This weekend the IBA staff sprung a huge surprise on us. I can't say what it is, but I can say I like it. 09 is going to be very interesting.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
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