Sunday, May 9, 2010
Panic Ensues
Well, the departure date approaches (estimated to be June 7th), and there is a bit of panic in my mind. The bike is still apart in the garage awaiting the arrival of new shocks from Works Performance in CA. All the work I can do to the bike for the time being has been done, and I am anxious to ride some more. On top of not being able to ride I am beginning to panic about being able to leave on time because of work, and also because of money and just being on the road. I have reached a point in Blue Highways where William is beginning to crack from being on the road and think about heading home, and I fear that point in my trip. My mind has a wonderful ability to run away with itself and go to the darkest places (mental meltdown on the road, no money on the road, stuck in the middle of nowhere, etc) and I am trying to fight that as best I can and remember that things have always worked the way they are supposed to in the past. But I'll be damned if it doesn't just keep talking... I suspect that all of this is normal for something like this, but it actually kept me awake for a bit the other night and I cannot remember the last time I lost sleep over something. Part of my brain just wants me to give this up and get a job and go back to work and be secure, but the other part of me knows that if I do that I will regret it forever. So for now the plan remains; leave in early to mid-June for 60 days of meetings...
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Hmmmm
Well, I guess this is as good a time to start as any...
Thus far this trip is only an idea, but the idea is this: Get on my motorcycle and ride around the country for sixty days and get to a meeting every day (those of you in the know will know what I am talking about). Although an official launch date has not been decided it will likely be sometime in early June (I have a project for work that I need to get finished before I go, and my sister will be in town in late May and if I miss that I will be shot).
As of today I have started some of the preparations of the bike, a 2002 BMW R1150RT, including general tuneup and maintenance, and attempting to get rid of the dreaded R-bike surge. After several throttle body syncs and other minor tweaks I decided to remove the throttle bodies and clean them thoroughly. After cleaning they were put back on the bike and I used the zero=zero method for setup. This means that the throttle position sensor (TPS) is reset such that when the butterflies on the throttle bodies are fully closed the TPS accurately reads as much. After that it was a standard throttle body sync with a mercury manometer, and re-tweaking cables, etc. Now the bike runs great! I can't wait to get out on the road.
Along with the tuneups I am working my way through things like replacing the speedometer after it ate itself in New Mexico last year [Now the bike has 17 miles on it ;-)], replacing fork seals because one blew up in Idaho last year [Thanks, Dennis], replacing shocks because they are over 40,000 miles old, etc. Also on the list; thermometer and altimeter/barometer. I have grand plans to use them for predicting weather on the trip, but it is also likely that they will just be fun to look at. I installed custom seats and bar risers last year, so I do not need to do that. Tires may be in order prior to departure, but they might also just get replaced along the way. I am also still considering a GPS installation rather than having my Garmin Nuvi in mapholder on the tank bag, but that might be a little too much. There is something about navigating by a map that I really enjoy.
So I guess that's about it for now...more to come!
Thus far this trip is only an idea, but the idea is this: Get on my motorcycle and ride around the country for sixty days and get to a meeting every day (those of you in the know will know what I am talking about). Although an official launch date has not been decided it will likely be sometime in early June (I have a project for work that I need to get finished before I go, and my sister will be in town in late May and if I miss that I will be shot).
As of today I have started some of the preparations of the bike, a 2002 BMW R1150RT, including general tuneup and maintenance, and attempting to get rid of the dreaded R-bike surge. After several throttle body syncs and other minor tweaks I decided to remove the throttle bodies and clean them thoroughly. After cleaning they were put back on the bike and I used the zero=zero method for setup. This means that the throttle position sensor (TPS) is reset such that when the butterflies on the throttle bodies are fully closed the TPS accurately reads as much. After that it was a standard throttle body sync with a mercury manometer, and re-tweaking cables, etc. Now the bike runs great! I can't wait to get out on the road.
Along with the tuneups I am working my way through things like replacing the speedometer after it ate itself in New Mexico last year [Now the bike has 17 miles on it ;-)], replacing fork seals because one blew up in Idaho last year [Thanks, Dennis], replacing shocks because they are over 40,000 miles old, etc. Also on the list; thermometer and altimeter/barometer. I have grand plans to use them for predicting weather on the trip, but it is also likely that they will just be fun to look at. I installed custom seats and bar risers last year, so I do not need to do that. Tires may be in order prior to departure, but they might also just get replaced along the way. I am also still considering a GPS installation rather than having my Garmin Nuvi in mapholder on the tank bag, but that might be a little too much. There is something about navigating by a map that I really enjoy.
So I guess that's about it for now...more to come!
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