Hobbies – Page 80 – Not Your Average Engineer

May 13, 2010

Oil leak fixed? And a few other odds and ends.

Over the last few days I spent a few hours tracking down and (hopefully) fixing the oil leak on my motorcycle. I am pretty sure it was the shifter seal. The other seals that I checked on the left side of the bike were all good. While I was at it, I replaced most of the remaining old radiator hoses. The only hose that is original is the one that goes to the rear cylinder. It’s hellish to get to so for the moment I’m not going to change it.

Things done:

Replaced seal on shifter
Replaced seal on front cylinder coolant intake port
Replaced hoses running to and from radiator
Replaced hose running from water pump to front cylinder
Installed new right pocket door
Installed (mostly) air compressor under upper fairing
Checked air filter (still good to go)
Replaced oil and put in new oil filter (had been about 4-5k miles since the last time)
Replaced coolant with the same orange stuff as the last time
Finished installing the Mick-O-Pegs

The short test ride I took it on yesterday felt very good. The bike seems to have a bit more power than when I took it apart for maintenance. Eventually I will get some pictures up of the servicing and of the air compressor install.

April 19, 2010July 1, 2020

Sunday ride with Karen

Yesterday Karen B and I went out for a lovely Sunday ride on the Corvallis-Waldport-Florence-Monroe-Corvallis route. The route was about 200 miles total. Google Maps is glitching a little so the map below might not be completely accurate.

With the warm weather we both were in light jackets the entire time without problem. The coast was a bit chilly but it wasn’t that bad as long as the sun was out.

We stopped for fuel twice. The first stop was after 106.3 miles of driving. I took on 2.421 gallons giving me 43.9 mpg. The second time was after 90.5 miles where I got 1.90 gallons which gave a 47.63 mpg economy. Also up in Newberg I bought gas after 130.5 miles for 2.978 gallons which equates to 43.82 mpg. I’m not sure if I’m being heavier on the throttle (both of the 43mpgs were from solo riding), am riding in more city traffic conditions, or if there is something starting to go wrong with the bike. However, the 47.63 was achieved with a passenger so who knows 🙂

The bike performed flawlessly on the trip. It is such a pleasure to ride a Pacific Coast on the Pacific Coast!

I should also mention that I put about 230 miles on the bike with two other undocumented rides. Last week I did a quick ride around town and up Lewsiburg saddle and I also rode my bike to my parent’s house and back with a detour through Perrydale.

Our Route Map

April 3, 2010July 1, 2020

Rainy ride with higher handlebars

I went on a quick 50 mile ride up and over Lewisburg Saddle and through Kings Valley with my new and improved higher handlebars. The bars are AWESOME. I don’t know why I waited so long to get them and put them on my bike. I still have an airhorn to install on the bike and need to decide if I’m getting highway pegs or not but it’s just about completely outfitted the way I want it. Oh yeah, still need to trade Art in Redding for a taller windshield and find a rear rack.

My Route Map