Packed

I'll remove the "slow-moving" vehicle flag on the back before I get on the road. Pillow in yellow bag on right, small blue tarp on left, sleeping bag and pad in brown dry bag on seat, tent on top of that. Stove and fuel in trunk. Food in left and right saddle bags. The rest of the room is taken up with clothes, tools, gloves, windshield cleaner, wipes, paper towels, camera and etc. (a lot of etc.)

I didn't have room for my folding stadium chair or motorcycle cover. I did have room for basically everything I need for 10 days on the road - except water. The items on top are light so the bike should handle as good or better than if I had a passenger.

I'm looking forward to the whole experience but I'm particular excited to have a chance to ride on the Beartooth and Going to the Sun highways.

The Beartooth highway starts not to far of Red Lodge and takes you to Cooke City and the Northwest Entrance to Yellowstone Park. The road reaches a maximum elevation of 10,947 feet fairly quickly via a series of switchbacks. It's a very scenic drive - with dramatic drop-offs and a chance for quick weather changes.

As far as roads with spectacular mountain scenery in Montana go, I'd say the Beartooth highway is about a tie with the Going-to-the-Sun highway - although in my experience the Beartooth highway has less traffic.

I'm hoping to get out of here relatively early in the morning in order to make it to Curlew Lake State Park in the afternoon. It's supposed to be 93 today in that area. I have my swimming suit and I'm thinking jumping in that lake will feel good. I'm also looking forward to the free ferry ride today across the Columbia on the Keller ferry which connects Highway 21 between Wilbur and Republic.

I'm still thinking about where to stay on Saturday night. There's good campgrounds in the Yaak Valley in Northwest Montana but I'm pondering whether staying in one of the cabins at the Dirty Shame Saloon for 35 bucks might be the way to go. They have a hot shower nearby. I'll just play it by ear.

Sunday night I have a reservation at the St. Mary Campground on the East end of the Going to the Sun highway.

Monday night I'm staying somewhere between Belt Mt. and White Sulphur Springs. There's a "spa" of sorts in White Sulphur where you can a towel and day pass for swimming in the natural hot springs fed pools for $4.50. I think I'll camp at Jumping Creek which is about 22 miles from White Sulphur.

Tuesday I'm at Sheridan campground north of Red Lodge Mt. on the start of the Beartooth Highway.

Wednesday in Grand Tetons - probably Colter Bay, but maybe Jenny Lake if there's room.

Thursday at Spring Hollow campground a little east of Logan, Utah.

Friday I'm at the Sunny Gulch a little south of Stanley, Idaho.

Saturday - Hilgard Junction State Recreation Area north of La Grande Oregon and then back home to Everett on Sunday.

For now I guess I should get off the computer and start doing something. I'm 100% sure my well laid plans will not work out exactly as I anticipate - but it wouldn't be any fun if it wasn't that way.

MC Camping Trip July 2010

This is the rough plan anyway. Got my bedroll, tent, sleeping bag, stove and some vacation time.

I think I'll have to leave Friday morning to make this loop the way I've planned it. Each placemark is an area I plan to camp at or near. I'll be on the road Friday July 9th staying at Lake Curlew near Republic WA. until Sunday July 18th when I leave La Grande OR. for Everett.

I've been in some of these places before and am really looking forward to seeing them again - Going to the Sun Highway, Cooke City Highway, Grand Tetons - and seeing some new places too.

View MC Camping Trip July 2010 in a larger map

Afternoon Trip to BC

We finally got some sun this 4th of July weekend after noon today.

I road tested the Connie for a couple of hundred miles by riding it up to BC via the Blaine border crossing then back through the crossing northwest of Lyndon. Things went really smoothly going through the border both ways.

The bike is working great. The new Dunlop Elite 3 tires ride fine after I got the right air pressure in them. Best of all no more oil leak from the water pump oil seal. I was happy to see there were no new coolant or oil leaks anywhere else on the bike since I had quite a few pieces apart recently.

I rode back on Chuckanut Drive along Bellingham Bay and then south on Best Road to the Pioneer Highway - it was really pretty as usual and not much traffic today.

4th of July Eve

I was out riding yesterday evening and happened to be in the area of Boom City on the Tulalip Reservation so I headed in. That place is surreal. I read somewhere there's over 150 fireworks stands all side by side. That would have been a dream place for me when I was seven years old but just riding through slow was good enough.

Kirby stopped by as I was finished putting the Connie back together today. We took a ride through an experimental forest and to a couple of beaches at Edmonds. He had his super light not yet broken-in Ninja and I was riding my iron horse.

I came home and took a nap, cleaned up the garage and then finished off the Connie and took it for a ride - no leaks.

I need to check the pressure in the new tires is 36 front and 41 rear. I was heating it up going across the flats to Marysville and the bike's rear end felt just a little squirrely.

Notes on Concours Water Pump Oil Seal Replacement

The picture on the right is looking at the shaft of the water pump without the oil seal.

The picture below shows the oil seal p/n 92049-1416 installed.

These pictures are looking at the engine-side of the water pump after the pump was removed. The slot on the shaft engages a tab on the engine which turns the shaft and the impeller inside the pump to circulate coolant.

It takes awhile to get the water pump out.

You have to -

Drain coolant - One drain plug on the metal pipe that goes to water pump.

Drain oil - 2 drain plugs and remove/replace oil filter

Remove shift lever - held on with a circlip

Remove clutch slave cylinder - 3 bolts

Remove rubber hose from water pump - held with a hose clamp

Remove metal pipe from water pump -held by one bolt on the front of pump

Remove shift lever bracket - 1 big bolt and 2 smaller ones.

Wiggle water pump out - it's a pretty tight fit with wires and stuff in the way.

Oil and road grit/grime combine in the area so it takes awhile to clean things up.

The two smaller bolts that hold the shift lever bracket also hold the water pump in place. Once you get the shift lever bracket off you can wiggle the water pump out without removing the water pump cover. This means you don't need the weird shaped water pump gasket/o-ring p/n 92055-1271.

Once you've removed the water pump you can access the oil seal. The oil seal is that circular rubber piece with the groove. It's press fit onto the shaft.

There was a bearing dust cap thingamabob marked Nachi 6001NSE underneath the old oil seal when I removed it. I think it's intended to keep crud out of the bearing - but there shouldn't be any inside there anyway since it's sealed. I just put it back in.

I coated the outside of the oil seal with red loctite and press fit it back in with the help of a socket and some light taps with something (rock or a wrench..I forget). I'm usually too lazy to go get a hammer out of the basement when I'm working in the garage. The seal is happily baking on the vanity in the bathroom under a heat lamp overnight. Betsy's gone overnight so I can leave a waterpump in her bathroom without getting into trouble.

I replaced the water pump o-ring p/n 92055-1424 because I ordered one. The old one looked fine and wouldn't have anything to do with oil coming out of the weep hole which is what I'm trying to fix. You can see that o-ring in this picture.

I'm looking forward to getting stuff back together tomorrow and filling the Conc up with coolant and oil and seeing if those fluids stay where their supposed to.

I'm pretty sure this will fix the minor oil leak the bike developed.

While I was removing the clutch slave cylinder cover I noticed the plastic spacer p/n 92026-1263 was cracked - probably been that way for a long time. It stills functions as a spacer and it isn't a sealed area so I'll just order and replace that as time permits.

Adding a Cigarette Lighter Socket to a Concours

Cigarette Lighter Socket
Originally uploaded by Jack Crossen

I added a cigarette lighter socket to the Connie tonight - not because I want to smoke cigs will riding but to allow me to charge a cell phone or GPS.

There are unused accessory leads under the left fairing pocket. The blue and white wire is hot and the yellow and black wire is ground. These wires aren't switched so if you leave something plugged in that draws much current it will discharge the battery even though you turn the key off.

I used -

One 12V Marine Cigarette lighter socket, panel mount outlet $8.95 from ebay.

One Universal USB Mini Car Charger Adapter $6.99 from eforcity.

Two male crimp-on 1/4 inch quick connects from Radio Shack - $1.99 for a pack of 8.

One 1 1/8 inch hole saw from Harbor Freight. I bought the 18 piece hole saw kit that has hole saws from 3/4 to 5 inches so I could get the 1 1/8 inch saw - $9.99

About 2 feet of 16 gauge wire from my box of misc wire.

Success
Originally uploaded by Jack Crossen

I put some additional pictures at Concours Accessory Jack - a set on Flickr

Changing a Sportster's Transmission Fluid

Changing the transmission fluid is a maintenance item you do at 1000 miles and then every 5000 miles after that. These instructions work on a 2005 XL1000C but you it's a good idea to get a manual for your bike if you intend to do your own maintenance.

Sportster Transmission Drain Plug

1. Ride bike until it reaches operating temperature.

2. Put the bike on the side stand, place a pan under the bike and remove the transmission drain plug.

3. Take off the primary chain inspection cover. Check the o-ring on each of the two hex socket screws and replace as necessary.

4. While you're waiting for the fluid to drain check the primary chain free play. It should be 1/4 to 3/8 inches with the engine hot (see note 1 below).

5. Put the bike on a jack so it's level - this allows another few tablespoons of fluid to drain out of the primary. (see note 2 below)

6. Clean the metal shavings off the drain plug.

7. Inspect and replace as necessary the rubber o-ring on the drain plug.

8. Install the drain plug and torque it to 14-21 ft-lbs.

9. Add 1 quart of HD Transmission fluid into the primary chain inspection opening.

10. Install the primary chain inspection cover by putting a little blue Loctite on the two hex socket screws, and torque them to 40-60 inch-lbs.

The official way of changing the transmission fluid involves removing the derby cover and adding a quart of fluid or adding fluid until it reaches the bottom of the clutch diaphragm spring. I figure if the HD owner's manual calls for a quart I can drain the primary and put a quart in without anything blowing up. There may be other oils you can use in the primary but picking up a quart of the HD transmission fluid gives me an excuse to go to a Harley dealer every so often.

Note 1 - Primary chain adjustment is at the same interval as engine oil and primary fluid change - at the first 1000 miles and then every 5000 miles. I adjusted my primary chain at 1000 miles because it was loose. Checked it again at 5000 miles and it was still in spec. I'm assuming the chain stretched when new, or the adjusting shoe wore some, and have started to stabilize now that they have some use.

You adjust the primary chain by loosening the adjustment locknut and turning the adjustment screw inside that locknut. Clockwise tightens the chain. After you have the slack correct (3/8 to 1/2 inch for a cold engine or 1/4 to 3/8 inch for a hot engine) tighten the locknut to 20-25 foot-lbs.

I've put pictures of the primary chain inspection cover, the primary chain adjustment locknut and a quart of HD transmission fluid below.

Sportster Primary Chain Inspection Cover

Sportster Primary Chain Adjuster

HD Transmission Fluid

Note 2 - Regarding need for a jack. You don't really need a jack to do this task or to change the engine oil. Just hold the bike upright for a minute or so to let the last bit of fluid drain out. I use the $20 Bike Lift which works fine and doesn't take up much room hanging from the rafters in the garage.

One final note - regarding torque values. I like to use a torque wrench for some things where stripping a thread or having a nut/bolt/screw fall off could be dangerous or expensive - but I'll resort to good and tight, pretty tight, or snug but not too tight - for a lot of things. Of course it's up to you to decide what works best for your particular circumstances.

Weather Guessing

We've had a cool spring and summer this year. Not a lot of sun. I think that's caused me to check the forecast more often than usual to see if we have any warm/hot weather and sunny days coming up. I'm not sure if that helps much.

For example....

The forecast high for this coming Friday July 2nd in Everett is 59 degrees according to weather.com and 67 degrees according to wunderground.com. Over in Republic in Eastern Washington the forecast high for Friday is 63 according to wunderground.com and 70 according to weather.com.

My point?

I don't think anyone knows precisely what the weather is going to be 5 days from now. Pretty safe bet that Northwest Washington highs will be in the 60's to low 70's, cloudy with some sun and chance of rain.

It could be worse - or at least different.

Forecast high for Las Vegas today is 108 and clear. Phoenix is supposed to get up to 112 tomorrow. Like they say though - it's a dry heat. It's sticky and muggy in Houston right now with 85 degrees with 83% humidity. I'll take the 60's to low 70's.

8M4991 Caterpillar O-Ring Throttle Lock

Here's a couple of pictures that show how the o-ring works to hold the throttle on a Concours C10.

The idea is to roll the o-ring into the groove between the throttle and the bar end weight to allow the friction of the o-ring to hold the throttle in position. This allows you to shake out the cramps, or get the circulation going, in your right hand on long trips.

The first picture shows the o-ring in the "off" position. The second shows it "on". If you look closely at the ribs on the throttle grip you can see I've twisted the throttle in the second picture and it's being held in place by the o-ring.

I suppose you might find a generic o-ring or even a thick rubber band, that would do this - but people claim this silicone Caterpillar o-ring is just the right stickiness and width.

I bought mine from Tornado Heavy Equipment Parts using eBay. Two o-rings plus shipping were $4.93 and took 4 days to arrive. Jet Gasket and Seal is selling them on eBay for $8.29 for ten o-rings with free shipping.

Sunny Saturday - Twisting Wrenches

I spent this sunny day working on motorcycles.

I took the rear wheel off the Connie so I could get a new tire mounted.

I had to buy a 27 mm socket at Autozone since I didn't have one that big and a cotter pin at Lowes for the right side axle nut - so that slowed me down a little. I'm never in a big hurry when I'm working on cars/bikes anyway. I like to take my time, read and re-read instructions if I have them, take stuff apart to see how it works and clean/oil/grease things before I reinstall them. The main point for me is to learn something, get immediate feedback on if what I did was successful or not - and save some money to use for other things I want to do.

I put the bike center stand on a 2x4 to give me a little extra room to clear the tire from beneath the rear fender. I used some straps to secure the center stand to the front wheel so I didn't accidently push forward on the bike and have the center stand fold up.

Taking the rear wheel off requires removing both mufflers, unbolting the torque link from the brake caliper, removing the cotter pin and axle nut from the right side and then pulling the axle out from the left side. The wheel disengages from the gear drive by pulling the wheel to the right. I cleaned and greased the gear splines while I was at it.

You can see the center stand on a 2x4, straps holding the center stand and the brake caliper hanging from a bungee cord in this photo.

I put anti-seize on the axle before reinstalling it. I wish someone would have used anti-seize on the two socket head bolts that hold the rear brake caliper. They are frozen tight. I tried using WD-40 which didn't help. I bought some PB Blaster penetrating oil at Lowes and will try that when I have to remove the caliper to replace the brake pads. If worse comes to worse I can slide the axle out and take the brake caliper assembly to a machine shop. I don't need to remove the bolts right now since the pads still have over half the material left on them.

The 27 mm bolt on the right side was tight but came off with an extender bar and me pushing down on the bar with my foot. It took me awhile to figure out I was turning the whole axle and needed to put a wrench on the left side to hold it so I could remove that nut from the right side.

I took the wheel to Shiny Side Up on Rucker but they were closed this Saturday. I lucked out and found the good people at Northcoast Thunderbikes at 1911 Broadway were happy to mount the new tire for me. They charged the same as Shiny Side Up - 20 bucks. They are really friendly and quick in that place and I'd recommend taking work there. When my Sportster needs tires I think I'll check them out. The owner said they can sometimes beat internet prices.

___________________________________

I finished my maintenance day by replacing the front brake pads and air filter on the KZP.

Replacing brake pads is easy on that bike. You remove the two bolts that hold the caliper and slide the caliper off the disc. You can slide the caliper assembly apart and the pads literally will fall out - just be sure you watch for the two little metal pad guides that sometimes fall out too. You don't want to lose those.

Loosen the master cylinder cover and slowly push the brake piston into the caliper so the new (thicker) pads will fit into the caliper and clear the disc. Keep an eye on the master cylinder to see if you have brake fluid coming out - you'll want to clean that off painted surfaces quickly. As an alternative you could remove some fluid from the master cylinder before pushing on the brake piston. Replacing the 4 front pads (2 discs on the front wheel) is about a 15 minute job - so it took me about an hour.

Replacing the air cleaner on a KZP is easy too. You open the seat, remove a couple of screws and pull the air cleaner out. It takes a little fiddling around to get the air box cover to line up when re-installing but no big deal.

_____________________________

FedEx says the Concours water pump oil seal from Ron Ayers will be here Thursday so that will give me something to do next weekend. I have the cigarette lighter socket to install for my iPhone charger - and then I just need to figure out somewhere to go. That shouldn't be any problem at all...so many places to choose in this beautiful country.

Copilot Live - Motorcycle iPhone GPS App

I got the CoPilot Live iPhone GPS application last night. The US version is $5 on sale now. I spent $20 so I could get Canada too. There's no monthly charge with CoPilot so it's one of the least expensive options for iPhone GPS applications.

The main reason I wanted Copilot is that it stores it's maps on your iPhone so you don't need cell coverage like you do when you use Google maps. You can use the iPhone GPS and the CoPilot map to figure out where the heck you are and how to get to your next destination in areas without cell coverage or with poor cell coverage where Google maps take forever to load.

CoPilot allows you to choose a route for a car, RV, motorcycle, bicycle or walking. It has a bunch of features to play around with like automatic uploads of your destination and ETA to Facebook and the ability to allow friends to see your progress on a map - but I just like having the option of getting directions when I need them without having to carry maps.

______________________________

I'm going to install a marine grade cigarette lighter socket on the Concours and use a Mini USB Car Charger Adapter so I can charge my iPhone while on a motorcycle trip.

Just have to get that pesky oil leak fixed. While I'm waiting for parts I think I'll remove the rear wheel and ask the local independent MC shop to mount the new Elite 3 tire so the bike will be all ready for summer riding. I wanted to wear that tire out but I'd rather replace a tire before I have to than have it fail at speed or out in the boon docks somewhere.

I've Discovered Oil

Well at least I've discovered the source of the oil leak on my Connie.

Tracing the source of a small oil leak on a motorcycle with the plastic fairings, hoses, wiring and the generally tight spaces of the engine installation is a bit challenging. It took awhile with lots of wiping and then shining a bright light up into the engine area but I'm 95% sure it's the oil seal in the water-pump. I can see a very slow drip of oil seeping from the water pump weep hole.

A new water pump is $160 from Murphs or $196 from the dealer, but I'm going to try replacing the oil seal and 0-rings before I shell out that dough.

Based on this COG C10 Technical Page - Water Pump Seal article I think I can fix this oil leak without replacing the water pump so I ordered a water pump oil seal and 2 o-rings from Ron Ayers for $11.50 plus $5.00 shipping.

92049-1416 SEAL-OIL,WATER PUMP 1 $3.81
92055-1424 RING-O,33.2X2.4 1 $2.81
92055-1271 RING-O,WATER PUMP 1 $4.88

Here's a picture of the 92055-1271 "o-ring". It's an odd shape to allow it to fit the contour of the water pump.

Based on the advice in the forums I'm going to use some red loctite (permanent) to glue the oil seal in place and Brakleen to clean the shaft up so the loctite will stick.

I have to drain the coolant (just did that a month ago or so) and engine oil (was going to do that anyway) as part of this job.

I'm going to replace the clutch push-rod oil seal while I'm at it since I'll have that cover off anyway and have the seal on order from Cheap Cycle Parts.

I'm looking forward to having the Concours road-ready so I can try out the new camping gear I got for Father's Day. I got a Jetboil, Big Agnes Seed House 2 Tent, Sleeping Bag and Sleeping Pad from REI. Nice stuff...thank you R and R and B.

Note: Once I got the water pump removed I realized I didn't need the 92055-1271 RING-O,WATER PUMP. You would only need that o-ring if you were going to open up the water pump. You don't need to open the water pump to replace the oil seal.

________________________

I'm also waiting for a CAT 8M4991 o-ring I ordered from e-Bay to use as a throttle lock. This is another cheap (frugal) idea from motorcycle forums.

The idea is the o-ring fits over the groove between the throttle grip and the bar end weight and provides enough friction to keep the throttle in place so you can relax your right hand on long rides. You can still twist the throttle closed in an emergency and you can roll the o-ring off after you've relaxed/stretched your hand a bit.

I ordered two so my bike will be symmetrical with two yellow o-rings on both handlebar ends - and I have a spare. Two o-rings were a little less than 5 bucks including shipping on e-Bay. I'll take a picture when I get them.

Mountain Loop Highway

I took a spin up the Mountain Loop Highway to Barlow Pass on Friday on the Sporty. It was a nice ride - not too many people and one of the few non-rainy cloudy days we've had lately.

There are a lot of campgrounds in that area that I'd like to try out for a short camping trip to check out my gear before I head out on longer journeys

I rode up to the Mount Pilchuck trailhead access road which was interesting since there are some big pot holes with all the rain we've had. I'd be extra careful driving a car or street bike up there - I've heard of people doing some damage to transmissions/oil pan. Nice view from the the trailhead access area and there were quite a few hikers up there but it's still too early to hike to the top unless you have snowshoes and understand avalanche hazards. The June 14th USFS trail report says,

"Report of dangerous avalanche conditions and hazardous cornice near summit. Solid snow still covers more than half the trail. Trail is snow free for approx 1.5 miles. Route finding and winter travel skills and equipment necessary."

I didn't go North from Barlow Pass to Darrington since it was raining a little and the road isn't paved. Riding 7 miles on the potholed gravel/dirt road up to the Mt. Pilchuck trail access was enough gravel for me that day.

On my way out of town I stopped by the Marysville Strawberry Festival which was just getting under way. On my way back I was surprised that main street in Marysville was lined with empty camping/lawn chairs. When I passed by earlier in the day there were only a few chairs and I thought someone was selling them - but at 6 pm there were hundreds of empty chairs. The parade wasn't for another 24 hours. It must be a local tradition to claim your spot with a chair a day in advance. Or maybe the city puts those chairs out there for anybody to use. I didn't make it to the parade so I'll have to check with a local to get the scoop on the chairs.

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Motorcycle Rentals - One Way Specials

Eagle Rider motorcycle rentals has some interesting One Way Specials. They are mostly Harley Davidson motorcycles but they have some BMW's and Honda's. The deals change pretty frequently.

No Zen No Art - Just Motorcycle Maintenance

I changed the oil and filter on my KZP-19 and HD Sportster today. Both are very easy after the first time. I got to use my wood block/pipe home-made motorcycle jack to lift the Sporty a little and get it level. I used that home-made jack when I pulled the front wheel off the Concours the week before so it's coming in handy.

I used Shell Rotella T 15-40 diesel engine oil. Autozone stopped carrying Rotella T, but I got four gallons for $12 a gallon at Pep Boys - just a longer drive from my house.

I used Mobil 1 V-Twin Synthetic 20-50 in the Sportster last oil change. After reading about oil and considering the fact that Mobil 1 oil is about $11 a quart (after tax) and I need 3.6 quarts for the bike I decided it just wasn't worth the money. Harley recommends diesel oil - if you can't buy the special label HD oil (which I wouldn't do anyway), so I'm sure it will be fine.

I want to change the oil and filter on the Concours but I'm waiting for some more K&N filters to come from Amazon. I got a really good deal on 4 filters but they are out of stock right now and won't be in until early July. That's fine since I changed the oil and filter in March and could go another 2000 miles before I hit the manufacturer's recommended oil change interval (6000 miles for the Concours).

The Sportster manfacturer recommended oil change interval is 5000 miles and the KZP is 3000 miles (although somewhat oddly Kawasaki recommends only changing the filter every other oil change). Kinda like taking a bath with your dirty socks on to me.

There's a small oil drip on the left side of the Concours engine that I think is the clutch rod oil seal. It's an 8 dollar part and the installation sounds pretty simple. One of the really nice things about the Concours is they have a very good owners group who tend to do most maintenance themselves and share tips via their forum and group pages. An example is this article on the Clutch Rod Seal Replacement. It's good to know things like if I push the seal in too far it will fall into the engine and I'll have to go fishing and hope I can catch it with a magnet or a bent coat-hanger.

I have a clutch rod oil seal ordered from Cheap Cycle Parts for the Concours and a new Emgo (cheap at 8 bucks) air filter for the KZP. So that will give me something to do in a few days.

___________________________

I've ridden a little over 13,000 miles on motorcycles since last August. 5K on the Connie, 5K on the Sportster and 3K on the KZP. I use the KZP for my wet weather commuting bike since it has a big windshield, fairing and is very rust resistant, the Sportster is for sunny days and fun rides around town and on short trips when I want to feel the wind in my face and the Connie works good for long trips - although I've yet to ride it in really hot weather (unfortunately).

Almost all my transportation is via motorcycle but I start up my 25 year old pickup every so often and take it for a spin just to keep the battery charged and evaporate the moisture from the crankcase. I changed the oil and filter on that a few weeks ago and used a mixture of Valvoline 10-40 motorcycle oil and Chevron 10-30 automotive oil that I had left over from some other oil changes.

My general rule of thumb these days is to change oil and filter every 6 months but if I'm going on longer trips I'll do it more often so I don't exceed the manufacturer's recommended miles between changes. I changed the oil in that pickup at 3 month/3000 mile intervals for over 20 years and put over 200K miles on it and that seemed to work. I'll test it for another 20 years using the 6 month intervals and see how that works out.

NEOS Overshoes

I used a pair of Firstgear Rubber Rain Boots this season for riding in the rain. The pros are they are light, pack really small and are waterproof. The cons are they are easy to poke holes in and tear. For 15 bucks they are okay - but I'd like something I don't have to replace too often.

I ordered a pair of NEOS Adventurer™ overshoes that cost a bit more (4X) but I think they will do the job and last. The reviews from motorcycle riders on the Aerostich website are positive. They have a nice grippy looking sole, weigh a couple of pounds and pack down to a size of tennis shoes. I'm hoping I don't have too much opportunity to use them until next Fall - but the way this summer is going it's hard to say. I'm sure they will come in handy for commuting and on some road trips.

I like the idea of being able to wear comfortable leather boots and put on waterproof overshoes when I need to, rather than trying to find a waterproof all-around type boot. I'm afraid those would either not breathe and be uncomfortable and too hot - or breathe and not be waterproof. They might be some fairly expensive gore-tex boots that work...but I've already got a pair of leather boots I like, so I'm going to try overshoes for awhile.

NEOS is an acronym for New England Overshoe Company.

We Needed An Excuse to Clean The Basement Anyway

We had a lot of rain in a short period of time this afternoon. The storm drains run into the sanitary sewer in this old neighborhood and the sewer system couldn't handle all the water. As a result we had rainwater, sewer water and silt gushing out of the toilet and shower drain in the basement. It's a bit of a mess.

Probably need to look into one of those flapper/check valves that prevent water from the sewer from coming back into the house - so we don't have to go through this again.

P1010706
Originally uploaded by Jack Crossen

P1010707
Originally uploaded by Jack Crossen

P1010713
Originally uploaded by Jack Crossen

Like This

I got back to Everett a little after 5 pm on Tuesday.

It was a little over 1900 miles for the Everett, Naches, Klamath Falls, Auburn, Susanville, Madras, Hood River, Everett trip.

We had a blast.

It was wet, windy, warm, cold, sunny, high elevation, low elevation and even a little bit of hail.

I nicked my front tire on something sharp and ended up riding with a little cord showing from Alturus, CA back to Everett. Ordered some new Dunlop Elite 3 tires from Motorcycle Superstore this morning.

I got to ride in a 660 horsepower hot rod, on a boat on a nice lake and on motorcycles with Joe and Tim on some really nice roads in California, Oregon and Washington.

The trickiest riding was leaving Seattle on Wednesday afternoon in the rain. Highway 167 traffic was bumper to bumper for miles with ground fog and water spray coming off the cars. Riding down Yuba Pass in California was a little scary since they had sanded the road and it was curvy and slippery.

I feel very fortunate to live in a place with so many beautiful places to see.

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Leaving This Afternoon For a MC Road Trip

I'm writing this Tuesday night at 11:30 pm to auto-post Wednesday afternoon.

The trip to Eastern Washington, Oregon and Central California will be a bit of a mini-adventure for a desk bound sort like me. I've been toying with the idea of what it would feel like to have the whole summer free - but I'm happy to have some time to get on the road and see some friends and family. This is just the beginning of summer and I have some more vacation saved up for trips later.

Looks like I'm going to be leaving in the rain today. Good thing I've got lots of practice riding in the Northwet this winter. I'm taking the scenic highways 167, 161, 7, 12 to Naches for a little different look than I-5.

High temperature Tuesday on Highway 12's White Pass was 44 degrees. Not surprising considering it's at 4500 feet. Should be about the same Wednesday with rain showers expected there and in Naches.

Naches looks pretty good for Thursday with some showers and an expected high of 67 degrees. Cools off as we go South with Klamath Falls expected high of 50-54 degrees on Thursday/Friday. Getting into central California the weather looks nice with Auburn expected to be 74-76 degrees on Sat/Sun.

I'm looking forward to seeing Tim, Tina, Jack and family in Naches and then Joe's birthday, family and friends in California. I'd like to see Pat and Charlie in Sacramento but I think they are out of town.

Should be fun, the scenic ride to Naches I'm taking will be about 210 miles on Wednesday and there shouldn't be any marathon runs to California - but I'm up for whatever turns out. The shortest route to Auburn from Naches is 700 miles which is a good two-day ride - for me anyway. Auburn to Everett shortest route is 810 miles so if I leave Sunday I may not be back until Tuesday since 400 miles in a day on a MC is probably more than I care to do. I'm sure it's possible - but I like to take breaks and not have to grind out any more miles than necessary on the super-slab. If I wanted to cover a lot of road miles per day I'd drive and if I was in a hurry I'd fly.

Tools
Originally uploaded by Jack Crossen

I've got some tools, clothes and food ready to go and whatever turns out will be just fine. I don't have any particular expectations, I don't have anything particularly pressing going on and have a bit of vacation time saved up. So I'm going to just enjoy the trip - I have my stuff laid out to pack and I'll be ready to go. I like to ride so...

Just need to gas up, kick the tires and light the fires - goin on a road trip!

Selling Cell Phones on eBay - Hassle City

I've almost never had any problems buying or selling items on eBay.

In fact no problems with anything I've bought and only two problems with items I've sold.

Both selling problems were with cell phones. The first one was several years ago when I sold a cell phone and the buyer thought I should have included a charger. The auction listing didn't say I was selling a charger with the phone but he assumed the phone would come with a charger. We eventually worked that out.

The most recent experience was selling an iPhone. What a fiasco...

The buyer sent me an email several minutes after winning the auction asking if I would wait 2 weeks until he got paid for him to pay for the item he won. That's very unusual in my experience since auctions - online or in person, only work on an immediate payment basis. Imagine how poorly an auction would work if you could bid on items you couldn't pay for.

Over the course of the next two weeks I exchanged many emails with the buyer answering questions he had about the phone. It's wasn't a good idea on his part to wait until after he won the auction to ask questions but I did my best to answer him.

He eventually sent money to PayPal but they aren't releasing the funds to me for up to 21 days "as long as the buyer doesn't report a problem".

That seems crazy to me. He's had the phone for over a week now and actually replied to my email saying he wanted to keep it for a week to see how it works. I have no way of knowing that he might drop the phone on the sidewalk or into the tub...or just decide it wasn't really what he wanted after all. The phone worked fine when I shipped it. I didn't offer any warranty and stated in the listing that I don't accept returns.

PayPal has a different policy.

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I need to replace my iPhone in the not to distant future since a portion of the touch screen is failing making it challenging to dial numbers and perform other functions (like listening to voice mail). That should be another eBay/PayPal adventure when I sell that thing.

Since I'm in the market for a new phone, I'm debating if I should violate my "don't buy stuff at Wal-Mart policy" to take advantage of their $97 iPhone 3G S offer. Probably not.

I think I'll wait to see what the next gen iPhone has to offer and continue to limp along with my 2 year old 3G with the failing screen.