Motorcycles BS Thread 2.0

Last time I grabbed a handful of front brake I hugged a boulder and had to super glue a large gash on my elbow haha. Prob should have gone to the hospital tbh...

I do use my front brake a lot when off-road and use the rear as well just ya know don't grab all of it lmao.

 

Sooo going to the bank tomorrow?

 

I started to use the front brake down hill after my skill set got more tuned. I'm not afraid to use it anymore, but obviously gentle force.

My WR sucks at engine off engine braking, I tried it many times and it just locks up. I just lean back, ride back brake and modulate front as needed.

Or full send! No brakes.

 

1983 CB650SC Honda Nighthawk/ rode it 3 weeks ago on a long group ride, no issues. Trailer it up to tahoe (6k elevation), tune the carbs no issue. Ride it and VERY hard to upshift all gears. Check oil, low, add a whole quart! Rode it today and its better but still super hard to upshift. Clutch fluid is full (almost too full) and seems fine. I'll change the oil and check the clutch (changed 18 months ago) when i get back. still have 4 days here, hope it gets better.

 

Is there any kinda vent or vacuum line to the crankcase ? Sounds like something didn't adjust to the atmosphere

 

Love me some superglue stitches!

 

Yuuup I had issues with that elbow for a couple years after but it's fine ish now haha

 

just the carb pilot adjustment which i did.

 

I agree.

I considered myself pretty good on a bike with about 35 yrs of riding and 15 yrs teaching motorcycling when a group of us from the Adventure Rider Forum I Admined took a private 3 day off road clinic From Jimmy Lewis, one of our top Dakar riders

I learned I was not as good as I thought....

This is him showing off during the camp.



This is him yelling at me to get farther back on the bike when he had us each getting used to the feel on steep down hills



As for the front brake, the first drill the first day was having us start from a dead stop on a huge dry lake bed, lock the front brake then ride across the lake with the front wheel locked! Ya, we learned how to control our front brake.

 

So I had forgotten how bad the mirrors were on the beemer. Can't really see around my arms, and with the new seat made taller it's really bad now. So I bought a set of CRG hindsight lane splitter bar end mirrors that fold. I'll check them out, hopefully I can see better soon.

 

Clutch fluid might be full but how old a d how dirty is it? Typically it's the same as brake fluid and should be changed every 2 years. My 85 FJ1100 did NOT like dirty clutch fluid. It cased me similar issues.

 

yup and it allows the front forks to do their job better too

 

I despise bar end mirrors. I get it, but man are they a compromise

My last road trip in my truck I had 3 metric cruisers (with bar ends)pull out in front of me because they couldn’t see me, then got mad at me when I passed them for going 20kph under.

I feel like you need to ride fast to make up for lack of vision lol

 

Don't forget we need pics

 

All my years on many different motorcycles I never trusted any of the mirrors. I had regular mount ones and a few with bar ends. Head checks, those kept me from being surprised.

I even ran with a single bar end on my rat bike. The mirrors on my VFR weren't trrrible, I still never trusted them.

 

A lot of people complain about the look of the mirrors on the bonnevilles, but I like them.
I did change the mirrors on the tdub tho. Thise are double take mirrors, they fold completely out of the way when off road and yet extend out far enough past the bar end to see past my arm when on road. And if I drop the bike trail riding they fold up and are less likely to break. They also stay put once you tighten the adjusting knob down. Expensive at about $60 per mirror but worth it imo.

 

First CEL today, went away after I shut down and double checked oil level and obvious wiring. Rest of the ride was mint, never saw it again. Rode a really nice singletrack through woods, exposed ridges and tons of sharp rocks. Really need to get on this skid plate thing so I can stop worrying about rock hits.

Don't have a code reader that does bikes, will have to see if the manual lists a procedure to get it to blink and go from there. Hopefully it works for codes no longer active too.

 

I redid bushings / seals and fluid on my forks on my ES.... super simple as the ES suspension up front literally is just stepper motors on what would be screw driver clicker adjustments.

Rear shock.... is essentially the same but my god its a bitch to get out of the bike which has stopped me from doing it even though I have all the fluids and parts.

 

Thats a good looking bike, if its well taken care of, comes with passenger seat and bags thats a good deal.

 

Shot of the way to the start of the trail mentioned above. Didn't get pics in trail, not a lot of spots to park the bike upright.