B's Motorcycles

My birthday is coming around, and my family have been especially good to me this year, loading me up with a couple of things I have been wanting for a long time (AND NOW I'VE GOT 'EM!).  Amy let me spend a little bit extra on my running shoes this season, so I got some really nice, comfy Saucony Grid Hurricane's from Finish Line.  She also agreed it was time for me to get a new helmet, so we picked out a new blue Scorpion EXO 400 that pretty closely matches my bike.  Then, to top it all off, my parents visited last weekend and took me jacket shopping.  My dad went straight for a Scorpion Strike to match my helmet (and the bike), which was the one I'd been eyeing while trying on helmets just the day before.  I'm perhaps most excited about the helmet, because my old moped helmet just wasn't cutting it on the highway especially since the liner was all worn and degraded.  When I would turn my head, the helmet went an extra 30-40 degrees, blocking my vision and threatening to fall off.  The new Scorpion holds tight, no matter which way I'm looking - Amy says it makes my face look squished, but she's just used to the way the old one fit.  It's really comfortable, breathes well, and has one of the best anti-fog coatings in the business (which is important because I'm so full of hot air ).  The jacket is even more comfortable than I anticipated - had to order a medium because they only had large in the store.  It breathes really well, and has a thermal liner for winter riding that I will really appreciate in another month or two.  Who knows if it will be too hot in the summer - it felt great today even with the liner in, but it was 70 and cloudy outside.  It sure is going to beat all those layered freezing rides I suffered through last year, and I'll look good doing it.

On another note, last time I tried to change the oil, the oil filter bolt (which had been a bit rounded off by a previous owner) didn't want to come out.  I actually broke off the 1/4" adapter on my ratchet set before I decided I should try something else.  I became convinced that removing it might destroy the bolt, so in the interest of acknowledging foresight I ordered a new oil filter bolt.  Honda has discontinued the part, so the good 'ol boys at MC Supply couldn't get it in.  I had to go the old-fashioned way: EBay!  Less than half the price and the satisfaction of feeling like a successful hunter...oh yeah.  It should be in tomorrow, just in time to take the bike in and get it tuned up for winter riding. 

A few days ago I sold my XL250.  It was a great rider, with tons of available power, but with the addition of the 650 to our motorcycle family somebody needed to go.  The one who I traded it to was in the market for a good rider, and we struck a deal.  Sort of ironic, but I'm glad it turned out this way. 

The stator on the KTM needs to be rebuilt, and dad found a guy in Michigan that will do it for about $100.  Seeing as these parts aren't available just everywhere anymore, getting it rebuilt is probably a pretty good idea. 

I've been in possession of a 1981 KTM MC495 dirtbike for just over a year now and haven't done anything with it more than tarping it in my backyard.  Well, last weekend while I was back home for my brother's wedding, my dad (who just gave me his '81 Honda) expressed a desire to get a dirtbike to putter around his farm on.  He said he didn't want anything fancy or huge, just big enough that he could go where he wanted to go without having to worry about getting stuck.  I mentioned the old KTM at my house, and his ears perked up.  I showed him some pics I took last year when I brought home, and he seemed pretty interested but I didn't realize just HOW interested he was until he called me the next day to tell me he'd been poking around the internet and calling KTM dealers and other motorcycle shops.  Long story short...all of the parts it needs to run again are either here or on their way.  The tank and other plastics are being painted today or tomorrow (except the side panels, which I ordered new from Reproduction Decals) and it is entirely possible I may have it running by tomorrow.  At this point, it's a $400 project and I am hoping not to have to spend too much more before I know it's going to turn out the way I'm planning it to :)  Guess I'll know tomorrow, right?

Also, I installed a throttle assist on the 650.  I'm hoping this will help with the hand cramps on long rides - I'm taking it to Pittsburg next weekend.  That's a 4-hour ride, and I've been having trouble with 2.5...keep you posted.

Title says it all.  The latest chapter in my motorcycle adventures has me breaking into the engine of my new/old bike (registered today at the RC courthouse :) to repair a stripped bolt.  Some knucklehead overtightened a bolt that secures the cylinder head cover to the cylinder head and it's been leaking like a sieve ever since.  This is more complicated than it seems initially.  The fact that there was oil leaking from the bolt means that it has direct contact with the oil supply.  This means that the hole cannot simply be drilled from the surface - the engine needed to be disassembled down at least to the bottom of the bolt hole (to find the base threads).  More than 30 bolts and screws of various lengths stand in the way of removing the breather cover, valve covers and cylinder head cover, not to mention the fact that all of this happens while the engine is still in the frame.  Space is tight.  When I finally got the covers off, I found the accumulated waste of 20-odd years of use and abuse.  Burned oil, aluminum flecks, grit and grime covered everything - so I cleaned it all out before getting "down to business."  Speaking of goring, when you get a new, sharp drill bit that's shrink wrapped to the paper backing...be careful opening it.  I was ready to bore out what was left of the old threads and tap the new ones so I grabbed the bit I purchased just for this job and pushed it through the shrink-wrap...right into my thumb.  !!!!!!!!!!!  Blood!  About an hour later, when I finally got the bleeding stopped and my thumb all bandaged up, I got back down to business.  Tapping aluminum is possibly the easiest job ever done, so from then on it was smooth sailing.  Tapped the hole, reassembled, tightened all the bolts down to 10N as the manual suggested, 2 Newtons at a time in a careful, deliberate criss-cross pattern (took an hour and a half...).  Results are good - no leaks!  Still, I don't cherish the idea of ever doing that again any time soon. 

My father has seen fit to pass along the Honda CB650 Custom that was passed on to him a few years ago.  It's a sentimental favorite of mine - I had the tank welded, repainted the fuel tank and side covers for him.  Dad had boatloads of work done by a mechanic in Kansas City, and spent a long time cleaning and polishing.  The head gasket is a little leaky, and there are a few other quirks and leaks here and there, but it is the best ride I've had.  It looks sharp, and rides great - rode it all the way back from K.C. without a tick.  I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time on that bike.