Monday, October 17, 2011

Every Couple of Weeks

It is amazing how much brighter your lights can be if only you would clean off the bugs from your headlight lens. I stood back to admire my work after applying a little glass cleaner (even though the lens was plastic). A few of those bugs had been on there for a long time.


I was thinking that I sure have missed out on a lot of riding this year and this is my favorite time of year to ride. Temperatures ranging from the 50's to the 70's are what I like. A ride to work when the temperature is about 50 degrees is a good way to wake up and feel alive for the day ahead. Just cool enough to be a bit chilly. Not too cold on the fingers.

Invigorating!


I miss it!

Max stood in the driveway gently idling away as I cleaned up the light. We had just ridden around the neighborhood to get his battery charged up a bit (mine too) and to make sure he was operating okay. He started right up, like he usually does. The idle sounded good, steady and even. A touch to the throttle and he responded instantly.

Two weeks ago on a Saturday, I had the same plan. Get Max started and ride around the neighborhood a bit. But it had been about 4 months since I had even tried to start Max. I know, bad idea to wait that long, and as could be expected, the battery was pretty dead. I pulled the battery, attached it to the trickle charger and let it go overnight. Started up fine the next morning. From then on I vowed to start Max at least every other weekend and this past weekend was one of those.

I added a little air to the tires and did some thinking about upcoming maintenance needs. Max has 8,111 miles and will be due for a valve adjustment, new spark plug, cooling system flush and new air filter at 9,000 miles. I am thinking springtime will be perfect for that. With a little help, I have performed those tasks before and am pretty confident I can tackle them by myself next time. I will probably do an oil change before I start riding again, hopefully in February.

Cleaning off the headlight lens reminded me that my helmet visor is pretty dirty as well. I would have cleaned it up as well, but the helmet was locked up in my top case while Max was idling and the key to the top case was on the key ring in the ignition switch. Oh well, that will give me something extra to do two weeks from now.

Take care all! Go out and have some great fall rides for me!

5 comments:

  1. Jimbo/cpa34.84999999:

    what's this about riding around the neighbourhood before your time. It's not February yet ! Buy a battery tender and just leave it connected all the time, that's what I do. Your battery is always topped up. Warming it up in cold weather creates condensation in the muffler system which will cause corrosion. Your oil change should be done BEFORE storage so as not to have acids in the system. I keep my ignition and top case keys on separate rings just so I don't have to turn off the engine to open the case.

    A trick which I used to do in the winter was to start my bike, every so often, but not let it warm up. Keep it running for perhaps a minute or so then turn it off. Condensation is not your friend

    other than that . . . I can't wait until Spring either

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

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  2. I am looking forward to reading about you riding adventures on Max once again in February and beyond. For now, those small excursions around the neighborhood will have to suffice for both you and us, your readers. I am glad to hear that all is well with Max except his battery and on that point, I agree with Bob, get yourself a battery tender - my bikes are plugged into theirs right as I type this. Good to hear an update from you and hang in there, February is not that far away now.

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  3. I appreciate the advice re battery tender, but I think I will stick with my previous plan. My battery tender is kind of a cheapo and it gets almost hot to the touch after being plugged in for awhile. It works very well, but I have a concern about leaving it plugged in for weeks at a time.
    Plus, those types of devices use a little bit of electricity all the time and although I am fond of my local electric company, I am not that fond of them and just enough of a radical cheapskate not to want to fund their corporate jets any more than I have to.
    But I digress. Truth be known, the new tradition of the biweekly starting of Max is as much for my own mental benefit as it is for him. Feeling a little bit of breeze on my face and the sound of an engine, even if for just a few minutes, does wonders for my attitude.

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  4. You have such amazing self control! I'd suddenly find myself a hundred miles from home.

    Do what makes you happy, my friend. If you need to justify it to all these naysayers call it preventative riding. As in preventing your skills from rusting too much before February.

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