Re-Tinting Turn Signal Lenses

Yesterday the temperature was warm enough and the humidity was low enough to allow me to try to paint the turn signal lenses that had faded to a more clear color.

The lenses in this picture appear a bit darker than they are actually.  The flash showed a more true color, but washed out the printing on the can.  But the true test is what they look like on the bike.

I am quite happy with the end result.

Later today I have chain maintenance scheduled.

Paid to Ride

I had a field technician contract come up in Ashland.  To maximize profit from out of town work, I try to ride my motorcycle unless the work just will not allow it.

I got up early and packed my tools.  When I got out to the bike, I gave it a once over, with an eye especially relating to the items that have received recent work.  I lubed up the chain, and checked tire pressures.  I also checked the coolant level.  Everything was fine, Good to go.

I decided to take highway 66 over to Ashland.  Its about the most direct route.  I wore my Hein Gericke Timbuktu jacket with the liner in it, and a fleece under that.  Turned out to be just about the perfect combination.

Crossing the Klamath River at Topsy gave a picture perfect view of Mt. McLoughlin and its relection in the river.  I wish I had brought a camera.  If I had brought a camera I probably would have been late for the work appointment. The ride was mercifully uneventful.

Wistful thoughts about "empty lonely places" came to my mind as I passed the site of "King Cole".  As a young child I remembered that there was a gas station that had already closed.  At some point it was dismantled or burned, leaving only a waist high sheetmetal wall that outlined the small building.  Now, even that is gone.  Several deer stood at the far edge of the clearing that was once a gas stop.  It belongs to the deer now.

Several slower cars eased over to allow me to pass.  I wasn't riding all that fast, but I was heartened that courtesy still exists on some roads.

I was surprised that there was only a tiny trace of snow on the ground along a few buildings where another gas station and motel was once in business.

The drop into the valley was dramatic as ever, descending the steep mountain flanks.  Oak trees were barely budding out at the top, but they were showing young leaves when  I reached the bottom.  The road was in good condition, save for some large sections that have been patched on the lower sections.  Once the loose gravel is gone, the ride down should be very good again.

The ride into Ashland was easy.  When the work was completed, I rode around Ashland a bit and did some shopping.  I had already packed away my fleece, and I removed the liner from my jacket.  I also switched to my three season gloves.

Pretty soon I decided to head home.  I decided to take Dead Indian home.  Up the twisting road I went, climbing the mountains. This time I think I was doing better with being in the right gears in different sections, and was able to keep my revs up.  There was a section near the hairpin that was getting some tree work done, but beyond that, nothing slowed me down.  Up at the top I did find snow still on both sides of the road, but the road itself was clear and dry.

The last time I  had been on this road, I was in our van, and we decided to take it all the way to Highway 140.  I liked the climbs and drops and generally curvy nature of the road so much, I wanted to take it again on my bike.  So, this time, that is what I did.  It was just delightful.  Despite snow on both sides of the road, the air wasn't too cold.

At the junction of 140 I dropped in behind someone on a blue sport bike, who was in turn following another vehicle.  I was a little amused pondering the practicality of my little bike.  Here I was, following someone who could totally out accelerate, and out speed me, but I hung back a bit pacing them mile after mile.  On a long two lane rise the other rider passed the lead vehicle.  I did as well, but took a longer time to do it.  It was interesting, to ride nearly along with this other rider.  I didn't know where they had come from, or where they were going, but, there we were, companions on the road, due to a shared fondness for a less common mode of transportation.  At one point he sped off and put nearly a quarter mile between us.  The next section of road was slow, and twisty, with a low speed limit, and by its end, I had caught back up without trying.  Shortly after I turned from the path my unknown companion was following.

After arriving home I looked over my bike and everything was as it should have been.  The temperature gauge  had never climbed above about one-fourth.  The oil had not decreased noticeably.  The only sign I had ridden were a few insect remains on the leading surfaces.

Just a very nice ride on a sunny warm spring day.


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More Maintenance

Need to catch up a little bit.

On Friday I did shop around for amber paint.  Struck out at every auto parts store I visited.  Okay, fine...crafts stores....Jo Ann's - nothing.  Finally struck pay dirt with Michael's.  Krylon Stained Glass Color.  Cap indicates color...okay..."orange-yellow"...close enough I hope.

I did manage to clean and wax the main fairing.  While it was still off on Monday I decided to change the coolant.  Pretty straightforward.  Removed and cleaned the overflow tank.  This was made a bit easier by it being empty.  I also swapped out the Keith in Asia light bulbs 'whatever they are" because one was flashing only intermittently.  The glass bulbs were actually no longer stuck to the bedding material in the metal sockets.  I had a pair of bulbs I had dipped in a "craft paint" in an effort to make my own amber bulbs several years ago.  They fit well, and weren't pressing against the lens.  So, the need to buy new bulbs was averted.

The rattling of the front fender was fixed by replacing the missing two right bolts with a pair from one of my parts bikes.  I could barely get them started with my hands without removing the front wheel.  There was no room for a socket.  I considered buying a set of crescent wrenches, as my low quality set of metric wrenches have mostly gotten lost over the years.  Almost ready to head to Sears I wondered, "What about the bike's tool kit"?  Sure enough a 12 mm wrench was found, and the bolts were snugged down nicely a short time later.

I replaced the main fairing, and again struggled to get the fairings to bolt to the tank without too much forcing and flexing.  This time I even checked under the tank to see if anything was being pinched under the tank to lift it up.  Loosening all the associated fasteners, then getting the fairing-tank bolts in helped.  It seems very odd that the bolts on the right side seem to bind a bit against each other.  Its almost like the fairing has stretched between the bolt holes.

At least it was together enough to make a contract trip to Ashland.


Its obvious I do a lot of "bit and piece" work on my bike even when I am tackling a fairly straightforward project.  Like applying dielectric grease to the front turn signal connectors.

Spa Day

For my bike, that is...

37478.65 miles on the odometer.  Did my spring oil and filter change.  Also cleaned and re-oiled my K&N Filter.  In breaks between bits of work, I cleaned and waxed the chin fairing, side panels, and tail section.  Decided it was time to use anti-seize on some bolts that were problematic in the past. Finally started checking electrical connectors and using new dielectric grease.

The current plan is that tomorrow I will remove the main front fairing, clean and wax it, spend some time cleaning the engine, and use dielectric grease on the turn signal connectors.  I need to run to an auto shop and buy some amber paint...the lenses of my Keith In Asia flush mount turn signals are fading  and that means becoming more clear.

Ideally I should change my tires in the next couple of days as I may have contract coming up in Ashland next week.

The plan is to hit ALL of the maintenance issues on my bike this year.  So far, so good.

May Day ride

No video, I didn't even take a camera, so no photos.  This has been a crazy busy week.  My buddy Lee wanted to go on a ride this weekend.  I had so much scheduled, I was afraid I would have no time.

Things sort of worked out for a short local loop:


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A nice quiet break at the pull-off in the lower Klamath Wildlife Refuge.  Many many flights of geese, and saw some pelicans that have returned to the Basin.

Photo courtesy of  Lee "Angryasianguy" Lawson

Probably the best stop was at the Polar Cub in Merrill, complete with old fashioned TALL soft-serve ice cream cones.  I had mine dipped in chocolate.  Highly recommended.

Finished the loop with some nice riding along Hill Road.

The big down side is the realization that my tires are well used up.  I may have some commuting over to the Rogue Valley in a bit more than a week, and I basically don't dare do it until I have replaced my tires.  Thankfully I have them on hand already, and all the tools.  Also, really need to do an oil and oil filter change out, and also a check and clean on my air filter.

A few years ago my friend Chris bought a Vado HD video recorder. I really didn't care for the fact that it used a specialized battery, and I also didn't care for it having integral internal memory only. At the time, I preferred a Kodak video recorder, the Zx1 if I recall correctly.

Chris mentioned that the Vado 1st gen had come down to close to $50 in price, which was just too good to pass up. Now someday, I want to get a Hero HD, as they are just an incredible little camera/video recorder - http://gopro.com/products/ But for now, this does a good job, and its simple enough my older son is having a lot of fun with it too. Its also inexpensive enough we don't worry about him using it.

On Easter afternoon my family decided we needed a few items from the local Fred Meyer. With no real fuss or excitement, I decided to try to record the rides there and back.

I found out: just setting the video recorder in my safety vest pocket did a fairly decent job...far better in fact than I had hoped; the video recorder is just drop dead simple to use; simple editing seems...simple enough, but I didn't bother for this. Uploading with a Clearwire was PAINFULLY slow...but did work. I ended up getting an account on Youtube, it seemed like a small bother, but was easy enough. Now I am trying to see if I can link my videos to this blog.

Video one: Riding to Fred Meyer, testing the Vado HD.

Video two: Riding home from Fred Meyer, testing the Vado HD.

At the 5:20 mark you will see the historic Balsanger Ford Building with its Eqyptian motiff.

I feel pretty happy to have learned how to embed the videos here in my blog. Small steps, but good ones. I think developing a helmet mount would be nice. Being able to add narration would be great - the Vado doesn't have a mic jack. I may be able to set up a audio recorder with a mic in the helmet, and would hope to be able to put the audio into the video file.