Cupla' lame-o tips

When out and about on the road, and you spot a pick-up truck, van, or other
construction/delivery vehicle on the side ahead, you might be in a severe
danger zone. Either his truck conked out, or something fell off and he's
trying to retrieve it before someone hits it. I have seen rakes, garbage
cans, insulation bats, fenders, furniture, lumber, tires, and insane
swerving from vehicles around me. I just slow my speed and scan the pavement
till I know I'm clear. When you see a guy get out of a pickup and look
right at you, watch out for his couch in lane two.......

Working on your bike indoors and/or at night? I have found projects go much
quicker doin' the geek with a super-bright led flashlight strapped to the
noggin' no matter how many watts and lumens are pouring out of the available
lighting. It's the light WHERE you need it. The Streamlight Tasklight is
THE BOMB. Check out magnetized parts holders as a great way to organize
fasteners and small parts during assembly/diss. Don't use a front stand
unless there is a rock-solid rear stand preventing a tip-over. Take an oil
filter to Kragen et al to get the right socket. You can run the bike for
just a moment when draining the coolant so the pump can spit all the old
out.

Bike handling a little worse? Thinking about some suspension mods or even
gasp a new bike? Try changing the tires you cheapskate skinflint. I am so
guilty of trying to extract the last 20 feet out of a pair of tires it's
embarrassing. Since old tires get turned into asphalt or seniors' homes
buffet items there's no eco-guilt on our part really, and updating to a
newer tire model has always paid off in better handling in my experience.
Now you might not want to blow $300 or more after a season of ripping
canyons and mountain passes, 'cuz there still some tread left and no belt is
showing, but weren't you just thinking of ripping your forks and shocks out
a minute ago? This tip is for those like me who will overlook the obvious
in an attempt to stretch their tire dollars. God I love my new Metz
z-6's......my wobbling days are but a memory.....

Every now and then, you have to turn a wrench on your helmut!! Don't wait
till hurtling through an I-5 bug-storm at 100mph to find out your faceshield
is a bit loose.......I did happen to have dental floss in my jacket tho.....

There is also a perception amongst a fair amount of newer riders in the city
that chain adjustment occurs when the final drive is making more noise than
the engine and exhaust combined. I suggest a quick check of chain slack
when your chain is so noisy that car alarms go off as you rip up the street.

Anybody with a turbo'ed Busa is welcome to disagree with this posting.

Later!!
Alex
'97 yzf1000 modded with dual .50cal mini's and four fairing-mounted sam-3's,
really

 

I agree that it's nice to be putting utility miles on the old
workhorse. I've now been commuting on my (shaftie) bike three months,
and it's a totally different type of riding. My 26-mile commute (each
way) consists almost exclusively of a straight shot up or down 101 along
the Peninsula. I use the carpool lane of course, blaring past the
bumper-to-bumper traffic at 75 mph or so. The part I hate is my
constant struggle with the urge to squeeze around slower vehicles,
between them and the even slower traffic to the right, leading me to
take stupid and quite unnecessary risks, especially when the offending
vehicles are passenger buses and large trucks. They should have therapy
groups for impatient riders like me. Notwithstanding, since my riding
is now almost exclusively in these straight shot commutes with little
twisting and turning, I'm considering for my next tire change longer
lasting, harder compound tires, rather than the stickier, short-lived
variety. Is that a dumb idea?
Khaled

 

Moreover, it brings some entertainment into an otherwise dull 30-something
miles. My commute is from Willow Glen to Pleasanton, and as such it is
against traffic and does not encounter sticky points, especially considering
the leave home at 6.30am, head back home at 7.30pm schedule I try to stick
to on normal days.

Mine's up 680 in the morning, down in the evening, and twice a week all
around the place for meetings.

My strategy usually is to simply follow the lead of fast driving cars on the
left lane. And they usually do 680 at 85mph and sometimes more. My theiry
being the cops would nail the car rather than the stealthier, smaller bike.
I have been wrong before, though.

The left of the left lane seems to be the safest spot for bikes, in my
general experience. Middle lanes are the ones where one has to go with
traffic and cagers are most likely to oversee someone claiming the other
lane. I have been cut off n the middle lane very often, just very
occasionally on the left lane when going faster than traffic, and typically
with very good visibility into the offense. It is incredible how one can
sometimes "sense" it coming, for some reason you'll identify one car as most
likely to cut into your lane, and then it will indeed do so. Odd. But
hopefully it always stays that way. I am very thankful for it.

I don't think it's a dumb idea at all. I want to check how much life I get
out of the current sport tourer rubber I put on my R1100S, and if the
current Metzeler Z6 seem to short lived I might actually go harder. True
sport riding rubber is definitely not an option when you put up to 2,000
miles a month on the bike, it has to be sport touring at most, perhaps only
touring stuff.. we'll see. It's less the cost of the rubber than the
inconvenience of having to go for tire change pit-stops too often.

....pablo

 

Hmmm...another tip here. Forward mounted missiles will guarantee a
debris field which you will have to negotiate after blasting that Hummer
out of your lane.

barbz

 

Just recently i replaced the OEM battery on my cage
which has 136k miles on it in last 6.1 years. It has
original brakepads too, which needs to be replaced soon.
Really unbelievable, even considering its mostly highway
miles.

//mxlr

 

Or some balance in between - Often times you have a choice for a given
model tire so you can opt for more stickiness or longer life.

In any case it is better to throw out a few mm of tread than tempt fate:
a buddy tried to squeek out the last bit of tire and wound up with a
blow out on a country road. Luckily all he lost was time (he had free
towing and bought a replacement tire at local shop for a reasonable
price!) - but if he had been really leaning into a turn when it went the
results might have been different!

 

barbz uttered poignantly:

What I want is some sort of flame-throwing setup for tailgaters.
If I'm in the right lane, and there is no room in front of me, what do
they want me to do?


-Joe

 

That's about when I'm heading south too, from Redwood City to San Jose,
on a black BMW K1200RS, "Battuta." I'll be sure to wave when I see
you. And speaking of which, is it gauche to wave with your right hand,
seein' as how I often use my cruise control, to give my throttle wrist a
break?
Khaled

 

I saw this yesterday, taking my wife to a Dr appointment. There we were
in the Civic, doing 75 in the carpool lane on 85 S between De Anza and
880. This Gixxer rider in a t-shirt, shorts, flip flops, and FF helmet
splits between me and the *stopped* line of trucks, suvs, and mini vans
to my right (two of them were showing their left turn signals!). When I
realized he was going to make the move anyway, I edged left to open the
gap. My reward was that when he got past, he turned, looked at us, and
flipped me off.

Me, I always pass on the left.

Mr Impatient
K100rs

 

I seem to get more tailgaters at night - and they scare me.
I have thought of a nightime tailgater deterence: a 12V 50W outdoor
lights (~$20) mounted on the rear pointing straight back add some red
translucent plastic (to make it a super brake light) and wire up a
switch & a fuse. When someone rides my tail - give it to 'em!

But don't do it when there are cops around....

 

why screw with that? use a foglamp and put a 100W H3 in it

 

I'm confused. You pass on the left, even when you're in the leftmost,
carpool lane? Is that legal?
Khaled

 

Foglamps would be cool but seriously, you can buy these lamps at OSH for
$20, complete with their own mount and wiring. They are small enough to
conceal ... in fact, I use one on my bicycle at night (along with a
gel-cell from a UPS) and cars flash their brights at me

They aren't as good as my PIAA lights but at 10% the cost they are a
MUCH better deal!!

 

John Beck uttered poignantly:

That is a really good idea! It's similar to my dream of a trunk
full of capacitors and kilowatt flashbulbs, that can pop up/open at the
touch of a button on the dashboard (obviously not a motorcycle
solution).


-Joe