I heard a long time ago someone said
Only use the tools in your tool kit to do any work on your bike.
Pretty soon your kit will have everything you need.
While I don't use the kit as the only source of tools for working on the bike, I do carry an extensive one that doesn't take up much room
It's in three bags, two zippered pouches and a tool rool.
In the tool roll I have a BMW tool kit that has had Japanese bike sizes added
I'm too lazy to make a jap bike and a euro bike kit
so I just use one.
I've narrowed down the kit to what follows
I ride old bikes that need a lot of work...
A lot of the time so I need to bring my tools with me.
Wrenches
Combo and box ends
6,8x2,9,10x2,11x2,12x2,13x2,14,17,19,22,24
Adjustable end wrench
Slip joint pliers
Locking needle nose
5 way screwdriver (wide"-" narrow "-" #2"+", #3"+" 1/4bit)
spark plug wrench
Small section of hacksaw blade
12v test light
Small section of clear hose for brake bleeding(just enough to keep brake fluid off the paint)
lug wrench (it's a BMW thing)
hook spanner (for shock preload)
tire irons
small section of sandpaper (400 girt)
bicycle tire pump
tire pressure gauge
hex keys
Front axle multi nut tool
$20 dollar bill and a couple of singles
Leatherman multi tool
Wiring diagram of the bike I'm on.
If I need it.
I'm sure I'm missing something.
I don't carry sockets in the road bike tool kit
I do in the offroad kit.
In the two other bags
I have a tire kit
With a little cut down compressor
and a tire kit for tube and tubeless tires
Along with that is a 6foot section of fuel line
and I soon will be added an off-road style tow rope.
In the other bag is the "bike first-aid" kit
It contains the stuff needed to fix the kind of things you need to fix
on a bike by the side of the road.
Fuses
Master link
Section of wiring one in red one in black
Small selection of crimp connections
Handful of
Nuts, bolts, washers, screws, clips, and hose clamps
Safety wire, duct tape, electrical tape,fiber packing tape
zip ties
Section of a coke can to patch holes in cases
Small bottle of tri-flow oil as a last resort chain and other lube.
(double baggie this it stinks!)
Sparkplugs.
I always keep a basic kit on the bike
with a compass, lighter, firestarter, knife, e-blanket, whistle, first aid kit, heat packs
I overpack on tools and stuff
But then I'm most often the one who gets to help out others.
It's all well and good if you know how to use the stuff
If you don't know how to fix the bike that's the best thing you can do. Learn. Seek out an experienced wrench in your area
and see if they could help you out
Here in LA there are a number of ways you can get some wrenching skills if you need them.
In my experience the things that have stopped people most often
other then crashing
Is electrical trouble that's the first area to learn as much as you can about the basic idea of how your bike's system works.
Squish
The opinions I post are mine solely,
Monday, November 3, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
CAFERACER Ride IN
Ripped from Ed's blog
http://guzzitech.blogspot.com/
This Sat
Alex's bar LBC from 5pm on
Yup, it's been a long time. I've been busy.
Some changes round these parts.
The Caferacer "thing" that has led my moto tastes was also parallel by a lust for what have now become Adventure Touring bikes.
We just called them ParisDakar or rally style bikes.
Since I last updated I bought the 919 being offered it at a price that didn't make sense to pass up.
I'm still enjoying this bike very much thank you
And I got a BMW R100GS up and running. I've had this bike for two years
I bought it in non running condition as kind of a barn find.
It's turning out to be a good deal but it will take some time to sort out the details
It's amazing how close the BMW is to the DL650 in terms of power.
But there is an old bike quality and a mellow quality that I really like about old BMW's
Then last but not least.
Dirt. I've found I really like Dirt.
We have spent some time this past summer dirt riding in Kern County
And when I say dirt riding I mean real, Honest to Dog single track.
not the weird dusty sand washy backward baseball hat wearing infested wrong way one way trail drunk riding areas that are all over SoCal
But real interesting looking challenging trails with not very many people around.
And I proceeded to break the XR250L
blew the shock into a dripping shell of it's former self.
As luck would have it a new one costs an arm and leg
So here I am I just ordered up all new dirt gear.
Like eightfreakinghundreddollarsdoingmypartokeeptheeconomyflowing worth
and I don't have a bike to ride.
There in lies the next thing.
I've fallen hard with new motolust
This is not that weird for me it happens about every 6months.
But this time there is an intersection of busted bike bad mojo on the economy
and a really good deal on a new KLX250 at dealer cost.
So here's the plan.
I get the 250L shock somehow bodged back together and then try and buy the kawasaki
We shall see if it will work.
Some changes round these parts.
The Caferacer "thing" that has led my moto tastes was also parallel by a lust for what have now become Adventure Touring bikes.
We just called them ParisDakar or rally style bikes.
Since I last updated I bought the 919 being offered it at a price that didn't make sense to pass up.
I'm still enjoying this bike very much thank you
And I got a BMW R100GS up and running. I've had this bike for two years
I bought it in non running condition as kind of a barn find.
It's turning out to be a good deal but it will take some time to sort out the details
It's amazing how close the BMW is to the DL650 in terms of power.
But there is an old bike quality and a mellow quality that I really like about old BMW's
Then last but not least.
Dirt. I've found I really like Dirt.
We have spent some time this past summer dirt riding in Kern County
And when I say dirt riding I mean real, Honest to Dog single track.
not the weird dusty sand washy backward baseball hat wearing infested wrong way one way trail drunk riding areas that are all over SoCal
But real interesting looking challenging trails with not very many people around.
And I proceeded to break the XR250L
blew the shock into a dripping shell of it's former self.
As luck would have it a new one costs an arm and leg
So here I am I just ordered up all new dirt gear.
Like eightfreakinghundreddollarsdoingmypartokeeptheeconomyflowing worth
and I don't have a bike to ride.
There in lies the next thing.
I've fallen hard with new motolust
This is not that weird for me it happens about every 6months.
But this time there is an intersection of busted bike bad mojo on the economy
and a really good deal on a new KLX250 at dealer cost.
So here's the plan.
I get the 250L shock somehow bodged back together and then try and buy the kawasaki
We shall see if it will work.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
The Long test ride...
Or....
Have I become the biker I thought I would become when I first started riding...
I've been riding a Honda 919 for the last few weeks.
It's one of the newer ones not the early flat black bikes.
The first time I spent any time on a 919 I came away thinking.
"YAWN" my that's a nice bike. A touch boring but nice.
It still is to some point. It's like a nighthawk 900.
It's really more of a CB900f. (and it should be that is it's official name.
As typical of most late model "naked" bikes
The seating position is set up for some weird short legged short armed rider.
While I'm really short legged I'm broad of shoulder (some might even say beam-ie)
and long of arm.
Bikes like these make me feel like my wrists are in my lap.
But stepping back from the bike and looking at it not from the foggy glasses of someone who's been on tons of bikes and been riding for nearly 20 years
I sit down and I look at it and I take myself back to my early days of street riding.
Me and my friends bikes parked in front of the cafe paradiso
It's around 11:30 and the wet Seattle streets reflect all the neon and street lights
It's a motley group of bikes.
And old CB750 sohc, a SWB BMW, Ducati 750, slab-slide GSXRrat bike
And we are talking, talking about what would be a cool new bike.
Honda just released the CBR900RR but that was a squid bike.
Ahhh what if the would just make that bike naked. Or even a small fairing.
And matte black....
But keep the gold calipers they add that touch of "works"
15 years later.
I've owned a variety of different bikes over the years
I've tried em all. Touring, super-sports, liter class, dual sports, adventure touring, supermotos,
caferacers, and many others.
But riding the 919, it puts me back to those early days. Of the kind of bike I would love to have been able to have been on then.
Power, reliability, style, function and of course speed.
It makes me want to just get on the bike and explore, enjoy riding for riding
simple no frills no pigeon hole that the bike fit's you into.
It's just a motorcycle..
Have I become the biker I thought I would become when I first started riding...
I've been riding a Honda 919 for the last few weeks.
It's one of the newer ones not the early flat black bikes.
The first time I spent any time on a 919 I came away thinking.
"YAWN" my that's a nice bike. A touch boring but nice.
It still is to some point. It's like a nighthawk 900.
It's really more of a CB900f. (and it should be that is it's official name.
As typical of most late model "naked" bikes
The seating position is set up for some weird short legged short armed rider.
While I'm really short legged I'm broad of shoulder (some might even say beam-ie)
and long of arm.
Bikes like these make me feel like my wrists are in my lap.
But stepping back from the bike and looking at it not from the foggy glasses of someone who's been on tons of bikes and been riding for nearly 20 years
I sit down and I look at it and I take myself back to my early days of street riding.
Me and my friends bikes parked in front of the cafe paradiso
It's around 11:30 and the wet Seattle streets reflect all the neon and street lights
It's a motley group of bikes.
And old CB750 sohc, a SWB BMW, Ducati 750, slab-slide GSXRrat bike
And we are talking, talking about what would be a cool new bike.
Honda just released the CBR900RR but that was a squid bike.
Ahhh what if the would just make that bike naked. Or even a small fairing.
And matte black....
But keep the gold calipers they add that touch of "works"
15 years later.
I've owned a variety of different bikes over the years
I've tried em all. Touring, super-sports, liter class, dual sports, adventure touring, supermotos,
caferacers, and many others.
But riding the 919, it puts me back to those early days. Of the kind of bike I would love to have been able to have been on then.
Power, reliability, style, function and of course speed.
It makes me want to just get on the bike and explore, enjoy riding for riding
simple no frills no pigeon hole that the bike fit's you into.
It's just a motorcycle..
Monday, March 31, 2008
HP2
I had high hopes for this bike.
It's got a stonking new and light weight dual plugged fuel injected engine.
It's got real almost normal suspension....
It's almost normal looking.
But alas.
It sucked. The whole time I'm riding the bike I kept thinking
this think cost 20K. Man people must be stupid to pay that much for it.
Here's a brief lowdown on the bike I'm glad I don't like.
It's tall. The cylinder heads hit me just under my kneecaps I think I have bruises.
The side stand is way to low and this tall heavy bike is a son of female dog to get up and off the stand.
The suspension is wacked. It's way off.
Now mind you I didn't mess with it a lick.
but the forks had too little compression.
And the rear, well that was just like riding on a balloon.
And the vibrations.
Well lets just say it makes my guzzi feel like a gold wing.
Oh then there is the fact that the gas tank has less range then a sporty.
Whats good....
The roll-on at 60mph was kind of fun.
IN stark contrast I picked up my long term 919.
Wow! Can Honda put together a nice motorcycle.
Boring, transparent. But very very nice.
it's very much the new milk crate commuter.
And this bike fits that to a "T" with a massive top box.
It's the size of the boxes you used to see in the back of pizza hut trucks.
The bike while on it feels lots like a really fast really light CB900.
Which is good because that's what it really is.
The fuel injection is a touch snatchy but you get used to it quick like.
And the little fly screen (HAC) works really well.
I don't think you would need anything else for wind protection.
Look for more info once the new bike newness and giddyness wears off and the bike starts to wear on me.
It's got a stonking new and light weight dual plugged fuel injected engine.
It's got real almost normal suspension....
It's almost normal looking.
But alas.
It sucked. The whole time I'm riding the bike I kept thinking
this think cost 20K. Man people must be stupid to pay that much for it.
Here's a brief lowdown on the bike I'm glad I don't like.
It's tall. The cylinder heads hit me just under my kneecaps I think I have bruises.
The side stand is way to low and this tall heavy bike is a son of female dog to get up and off the stand.
The suspension is wacked. It's way off.
Now mind you I didn't mess with it a lick.
but the forks had too little compression.
And the rear, well that was just like riding on a balloon.
And the vibrations.
Well lets just say it makes my guzzi feel like a gold wing.
Oh then there is the fact that the gas tank has less range then a sporty.
Whats good....
The roll-on at 60mph was kind of fun.
IN stark contrast I picked up my long term 919.
Wow! Can Honda put together a nice motorcycle.
Boring, transparent. But very very nice.
it's very much the new milk crate commuter.
And this bike fits that to a "T" with a massive top box.
It's the size of the boxes you used to see in the back of pizza hut trucks.
The bike while on it feels lots like a really fast really light CB900.
Which is good because that's what it really is.
The fuel injection is a touch snatchy but you get used to it quick like.
And the little fly screen (HAC) works really well.
I don't think you would need anything else for wind protection.
Look for more info once the new bike newness and giddyness wears off and the bike starts to wear on me.
How many blog entries start out...
Saying
It's been way to long since I've posted anything...
Nov. is the last time.
When I nearly cut my finger off.
Well in the time since then I've broken, fixed and broken the Guzzi again.
This time I've had a major move forward or rather I hope that I've had a major move forward
I cleaned up most the nasty wiring around the diode board and the fuse block.
Replacing the old and worn out connections along the way.
I'm hoping that this solves the hard starting/not starting issues the bike has had of late.
I went to see what was wrong and the positive lead from the battery to the starter motor came apart in my hand.
This then spiraled out of control with project creep and the next thing I know.
The whole charging and fuse block pieces were off the bike and spread between the kitchen, shop and the office.
I took photos before so I could rewire the mess.
Only my CF card took a dump.
The first time I've ever had one do that.
Thankfully I got a software hookup that fixed me right up.
Now, while digging around in the nether regions of the Guzzi bowels I discovered that the battery is very close to wearing a hole in it's side (and it's still held in only by the grace of doG and gravity.) I'll be fixing that before the next ride.
As well as the now none working front brake light switch.
At least those will be easy fixes.
The side cover is still plaguing me with how to keep it one the bike
with the wicked vibrations the machine makes.
It's been way to long since I've posted anything...
Nov. is the last time.
When I nearly cut my finger off.
Well in the time since then I've broken, fixed and broken the Guzzi again.
This time I've had a major move forward or rather I hope that I've had a major move forward
I cleaned up most the nasty wiring around the diode board and the fuse block.
Replacing the old and worn out connections along the way.
I'm hoping that this solves the hard starting/not starting issues the bike has had of late.
I went to see what was wrong and the positive lead from the battery to the starter motor came apart in my hand.
This then spiraled out of control with project creep and the next thing I know.
The whole charging and fuse block pieces were off the bike and spread between the kitchen, shop and the office.
I took photos before so I could rewire the mess.
Only my CF card took a dump.
The first time I've ever had one do that.
Thankfully I got a software hookup that fixed me right up.
Now, while digging around in the nether regions of the Guzzi bowels I discovered that the battery is very close to wearing a hole in it's side (and it's still held in only by the grace of doG and gravity.) I'll be fixing that before the next ride.
As well as the now none working front brake light switch.
At least those will be easy fixes.
The side cover is still plaguing me with how to keep it one the bike
with the wicked vibrations the machine makes.
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