Where is everyone?

[Tony Smith]

Has the impending Northern Hemisphere winter sent all R65 riders there into hibernation? Gee but it quiet here lately.

[nhmaf]

I cannot speak for our friends down round Texas way - but they've had some sizable storms in that area.

I haven't been here as much - or riding much - as I've started a new job at the end of August, and it has been taking an extravagant amount of my time getting up to speed and also trying to not get buried by the amount of work that they allowed to pile up before they hired me.   Autumn is my favorite time of year to ride, too - hopefully will get out and see a few remaining leaves before they fall off the trees this weekend...

[Barry]

I'm still riding to work every day but the bike never goes wrong.

I did give it a good clean on Sunday and then it's annual pre-winter coat of waxoyl.  Only got in minor trouble for heating the waxoyl up in the Kitchen.

And I turned 60 on Sunday. Me and the bike are aging nicely together and only deteriorating very slowly. Long may it continue.

[Vestibulian]

Reporting in from Australia, we're all still kicking, but I couldn't tell you what's happening Stateside.

And I turned 60 on Sunday. Me and the bike are aging nicely together and only deteriorating very slowly. Long may it continue.

Congratulations Barry, that's quite a milestone!  

[Matt Chapter]

I'm commuting a couple times a week on the R65, but all my recent repairs have been completed...  The beemer just goes along with hardly any trouble.  Once I've got some more funding I'll have some interesting pictures to share, but I imagine that'll be a while.

I guess I could be flushing the front brake, but other projects are ahead in the list.  Now that the weather has turned I've been thinking about actually going out for a ride instead of just commuting.  Just have to find the time.

[montmil]

No problems with either the Airheads nor serious weather for my house.

Since the Texas summer's heat has broken, we've been to several motorcycle events lately. Also some weekday rides that are a benefit of being retired. Leaving Friday morning for the Harvest Classic in Luckenbach, Texas. Yes, I'll post a few snaps. Always class BMWs on site.

I have been assisting a local friend in getting his '78 R100 back up to snuff. He may need a clutch disc this winter. Outside of dusting the Airheads, it's nice not having bits scattered around the shop.

[Bob_Roller]

Gets quiet here on occasion .

I start my 6 week vacation on Saturday .

Finally will start working on the '81 R65, it quit on me in mid April, camshaft stopped turning .

Been too hot and not much time off of work the last 6 months to get involved with it .

The 'hot season ' has finally gone away here, temps are in the low 90's F, 32 C now .

The '82 LS started giving me problems, I parked it in May, so I've got that to work on, I think it will be a quick fix, I think I've got a bad fuel cap and it's not venting the fuel tank . Didn't think about it until this past week, like I said have not much free time the last 6 months, or enthusiasm to work in 105-110 F, 40-43 C temps in the garage .

The Guzzi has electrical problems .

The oilhead needs a transmission input spline lube to do as well .

I'll be busy the next few weeks on the bikes .  

[Crossrodes]

Well I finally got the R65 up and running.  The short I had that discharged the battery has disappeared since I have been messing around with several cables and the diode board.  When I first put it back together I noticed it was idling very fast when it was warmed up.  I found one of the choke cables "unwound" from the carb.  Fixed that and now it idles almost OK.  Sometimes it's "lumpy" so I put some carb cleaner in the gas.  When it stops raining here I'll take it out for a ride to see if I can settle it down.

[Luca]

About this time of the year it seems that all the problems have been sorted.... or at least addressed and put on the to do list.

Heidi, the R65 has ticked over 6K faultless commuting miles this season and just got switched to to Mobil 1 V-Twin 20-50 synthetic.  Now she leaks... seems to be the oil pressure switch.  Oh well, not the oil's fault.

Little Miss Miata got a replacement front crossmember, steering rack, and four wheels and lightly used tires (they were $200 altogether, not much more than the two front tires it needed, and the new wheels are the lightweight version!).  A little bit of cleaning up and maintenance were also included, as well as a fresh state inspection sticker.  Four wheel alignment in the driveway is coming up... but I just know that some of the rear lower control arm eccentric bolts will snap off when I look at them with a wrench in hand.

The K bike sits half apart and wholly unloved.  Hopefully I'll get it back together this winter, and then maybe take the LS off the road to paint the frame and do some other "can wait" bits of care.

I've got plenty of time to tinker... just need another/better job for the money to support my vehicular habits.  Recently quit the smoking habit... occasional homicidal musings and an unfused temper make Luca best left as a solitary creature.

[Ed Miller]

I don't have much going on.  My bike runs fine, but I've been riding it a lot less as I recently acquired a car that gets quite a bit better mpg (2004 Honda Insight 5 speed) and the rainy season has started.  Not as much reason to be a bad ass biker when I'm just wasting gas to do it.  

I need to install my new-to-me Windjammer on the bike and some new 20 watt LED fog/running lights that I got.  A machinist at work made some aluminum mounts that will attach to my front frame and poke through the fairing mount loops.  Until then that bike will be pretty hard for me to ride at night.

[DeeG]

I've not had very good luck with any bike in the last two weeks.

Was going to ride the R850R to my karate lesson.  I warm it up, then park it outside the garage, so I could lock up.  Notice a drip of fluid on the tank.  Hmmm... Not raining, didn't wash the bike...  Sigh...sprung a leak in the master cylinder.  Bike goes back into the garage and I grab the Honda Rebel.

Two days later I need to oil the chain on the Rebel.  I had bought a home made center stand from another rider and its worked great for the last two years.  But this time, it won't deploy.  Seems one of the pivot bolts has backed out. Now waiting on email reply from the maker on what size bolt that was.

Then last Tuesday, I replace the battery in the Guzzi V7C and take off for work. I get about 10 miles down the road and I'm climbing a slight grade. I roll on the throttle to pass a semi truck and the bike hesitates and just doesn't seem to have the power it usually does.  Well, the fuel is three months old.  I cross the bridge into town and now its taking almost full throttle to keep it at 35 mph.  I decide to pull over. I pull in the clutch and bike just stops. What the heck?  I get off the bike and try to push it to the curb. It ain't moving.  then I notice smoke from the rear caliper.  And now flames!  Seems the rear brake had locked up.  Off duty firefighter stops behind me and has an extinguisher.  Only damage is to the caliper and rotor.

Those three, along with the R45 that has no cylinders on it and the F650GS which is currently waiting for me to purchase new steering head bearings..  I give up.

I'm afraid to ride.  What else is going to break?    

[decorn33]

Rosanna Rosannadanna was right! "There's always somethi'n..."

[Justin B.]

Dee, I've had days like that, too!  Look on the bright side, you now have enough projects to keep you from getting bored this winter!  

[DeeG]

You are right Justin!  

Got the bolt for the Rebel, taking the GS stem to have old bearings removed and new ones put on, m/c is done for the 850, just have to install and bleed brakes.  I managed to install a new pair of inlet manifolds on it as the old ones were showing some cracking, and since riding season is about over, I did an oil change on it as well.

Not going to fuss with the Classic until the GS is off the lift. Putting out the word to a couple folks I know that if they find a wrecked bike to let me know.  When pete hit a coyote on the Nevada a couple years ago, we found a Nevada with a blown up engine being parted out.  Saved a bunch of $$ that way.

[Motu]

I didn't ride to work much over winter, did a few things to the bike, like make my small fibreglass top loaders fit onto the stock pannier frames, secured with just one wing nut each. Another thing I did was replace the leaking neutral light switch.  Come spring and I'm back on the bike for the 40km commute...and it's getting hard to get into 1st from neutral.  Must be that neutral switch I thought, but it's still the same with no switch in place.  I can get 1st from 2nd, but not neutral. Not hard to ride around, but I'm a bit puzzled as to why.

A couple of weeks later I find out why - coming out of a corner in 2nd, it's 3rd, 3rd, 3rd. I suspect the pawl spring has broken, the lever is spring loaded to centre, but no gear selection.  So I'm into a gearbox strip and rebuild now - I made a drive flange puller today, just need some longer 8mm x 1mm pitch bolts, hundreds of bolts at home and work, but none of that pitch.

I last rebuilt an Airhead gearbox in 1981, well before the internet and gurus making things hard.