Previews of Coming Attractions

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Wrenching

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The chain adjustment on many bikes consists of a carrier with a threaded stud extending to the rear with an adjustment nut and jamb nut to hold it at the desired position. 

On my Ninja 650R, the nuts are two different sizes across flats, the larger being for adjustment, the smaller for locking the first.  Well, I have adjusted the chain a few times, and I changed it for new once, so each time, I have had to adjust these nuts. 

The first couple of times, I used a standard box-end wrench from my toolbox.  Unfortunately, the thickness of the larger wrench is greater than the thickness of the large nut.  This caused the smaller wrench on the small nut to slip off, rounding its corners.

In hindsight -- always 20/20 -- I should have used the wrenches in the bike's toolkit.  Duh.  

Not wanting to show off my ineptness to every passerby, I replaced the damaged nuts the last time I had the rear wheel off for a tire change and chain adjustment. 

To avoid a repeat performance, I bought a couple of wrenches specifically for making this adjustment, one 12mm, and the other 14mm.  The larger of the new wrenches was also too thick, and would have caused the same problem.  I solved this issue by grinding down the thickness of the larger wrench to match the thickness of that nut: The left side of the right hand wrench in the picture below. 

Here is a shot of the wrenches in place for adjustment. 

A nice fit, and they don't slip off. 

I found a small plastic box to store the wrenches in, and I put a card in there with them showing the socket sizes of the axle and its castle nut, the range of chain play that is acceptable, and the torque to which the axle nut should be tightened. 

That saves me from digging in the service manual every time I have to make an adjustment.  You can see I have fingered it several times with my greasy digits. 

This pair of wrenches that fit properly works much better.  The small wrench doesn't slip off now, and my new hardware remains like new. 
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Memorial Day

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This Memorial Day, remember that only two forces were willing to die for us;
Jesus who died for our souls, and
the American soldier, who is willing to die for our freedom.

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Got My Goat

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The other day, I went out on a quick ride of only sixty or so miles to break in a set of new brake linings and a new rear tire.  It had been raining for several days and it threatened rain in the morning, but I went out anyway, taking my rainsuit, glove covers, and boot covers along just in case.

I wanted to go on a route that would not put too much braking stress on the new linings until they have around 250 miles on them.  That new rear tire could also be a bit slick.

I laid out a tentative route that was augmented by some wandering around on roads near Pickens South Carolina.  I wanted a few mostly sweeping curves and quite a few places to apply the brakes to get them accustomed to the old disks.

To my surprise, at an intersection stop sign, I came across a man and two goats.  One goat was within a fenced field near the road, but the other was loose and became very interested in me as I came to a stop.  He came across the road and happily ambled up to me, almost as though he had a smile on his face, having just spotted an old friend. 

I was concerned that I was about to witness goaticide aided by a fast car coming on the cross road.  Fortunately, that didn't take place. 

Well, I am not the old goat's old friend, but I must have looked enough like one to suit him.  The farmer came across the road toward me, grabbed his errant charge by a horn, and led him back to his pen.

I didn't think to get the camera out to record this momentous event, and I went on my way.  

A few miles further, I was putting along on Old Saluda Dam Road, and was rounding a gentle right hander, when I spotted something: 

More goats.  This time, congregated in the road in front of me! 

I wasn't going fast, and I was rounding the curve near the centerline, as I should have been for best sight distance.  This little herd had come from a dirt driveway on the right beyond the curve a short ways.  Of course, I was startled to see this sight, and had to take action.

I didn't think too much about it, but I applied the front and rear brakes, gently at first, then straightened up the bike and headed into the opposite lane before I braked the bike a bit more aggressively.  Fortunately, I could see far enough ahead, and there was nothing coming the other way, so there was little drama. 

The point is, though, that anything can turn up on the road just around the next curve or over the next rise.  Today, it was some errant and curious goats.  Tomorrow it could be a pile of sand washed across the road, or a pile of -- well -- excrement, wet leaves, a bird lacking navigational skills, or one of many other hazards. 

Worse, it could be another vehicle or a downed tree.  You just never know. 

So, even though it was not a close call, I am glad I pulled on my best crash costume this morning, and was riding within my sight distance.  I might have needed that crash gear today, what will all these things potentially trying to get my goat. 

Happy riding, and ATGATT rules!  See the difference here. 
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Time to Re-Tire and Take a Brake

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No, I am not yet old enough to retire, and I'm not going into a hiatus from the bike, but my front tire wore out and my back tire was close behind it. 

Most of you know that I am not a very aggressive rider.  My last two front tires, Michelin Pilot Road 2s, lasted 15,000 and 12,000 miles, while the rear average about 11,000, not including one that got punctured during my trip down the gravel Musterground Road at 8,500 miles.

Don't you sportbiker hoodlums make fun of my tire life that's three times what yours is.  I like to make things last a long time, you know.  [Now, if I could get some wear on the sides of the tires, too....]

I noticed something I had not previously seen on that last front tire.  It was slightly more worn on the left side than on the right.  I attribute this to higher speeds and lean angles on left-hand curves than on right.  I suppose this is because of the greater sight distance on left handers.
Edit: One of my blog readers, rc5695, pointed out in his comment below what should have been obvious to me: That the wear is caused more by the crown of the roads.  That makes sense. 


I sent away for a new Michelin Pilot Road 3 front at Jake Wilson, and had it put on at the Powersports dealer on Wade Hampton Boulevard in Greenville.  They almost always have time to do it while you wait, and they use the proper clip-on balance weights.  Some other places use stick on weights that are functional, but leave a sticky mess when removed.

Oh, by the way, the Cycle Gear store is right next to the Powersports dealer, so you can kill two birds with one stone, drooling over all manner of bikes and accessories.

I have noticed that there is a surprising contrast between these two stores.   The sales people in the Powersports dealer have never asked if they could help me, despite my milling around the showroom while waiting for tire changes.  By contrast, the Cycle Gear store clerks always ask, but don't push.  I would think that with such rotten sales over the last few years, the Powersports personnel would at least ask.  Who knows, maybe I could be persuaded to buy some of their two-wheeled wares.  (Don't tell my wife that I could be tempted, though.) 

My last rear tire finally wore out, too after a little over 9000 miles, so I looked around and found that STG had the lowest price on a Pilot Road 2.  That previous tire, a Pilot Road 3, lasted about 2000 miles less than the Pilot Road 2 before it, so I went back to a 2.  Powersports also mounted this one. 

Look here.  Nice and shiny.  Hasn't touched the road yet. 

By the way, do you know where the phrase "Time to Re-Tire" in my title comes from?  It is the slogan of the Fisk Tire Company.  Actually, the entirety of the slogan is "Time to Re-Tire. Get a Fisk."

1951 Fisk Tires original vintage advertisement.
It features the Big Boy tire with white sidewall protected with scuff guard.
Manufactured by United States Rubber Company.

The little Fisk Tire boy first appeared in 1907 when Burr Giffen, a young commercial artist working for Fisk Tire Company, sketched a figure of a yawning boy wearing pajamas. His right arm encircled a tire, and his left hand held a candle. Fisk management was enthusiastic about the sketch, and the clever slogan "Time to Re-Tire" was inked in below the figure. The drawing was copyrighted in 1910 and was registered as a trademark in the U.S. Patent Office in 1914.

While I was changing the tires, I noticed that the brake linings were getting a little thin -- not worn to the indicator grooves, but probably worthwhile replacing.  I looked at OEM replacements, but they are quite expensive.  Then I looked at Blue Ridge Performance, a shop that caters to the Ninja 650R. They sell EBC brand HH linings.  Being the miser I am, I continued to search for a low price.  Ebay to the rescue.  I found a complete set of four front pads for $50, and a set of two rear for $25.  I hit Buy It Now, and had all of them in my hands within three days.

The pretty new ones, and the dirty originals:

I have the bike's service manual, so installing the brakes was straightforward.  I am always careful to adhere to the proper installation torque of fasteners on my bike, so the torque wrench comes out frequently during servicing. 

How many of you recognize the bending beam style torque wrench I am using here? 

I decided to flush the brake lines while I was at it, so I got out my very sophisticated bleeding rig -- a hose submerged in some brake fluid in a jar.  Brake fluid is hygroscopic, so it pays to flush out the old occasionally, say every 30,000 miles or so. 

The procedure is simple, if a little tedious.  Just apply light brake pressure on the lever, open the bleeder screw, squeeze slowly not quite to the end of stroke, close the bleeder, then release the lever.  Do this over and over until new fluid comes out of the hose.  Keep the brake master cylinder reservoir full, though, or you will introduce air into the lines that is very difficult to purge.  Keep the brake fluid off the paint and plastic too.  It tends to eat them up. 

You can see that I have also removed the Hippo Hands for the summer.  I hope it stays warm now. 

Now this is something you don't see very often these days, on the back of the new linings:

Here are the new rear linings snuggled into their proper places. 

Hmmmm.  New tires and new brakes.  Pretty soon, this will be like a new bike: I've replaced the chain, adjusted the valve clearance, cleaned and spruced up the outside, and changed the oil and filter. 

I'll report on the brake performance difference once the new linings are well worn in.  Rain is predicted this weekend, so it may be a while.

So, if you see me on the road, it'll look like I'm riding a new scoot that goes, stops, and turns almost like it just rolled off the showroom floor.  Wave when you see me!  I'll do the same. 
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Harrangue: The Skinny on Sassafras

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A couple of weeks ago, I meandered around the countryside on my trusty Ninja, and one of the places I stopped was at the top of Sassafras Mountain.  This is the highest point in South Carolina, at 3,554 feet above sea level. 

Back in 2011, I went there too, and was pleased to find an attractive wooden deck constructed so that the view to the south and west was finally visible from the top. Before that, there wasn't a good place to see into the distance in any direction that I could find. 

I thought that was great.  The area was still off the beaten path, but rather easily accessible by way of a potholed road ending in a gravel parking lot. There were usually fewer than six cars there at one time, and always a quiet place. 

The Foothills Trail runs nearby, and there are lots of people who traipse either from here or through here as they enjoy the scenery.  They recently paved the road, so it isn't potholed any more. 

Not elaborate, but a nice, simple place to get away from it all, I thought. 

Well, when I visited there the last time, that fine platform was gone, replaced by an ugly structure with a foot-high step to get onto it from the ground.  

A little research provided some additional information.  It turns out that the new platform was designed by Clemson University graduate students in architecture and landscape architecture.  They have good intentions to make a path up to it, but this thing's been there for several months with nothing else done yet. 

Dan Harding, associate professor of architecture and director of the Clemson Community Research and Design Center said, “The concept hinged on an idea that used a primary wood structure with a light, sky-blue-painted steel railing designed to leave visitors feeling as if they are floating over a wonderful rock out-cropping while remaining safely contained by the railing, which disappears into the expanding horizon.” 

Oh.  Makes me get all goose bumpy -- really touchy feely sounding, isn't it.  

I think the old structure did that just fine, and had the added benefit that it was already paid for.   

The article says that the new platform “employ[s] best practices associated with sustainable construction and resource management.”  I don't think so: The pretty blue steel railing has already begun to rust, and it provides no better view of the valleys and lakes below than the platform that was scrapped. ...and that one didn't look like a circus prop -- maybe for the human cannonball spectacle. 

I wonder what they thought was wrong with the old platform?  I also wonder whether any of the engineering students -- Masters Degree students, remember, not beginners -- had also studied economics to determine whether there had been any payback on the previous simple structure, seeing as how it was only about two years old at the time it was demolished, was perfectly functional, was unobtrusive, and was in good condition. 

I doubt it. Seems to me better that they determine that this would be a waste of money and go design something really useful. 

The funding for this unnecessary eyesore was provided by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources – in other words by your tax dollars.  Darn, that topics comes up a lot these days. 

Even more distressing, I found that there are plans for a tall observation tower to be built on the site. 

From the SCDNR webpage

This will be an even worse eyesore. 

They are attempting to get private funding, but you can bet that your tax dollars will be taken, too.

My vote: Let's keep it simple. Let's not make this a top tourist attraction, lest it be spoiled further ...and maybe not spend more money at all!
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Bikes Galore

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Yesterday, I went out for a ride as usual.  I picked a route that is similar to one I rode last year with a buddy.  Up US-178 and NC-215, onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, to the visitor center just north of Asheville North Carolina, then wandered back on too-busy roads through Fletcher, and back down US-276 through Caesars Head and back to Easley.

Like this:

View Larger Map

It was a great day to ride.  A little cool -- 41 degrees -- to start, but warming up nicely to around 77 later in the day, with low humidity.  Of course, the temperatures are lower at the higher elevation of the Parkway, so it was just about perfect weather to ride in God's country. 

There were some spots where gravel had washed across the road, and another place where matted leaves had washed across the road and created what looked like little brown mounds stuck to the road.

I managed to negotiate all these with minimal problems.  Once, on NC-215, two touring bikes coming the other way were on my side of the road as I came up on them.  They had crossed the center line to avoid some gravel, but the way they did it was not good: They should have steered a straight path through the gravel, staying in their own lane, as it was a straight section of road. 

There was something else in evidence on my ride, too.  Bikers.  Lots of them.  Dozens, no hundreds.  Maybe thousands coming south on 178 at I was headed north.  You will recall that in my last post, Wiggly Roads Nearby, I referenced the number of maniacal and not so maniacal bikers of all kinds who enjoy this section of US-178. 

They are certainly out in spades today!  More than I have ever seen through here. 

The bikers today were clad somewhat differently than the way I dress for a ride. 

Take a look: 

Yep.  Bicycles.

This is on an uphill section for them.  Their spandex-clad bodies looking fit, but struggling to get up the grade.  Earlier, I had encountered the leaders of the pack going downhill, south of here.

Courageous, they.  As they coasted and sometimes pedaled to go even faster downhill, they were rounding the curves faster than I can ride comfortably on the Ninja.  And they were in packs.  If any of them had faltered, many of them would have crashed.  What a mess of injuries would result!  That spandex doesn't have any cushion and wouldn't last more than a foot or two sliding along the tarmac. 

Makes me feel much more comfortable in my ATGATT. 

Those tiny bicycle tires were certainly doing their best to keep some 200 pounds of bike and rider on the right track.  I didn't get any pictures of their downhill plunge.  I'm not sure my shutter speed is fast enough to capture their passage at speed. 

Whatever the occasion, there were certainly a bunch of cyclists participating.  As a result, traffic had to go slow while passing them, for their safety and ours.

Later in the day, I encountered another group on US-276 as I passed Caesars Head.  Might have been the same group or another one, but it was an organized ride, too.  I didn't see nearly as many of them on this road.

They must have some significant stamina to take on the hills in this neck of the woods.

I might add, that I a saw a surprising number of people with gray hair sticking wildly out of their helmets.  Wow.  I get tired riding the motorcycle up and down these hills at my advanced age!

Anyway, they sure did have a nice day for their ride.

Edit: I later determined that I had encountered the Assault on the Carolinas rides, an annual fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Pisgah Forest.  The AOTC includes three route options--100k, 60k, and 40k. The 100k route goes through North Carolina and South Carolina mountains and valleys and up a challenging 6 mile climb to Ceasar's Head State Park. The 40k and 60k routes go through the river valleys of Scenic Transylvania County.  The ride starts and finishes in downtown Brevard North Carolina.  The longest ride is 65.6 miles, with an elevation gain of 5,567ft. 

My motorcycle ride was also very pleasant.  I didn't stop very often, just enjoyed the roads.  A total of 174 miles, racked up pretty quickly.  It seemed like only a hundred or so when I got home.  I must have been enjoying it! 

On the way home, I snapped this shot at Edens Garden, the little rest stop I wrote about at the corner of SC-8 and SC-135. 

 

Pretty, don't you think?  And patriotic. 

You bicyclists, a tip of my helmet to you, tackling the challenge of these hilly roads. 
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