Topic: 23 Rides in 2023, Frank's New Years resolution that we can all enjoy.

[BallAquatics]

Sorry to hear about your Mom Bud.  Our thoughts are with you.

Had some problems with the old ticker and just now back out on the bike.  Got in a 97 mile ride on the 550 though.  Nothing special, just tracking down the release paperwork to go back to work.  But, hey, any ride is a good ride!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

[Kevin D]

 Ride 12  162 miles

 Two weeks away while in season is way too long and it was so nice to get out without the smoke, without threat of storms, without the stifling heat, just a perfect day in July for a ride. I went to all my favorite places: Hines, Seven Mile, Whitmore Lake, Strawberry Lake, Dexter, Chelsea, Waterloo, Stockbridge, Gregory, Hell.
 162 miles not yet on reserve, the CB was terrific all day. At first startup it fired on the first TDC. The rest of the day went just as well.

[Terry in Australia]

Sorry about your Mum Bud, my Ma turns 95 next month and is still doing well, still living at home, and she sends me FB messages every day. She’s recently signed up for an app that lets her take virtual bicycle tours around Europe so is really enjoying her daily rides around lots of places she visited with Dad when he was still alive. He had dementia bad for the last couple of years before he passed, and she’d drive up to the care facility every day to be with him.

Congratulations on getting to be the first to ride #23, the weather here is still awful but I’ll try to get out for a ride in the next week. Yesterday was a good day but it was the wife’s birthday (and my Triumph Rocket III’s 16th birthday, my brother wanted one built on his birthday but the closest he could get was the day after) so the Rocket stayed in the garage and I took the wife and her mum, 91) out for lunch.

I was horrified to realise that I’d let my Ducati registration expire a few weeks ago so I won’t be riding it for awhile as it’ll have to have a Roadworthy Inspection done and get re-registered again and it needs to have the original exhaust system (which I have, luckily) fitted, and I think I’ll take the opportunity to find the original footpeg mounts etc and take it back to stock to better suit my ergonomics, as the PO was only a little feller and it was way too uncomfortable for me to ride with the clip on bars and aftermarket higher than stock footpegs.

I’ve finished my cylinder honing machine so today I’m gonna have a play with it to take a whisker off one cylinder in the 849cc engine I’m building for my mate Dion, it’s just a tiny bit tighter than I’d like. Not much else I can do, it’s too damn cold to ride and looks like more rain is coming, and I don’t need to kill myself trying, now that you’re the ride king for 2023, well done mate, and condolences again.

[budman]

Thank you all for the condolences.  The last few days have been kind of strange.  Six years ago my mother moved within an hour and a half of where I lived.  So from then on I was always planning the next trip I would take to see her.  Then the Covid stuff happened and I didn’t see her very often.  Fast forward…it was time for me to get out of the city and I moved.  For the past two years I have been driving 700 miles round trip to see her every 2-3 months.   But because of her failing condition I had been to see her twice in the last two months and then this last trip to take care of some of the stuff you have to do when someone passes.

It feels odd not to have to go anywhere now.  Very strange feeling.  I don’t feel obligated.  I can do whatever I want now.  It’s not like I didn’t do whatever I wanted before, just a different feeling.

Today was beautiful and tomorrow is supposed to be the same.  Guess what I’m going to do in the morning?  It will be nice to ride in the sun after the soggy ride yesterday.  The heat will be rising again next week so got get some miles in, right?  Gotta figure out where I want to go now.

[jgger]

Bud sorry about your Mom. Dementia sucks and a terrible way to cross the finish line. Onthe other hand congrats on 23, keep it going because it is the BEST alone time to sort the cobwebs out. My Mom passed in her late 60's from heart problems and my Dad in his early 80's from dementia.  So for me about to turn 71 next month I figure I'm in the red zone and thank God for every day I don't read my name in the obituaries.

Again congrats AND condolences.

[jgger]

Kevin way to go ! Both me and the bike were layed up at the start of thes "rides" session , but im only 9 behind you!  But im trying. A recess from riding in great weather does suck, but you were able to get back and it sounds like a great ride.

[RAFster122s]

We are in a season of extreme heat here in the Southern AZ desert and temps are reaching 90f by 9AM most mornings and 100f by 10:30AM to 11AM often. Everything over 95 and you heat up as you ride, regardless of your speed.
Currently no end in sight to put temps of 105 to 110f. It is after 9pm before temps drop below 95 at night and most nights it won't get below 75F with these daytime temperature extremes. So, riding season is seriously curtailed because of the heat.
96f out at 9PM Saturday (tonight)...

So, it is going to be a while before I am riding much as I park the bike in these extreme temps, just not safe to ride as you get heat related illness or potential for injuries rise dramatically. You don't realize how bad off you are often until you stop and try to get off or get off the bike and the weakness and affects of the temp have hit you hard and you haven't noticed the impacts so much while moving. Get in stop and go traffic or something that requires to have a burst of physical energy and it then becomes apparent how what bad shape you are..  I learned this the past couple years and decided it was safer to park the bike or to limit the riding. Mid day rides no more than 30 minutes before a good break for hydration and to cool off, even using hydro cooling vests... 30 minutes in the desert sun and they need refreshed, just like you.

I started the year with some medical issues and was off the bike for several months, the battery wasn't happy as a result and I had accidentally left the park lights on causing the battery some damage. Then we zoomed up in heat quickly... So, I haven't been riding for far too long.

[jgger]

Well I'm slowly clicking off some rides. Today my grandson had his birthday party for turning 6, so I couldn't miss that. So I stuffed his presents into the side cases and rode 15 miles to join the fun. After having pizza and cake plus watching all the little ones play on the water slide I hit the road and headed for home. As I was buzzing down the freeway I thought the weather is nice, I have a full tank of gas, and Ortega Hwy is calling., so off I went. It was uneventful except for the side case deciding to jump ship after hitting 2 consecutive pot holes. Stopped and picked it up then remounted it to the bike. Good thing I wasn't already on the mountian and I was pulling up to a stop light. Pulled to the side of the road real quick and when it stopped sliding it was  only about 15 or 20 feet away from me. Scratched and dinged up but it stayed closed and nothing spilled out, plus no cars  tried to play soccer with it! Anyhoo it was a nice therapeutic 87 mile ride.

[RAFster122s]

Dang jgger, that sucks! Repairing/repainting the side cases is no fun.

[ofreen]

I may sound a little like a broken record because I suggest this every year. Plenty of high 90’s and triple digit temps around here in the summer.  It is amazing how well a wet shirt under a vented jacket keeps you cool in low humidity.  It lasts for.about a half hour, then pour some more water on yourself.  Easy for short rides, but I do it when touring too.  There is almost always reasonably clean water somewhere.  You may not want to drink it, but works fine for pouring down your back.

[Kelly E]

On long rides my buddy and I use an insulated bag to carry cold drinks in the right saddlebag of his FJR. When we stop he opens the saddlebag and turns the corner of the cold bag out over the edge so the ice water drains out into the open lid of the saddlebag. It's just like a sink full of ice water.
We soak ourselves as soon as we stop and again just before we leave. We've ridden 300 mile days in 95°+ heat and aren't heat exhausted at the end of the day.

[jgger]

On long rides my buddy and I use an insulated bag to carry cold drinks in the right saddlebag of his FJR. When we stop he opens the saddlebag and turns the corner of the cold bag out over the edge so the ice water drains out into the open lid of the saddlebag. It's just like a sink full of ice water.
We soak ourselves as soon as we stop and again just before we leave. We've ridden 300 mile days in 95°+ heat and aren't heat exhausted at the end of the day.

That sounds like a great idea,  I already have the FJR so I may have to try this! Thanks for the tip.

[budman]

Ride #24, 91 miles

I did indeed get out on the bike again today.  I was thinking about trying some breakfast tacos from a place up north, but I had some bacon in the fridge that I needed to cook so I ate breakfast here.

On my ride the other day I noticed that shifting was getting a little sluggish, so I checked the oil this morning.  The Scout loves to be filled to the top.  It needed a few glugs, so I took care of that and came back in the house to wash my hands.  I thought I heard a noise while washing my hands, but didn't think much of it.  I hear similar sounds often.  I went back outside and the Scout was on it's right side.  I forgot to take the flat rock out from under the kickstand.  All I was thinking about was washing the oil off my hands.  The owner's manual says to check the oil with the bike in an upright position.  The handlebars fell onto a lawn chair that was nearby.  It just knocked the mirror loose.  No damage.  I just had to tighten it up...but the lower muffler got scratched.  It was a little breezy early this morning and the wind must have hit it just right.  Lesson learned...walk my lazy azz to the shop and get the motorcycle scissor jack next time I need to upright the bike.

The good news is, it looks like I'm finally going to get that set of Rinehart slip-ons that I've been eyeballing since last August, when I first got the Scout.  My mother didn't leave me and my sister much of an inheritance, but I think I'll have enough for the mufflers, new tires and hopefully a fairing.  My home-made windscreen experiments last year didn't quite yield the results I hoped for.  I was thinking about a building my own fairing, but I just don't have the time.

Anyway...back to the ride.  I didn't let the fall deter me.  I headed up north to check out a campground for some of the other members of this forum who might be coming out this way in October for a small rally.  From there I rode the Willow City loop, but from north to south rather than the south to north route I usually ride.  South to North is better.  Then I zig-zagged my way to town, got some gas and headed for home.  Just one pic today.  It's going to be hovering around 100F this week and probably into next week, but I've always got one eye on the weather so I never know.  I will have to get on the bike soon though.  I have to get it inspected soon and get a new plate for it.

Y'all stay cool!

[budman]

Here's a little heat related story...

I can't remember if I've told this here, but back in 2011 I rode with a small group up to Sturgis from Houston in August.  It was a drought year and very hot.  On the first day just outside of Fort Worth one of the guys, who was on a Gold Wing towing a trailer with all our stuff in it, developed huge blisters on his knees.  The blisters were about 3-4 inches in diameter.  He was an older tall, heavy set guy.  He had both knees replaced about a year earlier.  We had to stop at a pharmacy where he bought some Depends (Grampers) because they were bigger than a bandage and bendable over the knee, and some antibiotic cream.  He was desperately scared of his knees getting infected.  One of the other guys had a silver metallic insulated cool pack bag that we cut up and covered the guys knees with too, to try to keep the heat off.

The guy was a trooper and we kept heading north.  The next day in Oklahoma it was super hot and dry.  We pulled into a gas station to fill up and as soon as wee did the same guy got off his GW and laid on the nasty/oily concrete slab in front of the pumps, dramatically over heated.  We poured bottle of cold water on him and had to practically drag him out of the way so other folks could get some gas.  After about 30 minutes he seemed OK.  After that little episode for the next two days we stopped at least every 100 miles, where I would drink a big bottle of Gatorade and a big bottle of water.  I don't think anybody in our group went to the bathroom at the stops.  We were sweating it all out and still kept drinking.

We made it to Sturgis and the guy's knees healed.  There were some bike related "issues" one of the other guy's was having along the way.  I'll save that story for another day.

[Kelly E]

On long rides my buddy and I use an insulated bag to carry cold drinks in the right saddlebag of his FJR. When we stop he opens the saddlebag and turns the corner of the cold bag out over the edge so the ice water drains out into the open lid of the saddlebag. It's just like a sink full of ice water.
We soak ourselves as soon as we stop and again just before we leave. We've ridden 300 mile days in 95°+ heat and aren't heat exhausted at the end of the day.

That sounds like a great idea,  I already have the FJR so I may have to try this! Thanks for the tip.

I recognized the saddlebag in your post and knew what it was. For a while we used to dump the water, close up the bag and leave. One 98° day as we got ready to leave it hit me, quit wasting the ice water and dump it on ourselves. Now the extreme heat doesn't ruin our trips.

[Terry in Australia]

Good story Bud, how did he get blisters on his knees, was he riding in shorts? But yeah, regardless of weather when I used to ride with my mate Pete on our rides to Bathurst for the now defunct Easter TT, we’d stop every 100 miles for gas, a drink and a cigarette. It was always a good opportunity to check our bikes over, and apart from a punctured rear tyre on my Ironhead sportster, and a broken ignition points arm on Pete’s K2, (on separate trips) I don’t remember any serious issues. (Apart from hangovers)

[budman]

Good story Bud, how did he get blisters on his knees, was he riding in shorts? But yeah, regardless of weather when I used to ride with my mate Pete on our rides to Bathurst for the now defunct Easter TT, we’d stop every 100 miles for gas, a drink and a cigarette. It was always a good opportunity to check our bikes over, and apart from a punctured rear tyre on my Ironhead sportster, and a broken ignition points arm on Pete’s K2, (on separate trips) I don’t remember any serious issues. (Apart from hangovers)

I have no idea.  He was wearing jeans.  Maybe it was the heat coming off the engine, plus the heat coming off the road and the general ambient temperature combined.  Maybe his new titanium knee caps were heating up from the inside?  The Gold Wing was water-cooled, but had a huge fairing on it.  Maybe he wasn't getting enough "breeze to da knees".   

[Terry in Australia]

That’s weird, I’ve had a couple of Goldwings and never had that problem, but they do get hot, my old GL1200 Interstate (made in the US) used to overheat in bumper to bumper traffic on hot days, which was annoying. The Rocket III doesn’t have a temperature gauge but it gets hot too, i melted a hole in the leg of my wet weather pants on the exhaust pipe when filling up at a gas station one day, luckily they were Army issued so I just swapped them for another pair.

It does get hot behind the fairings on old Goldwings, mine had done over 100,000 miles but was on its second engine (I bought one on Ebay USA and shipped it over) because the previous owner hadn’t done an oil or filter change in 10 years of daily riding, so the big end and main bearings were toast. Honda hid the coils above the engine and under the false tank so the coils would overheat and eventually crack.

I stopped riding it when it would start fine from cold, but as soon as it was warm and I was running down the road it would miss and fart, and eventually conk out. Attempts to start it were rewarded with an occasional massive backfire that almost gave an old guy at the local returned servicemen’s club a heart attack, he thought he was back in Binh Ba, 1966. The only good ‘Wing is a naked Wing.

[budman]

That’s weird, I’ve had a couple of Goldwings and never had that problem, but they do get hot, my old GL1200 Interstate (made in the US) used to overheat in bumper to bumper traffic on hot days, which was annoying. The Rocket III doesn’t have a temperature gauge but it gets hot too, i melted a hole in the leg of my wet weather pants on the exhaust pipe when filling up at a gas station one day, luckily they were Army issued so I just swapped them for another pair.

It does get hot behind the fairings on old Goldwings, mine had done over 100,000 miles but was on its second engine (I bought one on Ebay USA and shipped it over) because the previous owner hadn’t done an oil or filter change in 10 years of daily riding, so the big end and main bearings were toast. Honda hid the coils above the engine and under the false tank so the coils would overheat and eventually crack.

I stopped riding it when it would start fine from cold, but as soon as it was warm and I was running down the road it would miss and fart, and eventually conk out. Attempts to start it were rewarded with an occasional massive backfire that almost gave an old guy at the local returned servicemen’s club a heart attack, he thought he was back in Binh Ba, 1966. The only good ‘Wing is a naked Wing.

He had owned a few Wings and never had that happen.  In Sturgis he bought some tall leather leggings that went up just past his knees.  My Scout is water-cooled and puts out a lot less heat than any bike I've ever ridden.  Much less than any air-cooled bikes I've owned.

Your hole in your wet weather pants reminded me of a story.  I used to ride my bobber v-twin to work back in 2009.  I didn't have a car at the time, so I would strap my wet weather gear to the luggage rack that was mounted to the rear fender on questionable days.  The bike had high-mounted shotgun exhaust pipes.  One day I got home and there was no rain gear to be found, only the remnants of some smoking, melted rubber and canvas stuck to the top exhaust tip.  Took me several hours to get that stuff off.

[Kevin D]

I found this in my picture file. What do you think?

[budman]

I found this in my picture file. What do you think?

Haha!!  Thanks!

[RAFster122s]

23 should be much fatter bolder font, but nice work

[Kevin D]

I dont believe we have had an award here before. You have earned it Bud, congratulations.

[Terry in Australia]

I found this in my picture file. What do you think?

Looks great, thanks Kevin, and well done again Bud!

[budman]

I dont believe we have had an award here before. You have earned it Bud, congratulations.

Thanks.  Just doing what I like to do and a major reason why I chose to move to the Hill Country.