Topic: 26 Rides in 2026. Frank's New Years Resolution that we can all enjoy.

[willbird]

3-21-2026, #3. 86 miles. Rode over to Auburn, IN to grab a few oil filters for the riding mower. Then made my way home. 46F when I left home, 55F or so when I got back home.

Bill

[Terry in Australia]

I didn't go for a ride yesterday, but I will do #22 today. Spotty and I started a new project last weekend, to get his old (now my old) Yamaha XVZ1300TF Royal Star Venture going, and back on the road. Spotty bought it 5 years ago from a bike wreckers yard, but hasn't attempted to get it running, so last weekend we played around with the electrics (like a lot of older bikes, previous owners have confused the issue, with several sketchy wiring connections) and had no luck even getting the engine to turn, unless we bridged the two bolts on the starter solenoid. When we did that, the engine would only just turn over, so Spotty put the car battery we were using on the charger, and we left it until this weekend.

Yesterday we filled it with oil and topped up the coolant, and were farting around checking poor wiring connectors etc, when we found another cable that looked like an earth of some sort, so we attached it to the negative pole on the battery, and lo and behold (I wonder what "Lo" means?) the dash lit up, and we could hear the fuel pump doing it's thing. We removed a spark plug (that looked surprisingly clean) and got spark. We replaced the plug, and sprayed a little carb cleaner into the carbs, and it fired a couple of times. We then filled up his little gravity fuel bottle thingy, pulled the choke, hit the starter button and away it went, on 4 cylinders, just like it had been ridden yesterday. Amazing! 

Spotty's kept all the bodywork in his spare room since he bought it, so next weekend we'll work from the bottom up. We'll do some repairs to the wiring, remove both wheels and have new tyres installed, refit and service the brakes, then sort out the hydraulic clutch before we refit all of the bodywork, and the rider's seat that I had recovered last year. With luck, we should be riding it in the next few weeks, and hopefully it will also feature in this thead.

[Terry in Australia]

Well I didn't get a ride in on Sunday, but by Monday, I needed some wind therapy. Inspired by a previous post here, I made myself a big (for me) breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, toast and baked beans. It was delicious.

Breakfast 22 March 2026 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I drove over to the storage unit to sort the tail light on the XT660X. The "unregistered vehicle permit expired on Tuesday, so I needed to get it sorted so I could get the Roadworthy Certificate done. Just like the repairs on the front of the bike, the previous owner/s had "bodged" the wiring for the tail light and blinkers. Their wire joining method consisted of just twisting the wires together and slathering insulation tape over everything, just making a horrible sticky mess. Anyway, I found a switched wire from the harness and managed to connect it to the tail light, so it was good. I'll go back this week and join all of the wires with those fantastic heat shrink solder connections, which I love.

Anyhoo, I still needed to go for a ride, so I pushed the Yam back into the storage unit and rolled the K0 out. I warmed it up while putting on my jacket, helmet and gloves, then rode to the closest gas station and filled it up. I can't get over how much fuel costs at the moment, so I'm lucky that I'm riding bikes and not driving cars all over the place. I headed north, then East, and just did an 83 mile cruise, as it was getting late in the afternoon, and I didn't want to get caught up in Monday afternoon city traffic as I got closer to home. I was still pretty full after that big breakfast, so I didn't stop for food., but stopped at a fancy golf course/winery/restaurant that I definitely wouldn't have been allowed into wearing my dirty jeans and T shirt.

Yesterday I rode the XT660X over to Ace Motorcycles to get it inspected, and it flew through the inspection, so now I just need to book it in and take it to the DMV to give them some more money. Oh well, #22 down, 4 to go, and the wife is shooing me out of the house so she can do her vacuuming, so I think I'll head off for #23.

K0 Monday 22 March 2026 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr 

[Terry in Australia]

Well the weather report said rain yesterday. There'd been a few drops here and there, but my phone said that we wouldn't get any rain until 6pm. Good enough for me, so I fired up the VMax and headed north. I took a different route, and found this place.

VMax Wednesday 25 March 2026 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Sadly it wasn't open, or I would have wandered in for some drinks. I will remember it for next time I'm riding on a weekend. I took a couple of pics, then took off again. I did get a little rain here and there, but overall, ride #23 was a very pleasant 100 miler, with the exception of one giant pothole that I'm pretty sure drove my spine thru my helmet, as it hurts like hell today. Today is cold and bleak, so I might take the day off bike riding, and maybe do #24 tomorrow, or on Sunday.

VMax Wednesday 25 March 2026 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Meanwhile, Spotty and I will continue to put the big Yamaha land yacht back together, so I can take it for a ride. Here's a pic of what it is supposed to look like, It should be an interesting bike.

VMax Wednesday 25 March 2026 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[BenelliSEI]

Geez Terry….. Looks like you’ll be done your 2026 rides by the time the snow is fully melted here! Great reads. Thanks!

[Kevin D]

ride #23 was a very pleasant 100 miler, with the exception of one giant pothole that I'm pretty sure drove my spine thru my helmet, as it hurts like hell today. Today is cold and bleak, so I might take the day off bike riding, and maybe do #24 tomorrow, or on Sunday.

Go Terry! Some newer bikes and some old ones. Will the Royal Star be ready for#26? Has the Harley been out yet? I’ve seen the VMax, the red CB750, the Yam thumper, the Z1.

I feel like a skunk, it’s going to be 26 rides to zero, but more power to ya mate! Your garage is a busy place.
I keep reminding myself it’s not a competition, it’s a merit. First In is the Feather in the Cap.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, and Kevin is right, it’s not a competition and if it was I have an unfair advantage as it’s great riding weather here in Oz from day one of each year. Plus now that I’m retired I can spend a lot more time riding than I ever could before.

So while I’ll probably be the first to get 26 rides in, the real competition will start when you guys can get some decent bike weather. It’s like winter here today, cold and wet, but it’s going to warm up again from Sunday, so I will try to get a few more rides in next week.

Regards the Royal Star Kevin, yes, as soon as we've done wiring, tyres, brakes, clutch and replacing all of the shiny parts and the seat that I had reupholstered last year, it'll be hitting the road. Should be a great winter rider.

[BallAquatics]

It's wonderful to see you enjoying retirement Terry!  Jumping on the bike for a ride with no destination in mind is the true spirit of what Frank was after in my opinion.

03/26/2026 ride #11, 50+ miles on the '82 Yamaha XJ650LJ turbo. Very warm, but quite windy here in Ohio. Just a long ride out through the country side.  Was thinking of switching bikes, but when I got to the garage my daughter had her car blocking my access to the bikes.  Switched the battery tender over to the CBR gave all the bikes the once over and wandered my way back home.

After a cool Friday & Saturday, it's forecast to be back to warmer weather so with a bit of luck I'll be out again next week!  =;-)

[jgger]

Well gents I think it is official, I'm a slacker.  Last year I had i think 3 or 4 rides that I didnt post before the 1 week expiration date, and I seem to be falling into the same bad habit this year. Being retired, like Terry, I should be racking up the count.........but I'm not. To my defense my time is spent coaching both my grandson's baseball teams (at different levels) , removing all the old insulation, rodent residue, and dirt/dust from my attic, then sanitizing with bleach, re-insulating and prepping for a new heat system, plus my regular " chores" around the house, my riding time has been limited.

But enough about me, let's talk about me. I had a chance to get a ride in last Sunday,   but dithered around until it was almost too late. So after kicking myself it the butt, which is hard to do when you are sitting on your butt, ride # 7 was finally born! I was really pissed at myself for wasting such a beautiful day and putting a limit on where to ride to, not the best attitude to start a ride. I decided to hit Mount Baldy but found myself doing stupid stuff on the road at the beginning of the ride and thought maybe I should turn around for my own safety,  then at about 15 miles into it the wind therapy kicked in! Just what the doctor ordered.

It's about 30 miles to the base of the mountian, then the fun begins. I thought i would go up to the ski area and get a standard ( for me) pic in front of the sign, then headed back home. As i was approaching Baldy Village I saw that Glendora Ridge rd was open, it has been closed for almost a year after a fire f'd things up. This is an awsome ride between Baldy and Azusa canyon, so I had to see how bad it was burned. I was bummed to say the least, besides all the destroyed trees the road had alot of small rocks and gravel in the turns, that sucks! Anyhoo i got a few pics and I think one before and after of one of the stopping places I like, it will be a long time before this place returns to it's former glory. It is still a nice ride and i will have to explore it better in the near future.

It was a good and needed ride and #7 is complete! Pics and state........

Stats first.
           Left home.                 88°f/31°c @ 4pm
           Lowest temp.            64°f/17.7°c
           Back home.                73°f/22.7°c

Distance.        100.1 mi/161km
                                     Total challenge distance.      674.6mi/1085.6km

Annnnnnnd pics

[BallAquatics]

Looks like a fantastic ride Jim.  Don't be too hard on yourself, even after retirement, there's just not enough time in the day on occasion.

When the weather gets settled around here, I'm hoping to go for a morning ride daily, even if it's just around the block and down to the Post Office.  A bit of wind in my face and a little time to enjoy a bit of old age...

[jgger]

Thanks Dennis. I was trying to be inspirational by showing that I, a mere mortal, can overcome these obstacles,  then others can not let small things like 12 ft of snow and ice stop them. Bawhahahaha! So get out there and ride and don't be a slacker like me!

[Terry in Australia]

Well done Jim. I’m hoping for some nicer weather here from today because it’s been cold and wet for the last couple of days and nowadays riding in crappy weather has no appeal to me at all. I spent a couple of hours un-fcuking some more dodgy wiring on Friday on the XT660X and managed to get the number plate light to work again, after removing several feet of insulation tape and using those brilliant little heat shrink solder connectors to fix the wires that had just been twitched together and covered in tape. I’m fairly confident now that I won’t have any electrical issues.

XT660 unfcuking 27 March 2026 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I love this little tool. It holds the wires while you solder them. I thought it was a bit of a gimmick when I bought it, but it's turned out to be a really "cool tool".

XT660 unfcuking 27 March 2026 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr


Yesterday Spotty and I jacked the XVZ1300 up and removed both wheels so I can clean years of brake dust and road grime off them, then get new tyres installed, the Michelins that were on it look great, but are very old.

XVZ1300 Saturday 28 March 2026 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

One negative thing about retiring is that I get bored very quickly, so if I can’t go for a ride I need to keep motivated by fixing things to fill my days. I’m still not happy with the clutch on my Kawasaki Z1-B, it engages/disengages fine, but I think I must have a warped plate, as the take up is far from smooth.

It's also really heavy, I lubricated the cable but it made no difference, so I tried one of these "Torque Multiplier" devices that I've seen for years, but never tried. It uses leverage to reduce the pressure required to pull the clutch, and I must say, it really worked well, so if you're old and broken with arthritis in your hands like I have, they're definitely worth a few bucks.

Z1-B Clutch torque multiplier 27 March 2026 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

It still hasn't fixed my "harsh" clutch engagement though. I do remember having a similar problem many years ago when I used Valvoline oil in my Z900, like now, my cluch was either "one" or "off" with no gradual take up,  so I might give it an oil change before tearing the clutch apart, because the engine wouldn’t have done 200 miles since I built it 5 years ago. It’s annoying, because otherwise it goes like a rocket.

[PeWe]

Where did you find that "easy pull device"?

I ordered one before, but was made for mopeds with thinner cable adjusters. Not motorcycle as CB750.

I could improve the routing  (and strapping to frame) of the clutch cable where it pass the bracket for steering damper and  wrong side of tacho cable caused a small bend.
Lubed with cable teflon spray and dog leg type of clutch lever helped too.  Closer grip for a few fingers.
Brake lever of same model too.
My K6 must have the tougher Barnett springs for CB500 and smaller CB's