Wilsons Sandbox

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "eddie" wrote:

> > Not a single email from the list this fine Sunday morning. > Hmmm. That can only mean one thing, hopefully. > Everyone has "Gone ridin'". {cue the Chris Isaac song}. > I guess we'll here all about it later. >

Not me Eddie, I work Sundays. smile. However, I did make a fine ride on Wednesday with my 15 y/o son as part of our move to the 'holy-city' of chrome, loud pipes and pirate costumes. Our little trip was a 'train': a friend driving their Dodge Diesel P/u pulling a 24ft enclosed car carrier with 12,000# of household goods, a Suburban towing two more bikes and my 15 y/o son and I riding two KLR's. 227 miles--It took ~5 hours travel time due to the heavy trailer, 8+ hours to sort/unload in four locations and then a long drive home with out the encumbrance of trailers and excessive heat/weight. We parked the bikes and headed back to home base/central SD, arriving at 0120am. Friend and DSN_KLR650 contributor Jeff Saline was a great help and probably kept me going in the right direction! Without his help, I would have been left to my own wits of 'herding cats' = 5 teenagers with little experience of moving. It was all good. 2330hrs: I am happy to report I DID NOT hit that the 'black-cow' at mile marker 147.5 on SD- Highway 34--but it was CLOSE! I should be back to KLRing by Friday. revmaaatin.

I use my KLR as a submarine... at least to the lower sub fame bolts... so the wheel bearings and swingarm bearings get submerged at creek crossings. I did the zerk convert twice and will do it again. Yes it takes time. And no, it is not a cure-all. Unless you drilled and grooved the bolts and put zerks on them too, you still need to pull the bolts to grease between them and the sleeves. But not having to pull the entire assembly, the seals and the sleeves makes it worth while to me. Carefully figure out where to put 'em for grease gun access. I didn't even use grease zerks when i first did/do the mod because I have it all apart and greased. I put set screws in as plugs. They are flush and don't get whacked. When I need to grease 'em up, I use a single grease fitting. Swap the set screw plug, grease and replace the plug again, moving onto the next. Oh, and I didn't drill weep holes either. That's a place for water to get in. The pressure from the grease will pop out the seals. Use a thin steel scale/ruler or thicker feeler gauge to press 'em back in. Wipe off excess grease and ride. Mech

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Jeffrey" wrote: > > Zerk fittings are a waste of time and effort. > Many people have had problems installing them; often > they install so cannot get at with grease gun or a rock > will break one off. > > The simple solution is to use a car floor jack. > Knock out the 2 shafts that require lubing; one at a time. > Knock them out with similar but slightly smaller shafts. And > leave the driver shafts half in there temporarily to keep things aligned.Clean up and grease the hell out of the shafts you knocked out; pump grease into the voids. > Use waterproof grease; I like blue marine grease. > > THIS IS GOOD FOR 10 YEARS AND TAKES 1 HOUR. Unless you use your > KLR as a submarine, you will only have to do this 2 times in the life > of your KLR. > > KEEP IT SIMPLE; WHY MAKE LIFE DIFFICULT? > > Jeffrey #3 >

Glad ya'll got everything moved, Rev! (Five teens? Geeez you're brave!) Me? Not long after I posted to the list at 8:14am, my girlfriend rode her Suzuki GS500F over and we departed on a roughly 120 mile loop north/northeast of Columbus, Ga. It wasn't bad (hot) for a couple of hours. Out in the countryside, the 2 lane roads were still damp in places from last night's rains and there was a slight breeze. Nature's evaporative cooling was working nicely. For lunch, we stopped in the little town of Woodbury (pop < 1,500?) where they have an out of place but excellent Ingle's grocery store. The deli and produce area alone is HUGE! We grabbed a fresh sandwich, drinks and a salad to go and had an impromtu picnic in the road about 5 minutes outside of town. Yes, *in* the road. {grin} The low overhanging trees, leaf litter on the pavement from disuse and general "out-of-the-wayness" hinted we could stop in the shade and sit in relative safety along the white shoulder line. It was great! Only one car came by the entire time we were eating. The driver slowed to make sure we were okay and then continued on when he saw our little picnic spread out in front of the KLR. It reminded me opening scene of the 60's show "Then Came Bronson" where the business man in a station wagon asks Sportster riding Bronson at a traffic light, "Takin' a trip?" Bronson, "What's that?" Suit, "Taking a trip?" Bronson, "Yea. " Suit, "Where ya' headed?" Bronson, "No place special. " Suit, "Man, I wish I was you." Bronson, "Yea? Well hang in there." ...and our courteous Mitsubishi SUV driver departed. Two others passed by as we gathered up to leave. They motored on in relative indifference: Caged birds with no songs left. Fed and rehydrated, we continued onward to Warm Springs and FDR State Park. Traffic was light across the mountain and we enjoyed every mile despite the ever increasing heat. It's 98F here now (2:55pm) with serious humidity. Bikes put away, I think we're skipping the local outdoor holiday activities and catching a movie or something. Have a good weekend everyone. And for those that missed out on a ride, Hang in there! eddie

> [Original Message] > From: revmaaatin > To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> > Date: 7/3/2011 10:51:56 AM > Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: Sunday morning > > > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "eddie" wrote: > > > > Not a single email from the list this fine Sunday morning. > > Hmmm. That can only mean one thing, hopefully. > > Everyone has "Gone ridin'". {cue the Chris Isaac song}. > > I guess we'll here all about it later.

Not me Eddie, I work Sundays. smile. However, I did make a fine ride on Wednesday with my 15 y/o son as part of our move to the 'holy-city' of chrome, loud pipes and pirate costumes. Our little trip was a 'train': a friend driving their Dodge Diesel P/u pulling a 24ft enclosed car carrier with 12,000# of household goods, a Suburban towing two more bikes and my 15 y/o son and I riding two KLR's. 227 miles--It took ~5 hours travel time due to the heavy trailer, 8+ hours to sort/unload in four locations and then a long drive home with out the encumbrance of trailers and excessive heat/weight. We parked the bikes and headed back to home base/central SD, arriving at 0120am. Friend and DSN_KLR650 contributor Jeff Saline was a great help and probably kept me going in the right direction! Without his help, I would have been left to my wn wits of 'herding cats' = 5 teenagers with little experience of moving. It was all good. 2330hrs: I am happy to report I DID NOT hit that the 'black-cow' at mile marker 147.5 on SD- Highway 34--but it was CLOSE! I should be back to KLRing by Friday. revmaaatin.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "eddie" wrote:

> > Glad ya'll got everything moved, Rev! (Five teens? Geeez you're brave!) >

Still packing....for the Tuesday load-out. Would rather be riding.... Farmer-Rancher Man at church asked if I 'found' anything that I have been looking for; he knows the problem. Get to much stuff spread out across the shop and not always find what you are looking for-- Well, I found a brand new chain that I didn't remember buying; must have been in a bike trade. It was in the office and not in the shop. I must have unloaded a travel bag and buried it in the 'sort-later' pile. Found another set of new rear brakes. Don't ask how many of those I have collected. Bought a set to carry last summer on the GDR because I could not find any spares; found THREE sets when I got home. And that is AFTER I keep everything of like nature together. and the list goes on.... Teenagers: Well, two were mine, the others were rentals. Come to think of it, there were only 4 teens. I must have been counting myself as well. It was a bit challenging to keep them 'working'. sigh. That was were the Saline leveling-factor was useful, "Take a break, before you have a cow" or words to that effect. It was over 98F and hotter in the trailer. Summer is finally here on the plains states; it is hot and the wind is blowing! 'Transit-Riders': The deer at thick as ticks [at night] and the pheasants can knock you clean off the bike. One local rider was killed trying to avoid a pheasant a year ago (DRIVE STRAIGHT AHEAD!) My son and I have both killed a pheasant on the bikes and have fared OK. ymmv. Be sure you are carrying plenty of water and drink as much as 1 pt to 1qt/hour. Some of the interesting roads lead to places that are a long ways between gas and water. If you start dehydrated, you could be a heat casualty in as little as 2-3 hours without enough water. revmaaatin.

Pheasant -- A friend of mine refers to them as. "ditch carp" Sent from my iPod

On Jul 3, 2011, at 3:03 PM, "revmaaatin" wrote: > > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "eddie" wrote: > > > > Glad ya'll got everything moved, Rev! (Five teens? Geeez you're brave!) > > > Still packing....for the Tuesday load-out. > Would rather be riding.... > > Farmer-Rancher Man at church asked if I 'found' anything that I have been looking for; he knows the problem. Get to much stuff spread out across the shop and not always find what you are looking for-- > Well, I found a brand new chain that I didn't remember buying; must have been in a bike trade. It was in the office and not in the shop. I must have unloaded a travel bag and buried it in the 'sort-later' pile. > > Found another set of new rear brakes. Don't ask how many of those I have collected. Bought a set to carry last summer on the GDR because I could not find any spares; found THREE sets when I got home. And that is AFTER I keep everything of like nature together. and the list goes on.... > > Teenagers: Well, two were mine, the others were rentals. Come to think of it, there were only 4 teens. I must have been counting myself as well. > > It was a bit challenging to keep them 'working'. sigh. That was were the Saline leveling-factor was useful, "Take a break, before you have a cow" or words to that effect. > It was over 98F and hotter in the trailer. > > Summer is finally here on the plains states; it is hot and the wind is blowing! > 'Transit-Riders': > The deer at thick as ticks [at night] and the pheasants can knock you clean off the bike. One local rider was killed trying to avoid a pheasant a year ago (DRIVE STRAIGHT AHEAD!) > My son and I have both killed a pheasant on the bikes and have fared OK. ymmv. > > Be sure you are carrying plenty of water and drink as much as 1 pt to 1qt/hour. Some of the interesting roads lead to places that are a long ways between gas and water. If you start dehydrated, you could be a heat casualty in as little as 2-3 hours without enough water. > > revmaaatin. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]