Rantings of a Lunatic » motorcycle

Simple radiator hose fix

dnovotny — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:19:57 +0000

Well, that’s my guess anyway. I made it back to my friend’s house after work today, and took a look at the bike. I will post pictures later, but apparently the radiator hose was touching one of the exhaust headers, which combined withseveral other factors set it up for catastrophic failure. I have no idea if the hoses have ever been changed, and the bike is 22 years old, so that alone can be devastating. The fact that I pretty much walked the bike 2.5 miles in standing traffic couldn’t have helped. Anyway, the end result is a hole in the hose approximately the width of a pencil. The good news is that the hose should be under $10 I would think, and then a bottle of coolant will be another $6. And it should only take a Phillips head, an 8mm socket, and a bucket to repair the damage, and get it back on the road, and I am currently estimating about a half hour of work. Now, to be honest, that’s all contingent on this analysis of the problem, which seems pretty safe to me. There is the possibility that the water pump blew or something like that, but I am in a mood to think the simplest solution is probably the most likely.

Broke down

dnovotny — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 13:08:55 +0000

So despite true awfulness, yesterday was a pretty good day. It started out fairly normal, but really changed when I was out on my motorcycle. I didn’t think about it being UT’s first game, and that the freeways would be parking lots. Well, about 15 miles into my ride it became stopped traffic, and I was walking the bike more than anything. I started to get worried after about 20 minutes of this, as I saw the temp gauge getting higher and higher. I got a brief amount of relief when I made the turn from 35 onto 183, and had a few blocks of actual riding, and could see the temp appear to drop noticably. However, it was only for a mile or two, because then a fire truck came carreening by, and I found I was now going to be sitting in traffic behind a wreck. After another 15 minutes of this I crested a hill, and could see I was not far from my destination, but I was still behind the wreck and sitting watching the bike temp climb. Then the worst thing happened, I heard the engine start to choke, then it died as there was a pop, and I was engulfed in a cloud of steam. Apparently one of the radiator hoses had burst from the heat of the coolant.
And then becomes the fun part. I pulled over to the shoulder, and put the bike in neutral, and walked it down and past the first fire truck. That’s when the EMTs saw me, and were asking if I had broken down. They escorted me around the accident, and then one of them kindly helped me start pushing my bike up the hill. About 2/3 of the way up the hill, a landscaping crew offered to put the bike in their trailer and take me the rest of the way.
ADD was really awesome yesterday, and I appreciate the help. And the same with the landscapers, I didn’t expect any of that, but couldn’t turn it down.
After that, there was some rain but a mostly uneventful trip into Houston. And a good evening with the family which allowed me to get a lot accomplished.
Now I will need to find some replacement hoses for the bike, and I really am thinking more about a new set of handlebars. The current set feels very narrow, and forward, and I would like to get a set that lets me feel a little more relaxed while I am riding.
And I hope to remember never to ride into smoke or stopped traffic. I remember hearing something about lanesplitting being legalized in certain places, I will need to research that, becuase that could have saved me.

Progress

dnovotny — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 02:51:13 +0000

I didn’t run Ulduar tonight, and I haven’t logged in in a week now. And I am ok with that. Instead, I continued to pour over the wiring diagrams on my motorcycle, and figured out what one of the previous owners did to the electrical system. I was worried that the missing wires and cut and spliced wires were going to be a difficult situation to replace. Luckily though, it appears that the turn signal relay had gone bad, or something, and that was removed, and the rear brake light switch was shorted in there. If my assumptions are correct, it will only require a new relay, (already ordered off ebay for $8) and reconnecting the red wire that was cut and spliced away. If thats right, then the turn signals will start working again, which is something I am looking forward to. After that work, then I will have a few more tasks, like the cooling system flush. I am kind of worried about that, the amount of rust and sludge that were in there were pretty sickening to me, but hopefully it will all be ok after I run a flush through it. That will also be when I first fire it up after the valve-job that I did on it. All said, what I expect is about another 2.5 hours worth of work once I get the new relay in. Then its off to ride more. Unfortunately I am not sure if I will be able to take care of it yet this week, or if it will have to wait until next week.
I missed the ROT rally last weekend, I saw the riders coming in, and riding out, but I was in Houston over the weekend, so I wasn’t able to go take part in the festivities. Its interesting though, I don’t know any people from the Austin area who went to take part in it.
In Houston, I was hanging out with my family. My mom and I went and took a welding class, then we all went and celebrated Amanda’s birthday. It was good to see my family again.
Also my garden has been going well. We picked some veggies the other day. The Japanese Long cucumbers are averaging 8″ long right now, and the crooked necked squash is doing pretty well. Unfortunately the snow peas are all gone, they only lasted a few minutes after being picked. Kelly missed the pole beans altogether. They are averaging 14-18″ right now, so they look more like the stalks of the plants actually. I will probably pick those tomorrow, and we can have them for dinner. In all, the garden has been an interesting experiment, but I will make more changes before next year. I am reading about permaculture right now, and am interested in ripping up most of the back yard in an effort to turn it into an urban food producing jungle. We will see how that works out. I know that I will need a tiller for one thing, because I am not going to try to turn the soil over by hand again. That was a ton of crazy work that took a long time.
Photos will be coming shortly.

Solace in the art of motorcycle maintenance

dnovotny — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:30:22 +0000

Last night I unplugged. Instead of running ulduar with my guild, I decided not to even log into WoW. I had intended to spend a while on a video conference call with some friends discussing technology, but through a weird sequence of events, we ended up canceling the call. Instead I checked on my seedlings, which are unfortunately looking like they might not make it. Some of the plants that I had started had reached the top of the container that they were in, so I could no longer leave them inside. Accordingly I had moved them out to the back porch, where I figured I would let them grow until this weekend when I would have the time to put them into the ground. That was on Tuesday evening that I had moved them outside. On Monday morning I checked on them and noticed that they were all wilted and laying down, in no way reminiscent of the thriving plants that I had seen inside the night before. And last night and this morning was more of the same. I am continuing to water them, and hoping they will come back, but I can’t be sure that they will at this point.
After a brief stint with the plants, I went out to start looking at my motorcycle again. I haven’t riden it in a while, as I have been working on fixing problems here and there with it. Most recently I have been trying to figure out why it would always die when I got it past 5K rpm. The redline on it is 10K rpm, and as it revved up to 5k it would just start to sputter and die. So last night I decided to take apart the throttle controls. It was interesting, because it taught me how one more system on the bike worked, and gave me an opportunity to look at just how archaic the system is, though it does work. It turns out that the bike is based off of a turning handle at one end, and a wheel at the other end. The wheel is connected to the butterfly valves in the carburetors, and the handle and wheel are connected by a pair of cables. One cable is responsible for acceleration, and the other for deceleration. The issue with my bike was that the acceleration cable had become loose, and about halfway through the pull the deceleration cable would build up more tension and spin the wheel and butterfly valves back the other way even though the accelerator cable was still pulling in the direction that the handle was being turned. A few quick adjustments to the cables, and now it will run all the way from its idle at ~1.2K rpm all the way to a fairly steady 6k rpm, which is where I feel comfortable cruising at, and a further twist will send the bike all the way up to the upper 9k range. I find it very difficult to redline the bike while it is sitting on its center-stand. And its probably just because I am used to my car which redlines at ~6k rpm, but cruising at 8k just feels very hurried to me. I think when I am ready to start looking at a bigger bike, (because I know I will) I will probably look to see what the engine ranges are like. Its probably partly because the engine’s predecessors were racing engines, its half of the 1000cc out of a Ninja, but when it really cranks up, its easy to tell that it wants to run. Its a little out of character for the looks of the bike which are mostly old-school cruiser, but I knew it would be that way when I bought it. There was a magazine that touted the fact that the 454 LTD was faster to 60mph and faster in the 1/4 mile than a 454 Corvette from 1973.

Anyway, tonight I think I will change the oil on the bike, check the garden, and generally just be myself.

Bigger isn’t always best

dnovotny — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 03:32:40 +0000

When I got home from work today, I decided to take a few minutes and try to figure out why my motorcycle won’t start. I am pretty sure I have narrowed it down to an electrical issue, most likely the spark plugs, but I don’t know that for sure. So, I fiddled and traced wiring for a few minutes, and then on a whim decided to check on the front fuse box. I didn’t expect anything to be wrong in there, but was ready for any surprises that could await me.

Front Fusebox with burnt fuse terminals

The first thing I noticed was that the fuse wasn’t propperly connected. Next, I noticed the melted terminal ends. And finally, I realized that the middle fuse wasn’t the 10A fuse it should be, but instead is a 15A fuse, which will explain the melted terminals.

Just for the hell of it, I fitted the fuse back into its position, and gave the bike a try. On the first attempt it almost caught, but didn’t quite, though the gauge lights came on strong and bright. I guess I will be able to ride it at night after all. Or at least once I get it running again. Next, it was a decision to figure what I can do to find a part to a 23 year old motorcycle. Ebay was the first place I looked, and luckily I happened to find the whole Horn assembly, which the front fuse box is a part of for only $14. I hit that buy it now button, and I am looking forward to getting it here. I did also bid on some crappy little rusted shorty mirrors for the bike, because the bid amount on them was $0.99, and I really doubt that anyone else will bid on them. And if someone outbids me, its not really a big loss.

When I was looking for a bike, my philosophy was that if I bought a bike that I had to fix up, it would be less expensive, and by the time I was done I would know the bike inside and out. And I am on the way. I have learned a lot about the bike, and there are a bunch of things I have yet to figure out. There are still some parts I need to replace, and in time I will, like the turn signals. While they aren’t technically required, I really do want to have them. They aren’t for me, they are for my safety.
I think I might like to add a windshield, but at the same time I am not sure. I wear a full-face helmet, so I don’t know if it would really be of any benefit, but most of the ones I have seen say that they install and remove in seconds, so maybe it would be the sort of thing I would add for when I am riding long distances, but take off for normal around town riding. I just don’t know.

Work has consumed me

dnovotny — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:02:58 +0000

Once again, I have let work consume me. It does because that is the person I am. I don’t mean for it to happen, but I inevitably end up spending too much time at work, and not enough at home, hence the infrequent posting. Since my last post, I have had a lot going on. My employer was in a contract dispute with Time Warner Cable, and that has been resolved. I launched a new website at work. I didn’t do the majority of the heavy lifting, though I did a lot of the site building. I guess I should put that as I didn’t write the CMS, but I did a lot of the migration work. In addition we have moved to a whole new suite of providers for our services, and I think that minor issues aside it has been a huge success, and has allowed the company to move forward approximately 10 years in technology terms. I have been working on my bike recently. The task at hand is to repair the brakes, because as long as the front brake is not functioning correctly the bike is out of service. I understand the value in having properly functioning brakes, so that repair has to happen before I can continue to ride. My cousin got married last weekend, that was kind of cool. My Mother’s entire family was there, so it gave Kelly the opportunity to meet my two uncles whom she had not met yet. I did get some bad news, though that is not available for public consumption. I had a physical for the first time in 10 years, and the doctor’s response was “Continue present care” which is none, and “Return in 1-2 years”. So, I feel pretty good about that. Thats about all I have in stream of conscious updates, so I will just throw a bunch of photos up here, and will make my normal promise to try to post more frequently.

I dropped it today

dnovotny — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:00:23 +0000

So, today was another rough day in the office, and to be completely fair, because of several issues that are publicly happening right now, I am pretty sure I will be staying up past midnight, expecting a phone call. First, in case you aren’t aware, I work for KXAN, where I manage the website. Most of what exists there are the changes that myself and my team have been able to make to the site since we have begun there. It is a massive improvement over where it was before we were working on it. And, when I say that, I mean no disrespect to the people who owned the site before us, only that we are trying to move it more to the fore-front rather than just subsisting. Anyway, rant aside, if you go there, you will quickly become painfully aware that there is a retransmission contract that is about to expire tonight between LinTV, the parent company for KXAN, and Time Warner Cable. This disagreement has compounded with at least two other factors to keep myself and my team completely consumed at the office, and to some degree outside of the office.
I have been trying to make it home in time to ride the bike every night this week, but I haven’t really been able to. However, looking at my schedule over the next few weeks, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to get away from work, so I got up this morning, and went to the county tax assessor and changed the title and registration of the motorcycle to myself. And, after leaving work a half hour late (I got in about 10 minutes late), I made it home before the sun set, and said hello to Kelly before I pulled out the bike and started it up. I worried that it would not start, because when I saw my neighbor last night, I invited him over to see it as he is a rider, and we had talked about it before I got a bike. Well, when he came over he asked if I would start it up, which I said sure, but I must have been nervous, because I ended up pushing the choke too far, and it wouldn’t quite catch. So they went back home, not having heard it.
When I realized today that the reason it wouldn’t start last night was my choke control, it kicked right up and rumbled like it should. After I knew it was going to start, I put on my protective gear, and went for a ride. I rode over to 45, the toll road, and circled on an unused section of the feeder road because its an empty straight road with a wide sweeping turn-around where the speed limit is 45mph, which gave me an opportunity to work it into the gears. After a couple of loops there, I went down a few other roads, and had to wait on a train to pass. This gave me a good chance to stop and analyze the driving I had already done. After the train, I took a turn and meandered through a neighborhood that dropped me out onto McNeil, which I took all the way around to Howard Lane, which is a long uninterrupted two lane road with a speed limit of 50 mph. This gave me my first opportunity to kick the bike up into 6th gear, which I really need to get more accustomed to. It pretty much felt like it came too soon. Although, now that I have had the opportunity to make it that far, and to push into 6th gear, I think I have a better understanding of how to rev the engine now, especially because that was really the first ride I have taken where the tach was really working. I now feel like I can tell from listening to the bike where in the RPM range it is. This was about a 20 mile ride tonight, and I enjoyed it.
I have to admit though, I slowed down and pulled into the driveway, and hit the kill switch, and walked it up to the garage door, then tried to turn it around, so I could back it into the garage, because I prefer to have it ready to ride out of the garage. Well, I still need some experience pivoting the bike, and I need to start parking further down the driveway, because as I backed it up towards the front door, I rolled the rear tire onto a different slab, and caught myself off balance and dropped my bike. Luckily it fell onto the side that a previous owner had dropped it onto, and it fell into the front yard, which made it land in the grass. It caught me off guard, and it was a little of a wake up, but it gave me the opportunity to see how to pick it up on my own. Which was no problem. No damage was done, though apparently the carbs were overfilled, because as my neighbor came back over, the bike was idling around 4k rpm instead of 1.2k rpm as it had been. After we finished talking, I pushed it back into the garage, and gave it a quick start, and it idled just fine. I just have to remember to use the choke correctly.

The bike is opperational again

dnovotny — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 04:14:55 +0000

On Tuesday afternoon, I got the phone call that my cables had come in to Woods Fun Center, and that I could pick them up at any time. Now I had ordered these cables, and was waiting for them, so I made plans to pick them up on my way home from work. I found out about a happy hour later that night for Morgan’s birthday, which I am sorry to say I had to miss. We will make it up at some point, she is a cool cat. Anyway, when I got home I started ripping the bike apart to put the new cables on the bike. This might have been easier if I had a shop manual, but I don’t yet, so I just winged it.
In all, it took me about an hour, and I have working gauges now. Unfortunately they are not illumenated gauges, but at least I can track my mileage and figure out my speed now. Also I told Kelly she couldn’t ride it until I have 6,000 miles under my belt, so they officially start now.
I am in Houston for the weekend, so no riding for me, but I will when I can.

Photos and history of the bike

dnovotny — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 23:35:13 +0000

Here are the promised photos:

So, here is the story as I know it:

The original owner was an old man who kept it garaged most of the bike’s life, and had handicapped plates that were on it when the 3rd owner got it. The second owner was a young kid, who dropped it on the right side, which is why there is some road rash on that side. Its definitely visible in the controls, and along the exhaust. The brake reservoir and the coolant overflow have been repaired, though if I can find the parts at a reasonable rate I will be replacing them, as I do think they are kind of important systems on the bike. The seem to be working well now though. Also, the tach and speedo are not functional, but the previous owner said that he had pulled the tach cable from the valve cover and the gear was turning there, so its just a cable issue. I have since checked, and there appears to be an internet store that has each cable for $15, so no big deal there. Also, there are no turn signals on it, but I know the manual signals, and for a while that will be fine. I will probably look into getting signals before I start riding it on the highway though. The tool box is missing from behind the seat, which I am 90% positive that I will be replacing as soon as I can find a tool box for sale.
Tomorrow I will try to get some insurance on it, and then, get it registered in my name, and start riding it around the neighborhood.

I am driving an LTD again

dnovotny — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 00:33:51 +0000

This time its a Kawasaki though.

I will post pictures of the bike soon, but we are running out for dinner with some family.