The Ride to Street Vibrations

...I have never been to Street Vibrations before. So we made reservations and headed to Reno. We took Hwy 88 over Carson Pass, the same route that we took to Laughlin in the Spring. The photos were taken at the same place, but the middle photo, the one with the snow, was taken in the spring on the run to Laughlin.

...Instead of going south over Monitor Pass, we stayed on Hwy 88 to Minden, Nevada and turned north on Hwy 395. We stopped in Carson City briefly, then arrived in Reno about 6:30 PM on Wednesday.

Garage Culture

...I've been enjoying my garage more lately. I really like how the afternoon sun shines in the door and keeps the place warm. I like to work on a project or after I clean up I might just sit and read. My garage is really small, just a two car. I have to pull one of the cars out have any room to work at all. Still there is room for the two cars, two motorcycles, a bunch of tools and a lot of other stuff, if I keep everything fairly well organized.
..The thing I enjoy the most is when friends come by and sit awhile.

Sherri and Gary Leave for Stugis

My friends Sherri and Gary are off to Sturgis. We rode with them over Ebbits Pass to Carson City where they caught Highway 50. The road over Ebbits Pass is Highway 4. Highway 4 is good road from where they close the road for the winter, near Lake Alpine to the turn off for Monitor Pass, but only about a lane and half wide. This means taking the far outside on blind curves, which is not a problem but still makes you jump when a car comes around the corner.

Marie and I took Highway 395 north to Reno then took Highway 80 home.

Blacked Out Rear Bumper

I was washing the bike when I found that the rear bumper was broken. The piece was probably cracked a couple of years ago when I was hit from behind while sitting a stoplight by a homeless cranker. He had been living in his car and had deferred out the brake maintenance in favor of his favorite recreational substance. No license, no brakes, no insurance, no problem.

After the crash, I replaced the rear fender and a few other parts but not the rear bumper. When I found the bumper had finally broken, I called my local HD dealer and ordered the part. The part was $117 and would arrive in about 5 days.

The next day Marie and I were going for a little ride with our friends, Gary and Sherri, so I decided to weld it up. Here you see the results. I did a little grinding on the welds, primered and painted and voila.

I like the look so well that I canceled the order on the new chrome piece.

How to - Electra Glilde Rear Brake

...I have not replaced the rear brake pads myself before. I hope this helps someone to take on the job and save a little money. It's really easy, so welcome to my garage and lets do a rear brake pad replacement on my '04 Electra Glide Standard.
First take off the right side saddlebag. Then, using a 1/4 in 12 point socket, loosen the two pad pins, but don't take them out.
Also take the cap off the rear master cylinder, which is located near the rear brake pedal. Use a phillips screwdriver.




Using a putty knife push the inner pistons back. Watch out that Master cylinder do does not overflow. (The photo shows the outside pistons being pushed back.)

Pull out the two pad pins until the rear pad falls out and put the new one in. Push the pad pins back in and pump the brake. The reason for doing one side at a time is to keep the anti-rattle spring from falling out.

Use the puddy knife and push the outside pistons back and while making sure the inside pads stay in place, pull the pad pins, drop out the old outside pad and slide in the new pad. Put the pad pins back in and torque them to 190 in lbs.. Put the master cylinder cap back on and you are done.

Famous Road Signs

There are a lot of famous road signs. This particular road sign is just south of Monterey on California's Hwy 1. I've seen this road sign on motorcycle sites all over the Internet, it promises 74 miles of the twisty roads motorcyclists love, but for those of you who are curious, here's a side you may not have seen. I do this as a public service.

Street Fighter

.....While my friend Scott and I were out wandering around, when we met this guy with his old Triumph Street Fighter.
.....We were heading south on Skyline Drive which is a great road along the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains. On Skyline Drive you see hot rods and sports cars but mostly motorcycles, all kinds of motorcycles. Alice's is a good place to stop for a cold drink and a bite to eat, but mostly it is a great place to spot cool motorcycles.
.....This guy says his bike is a lot of work to keep running but it is obvious that he is proud of his vision of what a motorcycle should be.

The Really Big Noise During the Night

Last night about 2:30 AM, I heard an engine at high rev's then within about a second I heard a crash.
















This morning when I went out front there was a really long oil slick, with expensive looking aluminium ground into the pavement.

Then I saw a 2005 Suzuki GSX-R in front of my neighbors house. It was a little ground down on the left side. I talked to the bike's owner, who had just bought the bike, and let an acquaintance ride it. The guy crashed just out of the driveway and slid the bike on its side for the next 94 ft.. The frame was bent and the bike totaled.

Education is always expensive.

BMW R1200C

I love strange and unusual motorcycles. I think this BMW qualifies. These photos are of two R1200C Montana's. BMW built the R1200C's from 1997 to 2000. They built about 40,000 R1200C motorcycles.
BMW called the front suspension Telelever, which is also called Saxon-Motodd.
The bike has some interesting parts like a tubular single sided swing arm that houses the drive shaft. Brembo brakes with anti-lock. All the good stuff wrapped in a very unusual motorcycle designed as a "cruiser" style with forward foot pegs and high handlebars.
I look at this bike over and over and still cant figure it.

Moto Gussi V50 Mk2

I saw this Moto Guzzi in the Town of Sonoma the other day. It's a strange thing but I see a lot of interesting bikes in Sonoma. This bike is a V50 Mk 2, which I think was made between 1979 and 1981.
This bike spoke to me from the first instant that I saw it. What it said is that with some cleaning, polishing and a little paint it would be a very cool motorcycle.

KFOG Kaboom

Saturday, Marie and I headed for Mendocino. The weather was warmer and we hoped the fog would hold off. We stopped in Guerneville for lunch. I checked my cell phone and found that my friend Davc had called and asked if we would like to go on his boat to the KFOG Kaboom.









KFOG is a San Francisco radio station and the event is an outdoor concert on the docks with a great fireworks show afterward. About 350,000 people show up for the concert and fireworks. The event has been going on for about 14 years. We changed plans and headed south.















We met Dave at the marina and were soon aboard Dave's boat and headed along the San Francisco water front. We passed the Bay Bridge and anchored around sunset.
The fireworks were awesome and the company great. I'm sure glad Dave called.

Where the Redbud Grows

I live in Sonoma County, the county just to the north is Lake County. You know that spring has come to Lake County when the Redbud blooms.

My Mom at Sears Point

The motorcycling world is large and convoluted, it turns out that my Mom's good friend is Brian Bartlow's mother. Brian is a sponsored, Kawasaki racer. So while I was in Laughlin, Mom and my Daughter, Lee, went to Sears Point to enjoy the races. By the way, Brian did well in the Sportman Class, he came in first.

Bug Spray

Do you trailer your motorcycle to bike events?
Do people who actually ride their bikes give you a hard time?
Well, no longer, now there’s

BUG SPRAY!

BUG SPRAY is a wax based product that simulates dead bugs on your fairing. Pull into town and hide your trailer, just like you usually do, then apply bug spray to the front of your motorcycle. People will think you actually rode it!

After you have established your street cred, simply buff the wax based bug spray to a never ridden high gloss shine!

Get BUG SPRAY now!
Also available as BUG SPRAY JR. for helmets! And try BUG SPRAY BLACK for white and pastel paint!

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WARNING - BUG SPRAY, BUG SPRAY JR. and BUG SPRAY BLACK do not contain actual insects or insect parts and as such do not convey to the user any actual experiences, skills or stamina. Only actual long distance riding can provide those results.