Learning to Ride

New Project: A 1978 Honda CX500E

2011-07-04T13:07:00.001-04:00

Bought this trashed 1978 CX. It appears to have been stolen probably in 1979, then dumped at a NYC river (gross back then). The registration stickers say 1979. The odometer states only about 1400 miles. Washed off construction dust (from sitting in the garage of a building undergoing renovation).

It smells like a sewer.

The cooling liquid is bright green and the oil came out pretty clean.

The rubber hoses had to be peeled off everything. Used a thin screwdriver. And now trying to get the rear engine cover unstuck. I want to get the stator from it and use it in my 81 CX500c. Either that or just use this experience for when the 81 engine comes off.

Here are some images for posterity:

Wet Pavement

2011-04-26T12:20:00.000-04:00

Last Fall I acquired Flo, a 1983 Suzuki GS 550E. One ride at 80 mph on a windy, hilly 4-lane highway, and I was hooked. Sixteen valve inline fours – that's her engine and now my engine of preference.

Eager to ride after a long winter, I've been riding as much as possible, taking excursions as short as a mile just to take Flo on the road. Rain? I don't care. As long as it's not freezing rain, rain is an opportunity to improve riding skills.

Night 1

The first night of rain, I had been out with a friend at a bar. Uh oh. Bar. Worst case scenario, I'd park the bike overnight and pick her up in the morning. But when the rain started to fall, I couldn't leave Flo there. Not that she's an inanimate object or anything. She's quite animated when that throttle is twisted. :)

At 3:30 am, I was feeling sober (only had one cocktail), but I waited 40 more minutes just to make sure. The roads were glistening. Drops were everywhere and the drizzle kept falling.

Slow and steady wins the race. I don't think I've ever ridden Flo so carefully. I proceeded like an old lady in a Cavalier. Avoiding every puddle – you never know what's under the water on a New York City street – each turn was in expectation of surprise. Plus there was the constant scanning for idiot taxi drivers who don't care about anything except getting cab fares.

Fortunately, that night I wore leather tracker pants in case it rained. Plus, it was after 4 in the morning and the streets were pretty sparse. Though even at that hour, taxis still roam.

Only a tiny percentage of city riders take to the streets in rainy weather. They're the fanatics, the lunatics who increase their chances of death tenfold, maybe more. For a beginning rider, and intermediate, every ride is a potential skill-building opportunity with the added value of the big enjoy of riding. So, maybe i'm a lunatic, but I also want to be a better rider.

It's good to be a little nervous. Keeps you alert.

Night 2

The second night of riding Flo in the rain was two nights later. Easter night. It was beautiful all day with temperatures in the high 60s, low 70s. Perfect. I had to go to work after spending time in the park. But when I left the office, the streets once again were shining from an evening drizzle. I think there was thunder and lightning too, but I couldn't hear any from inside.

This time, there were no drops obstructing the view through the windscreen. Everything was clearly visible, including the police car that took an abrupt left turn into my path. Braking was scary as I expected to slide across the pavement. Fortunately, I had been keen on avoiding the puddles, and there were no potholes or metal hole covers in my path. And thank God, the cop saw me and stopped. If he or she hadn't … well, you know. The adrenaline pumped.

Cagers don't realize how dangerous is it to ride a two-wheeled vehicle on wet pavement. They have 4 or more tires and more than twice the traction. (More than twice, because car tires are wider.) So they will pass by as if it's any other driving day, sometimes cutting you off or squeezing next to you to get ahead. They also have ABS almost standard. They don't know how easy it is for a motorcycle to fall simply from braking in the rain.

To make it worse, they just don't see until it's often too late, or never.

I appreciate every driver who looks over at my bike at red lights, leaves extra space not to tailgate or to let me cross lanes. Every time someone makes it clear that he or she sees me, I just want to get off, go over, and give that person a big hug. Thanks, Drivers Who See!

International Motorcycle Show in NYC

2011-01-28T02:07:00.001-05:00

Here's some highlights of the motorcycle show last weekend!

Works Engineering Hosts Vintage Motorcycle Show

2010-08-24T22:22:00.009-04:00

Works Engineering on North 14th St between Berry and Wythe in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, hosts a show every year. The beer was sponsored by Asahi, and there were burgers, and dozens of vintage bikes. And Flo qualified as a vintage bike! (1983 Suzuki GS550E.) She got some love.

Here are some pics of the event.

An old Honda CB500 Four with cafe-style bars.

This is Jen, who makes Retro Moto t-shirts, getting camera time on her cafed-out CB. I bought one of her shirts as a souvenir.

The street before the rain. (Yes, it rained.)

Thruxton! One day I'll ride one of these...

Rev'It was at the show offering gear at discount prices. I tried on a jacket that fit me perfectly. But I try not to buy anything over $100 without taking a few days to think about it. They have a place in Red Hook in Brooklyn where they have warehouse sales. I'm so there.

And it rained.

And rained.

And we got wet.

Hot rod weekend

2010-08-24T09:02:00.011-04:00

This past weekend (August 21, 2010) was an annual hot rod event in Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Hundreds of hot rod and bike owners came out to display their projects. Here are some photos:

Harley for sale.

An old BMW.

This guy with the helmet makes custom leather seats. Tres cool. I think he builds custom bikes, too. I'm not sure 'cause, well, he was on his way out and I didn't get to talk to him much.

One of his work. (To the helmet-wearing guy: Hey, I couldn't find your site.)

Check out the air filter. Cymbals.

I like the stick head.

Indian original!

This little thing is a "Vespa 400"

After getting back from the hot rod show, we saw these two bikes built by Local Cycles in Long Beach, New York (on Long Island). They parked, then biked 3 miles to the show.

This pic looks like it might be at the vintage bike show. But it was just a bunch of bikes parked outside the hot rod show. Motorcycle parking only!

The next day, we went to the vintage motorcycle show. More pics to come!

Meet Flo

2010-08-24T08:47:00.003-04:00

In order to ride Molly again, I would have to remove her engine to get the stator coils. Since there isn't much time to work on her (since I'm not yet independently wealthy to do whatever I want) before our trip in the Northeast this Labor Day weekend, Jason and I acquired Flo, a 1983 Suzuki GS550e.

The first time I saw this Suzuki, I didn't know what to think. I was still sad that Molly broke down and needed so much work. But once I got on this bike, she got her name. Flo is quick, responsive, and fun to ride. Much more fun than the CL360 or the CX550. Flo's model is GS550, but her displacement is really 572ccs. She's got 4 cylinders. She's the first 4-cylinder i've ever ridden. And she's about 70 pounds lighter than Molly. That's a big difference for me at 125 pounds. I might be able to lift her if she falls.

The first weekend I rode her, it rained. Her tires are relatively new, so I didn't worry.

She needs some work-- cleaning of her idle jet and carburetors (there are two), an oil change. Maybe replacement of covers for the ignition points and petcock. But that's about it. I haven't looked forward to riding as much as when we first got Georgia (the CL360).

Classic bikes need mechanic owners

2010-08-01T18:09:00.006-04:00

This weekend, Jason and I went to Buck's County, Pennsylvania. River Road runs alongside the Delaware River, and we wanted to ride the stretch from Riegelsville to Milford, NJ.

We had to put Molly's front fender back on, since it was supposed to rain on the way back home. So, unfortunately, we left later than we wanted. (We were also out late the night before, and had a bit too much to drink.) By the time we got to the Holland Tunnel in Manhattan to head out onto Route 78, traffic was backed up for at least a half hour. Though it wasn't too hot outside, sitting still in traffic caused our engines to heat up quite a bit. Molly's temp gauge was almost in the red.

We didn't get to Riegelsville without further problems. In Bloomsbury, NJ, there's a Pilot Travel Center (my favorite gasoline stop). Jason likes to stop there, because it's a good place to rest after an hour on the highway. We picked up some sundries and geared up to ride a country road to Riegelsville, but then Molly wouldn't start. The battery was dead. Thinking about how the battery could have died while on the highway, I thought about possible symptoms. The engine was losing power then surging at high speeds. Before that we were sitting in stopped traffic while waiting to get through the Holland Tunnel. We had also tried to use carb cleaner, since the right side was backfiring when slowing down. I was sure it was because the right carburetor needed some degunking. I thought maybe the surging was a result of gunk getting stuck in the jet.

Maybe the carb cleaner was a bad idea. But that wouldn't be a reason why the battery would die so fast. Maybe a diode had burned out in the rectifier. In addition to a possible bad rectifier/charging system, we already knew one of the stator coils is bad. I hate being on the road with an old bike without the proper tools to troubleshoot problems.

At the Pilot, I said to Jason, "We need to push start her."

Just then, an angel at a gas pump yelled out, "You need a push start?"

At first, I didn't know what to think. I must have had a confused look on my face, because then he walked over with a smile and said, "You need to push start your bike? I had a CX500. They're great bikes." I think he was a local. His Jersey license plate said "Veteran," and he had a calm and stalwart demeanor. And he was a big guy. Well, bigger than Jason.

I put the clutch in 2nd, turned on the ignition, and in one run at about five mph with our veteran hero at the stern, I popped the clutch and pulled the throttle, and Molly started right up.

I didn't get his name. Wherever you are, Sir, thank you. People like you make me proud to be American. He was truly an angel that day.

We got to Riegelsville where we met up with family, and I put the battery on a trickle charger (which we take with us, because of the bad stator coil). The next morning, we packed up and headed down River Road. Gorgeous. And fun. It was much more fun to ride than Bear Mountain, because the route was much longer.

After some more family meetups, we decided to try to beat the rain. Well, we rode right into it. With the faulty firing, riding in the rain was not exciting. It was cold, we were wet, and Molly's power was getting worse. We were going so fast, though, I couldn't really listen to the engine with all the wind noise. I could only feel her lose power at high RPMs.

Several exits passed by, and each time one came up, I thought about getting off and drying off. But I really just wanted to get home. So we kept going.

Halfway there, the rain stopped. But Molly's ignition was even worse.

Then we reached the Holland Tunnel back toward the city. What a relief. For a minute.

At a traffic light just before reaching the toll booth, Molly stalled and wouldn't start. The battery was dead again. Jason and I pulled over to a side street and tried to push start her again, but she wouldn't take. We tried several times until Jason was too wiped out to push more. Fortunately, there was a shopping mall close by, so we took her battery and the trickle charger with us to charge while we got some food and a little rest.

With enough juice, we tried starting Molly again. The starter turned, but the cylinders would not ignite. Then we pulled out the spark plugs. The right side was covered in oil, and fuel had splashed up the sides of the plug. I didn't have a multimeter on me to check the connections and I forgot about touching the plugs to the cylinder to check for spark.

After replacing the right plug with a new one, we tried again. Nothing. I started thinking again about the symptoms. Obviously the battery wasn't charging. It could have been the rectifier. But then the ignition wasn't functioning either. The stator? Oh no.

Since it was getting late, we decided to leave Molly and head home through the tunnel. The parking lot to the Holland Motor Lodge was right there, and the manager was kind enough to let me park her overnight. In fact, he was so kind that later I looked up the hotel online and saw that it received an average of 4 out of 5 stars from hundreds of reviewers. So, side note, great place to stay. It's AAA and it's walking distance to public transportation, like the Manhattan Ferry and the New Jersey PATH train. And it has a parking lot, so you don't have to pay exorbitant Manhattan parking fees to enjoy the city. (Though, it is pretty easy to park a motorcycle in the city.)

The next day I went back to Molly with a fully charged battery, a multi-meter, a wire, electrical tape, penetrating cleaner, a bunch of tools, and a phone number for a motorcycle tow. I didn't have to look much to find that the phone number was the most important thing to have this time. I noticed that the right spark plug wire was loose. I pulled off the electrical tape that was on it to find out exactly why it was loose. Well, it wasn't just loose; it was broken. The plug wasn't getting any spark.

When we bought the bike, the seller mentioned that the carburetors needed cleaning, so we attributed the backfiring to dirty carbs. I never thought that it was the wires. It turns out the ignition system had two faulty connections between the CDI and the right spark plug. And when I checked the spark plug connector, there was no continuity at all.

Now, I did bring a wire along with the tools, so I theoretically could have done something McGyver to get the ignition to work. But unfortunately, that wasn't the only problem. I checked the stator coils. Another bad one. The engine was so hot that it melted the resin in the alternator. I had ridden Molly all weekend with one functioning stator coil. The ignition system drained the battery. I wasn't ready to ride with ghetto wiring and a failing alternator. The wire might have melted (shorted) and gotten me stuck inside the tunnel. Instead, I elected to call Tony of TLT Towing to get me home.

He came, and in one swift move, got the bike on his truck and drove us home.

Next step, fix the stator.

Back on the home front with a bloody maria

2010-07-25T15:05:00.006-04:00

Well, I forgot to check the front end to make sure nothing was coming loose. But all was fine anyway.

My top speed was 75. I guess the speedometer on old Molly needed some warming up. Still, it only went to 70, but the needle wasn't jumping up and down like it did going 65.

It actually was a little windy today with the impending rain on its way through the Tri-State area. We made it back to Brooklyn before it fell, and settled down for a beer and a bloody maria (a bloody mary with tequila) at one of our favorite haunts, Superfine, in Dumbo.

I didn't know before how many miles Molly would get on a gallon of gasoline. Riding only in the city, Molly got only about 35. Sometimes 25 if there are a lot of red lights. Today, I felt the engine sputter and thought the tank might have been close to empty, so I switched the gas line to reserve and went to the next gas station. Turns out it wasn't low fuel. It was probably a dirty carburetor. Molly's right side has been backfiring and I keep forgetting that I have to clean it. Anyway, on one gallon riding on highways and up and down mountain roads, she got 70 mpg.

We went to Bear Mountain in downstate New York. At 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the shade from the trees was a nice relief from the sweltering highways. Since I replaced the brake caliper myself, I was a little nervous going down a mountainside, so I stayed slow-- about as slow as cagers drive. The brakes worked. Molly rocked. We rode back up the mountain, went to Bear Mountain State Park, enjoyed the view, took pictures, talked to strangers on bikes...(It's a big biker destination. Even Harley riders are friendly. Hahaha. I'm teasing.)

Jason rides a Triumph Scrambler, and when we ride together, he usually gets all the love from admirers. But today on Bear Mountain, Molly got love from a guy who said the CX500 C was his first bike. He asked where my fender was. Oh yeah, so we were going to replace the fender yesterday before leaving, and after removing the tire, found out that the fender brackets are 5 mm short of the fork holes. Either have to drill new holes in the fender, get the proper front fender, or make my own. If I didn't work full time, I'd make my own. I'll probably drill holes. So, I also mentioned to the guy that Molly's foot pegs come from a Deluxe, and handlebars were a spare part that came with Jason's old CB350, which he doesn't have anymore.

All in all, my first ride out of New York City was fun. Jason said I didn't do anything stupid. That's good. I was definitely more cautious having swapped out the front end without a professional mechanic. Today's ride was more comfortable than yesterday, I guess cause I realized that wind is normal. If there were no cars on the road, I would have been more aggressive. We did ride on Seven Ponds Road, which had very few cars. The speed limit was 40, but it was so clear, I had to go a little faster.

Now back in Brooklyn, we've relaxed from the ride, made it inside before the rain, and settled with some cold beverages. Bloody maria for me. Mmmm. Cheers.

Above: Footage Jason got after we got back to Brooklyn from Bear Mountain. Notice at the end, the evasive move. There was an SUV double-parked. Got ready for it to pull out, just in case.

Icon Hella Street Angel boots review

2010-07-24T23:57:00.004-04:00

They look funky with the red detail, and the hardware looks cool, but these boots are not for riders.

Maybe it's fine for passengers, but I could not ride my bike with these boots. Could not even walk in them. They are inflexible. I could not lift my toe to shift. They look cheap. The heels are plastic and the ankle protector is located too high. Didn't even cover the malleolus.

At least the sizing is correct. But besides that, if you want a good riding boot, don't bother with these.

Riding Upstate

2010-07-24T23:28:00.003-04:00

After 2 hours on the road, all I can say is, "I'm pooped."

I've got to write this down, because I don't want to forget what it was like riding on the highway for the first time.

I had no idea how fast I was going until asking Jason, because my speedometer gets stuck between 50 and 60. I knew we weren't going that fast. It felt windy, so I kept the speed a bit slow. Little did I realize that the wind I felt was from riding. The air was actually pretty still.

Now that I'm aware of how windy it feels in the driver's position, I'll probably roll the throttle just a little more tomorrow.

We spent about an hour on highways. Even though our route was supposed to take us onto winding slow roads, I missed an exit and kept going until there seemed to be an alternate route. Though there was an opportunity to get back on the planned route, I decided to stay on the highway. It was a winding highway-- fun to ride.

Molly rode triumphantly.

We got to our destination, the Cider Mill Inn, a bed and breakfast in Pine Island, New York. It's a quaint house just off County Road 26 in Orange County with a tepid pool and all kinds of charm. And wifi. After checking in and a dip in the pool, we took off toward the village of Warwick.

The roads were pleasant under the trees with plenty of curves and clear pavement with just a few areas of farm dirt from tractor wheels and some other rough spots from road wear. We took Route 1, Pine Island Turnpike, enjoyed the scenic ride, then parked on Main Street and walked around.

On a Saturday evening, the town was quiet. But we found a nice place to eat with air conditioning and friendly waitresses next door to an antique shop that offered complimentary local fruit, I guess because there was so much. Nice welcome.

Tomorrow we hit the winding roads again. Gotta remember to check Molly front end before we leave.

First highway ride

2010-07-24T12:13:00.004-04:00

Today I will take my first solo ride on a highway. I suppose at this point I might be a better mechanic than rider given the amount of time I've spent working on the two vintage bikes I've ever ridden.

To prepare for today's trip out of the city and into the beautiful wooded upstate New York scenery, I had to make sure everything worked properly on old Molly. A previous owner butchered her electrical harness, so over the past few week I worked on restoring the wiring as close to stock as possible (a bit difficult since the harness doesn't match Molly's year). The biggest challenge to achieve this was getting all the connectors and wires to fit behind the headlamp inside the headlight bucket.

Now that everything is working, I'm excited to get on the road!

We decided to route out a way that takes less highway than necessary, since I have no idea how Molly will do at high speeds. I've never ridden more than 60 mph. Also, I've replaced her front end by myself. (Previously she had a Deluxe front end, and I've replaced a proper Custom front end with a dual-pot brake caliper.) It's a little scary to ride the highway needless to say. But we've torqued the essential bolts and the axle to proper specs, and everything is aligned. I think Molly will be fine.

It's hot and partially sunny today. Over 90 degrees. I have my white mesh jacket and a brand new pair of textile pants, which unfortunately are black, but there's little choice for women. I would wear my brand new women's Icon Hella boots, but I can't even bring my toes up to shift. The design is poor, and the quality cheap. You can tell the heel is made of plastic wrapped in leather. They're so inflexible that you can't even walk or, as mentioned already, shift. What about brake? How am I supposed to brake if I can't even move my ankle? C'mon Icon, you can do better than these boots.

I better pack. Jason has reserved a B&B for tonight. First thing tomorrow morning, a Sunday, we will ride the winding roads of the countryside. Also a first! Exciting :)

Molly with a replaced front end

2010-07-11T10:04:00.004-04:00

First ride in the rain

2010-07-10T23:49:00.006-04:00

In February, Jason got me a 1981 Honda CX500 Custom. I named her Molly and rode her instead of Georgia, which was too small to pass big trucks on the highway. Molly had some electrical issues, but I fixed them. It also seemed that one of her forks might have been bent, and she veered off a bit to one side.

Before getting Molly inspected, we had her tires changed and had the mechanic look at the forks. Sure enough, the left fork was bent. Of course we had to get the forks changed asap.

To make a long story short, after learning that Molly had been put together with parts from at least 4 different bikes-- including three different models-- getting replacements became a two-and-a-half month-long search and wait.

I put the front end together myself. The triple tree, forks and axle came from an 82 Custom in Texas. The caliper came from an 82 Custom in the Midwest.

Finally, today, after receiving the last part-- an air hose for the air-assisted front forks-- I got to ride. It was a dark and cloudy day today, but Jason and I had places to go. So, off we went.

Just minutes into the ride, it started to rain. I was a little nervous, because it was the first time I ever rode my own bike while it rained. I had ridden before on wet pavement, but not while drops were falling. It had also been over two months since riding, so it took some time to get my motorcycle legs back. On top of that, I didn't put the front fender back on. I liked how it looked without it, and well, I didn't think I'd ride in the rain.

Alas, with all the excitement of receiving the last part, riding Molly was imperative.

The water naturally came up off the front tire like a geyser. I must have ridden over an oil slick, because at one point the geyser splashed brownish water on my helmet. And, since the headlamp had been bent from a previous rider's crash, a little water got inside where all the wires are connected. Fortunately, nothing seemed to short. If anything I think the water helped keep the poorly connected blinkers working.

Fortunately, it was a short intermittent summer rain and traffic was light. The heat dried up the streets pretty quickly, so it wasn't too scary. I liked it actually-- riding in the rain, that is. Except next time, I'll have the fender on.

Electrical problems

2010-05-10T13:43:00.018-04:00

Just about every motorcycle mechanic I talk to has one thing he prefers not to deal with: electrical systems. It's not necessarily because of the occasional shock or burn from being the ground receiver of an open circuit. (12 volts is nothing compared to the 240 coming out of a laundry machine outlet.) The bad part is the intermittent working and not-working of components. Or worse, an engine not working after virtually everything and the electrical has been checked.

The electrical system on a motorcycle is like a body's circulatory system. Blood pumps through the body from the heart-- like energy from a motor to the rest of the bike. The heart muscles contract because of signals from the brain-- like the ignition sending impulses to the motor which mix with fuel causing explosions in the engine. Like the body, which can lose power if loses blood, a motorcycle needs its electrical system in sound shape in order for everything else to operate well.

When Jason and I bought Molly, a 1981 Honda CX500c, the previous owner said he had to put her on a trickle charger every time he parked overnight or longer, or else she wouldn't start. A mechanic told him it was a bad rectifier. Bad doctor. The rectifier, as we checked, is in perfect working condition. Something else was wrong.

One thing that was wrong with Molly was that the circuits were not properly closed. Like a blood vessel, which is a continuous path through the body from the heart to body parts and back to the heart with a pit stop at the lungs, an electrical circuit runs from a power source (the battery) to the components and back to the power source with a pit stop at ground. Just as blood needs oxygen from the lungs to continue doing its job, electricity needs ground to fulfill its purpose. (If you look, you'll see that one of the terminals of your bike's battery is connected to ground. It could be the positive terminal or the negative depending on the model of the bike.) Molly's wires had open contacts; uninsulated copper "bleeding" power before reaching the bike's components. In electrical terms, her power was going straight to ground. This was why the previous owner could not leave the bike parked overnight without charging the battery. Her power was terminally bleeding. (hehe)

Electrical system rule #1: All complete circuits must go to ground.

Molly had incomplete circuits. Before power could reach components, energy was wasted via uninsulated copper touching other metal parts on the bike, or moisture in the air. A symptom of this was the dry battery acid sprayed all over the starter solenoid. (Fortunately, that still works.) To fix this, I used heat-shrink tubes made out of silicone, a rubbery polymer made from the natural element, silicon. The wires were cut, which were then run through pieces of tube long enough to cover the bare areas, and soldered. Then the tubes were placed over the bare copper and heated using a heat gun, causing the tubes to shrink around the copper, insulating it from moisture and power shorts.

Copper wires in circuits are covered with usually vinyl or silicone. Personally, I prefer silicone because it has a higher heat resistance than vinyl, and its base is silicon, not petroleum like vinyl. (Rid the need for oil! End the war!)

All circuits on a bike are grounded (attached to the bike frame). Take blinkers for example. Some bikes have blinkers with one wire coming out of them. That wire is to be connected to the power source. When it has only one wire, it means the part to which the blinker is attached acts as ground. Look at a motorcycle frame carefully, and you'll find that all a motorcycle's components are connected by metal. Even the battery has a line wired to the frame. The front forks are sometimes connected to the frame with metal parts which act as electrical conduits. Other times wires come from the front forks and connect to the same metal frame as the battery.

The real difficulty of repairing electrical systems on motorcycles is the sorting through the complexity of wires. It's kind of like taking all your blood vessels and figuring out which tube goes to what body part.

Try to solve the problem before spending too much money and spending a mechanic's time

A motorcycle is an isolated electrical system. When it all works correctly, the battery provides the energy to power an initial spark, which when mixed with gasoline, gets the motor running, which then causes the alternator rotor to turn, building up an electrical charge that is sent to the rest of the bike including the battery which then recharges. Turn off the ignition switch, the engine shuts down, lights go off, and the battery stops charging.

If a light doesn't work, its circuit is broken. Finding where it's broken can be a challenge, especially if you don't know all the parts within the circuit. This is where electrical diagrams come in handy. Even if you don't have the exact diagram for your particular model, it's possible to figure out the problem. Most motorcycles use different color wires for each circuit. So, if your headlamp's wire is blue, and you find a blue wire elsewhere on the bike, there a high probability that that blue wire is connected to the headlamp.

To find out where a light's circuit is broken, answer these questions:

Is the ignition switch on? If no, turn it on. If yes, go to 2.

Do other lights work? If no, charge your battery. If yes, go to 3.

Does the bulb have a broken filament, or is it burned out? If yes, replace it. If no, go to 4.

According to the wiring diagram, is the light directly connected to a fuse? If yes, go to 5, if no, go to 6.

Is the fuse broken? If yes, replace it. If no, go to 6.

Is the bulb connected to a power source and is it grounded?

If you notice, there's no step after 6. That's because even if you think the answer is "yes," it might not be. This leads to rule #2.

Electrical rule #2: Connections must be clean.

If you have an old bike, the connections probably need cleaning. All it takes is some fine sandpaper-- 220 grit is dandy-- and a little scouring. It doesn't have to be shiny. Just get as much dirt or corrosion off as you can.

In a perfect electrical world, wires would be uninterrupted, joined by a clean and solid soldering job. But since motorcycle parts are often replaced, wires must be able to disconnect in order to remove bike components. Some manufacturers use standard connectors that can be bought at electrical supply stores. But other companies make their own connectors. Whatever way wires are connected to each other and to components, the connections must be clean-- metal-to-metal. On my old Honda, if I have to replace connectors, I use standard blade connectors with silicon covers.

In the case of blinkers, as mentioned eight paragraphs in, ground might be the fixture itself. In that case, either a new fixture is needed or an extra wire connected to the bike frame. Just did that (added a wire) to Molly the other day to get her to pass inspection.

One day, maybe, I'll go into how parallel and series circuits work and how to make sure one circuit is insulated from the others. For now, I hope these two electrical rules help you in your quest to get your bike working: all circuits must be grounded, and all connections must be clean. Even though my blog is called "Learning to Ride," if you're bike is broke, you can't ride it. So, learning to fix it is learning to ride.

Fixing Molly, a 1981 Honda CX500c

2010-02-26T13:16:00.022-05:00

Here are pictures of all the things done to Molly to get her to work well.

When we brought the bike home, the first thing we did was change the handlebars. CX500 Customs have hangar handlebars like cruisers. The hand position is really uncomfortable and can cause tendinitis. Besides, I have a fractured forefinger (hairline probably), and during the ride home, whenever possible I had to shake the pins and needles from my hand. Not good positioning.

Testing different handlebars

The right blinker wasn't working and the battery wasn't holding its charge, so Jason tested the rectifier-- that was good-- and I removed the headlamp to look at the wiring. What a mess!

These wires were hanging out the back of the headlight fixture, tangled in a ball wrapped in electrical tape.

Someone had spliced in extra wires to attach flasher relays. A bike only needs one flasher relay connected in series to the switch. But this bike had two flashers wired in after the switch. The right flasher was wired incorrectly, hence non-working. Plus, hot wires were exposed, which means the power was going directly to ground. That's why the battery was discharging. Evidence of the discharge showed up on the starter relay near the battery, which was sprayed with dried battery acid.

I untangled the ball, removing connections that were done by a hack, and started pulling wires through the headlamp fixture, where they belong. There were lots of cut wires!

Untangled!

After getting all the wires through, I called it a day. Next was retrieving the wiring diagram to rewire and get everything working properly.

It already looks better.

Since the harness is different from the original, I had to go by several wiring diagrams in order to understand which wire went where. Unfortunately, each diagram had a different key. One diagram used the letter "B" for Black. On another plan, it was Blue. Aw, geez. I had to make lots of notes.

This is the original Honda CX500 wiring diagram before the Custom came out. This diagram helped most. Some of the differences were drawn in. All the dots that are circled is where wires needed reconnecting. If you double click on the picture, you can see it bigger.

This next diagram is the addendum to to the Honda manual. Unlike the harness Molly has, the following diagram has only one black wire in the harness. Molly's harness has two black wires running through. This explains why the previous electrical hacker cut so many wires trying to make it work.

This is the addendum to the wiring diagram with notes for the different models. I circled the power line connectors to figure out why Molly's lights weren't working properly. That didn't help much. Though, it was from remembering this diagram that I realized that that circuit simply wasn't getting power.

Did I mention I made lots of notes?

Since the existing diagrams didn't match, I made my own diagram to figure out the problem.

This is Haynes' Honda CX500 wiring diagram. I used this to figure out which power line needed a splice. See where it says "4 way connector"? That's where the additional brake lights are going to go after reducing blinker power.

To get the blinkers working, I used the gray and black wires in the harness, unlike the original CX500 manual, which says they run through the headlight fixture.

Flasher relays are polarized. You have to match the correct terminal to the power source. In this case, the black wire goes to the positive side of the relay (I think. I'm not sure because this relay has an "X" instead of a "+"). The gray wire returns to the lights via the switch. In my sketch, I drew two power sources: one through a fuse, the other from "power." I'm not sure why I drew it that way. Probably because of all the diagrams I was trying to reference. I ended up going through a fuse, because of this diagram I found on a website.

It looks like the person who drew this might be an engineer. I think I'll trust this and go through a fuse.

There was a spare brown wire, probably for cops to attach a siren or something. I used this for the blinkers since this line only powered the lights in the tachometer and speedometer. If I ever put in something like handwarmers, I'll reroute the blinkers to the main power line and install a heating element through that fuse (maybe). Besides, my new blinkers will use just a little power and will need a thermistor or some other resistor to keep them from shorting. But, hey, if you know better what to do, please comment!

Turn signals only need one flasher relay. The switch controls which lights are connected to it. (That's soldering flux in my left hand. It's all Radio Shack had for flux.)

After testing the relay, I had to clean up some of the connections, and tighten others. Once all the connections were clean and insulated, I put the wires together for the headlight to go back on. The 7-volt regulator (not the same as the rectifier/regulator combo unit) sits outside the fixture. Wires were wrapped and pulled out to make space inside the fixture. In the end, all the original plastic connectors, and newly soldered connections were inside the fixture.

The wires reconnected and reorganized! It's not advised to use those blue connectors permanently, by the way. But making sure everything worked, it sure was handy having them. When I change the bulbs to LEDs, I'll solder and heat shrink the connections.

She works! (Picture to come.)

1981 Honda CX500c wiring

2010-02-26T10:46:00.006-05:00

She works! Two nights ago, after getting home from the shop, I looked at the Honda manual's electrical diagram thinking about why the front brake, headlight, and running lights work, but not the rear brake, turn signals, oil and clutch lights.

The problem with figuring it out was that the harness did not match the model bike I worked on, and it wasn't the same as any of the 3 diagrams I used. So, I had to really think about how power is routed. Fortunately, once I matched the connectors that go in the headlamp fixture to the ones in the diagram, I could see that only 4 or 5 wires were different. (When we bought the bike, the wires were in a tangled ball outside the fixture.) Maybe there were more mismatched wires, but there were only a few that mattered.

Power for the lights must come through the ignition switch. The lights I mentioned-- front brake, headlight, and running lights-- did. The rest were powered by...? That was the problem. Those were connected directly to the voltage regulator attached to the rectifier. But power doesn't come through there unless the engine is running. The oil and clutch lights must come on before the engine is started. So where was the power going to come from? It also had to come from the ignition switch.

The original Honda plan has a black wire that appears to end on a connector. That connector was obviously different from what I had on the bike. Sure enough, that black wire on the plan was on the same circuit as all those non-working lights. The original connector probably had connection to power in it. But my connector is different; it doesn't have that connection.

I wanted to put these lights on a different circuit from the front brake so that in case one circuit went bad the other circuit would still have a brake light. This second circuit also had to come from a 10amp sub-fuse. The headlamp needs its own fuse since it uses the most power at about 40 watts on low beam. The brake light is 27 watts, each turn signal, 23W. The lights on the indicator panel use 3-4 watts each.

I had to find a battery-powered wire to splice into. Fortunately, on this harness, there was a spare brown wire routed via the ignition switch from a non-headlamp fuse. The only other thing this circuit powered was the speedometer/tachometer night lights. I connected this brown wire to a spliced-in black wire from the turn signal circuit.

Unfortunately, with everything wired, too much power was needed to make everything work through one sub-fuse. I ended up disconnecting the front running lights (turn signal lights that stay on when not indicating a turn) in order to have enough power to run the essentials-- brake light, running tail light, oil and clutch indicators, and turn signals.

I have to say, I really enjoyed working on this project. Moreso than other kinds of projects. Writing my book wasn't even as fun.

Now that I can get the bike inspected, next electrical step is to replace the turn signals for LEDs. They will draw less power. Then I'll be able to reconnect the front running lights. (I'll swap those, too.) I also want to add 2 more brake lights to make a braking triangle. This could potentially prevent being rear-ended by absent-minded cagers.

Can't wait to ride! Snow, go away!

Wire gauge

2010-02-22T15:02:00.005-05:00

So, I have to replace some wires on old Molly. She's a 1981 Honda CX500c. It looks like someone replaced the entire wire harness, because on her model, the flasher relay should be located in the headlamp fixture, but the gray wire to connect it runs to the back like in newer Hondas. Some bloke jimmied in a couple relays in the front and miswired the right blinker so that no power was getting through to the switch.

Thank goodness my daddy, former electrical engineer, passed down his engineering aptitude DNA to me. :)

Oh, so, I was going to share this website: GaugeWire.com. It tells you what gauge wire to use. On this custom, currents can get past 20 amps, so I'm getting 14 gauge. I hope the other wires are 14 also. *sigh*

Bike upgrade!

2010-02-22T14:54:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since blogging about Georgia. Well, that's because she's been in the shop. Jason and I decided we'd fix her ourselves. We changed the chain and the rear sprocket, which was bent when hit by a car. The tire has been balanced, and Jason took her for a spin. I haven't ridden her, though, because I was afraid to ride her after an amateur balanced her tire.

The rectifier I installed works. Her battery's been charging just fine. I wrapped it in heat resistant tape (up to 500 degrees F) and bolted/grounded it to the frame where the old rectifier was. I'll put rectifier pics up later.

Anyway, Georgia was too small for me to ride anyway. I couldn't get her over 55 mph over the Manhattan Bridge, the way I ride to get home from the city after work. And I certainly was unable to pass a truck safely, so Jason decided I needed a bigger bike.

Here she is! Her name is Molly. Ain't she a beaut?

We got her yesterday. The owner thought the rectifier was bad. We test it, and it's fine. BUT the wiring is a mess. The battery was probably discharging through all the exposed copper throughout. This is what it looked like behind the headlamp:

I'm gonna work on her today. Clean her up nice. :)

Fixing old Georgia and disasters

2009-11-08T22:53:00.005-05:00

The unfortunate thing about having a vintage bike is not being able to ride when it needs repairs. At least it's simpler than a car, making it easier to fix.

Though the battery charged properly when Georgia was in the shop to get inspected, about a month later, the battery started dying. Turns out, the rectifier's connections were corroded, and the wire leading to the relay and battery had broken off completely.

The last time the battery died a couple weeks ago, I parked close to my workshop where Jason and I keep a trickle charger. That was when Georgia was knocked over by an SUV. The front left blinker casing got a small puncture, which I decided to just fill with some translucent epoxy rather than order an unbroken one.

I had bought a new rectifier from Radio Shack to replace the corroded one, but in order to disconnect the old one, I had to remove the gas tank to reach the connector. (I didn't want to buy another connector, so I used the original wires with the connector attached and cut off the old rectifier.)

After spilling some gasoline and storing the rest in a jug, I removed the gas lines from the petcock. But in the process, one of the brass nipples came off! Ugh. So, we ordered a replacement petcock. (I spilled gasoline when removing the gasoline tube that wraps around the bike frame connecting the right side of the tank to the left. That was a sight.)

When the tank was off, I saw that the underside of the tank was rusted. I decided to take off the rust and prime it since it was going to take a few days for the petcock to arrive.

After soldering the wires that were cut from the old rectifier to the new rectifier, I connected the rectifier and rearranged the wires so they would hide underneath the tank. I didn't put the tank back on right away but decided to paint its underside so that it would be less likely to collect dirt than primer alone.

In Brooklyn, like everywhere else in New York City, there are parking signs that tell you when you aren't allowed to park. Georgia was in a spot where there was no parking on Fridays. So when Friday came, I had to move her to another location where parking was legal for that day. Since she was out of commission I had to push her. I went to the nearest spot.

The next day Georgia had to be moved again. I had to work late, so Jason went to move her for me. But when he took her cover off, he found that the front brake lever was busted. Someone hit Georgia! (Someone was nice enough to stand her up.) When I went to survey the damage, I saw on the pavement that Georgia was not only knocked over, she was also dragged about a foot, scraping up her side, breaking the lever off completely, and scuffing the front tire. I think livid is the best descriptor of how I felt. I was glad, though, that the gas tank was not on the bike or it would have been dented and its gasoline spilled. The dragging also put several holes in the cover.

So, now I had to wait for a brake lever to arrive. Had she been a newer bike, I could have gone to the local motorcycle shop and picked up parts. But since Georgia is vintage, parts are not always easy to get.

Two weeks after removing the gas tank, I finally got to put Georgia back together again.

Not so fast!

With the newly painted tank in hand, I went to the bike. But when I removed the cover, I discovered that she was hit yet again. This time the rear right blinker was completely crushed. It was irreparable, so we got online once again and ordered parts.

At least we could get her running again, so we thought. I put the tank on, replaced the gasoline hoses, attached the "new" petcock and the new brake lever and poured in some gasoline. But then the petcock started spilling out gasoline at the switch. Ack! I had already brought my tools back inside, so I had to run to get them to remove the hoses from the carburetors to direct the gasoline into the jug. When I took the petcock apart, I saw that the spring was in the wrong way.

When she was finally back together again, except for the blinker covers which were just ordered, we gave her a start. But she wouldn't ignite. In addition, the clutch was not disengaging all the way.

Poor Georgia must have had a really hard fall. Whoever hit the bike must have backed into it at speed. I wonder if the car was damaged at all.

The clutch not working properly and the engine not starting has to be because of that hit that dragged the bike on the pavement. My guess for it not starting is a problem with ignition. The impact probably broke one or both of the spark plugs. We put the battery back on the trickle charger to make sure there was enough juice, but haven't had the chance to check the spark plugs yet.

I can't wait to ride again.

Never park behind an SUV (or a truck)

2009-10-27T11:03:00.008-04:00

Jason told me never to park behind an SUV. But I forgot.

:(
I suck.

It was so quick. After going into the spot, I even moved the bike farther away from the SUV. I also looked in front of the car. There was a lot of space there. I should have parked there. Instead I parked on the other side, because it was in front of my friend's garage, and I thought it would be safe there. I went into the deli across the street, ordered a sandwich, and when I came out, Georgia was on her side.

Eyewitnesses said the person came to his vehicle from the front, never seeing the bike on the other side. In spite of all the space in front of it, the SUV backed up, right into Georgia. A neighbor ran to the driver banging on his window, but I think that scared the guy and he drove off, probably never realizing what happened.

I looked at it as an opportunity to see if I could pick her back up again. I tried the way most people would probably try to lift a bike. Then a guy came over who said he used to have a CB350 and he helped me put Georgia back up.

Thank God there was very little damage. The front left blinker had a small chunk broken out. The exhaust was bent up slightly, but it had been missing a bolt at the top of the frame, so it can be bent back down.

Later, Jason showed me how to lift a motorcycle:

Legs, especially for women, have some of the largest muscles in the body. We probably all know from experience to never lift with the back. Instead, use the leg muscles, as if doing squats. Put your back against the bike and you will avoid using it. That will give your legs room to bend. (Like my art? Illustrator rocks.)

I learned my lesson. *sigh*

Slow riding

2009-10-26T12:31:00.003-04:00

I practiced slow riding for a while before getting on the busy NYC streets. The reason is, the better you are at riding slow, the more control you have over your bike. This is basically what I did and a suggestion on how to practice riding slow...

First, your bike must have a wet clutch. You will want to be in the friction zone while practicing slow. (That's the zone where you can "ride the clutch," which you can't do in a car. Oil makes the clutch "wet" and makes it possible to keep gears moving while the entire bike goes slow, like less than 10 mph.)

On a paved, flat surface, work on starting slow in the friction zone, hand always on the clutch, and get to about 5-8mph. Then come to a complete stop before putting your feet down. Practice stopping completely before putting a foot down. The more comfortable you are with this, the easier it will be to make slow turns.

Once you feel comfortable with having your feet off the ground as long as humanly possible, go back in motion and practice making U-turns by counterbalancing. Start with a road width of about 20-25 feet. At a steady, slow pace, look at the spot where you want to end your turn, turn your wheel, keeping in motion. Avoid using the brakes, pressing the clutch halfway, engaging the gears carefully. Move your shoulders in the opposite direction of your turn to counterbalance. The slower the turn, the more counterbalance you will need. If you have to, put weight on your foot pegs and move your entire torso opposite the turn.

If you feel you are going too fast, squeeze in the clutch to slow down. Try not to use your front brakes. You may use your rear brake to help keep a steady pace if your clutch is sensitive.

As you get better at making the U-turn (turning left and right), decrease the radius of your turn.

Hint: as long as your bike is in motion at slow speeds, you can counterbalance it. You should only need to put your foot down at complete rest.

People behind the Art of Rebellion show

2009-10-18T22:23:00.019-04:00

There's nothing like the camaraderie of a community. A lot of people from the biker community and enthusiasts attended the Harley-Davidson art show. The common thread, two-wheeled motorized vehicles.

I had the opportunity to meet many of the artists who were part of the Art of Rebellion show. Each person's work inspiring or inspired by biker culture in his or her own way. Here are some photos of artists and their works:

Dirty Donny

Frank Kozik

Frank Kozik's tank and fender

Tara McPherson

Harpoon

The Pizz and Harpoon with Harpoon's art

Art by The Pizz

Art by Lindsey Kuhn

Art by John Van Hamersveld

Art by Brian Ewing

A choppered-out 883 with a tank by Jaymes at Blue Moon Kustoms

It was fun seeing my old friend Poull, who promoted the party...

Promoter Poull Brien

...and making new friends

Angela Maria Nardolillo, bike enthusiast and video game designer

Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet all the artists or any of the photographers. Check out the Art of Rebellion website for the tour and more photos. Cool stuff.

Thanks to Pabst Blue Ribbon for the beer, Poland Spring for the water, all the artists and photographers for the beautiful art, and Harley Davidson for the rockin exhibit.

Tank by The Pizz

The Art of Rebellion Harley-Davidson show

2009-10-18T13:40:00.006-04:00

Harley-Davidson is sponsoring a traveling art show that benefits the CUE Art Foundation. Last night the event was open to the public in New York City.

Harley showcased their new 883 Sportster, which happened to fit me very well :) Hmm, maybe this will be my next bike.

More on the art to come...

"Organ Donor"

2009-10-17T17:04:00.002-04:00

Motorcyclists are sometimes referred to as "organ donors" for an obvious reason. There's most likely nothing more dangerous on the roads and streets than riding motorcycles.

The reality is, few people with driver's licenses sign up to be organ donors, yet there is a waiting list of people waiting for organ donations. Regardless of the type of vehicle we operate, if we have a driver's license, we should all consider signing up to be an organ donor should we be involved in a fatal accident. Each of us can still save or better another person's life post-mortem.

When I went to the DMV to turn in my sold car's plate, there were no reminders for drivers to sign up. Thing is, after we die, unless we prepare beforehand by giving legal consent to organ banks to take much-needed live tissue when we pass, our next of kin can prevent it from happening. It's sad to think that another person could lose a chance to receive a kidney, bone, liver, or something else we're not going to need anymore.

I don't mean to be morbid. Just realistic. I know I'm going to die someday. I might as well be able to offer something to someone at that time.

Prepare to give. Be an organ donor.

sigh

2009-10-14T21:06:00.002-04:00

I sold my car today. It's sad. My car took me across the country and back. Lots of great memories. But now that I'm riding a motorcycle, the car isn't needed anymore. I don't have to take the subway for $2.25. And if I need an automobile, I can rent one through Zipcar.

Thanks for the rides, Spunky! I'll miss you.

First highway trip

2009-10-13T00:12:00.002-04:00

For this past weekend, we had planned for me to take my first highway ride out to Pennsylvania to visit Jason's family. All week, I went back and forth between riding Georgia and riding bitch with Jason. I hadn't yet ridden on a bike more than a couple miles at a time at high speed. So, I thought about the 70-mile trek on Route 78, a six-lane highway, to a little hamlet on the Delaware River called Riegelsville. We talked about making pit stops on the way to take rests, since riding on a light dual-sport bike with semis can be taxing on a rider's body. The wind pattern caused by the shape of trucks can push a bike out or in across a lane depending on where the bike is positioned near a truck. A rider would have to maintain speed while keeping the bike straight, using arms, shoulders, and body leaning against wind thrusts. In the MSF course, the instructor said, "Stay away from trucks." Unfortunately, that's virtually impossible on a highway like Route 78.

I'd only been to Jason's family's place once, and certainly didn't know the roads out there. While I looked forward to the highway experience, I finally decided not to ride Georgia. So I told Jason that I thought it would be more fun to ride with him on his bike instead of have to constantly check for directions-- less fun. All in all, I'm still an inexperienced rider. It's better for me to ride my first highway on a more familiar route to a more familiar destination.

In addition, on Friday, about to make a turn onto my street where we live, poor Georgia died because of her under-sized battery. This added to my discomfort about riding long distance. We had changed the oil and bought a new and properly-sized battery, which was fully charged in time for the trip. However, it's difficult to tell what else might cause problems with a bike that's 34 years old, especially when taking a long distance ride.

It was a good thing I rode with Jason. We left at 1pm on Saturday, when traffic is lighter than on a Friday. (Columbus Day weekend.) In spite of the lighter traffic, the wind was blowing at 30mph with gusts coming from all different directions. I could feel the wind pushing us, and I watched Jason's arms as he pressed to keep straight. His bike is also a dual-sport, but it's at least a hundred pounds heavier than Georgia. It was a head wind. So, riding at 70mph, the wind felt like 100mph. Since I could see Jason working hard, I stayed still the entire ride, keeping legs and arms as close to the bike and to Jason as possible.

We took a break about 45 miles into the trip. Jason's arms needed the rest, and I needed to stretch. The wind was so brutal, there was no way I would have been able to ride Georgia without getting blown across a lane. She's too light and I'm too light.

I'm really glad I got my new helmet in time for the trip. Had I worn the old one that feels like it might lift off, I would not have enjoyed riding the highway at all. But the new Shoei helmet stayed put. I could feel the gusts coming at different angles, but the helmet is aerodynamic enough that it's easy to resist the wind. I felt much more comfortable riding at high speed than with the old helmet. Now I'm really looking forward to riding the highways.

The Shoei RF-1000

2009-10-10T23:46:00.002-04:00

I spent the last 2 and a half months looking for the right helmet for me. When I first started shopping, I had no idea what to look for and didn't know how a helmet should fit. I also had no idea about different brands: Arai, Bieffe, Shoei, Bell, HJC, etc. I kept hearing about different brands from different people, but the one brand that seemed to get the most discussion was Shoei ("show-ee"). Turns out that was the brand that fit me best when trying them on at a store.

A few weeks of research on the Internet reading descriptions and comparing prices, I decided I would stick with Shoei, since I know what size I wear in that brand. Also, reviews talk about how the Shoei helmet stays put while riding. The helmet I had been wearing felt like it lifted up when riding at higher speeds. I finally settled on the RF-1000 and ordered it in light silver. This helmet also has vents located in places that allow air to flow, minimizing sweat.

The helmet came yesterday, just hours before a 70 mile highway trip to Pennsylvania. It was supposed to be my first highway ride on a motorcycle. Jason and I were planning to leave yesterday, but because of the chance of showers, we decided to leave the next day. I'm glad we waited, or else I'd be riding with an old helmet-- the one that feels like it comes off in high speeds.

I put the helmet on and read the guide. It says it should fit snugly around my whole head and i should be able to feel the cushion against the top of my head. I do. With the helmet on, while moving the helmet around left and right and up and down, my skin should move with the helmet. It does. With the chin pads in, the pads should be pressing in on my cheeks. They do. They press in so much that I practically bite the inside of my mouth, and I can barely speak. Supposedly, over time, the helmet will take the shape of my head and will feel less like making funny faces. Basically, this helmet fits snugly enough that if I fall at a high speed, it won't come off until I take it off.

I had only ridden on a motorcycle once at a speed of 70mph, and it was scary with a helmet that didn't fit me well. But today, while riding on the highway, the helmet was secure. It didn't feel like it was trying to come off my head in high speed. It was comfortable and comforting. Didn't even seem like we were going 70.

Oil change on a CL360

2009-10-08T19:33:00.021-04:00

My bike is from 1975. It sat around for years, then the last owner never rode her. So, needless to say, Georgia needed some work. To pass inspection, the tires and fork seals were replaced, carburetors and fuel lines cleaned, and she got a new horn. What didn't happen at the shop was an oil change.

For some bikes, changing the oil properly is time intensive. Georgia is a CL360 with a 4 stroke engine, 2 cylinders, 2 carburetors, and 6 gears. It's hard to tell from a dipstick how dirty oil is, and since we know the bike sat around for years, I decided to give her a proper oil change. Jason and I downloaded the manual and got to work.

What we didn't know before we started was what exactly was involved in properly maintaining the engine oil. On cars and newer bikes, changing the oil is pretty simple: drain the oil, change the filter, fill the oil pan with fresh oil. Not so with this and similar old bikes.

It's very easy to overburn oil and destroy the cylinders in an engine. Proper lubrication is essential for an engine's long life, fuel efficiency, and smooth running condition. A couple days ago, I thought I could smell burning oil from Georgia's engine. Plus, she seemed to be running a bit rough. Hence, the urgent decision to change the oil.

I looked all over the internet to make sure we did it correctly but couldn't find anything aside from the manual, which doesn't give too many images to help. So, I decided to write it down here, and add some pictures.

On a Honda CL360 (and CB360), the oil is contained within the crankcase, which is where all the gears are. To filter the oil, it runs through a centrifugal oil filter, which spins forcing sediment to stick to the sides of a rotor assembly. The filtered oil then spits out of the rotor to recirculate into the engine. Larger particles sink to the bottom of the crankcase and are filtered by a metal screen. When the oil is changed on this kind of bike, both the rotary filter (centrifugal filter) and the metal screen should be clean. Otherwise, dirt in the crankcase will be recirculated and will bog down the engine.

First, you should warm up the engine to warm the oil to loosen it so it drains easier, but not too hot that parts cannot be handled. Then remove the oil drain plug with a 17mm socket wrench with a pan underneath to catch the old oil. Make sure you have the metal gasket (looks like a washer) with the plug. If the drain plug is too tight, try putting an iron pipe around the socket wrench handle for more leverage.

While the oil is draining, you can remove the parts that need to come off in order to get to the oil filter and screen. Since these parts are inside the crankcase, the crankcase cover must come off. To get the cover off, the rear brake lever, foot peg, and kick start lever must also be removed. (On a CB360, the exhaust pipe must be removed. Now are you starting to understand why motorcycle oil changes can get expensive at a shop?)

While removing these parts, it can help to take pictures of what you are removing to make sure you replace all the parts properly. Particularly, remember how the brake pedal is angled, since it can go on at a number of different angles. Also be careful that the brake light spring is not overstretched when you disconnect it.

After the oil is drained, the crankcase cover can come off. Make sure your oil pan is underneath it as you remove the cover as leftover oil will spill out.

When you remove the cover, you might have to loosen it by carefully striking the cover with a mallet. (We used a hammer and bunch of newspaper folded up to keep the case from getting scratched or dented.) Also make sure that you take the cover off at an angle, starting at the left edge. The gasket, which might be stuck to the cover can pull off the gear below the centrifugal filter. If the gear becomes loose, make sure when you put the cover back on to realign it with the filter gear. Also, make sure the gasket is in good shape. If it's torn or shredded, replace it.

Here's the inside of the crankcase and the location of the filter and screen:

The screen filter at the bottom is held by a metal assembly with 3 bolts. To clean the screen, the entire assembly must be removed. Then the rubber housing framing the screen can be removed.

This is what the filter screen looked like:

Since there was sludge and metal shards from the engine in the screen, it needed to be cleaned off. We used turpentine to loosen the sludge, then rinsed it with water and let it dry. (Remove the screen from the metal assembly before using solvents to clean the screen. When replacing the screen, make sure that the rubber housing wraps around the metal frame all the way. I used a flathead screwdriver to ease the edges around the frame.)

That was the easy part of cleaning the filters. Next, the centrifugal assembly...

Cleaning the oil filter requires dealing with several parts: the rotor cylinder, the rotor cap, a rubber gasket, and a metal clip holding in the cover. First, the metal cover clip must be removed by pinching together the two ends with needlenose pliers and pulling it out.

Then, the cap must come off. Some say to use pliers to remove the cap, but this did not work for us. Instead, we got it off by inserting a flathead screwdriver into the holes in the center of the cap, gently leveraging it off by rocking the screwdriver little by little around the circumference. Be careful not to shred the gasket, which is just behind the cap.

This is where the oil change can get time consuming...

Sediment from used oil collects onto the inside surface of the rotor, which should still be attached to the bike. This must be cleaned out, or else the sediment can continue to build up and cause the rotor to stick. I used a thin flathead screwdriver to scrape out the sludge, then used a rag with some oil on it to wipe it clean. (Don't use WD40 inside the crankcase. Use clean motor oil.)

After the sludge is removed from the rotor, put some clean oil in it so that when the engine is started, it will lubricate immediately. Also, wipe down the rest of the crankcase, removing any sludge. Replace the rotor cap with a good gasket pushing it in until you can see the ridge where the metal clip goes. Make sure the tab on the cap lines up with the line on the outside edge of the rotor. Then pinch the metal clip ends together to fit it against the cap to hold the cap in place.

Once the sludge is wiped off and the filter and screen are replaced, the crankcase is ready for fresh oil. Carefully attach the crankcase cover. Be careful not to dislocate that gear beneath the rotor assembly, as mentioned above. If the cover doesn't seem to go back on, that gear might be out of place.

Once all the screws are back in the crankcase, the oil drain plug is replaced with its metal gasket, and the kickstart lever, foot peg, and brake lever are replaced, fill her up! We used 2 quarts of oil for "older engines." The manual says to use an oil with detergent, and another vintage Honda owner recommended synthetic oil. I use synthetic oil in my CRX, so it makes sense to use it in these old classic bikes.

Oh, yeah. Be environmentally kind and put the old oil in the empty oil containers and take them to a service station where it can be safely disposed or recycled (we hope).

After the oil change, Georgia seems to run smoother. No more burning oil smell. Yay.

Lane splitting

2009-10-05T00:37:00.004-04:00

Lane splitting is not legal in New York State, but I think it should be, especially because air-cooled engines need to be in motion to prevent from overheating. Did that once before. Riders split lanes anyway, passing slow or stopped traffic to get ahead. I haven't ridden between lanes yet, but today I passed traffic on the right-hand side, as if making a right turn (which I made).

On the Manhattan Bridge, traffic traveled at 5-10 miles per hour. I watched 2 other bikes go by splitting lanes, and thought about following, but I didn't feel confident enough. Geez, I've only been riding less than 2 months. But when getting off the bridge, traffic was backed up 2 blocks. So, I passed traffic as if about to make a right turn.

Passing traffic on the right is not safe, because in the right lane, drivers are not looking to their right, and because people in parked cars could open their doors unexpectedly. So, I rode slowly in the friction zone in first gear watching to make sure nobody opened their doors or tried to pull over to the right.

(The friction zone is when the bike is in gear and the wet clutch is ridden. So, the clutch is pressed halfway allowing for engine control, particularly when riding slow.)

I'm sure one day I'll be confident enough to split lanes. Who wants to sit in slow traffic?

Parking safety

2009-10-04T13:24:00.004-04:00

Living in a town or city without a garage has an obvious danger for classic bikes on the streets: public exposure.

I parked my bike at the end of my street a couple days ago, close to where my car was parked, because I had an appointment to show my car to a prospective buyer. The next day, I went to the bike to ride, and someone had messed with her. The handle bar bag was moved, the kill switch on, the lights turned off, and the kick start lever pulled out. When I started the bike, the turn signals didn't work properly and the headlight would not turn on. I didn't have time to check the lamp to make sure it was connected, or check the battery, so I left Georgia for the day and went to my appointment by subway. It was depressing.

That night, I went back to the bike. Someone had messed with her again! Once again, the kill switch was on, and this time the seat had been bent back. This loser probably tried to remove my helmet from the helmet hook under the seat to get it kick started. Fortunately, this time the high beam on the headlamp worked (wires were loose), so I rode Georgia to a regular spot in front of our local watering hole and parked her there.

While I was out, I stopped at the Vespa store on Crosby Street in Manhattan and bought a 3.5 foot (110cm) OnGuard chain (the Mastiff 5019) to keep people from taking the bike. This length just fits around the front wheel and frame of my CL360.

After parking, I removed the headlamp from the fixture to check the wires and pushed tight any that were loose. The lamp itself was loose. Since I didn't have the proper hardware to fix it right, I used what I could find to at least keep the lamp from moving within its fixture. I got the low beam to work as well, then straightened the seat.

Whoever messes with someone else's bike simply is not cool. Respect, people.

Getting comfortable

2009-10-01T16:15:00.004-04:00

I had my first solo ride to Queens today to see my brother on his birthday. I avoided Queens Boulevard as much as possible, taking Greenpoint Avenue all the way from Greenpoint, Brooklyn, to 48th Avenue in Queens. On the way, it rained a bit, but just spit. The pavement stayed relatively dry.

I wore my brand new white leather motorcycle jacket, bought on jackets4bikes.com.

The leather is nice and thick. It has back protection made with dual density foam, elbow and forearm pads, and shoulder guards with foam and PVC armor. It also has vents on the front and back that can be unzipped.

The best thing about this jacket is that drivers see me. It was a marked improvement between what I wore before and this white jacket. Before, wearing an earthy orange leather jacket, I had to constantly watch how cars crawled at an intersection, then slow down to make sure they didn't just pull out. With the white jacket on, drivers saw me right away and stopped-- no crawling.

People on the side of the streets see me too. Two guys today in different locations said something to the effect of, "Wow, you look hot on that bike." Never happened before, except from my boyfriend. I guess they could tell I was a girl, cause I wore a pink hoodie.

I was excited and nervous before getting on the bike today. But after riding for several miles and seeing how much better traffic responds to the white jacket, I feel much more comfortable. One guy, though, still didn't stop, however. And that was one block from home. The guy pulled out, didn't stop at the stop sign, didn't see me, even with the jacket on. I might have been camouflaged against a white van or truck. I gunned the throttle and escaped the possible accident.

Unfortunately, there's no nighttime reflective material on the jacket. So, I ordered some glass reflective beads, used on traffic signs and streets. I'll glue them on the jacket, on the stripes on the sleeves and make a star emblem on my back. Then, I'll feel a bit safer riding at night.

Be thoughtful about what you wear on your motorcycle!

Parked it and left it

2009-09-25T00:38:00.002-04:00

Two whole days and nights went by of not riding. For me, that sucks. Problem is that I got a freelance job with an ad agency and the hours have been grueling. I get home when it's dark, and Jason doesn't want me riding at night by myself until I have more experience. So, I've been riding the subway to work. Tonight, I had to move the bike because of alternate side parking rules. (The streets get cleaned in the morning, so the bike has to be moved to the other side.) I decided to ride down to Superfine, one of my favorite restaurants, and get some dinner.

When I sat down for dinner, I realized how tired I was. And I rode there tired. Dinner was amazing-- steak au poivre medium rare. But I decided to leave the bike there across the street from the restaurant and walk home.

Safety measures. Take them.

Helmets

2009-09-23T23:16:00.003-04:00

The first time I put on a full-face motorcycle helmet some months ago, I could barely get it on my head. I thought it was too tight, because it squished my cheeks in, and I could barely speak clearly. Thinking back, barely able to speak clearly was a sign that the helmet was in fact not too small at all. (Not being able to speak clearly is a good indication that the pads of the helmet fit snugly enough around one's face to keep the jaw from caving in in the possible event of crashing face down.) Now when I put the helmet on, I can feel the helmet move as I shake my head. Not good at all.

I went to the Ducati-Triumph dealer on Sixth Avenue (Ave. of the Americas) off Spring Street to try on a new helmet. The extra helmets Jason has are all second hand, which means someone else's head shaped the inside cushions. Quite possibly, the foam might have disintegrated over time, or a helmet might have been dropped, destroying the integrity of its protective abilities. Basically, if I have an accident wearing one of these used helmets, particularly while traveling at a high speed, there's a chance I could suffer brain trauma, or some other head injury.

In 80% of motorcycle fatalities, helmets were an issue. Most head injuries happen on the face. 19% of head injuries happen on one side of the jaw. So, even though open face helmets look cool and allow the wnd to blow against your face, a full face helmet will protect your jaw.

Though helmet discussions are one of the most debated issues among the motorcyle community, I think I'll choose safety over the wind. Besides, if you're caught in the rain with an open face helmet at highway speed, it's like getting shot in the face by a dozen BB guns.

Georgia, my orange 1975 Honda CL360 scrambler

2009-09-21T17:02:00.003-04:00

Ain't she a beaut?

More practice, a braking mistake, and others

2009-09-21T16:10:00.007-04:00

I ride with Jason as much as possible. This past weekend we took 2 trips to Queens, most dangerous borough to drive in in New York City. I highly recommend that inexperienced riders avoid Queens at all costs-- except for Review Avenue, which runs alongside Newton Creek, a body of water between Brooklyn and Queens.

On Review Avenue, we got up to about 45mph. There are a few recesses and bumps in the road to avoid, but overall, a smooth ride. The street is lined with industrial lots, which on a Saturday are pretty quiet. Then to cross back over to Brooklyn, we took a bridge that connected Grand Street, Queens, and Grand Street, Brooklyn. At the bridge, we stopped behind a truck. I thought the truck was waiting for another car to cross the bridge from the other side. I didn't get a chance to really see if that was the case, because just as I peeked around the truck to see what was ahead, a woman in a mini-van cut me off.

People in cars are out to kill motorcyclists. Beware!

On Sunday, we went to Queens again. On the way, I made a braking mistake. There's a nice long stretch of newly paved road in Brooklyn called Flushing Avenue, connecting the Vinegar Hill neighborhood with Williamsburg. On this stretch, I like to take advantage of the fact that there are only cross streets on one side, making that part of Flushing Avenue a relatively safe ride. But this day, I took too much of a risk.

I forgot that I wasn't driving a car. And when we approached a changing traffic light at 50mph, I decided to stop-- except there wasn't enough room. Though I was careful not to squeeze the brake too fast, I did squeeze all the way. The bike didn't have enough room. I skidded, leaving about ten feet of rubber on the pavement, crossed the intersection, and stopped on the other side. Thank God there were no cars driving into the intersection from the cross street.

Amazingly, I wasn't afraid. I just thanked God and went on.

This day, to cross into Queens, we took McGuinness Boulevard to Long Island City, the nice part of Queens (in the eyes of a Brooklynite). On the bridge, I sped up to 50mph. We were in the left lane, since there were cars to our right. But there was a concrete median, which made it more scary to ride there. On an uphill curve, I tried to maintain my speed, remembering to look toward the spot I want to go to complete the curve and lean. To me, this was a perfect opportunity to practice taking fast curves. But when I looked ahead, there in the distance was something going much slower than me. I had to slow down. Since I was on a curve, the bike was unstable. Jason saw that the bike wobbled as I slowed on the curve, and I tried to keep the speed up as much as possible. I should have used my rear brake on the curve, but I was too shocked to see something ahead that I could potentially crash into to remember to use the rear brake.

Unfortunately, I couldn't tell what was ahead of me. It looked like a bicycle! In the passing lane! So, I had to slow down. When I reached the slow vehicle and looked, it was a Chinese guy on a scooter, riding at about 20mph.

Now, I have to mention that the guy is Chinese, because there is a huge problem in New York City with immigrants who arrive uneducated about how things work in the United States. Guys on vehicles is one group of people that needs education. I don't care at this point if they're legal or illegal. In fact, I'm happy that someone is there to deliver my dinner if I'm too busy to go to the store myself. Fact is, uneducated bicycle and scooter riders on the street is a true danger. Several months ago, a Chinese delivery man was killed on the street while riding a bicycle. As a community, I think that each ethnic group must collaborate to teach immigrants about safety on the streets in a language they will understand. They must learn safe practices, such as riding a scooter on the far right of the street, and learn how to obey traffic rules.

It made me teeming mad that this uneducated scooter rider was in my path on a fast, curving street-- a bridge! (I didn't feel mad until we had parked and sat down for lunch.) In addition, when we got to Queens, a part of the street we rode on was unmarked, and for almost 2 blocks, I rode on the wrong side of the street! Fortunately, because I practice SEE (Search Examine Execute) I saw far enough ahead that a car was driving towards me, and I managed to get back on the right side of the street.

The rest of the day I thought about the three mistakes in my head: Braking with not enough room; not gently using the rear brake to slow down on a curve; not seeing for 2 blocks that the street I was on was two-way. (There were cars facing the other direction on those 2 blocks.) All three were potentially fatal mistakes. Again, I thank God that there were no other obstacles present that could have made them fatal.

After lunch, we went to Roosevelt Island, a strange community reminiscent of Northern European high-rise communities, with its own school and one supermarket. Then we headed to my brother's place in Sunnyside. To get there we took one of those dangerous streets, Queens Boulevard. A minivan driver was nice enough to let us get in front of him, but then he went towards another direction.

Queens Boulevard was probably the scariest street I've ridden on so far. The pavement was uneven. Cars switched lanes without signaling and fast. Jason almost got clipped by a passing vehicle. And a bicyclist, ignoring or not seeing my right turn signal on as a red light turned green, nearly rode straight into my side. I yelled at him. We avoided that street after stopping at a market to pick up food for my brother. I had an opportunity to practice riding with some weight on my back, carrying the food from the market. (Jason offered to put the groceries on his rack, but I wanted the practice.)

This weekend was definitely good practice for me. Dangerous, but good. So, today, I took my lessons with me and rode solo into Manhattan to go to a job. Remembering it all, I had a safer ride. Yelled at a guy who made me go into another lane, but was safer. (Oh yeah, I was yelling, cause my horn stopped working a couple weeks ago.)

Motorcycle riding is never safe. It can be safer, but never safe.

Fixing the bike

2009-09-19T15:54:00.001-04:00

After Jason tested Georgia and agreed she had a problem, he went online and figured out that the screen in the petcock had buildup. So, I grabbed a bucket and some tools, disconnected the fuel lines from the carburetors, drained the gas tank and removed the petcock. Sure enough, there were rust flakes from inside the gas tank on the screen.

Unfortunately, we also discovered that the reserve fuel feed that went into the petcock was broken off. So whatever had collected at the very bottom of the tank went into the petcock. The first time Jason had brought Georgia back from the shop after her carbs were cleaned, he was running out of fuel and switched to reserve. That was weeks ago. So for the past few weeks, I'd been riding with a flake of rusted metal hanging on in the petcock. It made it to the screen while speeding to 55 MPH on the bridge home. No amount of flooding the fuel lines allowed the gasoline to flow cleanly.

The part that really sucks is that we just had the carburetors cleaned. Then after one day of riding on reserve, the fuel lines were once again clogged. Rather than replace the entire petcock, we decide to go the less expensive route and get inline fuel filters to keep more rust flakes from getting into the carbs.

First solo ride into the city

2009-09-14T15:39:00.003-04:00

I reached a hallmark in my motorcycle riding experience: I rode solo into Manhattan, aka "The City."

I took the Brooklyn Bridge this time, since it's easier to get to the west side from there than the Manhattan Bridge. I decided to take the west side streets, because I'm more familiar with them than the east side. I had to get to 37th Street for an audition. The audition was for a promotion of a game show TV network. Of course, I hope to get the job, especially because I hadn't worked much for months and badly needed the income.

Unfortunately, I hadn't listened to the radio before leaving to find out what traffic would be like. Also, I forgot that the route I took had no access to Hudson Street on which I planned to ride uptown and park. So, first, I had to turn around and back track in order to get to Hudson Street. Then when I finally get there, I only get to ride a few blocks, because the street was barricaded. Something was going on. Back track again, and then take Sixth Avenue instead only to find that it's also barricaded.

Obama is in town.

At this point, traffic looks like a parking lot. Lane splitting is not legal in New York State. It should be, especially for air-cooled engines like mine. Somehow I inch my way to the front of traffic, ready to strike across Houston Street into a side road where I could park and grab a subway. But...

Georgia stalls. And she doesn't start. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, when I left, I had to kick start the engine. That was my first kick start. The poor bike overheated in all the standing traffic. And it was 80 degrees outside. I walked the bike across the street when the light turned green. Then I pushed it to a legal parking spot. At this point, I was running late for my audition.

I didn't bother locking my helmet to the bike. I just grabbed it and ran to the subway. I was late to the audition, and I bombed it. Nice.

When I got back to the bike, Georgia had cooled down. I had to kick start her again, but she started. I met up with Jason where he parked his bike and we rode home together. We took the Manhattan Bridge home, but while on the bridge, Georgia started losing power in fifth gear. She lurched and I downshifted to maintain speed. But I lost speed from 50 to 45 to 40. Fortunately, when we hit 40, we were on a downward hill. So, I kept the gears at 3rd gear until we got to our street.

Poor Georgia. She's sick.

I made a pretty bad riding error today. I saw a van pulling into my lane. Instead of settling back and letting the guy take the lane, I claimed my space and sped ahead of him, seeing at the very last second that there was a red light just a few dozen feet ahead. I squeezed the brakes hard and felt the rear tire come out of line. I let go of the brakes slightly, realigned and slowed to a stop, just 3 feet from the car ahead of me. Phew! That was close.

Wet ride

2009-09-13T15:36:00.002-04:00

This weekend, I had my first ride on wet pavement. I took it slow and carefully. I don't think I'd enjoy riding in the rain. At the same time, I've got the bug. I'm sure once I feel I have enough experience, I'll ride in the rain anyway.

I still have a healthy fear of riding. And rightly so. That's why motorcyclists are called "organ donors."

First ride into the city

2009-09-07T20:17:00.001-04:00

New York City is a scary place to ride a motorcycle. The notorious cab drivers, Chinese delivery guys riding the wrong way on bicycles, mini-vans full of religious people, people on their cell phones who should get their licenses revoked, drivers from New Jersey (haha), etc.

We rode across the Manhattan Bridge from our little neighborhood in Brooklyn to the East Village in Manhattan. There was a bit of wind as we crossed the bridge. Jason, the great coach he is, tells me not to be afraid, but just hold the handlebars steady and straight. We get up to 45 MPH on the bridge. It wasn't too scary.

Sundays are a good day to practice riding, or driving, in the city. There's less traffic, and more room to see ahead and watch out for potholes.

We parked our bikes on Avenue A and 6th Street, since we planned to watch a girl we met the night before perform music at the Sidewalk Cafe at the same corner. We went to a divey bar, played pool, went to another place, played Buck Hunter (beat Jason again), drank terrible Margaritas, went to the Sidewalk Cafe to see Meg Cavanaugh sing and play guitar, then went to Karaoke across the street and down a block. Needless to say, we were too drunk by the end of the night to ride home. So, we got in a cab.

The next day was Labor Day, so we didn't have to worry about parking regulations. It's like having another Sunday. In the afternoon, after recovering from a bad margarita headache, we took the subway back into the city to get the bikes.

Practice practice practice

2009-08-30T23:00:00.002-04:00

Jason has been reminding me every day to practice riding. Work has been slow, so I've had plenty of time during daylight hours to get on the bike and ride. I've been staying in the neighborhood, though, practicing slow turns, counterbalancing, and gunning it to third gear. I only missed one day this week since getting Georgia back from the shop.

We took a ride out to Red Hook, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, a few miles from home. There's one street where there are no traffic lights for about a 3/4-mile. I took advantage of this and accelerated as much as comfortable. Got up to 45 MPH in fifth gear.

We stopped at a bar called Bait and Tackle on Van Brunt Street and played Buck Hunter. I won.

Jason tells me that I lug the engine.

My first 3-mile ride

2009-08-25T23:15:00.000-04:00

Since Jason went straight to the shop to get Georgia, I went to meet him and ride home with him. But the shop's location is on a busy street, and I wasn't ready to ride a four-lane street. So, Jason took Georgia to Williamsburg, a familiar neighborhood about 3 miles from home. Then he took a car service to the shop to get his bike.

We met up just before the sun went down. I wore a 3/4 helmet with sunglasses. According to Jason and my MSF instructor, I'm a natural. So, he didn't worry about me wearing that helmet on these slower streets.

I made a couple mistakes in turns. One was starting into a turn, the other was taking a turn too fast and going wide. But we made it home safely. It was my first real ride. We took the most quiet streets, avoiding lane changes and rough pavement. I got up to 35 miles per hour in 4th gear.

My first weekend riding with a license

2009-08-24T02:42:00.000-04:00

Georgia came back from the motorcycle shop, but the guy forgot to inspect it. So, Jason has to take her back on Monday.

At least I got to ride her a little bit around the neighborhood. I practiced slow turns and rode her down Belgian block streets while Jason walked nearby. (I went slow!) I took her to a quiet two-way street to practice U-turns and shifting. Then, she passed out and wouldn't start. Apparently, the battery is too small and didn't hold enough charge for me to ride in second gear.

Tonight, we're using a trickle charger on the battery so that Jason can take Georgia to the shop tomorrow.

I'm eager to ride again. In the meantime, Jason changed the seat on his bike to a single seat. No more rides on the back of his bike. :(

First weekend with a license :-/

2009-08-17T01:47:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, I took my MSF waiver to the New York DMV and got my license. :)

I named the bike Georgia. She's a reddish orange color with black and chrome pipes. Unfortunately, on this first beautiful weekend after getting my license, Georgia was in the shop. :(

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation course

2009-08-12T12:51:00.000-04:00

I happened to sign up for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's course on the hottest day of the year. Fortunately, the instructor, Bettye Rae Lorenz, is way cool. She did her best to accommodate the class so that we wouldn't be sweating bullets in the peak sun. Yesterday was the first day.

Since my boyfriend rides, I've had the joy of riding "bitch" with him on his bike. But I had never ridden a motorcycle by myself before. At least, I can ride a bicycle and drive a standard transmission automobile.

There were six people signed up for the class. Since this class is during the week, fewer people attend. On weekends, the class size gets up to 24 people. That's nuts. Three students were already riders, two with off-road experience, one with street experience. The rest of us had none, except as a passenger.

The first couple hours of the course was in a classroom where we watched a video on motorcycle safety and read through a booklet with facts that was on the written test, which we took at the end of the hot day. (Air-conditioned classroom, thank God.)

On the course, in a parking lot of the Ulster County Community College in upstate New York, there were six bikes with 300cc engines, or less. The bike I rode was a Kawasaki Eliminator-- 250cc. In fact, we three inexperienced students, who happen to be all women, rode Kawasakis while the experienced ones, guys, rode Honda Shadows.

First day, we sat on the bikes, walked them while sitting on them, then practiced using the wet clutch before being allowed to ride in first gear from cone to cone, about 50 yards apart. At this point, one person, who didn't have experience or know how to drive a stick-shift, was counseled out of the class. So, then we were five in the class. After a break, we learned to press and lean to turn, shift to second gear, turn, shift down, stop short, and shift to third gear. At the end of the day, we took our written test, and all of us left passed. Yay.

Second day, Bettye Rae prepared us for the road test, which consisted of 4 parts: riding between lines in a curve, stopping short, two U-turns in a box the size of 7 parking spaces, and swerving to avoid an accident with a stopped vehicle or other obstacle. We also did a lot of snaking through cones, practiced lane changing, using front and rear brakes (on the test), made lots of right turns and left turns, practiced counterbalancing, and rode over a 2x4 several times. The curve and stop were both timed, and there were points against the tester for riding too slow. For the U-turns, points went against putting a foot down or crossing the boundary of the box. I lost a point taking a curve too slow, and 3 points for crossing the U-turn boundary.

In the end, the five of us that were left got our licenses. Easy, but scary, because I definitely didn't feel ready to ride by myself, even though I did really well in class and felt equipped enough to avoid other vehicles by swerving. It was too easy.

Fact is, riding a motorcycle in the same streets and roads as cars, buses, trucks, and even bicycles, has to be one of the most dangerous things a person can do. And to ride, there's nothing better for a rider than to have a healthy fear of it. So, why would i do it? Well, for one, it's easy to park in the city. Two, motorcycle riding can be more fuel efficient to commute than today's hybrid car. Three, there's nothing like riding. I think I might be getting the bug.