Rear brake pads

I've been watching my rear brake pads getting thinner for the past year, and so, I decided I should finally change them before the metal-on-metal grinding begins. I could have changed them sooner, as the previous owner of my DR included a new set of brake pads when I bought the bike. The new pads have just been lying around in my tickle trunk down in the basement. I just figured I should try to get as much mileage as I can before tossing them. So, with 22,090 Kms on the odometer, the original pads are pretty much worn down to almost nothing. I'm sure it would have only been another week or so before the brake rotor would be scored.

I'll have to do the front ones soon, but the originals still have a few miles left.

Nope, not much left on these OEM pads.

These ought to do the trick.

New pads installed.

Odometer: 22,090 Kms

Last trip of the season

Sean and I are planning one last road trip together for this season. Like the last time, we're going to meet 1/2 way, near Bancroft. We'll camp there and do 2 or 3 separate day trips. And like every other trip I've done, I still feel like my Givi E370 topcase is a little small for anything longer than a weekend trip. So, today I decided to rig up my own luggage solution -- on the cheap, naturally.

Went to a local scrap yard and found a heavy duty piece of 3/16" aluminium. It measures about 11" x 15" and it has a bend with an inch wide flap running along the long edge. I bought it for $5 and I used a jigsaw to round off the 4 corners. Then I clamped it tightly on top of the Suzuki OEM luggage rack. Using a centre punch, I lined up 3 holes so I could run bolts through the plate and directly through the steel tubing frame of the OEM rack. Some stainless steel bolts with nylon locking nuts hold it in place very securely.

It provides a stable platform for the new 46-Litre "Marine Duffle" I bought from Lebaron (local outdoor sports shop). It's quite rugged and it has a rigid foam tray moulded into the base of the duffle bag. The zippers are quite robust and they are covered by a thick flap so it should do OK in the rain. At least I'll be able to carry a little more than the Givi box.

And how about a tire wear update? Well, the Michelin T63 is definitely my new favourite tire, replacing the Continental TCK-80. So far, I've got 2,500 Kms on the rear, and a little over 1,000 Kms on the front. The rear still looks great, with over 8mm of tread depth remaining (10 mm when it was new). The front still looks brand new, and my tread depth guage doesn't show any measurable wear.  They are definitely noisier than the Conti TCK's on the street, but in the dirt and mud they grip a little better. I still can't believe they only cost $55 each !!!

Michelin T63 - front - after 1,000 Kms

Michelin T63 - rear- after 2,500 Kms

Odometer: 22,090 Kms

Valve adjustment, oil change, trailer progress

Didn't get any riding in this weekend, but I did get some maintenance done. First up was to check the valve clearances. The service manual says the intake valves should be betweek .006" - .008", and the exhaust valves should have a gap of .003" - .005".


Both intakes were a little on the loose side: my .008" feeler guage was able to slide in and out quite loosely. The trick I use to set them properly is to set the adjusters so that the .008" guage is tight. That way, the .007" guage fits nicely -- not too loose, not too snug. This ensures that you end up with an adjustment that's well within spec.

My exhaust valves were spot on and didn't require any adjustment. My .005" guage was a snug fit, and .004" fit perfectly.

Next it was on to the engine oil. It had been about 2,600 Kms since the last fresh jug of Rotella T 10W40. I still have a bunch of Hi-Flo Filtro oil filters since the box of 10 I purchased in the spring from ProCycle. This was also my first change since installing the Pat Walsh skid plate. It's a breeze because it has a hole for easy access to the engine oil drain bolt. Unlike that road sign skid plate I had been using, which required removal to access the drain plug.

Like a dumbass, though, I overfilled it by a little and had to take some out (that's the problem when pouring from a 1-gallon jug: it's hard to determine how much you're pouring. Oh, well. Not a big deal since I always go for a quick ride and check the oil level after an oil change.

 

I even gave the bike a quick wash -- because she deserves it once in a while

I also spent a couple of hours working on the trailer this weekend. I welded on the anchor support arms at the front, and drilled and bolted eye hooks at the the 4 corners, attached a safety chain and the hitch coupler, and finally I painted the whole thing using Tremclad Professional quick dry gloss black rattle can paint. I have a set of magnetic trailer lights that are super convenient to use. Just plug-em into the car and use the magnetic base on the lights to stick them where you need them. Not quite finished yet, but getting there.
 
 

 I even used the trailer for a quick trip to the lumber yard to pick up some more cedar so I can finish the deck I've been slowly building all summer.

 

Garmin Oregon 300 GPS and Sony CycleEnergy Hybrid Ni-MH batteries

Garmin Oregon 300 GPS

I recently picked up a decent handheld mapping GPS, an invaulable tool for trail riding. While I have a full-featured Garmin Nuvi 760 for the car, and have used it many times on the bike, it's really only useful for street navigation.

So, after much research and lots of online bargain hunting, I ended up with the Garmin Oregon 300 GPS. It comes pre-loaded with a basic worldwide basemap, and I've added Garmin's Topo Canada V4.0 map, cGPSMapper Southern Ontario Enhanced Basemap (free map from http://gpsmapsearch.com/ using  this map). I also picked up a 16GB Kingston MicroSD memory card (overkill, yes, but it was only $25), and I even wasted 30 bucks for a subscription to Garmin's Bird'sEye Satellite Immagery web download service (not worth the cash, in my opinion).

Garmin Oregon 300

The Oregon 300's main features include touch screen (3" diagonal), high sensitivity WAAS-enabled GPS receiver (it's accurate to within about 10 feet), electronic compass, barometric altimeter, microSD memory card slot, wireless sharing of your data (waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches) with other Oregon units. It's also waterproof, which is a very important feature.

I've not had any trouble using the touch screen while wearing my gloves, although it seems to respond a little better when I remove my gloves. So far, I'm really liking this GPS. I bought it at Walmart for $299 (Canada).

screenshot

I bought a RAM mount system from GPSCity through Amazon for $30. The only way to really mount this thing on the bike. Garmin sells a handlebar mount that attaches with zip ties, but it looked pretty crappy compared to this RAM solution.

To power this new GPS, I've been using low self-discharge Sony CycleEnergy hybrid Ni-MH AA batteries. I went to the Sony Store at the mall and bought a kit that includes a charger and four AA cells for $60 -- yikes! The charger has a "refresh" button that will drain the batteries fully first, and then charge them, if you so wish. The advantage offered by newer hybrid types is that they retain their charge for a much longer period when not in use. Older Ni-Mh batteries would lose ~ 1/2 their charge if they weren't used for 30 days. These particular Sony's perform very well when powering electronic devices. Although they don't have the same initial punch as some higher capacity 2700 mAh batteries, they do perform very well and actually last longer overall  -- many high capacity rechargeable batteries provide more initial power, but only for a short time, meaning they start to run out of steam quicker. These Sony's provide a good balance of overall lasting power, and they claim to retain 90% of their capacity while in storage for a year. So far, my experience with these batteries is very positive. They have performed much better than many other rechargeables I have used before: I've tried the Energizer AA's and they suck, and Duracell rechargeables are OK, but not nearly as good.

I have some smaller AAA Sanyo Eneloops (also hybrid) and I would have bought some in AA size but I wasn't able to find them locally, I've also used the  as these Sony's.

I have also used the mini-USB cable to power the GPS while on the bike using my 12V cigarette lighter plug USB adapter. It works well but I'm worried the extreme vibration from my big thumper might eventually loosen the USB port connnection on the GPS. Besides, these new Sony batteries are easily lasting a full 8-hour day of riding, and I keep a spare set fully charged in my pocket just in case.

Klim pants, gloves, jersey

Bought some new riding apparel just in time for last weekend's Calabogie Boogie. I've always heard plenty of good things about the quality of Klim gear, and AtomicMoto seems to have a good reputation of selling only products that are worth buying. So, I went to their website and ordered 3 items: the 2009 Klim Chinook pants on sale for $87 (reg. $120), and the Revolt Jersey for $40, and Mojave gloves for $18.  Because the order was over $100, it qualified for free shipping within the US (yes, I drove down to Ogdensburg yet again to pickup my stuff).

My experience with the AtomicMoto.com website was terrific and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. And the quality of this Klim stuff is top notch, for sure. I'm extremely impressed with the pants. They really stand out as being exceptional quality. I've seen pants of considerably inferior quality sell for more than I paid for these. The gloves? Well, they're gloves. The jersey? Again, it's a jersey, but it's exactly as they described: it's not as breathable as the Baja jersey they sell, but that's why I chose it: I want it for fall weather riding. Good fit and good quality.

 2009 Klim Chinook pants were on sale for $87 (reg. $120)

Mojave gloves for $18

Revolt Jersey for $40

Calabogie Boogie - Great Ride !

I attended 20th Annual Calabogie Boogie was this past weekend. What a blast. I'm stiff, sore, tired and my whole body is now worn out -- but it was a great time. I rode the main orange primary trail route. The dual-sport route looked interesting enough, but I wanted to make sure my skills were challenged... and indeed they were. Plus, I wanted to ride with Dave, Blair and Jeff.

Unloading Dave's KLX400

The rented travel trailer at Ferguson Lake

Jeff & Blair's bikes (they came up from New Hampshire)

Saturday morning pre-ride briefing

Dave pinched off a loaf of bear shit on the trail

Lunch time on the K & P Trail

Patrick Trahan (Honda Canada sponsored rider of the 2010 Paris-Dakar Rally). He rode the Boogie on his Dakar bike and was the guest speaker at the Saturday evening banquet. Got to chat with him for a few minutes. A nice guy and some funny stories.

A very tricked-out Honda CRF450X

In the United Kingdom, Santa Claus is tall and thin, and he rides a KLR650.

He can also out-ride me any day of the week.

Blair's KLX400

Jeff's XR400R

Santa's sleigh

Dave's KLX and an old DT200

See the marks just before I left the road? You can't see it in this photo because the camera is pointing downhill, but it's pretty steep. I was run off the road by some KTM riders who were in a real hurry to pass. I hit a big rock with my front tire, causing me to vere off my line, and I was definintely tired by then and going a little too fast (3rd gear). After hitting the rock, I went into the grass and smashed my skidplate really hard on a giant rock, and a few feet in front of the rock was a 2-foot deep ditch. That's where I came to a very quick stop on impact. The bike did a stoppie and I plowed straight into the dirt.

The 3 riders who witnessed my get off thought they might need to call for an air ambulance, and figured my bike had probably been wrecked, too. However, I was up and walking around within a few seconds. I had the wind knocked out of me and I was seeing stars for a minute or two but that's about it. My hand will be sore for a few days  and the bike barely suffered a scar on the skidplate. The DR is one tough bike -- tough as a tank. It was definitely a hard impact.

My skidplate left its mark on this big rock.

The ditch where I came to a very abrupt stop.

My new skidplate was bent and got a few scrapes. It definitely did its job. Would be scared to see how bad the damage might have been if I still had my old road sign skid plate.

By the end of day-1 I was exhausted

Banquet at the golf course

Patrick Trahan, guest speaker at the banquet

Ferguson Lake at 6am on Sunday morning

Too bad I didn't have time for a test ride.

BMW Megamoto. What was BMW's design team thinking?

For day-2, Patrick Trahan was riding the Honda Veradero on the dual sport route

Eagle's Nest Looout, off Hwy 508

On top of the world

Derek, Dave, JEff, Blair

The story behind this is that the music kept playing over and over until the wee hours of the morning. I went to ask the noisy neighbours to turn it off, and after a couple of attempts I discovered the music was turned up loud but no one was there... I let myself in (causing minimal damage) and turned off the offending music. I kept the CD as a souvenir.