Misadventures in wrenching and riding

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#21 Unread post by **Skier** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 3:19 pm

Well, the students are all back in town for school now. It's so nice not having to worry about that stuff! I found it humorous our university's portal lasted all of two hours from the first class (8 AM) before screeching to a painfully quick halt. Our wireless VPN also went FUBAR around the same time.

And I don't care, since I no longer work tech support and have a wired Ethernet connection. Ha!

There are some great things and some bad things about having students back. Bad things: poor drivers and the town's population has gone up by about 15,000 people in the past week. Good things: mmm, it was 100 degrees today and lots of ladies. Bad thing: tittygazing is gonna get me killed on my bike.

Whoever on here whose wife said that has me pegged, as well.

Got in a nice 100 mile ride after work today. I think those other riders get a bit huffy when I'm ripping through corners at a much faster pace with a full backpack and a cooler strapped on the back of the 599, but I find it humorous.

roscowgo · #22 Unread post by **roscowgo** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 1:49 am

Aint cable management fun?

That 599 looks fun. I walked by and petted one at the local honda place just the other day

#23 Unread post by **Skier** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 2:28 pm

I'm thinking of ditching the GF this weekend and doing a 1000 mile weekend. Dunno where to go, though. Perhaps off to visit a friend in Boise, or family in Salmon. I've got Idaho on the mind!

flynrider · Wed Aug 23, 2006 2:59 pm

I'd say go for U.S. 12 through Idaho, but I recently learned that much of the area is on fire. My favorite backcountry airstrip has been closed for a week, due to a nearby fire and the webcam picture has been getting hazier every day.

I just checked the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise and they have over 12 active fires in Central ID alone.

Riding in the vicinity forest fires isn't fun. Breathing in smoke all day doesn't seem so bad until the coughing starts later. I rode around Yellowstone for 4 days during the big fire in '88 and spent the next two weeks coughing up junk.

If you go south, it looks like Mt. St Helens is acting up again. Mmm good, more junk in the air

Oh well, it's probably not as bad as the fires.

Good luck!

#25 Unread post by **Skier** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 5:56 pm

I've already done Highway 12. Actually, multiple times, in the past three or four months. I still might do it, though.

We'll see, I may just jet back to Seattle for a cushy place to stay at my parents' place, then jet down south for a nice long leg back the next day. Choices!

#26 Unread post by **Skier** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 4:27 pm

God I'm tired. On the road before 8 AM for some fun fun TWIST-EZ action.

I warmed up with Spiral Highway:

And up Old Winchester Grade:

Down Old Whitebird Grade (covered with pea gravel

):

Down Oxbox Reservoir road/whatever:

Through Hell's Canyon:

Down Buford:

Up Rattlesnake:

Then down Asotin Grade:

And back up Spiral to Moscow, ID (to make sure Neck Tooth wasn't drinking at the local dive bar without me) and back home to Pullman.

525 miles, actual pictures to come.

#27 Unread post by **Skier** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 6:42 am

And pictures:

Custom Jansport tailbag:

Part of Old Whitebird Grade with some of the switchbacks visible:

Ah, Cambridge, OR. One stop shopping for fuel, gas station snacks and booze!

The last stop for gas before entering Hell's Canyon National Recreational Area and their gas pump is busted. So they get to pump it out one gallon at a time and fill up cars that way.

This looks familiar:

Ah yes (Oxbow Reservoir):

The road is cut right into this rock wall. The lane closest to it is peppered with dents and divits that look as if someone dropped a bowling ball from a mile up. I was glad I was wearing my helmet, so the impact wouldn't destroy my head, just my spine.

Craziness:

I can't fault them for giving you enough warning:

The road consists of about 40 miles of this (minus the gravelly area I'm taking the picture from):

Hooray, end of wilderness area and only 20 or 30 miles to lunch at Subway!

#28 Unread post by **Skier** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 5:54 pm

I have a lead on a new cylinder head and wanted to try out my new (to me) toy, an Ingersoll Rand impact gun, so I went to town. From:

To:

Somewhere in the neighborhood of two hours. I'll be ordering a new headgasket, possible petcock and acquiring a good used CDI box. We'll get this POS on the road again, yet!

Wed Aug 30, 2006 4:34 am

Great pics Skier!

#30 Unread post by **Skier** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 12:05 pm

Looks like the final blow has been struck on the Kat. I dropped a cylinder head nut into the cam chain area when taking the head off. No problem, I've fished stuff out of there last time the head was off, without a problem.

Nope, it fell even further into the motor. So I drop the oil pan, thinking it fell through or I'd be able to see it. Nothing in the pan or anywhere I can see.

So I pull off the jugs to get a better view at things. Two or three hours of poking, prodding, swearing and probing later, I have no idea where it went. That means it is either stuck on a weird ledge somewhere in the lower end or it dropped back into the transmission. Either way, it's not coming out without splitting the cases entirely, which is more than I'm willing to do for the bike.

Now the question is if I want to go big with that 750 swap, or recoup my money to put into... well, probably paying back some loans a bit quicker. I'm not hurting for cash, so I may just see if I can pick up a wrecked 750 at some point and go to town with a swap.

Stupid Katana.

Oh well, I got the chain clean on my 599 (overdue), oil and filter change on my Civic (overdue), valve lash set on the Civic (overdue) and washed the cage, as well.