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My ISP was recently taken over by Time Warner and it appears they are having some serious issues. I haven't been able to reach this site from home for a few days now. It's a problem outside my network, judging from the traceroutes. So here I am at work, done with the day and takin' one for the team to post up some naked 599 goodness.

I should really find a better way of doing this:


Steering head bearings were fine, had plenty of grease, but I hit 'em up with more anyways:


Stupid bracket the headlight mounting brackets bolt on to was eating my clutch cable:


I wrapped the clutch cable with a bunch of electrical tape and will probably cover that sharp spot on the mounting bracket with some Plasti-Dip to take the sharpness out.

Lubing the clutch cable:


Plugs looked ok. Could be better but I'm sure they'll last another 8k until they're scheduled to be replaced. Those center plugs were female dogs to get in/out.



Now to head home and hope my ISP gets their stuff sorted out so I can actually see this site from there.

(edit) In the 15 minutes between leaving work and getting home, it's all fixed. I think they are watching me. Could someone pass me a tinfoil hat, please?

Durrr. Got the brakes bled. The rear brake master cylinder's reservoir tricked me. It has an accordion style rubber gasket that shows the current level of brake fluid. I merrily started bleeding and didn't even think there would be only a tiny amount of fluid in the reservoir. So of course, it ran dry, then cue 10 minutes of me tying to figure out why no pressure was building when I refilled the reservoir. That is, on the inside of the gasket, so it never got to the master cylinder. Oops.

On the other hand, everything is gravy now with some new synthetic DOT4 goodness front and rear. Mmmm!

Since I started my new job at my alma mater about seven months ago, I've had more sitting on my butt than walking around. Quite a bit of gear shifting from being a student. I quickly found a downside to not having to walk uphill everywhere - I was getting a big(ger) belly about every week!

I started with changing up my diet a bit. My GF and I eat out about twice a week, down from four or five meals. My lunch and work snacks are fairly healthy: low-sugar oatmeal cut with regular, unflavored oatmeal; a sandwich on healthy bread (F--k that white stuff); baby carrots; apple; banana; low-sugar oatmeal bar.

Well, that seemed to slow down my weight gain, but it was still progressing! I felt as if I was taking up the slack for my friends. One is training for reserve firefighter/EMT, the other decided he was tired of being really far, so he dropped over 150 pounds. I didn't see him in his "losing weight" stage, so when we went out to eat and he stepped out of his WRX STi, I was amazed.

So, being inspired by these guys and knowing riding season is coming up, I decided to do something about it. For the past five or six weeks, I've been working out four to five times a week at home. I have about an hour between when I get home and when it's time to play taxi for the GF, so that's plenty of time.

A simple routine of squats, pushups and crunches has done wonders for my physique. My arms, shoulders and chest have lost a lot of flab and you can see some good muscle there. My legs are usually easy to get into shape and they are just all muscle now.

On the other hand, my belly is still a bit bigger than I would like. Therein lies my problem. I like to eat, like any red blooded American. So my options are 1. get my metabolism going, or 2. get my metabolism going. Eating less is not an option!

Now, I have bad knees, so that pretty much eliminates running from my possibilities. I can do stairs, but there's no great place to do those around here. Stupid stadium renovations.

My "lost 150 pounds" buddy does have a bike he is willing to let me borrow and then sell to me on the cheap, and there's a nice riding trail around here. This appears to be the most attractive option at the moment. The GF has been pestering me about wanting to go bicycling, so maybe this will calm things down and trim both of us up.

Enough of my attempts at personal fitness. I acquired my friend's Morgan Carbtune and purchased some dryer vent ducting, so I can run my bike in the garage and keep the nasty exhaust out of the house.

Got the carbs decently balanced. There's a lot of bloody vacuum tubing in that bike! Most of it was dedicated to the PAIR system - something about emissions. I cleaned my chain, as well. I was going to bolt everything back on for a test ride but it started snowing... again. Oh well.

Left to do: Plasti-Dip sharp headlight bracket, lube chain and tighten every bolt I can find.

After that, my 8,000 mile maintenance is done and it's time to log in some miles... once the weather gets decent.

The clutch cable is still an issue. I tried brushing on Plasti-Dip to cover up the sharp edge, but it wouldn't stick on there well enough. I would have to pull the bracket out entirely to get it properly covered. That means taking off the top triple clamps, which I would like to avoid if at all possible.

My next step of action is going to be pulling the headlight out entirely and getting better access to it that way.

This seems like an awfully silly problem to have! Full lock right and the sharp bracket digs into the poor clutch cable. Oh well, I have a couple of weeks before the trip, and only have to do the cable, aim the headlight, double-check all bolts and lube the chain.

Sounds like things are coming along pretty well aside from the clutch cable. Damn thing chewed all the way through the covering, which REALLY sucks. Maybe rough up the area around it with a little sandpaper will get it to stick better...

599 was on the road today! Everything seems to be just fine, she runs like a champ.

Really needs a new battery, though. I'm hesitant to put one in, though - my new-in-box battery has been helping me with weight training.

Felt so good to be out!

Hey Skier, good to read your updates. First off, my condolences for your coworker in the accident.

It's good to hear of your diet and exercise routine upgrade. DH and I were doing similar and doing well for the last several months, but we let it slide this second week of vacation. Almost made it. But we're getting back on the wagon again.

Keep up the hard work. Some days it isn't easy. The maintenance you did on your bike is pushing me to get out there and get our bikes going. Like I told dad, the second we get word the season is open, DH and I are peeling out of the garage for a ride.

Take care.

Skier wrote:599 was on the road today! Everything seems to be just fine, she runs like a champ.

Really needs a new battery, though. I'm hesitant to put one in, though - my new-in-box battery has been helping me with weight training.

Felt so good to be out!

Sooo jealous. Minus 20 today. Post a lot so I can live vicariously through you!

Got my highway pegs on:







$10 BMX pegs, $10 worth of fasteners at the hardware store. Well, $5, but I bought two different lengths so I didn't have to go back and get the shorter bolts if that's what was needed.

Went on a 30 mile ride with my new battery, very nice! 47 degrees, and it's supposed to be in the 50s in a few days.