I’m happy it’s Friday. It has been a long week, and I’m looking forward to extra sleep tomorrow. Hopefully, my tulips will bloom this weekend too!
It’s been a hectic April so far. The near record setting snow we’ve received has been causing all the rivers to flood. The above park, in downtown St. Paul, was under water a couple weeks ago which also put a couple fun motorcycle roads under water too.
There is still no word on when I will get my Ural back with a new final drive unit. It’s sitting at Scrambler Cycle in Wisconsin. Kevin has been working hard to find me one, but Ural IMZ hasn’t been very helpful. They say it’s on its way from the factory in Russia. No ETA.
No worries, as I have been riding my other bikes. Well, trying to at least. The BWM and the SV wanted to stay in the garage a bit longer and developed problems. Why couldn’t they have done that in the fall?
The above is the dust seal on the left fork of my R1150GS. It leaked fork oil all over the bike and floor. I took my trusty WR250R to the BMW dealer I like (40 miles away) and bought two dust seals and two oil seals. They were pretty easy to replace once I figured out the technique and had the right tools. $70 for parts, $20 for tools and about an hour to install (including taking pics for a future post). Pretty good for a first try since the dealer wanted $300!!
The above is the fuel tap on the SV. It somehow developed a small tear at the base. $80 and a week later I had a new one. In the mean time, the WR and the Super9 proved to be very handy.
I mounted one of my cases to the back of the super9 to store my gear when I’m off the scooter. I don’t use it for anything while moving as I don’t think the subframe is strong enough for anything over a pound or two. Besides, the scooter has room under the seat for lots of stuff.
The above photo is my Super9 parked in downtown Minneapolis last week. With my coat and pants in the case and my helmet and gloves under the seat, I can store all my gear on the scooter while I am away. Very nice!
The above photo is from two days ago. Winter isn’t giving up without a fight this year. The lack of my Ural and ice on the roads in the morning has given me extra time with my wife. She’s graciously been carpooling with me. We’ve both been enjoying it. She drives, and I buy dinner after work. A win win!
The rest of my free time has been wading through the mountain of material for the MSF RiderCoach. My training starts in three weeks! I am very excited (and a bit nervous).
Chris, sucks that Ural is being so slow re getting the FD to your mechanic....but that's why you have spare motorcycles right....though you're stretching that resource as well it seems.
ReplyDeleteHope you get that part in soon, even though it will cut into the "quality time" with the wife.
dom
Redleg's Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
Dom: Ural is acting pretty poorly on this repair. Kevin is doing his best to track down something, but IMZ hasn't been helpful at all. The Ural's charm is wearing off.
ReplyDeleteWe'll just have to carpool on the bike when it quits snowing or should it be motorcycle-pool? bikepool? hmm...
You really can't seem to get rid of the white stuff this year. On the plus side that leaves you a lot possibilities to work on the bikes.. or study ;-) Good luck for the MSF course.
ReplyDeleteSonjaM: Yes, time to study is good. :) Lots of stuff to read and 200 short answer questions. Thanks! Now I need to start practicing figure-8s.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly I am teaching an instructor prep session this weekend. Launching a group of 8 new instructors upon the unsuspecting motorcycling public.
ReplyDeleteBless you for stepping up. May you find all the rewards and joys that I've found over the years.
irondad: LOL "unsuspecting motorcycling public" have fun! got any tips for the newbie coach?
ReplyDelete