October 26, 2005 Lunch in Durham, KS

Picture:  That's my Enfield and the guy looks a little like me but it isn't. 

It was a chilly ride for the ROMEOs this morning,  37 degrees when I headed South to meet up with the other old men in Lindsborg.  Five of us made the short ride to Durham and meet up with about twenty five other bikers from around the state.  I can't remember the name of the restaurant but it was the only one right down town.  Real clean place ran by some Mennonite folks and a bunch of young Mennonite girls for waitresses.  I had the bierock and baked bean with salad bar special for $5.75 (drink included).  If I had given it any thought I would have passed on the two bierocks and went straight to the homemade pie.  As it was I just didn't have room for dessert, guess I'll have to go back some time.  I felt kinda bad, some of the local folks had to wait on their lunch because of the ROMEOs.  Maybe we should try eating a little latter, after all 12-1:00pm IS lunch time for most Kansans .    By the time I got back home the temp was 62, bright sun shine, no clouds and a 10mph South wind, in other words perfect riding weather.

  The bike was running great but a little down on power.  Because of my lean running condition I slapped the stock air cleaner back on and got it going too rich but no back fires.  The new main jets came in today so tomorrow I will be back to tuning with the K & N filter.  Hopefully I can get it all sorted out and be able to devote some time to other things (the Royal Enfields health is my first priority you know).

10-21-05 Hauling to Shawnee, KS

  Well I made it to Julie's in Shawnee, KS with the Enfield.  Got the running about 6pm Wednesday evening and decided to haul it up in the pickup.  Finally got to ride on Friday but it was still running lean.  Ran around to several bike shop looking for a 140 main jet, finally found one and it is running great but still on the lean side.  Tait at Classic Motorworks has just been a life saver with his advice.  Of course I am spending what seems a butt load of money trying to get this bike running right.  It really sounds GOOD! and you know the RE motto....."Style over Speed" .

  I think I will ride to Lone Jack Saturday to see Ruthie and Wally.

 

October 22, 2005 Ride to Lone Jack, MO

 Here is how lost I was on the 45 mile ride to Lone Jack, it took two and a half hours to get there and 55 mins to get back to Julie's.  I got off on the wrong road then encountered a detour, it was cloudy so I couldn't tell what direction I was going and then it started to rain.  I ended up making a giant clockwise circle, south, west, north to end up back in Olathe.  I did OK the second lap and got on the right road to Lone Jack with no more problems.

  Had a nice visit with my old Navy buddy, Wally.  He took me to a BBQ joint and we had the biggest pork chops I have ever seen.  He took it easy on his V-Star so I could keep up.  Since it was looking like more rain I headed back about 3pm.  Sure enough rain in varying amounts all the way home.  It never got bad thank goodness but I sure don't like riding that way.  The roads looked awful slick but I was very cautions.  The bike ran like crap, still too lean.  Oh I almost forgot it was 42 degrees when I got home.  I think it was about 49 when I left at 10am and the day just went down from there.

  Breakfast in DeSoto isn't looking like much fun right now, I'll see in the morning.

If I want a damned windshield I would have driven my truck........Leonard Williams (before riding 45 miles in the rain)

October 19, 2005 Waiting for the UPS Man

Picture:  New Shorty Muffler and K & N Air Filter

  While setting around waiting for UPS to bring my throttle cable I thought I might as well blog a bit.  You can see that the new muffler is quite a lot smaller than stock and it sounds oh, so much better.  The free flowing K & N filter is a tiny comparted to the big chrome air box of the stock setup.  I also removed the stock oil breather "stuff" and now use what is called a duck bill breather.  The PAV also came off so I suppose I am a polluter now.  I think I finally have the carb sorted out with a 130 main jet, 27.5 pilot jet and the needle as high as it will go.  It feels pretty good using my C-clamp pull throttle but I will give it a real test once the new cable is on.

  Speaking of new cables......I don't think I will get it today.  The UPS tracking site says it is scheduled for delivery today but the scan info still has it sitting in Lenxa, KS.  I called and was given the standard BS answer.  They must think people are fools.  Anyway I will be surprised if it shows up.

It's all part of being cool - unknown

October 17, 2005 New Stuff

Picture:  Luggage Rack

  The luggage rack came in this afternoon, some sort of express mail delivered by the USPS.  This thing was a little pricey as it came from Great Briton and I had to pay for that express mail.  I don't think I would got it if I had know the shipping was going to be so much.  This will be our little secret, Sue doesn't read my blog. 

  I think I have the carb sorted out, it is really running good and sounds great.  Of course I haven't done anything except ride around the neighborhood by pulling on the broken cable.  Now if I only had a throttle cable I would be ready to ride on Wednesday.

 

 

Entry for October 17, 2005

What is a Royal Enfield? Is that a motorcycle or what? --- Salina, KS Suzuki dealer

  I am just bummed out!  The throttle cable broke Saturday morning and I wasn't able to finish getting the carb sorted out with the new exhaust and air filter.  It is still running rich or lean I can't really figure out which.  I had it running great on Friday but the plug looked a little lean so I fiddled with it some more and just made it worse. 

  The throttle cable is a problem area I've found out.  They tend to break at 1000 miles so guess I was lucky to be home when it happened.  They new one is US made and supposed to be much better.  All this wouldn't be such a big deal if I wasn't missing out on the best riding weather of the year and if I hadn't planned to ride to Julie's Wednesday so I would be able to do some riding in the KC area over the weekend.  If all goes well I will get everything back together Wednesday in time to haul it up there in the evening and still be able to get some riding in.  Sue and Julie leave for VA Thursday morning and I will be taking care of the hound.  They get back Monday evening and Sue and I will haul it back to Salina so she can go to work Tuesday.

  I talked to the Suzuki dealer this morning thinking I might be able to bring in the Enfield cable and they could match it up with one from stock.  After I got through the usual "what's a Royal Enfield BS" they told me they didn't even stock cables because it cost too much to keep them all in stock.  I miss the days when you could get someone to help you just because you rode a motorcycle and they sold motorcycles.  It is more like cars now, if you don't have the model, stock number, etc you are SOL.

Entry for October 12, 2005 Lunch in Marquette

Picture:  ROMEO Shirt

 

  Went to Marquette with the ROMEOs (Retired Old Motorcyclists Eating Out) today.  Started in Lindsborg with the scooter guys and two other motorcycles and just to make it more of a ride we went North to Assaria then West to Falun and followed a twisty road to Marquette.  There must have be about 35 bikes and at least 40 people.  We pretty well filled up the little cafe, I had catfish.  It was fun looking at all the different bikes, there were two trikes and a new Triumph Bonneville.  Of course the Enfield drew it's share of attention.  One guy had even had one for awhile and would like to get another.  I rode back to Salina back up through Falun then Burma Road and in the back way to home.  When I got home there was a box of goodies from Classic Motor Works on the porch so I have some work to do tomorrow getting the new exhaust on and getting the carburetor re-jetted.

  Do you think that shirt is bright enough?

Entry for October 11, 2005

Picture:  Shredded trailer tire

 

  So what does a shredded tire have to do with riding motorcycle?  It is more like what it has to do with "not riding motorcycles".  The reason I haven't ridden in a few days is because I have been in Olathe helping Julie move.  The trailer was borrowed from a friend to help with the move.  Since she is downsizing we had to bring home a few items she didn't need.  The trailer was loaded with a washer and dryer, a nine foot step ladder and a couple of other miscellaneous items.  My little 4 banger S-10 had a mower, some boxes of stuff, etc.  I am sure we were quite a sight going down I-70.  About half way between Topeka and Junction City the driver's side trailer tire shredded.  No problem, there is a spare.  I pulled way over in the break down lane and got out to survey the damage.  Let me tell you when an 18 wheeler goes by at 70 plus just 8 feet away it is scary.  I pulled the jack and lug wrench out of the S-10, neither one fit.  The lug wrench was too small and the jack has this hump on it that fits into a special hole in the S-10 but makes it dangerous to try and jack up the round axle of the trailer.  Lucky for me I watched all those MacGyver shows.  I took out my trusty Swiss Army knife, found a piece of board in the back of the truck and whittled out a hole so the board would level out the hump on the jack.  The lugs on the tire were no match for my 12 inch Crescent turned sideways and levered with the truck's lug wrench.  It took a while and the spare was a different size than the other side but I "got her done".  The rest of the trip was max 55.  Surprising how easy that little truck pulled the load, only had to down shift on the longest hills.

  Back to riding tomorrow.  The ROMEO group is going to Marquette for lunch and the weather sounds OK.

Entry for October 03, 2005

Picture:Three Blocks West of downtown Kanopolis, KS

 

  Rode over to Kanopolis this afternoon, wanted to visit the Ft. Harker museum but of course it is closed on Mondays.  No problem, I just looked around a bit took a few pictures and headed back home stopping by the Mushroom Rock State Park to snap a couple of more shots.

  We are not having typical Kansas Fall weather.  Today was 90 degrees with 25mph South winds (gusts to 38).  Not the most pleasant riding conditions but the lack of traffic made up for it.  On my way to Kanopolis I was passed by only one car.

  When I got home I discovered that I had lost my keys someplace.  Probably at Ft. Harker, I remember reaching in my pocket a couple of times and I bet they fell out.  I thought I was stuck until Sue got home until I remembered my hidden key of the truck.  I found it and used the garage door opener to let my self in.

  This morning as I arrived home from the Y a guy pulled up and said he had seen me and followed me home.  It was the guy that bought Aaron's Royal Enfield.  We had a nice visit and promised to get together to ride sometime.