Little Hooker Bait Shop, Feb 1, 2006

Picture:  Royal Enfield Bullet (REB) and a Norton

The Little Hooker Bait Shop near Burden, KS is about 150 miles from Salina.  I had come up with several reasons why I shouldn't try to make this ride but the weather forecast won out and I was rewarded with some good BBQ and an excellent ride.  It was on the chilly side (35 degrees) when I left Salina at 8am but I was dressed a little better for this ride than the one to Towanda.  Besides it was only going to get warmer and the wind wasn't a factor.

  The ride down was pleasant and I only added 10 miles by missing a turn.  Just before arriving, I noticed a bike behind me and waved him around.  Instead he pulled along side on a good looking old 650cc (I think) Norton, gave me a thumbs and rumbled on down the road.  I parked beside him in the British Heritage parking space, ha ha.

  The ROMEOs packed the little cafe.  I don't know if they sold bait too but the BBQ was very good.  It was interesting afterward; me, the Norton guy and a former REB owner were talking about oil pumps, valve adjustments and transmissions.  Later I walked over to the cruiser parking and they were talking about CD players, adjustable windshields and long rides.  By the time I got back to Salina my back was crying for a cruiser.  309 miles, that is a new record for me and the REB.

  Did you notice those saddles bags?  It is interesting what all you can think to bring along when you have a little extra room.

P.S.  I forgot to mention the little dog that was going around peeing on wheels.  I'm not 100% certain but I think he was just hitting Japanese brands.

Coronado Heights January 3, 2006

Picture:  Three shots stiched together from the West side of Coronado Heights, North of Lindsborg, KS.

Today was such a fine day I couldn't let it go to waste.  First I rode downtown to the Stiefel Theatre to pick up tickets for the Dionne Warwick concert on the 24th.  I hadn't realized Sue was such a big fan so these tickets are for her birthday (Feb 2nd, Groundhog Day) and Valentine's Day. 

  Nice ride but after a couple of minutes it is apparent that it's not as warm as it looks.  Before heading back home I dig the winter gloves out of the saddle bag.  You know those saddle bags make the bike look a little dorky but they sure are handy.  If I decide to make the ROMEO ride tomorrow I will pack them with extra clothes.

  At home I don my chaps and baklava and head South on Burma Road with the thought of riding up to Coronado Heights(http://www.naturalkansas.org/coronado.htm).  By now the North wind had picked up a bit but it is to my back so the ride was quiet enough to hear the Enfield's exhaust note.........music to my ears.  A little excitement going through Smolan.  A couple of German Shepherds come tearing after me from the East side of the road.  It would have not been of great concern except for the car coming toward me.  My heart jumped up into my throat for a second until I saw that the car wasn't going to swerve into me to miss the dogs.

  Two miles off the pavement on a rock/gravel road just past an old cemetery I reach the entrance.  That road going up there hasn't been worked on in years and I had to take it slow.  The bike would have pulled it in 3rd if I could have got a little speed up.  This thing has an amazing amount of torque.

  There is a car at the top with two guys in it but they leave shortly.............hmmm, not that there is anything wrong with that.  I snapped a few shots off and stowed the camera back in the saddle bag for the ride down.  Just coasted in 2nd with the compression of the engine holding the speed down enough to negotiate the rocks and washouts. 

  A leisure ride back and I'm home in time read the mail before getting ready to go to

Saddlebags 1/27/06

  I took those old saddlebags that Aaron gave me to Mel's Tack and Saddle.  It cost too much but he sewed on a piece of leather to connect them like they are supposed to be.  Now I can't make up my mind if I want to lay them on the fender, under the luggage rack, or on top of the luggage rack.  There are pros and cons.  If under the rack no one will walk off with them and if over the rack I can take them off easily.  And if they go under the rack I will have to trim the leather to make them fit better.  I didn't do too good of a job of measuring things.  The next thing I have to figure is what am I going to do with them.  I don't see going on any long trips, however, there is a Royal Enfield rally/reunion this summer in MO. 

  Nice day again today so I took the bike to run errends.  Went out to the HD store to kill a little time before meeting Sue for lunch.  Man, those folks have a racket going.  Little leather bags that you can get for 15-20 on EBAY go for 75 and up, just because they say HD.

  Tonight is Jade's big Girl Scout Valentine Ball and I am taking her again.  Guess I will have to dance .  Think I will go take a nap, might be a long evening.

Entry for January 26, 2006

 

Yesterday was ROMEO (Retired Old Motor...yada, yada) lunch day and the forcast was 60 in the afternoon.  Problem was that at 8:30am when I would have had to leave to ride 130 miles, it was 25.  Just too damn cold without a windshield, fairing and electric vest, etc.  I decided to stay home a do some work on the bike instead.  First up was installing three heavy duty clutch springs.  The clutch had been slipping and this is the fix after adjustments failed.  Pretty straight forward job, just messy.  I had to pull the primary cover so that so that meant draining the ATF.  The primary chain seemed a little loose so I adjusted it to .25 inch slack as per the manual and went on to replace the springs.  Button it back up, fill with fresh ATF and fire it up.  Won't idle worth a hoot.  Adjusted the screw way in to get a decent idle.  Something didn't seem right but thought the new springs might have had something to do with it.  Away I go for a little ride, no slipping but a bit of drag and neutral is hard to hit.  Still not idling and dies at a couple of stop lights.  I had no choice but to pull the cover off again.  Not wanting to waste fresh ATF I borrowed a long cake pan from the kitchen (don't tell your Mother).  I couldn't think that the clutch was the problem so I adjusted a little more slack in the primary chain and buttoned it up again.  Fired it up and it's reving about 1800 RPM, guess I had the chain a little tight.

  Next up are the higher capacity oil pumps I purchased from CMW.  Another straight forward but messy job.  The engine hasn't seized up so guess I did the job right.  I didn't do a couple of tests to make sure oil was flowing before riding.

  That bring us up to today, the 26th.  For some time now I have know I was running really rich.  The bike ran great but was only getting 55mpg and worse against the wind.  Long story short, I installed a smaller main jet (130)and advanced the timing a bit.  Seems to be OK but tomorrow I do some plug chops and see.  I'm sure you can't wait to see what happens next............

Entry for January 18, 2006

 

  Nice ride around Salina this afternoon.  It was about 58 degrees and sunny with moderate south wind.  Stayed out for about 45 minutes and rode a good 25 miles, enough to get the old Enfield warmed up good.  Running good but think I need to do some carb tuning and work on the timing.  I'm sure it is running rich but why is my exhaust header bluing up again after I cleaned it up?

Entry for January 13, 2006

Crossing Ninth St. on Schilling Rd I began to doubt my sanity for riding the Bullet to run errands.  There was still ice melting on the windshield of the truck as I left home and now I realized that the wind was blowing pretty good from the North.  A quick turn into a residential area gave me momentary relief, but my hands were getting numb as I pulled up to the ATM at the Credit Union.  Thanks goodness it was on the South side of the building so I could be out of the wind and soak up some of the bright sunshine.  I lingered until the feeling returned to my hands then made my way North on Ohio back into the wind.  A quick jag through Oakdale Park warmed me up again and the curves provided a little fun compared to the straight route.  On the other side of Iron I pulled into B & K's parking lot aware that a couple of geezers standing around were giving me the eye.  Yeah, that's right you old farts, I'm as old as you are and I'm out here riding in the cold while you cruise in your Buick Le Sabre all warm and safe....Eat yer hearts out!

  I got the pills tucked away and made a dash across Santa Fe into the parking lot by the Cozy Inn to see if Don, the eye glasses guy, had the balls to ride his new Harley to work, he didn't.  Southbound down Ninth was a pleasant ride all back home.  Now I just plan to lay around all day until it's time to head up to Shawnee to see Julie.

ROMEOs in Towanda, KS

Picture: 

This big yellow Honda fascinated me.  It was just enormous!  The thing had a reverse, stereo, GPS and Lord only know what else, probably a DVD player and a microwave.  The rider said he was 76.

  Wednesday, January 11th dawned clear and cold, just over freezing when I headed South to meet up with any other ROMEOs (Retired Old Motorcyclists Eating Out) hardy enough to venture out for lunch.  As it turned out only Richard, the scooter guy, and I made the trip to meet up with a handful of other senior bikers at the Rusty Barrel Cafe in Towanda.  About 18 showed up including one guy in a coat and tie who was celebrating his 69th birthday.

  In addition to the cold we were bucking a 25mph South wind.  Maybe that is why I ran out of gas after only 105 miles.  Luckily we were only a few miles from Benton and I made it in on reserve.  The tank took just over 3 gallons for a 35mpg average.  A far cry from the 55-60 I was figuring on.  As I understand it some bikes have gas gauges, what won't they think of next?

  The Rusty Barrel was average; I didn't see any barrels, but they did have some nice Western art on the walls.  The ride home was much more enjoyable as it had warmed up to the mid 50s and now we had the wind to our backs. 

  I stopped in McPherson to re-stock with Breakfast Blend at Java Johns (www.java-johns.com) and then dropped in on an old Post Office buddy.  If you are interested, it is a major operation to take a whiz with chaps, jeans and long handles on. 

  On to Salina:  Another bolt fell off the Enfield.  This one was holding the front of the saddle down so from Lindsborg on I felt like I was in a rocking chair every time I hit a bump.  No big deal, I'll just replace it with a Nylox.  As I cruised into town from the South on old 81 hwy the temperature on the sign at Pestinger's read 66 degrees. 

degrees.  226 miles, A great Royal Enfield day!

The Nut

    Finally, the nut is on the bolt.  No more ringy, dingy, ringy and worry about something falling off the bottom of the bike.  I still don't know exactly what this bolt holds on but I won't worry about it any longer.

  The nut (fastener, as Classic Motor Works calls it) CMW sent was a big honker nylox that wouldn't fit in the space available but the threads looked right.  Brother-in-law, Bob, came up yesterday PM with his grinder and ground off enough to get it square with the end of the bolt.  After that it was just a matter of getting wrenches, vise-grips, channel-locks, etc on everything and snuging it up.  Shouldn't have to worry about it coming off with the nylox.

  Today is a ROMEO ride to Towanda, KS, more on that later.

Entry for January 8, 2006

Yesterday was as fine a day as I could hope for in early January, 69 degrees with light wind.  Pity of it was, I didn't get to ride.  Today wasn't quite as nice but I did fire the Bullet up and go out for a spin.  I don't want to ride too much as I still have that loose bolt on that bottom bracket thing.  It doesn't seem to matter much but I don't want the transmission falling out 100 miles from home.

  My friend Pat D. just got a new Aprilia scooter that I haven't seen.  As luck would have it he was at home helping his wife put Christmas decorations away, a major job at their home.  He was happy to be rescued him from that task.  We drank coffee and admired each others rides and promised to do some riding once he retires next month.  As I left Emma was hauling out the Valentine decorations and Pat was going back to work.

New Year's Day, 2006

  New Year's day was uncharacteristically warm and sunny for Salina, Kansas, USA .  What better way to start a new year than with a ride on the Royal Enfield?  Daughters Julie and Sheila said they would like to go for a ride, and biker Pam is always up for a spin, so  off with the solo seat and luggage rack and on with the long seat.  I got a good work out taking the three girls for rides and they enjoyed riding behind the ole man. 

  I am surprised that the bike pulls so strongly two up.  It was easy to maintain 55-60mph but braking took a bit more planning. 

  Little Alexander is a bit young to be riding so we had to settle for pictures.  It would be great if I'm still able to throw a leg over when he is old enough.

  I am still without the lost nut, it doesn't seem to matter except for the annoying jangling sound from the bolt rattling around.  Classic Motorworks supposedly had the correct one in the mail.  Hope so, this will be their 4th try.  It's going to be a great year.

 

Entry for January 02, 2006

  The holidays are over.  Pam and Eric left for Georgia early this morning and Julie left for Shawnee, KS this afternoon.  Kinda quiet around here, especially minus two dogs.  Sheila, Dan and Alexander leave Wednesday then it will be back to normal.....Sue working and me riding (weather permitting) ha, ha.