Happy Bike Day! Well, I guess it was last friday so... Happy Bike Week for the future week comming up! Congratulations and I hope you spend plenty of time with your bike in the future!

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http://www.livevideo.com/Koss

Well, now that introductions are complete... here are some pictures.

Here's Gertrude.
She needs a bit of cleaning up, so we'll call her Dirty Gerty!

And her other side.

Full frontal. I didn't care so much for that fairing, but I must admit it's cool enough with it on, so I'll leave it till it warms up some more.

Dirty Gerty. With the fuel switch not turned off, she leaks, so I'll have to get the ole elbow grease out to get this taken care of!

With the 200+ miles I've put on her the last couple of days, she just rolled over 45,000 miles. The carbs need cleaned and maybe rebuilt, the chain needs adjusted, and I need to check and make sure the front forks are in good shape. Hmm... I suppose that I should check out the electrical system. Of course, I'm going to have to find some manuals before I really tear into her. Still and all, for being my age, she's in good shape, and I'm going to ride till a) I have to work on her or b) the weather turns nasty.

Well, I ordered the manual for my bike the other day, and am still impatiently waiting for it. Once I get some sort of documentation, I will perform the necessary oil/other fluids change, spark plugs, carb cleaning/rebuild, chain maintenance. All of those basic necessities.

Went and hit up a couple of parts places, got some chain oil, spark plugs, and tomorrow I'll pick up an oil filter. Got to place an order for the rest of the stuff (besides the fluids).

Adjusted the chain the other day, and a noise became more noticable. I thought that there was a "stiff" spot in the chain that would create the noise. So I removed the chain and laid it out, then oiled it well, and let it sit while I went to work. Upon returning from work, I tried to re-install the chain, but couldn't get it to go.

With my face up-close, I noticed that one of the chain guard mounting tabs was broken off. I removed the chain guard, re-installed the chain, and went a-riding.

The noise was gone!

Of course, now I don't have an installed chain guard.

Not that it matters, as I rode over to my girlfriend's house, and upon trying to leave, the bike wouldn't start anyway. So... got to order the petcock and carb rebuild kits. Going to put in that order today.

And I'm looking into a new chain/sprocket set. I've received recommendations of converting to a 530 chain and the accompanying sprockets. That's probably what I'm leaning towards. If it's just as strong and cheaper and quieter, I'd be a fool not to, right? Right.

As long as the next time I have to work on her, it's light out and not working by flashlight/headlights. Or I'm inside and not getting rained on. Or I'm planning on it.

Oh, and I've got to get some GoJo, cause I still can't get this oil/grease out from the nails and off of my skin. Bah!

Having said all that, I'm thrilled that I've got a bike, and loving it! As I go down the road, it's SO worth all of the other fun that I have!

... for me. I was in the checkout line at Wal-Mart (curse-ed Wal-Mart) after work this evening, and there I saw it. The perfect book. One of those Cliff Notes editions, the slim little versions.
Yes, you guessed it...

"Careers for Dummies"

This just might be the perfect book. I was tempted to purchase it just to see what all was in there. Now the next time I go in there, I'll be looking for the longest line, just so I'll have time to browse.

Of course, this begs the question, how exactly does one qualify to be a "Dummy"? Do you have to be certified, and if so, how long does that take? Or is this a skill set that one can learn in the school of hard knocks?

Hmm... I just might have to look into these "Careers for Dummies" there might be something that will fit me to a T.

Ok, haven't posted in a couple of days, so here's what's been going on.

Day 1
Adjusted the chain the other day, and a noise became more noticable. I thought that there was a "stiff" spot in the chain that would create the noise. So I removed the chain and laid it out, then oiled it well, and let it sit while I went to work. Upon returning from work, I tried to re-install the chain, but couldn't get it to go.

With my face up-close, I noticed that one of the chain guard mounting tabs was broken off. I removed the chain guard, re-installed the chain, and went a-riding.

The noise was gone!

Of course, now I don't have an installed chain guard.

Not that it matters, as I rode over to my girlfriend's house, and upon trying to leave, the bike wouldn't start anyway. So... got to order the petcock and carb rebuild kits. Going to put in that order today.

And I'm looking into a new chain/sprocket set. I've received recommendations of converting to a 530 chain and the accompanying sprockets. That's probably what I'm leaning towards. If it's just as strong and cheaper and quieter, I'd be a fool not to, right? Right.

As long as the next time I have to work on her, it's light out and not working by flashlight/headlights. Or I'm inside and not getting rained on. Or I'm planning on it.

Oh, and I've got to get some GoJo, cause I still can't get this oil/grease out from the nails and off of my skin. Bah!

Having said all that, I'm thrilled that I've got Gertrude, and loving it! As I go down the road, it's SO worth all of the other fun that I have!


Day 2
The manual came in today, and I'm installing some new plugs. Had to wait and see what the gap was. I'll let you know what the condition of the old ones is.

Also, here's the current dilemma. Rode over to my girlfriend's house the other night, and Gertrude wouldn't start when it was time to go home. Sounded like there was no spark (or something like that) to my know-nothing ear. So, got a ride home and tried the next day. Tried again, but it had rained, and the plugs were wet.
Does this mean that the coils are getting wet too and won't work wet? Or just the plugs will mess it up? Or... any suggestions? Yes, I'll search the FAQ's later tonight, but till then, thought I'd pick ya'll's brains. (How does one spell ya'll's correctly again? Maybe it's y'all's, or y'alls, or something.)

Today I tried, and she fired up on the first try, and idled just fine. Tried again this evening, and nothing.

As I said, I'm going to put in the new plugs, and make sure they're all firing. #1 is, so far.

I placed my order for carb rebuild kits, a petcock rebuild kit, front and rear sprockets and chain. It should be here Thursday or Friday. Decided to go with the (530 chain, and DimitriT's suggestion of the #JT513.17 in the front and #JTR816.48 in the rear.) I purchased all of this from Z1 Enterprizes. I couldn't get the online order form to work, and called them up (which I had to do for them to figure out the chain length anyway). The tech guy called me back with my measurements, and placed my order. All in all, a great experience.




Day 3
Ok, got the plugs changed. The old ones looked pretty good. They didn't appear to have been gapped, and she's probably running just a smidgen bit rich. Of course, that might be due to the dust-clogged-filter-thinger. (I knocked copious amounts of dust/dirt out of it by beating it on my boot). Got a K&N ordered, should be in tomorrow. Hopefully it won't cause more problems than it fixes; I'm planning on just putting it in the stock airbox. Figured this way I won't have to keep buying filters. -shrugs- Maybe it'll be a worth-while investment.

Anyway... back to the plugs. They all sparked when I grounded them to the engine and hit the start button. I'll brush off the old ones and save them for emergencies. #3 plug was nasty looking. It was covered in gunk (for lack of a more knowledgable description.) I'm assuming it was/is a gas leak that has collected grease and other road grime. Or does it always get dirty right there?

I tested the Signal Generator, as according to Clymers. It tested good. Since the plugs all fired, and the Signal Generator tested good, I'm assuming that the rest of the electrical is good. At least good enough to get her started. It started this morning, so I wouldn't think that the timing would have gone out, come back, and gone out again in a matter of a couple of days. Might test the Igniter Unit, though, just to make sure.

I am thinking that I'm having one of two problems. Fuel delivery (got the carb/petcock rebuild kits on the way, so I won't tackle those till they get here, so it'll be first of next week) or something in the electrical is getting wet and messing up. However, since the plugs are all firing as the start button is pressed, I think that it's basically narrowed down to the fuel delivery.

The bike's nasty, I'm finding out as I delve deeper. I'm going to have to take her apart and get to scrubbing. Which I was planning on anyway. I might go ahead and get to doing that. Then when the rebuild kits/chain and sprockets come in, I will be ready to put them on.

Well, I guess that's all for now. I'm still browsing through my new manual. Never thought that a manual would be enjoyable reading. Love my Gertrude!



Day 4
Got her stripped down pretty well. Gas tank, air box, seat, fairing, sissy bar, grab bar, battery (for charging), and side covers all removed; in no specific order, of course. Tomorrow I'll have to head to the store and get a spray bottle, to mix up my Purple Cleaner stuff in. Then I can go through and degrease her.
I think that she actually looks bigger without the fairing. Of course, now I don't have a front headlight/blinkers. Then again, she's not running right now anyway. -shrugs-


Today

Hopefully my cab kits, petcock kit, sprockets and chain will be in tomorrow, but I imagine it will be Friday. I'm going out of town Friday. Off to visit the sis and watch Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Spend the weekend with her, and come home on Sunday. So... Monday I'll get to do some real work on Gertrude!

Good news of yesterday, when I removed the gas tank, the fuel petcock didn't leak any at all (well, till I turned on the PRI setting to make sure). I assumed it was a bit leaky, but that's apparently not the case. Guess it's the carb boots, or something else. I might just save the petcock kit till later. Why fix it if it's not broke, right?

Well, off to the store, got to get some cleaning supplies.

Oh the career for dummies book is great! Lots of interesting careers about, but unless you can afford the pricetag or find it on a discount rack, the same info can be had on the net (sadly I own that book).

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2002 Buell Blast 500 /¦\

Confessions of a Commuter

Oh, so you mean that the book "Careers for Dummies" is actually a book explaining different careers in simplistic-ish terms and not a list of Careers, For Dummies? Dang, now I'm not so interested. I figured that if there were some good paying/easy careers that a dummy could do, then I could become a dummy and take over a job. Or, if I'm smarter than the average dummy, do twice the job, and make twice the money.
Curses! Once again, my dreams of easy money are dashed upon the rocky cliffs of realty!

I like this blog because it reflects the vision of the average joe coming into the world of bikes, like me. joey hellfish.
I think we must have spent about the same amount of money on our bikes, i bought mine about two weeks ago...
See you around!

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JOE:
Previous: 1989 Honda VTR250 (sold it :( )
Now: 1999 Honda XL600V Transalp!

The parts all came in Friday, so now I get to start working on my bike. Really working, not just tinkering/cleaning.
Of course, it went and turned cold over the weekend, too. Fortunately, the barn is enclosed. Not heated, but at least the wind is well blocked.
I'm planning on taking the carbs off, and want to get at least one (hopefully two) in the cleaner bath today. Then tomorrow I can put them back together, and get the other two in the bath.
I guess I'm hoping to get the new sprockets on tomorrow, as well.
Soon as I pick up some oil, I'll get that changed, too...