Fall 2006 in NY and PA

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Chris
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Fall 2006 in NY and PA

Postby Chris » Tue Oct 10, 2006 1:27 am

Ok, so I turned down overtime two Saturdays in a row to ride my bike and take some pics as promised:

Sept. 30 turned to crap when the day came, but I was already committed to the ride since I turned down good money and was expected for Family Day at my daughter's college. So I took a long hard look at the weather radar and tried to plan around the dark green spots... didn't happen. It was about 50 degrees outside and very damp. I put on thermals under my jeans and wore a heavy flannel under my leather. I also attached the faceshield to my open-faced helmet. It began raining off and on as soon as I got on the road. Once the thermals got wet, my legs never dried out even when the rain stopped. My upper body stayed pretty dry except for my face and neck. At first I tried to take the smaller highways and avoid the interstate, but quickly decided that it didn't make much difference whether I was going 55 or 75. It was cold either way, so why stretch it out on the slow roads.
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By the time I got back off the interstate and headed north to the college it was a steady rain. I was 100mi. from home and beginning to realize that I'd gotten myself into a bad situation. Oh well... grin and bear it. So I met the girls at the college and we went up to Letchworth State Park. I stopped at a dollar store along the way and picked up a bandanna to cover my face and neck with bandit-style. It actually made a pretty big difference, especially in the heavier rain. I also had to pick up a small can of WD-40 to lubricate my tach cable because it was making noise.

We had enough time at the park to eat a quick picnic under one of the pavillions, snap some photos of the upper and middle falls(sorry, none with the bike) and get back to the college and drop off the daughter so we could try to get home before it got too dark... didn't happen.

About halfway home it was getting pretty dark and I realized I hadn't brought any clear glasses. So I stopped at a department store and picked up some clear safety glasses. I asked my wife to follow me closer in the car so I could see better with her headlights, but she was afraid that if I did go down she'd run me over. So I told her to get out front. That didn't work well either because she was driving faster than I could see. I had to wait for passing cars to get up beside me so I could see where I was going and increase my speed accordingly until they finally pulled away and I was forced to slow back down. By now I was shivering uncontrolably whenever I stopped and sometimes while I was riding. It's not fun trying to hold your line when you're shivering at highway speeds. It was slow going, but I made it home alive and with a new riding experience to help me in planning future rides. Man, did I feel stupid. My pants and boots were soaking wet. Every muscle in my body was sore from a combination of shivering and being extremely tense. I cooked myself something warm to eat, took a long hot shower and headed to the bar to catch a show that I'd promised I would attend. I drove the car.

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On Oct. 4 my Dad sent me an email saying that he was putting a ride together for Saturday. The forecast looked good... clear skies and highs in the 60's. We would meet at a diner in Lawrenceville, PA at 10AM and ride down to "The Pennsylvania Grand Canyon" near Wellsboro, PA. Perfect! I took the bike around town to make sure it was solid and to get the chain warm for a good coat of ChainWax...
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I also bought a daypack the night before to strap to my sissy bar so I could carry some tools and stuff 'just in case' and a new pair of thermals.

When I woke up at 9AM that morning, it was 36 degrees outside with heavy fog... the tangible kind. Shit! I couldn't let Dad down by not showing. And besides, he's done some pretty severe rides in his lifetime and would think me a pussy if I didn't make it. The bike started no problem and I headed down the road with welding gloves on, but no face shield this time. Only glasses. Duh! I stopped at the first Wal-Mart I knew of and checked out ski-masks, but ended up going without. It took me about an hour to get to the diner and the fog was lifting so there were patches of sunlight that warmed me considerably. At least it wasn't raining.

When I arrived at the diner, the only bike there was Dad's Dynaglide. I took my time eating breakfast and still noone showed. Everyone else had bailed and it was just he an I. The fog had completely lifted revealing a clear blue sky just as the forecast had promised. I gassed up my Honda, put on my lighter gloves and we took off down the road. The weather was perfect and there were tons of bikes everywhere. The canyon was full of 'leaf-peepers' enjoying the Fall foliage which wasn't quite at peak, but nice nonetheless. We didn't stay long because there were so many people there, but I managed one pic with the bike before we left...
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We also stopped at this nice little lake on the way back...
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I think it's time I fixed my four-wheeled transportation before this newbie does something really, really stupid on his CB650. The forecast is calling for snow flurries this weekend... could be a whole new adventure.
1980 CB650c

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Ibsen
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Postby Ibsen » Tue Oct 10, 2006 2:01 am

Great pictures Chris. And a lovely scenery. :D

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DammitDan
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Postby DammitDan » Tue Oct 10, 2006 3:02 am

Man, I gotta take a camera with me next time I go for a ride.

I'm trying to plan a ride down to Shiloh National Battlefield with my brother in law. It should be nice, since the foliage is starting to change around here too. By the time we get around to it Fall will be in full swing :D

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1980cb650
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Postby 1980cb650 » Sat Oct 14, 2006 7:28 pm

How the heck can you hear that your tach cable is noisy? Does your engine really run that quiet?

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Chris
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Postby Chris » Sat Oct 14, 2006 11:43 pm

:lol: Every once in a while, it starts making a terrible squawking noise. It's hard to identify while I'm underway, but once I stop it's quite obvious where it's coming from at idle. I take the cable off at the tach and spray lubricant into it and where it attaches to the tach. I've done this twice so far this year and also used engine oil from the dipstick once when I was too far from home. I learned the dipstick trick from a seasoned rider :wink:
1980 CB650c

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Ibsen
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Postby Ibsen » Sun Oct 15, 2006 3:15 am

One way to grease the cable is by taking it off the bike, then pull out the inner cable and spray WD40 into the outher cable to clean it up. Let it hang and dry for a few minutes. Then before you put in the inner cable apply a thin coat of grease on it, but not on the last 10~15 centimeters on the upper part of it(closest to the meter). Then insert it into the outher cable and install it on the bike. Unless the cable are worn out, it should be quiet for quite a while.
Last edited by Ibsen on Sun Oct 15, 2006 4:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Chris
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Postby Chris » Sun Oct 15, 2006 11:13 am

Cool. Thanks, Ibsen.
1980 CB650c

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Ibsen
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Postby Ibsen » Sun Oct 15, 2006 4:22 pm

The problem with using oil on the cable is that it will end up in the bottom end of it leaving the rest of the cable dry. And if you use too much, it could be drawn into the meter and the meter can start to act up. Grease however, as long as you don't apply too much of it and don't put it on the upper 4~5 inches, will keep the cable lubricated for a long time.

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DammitDan
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Postby DammitDan » Tue Oct 17, 2006 1:13 am

grease as in bearing (axle) grease? Mine has started to make a similar squaking noise. But It sounds like it's coming from the tach mechanism, not the cable itself.

Annoying and embarassingly loud when you pull up next to a pretty lady in a convertable :oops:

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Ibsen
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Postby Ibsen » Tue Oct 17, 2006 4:38 am

I'm using an all purpose (and bearing) grease that can be bought at a gas station. The advantage with grease is that it protects the cable much better against condensation water and rust than oil do.


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