Improvements.....Some I wanted to make, and others forced upon me.

One of the wonderful things about nature is it's ability to evolve.  Life is anything but static, it's a jumbled mess of parts each somehow fitting together to make a whole.   It's a 1001 piece jigsaw puzzle where your trying to match the picture on the box but your not quite sure if all the pieces are there or even if it's the right box.

So we try...and we try....but we can't get no satisfaction.   OK, let's put the Devo away for a moment.  Truth be told I am rather happy in my life.  However that happiness may be short lived.   It's time to do maintenance on and make some general improvements to the bike.  Some of this needed done and I simply could not put it off any longer, other things I have been wanting to do but it was always low priority.  Now that the bike is my main means of transport...I did some things.

First I ordered a beaded seat from Cycle Crafts.  I have a 35 mile one way commute most days and that generally does not bother me...then some days I can't seem to find a comfortable location to park my skinny a** and that bother's me.   I'm hoping that getting some air flow in those affected areas will help with my comfort.  If not then I am only out $30 which is not really that bad.  I expect to have that in within the next day or two.  Frankly I'm not to sure about the hooks and can't help but wonder if the seat will slide on me.  I guess we will see.

Somehow something happened to one of my grips, I noticed that it was starting to slip off the bike a few days ago and that the handlebar weight holding it on was coming loose.   I tried to tighten it with a screwdriver and found that didn't work  So I put off fixing it, put off fixing it, put off fixing and then.....
I drove home last night and noticed this in the morning.  Yep, completely gone. I'm not sure where, or even if, I could get a replacement but can't imagine it being that difficult (famous last words I'm sure).  This however does give me an excuse to replace the grips.  **update - I found the handlebar weights at a local cycle shop for under $12.  They went on easy and are nice and tight now.  

I've been wanting to get some Grip Puppies for a while but haven't really bothered.  Now it seems I might be in the market for some new grips as well.  I might just get some grip glue from the good people over at Scooter West.  Speaking of Scoot West I finally got me a CVT belt.  I paid about $40 less through them than the best cost elsewhere although I still have no way to put it on my bike.   At 20K + the belt has got to be wearing thin.  I'm hoping to find a mentor to help with this project.

I may also have to redo the brakes soon as well.

Here's hoping that someone in the area is willing to help me out.  I would be glad to buy them a beer, lunch, or even a lobster dinner to assist me.  It's not that I lack the knowledge, I've watched the video's and read the instructions and feel pretty grounded in the basics of bike repair.  I just lack the tools and experience; nor am I mechanically inclined despite the fact I've a background in engineering.  Moving forward however if the bike is going to be my main ride then I need to know at least the basics.  I need to understand what is happening if I hear BANG!   CLANK!

Considering how I ride some very empty roads in the middle of the night...this is a survival strategy.