The three hour wait.....

I knew in the back of my mind it was going to happen sometime.

I was on my way to work the other day, and I heard something that perked up my ears.  I was not sure what it was but it just sounded wrong.   A pop, a snap...honestly I could not tell you.   Just that sound that brings an "Oh Oh" to your mind.

Twisting the throttle a bit resulted in a roar of the engine by no RPM's.  I put on my turn single and coasted safely to the side of the road.  I still had power, but I was not transferring that power to the rear drive wheel.

Pretty simple to figure out what happened.  I had, in my limited knowledge of Kimmie's internal workings, most likely lost my CVT belt.  After some 27 thousand miles (assuming it was the original belt) I could not bitch.

I don't know how long I will be on Kimmie but I do know this.  The chances of me replacing that belt again were slim.

Luckily I have towing via my insurance company Safeco.  I call and they dispatch someone out to me.   I was dealing with a Customer Service Representative that was new to her job.   I could hear it in her voice and the way she was having issues pinpointing my location (I've worked with GPS and call centers for years so I walked her through the process).  After about a ten minute call I was told a truck would come and get me in an hour.

I called work, I called Sue and I tried to find myself a shady spot to sit and relax in.   About 10 minutes later I get a confirmation text.   I play around on Facebook while I wait.

An hour goes by....again an automated text stating the truck should be arriving.   Then thirty more minutes pass by.   I call in to Safeco and ask about.   Seems that I'm outside the coverage area for the original tow company.   OK....why didn't you get another tow company?

It seems that I was in a weird area.   I was not in the Tampa area, I was not in the Zephyrhills area.   I was trapped in that grey area that surrounds circles.   "Should I push my bike a mile up the road to be in a new zone?" I impolitely asked the new representative.

I was assured that I would have a truck come and get me and not five minutes after hanging up with her....I get a text.   It's for the original tow company again.    I call them directly....and I find out that I'm still out of the towing area.

Another call, another representative.   A new record in created.  A new towing company is assigned and this one is out of Tampa...and it will take them 90 minutes for me to be serviced.

I sigh, call off of work because by the time I get towed and get the bike resolved.   By the time I get home and drive into work my 8 hour work day will be down to 3 hours.   It's not worth it for me to go in.

Sue finished up what she needed to do and pulled up beside me so I would not have to deal with the sun and wind.  We call Triple A but find out that we don't have motorcycle towing as part of our package.

As we sat in her car and discussed what we were going to do....LO AND BEHOLD....a tow truck and it was from the original company that was dispatched.   It seems that they were assigned to come and get me after Safeco agreed to pay them some more money.  How nice of the them!  How nice of them not to inform me!

Anyhow, the grand total wait time worked out to be like three and one half hours before everything finally got resolved with Kimmie.   Then I got a phone call from the company dispatched from Tampa....seems that no one informed them that the original company was doing the work.

Kimmie should be back on the road shortly but it does through the proverbial monkey wrench in my plans for the coming weekend.

C'est la vie

Back to the basics (feelings)

It's been a few weeks since I've written anything.  Sue is in a odd limbo of half treatment as the doctors decided the best course of treatment for her.

I ride back and forth to work when I can and now that the humidity has broken I find myself riding more.  Just the other day I left for work in the morning shortly after 8:30 and thought to myself that I would soon be breaking out the light sweater to wear under by summer riding jacket.  Then I realized how much my blood had thinned in the last few years.   The temperature was 75 F (23 C).  

In a odd sort of way I've found riding lets me turn off the 1001 or so thoughts that bounce around my head currently.  "What if Sue's treatment does not work?"  "What if the worst does happen?"  These are not the thoughts I thought I would be having at the age of 49.  Riding, at least for a short time, shuts those thoughts down as it becomes just the road and myself.

They creep in....but I force them down.  Part of winning is to stay positive.  We need to stay positive.

"I need to work on my curves." I think as I ride home on day, it's the same road I've ridden a thousand times before but I make a couple of bad turns on it.  Nothing serious, nothing that I can not recover from but more of a nagging suspicion "I'm better than this."

Like anything in life you want to get back to the basics, practice the fundamentals and fine tune the process.  Muscle memory is a great and wonderful thing but if you're remembering the wrong things, if you're doing just the slightest thing wrong on the most basic of levels...it affects everything thereafter.  I'm far from a perfectionist but I know how much going down hurts.

I also know that if I go down again...I'm done.   I'm not done with Kimmy yet.

So it's a lovely Saturday morning, I've got nothing planned for the day.  I gear up the way I always do; my ritual of ATTGATT.  I want a challenge and consider my secret place but then decide on the Green Swamp.   It's been a long time since I've ridden those roads and I'm curious to see if anything has changed.

My only concern is cracking in the front tire, but I shake off that concern.  The tread is good and although I need to replace it eventually, I did not see any air bubble the last time I washed my bike.  I'm also a little concerned about the CVT belt, Kimmie has over 25 thousand on her now and I'm not sure how much more belt life she has left.  But I force those concerns aside and stay positive.

I sit down on the bike...and it doesn't feel right.  I've a nagging suspension, a question in the back on my mind.  Again I check the tires, the brakes and run through the list...yet I can't shake that feeling.

If riding has taught me anything....it's to listen.

I ride the bike out and about town for a bit, taking it easy.   Trying to put that unease into the back of my mind or find a rational feeling for it.   I can't.

So here I am at home going over everything with a fine tooth comb and thinking that maybe I should get that tire replaced after all because of this odd feeling.  So there is no riding, no travel, no adventure for me this day.

Perhaps tomorrow.  

Signs of spring

Parking at work the other day

I have Kimmie back.  I have been riding her for a couple days now all over town.  For now the oil leak issue has been solved and the good mechanics at Affordable Motor Sports (I've offered them a buddy's name that builds websites but they still don't have one) have her purring like a kitten again.

The problem however is that I am going to need a new gasket.  Surprisingly enough it's not going to cost me an arm and/or leg.  The CVT belt is good, the electronics are good and my "cold weather" starting issue seems to be resolved for now.  This cost however (about $500 + including labor) is more that I want to pay but it costs less than a newer bike would in the long run.  The economics of scootering.

However my brief sojourn into looking for a new bike got me wondering.  Eventually I'm going to have to replace her.  Eventually I'm going to start to pay more on maintenance than its worth.  Eventually I'm going to need a new bike.

I can already see I'm looking for more power and I don't see my current job changing anytime in the future.  Of course, I was also expecting to retire from 3M and here I am 6 or 7 months on being a leader in a new department.

Change is not a bad thing, sometime in the future I'm going to need a new bike.

Happy Holidays and an update....

First Off....Happy Holiday's from the Wilson household.  We wish you and yours a safe and happy New Year

Now on with this weeks exciting adventure:

I thought Kimmie was dead.  She had been sitting for two weeks or so, absolutely not turning over until I had to move some boxes into the nearby shed, so I had to move the bike.  Guess who turned over.

I took her out Saturday afternoon, it was a beautiful day in the low 70's (20's C), and she run fine.  The only issue I had is a persistent hacking cough which I was afraid I would aggravate if I rode to long, to far.  So I put a little under 50 miles on her and called it a day.  Sunday it rained all day, so I didn't do any riding at all.

The new battery arrived late Saturday afternoon but due to other commitments it seemed unlikely that I would be able to install it till after the Christmas holiday. Not that I expected to get that much riding in between now and the end of the year.  Partially due to weather, for example we were expecting a 90% chance of rain as I sit and type this.  Partially due to whatever illness I had still lingered in my system.

Still though I was looking forward to getting the battery installed and moving down the road.  2014 generally speaking was a long and hard year for me.  The new battery, a new heart for Kimmie represented new opportunity...and a new mechanical skill to put under my proverbial tool belt.  The next job will most likely be the CVT belt.

I did decide however to try and ride her as much as I could between now and the new year.  I'm not sure how many miles I put on her in 2014, all I do know is that they were not enough.  I will never understand how someone can let a bike sit, and this year it seemed that Kimmie did a lot of sitting.

So yes, I'm looking forward to next year.  I'm looking forward to putting a few more thousands of miles on Kimmie.  I'm looking for adventure...in what ever comes our way.  :P

10K service.

Almost two weeks have gone by without me putting virtual pen to virtual paper.  I can not make excuse for this lack of writing.  I've done very little riding over the past week or so, other than my daily commute - and even that has been cut short due to thunderstorms and miserable heat that frankly sucks whatever desire I've had to ride out of me.

Add the usual distractions and obligations of my normal job, my self-employment, home upkeep and demands of family and friends it's remarkable that I get out at all.  So with the weekend fast approaching I thought I would get out and ride, with or without Susan.  I was planning on possibly riding out to Tarpon Springs  but again life reared it's ugly head and nipped those plans in the bud.  The oil change light came on AND it was time to have the bike checked over.

Somehow I managed to put 10,000 miles on her and it's time to have Kimmie looked over.  I don't expect any surprises.  Despite my issues with the dealership, they are a well established and reputable group.  I am not sure with the warranty would cover any work needed.    I am just not sure if I want to deal with the dealership again.  Nor  am I sure I would trust another mechanic.  Normally if I have any work done on Kimmie I take her to a small shop in Zephyrhills.  They do a good job and have earned my respect and trust, I really can't say that about many dealerships.  The only time I would be able to have the work done on the bike would be Saturday.  If she's going to get looked over they might as well change the oil as well.

As it so happens Saturdays are the only days I have to myself.  Where I don't have any pressing commitments or "things to do."  I can certainly put off the work that needs done, but I've the time and the money and no plans.  This is the day to do it.

I was curious about some things too.  I've been considering putting heavier CVT roller weights in to increase my highway mileage (currently around 50 mpg) .  I am not sure of the condition of the CVT belt  and I've heard that changing out the clutch springs can increase performance as well but am unsure about that.  Even though I believe that these things would pay for themselves over time I would still have to justify the cash flow in the short term.

Truthfully though the more I ride the less I realize I know about my machine.  The more I learn the more I become concerned.  There was a clear "thunk" the other night on the right hand side of the bike.  I listened, pulled over and looked the best I could...and could find nothing wrong.  I chalked it up to something on the road but I rode in weary of issues.  Kimmie has become my main means of transportation in all types of weather and I have fallen in love with riding.

I can't imagine not riding now.  It's in my blood.  So yea, I'll give up a free Saturday to get the work done.  In the long run it's worth it.