Alexian Lien Beating

I miss the riding but I don't miss being a biker. These gang motorcyclists were exactly why. They put all of us in shame. I would have done what Alexian did to protect my family, even if that means running over bikers. These gangs incl. the off duty NYPDs deserve every bit of the punishment coming to them.

New York Posts

end of the road

A week ago I was rear ended by a car while waiting for traffic. Today I was informed by insurance that the bike was deemed totaled.

Exactly 5 years ago, I rolled the bike off the showroom floor. I was a dramatic experience, entering the world of motorcycling. I am blessed that I had a lot of fun along the way, rode every day and never involved in any accidents till now. Even then, I walked away with barely a couple bruises. Insurance process was smooth; I received 50% of the bike's original cost, reimbursed jacket and boots, and 0 deductible. It's a nice closure and perhaps I would ride again someday, but I trust this is His best plan for me. 

shorai power 24/7

Into 2012, the first bad luck was a dead battery. The bike was parked only for a weekend and the OEM Yuasa decided to quit on the Monday morning. Almost left me stranded. Yes I could have taken it out and let the Ctek charger attend to it. But it seems it's really the time to switch to Shorai that I have been holding off for so long. Shorai isn't cheap.
It (LFX14A4-BS12) arrived Friday. It's super light; weighs no more than 2lbs. Its length and width are about the same as the Yuasa, just not as tall. Put 2 foam pads at the bottom and the terminals go right up to where the cables are. Easy install. Literally took 10 minutes. For details about the battery, check out this fellow's youtube. His was a VFR too.
Cheers!

PS. Unfortunately, my Ctek smartcharger doesn't work with the Lithium Iron battery. Likely I'm gonna sell it and get a HobbyKing's.

show around the corner

The annual motorcycle show just posted ticket prices. Hope it doesn't rain like last year.

smile per mile

Didn't realize my last post was made back in Nov. I blamed my wedding.
After much time off, it's almost the prime riding season again. Dry road, sunshine and the dead bug smell on my visor. Almost. Here in mid May, I was at the Lee Parks' total control level 2 class in freezing rain and hail. Aside from the weather, class was very enjoyable. Part of it was a small class. Only 2 groups with 6 riders each. Mostly sports bikes, incl. a beautiful BMW S1000RR. We went through a ton of stuff, ride psychology, speed shifting, trail braking, decreased radius turns, and more. Lee even shared his secret in bump starting. Of course it took me some time to acquaint with some of the techniques (like10 times for flopping and trail braking). Thank God sunshine arrived later in the day. We wrapped up by a solo run. It was a simple course aimed to bring all of the techniques together. We received critiques as well as snapshots. It was a lot of fun, and wish we could have done more of it.
By the time I got home I was sore and tired, but it was a day well spent.

"Smile per mile", Lee Parks.

itch of 2

I have been wanting to go to a motorcycle show, particularly on my bike. Meet up other riders; check out demo rides. Sounds like it would be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it has been raining all weekend. I decided to go in the comfort of my car. Strictly speaking, the show was miniature. A handful of manufacturers were MIA. No KTM. No Aprillia. BMW only brought in 6 bikes. No K1600s.
Among the booths, I found myself spend a ridiculous amount of time crawling at Ducati's. I mean how can anyone not to. They had the new Diavels at the show. Both regular and the carbon trim. Between the Diavel and the Multistrada, I felt like a child rolling my eyes back and forth and unable to decide. They both are sweet sweet machines. Diavel is a statement. Beautiful lines. Multistrada is a utilitarian machine. I could really use the stowage. Practical yet nimble. Wish Diavel would come with saddle bags. Carbon fiber of course! Only if I had the cash for a new bike... [still drooling]

pro-oiler

At last I took the weekend to install the pro-oiler system bought in the summer of 2009. I was lazy long enough. Not driven by gravity, Pro-oiler is precise, distance based, user configurable chain lubrication system. The system itself was fairly straight forward but it was tricky find room and proper location to install the components on my VFR. As with any installations, it pays to test every step of the way. Avoid anchoring anything till the end. I first tapped onto the brake light for positive and ground, and changed my mind the next day (read below). Before putting back the cover, I tested the speed sensor but got no signal. And it turned out the connector didn't pierce through the wire coating.
It's a simple system but since the components work at different parts of the bike, it takes time to do a good job. 2 day worth of time. Here were the steps I took.

1. Reservoir. VFR ABS, unfortunately, doesn't have a lot of room under the seat. The only 2 places that could fit were the 2 sides near the rear cross member. I picked the right side merely because the bottle wouldn't tilt as much when the bike is on the side stand.

2. Controller. To avoid EMI, I routed the controller wire to the right, along the frame. It was much easier to do so with the gas tank lifted. The wire was just long enough to end near the rear brake reservoir.

3. Junction box. That was where my junction was, at the tiny place next to the rear brake reservoir.

4. Power wire. For power, I tapped on the brake light wire. At first I used both the positive and ground from the brake light connector, but the bolt near the junction box offered a much closer place for ground. It's cleaner, IMO, to have only 1 wire run all the way to the back. This was a good point to hook up the controller and junction box for power test. If by a slim chance one of them was defective, I would find out now.

5. Speed sensor. My VFR has an electronic speed sensor. The back wheel sensor has 2 wires (black and white) run to the connector below the rear brake reservoir. I crimped a connector on the white wire and led it back to the junction box, conveniently just a few inches above. Then did the speed read test with the controller by hand turning the rear wheel.

6. Pump. Next was the pump. I extended the short pump wires to run from the left side of the bike to the junction box, and hooked up the leads from the reservoir to the pump and to the nozzle. So far, I only zip tied the controller wire in the front half of the bike (so I can lower the gas tank) but not the lead, pump or the back wires.

7. With gear oil filled half in the reservoir and the sprocket teeth cleaned, it was time to prime the pump till oil came out at the nozzle. I was looking for leaks. Hand rotating the wheel to ensure nozzle wasn't obstructing in any way. After everything worked, I zip tied down everything.

8. Entered the correction factor and the calibration table, I test rode in the parking lot and stopped to look for  leaks as well as shiny oil on the sprocket and chain. Whoala! That was it!
Though it doesn't change the appearance of the bike, it certainly will free me from lubricating and cleaning the chain every now and then. Well worth the cost and time.
Correction factor 60. Table 17.