'White Diamond', 'Cocaine Cowboys', 'Due South', 'Georgia O'Keefe', 'Helvetica', new motorcycle
(posted from home)
(This post covers 28 April – 6 May, 2010)
---------------------------
Thursday, 6 May-
Today I bought a new motorcycle. It's a 2010 BMW F650GS Twin. I saw one of these at White Sands National Monument recently and had talked with the owner at some length. Like my Concours purchase in 2003, this was a situation where I saw a bike and thought – “Yep--- that's the one for me” right away. After returning from the trip I researched them on them on the web and in Motorcycle Consumer News and Rider Magazine. Over the weekend I tried to find one at Velocity Cycles in Mechanicsburg but learned the dealers can't get any more and the ones there weren't quite 'right' for me. On Monday I found the right one at Trans-Am Cycles and took a demo ride on it today and that did it.
I don't pick my new bike up for about a week. I could have it now and take it back to fit the hard-bags when they come in next week but that would just be a hassle.
The new one will need some customization. The only options it has are heated grips and the low seat. It doesn't have the ABS braking option but I'm not sold on that anyway. I will have to add a larger and adjustable windshield and the wiring loom for my electric jacket liner. I may also have to extend the shift lever but may just be able to adjust it for a more natural-feeling position.
Last night we watched 'Helvetica', a documentary about the font.
---------------------------
Wednesday, 5 May-
I did a couple of small things around the house today. I repaired the outdoor extension cord which had had both the socket and plug ends go bad. I had replaced the obviously-bad socket end a few days ago and couldn't figure out why it still wouldn't work. That turned out to be a bad plug, which seemed very odd given it's a molded-on plug and seemed to be in perfect condition. But the new plug resolved the problem.
I also found the cause of a circuit-breaker trip and burnout of the slide-style light control for the recessed lights in our hallway. That one was a bit tricky. I thought I had it after replacing the switch but only two of the three lights came on. I pulled the recessed inner assembly down on the bad one and found both wires had been pinched or cut somewhere along the line and the black one was cut all the way through. A quick wire repair put that right.
I took the Miata up for its inspection appointment tomorrow and talked with the garage owner about Dad's car. The wheel damage is small enough to be ignored but I do need two tires. I went home and did some online research and then had the garage guy order two of those.
That evening we watched “Georgia O'Keefe” with Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons. Having just returned from Santa Fe and Taos art tours, we really enjoyed this one. It also answered many questions in our minds about O'Keefe and her relationship to Steiglitz.
---------------------------
Tuesday, 4 May-
This morning I found we did have a bit of damage due, in part, to the storm Sunday night. About five years ago Labashi built three birdfeeders and installed them on several spreading branches of a tree. The storm took the tree down. Two of the feeders look to be recoverable, the other is probably too damaged to repair. These were largely decorative but Labashi had put a lot of work into modifying them to look just right and was upset that this happened.
I worked on Dad's car today, starting the process of preparing it for sale. I removed the front wheels since I needed to repair or replace one wheel and I wanted to see if I could get rid of a brake noise. I found I can't repair the wheel and my work on the brakes made only a slight improvement. Unfortunately, I found a worse problem. The left-rear tire is very bad and I'm not sure it will even make it to a tire shop. Metal tire belting material is sticking up through the casing in a few places and there's a largish bulge, apparently a separation.
----------------------------------------
Monday, 3 May-
We had heavy rains last night and I thought we might have some problems because of it but we seem to have not suffered any damage.
I drove over to Trans-Am Cycles in Lititz to look at motorcycles. There I learned I have another seating option on the F650GS. I don't need to buy a low-frame model, I can just get the lower seat-- and there's no additional cost for that option (but $250 for the low-frame option). Back home I began searching through forums dedicated to the F650GS and found there's lots of info and many farkles available for it. I also learned why I don't want the low-frame option-- it reduces payload to 330 pounds. That's just way too little. The regular-frame model carries 521 pounds and the lowered-seat option fits me quite well.
I also see the electrical capacity is 400 watts. That's something I wasn't careful about with the KLR (it's only 238W) and I ended up killing its battery by simply using my electric jacket liner and gloves on my West Virginia trip.
On the way home I stopped at the Apple Store in Lancaster to check on iPhone family plans. I don't know, though. After you pay all the money for the phones you still have to pay $130 a month to use them? When I'm currently paying under $20 a month for our tracfones? On the other hand, I can't use the tracfone to get a radar image of weather ahead of me while travelling into sketchy weather on the bike. Or check Gas Buddy for prices as we travel in Mocha Joe.....
-----------------------------------------
Sunday, 2 May-
Today I went on a spending spree on tools. I happened upon a coupon to get 40 per cent off an aluminum-body jack at Harbor Freight and found it a decent deal ($60). While there I also looked at an oscillating power tool but I was afraid of the 'Chicago' brand. I went across the street to Lowe's and looked at the Dremel version but then settled on the Bosch cordless version. With accessories it cost over $200 but I think it will be just the thing for preparing our window frames for repainting. I also think I'll need the plunge-cutter, flush-cutter, and sanding attachments for my upcoming project to repair water damage to our barn.
In the late afternoon I again walked the six-mile loop, this time taking along a few Wal-mart bags to pick up trash. I've been surprised to find the creek-side section of my walk relatively trash-free. The last time I did the cleanup I picked up six bags in the mile-and-a-half section. Today it was two bags.
But I did have an odd experience while doing it. I had stepped off the road and stepped down into a drainage ditch to pick up a cup when I saw a black Ford jacked-up pickup coming from the opposite direction. I wasn't paying close attention and was working on placing my feet to get down into the ditch but I believe it slowed down, then sped past. But once on the other side, it slowed down again and I heard it rev up the engine (with it noisy glass-packs). I didn't think much of it but after I stepped back up on the road and glanced that way I saw a green bag. The guy had tossed out a large potato-chip bag and had apparently revved the engine to call my attention to it. I don't know what that's about. Was I clearing the roadside of too much of his trash?
----------------------------------------
Saturday, 1 May-
Today I rode the Concours up to Velocity Cycles in Mechanicsburg to check out F650GS like the one I had seen at White Sands National Monument. I was surprised to learn that BMW doesn't have any of them for dealers-- production was way too low for demand. Velocity has 09's but only one ugly-blue 2010 new one and a used one which is priced at brand-new cost.
I took a demo ride on a Honda NV700T and was surprised to find I didn't particularly like it. It's getting good reviews but I thought it felt rough. By 'rough', in this case I mean it's not the super-smooth bike I expected. It whines quite loudly and the gearbox didn't seem right. My Concours gears 'snick' into place while sometimes the NV700T gears 'clunk' into place in a gear change. I was also somewhat disappointed in the power available. I do have to remember, though, to compare it to my KLR, not to my Concours in that department. The KLR makes about 35 horses while the NV700T makes 55 or so and the Concours is in the high Eighties/low Nineties. On the positive side, though, I was pleasantly surprised how well the windshield did in providing protection from wind-blast.
There wasn't a demo F650GS for me to try but I could try an 800 sport model. I knew it wouldn't work for me as soon as I sat down on it and felt the footpeg jab my calf. The high footpeg position means my legs would be bent too much and my knees would object after a couple of hours.
I did, however, enjoy the ride. This BMW felt a lot smoother and the extra horses (Eighties range) felt nice. The sportier riding position is a non-starter for me so when I returned I checked the ST800 bike being promoted as a sport-touring bike but I found the same too-high pegs.
Back home I walked my six-mile loop course. It has been quite a while.
--------------------------------------
Friday, 30 April-
We're entering a several-day heat wave today. I was anxious to get out on the bike after such a long layoff and spent a few hours in York. I hit the Starbucks for an iced tea and then checked out the new Samsung sound bar at Best Buy. Early this Spring I had almost bought the previous version of this sound bar but found it had been discontinued. This replacement seems to work very well but I don't think Labashi will like its looks. Where the old model was very sleek and simple, this one has exposed speakers and looks a bit too flashy. I also checked out several Polk versions and don't like the connectivity options. And the Sony model doesn't work for us, again because of connectivity.
On the way home I had a cappuccino at the Seattle Coffee bar in the Borders. For some reason these guys make a much better cap than Starbucks.
That evening we watched the pilot for 'Due South', a TV series about a Canadian Mountie working in Chicago. It takes quite a bit of suspension of disbelief on this one but did have a few interesting moments.
--------------------------------------
Thursday, 29 April-
This morning I noticed the battery charger on the motorcycle didn't have the green status light it should have after charging. A bit of troubleshooting pointed to the extension cord and, more specifically, the socket. I picked up a heavy-duty socket from the local hardware store and repaired the socket. It STILL didn't work! I then used an electrical meter to test for continuity and found that all three wires were good. What???
I eventually found the problem. Though the wires had continuity, when I'd plug the plug into a socket part way, everything worked. But if I pushed it the rest of the way in, I'd lose the connection. This didn't seem possible with a molded plug but that turned out to be the case. The cord had had TWO problems-- a bad socket and a bad plug.
I spent the rest of the day working on the motorcycle. There's a hole in the cross-over pipe between the headers and I'm trying to avoid a $500 repair bill. I applied a muffler-repair bandage and that sealed it up but I don't have much confidence in the fix. I think there's just too much vibration and heat for this patch to last.
After supper I mowed the lawn for the first time this year. While we were on our 39-day trip our lawn service had mowed twice but this was the first time I fired up our two mowers. Surprisingly, both fired up on the first pull.
That evening we watched 'Cocaine Cowboys', a documentary about cocaine trafficking in Miami in the Nineties. Very well done and highly recommended.
---------------------------------------
Wednesday, 28 April-
Today we visited Labashi's parents at their apartment in Mechanicsburg. While we were away for so long a few chores accumulated so we took care of those. I updated Dad's computer and reviewed its security log. Labashi and I installed an additional medicine cabinet in Dad's bathroom and I rebuilt the electrical socket in one of Mom's favorite hanging lamps.
Dad is becoming quite the chef and gave us scrumptious scallops with new potatoes for supper. They were preceded by his patented 'Mostly Ice' Manhattans. (I can certify that they definitely are NOT 'mostly ice'!)
That evening we watched 'The White Diamond', a Werner Herzog film about a guy who explores the rainforest canopy in a small dirigible. We love to see Herzog films because of their remarkable variety of subject and his knack for finding interesting and unique people.
************* END OF POST ***************
(posted from home)
(This post covers 28 April – 6 May, 2010)
---------------------------
Thursday, 6 May-
Today I bought a new motorcycle. It's a 2010 BMW F650GS Twin. I saw one of these at White Sands National Monument recently and had talked with the owner at some length. Like my Concours purchase in 2003, this was a situation where I saw a bike and thought – “Yep--- that's the one for me” right away. After returning from the trip I researched them on them on the web and in Motorcycle Consumer News and Rider Magazine. Over the weekend I tried to find one at Velocity Cycles in Mechanicsburg but learned the dealers can't get any more and the ones there weren't quite 'right' for me. On Monday I found the right one at Trans-Am Cycles and took a demo ride on it today and that did it.
I don't pick my new bike up for about a week. I could have it now and take it back to fit the hard-bags when they come in next week but that would just be a hassle.
The new one will need some customization. The only options it has are heated grips and the low seat. It doesn't have the ABS braking option but I'm not sold on that anyway. I will have to add a larger and adjustable windshield and the wiring loom for my electric jacket liner. I may also have to extend the shift lever but may just be able to adjust it for a more natural-feeling position.
Last night we watched 'Helvetica', a documentary about the font.
---------------------------
Wednesday, 5 May-
I did a couple of small things around the house today. I repaired the outdoor extension cord which had had both the socket and plug ends go bad. I had replaced the obviously-bad socket end a few days ago and couldn't figure out why it still wouldn't work. That turned out to be a bad plug, which seemed very odd given it's a molded-on plug and seemed to be in perfect condition. But the new plug resolved the problem.
I also found the cause of a circuit-breaker trip and burnout of the slide-style light control for the recessed lights in our hallway. That one was a bit tricky. I thought I had it after replacing the switch but only two of the three lights came on. I pulled the recessed inner assembly down on the bad one and found both wires had been pinched or cut somewhere along the line and the black one was cut all the way through. A quick wire repair put that right.
I took the Miata up for its inspection appointment tomorrow and talked with the garage owner about Dad's car. The wheel damage is small enough to be ignored but I do need two tires. I went home and did some online research and then had the garage guy order two of those.
That evening we watched “Georgia O'Keefe” with Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons. Having just returned from Santa Fe and Taos art tours, we really enjoyed this one. It also answered many questions in our minds about O'Keefe and her relationship to Steiglitz.
---------------------------
Tuesday, 4 May-
This morning I found we did have a bit of damage due, in part, to the storm Sunday night. About five years ago Labashi built three birdfeeders and installed them on several spreading branches of a tree. The storm took the tree down. Two of the feeders look to be recoverable, the other is probably too damaged to repair. These were largely decorative but Labashi had put a lot of work into modifying them to look just right and was upset that this happened.
I worked on Dad's car today, starting the process of preparing it for sale. I removed the front wheels since I needed to repair or replace one wheel and I wanted to see if I could get rid of a brake noise. I found I can't repair the wheel and my work on the brakes made only a slight improvement. Unfortunately, I found a worse problem. The left-rear tire is very bad and I'm not sure it will even make it to a tire shop. Metal tire belting material is sticking up through the casing in a few places and there's a largish bulge, apparently a separation.
----------------------------------------
Monday, 3 May-
We had heavy rains last night and I thought we might have some problems because of it but we seem to have not suffered any damage.
I drove over to Trans-Am Cycles in Lititz to look at motorcycles. There I learned I have another seating option on the F650GS. I don't need to buy a low-frame model, I can just get the lower seat-- and there's no additional cost for that option (but $250 for the low-frame option). Back home I began searching through forums dedicated to the F650GS and found there's lots of info and many farkles available for it. I also learned why I don't want the low-frame option-- it reduces payload to 330 pounds. That's just way too little. The regular-frame model carries 521 pounds and the lowered-seat option fits me quite well.
I also see the electrical capacity is 400 watts. That's something I wasn't careful about with the KLR (it's only 238W) and I ended up killing its battery by simply using my electric jacket liner and gloves on my West Virginia trip.
On the way home I stopped at the Apple Store in Lancaster to check on iPhone family plans. I don't know, though. After you pay all the money for the phones you still have to pay $130 a month to use them? When I'm currently paying under $20 a month for our tracfones? On the other hand, I can't use the tracfone to get a radar image of weather ahead of me while travelling into sketchy weather on the bike. Or check Gas Buddy for prices as we travel in Mocha Joe.....
-----------------------------------------
Sunday, 2 May-
Today I went on a spending spree on tools. I happened upon a coupon to get 40 per cent off an aluminum-body jack at Harbor Freight and found it a decent deal ($60). While there I also looked at an oscillating power tool but I was afraid of the 'Chicago' brand. I went across the street to Lowe's and looked at the Dremel version but then settled on the Bosch cordless version. With accessories it cost over $200 but I think it will be just the thing for preparing our window frames for repainting. I also think I'll need the plunge-cutter, flush-cutter, and sanding attachments for my upcoming project to repair water damage to our barn.
In the late afternoon I again walked the six-mile loop, this time taking along a few Wal-mart bags to pick up trash. I've been surprised to find the creek-side section of my walk relatively trash-free. The last time I did the cleanup I picked up six bags in the mile-and-a-half section. Today it was two bags.
But I did have an odd experience while doing it. I had stepped off the road and stepped down into a drainage ditch to pick up a cup when I saw a black Ford jacked-up pickup coming from the opposite direction. I wasn't paying close attention and was working on placing my feet to get down into the ditch but I believe it slowed down, then sped past. But once on the other side, it slowed down again and I heard it rev up the engine (with it noisy glass-packs). I didn't think much of it but after I stepped back up on the road and glanced that way I saw a green bag. The guy had tossed out a large potato-chip bag and had apparently revved the engine to call my attention to it. I don't know what that's about. Was I clearing the roadside of too much of his trash?
----------------------------------------
Saturday, 1 May-
Today I rode the Concours up to Velocity Cycles in Mechanicsburg to check out F650GS like the one I had seen at White Sands National Monument. I was surprised to learn that BMW doesn't have any of them for dealers-- production was way too low for demand. Velocity has 09's but only one ugly-blue 2010 new one and a used one which is priced at brand-new cost.
I took a demo ride on a Honda NV700T and was surprised to find I didn't particularly like it. It's getting good reviews but I thought it felt rough. By 'rough', in this case I mean it's not the super-smooth bike I expected. It whines quite loudly and the gearbox didn't seem right. My Concours gears 'snick' into place while sometimes the NV700T gears 'clunk' into place in a gear change. I was also somewhat disappointed in the power available. I do have to remember, though, to compare it to my KLR, not to my Concours in that department. The KLR makes about 35 horses while the NV700T makes 55 or so and the Concours is in the high Eighties/low Nineties. On the positive side, though, I was pleasantly surprised how well the windshield did in providing protection from wind-blast.
There wasn't a demo F650GS for me to try but I could try an 800 sport model. I knew it wouldn't work for me as soon as I sat down on it and felt the footpeg jab my calf. The high footpeg position means my legs would be bent too much and my knees would object after a couple of hours.
I did, however, enjoy the ride. This BMW felt a lot smoother and the extra horses (Eighties range) felt nice. The sportier riding position is a non-starter for me so when I returned I checked the ST800 bike being promoted as a sport-touring bike but I found the same too-high pegs.
Back home I walked my six-mile loop course. It has been quite a while.
--------------------------------------
Friday, 30 April-
We're entering a several-day heat wave today. I was anxious to get out on the bike after such a long layoff and spent a few hours in York. I hit the Starbucks for an iced tea and then checked out the new Samsung sound bar at Best Buy. Early this Spring I had almost bought the previous version of this sound bar but found it had been discontinued. This replacement seems to work very well but I don't think Labashi will like its looks. Where the old model was very sleek and simple, this one has exposed speakers and looks a bit too flashy. I also checked out several Polk versions and don't like the connectivity options. And the Sony model doesn't work for us, again because of connectivity.
On the way home I had a cappuccino at the Seattle Coffee bar in the Borders. For some reason these guys make a much better cap than Starbucks.
That evening we watched the pilot for 'Due South', a TV series about a Canadian Mountie working in Chicago. It takes quite a bit of suspension of disbelief on this one but did have a few interesting moments.
--------------------------------------
Thursday, 29 April-
This morning I noticed the battery charger on the motorcycle didn't have the green status light it should have after charging. A bit of troubleshooting pointed to the extension cord and, more specifically, the socket. I picked up a heavy-duty socket from the local hardware store and repaired the socket. It STILL didn't work! I then used an electrical meter to test for continuity and found that all three wires were good. What???
I eventually found the problem. Though the wires had continuity, when I'd plug the plug into a socket part way, everything worked. But if I pushed it the rest of the way in, I'd lose the connection. This didn't seem possible with a molded plug but that turned out to be the case. The cord had had TWO problems-- a bad socket and a bad plug.
I spent the rest of the day working on the motorcycle. There's a hole in the cross-over pipe between the headers and I'm trying to avoid a $500 repair bill. I applied a muffler-repair bandage and that sealed it up but I don't have much confidence in the fix. I think there's just too much vibration and heat for this patch to last.
After supper I mowed the lawn for the first time this year. While we were on our 39-day trip our lawn service had mowed twice but this was the first time I fired up our two mowers. Surprisingly, both fired up on the first pull.
That evening we watched 'Cocaine Cowboys', a documentary about cocaine trafficking in Miami in the Nineties. Very well done and highly recommended.
---------------------------------------
Wednesday, 28 April-
Today we visited Labashi's parents at their apartment in Mechanicsburg. While we were away for so long a few chores accumulated so we took care of those. I updated Dad's computer and reviewed its security log. Labashi and I installed an additional medicine cabinet in Dad's bathroom and I rebuilt the electrical socket in one of Mom's favorite hanging lamps.
Dad is becoming quite the chef and gave us scrumptious scallops with new potatoes for supper. They were preceded by his patented 'Mostly Ice' Manhattans. (I can certify that they definitely are NOT 'mostly ice'!)
That evening we watched 'The White Diamond', a Werner Herzog film about a guy who explores the rainforest canopy in a small dirigible. We love to see Herzog films because of their remarkable variety of subject and his knack for finding interesting and unique people.
************* END OF POST ***************
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 23:59
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