Wellington overnight to attend the Committee Meeting.

[Anonymous]

#3570

Trip down was just a boring commute; I was up at 0430 and ready to go at 0500, but needed to make a delivery to Team Foley before shaking the dust of Auckland off the bike, so I wasn't properly on the road before 0730.  Cruised down via Taumaranui/National Park, allowed myself heaps of coffee breaks, tent up by 1630 at Hutt Park, brief rain round the back of the mountain long since dried out of the shell of my jacket and pants.  Some concerns that I had a new vibration in the footpegs on the way down, very slight, but there to be felt from time to time.On the road at 0430 yesterday: common sense said straight home and into Experience was a good idea, but those R1100-esses have problems with the steering, they just go their own way despite common sense.  It headed straight up the Hutt Valley, refused to take the second to last chance to bail across to the west side at the Akatarawa turnoff, and the same problem showed up at the Manawatu Gorge.  OK, we are going Gentle Annie.  I suggested to the bike that my feet were feeling the vibration a bit worse when we loaded up a bit going uphill, and that the main drag over SH5 from Napier would be clever, being easier for a rescue if the gearbox turned to chocolate, and it just said, "Duck into Taradale and fill the tank then come back to Omahu and get stuck into it, Bwucie," so I did.There was still plenty of rain around - over the Rimutaka in the clouds and driving rain in the dark had been awful against oncoming commuter traffic, I'd had to open my visor before the summit, then stop and put my specs in my pocket on the way down, but although slow it was incident free.  The only effect the rain had going up the Taihape Road was to slow down a bit through each shower: the seal was good, and the road flows beautifully, but the showers became fairly heavy rain as we gained altitude.  Then came the first of the roadworks: most of the road is sealed now, but a big chunk on the Hawkes Bay side is being prepped and shaped for sealing, and on the Rangitikei side another big chunk is ready to be sealed, in fact yesterday about five kms of it had a very thin coat of seal (topped with a thicker coat of marbles!) already.  Within a couple of kms of the start of the roadworks, as I lost speed dodging diggers, graders and rollers, the inside of my visor was a river again, so I did the "lose the visor and specs" thing again, which helped a lot. My Z6 Metzelers are definitely not the ultimate tyre for metal roads, and as I have previously commented, the eleven-hundy is about the worst bike I've ever owned for unsealed roads.  I had to get a bit more commitment than I started out with, as the rear wheel was sliding a bit going down hill in the mush the graders were pulling up from the sides of the road: going up another gear fixed that, although it increased my pucker factor.  I find it hard to relax and stay loose and light on the bike so it can find its own way when I am puckering, but its the only way that works.  Tightening up on the bike will getya every time, I reckon. Once over the summit of the Gentle Annie I was suddenly back in sunshine land, so I stopped for a cuppa from the thermos, cleaned and replaced the specs and cleaned the visor and got down to business.  The entire road surface all the way out to the Main Drag south of Waiouru was a sea of tar melt, but the day was cool, so I reckoned to go for the doctor before it started to heat up and melt again.  (That's my excuse, Officer, and I'm sticking to it.)  Glorious, glorious road.  I'm sure there is lots of scenery up there too, but I didn't take the time to look, I was having WAY too much fun.  I had to follow my own advice from Sunday's discussions, and be careful not to outride my vanishing point, despite the continuous temptation to "just do it".  It was as well I did heed my own counsel, because I got confronted by a few ugly "rock gardens" that had fallen onto the road, and a mondo big flock of woollies on the way to the shearing shed on the first downhill after the Rangitikei River Bridge.Unfortunately, all good things have to end, and the road eventually did.  Surprisingly the vibe in the pegs didn't seem to get any worse for the playing - perhaps because I go for smooth when I am playing, rather than sheer speed.  I find smooth leaves me more relaxed, and I wind up with a reasonable overall pace, but with time to look for trouble and avoid it easily when I find it.I had lunch at Waiouru, then started the commute back home.  After Taupo the vibration was definitely starting to become more worrisome, at Putaruru I called Sebastian to see if he could shed any light on probable cause, which didn't really help.  I limped on as far as Tirau, and then pulled the pin.  I rang the AA ("And what colour is the bike, Sir?"  "The colour of the soil over the Gentle Annie, m'dear."), invoked my AA Plus membership and came home in the tow truck with my bike on the back. ("Crikey, a Beemer.  I've never tied one of them on before, I have a Harley!"  "You have a Harley?  Is it OK if I tie my own bike on"  "I think you should.")  Great facility, AA Plus.  I could have organised UncaMoose to grab my car and trailer, but that would have cost him his time, me the running costs, and actually taken longer than for the AA to get a towie to come from RotoVegas and take me home.  Now I have to go wash the road off the bike then get it in my trailer and get it over to Experience.By the end of this summer, I imagine all of the Napier/Taihape Road will be sealed, and when it is it will become a magnet for road bikes.  I'd just about give a guarantee the emergency services will be kept busy scraping up boy racers who've gone down because of riding with much enthusiasm and very little common sense.  Cynical buggar, ain't I?Coming over that road again reminds me of how woosy we SNAGs are compared to our pioneering forebears: my many times Great Grandfather used to coach out of Napier to Taupo, then down to Taihape and back over the Gentle Annie.  My Great Aunts learnt their times tables out in the wops on the way stations, and had to knock off lessons to help change the teams when the coach came through.  Great Granpa was 73 when he sired the last of his offspring on wife number three.  Ask one of us modern types to work as hard in such conditions, we would all tend to say, "No, thank you."

[Mark]

#14735

sounds like u had a good ride  brucie check side movement in the paralever pins as this will give you viabration through the bike If u have movement then u need to pull these out and check for wear on the pins and most probably replace the bearings around $300 for parts

[Jim Young]

#14736

Nice one bwucie, what else do we live for but theses little adventures and life's trials and tribulations.Main problem is though most of them cost us lots of mullah, hope yours is not one of these.  🙂

[Anonymous]

#14737

Hi BwucieIf you need another steed for a few days Binky will be in the Garage for the next ten days,you may have to wear Elton Johns platform shoes though to keep it at a reasonable degree of upright when stationary.RegardsRincewind

[Anonymous]

#14738

A very kind thought, Dave, but I don't lend my bike, chainsaw or lawnmower, so I don't borrow other people's – except the Librarian's.  But then it is registered to me, I pay the insurance and reg, and I have my own key and I get up earlier in the morning.First up, best dressed.Washed the Gentle Annie off this morning and trailered it to Experience, Sebastian has rung me back and he seems amazingly certain the trouble will be a final drive component, not the gearbox, which would cost enough, but be cheaper than the cog-swapper.As my glass is always half empty, I am prepared to believe it might be all of the above.  If you have to ask how much the toy will cost, then you can't afford the toy.I still had a bloody good ride before I parked it up. ;D

[Dave Morris]

#14739

you could ask for a group discount as RK needs a final drive too,  :'(

[Anonymous]

#14740

A very kind thought, Dave, but I don't lend my bike, chainsaw or lawnmower, so I don't borrow other people's - except the Librarian's.  But then it is registered to me, I pay the insurance and reg, and I have my own key and I get up earlier in the morning.First up, best dressed.Washed the Gentle Annie off this morning and trailered it to Experience, Sebastian has rung me back and he seems amazingly certain the trouble will be a final drive component, not the gearbox, which would cost enough, but be cheaper than the cog-swapper.As my glass is always half empty, I am prepared to believe it might be all of the above.  If you have to ask how much the toy will cost, then you can't afford the toy.I still had a bloody good ride before I parked it up. ;D

It was just a thought mate,hopefully BMW will replace the part F.O.C. due to a recall issue and transport your steed back to base with a new coat of polish and a full tank of gas....."Yea Right"At least you didn't ride it to destruction like some people do and turn everything in the final drive to iron filings......Catch you laterCorporal Droptit

[Dave Ross]

#14741

You should have done what I did, Bwucie. Buy a big final drive bearing and carry it around with you. This will guarantee you'll never need it.

[Anonymous]

#14742

Jury is still out on whether it is just the final drive yet.In the meantime my split personality is being dominated by glass half full Bwucie, because until Experience get a round tuit, the Auckland Register riders will be trying to keep up with a 250 Burger out in front of them: seems to be hard to cope with for some of them  😮 😮 😮

[Anonymous]

#14743

Jury is still out on whether it is just the final drive yet.In the meantime my split personality is being dominated by glass half full Bwucie, because until Experience get a round tuit, the Auckland Register riders will be trying to keep up with a 250 Burger out in front of them: seems to be hard to cope with for some of them  😮 😮 😮

JUST THINK OF THE GAS MONEY YOU WILL SAVE !!!!

[Robin]

#14744

So……. will we see you at another committee meeting?

[Anonymous]

#14745

So....... will we see you at another committee meeting?

Almost certainly, although obviously not on a monthly basis.  I feel it should be part of the function of an Area Rep to first, show the flag for his/her local members, and second, be available to stand up and lobby the Executive on their behalf if necessary (though I certainly don't anticipate that with the incumbent Executive).I appreciate it is not so easy, for instance, if you live in the South Island or are self employed and have a harsh boss (aren't they all if you're self employed?), and the Executive is going to have to embrace Google Talk, Skype, or some such to "bring those people into the fold".  Unless the Areas are nurtured, there is a tendency for the Register to become, ipso facto, comprised primarily of the members in the area where the Committee Meeting is held.But first of all, gotta get my scooter fixed and back on the road!

[Robin]

#14746

ipso facto Yep. I use that too. “By that fact, alone” It's encouraging to see out of town members there.

[Anonymous]

#14747

.............But first of all, gotta get my scooter fixed and back on the road!

Yay! Back on the road, with a rebuilt final drive.  Hopefully be right for another 65,000 kms before that happens again.Deserves some more (pig) Latin: nil bastardii carborundum - don't let the bastards grind you down.

[Jim Young]

#14748

Good one Bwucie glad all is fixed now and it hasn't made too much of a hole in the bank balance  :'(But it should be a glass half full now and ready for another 165,000km not 65,000km

[Author]

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