things that happen on a test ride.

[650leo]

I put new tires, chain and 17/30 sprockets, braided stainless lines on the front brakes, different spring in the forks.
The springs I got are for a 78-83 Harley fx-fxe-xlc-xlch. They are a bit longer and used a heavier wire than the 650 springs.
I installed them with a flat set of caps. I got about the same 35-36 mm sag as the old springs at the max adjustment.
I then put the adjustable caps on. With the caps set in the least preload setting I got about 25 mm of sag.
At the second setting I get about 12-13 mm sag. As hard as it was to get to the second adjustment I didn't try the third.
On the test ride I found the front end to be much better. Ride was a bit harsher but still comfortable. It doesn't bottom out on the big bumps. It feels much more stable in the curves.
The stainless brake lines are great. With a 14 mm bore M/C the lever pull is easy with good feel. A two finger gentle pull will haul it down quick.
I had a 16 mm M/c on it with the rubber lines. It worked very well. I got a 14 mm M/C, Felt even better.
I might put the 16 mm back on to see how it feels, I know it will look better. Then 16 mm sets level on the bars, the 14 mm is a sloped one for the Special bars, looks crappy.
I had a szet of 17/32 sprockets on before the 17/30. The old rear tire was a 140 wide and a bit taller than the 130 I put on.
With the 17/32- 140 tire 60 mph was about 38-3900 rpms, with the 17/30- 130 the rpms were about 35-3600 at 60. I should have tried the 140 tire and 17/30 to see what that would have been but did think about it till I had the new tire on, I wasn't about to change it back for testing.
Now the thing I wasn't expecting. On the ride as I came around a tight curve about 50mph, something flew up off the side of the road. I ducked my head but it still hit me. I'm glad it was a bit cool and damp that day. I was wearing my 3/4 helmet with a flip up visor. The bird hit on the upper corner of the face shield.
It didn't take long to feel the results of the impact. Maybe 100 fet my neck started to hurt.
This happened on Thursday. That night and the next day where very painfull. Didn't sleep well. Most of the pain is gone. my left shoulder still hurts a bit.
I don't think it's from the bird strike, my shoulders and back have hurt pretty much since I was about 12 and started working on the farm.
If it was warmer and dryer I would have worn one of my 1/2 helmets and sunglasses. I think that having the bird hit my face would have been much worse then my face shield.
I'm not sure what the bird was, I didn't find anything along the road. I think it was a pidgeon. Really glad it wasn't a crow or one of those turkey vultures.

[richard]

You’re lucky I once hit a pheasant going about 40 and it knocked the wind out of me. I almost flopped the bike. There is just no way to prepare for bird strikes, you never see them coming. I have been hit by bumble bees going down the freeway where they felt like bullets. That’s not to mention the occasional wasp that got up under my full helmet and bounced between my face and visor trying to get out.

I have a stock MC on my XS1B It works fine but I have been thinking about putting new seal in it just in case I think it’s probably a 16mm. Since it is working ok I haven’t had time to really look at it to any extent. The whole front brake system is really old so it’s probably only a matter of time before it will need new seals.

That’s interesting about your sprocket and tire changes. I think there is always a tradeoff between performance and comfort. I may have to do some sprocket change myself in time. It will be interesting to see if it made any difference in you gas mileage too.

[headcase]

Aren't all rides on a vintage bike 'test rides'?
When I took the bike to get my license finalized, I was coming home fully legal for all of 10 minutes when the throttle cable snapped just past a crowded intersection. I idled into a nearby Wendy's lot, scoped the cable and went for some lunch. I came back out to find I had left my tool pouch under the headlight open, and most of the useful stuff had fallen out along the way. I was left with only a pair of small vice-grips and a crescent wrench. Sick with pneumonia, I shouldn't have been out there anyways, but I still managed to McGyver the cable off the bar by the grip where it broke, and saw only one way to drive this thing home. I had also left the cellphone home, and couldn't find anyone home from the numbers I had memorized, so a-wrenchin' I went. I finally pulled the metal elbow off the end of the cable and had about 3 inches to work with. I loosened the right mirror at the base, threaded the cable around the post, and tightened the mirror down over it. It took a few miles to get used to throttling and clutching the thing with 2 fingers pulling on the cable, hoping the d**n mirror wouldn't vibrate loose. 15 miles later I rolled into my yard, pulled the helmet and collapsed in bed. The fingers returned about a day later. Moral of the story? I don't know yet, any suggestions?

[kopcicle]

Some friends and I comparing notes ...
www.kawasakimotorcycle.org/forum/main-lobby/132483-what-kind-critters-have-you-hit-bike.html

~kop

[grizld1]

That's quite a list, kop! The weirdest critter conflict I've experienced happened in Jamaica back in late 73. I was teaching school in the middle of the island, and got around on a 1964 BMW R50. On the road between Frankfield and Christiana, I approached a guy leading a cow down the road on a rope; he was on the inside, cow on the outside, both on the left, which is the driving lane there. As I pulled out to pass, the cow jumped across the road, pulling the rope across the road with it, and of course the old boy didn't let go of his end. I gave the cow all the room I could and prayed; it was unpolled, the picture of a horn through the chest was pretty vivid, but the only place to get away from it with a margin of safety was straight down. Just as I passed, I felt a very slight twitch on the bars. I looked in the rearview, and there was the cow, out cold in the road; the bar end had caught her right behind the ear. After 40 minutes or so Bossy opened her eyes, shook her head, and got to her feet--no harm, no foul, to beast or bike. Those old Earles forks sure were stable.