Hello again, fellow SDSC riders. I'm bored at work so I thought I'd jot down some recent news and bore you too!
1) I recently chewed through my speedo cable and front brake line. The rally front fender (a KTM part) has really poor cable placement and they both rubbed against the brake rotor under hard riding. Normally, I would have replaced both of these myself, but the bike has ABS and the procedure was beyond my scope of backyard mechanical aptitude. This is how you keep a dealer like Rev Motorsports in business. Thankfully he gave me a bit of a break due to parts delays.
2) Last weekend I took my daughter out so she could ride a mini bike for the first time (thanks again Invariant!). She had a blast and may be hooked for life. Unfortunately, if I end up buying her a bike it will mean fewer upgrades and toys for me, but hey, it's for the children!
3) I installed my new tire! I went with the Maxxis Maxxcross Desert IT. It's about the same price as other tires I would buy and has crazy traction. It is almost as stiff as the Dunlop 606 I once had, but it went on surprisingly easy...and no, Intrepid, I did not end up with any pinch flats! Oddly enough, the hardest part was getting the relatively soft Pirelli Rallycross tire OFF. I think I lost a couple pounds of sweat that day. The good news is that the family swear jar is now able to fund a trip anywhere WestJet flies.
4) I finally removed the Kouba lowering link and replaced it with the stock one. Wow, that's one way of getting 2-3 inches of travel back (and a good way to force the need for a longer kickstand!). It was wayyyyy harder than swapping the linkage on a KLR. The most stressful part was trying to line up the swingarm to get the bolt through, and then notice that I had needle bearings dropping about of position. I lost even more weight from this adventure than I did removing the tire. However, I can now also add a Mediterranean cruise from swear jar money. I'm on a roll!
5) I got a new helmet for my birthday! I chose an FXR Blade. It's comfortable, cool, super light, has a quick release strap...and it's orange! Rec Supply gave me a price as good as anything online, so that was nice.
6) I need to change my username. The Flying KLR just doesn't work anymore. So, if anyone is actually still reading this post (you must have nothing better to do) I'd be happy to hear your feedback on the following names:
- kirvball - comes from combining my first and last names...sort of
- The Flying KTM - a natural progression, but maybe too bike-specific...plus it's a mouthful
- sicks90 - fun, but still kinda bike-specific
- koolaider - ooh, that's good
- Maverick - okay, I'm kidding about that one.
I'm also open to username suggestions, but don't be a dick about it! Even if the shoe fits, I will NOT change my name to "asshat", "wannabe hooligan", "hack", "the cutoffs mechanic", or anything else like that!
Finally, when are we riding? I haven't seen a lot of chatter on the forum about people getting out for weekly rides, going to Nisbet, or making plans for weekend trips up north. Let's get out there and have some fun!
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