Learning about Check Engine Lights and a couple of Sunsets

As I was driving back from the Red Feather Lakes area last week, I got a check engine light while the VRRV was climbing a hill. 

It was a code P0171, new one to me....not the usual P0191 which I believed to be an O2 Sensor fault. (Reporting too lean fuel mix)

I have this inability to not be able to continue driving without clearing the check engine light first, so I did using the scan gauge device. 

This week I took the VRRV through the mechanic to have them look at that P0171 error.  

Turns out, I should not have cleared the check engine light by erasing the code before the mechanic could do a full diagnosis. 

Turns out, that along with clearing the code I also cleared what can be referred to as a freeze frame of existing engine conditions at the time of the error!  This is data that is key to letting the mechanic figure out what's going on.  Doh!

I also learned, that a steady check engine light is just reporting error codes and it's okay to continue driving until you can have the codes looked at. 

However, if the check engine light is blinking, that is bad and you need to stop driving immediately and have the vehicle towed to the mechanic in most cases. 

Tuesday Sunset with Brigitta:

My Sony A6000 has started acting up since last week.  Got the apparently common "camera error, turn power and back on" issue.  The camera becomes unresponsive and you have to take the battery out for it to boot up again. 

Tried all the "fixes" on Google, but they don't last.  Something with the shutter mechanism I believe.

Just as well that I rarely use it anymore, mostly for sunset shots. In fact,  I don't think I used it much if at all the second half of the Iberian Wanderings trip!

This may be the last pic for this blog from the A6000:

Thursday Sunset 

The mechanic hasn't found anything conclusive are the check engine codes I reported.  I'm to drive it some more and see if the codes come back. He suspects it's a possible fuel supply issue, leading to lean fuel mixtures under high engine loads.

Tepees and Buckley's Golf Balls

Tuesday, November 12

A pretty mellow day for Martha and I, this day marks the 29th Anniversary of her putting up with me as a husband.  I say it often, the woman should be sainted!

No festivities planned for or wanted by either of us, there'll be trips to foreign lands in our future we'd rather save our money towards.

I did get a short ride with Scarlett, out to the VRRV storage yard for some minor chores.  On the way home, I posed the rig at the Plains Conservation Center:

Thursday, November 14

The weather was sunny and in the mid-50s so it was time for Brigitta, my '87 R80 BMW to get a little bit of exercise.

On the return half of the ride, I almost had a close encounter with a herd of Buckhorn Sheep that was thinking of crossing over the road which borders Buckley Space Force Base's northern perimeter.  They turned around back towards the snow covered fields as I passed by.

I turned around as quick as traffic allowed and parked the motorcycle near the herd which was once again timidly edging towards the highway in another crossing attempt.

Before they made it though, more cars and trucks came along and this time succeeded in scaring them into giving up crossing the highway at this location.

I managed to get within telephoto lens of them though.  No time for tripod or manual focus though as they moved steadily away from me:

I believe this is the largest herd of Buckhorn Sheep

that I've seen!

Walking back to where Brigitta was parked on the side of the highway; I realized she was in a good spot to get Long Peak and three of Buckley SFB's Golf Ball shaped satellite dish enclosures:

Lots of post-processing went into the above two shots, it was very hazy and the conditions precluded sharp imagery of the front range mountains.

I think there's also some slight calibration/focus issues with the telephoto lens, it's a smidge out of focus unless I go manual and use a tripod.  Oh well.

A Good Start for 2024

Yesterday, New Years Day, I was able to get a couple of short rides in.  

The first ride was with Yagi, my Yamaha TW200 Dual Sport.  Her new front tire feels good along with the new front brake pads I just installed.

Some patches of ice/snow remain in the neighborhood and in the RV Storage lot within Buckley Space Force Base where I took this picture:

Do you see the small bird perched on Yagi's mirror?

The second ride was to Buckley SFB to get a shot of Brigitta, my '87 BMW R80.  However, as I'd switched jackets due to the weather having turned colder; I managed to forget my VA ID card and was unable to get into the base.

Still, it was almost a 20 mile ride for Brigitta, so its all good.  Exercise is exercise, right?

Tuesday, January 2

Clear skies today, the sun warming things nicely into the 40s in terms of temperature.

After a visit to the VA Clinic, I rode Brigitta again back to Buckley Space Force Base and this time I managed to get in.

Here she is by the F-86F Sabre Jet that used to be part of the Colorado Air National Guard:

Some more info on the above aircraft:  LINK

I rode home in the usual heavy traffic of the mid-afternoon here in the cesspool that is the Metro Denver area.  I am looking forward to getting away from here soon, perhaps as soon this coming Sunday.  It all depends on the weather of course.

A Ride for Brigitta while Enjoying Neighborhood Fall Colors

The time for Fall Colors is actually a couple of days or so past peak for my home neighborhood trees to display their Fall Colors.

I had decided to finally get Brigitta out of the garage and get some exercise.  My departure was delayed when she expressed her displeasure at not being out since September 4 however.

Yep, she leaked gas from her right side carburetor onto the garage floor as I readied her for riding and got my riding gear on!

Tried new cork seals, that didn't work, still leaking.

Tried doubling up of the seals, still leaking.  Finally figured out it wasn't the seals for the fuel bowl, but it was coming from a overfill tube in the bowl.  I then used some needle nose pliers and bent the metal tab for the floats a tiny bit downward.  

That seemed to do the trick and I went riding.

The first two pics were taken with RichardM's comment in mind that Fall Colors should be more than just yellow.  So here you go, RichardM.

Of course, the rest will be of the yellow variety:

So what do you think?  Landscape or Portrait format better with the below scene?

I only rode perhaps 12 miles, more tomorrow.  No further fuel leaks from the right side carburetor.  Hopefully, Brigitta has finished showing her displeasure at me.

An Attempt at Pike Peak's Summit by James and I

 James Peet is a friend of mine from my college ROTC days.  He was a junior cadet MS2 when I was in the MS4 or final phase of ROTC training.

We kept in irregular contact, mostly through Facebook and such over the years.  He's presently on the Colorado portion of the TransAmerica Trail  or T.A.T on a 2022 Himalaya motorcycle.

I saw he'd reported in via FB on his travels as he made his way from the eastern start point of the TAT; and on Thursday of this week, saw he was in Florence, CO.  About 2.5 hours from me!

I messaged him via FB messenger and we soon coordinated a meet/ride at the fee station at Pikes Peak for Friday.

We got together at around 1130 and soon afterwards were riding up the mountain.

Here's a couple of shots of his motorcycle, it's a Thumper with just 411 cc of power so 55 MPH is basically it in terms of performance.  Since the TAT consists of back country roads and dirt when possible, this is not an issue.

Check out the sign....

As we got closer to MM 15, we stopped at the lodge and James donned wet weather gear as it was starting to rain.  The clouds looked pretty nasty further up the mountain and he didn't want to get too cold.  I'd forgotten my gear in the RV so resigned myself for some cold.

Once ready, we motored on with James in the lead.  As we neared MM 16, there was a Park Ranger waving him over.  After a few seconds, James turned around and we parked the motorcycles a short distance away from the ranger.

Turns out, weather conditions were "not great" up top, with steady rain and some hail in the mix.  So they were closing down the road to uphill traffic until at least 2PM.  So, instead of standing around in light rain for at least 45 minutes, we motored on back to the lodge for food.

The roads were wet and the switchbacks were taken with due care by both of us.  I was leading this time so I could get him to stop at picture taking spots on the way down.

A view of the Rock Pile and part of the switchbacks

James P. at the Rock Pile, that's Colorado Springs

in the distance I think.

We had some very expensive burger/fries and chili at the lodge then when we exited, saw these skies:

A talk with the ranger at the brake check point was not encouraging and so James and I decided to bag any further attempt to make it to the top of Pikes Peak.  MM16 would have to be our highest point achieved today.

The ride back down the mountain was uneventful, so was the transit of Colorado Springs and riding on CO Hwy 83 through Parker and from there, home.

Here's James motorcycle as he worked to unpack things so he could do some laundry and such tasks while staying overnight as our guest.

Much wine was imbibed by the two of us, and in the morning, James packed up his stuff back onto the motorcycle.  He's going to resume the TAT at Salida.  Due to other issues, there's gaps in his TAT routing, but as he said, he's not out to prove anything, just have some fun riding the TAT.

James and I before he left Saturday Morning.

Wishing James safe travels and no more droppings of his motorcycle as he continues westward.

Brigitta did fine, by the way, no issues.  She needed the exercise so it all worked out for all involved.

BTW, James Peet is a published author of science fiction, cooking and is working on an article about riding the TAT.  I've read part of his Corps of Discovery Series and do recommend them to anyone who likes science fiction and the idea of alternate Earths and their exploration.  Amazon link to Book 1 of the series:  LINK  (No, I don't get an Amazon affiliate incentive payment, I just like his books).

Miscellanea .... A Ride for Brigitta, the Sammy loses her new Oil Pressure Gauge and gains a Windjammer Clone.

In an effort to get some miles onto Brigitta's (my '87 R80 Beemer) odometer, I rode her all the way to the Hugo State Wildlife Area.  This was on Monday, May 16.  

It would prove windier than expected, especially while moving at 75 mph eastbound on the I-70 Super Slab towards the town of Limon, CO!  I had to go, several times, into "dancing in the winds" mode as gusts would hit me from the front right quarter mostly.

Still, got there OK, and discovered that a third of the SWA is now off limits, the southern third to be exact.  Not reason found except a sign stating the road leading to the southern campsites was now closed to all but "authorized" traffic.

Incoming weather had clouded up what had started as bright blue skies; so the pictures taken didn't turn out.

I returned via CO Hwy 74 into Colorado Spring's eastern suburbs, through the small town of Black Forest and finally onto CO Hwy 83.  A total of 256 miles ridden, and boy was I tired at the end of it!  I'm thinking my days of long distance riding on motorcycles, whether two or three wheeled, are coming to an end.

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The Sammy's new water pump continues to work fine.  The new normal, in terms of the temperature gauge on its dash, is for the needle to slowly climb towards the midpoint as the engine warms up and stay there.  No more going all the way to the 3/4 mark before then lowering to the middle and staying there for the rest of a drive.

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I went to the RV storage yard with a small air compressor and blew out the water lines on the VRRV.  We were expecting cold temperatures Friday/Saturday of this week you see.  A very late Winter storm had caused a Winter Weather warning to be issued to the Front Range.

Update: not much snow accumulation resulted in the Front Range.  Heavy, wet stuff that cause some tree damage as branches were overloaded and broken off.

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Spent a lot of time cleaning off the dirt and crud that had built up due to the failing old water pump.  Got a lot of dirt off the underside of the Sammy as well.  Of course, in the midst of doing this, I "improved" the routing and securing of the plastic tubing used by the oil pressure gauge I'd recently mounted.

This "improvement" proved fatal to the gauge's continued presence inside the Sammy.

Yesterday, I was returning from a short drive and had backed the Sammy into the garage intending to work on installing a plastic sheet behind the driver compartment (beginnings of Windjammer Clone)

To my dismay, I saw a trail of oil on the driveway and into the cul-de-sac as well!  Hastily shutting down the engine, I looked underneath the Sammy and there was oil pouring from the engine compartment and smoke was evident from burnt oil when I opened her hood.  Dammit.

Yep, the oil tube had worked itself loose and had come to rest against the hot edge of the exhaust manifold shield.  Melted of course, and had been spewing engine oil all over.

After unsuccessfully trying to replace the plastic tubing with brass tubing from a kit I'd prepurchased, I gave up and removed the oil pressure gauge and components.  The sandwich oil filter adapter remains, but all four ports are sealed now.  I'll probably remove the sandwich adapter next time I change the oil on the Sammy.

Needless to say, the spilled oil made quite the mess.  I spent most of the evening and part of next morning cleaning things up both on the Sammy and the driveway.

I also spent some time this week learning how to use a steamer to "shape" a straw hat I'd bought years ago.  What do you think?

Sunday, May 22

Spent most of the morning finishing the attachment of a homemade version of a Bestop Windjammer on the Sammy.  It basically mostly seals off the driver/passenger compartment 

Windjammer by Bestop

Image source: Amazon

In My opinion, the above clone actually does a better job of keeping the dust out than the actual Windjammer produced by Bestop.  It's a much quieter ride now.  The window is clear Plexiglas, and while a bit red-neck, the black Gorilla Tape should hold things secure.

Here's how she looks now, in Safari Top mode:

Exercising Brigitta and Scarlett Repair Notes

 Friday, October 22

Decided to give Brigitta, my '87 BMW R80 Airhead, a good exercise day.  We'd end up covering a bit over 160 miles of city/highway riding, including some miles of sandy dirt roads which she and I hated.  She's definitely a street motorcycle.

Still, managed to get to, wander around, and return from the Paint Mines Interpretive Park near Calhan, CO without dropping her (came close a couple of times due to deeper than expected sand piles) so I ended up calling it a good day.

Temperatures would "soar" into the high 60s and feel quite warm while hiking about the park but would feel quite cool while riding due to the wind chill factor of course.

Instead of parking in the main parking lot, I ended up parking at the Overlook parking lot which is seemingly closer to the main rock formations.  

The picture below shows the main section of colorful rock formation, the overlook parking lot is located above it, but you really have to hike in to view the rocks up close.

The paint mines were where Native Americans traveled to in order to get the colors shown for their use.  Here's a link to the park's website for more info:  LINK

There were more people there than I expected, apparently Friday is included in "the weekend" crowding as mentioned to me by the sole Park Ranger doing his rounds.  Sadly, the imbeciles who I saw disregarding the rules about "NO Dogs" or "Don't climb on the rocks" were quite in evidence but apparently the ranger didn't see them.

Sorry about the watermarks, didn't want to re-process the pics to remove the watermark.  I'd been experimenting with watermarks for a previous project and forgot to disable it within the Export Process of Adobe Lightroom.

Saturday, October 23 - Fixing some stuff on Scarlett, my 2014 Ural Patrol Sidecar Rig

First was the adjustment of the tug's rear shocks to be fully preloaded on the port side and fully unloaded on the right side.  I also set the shock absorbers on the front wheel to softest or least preload setting.  This to seemingly soften the harsh ride of late, we'll see how that goes.  

Second, changing the shocks of course affected slightly the lean-out of the tug so I adjusted the tug inward by one full turn of both upper support bolts.  Now it's under 2 degrees leaned out.  The test ride let me feel like I was leaning less to the left and no increased pulling to the right by the sidecar.

Third, ever since my last camping trip near Poncha Pass, I'd been experiencing the engine cutting out momentarily when hitting big bumps on the road.  I felt it again today while test riding the rig after modifying the shock absorber preloads and resolved to find the issue once and for all.  I had to do some field repairs to the ignition wiring during a ride to Gross Dam near Boulder, CO since then and suspected my work.

Scarlett cut out on me as I rolled her off the driveway so that was motivation to dig into the wiring behind the headlamp immediately!  A lot of shaking/probing of wiring finally led to me finding a bad connection to the bottom fuse in the fuse box!  This fuse is for the fuel pump you see, and its corroded wire connection was causing the loss of power (momentary) when hitting bumps on the road.

I replaced the spade connector and inserted a washer to create a small gap between the connector and the outside fork tube housing which the previous connected had been wedged against.  Again, we'll see how things go, but the test drive afterwards went well.

A ride to Strasburg to catch "Big Boy"

 Sunday, September 6

After lunch at Bob W's home, four of us got on our respective motorcycles/scooter to ride over to the vicinity of Strasburg and Byers, CO to see the Union Pacific's 4014 Steam Locomotive pass by on its way to Wyoming.

Yep, it was Brigitta's turn for exercise

(1987 R80 BMW)

More info here on Big Boy: LINK, it's apparently one of very few remaining locomotives of it's era and size....1.2 million pounds in weight, impressive.

After seeing the traffic debacle near Deer Trail, CO....we doubled back along CO36 and stopped at a local grain elevator run by Cargill Inc.  There we awaited the arrival of the train.  Not too long afterwards, it was there, chugging along slowly.

Note: no sound, was using Thing Two's camera as my Sony HX80 is in the shop for repairs.  The Nikon D5300 I was using had the microphone turned off and I didn't realize this beforehand.

Note the two sets of wheels on the locomotive, due to its length, the wheels "articulate" for the sharper curves.

Once the train had passed, and the bumper to bumper congestion on CO36 eased off a bit (lots of people headed towards Strasburg where the train was scheduled to briefly stop); we too saddled up and rode towards Strasburg.

Jim M. and Dale B. look for the squashed pennies and

coins they'd pre-positioned on the track prior to the

train's arrival.

In the traffic debacle that was Strasburg, we found a place for the motorcycles, then we all split to find a good spot to shoot pics of the train as it pulled out.

Starting to leave Strasburg, CO

I was, quite surprised, by the amount of people that showed up to look at the train.  

The train gone westward, we waited a bit for the traffic to leave the normally sleepy town of Strasburg.

We rode home via CO36 to Watkins, and then took the road south to Quincy Rd and from there we each went our separate ways near our home neighborhood.

Interesting sight, this large locomotive, talk about "Big Iron".....

Replacing Fuel Lines on Brigitta and a look at past and present cousins....

 Today the weather had finally warmed enough to allow me an easy and almost iceless exit out of the neighborhood while riding Brigitta, my '87 R80 Beemer.

I rode her the nine miles to the RV Storage Yard and as I parked her next to the URRV, noted the smell of gas.  Oh Oh.

A quick look showed drops of gas emanating from the vicinity of the right tank petcock!  I had recently installed a couple of worm gear clamps  (none had been there before Fiona's immolation); and apparently the clamp's pressure caused an existing split in the rubber to leak gas.

See the split in the rubber fuel line, it's

on side closest to my thumb

Needless to say, visions of another engine fire pop into my head and I hurriedly shut off the right side petcock.  The leaking stopped of course and after retrieving what I had gone to retrieve from the URRV; I rode the few miles to the BMW Motorcycle Dealership.

Got me 3 feet of braided fuel line, borrowed a scissor from the parts clerk, and within five minutes had replaced the leaker with new fuel line.  Leak resolved!

While at the dealership, I saw this R60 /2 in very good condition sitting in the showroom.  I didn't ask if it was for sale so no need to ask me the price.

Now, with the above R60's 600cc engine representing one end of the spectrum....I present to you what is probably a new R18 that was sitting in the parking lot...with its 1800cc engine:

Those are some huge jugs eh?  Not being misogynistic here, that's what the engine's cylinders are called by some riders.

I believe the R18 is BMW's attempt to get some buyers away from the Cruiser crowd of motorcycles such as Harley-Davidson.  It doesn't hold any appeal to me but having 1800cc on tap would be so nice on those long trips involving interstate highways.

Asked to make a choice, I would go for the R60 /2.

Once I got home I also replaced the left side petcock's feed line even though it wasn't leaking, just so they're both same age you see.  I kept the old one as a "get me home" spare and will store it in the toolbox under the seat.

As a test ride, I rode to the Home Depot to get a wire brush Dremel bit and once I was back home I spent a couple of hours cleaning the burn stains on most of the moto tools, my hand started cramping up so will finish the rest tomorrow.  

On the Front Range with Brigitta

Saturday, May 23

It was high time for Brigitta, my '87 BMW R80, to get some exercise!

We would end up riding perhaps 60 miles or so, meandering the county roads to the NE of the cesspool that is the Metro Denver area.

The day was warm and mostly sunny with incoming weather clouds evident to the west as the afternoon moved towards evening.

First stop was Saint Isidore Church along the I-70 Super Slab near the small farming town of Watkins.  I was hoping for a nice view of the Front Range Mountains but the haze and clouds made that impossible this ride.

So instead, I posed Brigitta near the entrance to the Saint Isidore Cemetery, a place I'd not noticed before on previous rides:

I then rode to the town of Watkins and spotted signs for the "Colorado Air and Space Port".  Space Port?  We have a space port in Colorado?  So of course, with much doubt in my mind, I followed the signs.

As I suspected based on what I knew of this area, it turned out to be the Front Range Airport, rebranded as a space port!

So, what gives them the right to call themselves a Space Port?

From wikipedia:  In October 2011, the Governor of Colorado, John Hickenlooper, formally requested that the federal government designate Colorado a "spaceport state" and that the airport be designated a spaceport for suborbital horizontal takeoff flights (HTVL and HTHL).^[8] Spaceport designation would allow a facility offering suborbital tourism, travel, and cargo transport from one point to another on Earth. The Denver Post reported that "No vertical launches are planned at the Front Range, unlike most of the other eight certified U.S. spaceports. Instead, space planes — an emerging technology — will use regular runways and jet engines to take off and land, switching to rocket power above 50,000 feet."

So no, I didn't spot any space craft while wandering around the "space port".  

Heading west a little bit away from the "space port", one passes several solar panel farms and eventually one can see the white canopies and ugly "mustache" hotel of the Denver international Airport.

As a sign of the Covid-19 times, you could see a line of idled aircraft parked on the outskirts of the airport, waiting for more "normal" times and traffic patterns.  I wonder if we'll see such normalcy again.

The clouds had moved in by now and so Brigitta and I headed back home as winds picked up as well.

Brigitta performed flawlessly as usual, she's barely over 101,000 miles (roughly) on her odometer.  

Previous Post: Replacing Shock Absorber seals on Fiona

Been under the weather....

I got back to Colorado on Friday, the 24th of January.

By Saturday afternoon I started feeling sick and by Sunday was in the full throes of some flu-like symptoms.  I did manage to take Scarlett, my 2014 Ural Patrol out for a short ride to catch the sunset.

 Pikes Peak

The next few days were spent coughing and feeling tired and achy.

By Friday I was feeling much better and so began the major task I had for my time here before I go back to Arizona to retrieve the URRV and resume camping.

Pretty much did the demolition of the bathtub/shower in the basement.  There'd been evidence of water damage and some mildew under the tub and it was time to rip it out and replace it with something else.

Martha got me one of those "dumpster in a bag" setups from the local big box store and its on the driveway now, perhaps half filled with the debris resulting from the above demolition.

Here's how it looks now, I think perhaps ready for the initial test fit of the Full Surround Shower that we picked up at the same big box store today.

After picking up the stuff, it was time for some riding.  It's been over six weeks (basically the time I'd been gone camping) since I'd ridden Brigitta, my '87 BMW R80 Airhead motorcycle.

We went on about a 65 mile or so loop of county roads riding to the east of the cesspool that is the Metro Denver area.  Very enjoyable in spite of the wind which wasn't too bad but noticeable. 

Sunny with the temperature around 70°F (21°C), it was pretty nice riding weather for February!  Of course, this coming week, we'll be lucky to see temperatures above freezing according to the forecast, we got snow inbound.

Still have some minor coughing going on and some sniffles but I think I'll live.