A Good Ride after a Long Week in Chicago

Temperatures in the mid to high 20s. Partly cloudy with occasional bursts of sun.

The weather wasn't optimal but it was good enough for me to go out for a long ride after being in Chicago most of this past week on business. No, I didn't ride there, had to fly there. I guess it would look bad for UAL to pay people to ride to their headquarters from Denver instead of flying?

So, that was four days where I could not ride a motorcycle. It wasn't too bad since it was a busy time for me. Still, I was glad to be back yesterday after a 90 minute delay on the flight back due to broken toilet system. We were told: "OK, four of the eight toilets work, if you have to go...do it now before we leave the gate(this was after they tried for over an hour to fix things) and we'll drain the tanks before we take off. Let's just say not many people were happy with UAL on that flight.

I headed out mid-morning with no destination in mind really. I headed towards Parker via Inspiration Drive and from Parker headed down Crowfoot Parkway towards Castlerock. I then had the thought to go through Sedalia and perhaps Deckers via Douglas County 67.

As I neared Castlerock, I saw a big stream of water shooting up into the air off to the right near the fire station. Turns out the firemen were "exercising" their water pumps apparently. I rode through a fine mist of water and noticed the water was creating a rainbow. I turned Maria around, parked her for this shot.

fireman-made rainbow

I proceeded onto and tanked up in Sedalia, taking the opportunity to take a picture of Maria in the "Biker Trash Only" parking area of the Sedalia Bar and Grill. Often I've seen many bikers hanging out at this eatery on warmer days. No bikers were in evidence today, in fact, I did not see a fellow motorcyclist the whole time I was out. Go figure. I say "Biker Trash" because that's what the signs posted along the wall of the bar said, I am not expressing any personal opinions here! :)

Sedalia Bar and Grill

I then spent some time wandering the streets of Sedalia, hoping to see buildings which might have been there during the late 1800s when Sedalia's claim to fame was as a railroad stop. I did not spot anything obvious, will have to do some research and come back another day with old photos to use as reference. Here's some buildings thought that caught my eye:

The rusting hulk of an old motorcycle caught my eye

Sedalia Station est. 1887

The local menagerie in Sedalia

I rode out of town on CO67 which becomes Douglas County 67 shortly after the junction with CO105. The intent was to try and get to Deckers, this was not to be. I ran into wet-looking pavement, bordered by ice and snow, in the shaded areas of the road at the beginning of Jarrer Canyon. Not good with the temperatures still below freezing.

I turned myself around on Madge Gulch Road and slowly made my way back to Sedalia. A bit more interesting than I really like my surface traction conditions to be like.

So I headed South instead on CO105, heading towards the towns of Palmer Lake and Monument. I arrived there with no incident even though there remained much gravel on the roads along with some wet-looking spots in the shade of trees.

I passed by O'Malley's Bar and Grill, another popular biker hangout in warmer weather. No bikers. I had spotted some interesting clouds in the valley leading to Monument, south of Palmer Lake so I rode on. I found a good parking spot just south of Palmer Lake and got these shots:

Santa Fe Ridge, just south of Palmer Lake

Looking south towards Monument, I think that's Mt. Herman on the right

The skies were becoming more overcast and the cold felt "stronger" each time the sun was blocked or partially occluded by the clouds. I cruised through Monument, crossed over the I-25 Super Slab and took the eastbound roadway to CO83. This particular road had evidence of ice still remaining in the areas that were shaded by the tall pines on the south side of the road. No issues encountered but I slow down to ensure I was always in the driest portion of the lane. Again, I was glad to clear the forested portion of the road and back out in sunlit pavement!

I turned north on CO83, aka Parker Road. It was a bit windy at this point, I was riding into a pretty strong headwind which caused Maria to wiggle a bit. No big deal but I did feel a bit colder as the sun kept getting blocked by the clouds.

I made it to Parker just fine, enjoyed the temperatures around town being in the low 30s. Much warmer feeling than in Palmer Lake with it's almost 7000 feet of elevation! I stopped by the grocery store near home and got my loving wife a dozen red roses since it was Valentine's Day and she'd hinted to me she'd like flowers.

A pretty good ride, though I was quite chilled by the end of it.

A Neglected Nighthawk

Since the past summer, and probably earlier than that, I'd been noticing this black Honda Nighthawk 750 motorcycle.

It was always parked in the same spot, at the curb, of this apartment complex I cruise through whenever I go to the secondary data center in the DTC.

At first, I thought nothing of it, that the owner always had the same parking spot based on his or her work schedule.

Then I started looking for telltales that it had even been moved, nothing.

Today, I was heading home early and I decided to stop for a closer look.



The poor thing, I now believe, has not moved at all since I first noticed it during my morning commutes into the Denver Tech Center! The seat was weather-beaten and cracking from sun damage. There's a layer of dust/grime all over the neglected motorcycle. A damn shame really.

Hopefully Maria noticed the neglect a motorcycle can really experience and she'll relay how lucky she and Brigitta are to belong to me; no matter the sometimes "interesting" terrain I sometimes subject the girls to.

Update: 23FEB9: The Nighthawk is gone! Hopefully the owner is finally treating her right in terms of storage or he was out riding her. Perhaps he sold her to someone who'll treat her right.

Sunset near the Foothills

There's an area here at the base of the Rockies called the Foothills, it marks the beginning of the mountains that form a spectacular backdrop for the Denver Metro Area.

I suspect though, that most people that live here, see it every day and have "tuned it out". Too bad for them.

I found myself at loose ends around 4pm, no chores to do and the weather in the low 50s. Of course, I went riding to try and catch the sunset.

As I rode out of my neighborhood, I could see low lying clouds partially obscuring the tops of the Rockies so I knew my usual spots for catching the sunset would probably not work. I headed west seeing spots to frame Maria by and ended up on US85 which I took to Titan Road. As I neared the foothills, the light was almost right and I sought a good place to stop and frame some shots.

I found said spot off of Titan Road, a little two lane road called Wildlife Way. I cruised up this neighborhood road and saw this "house" which reminded me of "Gone with the Wind":


I then returned back towards the beginning of the lane and got the following pictures as the setting sun was obscured by clouds but some light managed to leak through reflection in the atmosphere:

After these shots, it was getting dark and I rode home via the C470/E470 super slabs to make time. Made it home without incident or deer sightings.

Done with Brigitta's Major Service

This morning I finished most of the remaining checks and services for Brigitta's "major" service.

You are supposed to use the 5k to 10k rule when it comes to services for Airheads. The rule is you check your valve lash settings every 5000 miles when a "minor" service is due. Then when you hit 10,000 miles, you check the valve lash again while doing the "major" service. Since I picked her up with 61,300 or so miles on the odometer from Pete Homan, I think I am slight ahead of schedule in terms of the major service.

Still better too many than too few. I've annotated my logs and will follow the 5k to 10k schedule from now one, still changing out the oil every 3K though.

Based on the example below, I've got good amount of adjuster threads left (red arrows)

Photo courtesy: Matt Parkhouse's article in BMWMOA ON: Valve Recession
Left: adjuster nut almost against rocker arm = bad
Right: More thread is better.

I found the left side intake valve a bit tight, adjusted it. I also found the right side exhaust valve a bit tight, adjusted it as well. Just a slight drag on the feeler gauge is what you're going for in terms of clearance.

The items listed in the manuals for minor and major services are well know so I'll not list them here. I go by the Clymer manual and the info from sites such as Snowbum's great info site for airhead maintenance and repair: LINK

After having changed out her engine oil+filter/transmission/driveshaft/final drive oils yesterday; today I did the valve lash check, cleaned out the air filter and renewed the heatsink compound on the ICM or Ignition Control Module.

I thought I had to replace the spark plugs but the log says they're not due out till 78,000 miles so I am done. I am going to forego a carburetor sync as I did not mess with the throttle cable settings or idle screws. The rest of the week is packed with work-related stuff.

The test ride went well, no explosions or weird noises. I'll monitor for oil leaks from the valve covers over the next day or so closely. Brigitta sure lets you feel the breeze without her fairing! I picked up some jb-weld and will see how it does on repairing that mounting point.