88450km

Had a lot of different things done to the bike over the last week. I will divide it up int a whole bunch of blogposts.

Not all of it is done by me, a lot of it was handled by my friends nephew. Thank you, Dejan =)

First up is the brake-light for my Givi-box:

I like having the margins on my side, and a brake light in my top-box seemed like a good idea. Not to expensive either.. You might remember that I bought  my givi-box at MC-artikler last year. (Half my bike is from that store now =P ) - The light is also bought there, and I even got a small discount. =)

I don't have any pictures from the actual installation, but it was rather easy. I do, however, have a picture of the light in operation:

It works great, and I highly recommend it!

88230km

The horn is changed!

Remember my post about accident week? And how my horn didn't do jack shit in stopping Mr. Lorry Driver.

Well, I got a different horn from my mom's boyfriend Roger (The jacket guy). The horn is from a BMW K100LT, and it sounds quite a lot better than my "Hamster-farting-under-a-pillow" horn.

This is old horn

This is new horn

The difference is a bit difficult to hear in the videos, but in real life it is IMMENSE! This new horn sounds like a damn truck!

However, it is BIG. Huge compared to my old one, and with limited space, a bit hard to mount with ease. I did find room for it, but it isn't beautifully mounted.

I have, unfortunately, had use for my horn, and I can tell you: It is loud enough =)

88010km

Time to change the tyres!

My old tyres were just that: OLD. Old as hell, actually. And square.. And hard... And everything a tyre shouldn't be.

My Old Metzler Lasertec had seen better days. I knew, when I bought the bike last year, that they were due a replacement. After feeling insecure in wet conditions, and experiencing some wobble with cold and semi-warm tyres I decided to change them. This was probably a few miles and months too late =P

I was very keen on getting some new shoes for my lade, but I had no idea what brand to pick. The bike runs on 100/90-19 and 120/90-19, so options were a bit limited.

Most shops I contacted wanted me to try a new pair of Lazertecs. I decided I wanted to try something different, as I wasn't happy with the Lazertecs I had. (YES, I know that the tyres were old and crappy, and that new ones would be much better). I wanted something that preformed well in wet conditions, and I couldn't care less if the tyre handles 200kph+. I use the bike for commuting.


After much deliberation, one of my friends recommended that I look at some Bridgestone BT45s. I read some tests, and a couple of reviews, and I decided to go for those.

I got the work done at Motorport - It was fairly cheap (I even got a discount! THANKS!) and I had some problems with my heated grips I wanted them to check out. I also wanted to check my rear wheel bearing.
The changed the tyres, fixed the heated grips and balanced the wheels. I picked the bike up in the POURING rain, and had a rather careful drive to work. Even with the brand new and slippery rubber, I could feel that the grip was better.

I have ridden the bike for 200~km after the change, and I am much happier that I thought I would be. As always: Rubber has EVERYTHING to say about performance and feel.

I ride more confidently through curves, and it breaks much better in the wet. I do recommend these tyres!

87820km

As promised in Winter update #3, I have a to-do list I need to check off... This is the status:

* Fix blinker issue
Blinkers are FIXED =D
* Buy and install new battery
Old battery works like a charm for now, after a proper charge...
* Fix more rotten hoses
Again: Nothing done as of yet. This is fiddle work.  have, however, bought the replacement hoses =)

* Buy and mount top box break light
I have ordered this, and It is something I can do a lot of the work on indoors. I will probably do the mounting on the bike at the same time as I fix the back blinkers. That would we if I had gotten the damn things yet...

* Buy a loud-ass horn

The horn is mounted! This is a separate blog post =D

*Change oil
DONE! Quite easy!
* Change oil filter
DONE! Also quite easy

* Clean properly
Umm... Soon?

* Buy new helmet
Got a new helmet from Schuberth. It is a great helmet, and it deserves a post review of its own!
* Buy new trousers
My old trousers went in the seams.. And I got a nice replacement from Joffama! It will be covered in a post of its own this too...

More to come =D

87810km

I fixed the blinkers =D

It was quite easy, when it came down to it... Unfortunately this was a "spur of the moment" thing, so I actually FORGOT to take pictures, save for once.

Inside the housing for the back light and blinker wireing there was plenty of faulty connections. There were three cable leading to each of the two back bulbs, and on one of them one of these were mounted on all three wires:

These power thieves were mounted but the wires attached were cut but not insulated... I stripped the wires and attached proper cable shoes, and hoped that remedied the problem. Alas! it did not =(

After some more fault searching I realised that the problem most likely was grounding.

I found common ground (pun intended) for the wireing in the back, and went to work:

These two were the culprits.. Or rather: the ground they were connected to. the cables disappeared into the bowels of the bike, so I made a new ground connection, and voilá! I have working blinkers =D

87801km

Oil change time!

After the abyssmal look of the final drive oil I decided to prioritise the engine oil change..

I did that today, and it was about time...
No pictures, as I was busy being covered in oil, but this is a quick rundown:

The old oil was pitch black.. Not a shade of brown, just... black! I changed the oil and the oil filter, and the small gaskets around the housing and drain bolt.

There is a notable difference in running sound and gear change noise. The bike rides calmer and shifts with less of a clank and more of a thud.. I am pleased =)

And also: I fixed the blinker issue =D

Winter upd.. NO WAY! SPRING!!!

Today spring REALLY hit Norway!

18c and the most perfect driving conditions this spring.. A bit of gravel here and there, but nothing much!

My friend, Alex, helped me get my baby out from storrage today. First push on the button, a bit of coughing and she started beautifuly. Sweetest sound I've heard in months!

My new leather jacket was lovely to ride in. As was my new helmet... And I MUST say: What an amazing helmet! Light, quiet and with superb sound in the SRC-system.

There will be a post on the helmet later, it deserves it!

Why are you reading this? Go out and ride your motorbike!!!

SRC-Upgrade

Before first time use it is recomended to upgrade the SRC unit from Schuberth.

It is one file to download and run from the website, and it provides this interface on first time startup:

I will connect the SRC, and see what happens!














The unit auto-installs in Windows 7, and the programs starts up!

First impression: Impressive!

Apparently you can do more than just update the headset. Let us, however, try that first!

Luckily (?) I had the newest version, so not that much fun.. Let us see what else we can do! At least we can set radio frequencies...

These are the channels I have in my car.. I put them in, and we'll see if I'll change it later =)
















I also activated RDS and VOX audio enhancer, and I am VERY eager to test this in the future, but ALAS! winter has not yet let go =(

Winter update #6

Look what the cat dragged in:

Or cat is maybe an incorrect name.. My friend went to Germany, and picked up this little unit for me.

It is prehaps not a surprise that I have decided on a helmet from Schuberth, and I wanted this set. Why you may inquire? Several reasons: The helmet I wanted because I recently tried it on at the MC convention just outside Oslo, and with some help from a representative from Schuberth, I found the helmet to be damn near perfect. It is lightweight, it is yellow and it is small. AND: It comes with this fancy "in-helmet" audio-gear, with build in RDS radio, Bluetooth and bike to bike functionallity.

My autocom has very good sound quality, but it is VERY annoying to deal with the placement of the velcro-attached earpieces that dig into your head. Also, I think it pulls a bit of power even when it is powered off.

All in all I think this is the better solution...

I haven't got the actual helmet yet, but I will prepare the SRC system for my first ride, by upgrading the firmware...

Yes, all nine readers of this blog: The helmet has a firmware update function =)

Stay tuned!

Winter update #4

Remember my friend with the XJ900s diversion who went offroad in the Netherlands with his bike? He ended up with a CBR1000 F, but during the famous accident week his bike got totalled!

He finally got around to buying a new bike:

A V-strom 650, 2007 model. It has 12000km on the clock, and ABS. - I do envy him that!

Congratulations to him on a lovely looking bike. Too bad we can't ride it for another few weeks =(

Winter update #3

Do you guys remember my Preliminary winter Todo-List? If not, here it is:


* Fix blinker issue

• The blinkers aren't working properly. Most likely a grounding fault. Nothing done about this yet.

* Buy and install new battery

• Battery picked out, but still awaiting the buy. I am going for a gel battery

* Fix more rotten hoses

• Again: Nothing done as of yet. This is fiddle work, and I don't want to do that in the cold. I have, however, bought the replacement hoses =)

* Buy and mount top box break light

• I have ordered this, and It is something I can do a lot of the work on indoors. I will probably do the mounting on the bike at the same time as I fix the back blinkers.

* Buy a loud-ass horn

• I need this after being backed into. The horn I have now sounds like a small bird farting under a thick blanket, so I was in need of a replacement. Again: Roger to the rescue! I got a horn from his collection of BMW-spares!

Apparently it is loud. It looks like a siren, hopefully, looks aren't deceiving this time!

* Change oil

• Probably get someone to do this for me!

* Change oil filter

• Probably get this done for me too!

* Clean properly

• As soon as spring hits!

* Buy new helmet

• Going to germany. I hope I can buy a decent helmet there cheaper than in Norway!

* Buy new trousers

• Going to Germany for this as well!

New items: Changing the break hoses and break fluid up front. Had a look at it last week, and boy is it brown :p

Winter update #2

It is shopping time! =)

Remember the nice jacket I got from Roger earlier this winter? Yesterday we went shopping in Sweden, and the two MC gear shops in Nordby was to become one. What does that mean? SALE!

Roger bought a brand new HJC yellow opening helmet for about 1500,- NOK ($240). This was less than half price.
As I want a Schubert or Nolan helmet, I (almost) didn't fall victim to temptation. I did buy something:

Matching gloves for me and the wife. The cool part? They match the jacket!

I am quite pleased!

Can't wait for the season to start! Unfortunately, it will probably be a while still. Snow is plentyfull, and frost is an issue for at least 5-8 weeks more.

I am going to England the first week of march. Will be hard seeing all the bikes going about!

Keeping fingers crossed for an early spring! =)

Winter update #1

Yes, WINTER has hit Norway.

This morning I was met by a horrible sight

I put my bike away three weeks ago. She got a quick wash, and nothing more. She is stored in a dry and ventilated, albeit a bit cold, place. The room is big, and there is room for me to work on her there, but I think I will bring an oven and some more light...

Night frost hit us about three weeks ago, and there was a lot of rain. Driving was not really appealing, so I decided to put her in storrage.

Two days after, I got a lovely present from my mothers friend:

It is a Halvarssons Shadow Leather jacket, and it is quite nice. I haven't had the opportunity to test her yet, but it is a near perfect fit, and a present. He bought it for himself after his own jacket got torn this summer, but realized that it was too big after riding with it a couple of times.

Very lovely present, and completely unexpected =) - Thank you very much!



And what are my plans for the winter-season?
Well.. The season is long here in Norway.. I seldom get the bike out before April first. Damn snow!

However! I do plan to fiddle around a bit with my XJ!

Preliminary winter Todo-List:

* Fix blinker issue
* Buy and install new battery
* Fix more rotten hoses
* Buy and mount  top box break light
* Buy a loud-ass horn
* Change oil
* Change oil filter
* Clean properly
* Buy new helmet
* Buy new trousers

87750km

As I rode home from work the other day I realized something: 

I frigging love riding a motorbike!

I love the driving experience, the ability to ride in the buss lane, the lane splitting and the fact that traffic isn't really a problem. I love the fact that I don't have to take the subway or the bus.

I love driving in the baking sun, wearing all black. I love driving in the pouring rain, my visor clogging up with rain, my gear all wet. I love being cold, wet but happy.

I love driving in the rain, the sun, the sleet and the wind. I love taking my bike out in spring, I love tinkering with it all through winter, I love laying plans for the bike in the autumn, I love the mending, the cleaning and the maintenance..

I love riding alone, with my friends or with random strangers I meet along the road. I love the camaraderie, the feeling of riding as one of many, or by my self.

I love the curvy roads, the long stretches of open road and highway. I love the small, picturesque country roads and the four lane motorway.

I love stopping for petrol, I love cleaning the bike. I love removing flies from my visor and dirt from my face.

I love accelerating, breaking and pulling out from stop lights. I love how the road maintenance crews in Norway leave dirt and gravel in the road. I love potholes, car drivers who fail to see me and roadworks that block my path.

I love revving the engine as I go through tunnels. I love firing her up in the parking lot. I love the sound her engine makes and rattling of the bike.

I love the contact with the surroundings, the smells of nature and traffic and the feeling you get when you hit the perfect curve.

I love the sensation of riding.

I love the smell of gasoline in the morning.. It smells of freedom.

87707km

Okay, autumn is here for sure!

Leaves on the road, rain, rain, rain, rain and rain, 2,5c in the morning and even more leaves on the road.
Riding to work today was a mixed experience. While it was very cold, the sun was up on a very clear blue sky.

I think the driving season is comming to an end this year!

Driving as a granny pays off: 0,5L/10KM. Not to bad...

87401km

It is getting colder!

Autumn seems to be comming. I had to find both my jacket-lining and my trouser-lining the other day! Temperatures below 7c is cold in the morning. Especially when the heated grips I bought at Motorport seems to be malfunctioning:

At times it seems to be working just fine, but suddenly it drops the effect down to the 30% mark, at which point it doesn't seem to do much heating. I need to find out why it does this =(

It seems that the bike uses a lot of gas in the higher revs! I tested with a full tank of gas, and driving in av very non-economical way. I got about 0,8/10km.. Which is a lot... Just tanked her now, and I will see what milage I get while driving like a granny =)

87004km

Time to change sparkplugs!

I noticed that one of my sparkplugs weren't properly fitted , so instead of just tightening it, I took it out to have a look at it!

What a filthy little bugger!

So! Agian I went to MC-artikler to stock up on things, and came home with these:

The plugs are from the store (76,- NOK ($12), the little metal piece next to them is a small spark plug gap adjuster I got from my dad a couple of months back. I will finally have use for it =)

The plugs are an exact match to the ones I have already, but it is always good to check is the gap is correctly adjusted!
The almighty Haynes manual calls for a gap between 0.7 and 0.8, and all plugs were delivered to spec. A nice gesture from NGK, as I have used other brands before that I had to hammer into having the correct gap.

The book also claims that the Carbon Fouling on the plugs are sooty deposits leadning to misfire and weak sparks. Caused by an over-rich fuel/air miture, faulty choke (hope not!!!) or blocked air filter.
For those who remember back to my earliest entries, one of the first things I did was to replace an etremely clogged and dirty air filter. Let us hope all is well now!

Out with the old ones, and in with the new!

And what a HUGE difference!

The old ones look really dirty and worse for wear. I do not think fuel mixture has been ideal!  I really do hope that it has been rectified by replacing the air filter, but I think next season that the bike needs an adjustment of the carbs!

What a Motley Crew!

The bike starts easier with the new spark plugs, and it runs smoother. I did, however, discover some rotten hoses that need replacing rather quickly.

To-do:

• Change locks in Givi bags
• Fix indicators
• Fix rotten hoses

86820km

Time to tackle the rattle of the rack!

I got a tube of grease (26,90 NOK ($4,50)) from biltema and got to work!

MMMMM! Nothing like a little grease for the bolts!

I went over the rack, and thightened all the bolts, but the rattling persisted. After a little sound hunting, I found the reason!

The previous owner has mounted a 12v outlet in one of the side covers. I never payed it much attention while removing said covers, but it was loose, and barely hanging on. After a little bit of tightning, the sound was gone :)

Note the nice, purple colour too.

There is a crack in the side cove, so I bought some more stuff, this time at Clas Ohlson - Some fiberglass and lamination epoxy for 119,- NOK ($20)

I went over the bike and tightened up a lot of screws. Also figured out the problem with wobbling speedo gauge. Tighten, tighten and tighten the wire =)

All in all, a good session with the bike, it runs a lot smoother now, with less vibrations and not so many weird noises!

86704km

Bought heated grips from Motorport. I had some on my shadow, and I want the same on this bike.
The previous one was for custom bikes, this is a bit different!


I got the Oxford hotgrips for 595,- ($99). It was 695, but the nice guy gave me a better price.

The control unit is a bit strange. It has the option of 30%, 40%, 70% and 100% effect. My old one was analog in the controls. The control unit is for mounting on a flat surface or on the left hand side controls.
I tested them directly on to the battery before fitting, and they worked!

Time to mount! =)

Removing the old grips was easy! I used my trusty leatherman wave and cut them off. I cleaned off the surface underneat, and dry fitted both grips.

The cables were stripped onto existing cables, and the grips were super-glued on. They were a perfect fit, and are comfortable to hold.

The control unit is a bit harder. The mounting plate is designed for mounting on the left hand side controlers. I have no screws there..

Nowhere to mount =(

Now,what to do? I have no flat surface fit for the unit. The solution was careful mounting on the right hand side.

A tight fit!

There was just enough room and clearance to mount the unit. Only problem now, is operating the buttons with the left hand.

I also needed to mount the unit that dristibute and control power, and hook the grips up to power.

The unit fitted perfectly underneat the seat!

More superglue!

I didn't want the grips hooked up directly to the battery, because there are a lot of kids in the area, and they fiddle with my buttons! I don't want a drained battery if someone turn on my grips.

I needed ingnition power, and decided to hook into the lightsystem. It is both controled by a button, and by the ignition.

I tested, and they work perfectly! No more cold hands during rainy days and Norwegian "summer" =)

86677km

The indicators need fixing!

Whenever I try to use them, they only light up in the back and do nothing else. The old relay blinks a little when I smack it, but it is split and busted.


I assumed that it was a busted relay or similar. I bought a new relay at http://www.mcartikler.no/ for 39,- NOK ($6,5), but to no avail. It does nothing.

I needed a different one, and wemoto had in stock just what I needed! I thought.....

...I was wrong...

I called yamaha, and they told me that a new relay could be ordered for 902,- NOK ($150). Apparently there is a special relay for this bike =(

Luckily, I found someone on €bay willing to sell me a relay for 200,- NOK ($33). Now I must play the waiting game...

To-Do

• Change bulbs in instrument panel
• Change clutch wire
• Change fork seals and oil
• Install heated grips
• Change airfilter
• Order keys for givi boxes
• Fix indicators