2017 Colorado/Western Rally

[skids]

Well, you did say "continuous". Mount Evans road is much higher, but is is a dead-end. It is somewhat difficult to keep an XS11 going up there! Did my link to the pictures work out? I works for me because I am the author...

[DeanR]

Did my link to the pictures work out? I works for me because I am the author...

Worked for me. I'm enjoying everyone's pictures. Especially those with names because I would have really liked to have been there to meet everyone in person. I do know Jerry, Brant, Jeff and DuWayne though!
Oh, and to enjoy that nonstop Colorado scenery.

[skids]

Worked for me. I'm enjoying everyone's pictures. Especially those with names because I would have really liked to have been there to meet everyone in person. I do know Jerry, Brant, Jeff and DuWayne though!
Oh, and to enjoy that nonstop Colorado scenery.

The names of people are included as the file names (it wasn't obvious).

[DeanR]

The names of people are included as the file names (it wasn't obvious).

Yea it was Skids. That's how I put some names to faces. Thanks

[3Phase]

Busy work

Follow-up to the aftermath of the rally:

When I pulled the oil pan I found a lone camshaft bearing cap nut in the oil pan but all of the nuts and washers are in place on their caps and correctly torqued. I have no idea where it came from. I checked and none of my other engines are missing any camshaft nuts so it must have been a present beamed down from the Mother Ship to mess with my mind.

It worked!

I also found the reason for the lousy gas mileage. The OEM vacuum hose for the octy was split around its circumference right at the valve barb and it broke off when I was rechecking the valve clearances. The valves are reseating themselves nicely and I only had to change the #3 exhaust valve shim.

I'd noticed the engine seemed to start chugging sometimes and run like an '850, the fuel valve was working just enough to let some fuel get to the carbs but the engine was down on power and running on three cylinders. It needed too much throttle for the three good cylinders to do most of the work and with the vacuum leak making #2 run super lean, I'm surprised it didn't hole the piston while we were riding through the desert.

I had to take my brand new Tourmaster soft bags back to Yamaha yesterday for warranty replacement. When I unpacked I noticed that the stitching was tearing right out of the bags where the seat cross straps are sewn on and there was a hole where one of the seams was beginning to split open. The only thing in the bags was a couple of pairs of jeans and a spare quart of oil in one side and a dry bag with t-shirts and socks in the other side so there's no way they were overloaded. To say that I'm not happy is an understatement.

I bruised my left heel on the way to the rally and it hurt like crazy to ride. While I was dropping off the bags at the dealer I picked up a set of Kuryakyn offset foot pegs. They're for 1 /14" bars so I had to grab the ones from my '79 Special and they fit nicely.

[skids]

*

Anytime your bike seems to start to run poorly, switch over to the prime setting to bypass the automatic function for fuel supply (if you can on the specials). My standards sometimes give me troubles at 60 mph with the left petcock - all three of them!!!

Nice pegs!

[3Phase]

Anytime your bike seems to start to run poorly, switch over to the prime setting to bypass the automatic function for fuel supply (if you can on the specials). My standards sometimes give me troubles at 60 mph with the left petcock - all three of them!!!

Nice pegs!

Thanks! I wish I'd had the pegs for the trip. My heel's messed up from the walking and riding instead of keeping off of it, now I walk like a pirate: (thump) Arrr! (thump) Arrrrrr! It should get better now that I can stay off of it for a while.

I tried switching to Prime and ran out of gas. I bought some of that spendy fule hose that kinks even when you're not looking at it cross-eyed. Replacing the lines with something that doesn't kink is on the Busy Work list but since they do work if I actually run out of gas and manually unkink the lines to let the carbs fill up it's been on the back burner.

[skids]

Of no real comparison, but the Highlader got us 23-24mpg.

Not bad for an SUV.

[JeffH]

Arrr! indeed there matey Scott.
ya need ta be wearin' an eye patch till that foot heals. Arrr!

Was going to sort out a few rally pics to post but Beltrami Electric Cooperative here in Blackduck MN had other plans. Seems they have same reliability as Lucas.

no power = no dinner except for 3 restaurant packs of stale saltines and beat up avocado I bought in CO.

Jeff

[3Phase]

Avocados and crackers... (shudders) eeeww. I hope breakfast isn't dark!

[3Phase]

I see the light! I see the light! I see the light!

Someone left their USB cables on the charging table at the group campsite in Kremmling.

I think these are the cables, USB A to Micro B, but I had a nest of the darn things in my bag so sing out if you remember forgetting about a couple of cables.

[JeffH]

Saturday Rally Ride


Starting off on the Saturday Ride towards Hayden



Duwayne on the RT



Bonz, CZ & Duwayne pulling some G's on the way to Yampa / Toponas



Jeff

[Bigfoot]

Almost made it home today. Just under 500 miles yesterday, I spent a little extra time with my family and left around noon. Rever app showed that my average speed including stops was 73mph. Not bad with 80mph speed zones and tons of construction slowdowns. It also lies and says it did 137 at some point. Surely that can't be true. . Averaged 47 mpg for the day.
840 miles today from little America Wyoming to some Podunk town on I29 in Iowa. Only had 2 hours to go to make it home and was feeling good. My wife called to tell me there was some decent thunderstorms hitting Kansas City. Didn't feel like riding into a severe storm at night so went ahead and got a room. Short ride in the morning will get me home. Had a headwind most of the day. Mileage was down to around 43.

[Bigfoot]

Made it home no problems this morning. Great rally once again Howard. Was awesome seeing all of you guys and meeting some new ones.

As far as that battery goes, We tried using the smaller Lithium Ion battery but when we hooked it up, it was dead as a door nail. Wouldn't even light up the gauges. I got the impression it was the only one they had of that size. And since I had 15 guys sitting in the sun waiting on me, we crammed the bigger one in there and went with it. Its been working flawlessly (as expected) since, just have to figure out how to make the battery cover fit around it.

[Bonz]

My bad, I had forgotten the smaller one wasn't working!