2018 Colorado Rally, July 12-16

[Bigfoot]

That reminds me, who else is riding long-distance for this rally besides Jeff?

I will be riding from Kansas City to my parents just north of Boise first, then back south east to Colorado. Probably about 2400 miles before I reach the KOA.

[Bonz]

Those Shinko Raven 009 tires on the FJR will be just getting the mold release compound worn off of them by then.

I’ve put almost 1000 miles on the ZRX in the past couple weeks doing evening rides and sometimes a morning and evening ride on days that permit. So much looking forward to riding with you guys though. I miss having 10 to 15 bikes in my rearview chasing me down the road. Especially on those days we have been fortunate enough to have wide open spaces and wide open throttles for a while...

[3Phase]

I will be riding from Kansas City to my parents just north of Boise first, then back south east to Colorado. Probably about 2400 miles before I reach the KOA.

Right on! That's a good ride! Is your new battery still holding up and your FJR comfortable over that kind of distance? That was going to be my new bike but sales, the mechanics, and the HMFIC at the local dealership worked very hard over the years to lose my business when I went shopping.


Bonz, you got that right. Don't forget the clutch basket R&R the first morning to try and fix the clunk during shifting and... and... and.. and a few other projects like a cigarette lighter!

This year: Toothbrush.


I have to thank you for letting us know about the fire warning. No s'mores this year, check, but I did go shopping this afternoon and dove head first into vape world instead of ordering a roof and window kit for the bike so I can have a smoke inside the vehicle.

Vanilla. Very, very, strong but good stuff.

[Bonz]

The 12mg vape juice is plenty good/strong. Is 115w max (showing on the unit) or can it go higher? Are the ohms adjustable or is it .115 as the unit shows? Looks to be adjustable from what I can tell?

High wattage/lower ohms = more good stuff in each pull.

Both my adult son’s vape and something to be aware of is the more watts you dial up and the lower the ohms, the more heat is produced in the atomizer. Be sure your reservoir doesn’t run dry or the atomizer can burn up pretty quick at those levels.

You will be cruising in style on the Milwaukee 8 with your 117 cube V twin! Gawd that is a lot of displacement... almost 2 liters. Reading up on your bike and engine kit, looks like you are putting down (to the rear wheel!) a little over 120 horses max, over 100 ft/lbs from 3000 rpm until the rev limiter kicks in, peaking at just over 110 ft/lbs. I am not going to try and touch that in any kind of shorter distance drag or roll-on...

Vape pen holder should fit nicely next to your water bottle.

[3Phase]

The gas mileage, HP, and torque numbers for the M8 are good but like the XS and XJ, I don't run it up that high except for getting on the freeway, passing, or just because.

I took the XJ out when I reset the floats the other day and had a blast riding it too, it just goes where I point it and it's a lot better in corners and in the twisties. There's no chance I'm getting rid of my Yamahas even if their frames are old, creaky, cracked, and patched, they're too much fun to ride!

Smok's vape 'mod' (battery pack/power supply) goes up to 225W but that's crazy. I was informed that it burns a little bit of the cotton that holds the oil next to the heating elements in the vaporizer every time I fire it and the assembly has to be replaced at, I think, $6 or $7 a pop. Like my cell phone, the lithium batteries in this one are removable and I bought spares so I'm not tied to a wall wart or USB charger every single day. The Harley does have a factory USB charging port at the frame head and it's turned out to be more useful than I thought when I bought the bike.

[Bonz]

As long as you keep the fluid reservoir full, the atomizer (fancy name for a wick of cotton that heats the juice to vapor) stays wet with juice and you’ll get the most life you can relative to the wattage you are running.

Try to squeak in a ride after church today with threatening clouds. Started to head into the foothills at the halfway point of the ride as the raindrops fell so I turned around to ride away (Run away, Run Away!!, Monty Pythons “Holy Grail”), got wet just the last five minutes coming back to the house. Got about 65miles in total though. Was wiping the bike down in the garage, five minutes after I got home the hail came really heavy.

Which is a reminder from Chief Cat Herder to all guys to be prepared for the elements.

[motoman]

That reminds me, who else is riding long-distance for this rally besides Jeff?

I would guess you, Mike, Steve, Roo and Greg......

[BA80]

How's that flux capacitor working?

[Bonz]

BA80, LO F’n L, I take that as a reference to Doc Brown and his bathroom incident, to remind someone of the fact you are riding from Oklahoma and also Harry is riding to Utah before he comes back through Colorado for the rally? . Heck, Harry’s buddy is riding his FJR out from Kansas City as well to meet Harry in Walden to make the trek down to Buena Vista.

Bohn Frazier is trailering his BMW GS out as well from KC area.

A buddy of XJOK2PLAY who was coming with Bob before his daughter’s wedding was announced, may still come, waiting to hear on that.

[rdmcguy]

Kerker exhaust, Rain, Hail and El Toro

Howdy ,
At a previous rally I attended here in Colorado I lost part of my exhaust system along the way, I was lucky enough to find it and after making an incorrect "right" turn i rejoined the crew for the rest of the rally, I bought a new baffle and put it in, Today it blew out onto I-70 never to be seen again, luckily I had saved the old one so it's kinda loud again, (sorry CZ)Like Bonz I thought it would be a good day for a ride, I was going to go West into the Mts. but the sky.. was black and ominous looking, So I went out East Well the storm circled around and I got caught in the rain AND the hail, lucky me !I decided to bring El Toro for this years rally but of course the carbs were all gummed up, Aftyer cleaning them an ol;d problem resurfaced...The starter button won't work,so I decided to cross the lugs on the solenoid to get it to start, It did but when I removed "jumper" it dies...So I took a solenoid and right handlebar switch KNOWN to be good and tried that, The same condition exists. Also cleaned all of the electrical connections including grounds and ignition switch, I have blade type fuses and can't think of what else to check..???any input would be appreciated.....Thanks in advance...

[Bonz]

First thing is to be sure the starter button switch pod has clean contact with the handlebars, it is grounded that way. I put a black bar on the standard I fixed up a number of years ago, and it wouldn’t start. Once I remembered from reading the wisdom of others about the switch pod grounding to the bar, I exposed some metal on the bar where the pod mounted and internal combustion took place again when I pushed the button.

As far as losing the baffle, holy smoke Joe you run that thing so hard it jumped out for mercy...

Heading up to the in-laws for a bit, catch you guys later.

[BA80]

It has to be in the "ignition" circuit Joe. The solenoid bypasses the ballast resistor. Check the connections there and your ignition fuse connections.

It REALLY sounds like the kill switch though.

[BA80]

BA80, LO F’n L, I take that as a reference to Doc Brown and his bathroom incident, to remind someone of the fact you are riding from Oklahoma and also Harry is riding to Utah before he comes back through Colorado for the rally? . Heck, Harry’s buddy is riding his FJR out from Kansas City as well to meet Harry in Walden to make the trek down to Buena Vista.

Bohn Frazier is trailering his BMW GS out as well from KC area.

A buddy of XJOK2PLAY who was coming with Bob before his daughter’s wedding was announced, may still come, waiting to hear on that.

Only issue would be that that XJ would have to get up to 88 MPH for stuff to work. The speedometer only goes to 85 so that's impossible.

[Bonz]

Looking forward to seeing you again and tip a few back around a propane flame at the campground...

Rained hard along the Front Range today don't know what the weather was like in the middle of the mountains around Buena Vista.

Going to take a week of consistent precipitation every day to make a dent in a fire ban. Especially with the height of tourist season and Fourth of July coming up, probably will leave everything in effect until the fall.

[skids]

Rained hard along the Front Range today don't know what the weather was like in the middle of the mountains around Buena Vista.

Florissant is on the way Bonz and we didn’t get a damn drop of rain. I even took the Honda out TRYING to get it to rain, but nothing.