I had a mishap on the K , I laid it down

Kari and I had an on the road riding lesson earlier in the day. I was on the K, she was on the Silverwing, the ride went with out a hitch. When we came home I parked the K and got on with the day.

At around 5:30 or 6, I decided I was going to go for a little jaunt on the K. One of the roads we rode on earlier was Brashears which leads down towards the water and turns into Washington at a hard right turn, which is where I went down.

I was doing a simple circle around the neighborhood. I went down Brashears and went into the turn, the next thing I knew the rear wheel went out to the left and I was picking myself up off the ground. There was an older couple out for a walk, the lady said, "Are you OK? What happened, you weren't going that fast." I wasn't going fast, it is for the most part a right angle, right turn.

The only thing I can think of is that, I down shifted which caused the wheel to slow, and I think there may have been some oil on the road causing the rear end skid.

I don't want to down play the incident, I got beat up. I know my head hit the ground, as always I was wearing a helmet, a half helmet. When I stood up, I think I was in shock. I wasn't sure where I was or what I was. A driver coming the other direction stopped and let me use his cell phone to call Kari. I hesitated dialing my home number, although, I don't call my number that much and often stutter on the number.

To give an idea of how slow I was going is to look at my clothes and injuries. I had a light short sleeve shirt on and light zip off khakis; both the shirt and pants had road dirt on them but neither had holes in them. I have a scrape on my elbow and ankle that a band aid covers easily. The real damage was to jar my back and the inside of my right hip.

I have pain along my right shoulder blade. The pain in my hip was caused by my keys and keychain. I think that when I went down I landed on my keys, but I think some of the keys or the remote for my car was cought in the crease of my hip and leg. It hurts like the devil.

When Kari brought the truck we picked up the bike with the help of the good samaritan. The bike wouldn't start, we pushed the bike over to Patrinni's and parked it in their lot.

We went down on Sunday to pick it up. I used the hot shot to start it and it started right up. I checked it over to see if there was any damage to the forks, wheels or brakes. Rather than trying to get the bike in the truck, I decided to ride it home with Kari following closely in the truck.

Damage to the bike, sure. The right mirror and rear turn signal came off. The right valve cover is nicely scratched and it looks like the right foot peg is bent. I'm not sure I understand the bike peg. Like most pegs it pivots. I haven't checked it too closely because I still have trouble bending and lifting.

The other consequence of laying down the bike is that it's delayed my motorcycle trip to Florida. I was do to leave on Sunday. There was no way with the pain I could sit on a bike for 8 hours a day for 5 days. Now I'm running into weather issues. Hurricane Karen is due to be across the south right as I would get there. I also feel a little gun shy. I've never dropped a bike before, I never want it to happen again.

I took the K out for a ride tonight

I'd actually wanted to go for a ride a couple of nights ago but the bike wouldn't start. I took a look at it and actually found that a hose had come loose from the fuel pump, again. This was again my fault, when I did all the work inside the tank it was very hard to work; I wasn't sure I had things right so I didn't tighten all the clamps. This will learn me!

After connecting the hose, the bike still wouldn't start. It seemed like it wasn't getting fuel, again. This evening I started taking the lower fuel return hose off to see if it had fuel in it. I was guessing that I had an air/vapor lock, no fuel in the rail or hose. The hose didn't want to come off easily. I decided that I wanted to look at some other things, easier things, first.

I removed the side panel and pulled the number two plug (Second from the front of the bike). It had some oil on it but it didn't smell of gas, I'd also thought I might have flooded the system. I pulled the first plug, the same thing, no gas. I got some starting fluid, thinking that if I got it to spark and fire it might pull fuel through the system, I squirted some fluid in the cylinder and put the plug back in.

While I was sitting there at eye level with the bikes guts, it occured to me that maybe the computer plug was loose again. It actually showed up in my brain like a cartoon lit light bulb. I'd had this situation once before, I thought the bike was out of gas. I put a finger on the computer plug, turned the key and hit the starter. The bike ran, I took my finger off the plug and the bike died. DAMN, I hate when stuff like this happens.

Kari had heard the bike and came out to congratulate me. She also heard it die and said oh. I told her the problem. I pushed the plug in real tight, got the bike started and got ready to ride. It was near sunset and I wanted to take the bike out to charge the battery. Although the battery is only a year old, it has been sitting and I think it's almost dead. I got about a half a mile down Arundel on the Bay rd and the bike died. I took the side panel off, pressed the plug in real hard, it just barely started again. I got another half a mile, it died again, I pushed the plug in but the bike wouldn't start. I was very near the parking lot for St. Anne's school, it had a slight down grade. I shifted the bike into fourth and got it to jump start. I got another block and it died. I had to call Kari to have her bring the "Hot Shot". While I waited, I pulled out my mini tool kit, I'd put some zip ties in it. I had to ream out a small drain hole in the under seat box, I was able to run a zip tie through that hole, around the cable for the plug and up through another hole. I actually had to use two ties but it seemed to work.

Kari brought the hot shot, just before she arrived a nice guy across the street came out and offered what ever help he could give. The hot shot from home worked. Kari asked if she should followme home, I said no, " I want to finish my ride ". Which I did.

I road all the way down to the bay and back up Rockaway, where the guy is selling an 84 R65 that's all beat up. The bike was still there under the blue tarp. I came out and headed down Bay Ridge, again all the way to the bay and then came home. The bike ran flawlessly.

I think I'm now ready to try some highway speeds to see how it runs and how I like it. On other rides I'd worn my half helmet which seems to grab a lot of wind. Tonight I wore my full face and my leather coat. It was much more comfortable. I don't know if the bike is going to be a great warm weather bike. For this cooler weather it's great.

The bike runs like a top. The thing seems to have an endless power band. It's really amazing. I don't think I've ever ridden another bike like it, not my old R100, not the Sabre, not Kurt's old Goldwing. A Goldwing has power, the power rolls on; the K has instant power.

Bar Backs for the K

I've been lamenting the fact that the K handlebars are set far foward for that hunched over riding experience. It's not a position I'm comfortable in. I'd researched bar backs for the K, I found three different sets, they ranged in price around $100. I don't have a hundred bucks right now.

However, I recently bought a 1976 Honda GL1000 Goldwing. It has a set of risers on it! I measured the centers and they look very close 32mm. With any luck I can transfer the risers from the GL to the K.

Prior to finding the risers on the wing I was contemplating making a set. I thought I'd cast them from JB Weld. I of course have some concerns. I know the stuff is tough, it's made to put on engines and rebuild threads. But, building an integral part that holds the bike on the road is another story.

The next bike in the stable an old 1984 R65

I went to look at an old R65 that has been sitting for 5+ years. She's pretty beat up, but looks like she could have some life left in her. I'm trying to work a partial trade for some computer equipment. Of course I need another bike like I need a hole in the head.... but she's an old R bike! I don't have any cash right now, I've put it all into the K and Little Wing I've been working on. No real big purchases. The brake bleeder, oil, screws, nuts and bolts all add up.

Damn, I've found myself in another hobby that soaks up lots O muny. And I don't know what makes me think I can get an old R bike running. I'd like to delve into the mysteries of carburetors but don't want to screw with the running bikes I own. With the Old R I can work on it and if I screw it up I really can't make it any worse than it is. Well, not much worse.

It's an old 1984 R65. That makes it four years newer than my old R100RT. It's blue, not as dark as my old blue, close to Pacific Blue, which is sail cover blue which I hate, it's bearable though. It has BMW side bags and the old black panier racks just like my old R. The interesting thing is that it has a fairing mount attached, sadly no fairing goes with it. From that age it could be for a Vetter or a Luftmeister. There may be some I don't know about. Fairings are fairly common on Craigs and ebay it's the mount that's hard to come by. Even if the fairing I bought was wrong I think I could probably cobble a fit.

Things I found:

1. I actually got the bike to go into first gear. It was tough but I was then able to get it into other gears and heard valves opening and closing, or the suction caused by them. With my modest knowledge I would say that the engine isn't seized.
2. The gas cap had an issue and someone put a blob of epoxy up under it, I suppose to hold it together.
3. The gas tank, well it might have been rusty, or someone painted the inside rust red. 
4. There was a hole that was welded up on the lower right side of the tank. A good indication of rust in the tank. 
5. There must have been some damage to the speedo, there was another blob of epoxy on it, sealing a hole I guess.
6. The petcock was missing. 
7. The headlight is missing.
8. The right panier mounting latch fell apart when I took the bag off
9. The title work is being done

Things I didn't find out:

1. If keys were available
2. What, if any the oil looked like. After 5+ years what would you expect
3. If there were any electrics at all.

I think it's safe to say that the Pheonix K has risen!

I took the bike out today for it's first run more than a mile from home. As we used to say when sailboat racing "She goes like a RAPED APE", how ever that goes! Of course I still didn't go over 40. Perhaps I'm a little mislead, I haven't been on a bike without a fairing or windshield in a long time. The wind noise was significant in my shorty helmet. I think I'm going to try and fashion a stick on higher windshield similar to some of the aftemarket styles I've seen.

A little ride to get gas, air in the tires, and some nuts and bolts

I went out for a little ride this morning. About a half mile out things went dead? I pulled over, tried to start. I had ignition light but no go. I thought computer or sensor, mostly computer. I pushed the connector in and she started. I went two blocks, hit a little bump, it died. I pushed the connector back in and she started. I took it slow to the gas station, filled the tires with air and put 2 gallons of gas in. I had about a gallon in the tank, the extra 2 turned the 7 liter dum dum light off, so that seems to work. I fiddled with the connector and thought I might have to borrow a rubber band to hold the connector. That's when I noticed the flat sheet metal spring clip. I saw the little nub on the connector and pushed that sucker in as far as I could. I gave it a little pull and it didn't come out. You have to remember, this is really the first time I've ridden the bike. I never bothered making sure it was tight because the bike was never moving. I went up to the hardware store, using the back roads, about a mile. No problems there, no problems back.

I got some new screws that fit the coils so I could put the cover back on and I found that I was missing a couple of cap screws holding my seat.

Boring stuff, but helpful for me.

Some Little Jobs to make the bike rideable... side panels on, gasket for fuel fill and mount, coil cover, not yet

Last night I washed the coil cover and tried to mount it. It was a tight fit and the screws just didn't seem to be biting. I took the cover off and tried the screws, they were too small. The coils were perchased on ebay from an 88. Apparently there was a different screw size. I need four new screws.

I washed the side panels and put them on.

I polished the screws for the filler cap assembly. I'd bought some fiber gasket material from the hardware store. I cut a new gasket based on the OD and ID of the filler cap. Other than cutting the first one through there were no problems.