theWolfTamer Chronicles: Update: Nothing much going on

Today I bled my front brakes and realized it's been too long since I've come back here and posted anything. I have been working for the last two and a half years and have not had nearly enough time to ride. I remember when I got the part time job I thought it would mean I'd be riding more...uh no.

I started working so I could get my truck fixt and ended up financing a whole other truck and scrapping the other. Now that truck is in the shop waiting on me to come up with the funds to bring him home. I spent the first quarter of the year basically commuting on the bike.

At the beginning of the year I moved from the low priced place that I was living in to a bigger not so low priced place. The biggest advantage is Baby is back in a garage!

I know that garage is bigger than any tiny house I've been talking about but my big dawg and new city dictated the bigger space for now.

A couple of months after I moved here, I got into a little low-side on the way home from work. Poor Baby has a messed up front fairing and was looking a little rough on the left side where he slid down. I had a banged up knee but was fine. I set a goal to get most of the little things replaced before the Spring FZ1OA Rally.

I scheduled the time off so that I could go somewhere before then end the week of vacation at the Rally with an extra day to rest at home. The struggle was real! I managed to get most of the little things fixt but the fairing was gonna be strategically taped until I could scrape up the funds to get a new one.

The first thing I replaced was the mirrors because I had bought some a couple of years ago when I noticed that being outside had made the anodizing on mine fade. Next it was the turn signals. I'm still not happy with what I got but for now they're there, thanks to Amazon Prime and nearly next day delivery. They're supposed to be sequential but mine are only half sequential. Annoying!

The new mirror is marginally smaller than the old one. Maybe even a little less stylish but they work ok. I had to get screws because they didn't come with the ones they should have when I got them and I didn't notice it until way too late to do anything about it. Probably why it took 2 years to actually put them on.

The cool thing about the new mirror is they have way more adjust-ability. I have them just right now so very little arms and shoulders in the rear view.

The turn signals needed replacing even before the crash. Again being in the weather all the time (even under a cover) affected a lot of little things. In the signals case it was the covers that frosted a little too much. I couldn't find the same signals so I got some sequential ones of a little different design. I don't know that I like them even if they were properly sequential. I can't even be sure you can see them!

For me there can be an upside to crashing: I finally do things I'd been contemplating but just didn't see a need or reason for before. In this case it's new pegs for the DanMoto Rearsets. When I got them, I wished the pegs were a little longer. I eventually got used to them but after rashing up one side I finally took the plunge and ordered some I thought would be longer.

I had to use the bolts from the DanMoto sets rather than the ones the pegs shipped with but they fit like they were made for them.

I will probably get the matching toe peg thingies too at some point. They have some with rubber like the oem ones that I'm considering.

I also got new frame sliders but generic ones not T-Rex like I had because T-Rex is no longer a value option.

I timed the arrival of all this stuff perfectly. It arrived in time to be installed and ready for the Rally. Unfortunately I wasn't. I ended up having a stay-cation. Whoever came up with that really needs to be taken behind the shed and dealt with. Too broke to leave home should be called exactly what it is. Why too broke?

Because Curtis wasn't exactly fixed. He needed a new clutch slave cylinder. The guy who "fixed" it screwed up something else so my vacation money turned into truck repair money as soon as I found someone who could fix what ever that guy screwed up and make sure the fix he fixt was truly fixt.

So instead of go to the rally, I stayed home and got some much needed rest and a cat. Yup, you read the right. I got a cat.

I also did something to Baby that has needed doing for the last couple of years. I replaced the aux lights. One of them quit working and I just never took the time to figure out why. I thought it was wiring related. I figured I'd get the fairing off, find some wire disconnected and I'd have both lights again. Nope. When I changed the turn signals I noticed there was nothing wrong with the wiring. The damned light just didn't wanna work. So I got some new ones with a handle bar switch because when I eventually replace the fairings and inner panels I ain't gonna want to cut them again.

It's a good thing I made this blog because it's been so long since I put those lights one when it came time to replace them I couldn't remember what the heck I'd done. Mostly because I took all the wires off trying to fix a broken light when I discovered it was a broken light. I really wanted my lights back because I'm convinced if I'd had them when I had the wreck that woman would not have pulled out in front of me.

These lights are much bigger and brighter than the Angel Eye lights they replaced. They're still under 10w but new tech means brighter while still energy saving. They were really cheap too. When I got them, I got the same style of turn signals just to see if they'd be better fully sequential. They are but I still don't love them.

So with the Fall Rally a month away, I'm anxious to go. I've scheduled the time off and am hoping I can make it. Baby's basically ready, he may need new tires before or directly after. We'll see. The plan is to try to be there but I have a sinking feeling I might be stuck at home again.

Thanks for reading,
patrice, theWolfTamer