FZ1 Maintenence: Unassisted Tire Change

2 June 2022

When I got home from the last tire change with Cruzman I was determined to be able to change my own tires without imposing on him.  I don't think it's a real imposition but it feels like it.  That and we ended up using his truck to break the bead and on the ground with tire spoons again.  theWolf does not like being on the ground!

DIY Heated Gear: The Jacket version 4?

2 Jun 2022

I'll admit I'm a little obsessed.  I'm pretty sure by now I could have just purchased a commercial product and been done with it.  I think a few years ago, I attempted to do it but the one I could afford was never in stock when I had the money to get it.  This is jacket version 4.

FZ1 Mods: New Lights...again.

23 August 21: Better Lights?

You'd think I'd learn. Maybe I should just spend a little more on better lights. For the past few years I've only had one working aux light. I replaced the angel lights a couple of years ago but sometime last year, one of those lights went out on me too. This time, I spent a little more and upped the wattage a little to get two lights once again.

FZ1 Mod: New Handlebars, Again.

14 August 2020

I finally installed the new handlebars I got last year during the annual 11.11 sale they they have on Aliexpress.com.  It took so long because in my excitement of finding a reasonably priced bar, I forgot all about making sure it had threaded ends.  Oops!

Maintenance: Tire Change Time Again!

23 July 2020 In the time of a pandemic...

I was excited to learn we were going to have our rally, pandemic or not.  This time I didn't need to do much to the bike to be ready, just change the tires.  I had them in plenty of time for the rally but I didn't know where to go to put them on.  Cruzman said we could do it at his house so that's where I went.

Rear Rack, Plan C

A couple of years ago, a tree limb fell the house I was renting.  Landlords sent people to remove it and, I assume, make sure there was no real damage to their house.  When I got home, I noticed that Baby didn't look right.  Turns out they dropped the limb on my bike!

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.

Meet Curtis, Baby's new TV

Back in late January when we had a cold snap, I killed my 1998 Ford Explorer Sport with the difficult to find 5sp manual transmission.

I Killed It...Baby needs a new TV

Stay tuned...Daddy helped a sister out.

Trip Report: FZ1OA Spring Rally Day 3 and 4

17 Jun 2017:  Free Play Day
After a night spent in the dining room then on the porch, no one mentioned a plan for another group ride.  The best idea seemed to be hang out on the porch, ride the loop known as the Cooler Run, hang out on the porch, repeat as necessary.  For me, I had another plan.

Trip Report: FZ1OA Spring Rally, Day 2

16 Jun 2017:  Group Ride
If there's anything that I truly appreciate about our rallys is that there is a general unplanned feeling about everything.  I'm not certain that I've always appreciated this but I do now.  I can admit to being an insider but I try to be inclusive of every new face I see, especially the ones that say they're here for the first time. As long as I've been going, there have never been planned rides.  They usually develop around the fire the night before.

Trip Report: FZ1OA Gen 1 FZ1 Spring Rally

15 June 17:  Departure Day.

Or the longest night.  I went to Wal-Mart around midnight to get a new camping mattress and 12v pump.  My local store didn't have the pump but they had a neat chair.  I was all packed by 1:30 a.m. but still could not sleep.  I couldn't load the bike either because Baby needed a bath badly and I was told not to show up at the rally with a filthy motorcycle.

Ride Report: Back on the Road

27 May 17: Memorial Weekend Ride

I returned from my last ride needing tires and a chain.  My new place has no garage and leaving the bike at my Dad's was a little too far.  Chain and sprockets first.  I wanted to replace both because the chain was so bad I was concerned the sprockets were damaged too.

Just a teaser...

It's FZ1OA Rally Time!

Details to come.

Maintenance: Fork Service done right.

I don't know why I didn't post this sooner.  You can bring me to task the next time you see me.  The fork service Cruzman and I did leaked as soon as I got home.  He changed his a couple of more times and still they leaked.  I chose to get professional help of sorts.

FZ1 Mod: Finally Fabbri.

I got it in January from a forum member.  I've been saying for years I would order one but have always been satisfied with the ones I had.  When I saw this in the for sale section of the forum, I just couldn't pass it up.

FZ1 Mod: Hard Luggage Follow-up

Last year, I added hard luggage that I called Chivi since they're a knock off of the popular Givi brand at a fraction of the costs.  Since I added them, I always wanted to be able to remove the bags similar to the way the quick disconnect works on some other brand of luggage racks.

New Toolz!

Since I allowed my "nephews" to move in I've had issues with my tools.  Many have just up and disappeared.  Others are broken or no longer work as they are designed too.  My frustration is complete but I have just mostly remedied the problem.  My new toolz.

Of course this doesn't replace some of my special fz1 tools that they've destoyed.  Now, I keep my tools under my pillow to prevent unauthorized usage!

Thanks for reading,
patrice, theWolfTamer

FZ1 Mod: Hard Luggage

My budget solution:  Chivi.

Every since last year's rally I've been obsessed with replacing my soft saddlebags with hard luggage.  When I bought the saddlebags, I researched hard luggage and realized I didn't want to invest close to $1,000 on something that I believed my softbags would do just fine.

Maintenance: Fork Service

10 April 2016:  Fork Service Weekend.

I’d delayed, postponed it for as long as I could but the time had come when no more delay were possible. Delaying it not because I didn’t want to do it. There were some lupus reasons and other life reasons that caused them but I finally got myself moving.