30-day Countdown to Road Trip

[RXX]

On 8/14/2026 at 10:36 AM, Zero Knievel said:

 

Had to be Joe.  I replaced the thermostat and changed over to the water-free stuff, but I didn't touch the pump.

 

Huh. The faded sticker on the pkg says I bought it from Ron Ayer’s back in 2012. Anyway, got the water pump all cleaned and reinstalled and I think I have gotten all the coolant I can back into it with no leaking. Gonna start dressing her today.

I have 2 R/Rs I am going to test today to make sure they work as a spare and then see which one connects to the existing harness.

You saw that expanded aluminum in one of the pictures - I am going to fabricate a high-class heat shield for my exhaust to keep from melting my new boots. 

I need to see what the mileage is on my rear. I’m going to putting around 5K on it. 
I am hoping to ride it Sunday to see what is still rattling.

Got to remove all traces of my detector setup. I am not taking it and it looks like Dudley Do-Right will damn near strip search me if they think I am holding one.

What am I forgetting? I will be leaving next Friday or Saturday.

 

 

[Zero Knievel]

2 hours ago, RXX said:

I have 2 R/Rs I am going to test today to make sure they work as a spare and then see which one connects to the existing harness.

 

You'd need tools.  The harness connection to the stator is direct wire.

 

2 hours ago, RXX said:

I need to see what the mileage is on my rear. I’m going to putting around 5K on it.

 

Your rear has so much mileage it's cracked and spreading wider.  

[CALCXX]

On 8/20/2026 at 7:19 AM, Zero Knievel said:

Your rear has so much mileage it's cracked and spreading wider.  

 

On 8/20/2026 at 4:20 AM, RXX said:

 Dudley Do-Right will damn near strip search me if they think I am holding one.

 

Wide enough to hide a radar detector?  Eat beans. They will stop looking.

 

Couple more days. Safe trip Phillip. No tickets. 

Take your Passport or they won't let you back in.

Edited August 26 by CALCXX

[RXX]

Thanks, Cal.

I am taking it off the rack tomorrow to road test it.

Not leaking anymore (10 cycles of running to fan on then cool down)

All the maintenance items I can think of are done. 
Getting SS zip ties and fastener today to affix an expanded aluminum shroud around the exhaust pipe that was melting my heels.

FOUND MY WIDDER HEAT CONTROLLER! So I have a heated vest for those cool mornings. 
Could not find my tire plug kit or compressor, prolly in a car trunk, so I ordered a new pump (like Carlos’) and a generic plug kit.
Sorting out a tool kit. 
Edited - replaced the fuse on my vibe-rider. Last year it blew so I wrapped it in tin foil to finish the ride. Better safe than sorry!

Edited August 26 by RXX

[blackhawkxx]

On 8/12/2026 at 10:04 AM, RXX said:

Got as far as filling with anti freeze and let it run up to temp a few times only to find a weeping water pump gasket. Not from the weep hole. Ordered new gaskets. This will set me back a few days. I hate having to drain a gallon of brand-new no boil but it is what it is.

I have not done a R/R on one of these before. Looks fairly straightforward by the shop manual. Any tricks or pitfalls?

BTW, Mike……. The plugs I replaced were NGK. Not the exact model.

You inspired me and decided to change the antifreeze, it has been a while.  I drained it, put the bolt back in and quit for the day. The next day there was a small puddle below the drain bolt so I ended up getting a kit of different size copper washers and a new one fixed it. Of course a day or two later I was looking through my bike parts for something and there was a new one.  Went ahead and changed the oil also.  Fitting all the plastic back together right is annoying. 

[RXX]

Cal, you asked somewhere about an update on the drop of coolant (?) that scrubbed me taking the bird to Canada.

I have commuted to and from work the last week and burned through a tank of gas and no drips.

Damn, I could have taken it. I would have been much more comfortable than being on the Triumph, but you never know, almost 30 year old bike, 5000+ mile trip. Either way it was an adventure.

NeXXt year. Sigh.

[Zero Knievel]

1 hour ago, RXX said:

Cal, you asked somewhere about an update on the drop of coolant (?) that scrubbed me taking the bird to Canada.

I have commuted to and from work the last week and burned through a tank of gas and no drips.

Damn, I could have taken it. I would have been much more comfortable than being on the Triumph, but you never know, almost 30 year old bike, 5000+ mile trip. Either way it was an adventure.

NeXXt year. Sigh.

 

I could have told you that breakdowns during the trip are part of the adventure. 🤣

 

My first cross-country trip...the radiator sprung a leak (likely because the thermostat wasn't working properly).  Had the stator burn out on a trip to Arkansas.  Had the lights and instruments (sans tach) go out on a trip to South Dakota...only to come back on their own with no indication of why it happened.

 

Fun...all of it...in hindsight. 

[tomek]

2 hours ago, RXX said:

Cal, you asked somewhere about an update on the drop of coolant (?) that scrubbed me taking the bird to Canada.

I have commuted to and from work the last week and burned through a tank of gas and no drips.

Damn, I could have taken it. I would have been much more comfortable than being on the Triumph, but you never know, almost 30 year old bike, 5000+ mile trip. Either way it was an adventure.

NeXXt year. Sigh.

 Drop of coolant and you take naked bike instead of XX on advise from your wife who, I'm pretty sure, has spent her entire life wrenching on motorcycles. 

 Also, heading to New England and NE Canadastan where cooling system is put to stress in September. lol.

 

Next time ask me what to do. 😁

Edited October 8 by tomek

[SwampNut]

1 hour ago, Zero Knievel said:

 

I could have told you that breakdowns during the trip are part of the adventure. 🤣

 

My first cross-country trip...the radiator sprung a leak (likely because the thermostat wasn't working properly).  Had the stator burn out on a trip to Arkansas.  Had the lights and instruments (sans tach) go out on a trip to South Dakota...only to come back on their own with no indication of why it happened.

 

Fun...all of it...in hindsight. 

 

If I didn't have a battery failure in the Rivian that led to a 100 mile tow (on them), I would never have met an interesting ex-crackhead tow truck driver, discovered a Mexican hotel, and an all-black cigar lounge where I finally got the 90-year old Willy to try a cigar.  "The fucking white boy did what we couldn't for years?"

 

[tomek]

12 minutes ago, SwampNut said:

 

If I didn't have a battery failure in the Rivian that led to a 100 mile tow (on them), I would never have met an interesting ex-crackhead tow truck driver, discovered a Mexican hotel, and an all-black cigar lounge where I finally got the 90-year old Willy to try a cigar.  "The fucking white boy did what we couldn't for years?"

 

fake story. Everyone knows EVs never, unlike ICE,break down. 

[Zero Knievel]

11 minutes ago, tomek said:

fake story. Everyone knows EVs never, unlike ICE,break down. 

 

Yeah...next thing you know you'll be telling me EV owners are heterosexual.  

[SwampNut]

No, not all of us make up fake claims, LOL.

 

Ah, 12v AGM batteries...still the Achille's heel of all cars.  So retarded.  I'm on my fourth set and they are no longer in warranty.  When they go, I will replace with with sodium-ion.

 

[tomek]

 4th 12 v battery in, what, a year or so. Those things last 4-8 years on ICE vehicles. 

 Stupid me though those EVs are so reliable but it appears you better travel with charged 12v battery or tow truck operated by crackhead. 

Edited October 8 by tomek

[RXX]

9 hours ago, Zero Knievel said:

 

I could have told you that breakdowns during the trip are part of the adventure. 🤣

 

My first cross-country trip...the radiator sprung a leak (likely because the thermostat wasn't working properly).  Had the stator burn out on a trip to Arkansas.  Had the lights and instruments (sans tach) go out on a trip to South Dakota...only to come back on their own with no indication of why it happened.

 

Fun...all of it...in hindsight. 

On completely different trips, and all more than 1,000 miles from home:

*dead chain

*dead battery 

*dead front tire

*dead rear tire

*dead mirror

*witnessing an airborne beemer resulting in broken rims. Oh, and I used to ride AMF Harleys. ‘Nuff said.

 

So no, I already knew about breakdowns and adventure.

[RXX]

On 7/29/2026 at 10:08 PM, RXX said:

I am hoping to get my bike ready by first of September.

 

I am budgeting an hour a day. Today I replaced the instrument cluster with one I bought from Joe a couple years back. The existing cluster had a handful of issues.

Temp gauge was a chronic issue with Mike. 
Fuel gauge was becoming intermittent.

Speedo was beginning to die.

Swapped speedo unit:

 

swapped the lights with my LED dash lights.

 

And fired the bike up.

Note the temp. This is when then fan cut on. It used to peg before it activated. 
Speedo works now (on stand first gear)

Don’t know about fuel gauge, tank is about empty,

Now that I have a few hundred miles on the new dash cluster………

 

Yes, the coolant temp gauge is a big improvement over the old one. The fan will energize at a much lower level indicated and it does not go into the stratosphere while sitting at a red light.

The fuel gauge has been accurate over at least one tank. Low indicator pops off at what seemed to be a reasonable level. 
The only thing is, the needle doesn’t seem to have any buffering. It is twitchy when the gas sloshes around and I do not remember it doing that. Normal?

[Zero Knievel]

2 hours ago, RXX said:

The only thing is, the needle doesn’t seem to have any buffering. It is twitchy when the gas sloshes around and I do not remember it doing that. Normal?

I can’t say it’s normal.  The float lever can go up and down, but the needle usually moves slowly…so sloshing shouldn’t register but going uphill and downhill could affect the needle.  So, either the gauge is supposed to resist change to prevent “jerky” readings or the sending unit is doing something odd.  If this wasn’t happening with the old gauge, it might be a thing with the new gauge.  What year is the gauge cluster?  Maybe it’s different from the ‘99 you replaced.