My 2001 Yamaha YZF600R

I bought my bike used from one of the local Yamaha dealerships. Having not ridden in over 10 years, I thought it might be a good idea if I get a smaller, used bike to get back into it. Less up front cost. Easier to handle and re-learn on.

I rode about 75 miles today. The hardest miles were the first 15 or so. I had to go from the dealership over to my insurance agent. This meant about 5 miles on busy freeway, with only a couple of minutes to get used to the bike before I was doing 65. No problems. It is still hard for my brain to relax and counter steer. When I am relaxed, I can drop into just about any curve without a problem. All of the years spent pushing my skills on a mountain bike have paid off. I know how to ride across uneven terrain, crappy road textures, railroad crossings, gravel littered corners, etc. In any case, my Motorcycle Foundation Course starts Friday night. I know I need the class. It doesn't matter how much I ride, if I am riding unsafely. The MSF course is designed to teach me safe, effective riding habits. Sounds like a good idea to me!

I was thinking again about WordGirl's comment about guys and motorcycles. I had to run a few errands tonight. With my wife's car in the shop, she had to take mine. That left me with 2 wheels or no go. I leather'd up, put on my helmet and hit the streets. I rode my errands and picked the long way home. I was alone riding down a gently twisting road. This same road I have driven dozens and dozens of times before. It is a favorite of my wife's. So, I am cruising along doing a bit under 50. Left, left, right, straight, right, right, straight, on and on... I came to a fork, left heads up to the coastal range, while right heads back home. Left it is. I decided to roll it up a little tighter. When I hit around 6000 rpm, the bike launched. With a redline of 13,200. I can really wrap it up before ever needing to shift. In any case, my eyes grew very wide as I hit 60 in second gear. Wow. My old bike never did that. I immediately up shifted reaching 6th, while keeping my speed under 75. I slowed back down to 65 and started the climb. I ended up behind a mini truck. I settled in and enjoyed my saddle time. It is hard to realize the moment, when it occurs or how is will play out, but my brain shifts gears. I suppose it is like any other effort to achieve a Zen state. I stop being me. I can smell the wood smoke from a evening fire place. I feel the wind bite through my faded blue jeans. I notice the slight gusts coming from my left. But, I don't think about any of it. I just ride, slicing my way through the wind, but the road. I have not felt so alive in years as I did today. Even though it was just a short one hour ride. I came home refreshed. I managed to get half of my garage cleaned up, all of the garbage out to the curb, feed myself, feed the dogs and cats, and write a little code when I got home.

The quest for that state is why I ride. Yeah, I can argue that is it cheaper. I burn less fuel, get to experience the world around me instead of sitting in an air conditioned car. All of that is true. But it is the Zen thing that brings me back. I used to get that feeling when I road mountain bikes. Today, it returned on 2 wheels. This time with a 600cc motor between my legs.

The next issue is learning the bike inside and out, top to bottom. I like to wrench my own mountain bikes, why should this bike be any different? I need to buy a service manual, and see if there are any specialized tools that I will need.

Update: 19-Sept-03

I road about 400 miles this week. Not too bad for the first week.

I ordered a service manual and purchased a couple of additional brake light assemblies. I pickup a pair of 'Back Off' lights and another flashing pair designed to grab the attention of the driver behind me. When I get everything put together, I will have the primary brake light, like normal. Then I will have an extra set of high intensity LEDs working as standard break lights, and another set of flashing LEDs to keep people off my ass when I make a stop. Next week, I should have my service manual and be ready to install the new lights.

I need to buy a good pair of riding boots and a pair of leather/textile pants. My jacket is a First Gear Speed Jacket. It has leather at all of the 'hit points' and high stress areas, while using textiles in the low stress areas and highly reflective coatings across the upper body. They make a matching pant, but I have not had the cash to buy a pair. After that, I need to pick up a pair of wheel stands. My bike doesn't have a center stand, so I can't place it in a vertical position to work on it. I can't adjust the chain, work on the mirros, tails light, or anything else in a safe and effect matter without being able to stand the bike up. Pit Bull makes a nice looking front/rear pair for about $350. Add it to the list!

I attended my MSF class. Well, I showed up. When I got arrived, there were 9 people signed up as stand-bys. I asked the instructor who this class was geared toward and if I really needed to take it. She didn't say I shouldn't take it, but said I would probably get more out of one of the advanced classes offered in a single day session. So, I dropped. I filled out my paperwork to get my full refund and moved aside so someone else could take the course. I needed to write code this weekend anyway...

Update: 25-Sept-03

My frame sliders arrived today. It took a little filing to get the right piece installed. The left went on perfectly.

I have been having shifting problems in the last couple of days. I talked to a few people and learned that bikes require a very stable amount of oil to keep the shifting working correctly. I bought a couple of quarts of oil when I picked up my frame sliders. I looked into the sight glass and couldn't see anything. So, I added a quart. I rode around my cul-de-sac. Problem fixed. Still I couldn't see any oil in the sight glass. So, I added another quart of oil. Big mistake. I hopped on my bike and went down to the dealership to buy a summer weight jacket. It is still in the high 80s this week and my leather was just too hot to wear. Anyway, I got to the shop, talked to my sales guy. He looked at my bike, only to see oil dripping out onto the pavement. I had over filled the crankcase! Time to change my oil out for real. But the shop couldn't work me in. Argh. I picked up some more oil, a new filter, chain lube, and some cleaner. I thought I would just do it myself when I got home. I rolled out and headed to the Triumph dealership, where I had bought some new armour (didn't fit my jacket) that I needed to return. I asked nicely if they could 'save the dumb-ass' Sure, they could do my oil change. Cool!

The tech said I had buggered this one up. I had more than a full quart too much in the bike. Oops. So, oil leaked into my exhaust pipe, dripped down the engine, splattered on my left foot peg and onto my rear tire. Big oops. It will burn off, eventually. Another lesson learned. Motorcycle oil is thicker and slower moving than auto oil. If I would have waited a bit longer before adding the second quart I would have seen the oil lever rise. Additionally, I learned that my Yamaha only holds 3.1 quarts in total. So, it doesn't take very much to top it off!

I bought a new jacket, a 'Hypertex Meshtex Jacket' from First Gear. This one is super light, while still providing a degree of protection. If I pass out from heat exhaustion what good is my leather? So, when the temps climb I will use this one. My speed jacket has a removable liner, so I have 3 seasons covered. I don't plan on riding when the temp is below freezing.

Next will be pants, and stands. I think if I would have had a rear wheel stand I could have avoided my problems today. I could have placed the bike in a vertical position without holding onto one grip to balance the bike. That made it very hard to see inside the sight glass while holding a flashlight and the bike. Again, more lessons learned.

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