Seems like it might be time to upgrade from Wordpress 1.5.2. I can’t post, and I am losing some recentl posts. Maybe it is because my software is as old as software gets.

Kevict and I rode to Lake Nacimiento where we met the very smart wives, who drove there in a warm car. We camped. We came back. Full write-up to come.

Rough overview: It was freezing, it was fun, and part way there, the GS got sleepy and needed a bit of a rest.

For now, here are some pics. Use them to make up your own story. How interactive!

2 girls one cup song mp3

The Incredibly Understanding Wife (IUW) is more “I” than ever before! Well, okay, she isn’t more incredibly. That makes no sense. She is more incrediBLE.

Why, you ask? (Do it, ask.)

Because she got on the back of the GS, and let me pilot her from La Honda out to the coast, down to Pescadero for a sandwich (which was awesome and a half, by the way) and down Pescadero Creek road back to our house.

For non-natives, imagine the second half of the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland. We basically did that, but on a bike. With no abominable snowman or whatever.

She’s awesome! She waved to fellow bikers, she leaned into turns, she made me laugh inside my silly looking helmet. F-ing amazing. I didn’t even crash! Come on!!

Next up - Chile. Or maybe Mexico. Or maybe Woodside.

Check her out! Sweet BMW jacket, huh? I am jealous. I may have to remedy that soon…

With Kevict’s new-to-him 1988 KLR 650 and my new R1150GS both screaming out to see some dirt, Kevict and I set out in the coastal mountians near my house in search of some unpaved pathways.

Seems that Gazo’s creek road turns dirty and leads to a secondary entrace to Butano state park. Nothing too challenging, just a good old dirt road, with a couple of sections that were “paved” way back when, but have over time been reduced to gravel and chunks.

Shiny new R1150GS and lack of dirt riding experience be damned - I was gonne give ‘er a try.

The bike was impressive. More impressive than I was, to be sure. That said, we made it 5.9 miles up and 5.9 miles down without incident, ABS-ing along the way, and bouncing around a bit because I forgot to lower the pressures in my Tourances to a more dirt-friendly level.

Kevict and the KLR went bounding up and down without issue, as expected from a veteran dirt guy and a “real” dirtbike, and I impressed the hell out of myself by puttering up and down without scaring the life out of myself even once. A little clutchwork, some balance, juducious braking and looking far ahead served me very well… Hm, sounds almost like track riding to me…

I don’t think I have ever had more fun going eight miles an hour. I am addicted. This GS is amazing. The KLR is amazing. Touring is awesome. I had no idea. I can’t wait to actually go somewhere! I wonder how much a good GPS costs? What about knobbies? Do I have a tent? How much vacation time have I accrued? how many clif bars fit into the side cases luggage?

Oh man. Trouble.

2001 BMW R1150GS - 43,000 miles, 43,000 pounds, 43,000 times more fun than sportbikes

As I tend to do, I have recently become preoccupied by the idea of a new BMW. This time however, the manifestation of my longing has only two wheels instead of four. I don’t know how it happened, but I decided that I’d really like to take the Incredibly Understanding Wife around on the back of a motorcycle and see this fine nation. Or at least, this fine area very close by our house. Or maybe I would just commute to work on it by myself. I dunno, something. Whatever. It was a romantic notion.

If I was going to force the IUW onto the back of a bike, It couldn’t be the torturous pillion accommodations afforded by my track-prepped SV1000s. I needed something more grand. More luxurious. More appealing. More German.

An K1200RT would be the right bike for sure. Knowing that, I decided to become preoccupied with an R1150GS instead. Tall, rugged, strong, black… it’s everything I wish I was. I began dreaming about it, and what started as Internet research snowballed almost overnight into full-fledged obsession.

The IUW, seeing my compulsive buying behaviors begining to surface, tried to nip this whole process in the proverbial bud.

“Honey, we can’t get one.”

“Of course not, I know.” I reply as I surf craigslist and email a seller to ask for more detailed pics, “It’s dumb.”

“Seriously, honey, we can’t afford that.” the IUW, now clearly vexed, strains to see the laptop screen.

“I’m not gonna buy it. But check it out - Ohlins shocks front and rear! And full luggage! This is really a deal!”

“We’re not buying one, honey. We can’t.”

“I know. We’re not.”

“Okay, I hear your words, but it feels like we are buying one. You just emailed the seller!

“That’s just because I am curious. Because even though we aren’t buying one, I might, you know, have to buy this one.”

“You need to stop looking. Are those heated grips?”

“I am not looking. Yes, they are heated grips! Holy crap this thing is awesome!” I reply, and then I email a dealer to ask when I can test ride the perfect bike I have just found.

The dealer says Tuesday. I say perfect. I email on Tuesday to confirm, and the bike has sold. I weep. Just a little. Like a man, though. A rugged, tall weeping. The dealer says that another bike, very much like the one I am pining for, the one I never even saw or touched but that had somehow become part of my very soul, the one whose sale severed the only link I had to true bliss and eternal enlightenment, the dealer said another bike like it would be coming into his shop in just two weeks. This other bike belonged to a regular customer whom this dealer knows well and trusts and who takes good care of his bikes. Would I like first right of refusal on that similar bike?

My heart skipped, my stomach leapt to my throat. Could it be? Could fate be so clearly forcing me to buy an R1150GS? Even when the one I need so badly has sold and left me hopeless and gasping for breath, another emerges on the distant horizon, staring mistily at me, pawing the ground gently and tossing its wild mane as the rising sun glints off its dewy sweat-soaked coat. I cannot argue with destiny. I agree.

And then it’s my birthday. The IUW gets me a little box, wrapped beautifully. In it, another box. In that box, another, like a series of Russian dolls, each tightly packed inside the other and gaily decorated.

And in the last box, a funny-shaped key.

Thanks entirely to the IUW, Kevict, my mom, and a very clever salesman from BMW of Santa Cruz ,there, outside of my folks’ house (only recently PUSHED to that place of rest by Kevict himself, who had sneaked away under the guise of visiting his own parents who live nearby and fetched said bike, whose key was wrapped and waiting for me to find it and thus he bike was not able to move under its own power) was the R1150GS. The very one that had sold the day before I was able to see it. The very lifeblood that I thought had been sapped from me! It was there in my parents’ driveway, magnificent and regal, big and scary, clean as the proverbial whistle and as real as the nose on my extremely surprised and seriously confused face.

When the dealer told me the bike had sold, I never once thought it might have sold to Kevict and Megan, my IUW, who bought it for me. And unbeknownst to them I had been trying to buy it for myself, nearly ruining the surprise. What a heel! What a fool! What a lucky lucky sonofabitch!

They did it all without my even beginning to know anything was afoot. I have never been more surprised. I really am the luckiest boy ever, to have people who care about me so much.

It’s better than I ever imagined. And look - Ohlins shocks front and rear!

After 8 track days this year with Speed Research, and I have learned a ton. Primary amongst those lessons is, “Don’t open the throttle all the way when you are still fully leaned over.” My scratched fairing, broken shift lever, and scuffed leathers will remind me of that learning experience for some time.

Another key track lesson that I was surprised to learn is, “When riding in the paddock, you may get T-boned by a passing rider.” Yup, some jackalope took the SV and me down in the paddock. I was probably only cruising at about four miles an hour, but despite that slow pace, the collision broke my carbon muffler, the slip-on flange by which it connects to the mid pipe, and my shifter. Sweet.

With bike thusly out of commission, I had some time to wander around and watch riders. I even remembered my little point-and-shoot camera, and I pointed and shot some grainy, tiny videos of Kevict riding around in the A group. Check it!

(Save locally, please.)

Turns, 6, 7, and 8 (tiny Kevict, but check the acceleration!)
The back side of 9 into 10 (again, check that speed!)
Turns, 11, 12, and 13
The back straight

After swapping the stock fork from my 2006 SV1000s for a 2005 GSX-R 600 unit, I took the bike to the track and had it professionally set up by a track-side suspension expert. The spring rate and oil weight (described in the swap article linked above) were spot-on, and the shorter overall length of the fork was not a problem at all on track.

The fork is noticeably stiffer over choppy bumps, but not by any means harsh. Cornering is completely free of any wallowing and therefore feel more stable, though the stock fork did an admirable job as well in my opinion. Turn in is not dramatically improved, though transitions do seem to require slightly less effort.

The major difference, and it is a night and day difference, is during braking. The fork feels like it has nearly no dive at all, and the bike now tracks straight and true even under extremely hard braking. I could brake significantly later and much harder into turns, and the bike felt totally composed and confidence inspiring. I was not expecting this much of an improvement, and I am very pleased.

Lever feel is incredible and positive as well, and I am not using a radial master, nor braided lines yet. I tried fitting the radial master from the GSXR, but with the LSL raised clip-ons, the brake lines would interfere with the clip-ons. The radila master simply did not fit and I was initially concerned that would mean reduced braking power, but the performance with the stock SV master has proven to be fantastic, and I feel no need to use a radial master at this point.

For a tracked bike, I feel the braking improvement alone is worth the expense and time of this swap. After two track days, I have managed to take 5 seoncds per lap off of my previous best times. However, I still feel the stock fork and brakes were more than up to the tasks of street riding, including very spirited canyon carving.

Overall, I was not sure if I would notice an improvement over the stock system, which I believed to be very good, and in most respects the improvements are not dramatic. However, if better extreme braking is what you are after, the GSXR 600 fork’s combination of more aggressive damping and stiffer overall structure serve up what you need in spades.

Plus, they look the business!

Apparently it hasn’t yet rusted through… Awesome!

But, the guy wants 2700 bucks for it.

I am almost tempted to buy it back. Oh wait, wait, no I’m not. Unless he will take 900 dollars, which is what I paid for it…

2005 GSX-R 600 fork and caliper swap onto 2006 SV1000s

Installing an upside down fork and radial calipers on a 2006 SV1000s is something many owners are interested in doing. Having just completed this swap myself, I can say with complete assurance that the actual work is quite simple, providing you start with the correct parts and tools.

I have read a lot of different processes for swapping a late-model GSX-R fork onto a SV1000, but most of those seem to contain misleading or inaccurate information. When I decided to do this swap for myself, I decided to write a clear (albeit a bit long) process, with a clear parts list, based on my recent ‘05 GSX-R 600 fork and caliper swap. I apologize for the length, but I hope it will serve others looking to do this same swap.

Materials:

Starting with a fork and brakes from a 2004-2005 GSXR 600 seemed to me to be the easiest route, because many SV parts could be re-used.

Here is the complete list of parts I used for the swap. If it isn’t listed, you don’t need to buy it. The reasoning behind each part is included where needed.

• 2005GSXR 600 fork
• 2005GSXR 600 radial calipers
• 2005GSXR 600 upper and lower triples
• Speed Research carbon fender fender
  A stock GSXR 600 fender would, of course, work as well but the SV fender won’t work with the new fork.
• Custom machined spacers to fit the GSXR calipers to the SV rotors
  The calipers were designed to work with 300mm rotors. The brakes on the SV 1000 are 310mm.

  Dimensions:
  Outer diameter: 24mm
  Inner diameter: 10mm
  Thickness: 5mm
  Cost: 60 dollars for 4 at local machine shop. I am sure I could have got these cheaper, but I wanted them done the next day, and 60 bucks is cheap compared to a new front wheel and rotors.

• LSL “offset match” 50mm clip-ons with a 1.5 inch rise, and LSL bar ends
  The stock clip-ons will not fit around the larger fork tubes, and stock GSXR clip-ons do not preserve the comfortable riding position of the SV, and leave very little room (read: not enough) between the stock fairing and the grips.
• Race Tech springs
  I weigh 175 lbs with no gear, and the SV weighs at least 40 pounds more than the GSXR 600. The added weight of the bike alone necessitates a stiffer spring to get the intended performance out of the fork. The stock GSXR 600 springs are around .85s). I factored the extra weight of my bike in to the Race Tech spring rate calculator (i.e., 175+40 = 215 lbs “rider weight”) to figure the correct rate. Plus, the stock spring rate on the SV is .98 anyhow, and it was sprung pretty well for me, just not damped well enough.
• Redline synthetic fork oil
  Lightweight/Medium cocktail mixed 65/35 to achieve about 6.5w
• A new left grip
  I bought a new one so I could cut the old one off rather than wrestling with it and fighting grip glue.
• Some small strips of rubber
  From a bicycle tire inner tube, for example (see process below).

Time:

• Budget one weekend day. I spent about 6 hours, including cleaning and bleeding the brakes, re-springing and oiling the fork, etc.

Difficulty (one bleeding knuckle to five bleeding knuckles):

• Two bleeding knuckles for just the swap, three bleeding knuckles if you re-spring the fork. This ain’t rocket science.

Process:

1. Re-spring and oil the GSXR fork.
   You will need a fork spring compression tool, such as this one sold by Traxxion Dynamics. The tool comes with excellent instructions. Follow them, and take your time. I added 6.5 weight oil to a height of 115mm. This is the hardest part of the job. When you are done, take a break and have a beverage.
2. Raise the bike with a front stand, and support.
   I used jack stands on cinder blocks to support the innermost part of the frame sliders.
3. Remove the fairing.
4. Remove the ignition assembly (held on with loctited 40mm security torx bolts).
   I bought a security torx bit for a ratchet at an auto parts store.
5. Remove old forks, clamps, and clip-ons.
6. Remove the controls from the old clip-ons, and tie/hang them aside with stiff wire or zip ties
7. Remove the brake lines from the SV calipers, and get brake fluid everywhere.
8. Clean up the brake fluid mess.
9. Remove, clean and grease the old bearings, then re-use them.
   The Stock GSXR 600 bearings can be used if you prefer, they are the same.
10. Install the GSXR fork, triples, and new clip-ons.
    I ran the tops of the fork caps flush with the top triple, for maximum length.
11. Install the ignition assembly into the new triple clamp.
    Note that it fits perfectly, and the steering lock works just fine.
12. Install the controls, grips, and end caps onto the clip-ons.
    The starter and turn signal assemblies have plastic locator pins which seat in a matching hold drilled into the clip-ons. Rather than jigging and drilling the clip-ons, I dremel-ed off the locator pins, and used a very thin strip of rubber between the assemblies and the bars to prevent them spinning when installed. Works fine.
    I bent and re-used the brake fluid reservoir bracket by mounting it to the LSL clip-on bolt.
13. Install the GXSR Fender onto the fork.
14. Install the SV wheel with SV axle.
15. Attach the brake lines to the new calipers.
16. Attach the calipers to the forks, with the spacer mentioned above.
17. Remove the bike form the supports using the front stand.
18. Bleed the brakes.
19. Replace the fairing.
20. Take a picture and have a beer.

Worked on the car with Dad, Kevict, Jonathan, Ramon and Pat-the-torquer.

Just a quick update for posterity:

Brakes:

• Replaced front and rear rotors with Zimmerman (non-drilled) items
• Rebuilt front and rear calipers, and removed all traces of once-red paint
• Replaced PBR Deluxe pads with PBR Ultimates
• Bled brakes and replaced fluid with ATE Typ 200
• Replaced rotor and caliper bolts
• Replaced front wheel bearings (check the pic - they take a lot of torque!)

General:

• Changed oil (Mobil1 0W-40) and filter (OEM)
• Replaced rear and side///M-blems (rear was absent, sides were faded)
• Replaced hood switch to fix the over-eager alarm
• Replaced rear trunk struts
• Replaced weird Kragen-style rear view mirror with OEM auto-dimming “M oval” mirror
• Lubed door hinges, handles, and hardware
• Checked for code faults (looked very good) and cleared codes

Tires:

• Shod the stock Roadstars in Kumho Ecsta SPTs - 235/45/17 and 255/40/17

I love this car. It now stops at least as well as it goes, which means I can make it go a lot better before I stop. And it goes better than I do, which is a lot of fun.

What?