yamafitter
Reigning NERDS Granite Lane Gold Medalist
After Mexico things have been getting crazy around the garage with bits and pieces of my WR450 laying all about adding to the clutter. When I put the WR450 up on the lift table I first had to move the FJR out of the garage and into my trailer for temporary storage. In the process of doing that I had caught the corner of the windscreen on some shelving and put a big crack in the windscreen.
I had a few weeks before heading out to the SE Ohio ramble so I put in an order with Cal Sci and ordered a new medium sized windscreen and had it shipped to Bust's place since I still had some other items to pick up. I finally had some time to get the oil changed the day before my scheduled departure and while I had the bike up on its centerstand and gave the rear wheel a spin. I then heard something rolling around inside the tire. I didn't remember putting any Dyna Beads in the tire so the only thing it could be was the tire pressure sensor had come loose and was rolling around.
Fortunately I have a No-Mar Tire Changer at my disposal so off came the rear tire....
It didn't take long to crack the bead, dismount the one side and get the offending sensor removed. The remount went fine and then a quick setup on my balancer and all was now good to go. I got the bags packed and then headed to the pub to relax before heading out in the morning....
There are two options when one wants to cross Toronto. You get up at some ungodly hour and get to Brock Rd in WHitby before 5:30AM or you wait until 9:30 and hope that the commuter traffic is gone. I opted for the 9:30 start which gave me time to stop in at the local Timmy's to fuel up with coffee.
Traffic in Toronto could only be described as brutal. They are building a new interchange between Whitby and Ajax and everything was backed up for many kilometers into Oshawa. I bailed on the 401 and took a back road I know that was not too bad and rejoined the 401 at Ajax where things were a little better. Traffic backed up again at the Don Valley Parkway (or as we locals call it, the Don Valley Parking Lot) ramp but at least the traffic was moving albeit slowly.
I really didn't leave the heavy traffic behind until I had gone all the way out to Kitchner which is about 100 km west of Toronto. A quick stop in London for coffee at Timmy's and fuel for the bike and we headed for Sarnia and a quick stop at the Duty Free for a bottle of Forty Creek.
The bridge crossing at the border went very smooth and with some time in hand I thought I would stop in at the Michigan Welcome Center. Welcome to the Land of the Northern Redneck...
I never knew that a single wide trailer had a lobby...
The Michigan Tourist Board pulled out all the stops to show the tourists all the interesting things to see in Michigan...
Checking out the Welcome Center made me want to take a Beercation....
We arrived at Bust's and procceded to change out the windscreen on the FJR....
Some might consider this Tech Day 10.01.
After packing up a few other items I had shipped to Bust's it was time for some dinner and then watch Game 7 of the Red Wings / Tampa Bay series.
The next morning was much cooler than the previous day so I put on a few more layers before heading out. I said my goodbye to Bust and headed south and east. We ran into some drizzle south of Detroit and never really got out of it until I was southeast of Toledo. The ride down the 250 was good and then we headed south on I77. The plan was to jump off the interstate and ride some of the twisties but the weather turned as the temperature dropped and the rains came back. I stopped at a Micky D's for a coffee and made a decision just to slab it down to Mineral Wells and get dried out.
We arrived at Ramble Headquarters just before 5PM and got checked in a poured myself some Forty Creek before joining the Parking Lot Social. Plans for the next day were discussed but no final decisions were forthcoming. Some are leaving at 8AM but I think I'll wait and join in with some of the stragglers.
- to be continued -
I had a few weeks before heading out to the SE Ohio ramble so I put in an order with Cal Sci and ordered a new medium sized windscreen and had it shipped to Bust's place since I still had some other items to pick up. I finally had some time to get the oil changed the day before my scheduled departure and while I had the bike up on its centerstand and gave the rear wheel a spin. I then heard something rolling around inside the tire. I didn't remember putting any Dyna Beads in the tire so the only thing it could be was the tire pressure sensor had come loose and was rolling around.
Fortunately I have a No-Mar Tire Changer at my disposal so off came the rear tire....
It didn't take long to crack the bead, dismount the one side and get the offending sensor removed. The remount went fine and then a quick setup on my balancer and all was now good to go. I got the bags packed and then headed to the pub to relax before heading out in the morning....
There are two options when one wants to cross Toronto. You get up at some ungodly hour and get to Brock Rd in WHitby before 5:30AM or you wait until 9:30 and hope that the commuter traffic is gone. I opted for the 9:30 start which gave me time to stop in at the local Timmy's to fuel up with coffee.
Traffic in Toronto could only be described as brutal. They are building a new interchange between Whitby and Ajax and everything was backed up for many kilometers into Oshawa. I bailed on the 401 and took a back road I know that was not too bad and rejoined the 401 at Ajax where things were a little better. Traffic backed up again at the Don Valley Parkway (or as we locals call it, the Don Valley Parking Lot) ramp but at least the traffic was moving albeit slowly.
I really didn't leave the heavy traffic behind until I had gone all the way out to Kitchner which is about 100 km west of Toronto. A quick stop in London for coffee at Timmy's and fuel for the bike and we headed for Sarnia and a quick stop at the Duty Free for a bottle of Forty Creek.
The bridge crossing at the border went very smooth and with some time in hand I thought I would stop in at the Michigan Welcome Center. Welcome to the Land of the Northern Redneck...
I never knew that a single wide trailer had a lobby...
The Michigan Tourist Board pulled out all the stops to show the tourists all the interesting things to see in Michigan...
Checking out the Welcome Center made me want to take a Beercation....
We arrived at Bust's and procceded to change out the windscreen on the FJR....
Some might consider this Tech Day 10.01.
After packing up a few other items I had shipped to Bust's it was time for some dinner and then watch Game 7 of the Red Wings / Tampa Bay series.
The next morning was much cooler than the previous day so I put on a few more layers before heading out. I said my goodbye to Bust and headed south and east. We ran into some drizzle south of Detroit and never really got out of it until I was southeast of Toledo. The ride down the 250 was good and then we headed south on I77. The plan was to jump off the interstate and ride some of the twisties but the weather turned as the temperature dropped and the rains came back. I stopped at a Micky D's for a coffee and made a decision just to slab it down to Mineral Wells and get dried out.
We arrived at Ramble Headquarters just before 5PM and got checked in a poured myself some Forty Creek before joining the Parking Lot Social. Plans for the next day were discussed but no final decisions were forthcoming. Some are leaving at 8AM but I think I'll wait and join in with some of the stragglers.
- to be continued -
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