Motorcycle Maintenance: What Not To Do

Matt Gormley is the copywriting intern here at AltRider, and in his spare time rides his '82 Ironhead Sportster, '74 Kawasaki S3 400 triple, and '76 Yamaha XS 360. Some recent motorcycle maintenance became a learning experience that he shares below.

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I had a killer list of tasks to tackle on Friday.  So I drank my coffee, walked the dog and headed to the shed.

First on the list was changing the fork oil in my trusty Yamaha XS 360.  I had never changed it before, but thought it would be a quick and dirty task, easy enough on a day with lots of chores.

I started by draining all the old fork oil.  It looked watery, blown out and clumpy.  If I had to wager a guess, I’d say it was probably the original fork oil from the seventies.  As I began to work, I realized that popping the fork caps was pretty challenging without an extra set of hands.  I also didn't have the center stand installed, which made it tough. 

I hunted for my PB Blaster and laid out my tools in the order I would need to grab them.  Then I almost took out my eye when the fork cap and spring sprang loose. Oops. I measured out the appropriate amount of fork oil and poured it down the funnel.  Getting the fork cap back in place was a bit easier than taking it out.  Now I was working smarter, not harder.

I finally got the first fork done in about two hours.  Luckily, I planned to tell all my friends it only took about 30 minutes. 

The first fork was tough, but this second fork should go lickety split.  I wrestled loose the other fork cap after the PB Blaster had a chance to work its magic.  I measured out the oil from the BelRay plastic container into the Ratio Rite.  My mind was somewhere else, doing who knows what, but I wasn't paying attention at all when I poured the blue oil into the second fork.  I finished pouring and my mind did a short double take...

That fork oil is stringy like foam filter oil.  F*&%!  Oh no!

I noticed the fork oil container next to the foam filter oil container on the bench.  Umm...  I just filled my fork with foam filter oil.

Suffice to say I had some additional work cut out for me.  The second fork took a little longer than the first. And while I did manage to fix my mistake, changing my fork oil ended up being a little more involved than I had planned.

Have you ever made some sort of obvious, oblivious error spinning wrenches?  If so, will you share your story so I don’t feel like such a dunce?

Matt

Goons in the Dunes Weekend

Well, Jim Thompson is back at it again…Goons in the Dunes.  I (Jeremy) certainly am lucky to get introduced to great people who share a passion for riding.  This summer, Jim put on an epic 10 day ride in the Cascades called “Ride While You Can: the Dual Sport Adventure.”  This time he put a spin on Eric Cleveland’s legendary contests with the Goons in the Dunes weekend.  It was planned initially to be a bunch of Dakar-style challenges, but it simmered into an enduro style event with special tests that included a “Top Rated Goon’n Contest.”

Lead Product Engineer Jacob Ellul-Blake and I loaded up and headed out at 4 a.m. on Saturday.  We stopped in North Bend, Washington and found a bakery with the lights on called George’s Bakery.  Cool old guy running it and a great place for breakfast.  We continued the rest of the 4 hour ride, and came across fellow competitors stranded on the side of the pass (Bill Woods and Scott Weber).  Somehow, their tailgate on the trailer fell open spraying sparks 4 feet high.  They fixed it and got back on the road.

We finally arrived in the middle of nowhere.  There was quite a presence when we rolled up:  about 4 RVs, 5 trucks and 2 vans.  There were lots of familiar faces, as well as many I hadn’t met before.  We started the process of hellos and getting gear out.  We also had to configure our 8 ft flags; they’re required for dune riding so others can see you coming up steep dunes and avoid crashes.

As usual, the adrenaline got going as all the bikes were fired up. It was about a 5 mile liaison ride to the first competition.  The goon was coming out in all of us as wheelies were being attempted all the way down the dirt road.

1st test: “Best 1 Minute Goon Ride.”  All I can say is watch the video, which may not be as funny but it was hilarious in person.

Then we had a liaison through the dunes for a “Time Trial” consisting of 4 laps in varying terrain. The goal was to maintain consistent speed.  I don’t think I did very well, as I began to settle in the sand-riding and got faster.

The next test was a full-on race out in the dunes.   This was awesome. Every lap, the two slowest guys were pulled before the remaining riders went on to the next lap with a full on hot restart. 

Next test, Jim came up with a great idea.  We all drew cards with a number on one of the other bikes in the groups.  This meant the next race was going to start on someone else’s bike.  After the 1st lap you had to wait till your bike completed the first lap and then you grabbed it to finish your final lap.  It was hilarious! Some of the bikes were clapped out old shitters while others were world class racing machines.  Some people panicked.  I found myself on an 8 year old YZ 250 with a Recluse clutch… while not ideal, I was all smiles. 

The 2 stroke power got me the hole shot, but almost blew through the first corner -- as I headed hot into the first corner I couldn’t find the brakes (the challenge of jumping on someone else’s machine).


Somehow, I led the entire first lap.  I got a quick handoff from Ken but couldn’t get the bike to relight right away, and found myself one wheel length behind Colin the entire final lap.  An awesome race, and Colin won.  Once the points were added up, Ken took home the overall trophy.

We spent the rest of the weekend racing in the dunes, fire jumping, and telling lies.

Jacob and I had a great time, and everyone else did, too.  If you missed out on 2010’s Goons in the Dunes, don’t make that mistake again. Come next year.

Meet the newest member of the AltRider team

On January 11, 2009, I wrote the following:

“Hi. I’m Christina Olson, and I’m early for my appointment.”

That’s how my interview with the AltRider company began: early, and interrupting a discussion between Brianna, Don, and Jacob about how best to show off new AltRider products. I was nervous, but they introduced themselves and offered me a mug of coffee to relax. Then, Brianna and I headed back to meet Jeremy in the conference room to begin The Interview.

We went over the usual. “What are your strengths?” “What are some difficult situations you’ve encountered in the past?” “Can you show us your portfolio?” But as we talked, an interesting thing happened. Little by little, Brianna and Jeremy let some of their enthusiasm for AltRider slip out, and soon they were talking about the community that exists among riders. Jeremy outlined how a documentary sparked a passion for many, and Brianna smiled as she suggested that female riders might want a little more out of their experience than pink gear and accessories. I felt myself getting caught up in their vision and excitement. Yes: me, with my klutziness, my near-sightedness, and my utter lack of riding experience.

I don’t know what that excitement means. That I’d be a good fit for AltRider? I hope so. That I have an adventuress hiding inside my school marm exterior? Maybe. One thing is certain: everyone I met in this company was passionate about what they do and had high hopes for the future. There’s no doubt in my mind they’ll succeed, and I hope I get to be there when it happens.

Looks like the answer is YES, I will get to be there!

I’m the new marketing coordinator for the AltRider team, so you’ll be seeing me at events and hearing from me on the website and in our monthly newsletter. Looking forward to meeting all of you!

Beaches, Bikes, and Babies

Starting a business really doesn’t allow you to take months off to go on vacation. So, with several days off for Christmas and New Year’s we took advantage and headed down to sunny Puerto Vallarta to spend the holidays with family from across the country. No vacation that we at AltRider take is complete without a motorcycle adventure.

Before we left, Jeremy searched the forums for people to ride with and places to rent but got little back (unlike our South African journey). So we started our search in town for ANY type of motorcycle we could rent. We ended up with a late model Honda XR250. We admit there were some interesting changes Honda has made to this classic dirt bike: it now has 6 gears and no kick start, electric start only (not great). Otherwise it’s the same machine outfitted with driving lights so it’s street legal (unfortunate for us Americans this great little bike isn’t available as a street legal model). While small, it comfortably fit two of us. If you’re headed down there go see Miles at coolrentals.com.mx.

As for the riding, we sailed down the cobblestone streets (even when wet), through the winding hills (with barely visible speed bumps), and passed many a vehicle (far surpassing the intended passenger capacity limit). It must be admitted that the rider had a bit more fun than the freaked-out passenger (that’d be Brianna… yes, this was a part of the inspiration way back when to get her license). One of the best little trips on the bike was to a restaurant south of town called Le Kliff – where we enjoyed a nice dinner while overlooking the ocean from different “cliffs”.

Jeremy did get to have his own adventure, solo. He did take to the beach, kicking up sand and getting the crazy-gringo comments and looks. Later he was the entertaining uncle that rode wheelies down the street while the rest of the family watched from taxis. His four year old niece was most impressed by this.

Jeremy also ran into a group of adventure riders, several on KLR’s, one on a BMW and one KTM LC4. They had all met while on the road down there. Who knows, maybe we will run into them again…this community is big, but there are still a lot of connections.