The Culprit...

Here it is. This is what a burned out throw out bearing looks like.

Now comes the majority of the work. Taking the clutch completely apart to clean all the particles of metal that used to be the bearing case.

Trudging along...

I started on the tear down & removed the primary cover. So far the only damage is the burned out bearing.

Next step is the clutch basket removal.

Replacement parts won't be in til next week so I have plenty of time to get it ready.

Ready for Sugery

The new parts will be arriving next week. So I have her up on the lift ready.

I will be taking the primary cover off soon and start breaking down the clutch.

Down for the count...

The clutch decided to stop working yesterday. I thought it was a broken clutch cable.

Further inspection turns up that it is the clutch throwout bearing.

Rain, Rain, Rain...

Sunny & mild all week long and planned a sweet 350 mile ride. But rain and heavy overcast clouds ruined that plan.

I could go in the rain but it just makes it miserable. Besides I don't want to have to clean & polish for 8 hours after the ride is over.

Sunny day in the Mountains

With all the rain and thunderstorms when the skies cleared a ride in the Shenandoah Mountains along Skyline Drive seemed like a great idea.

Even though it was low 90's in the valley by the time you're on the drive it was put on a jacket time.

The day was perfect, lots of sun, cool air up high & a lot of bikes.

Takin' the long way home...

If you are not in a hurry to get home the Blue Ridge Parkway is the road you should travel. Sweeping curves, magnificent vistas and a relaxed pace make it one of the great journeys.

Weekend Dragon Ride

Tail of the Dragon / Cherohala Skyway video

U.S. 129 south / Robbinsville, N.C. video

3 days 'bout 1500 total miles. Caught in a hard downpour on the Asheville mountain overpass, neck, legs & hands aching but it was all worth it.

I rode more mountain twisty roads than ever before. The Dragon, Cherohala Skyway, US 129 south & Blue Ridge Parkway.

(notice the GoPro mounted on my helmet. That's how the video is taken.)

Packed & Ready...

Dragon ride is 3 days and counting. The weather is sketchy at best but I'm ready to go.

Some Gave All

Nicholas Mason & Josh Frazier are 2 of Fredericksburg's soldiers that gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

The Frazier-Mason Some Gave All ride is a way to honor their memory and help other soldiers. 

About 1000 motorcycle riders showed up for today's ride to honor our Fredericksburg area soldiers killed in Iraq.

Rolling THunder XXII

It was a great day to visit the Nation's Capitol and pay our respects to out Veterans. 

I placed my tribute to my uncle at the WWII Virginia monument and Ken made his way through the Vietnam memorial.

Rolling Thunder XXII video

Getting ready for the Dragon

It's about a month to the Dragon run & Rolling Thunder XXII is coming up so I needed to put a new set of shoes on my ride.

The Avon Venoms are good tires that stick well but my style of riding flattens them out. So this time I'm trying Continental high mileage.

Backroads Tour

Mid-90's today and we went on a tour of the local backroads through Warrenton, Culpeper, Orange & Thornburg. The big disappointment of the day was I finally get R.D. to The Stable for a great sandwich & big surprise it was closed. 

I was all ready for a great "Robert E. Lee". That sucked.

But it was a great day and a great ride.

It's a Good Day to Ride...

 

Ken & I took advantage of the perfect weather to enjoy our favorite ride. What else, but Skyline Drive. 

The only snag was having to bleed Ken's rear brake in Front Royal.

The payoff was lunch at The Stable in Culpeper. An added bonus was a free appetizer of BBQ that the owner was giving out to get an opinion. It was the perfect blend of Memphis & Virginia styles. The pulled pork & their delicious cole slaw and I will have a hard time on what to order next time.

Check out the video of today's ride. I'm still learning how to edit the sound.

Ride through the 'Burg (video)

I didn't feel like sitting in my room watching TV waiting to go to work. The weather was great and I feel like ridin'. I figured I'd get some practice with my GoPro. So here's a little video of River Rd. and Downtown Fredericksburg.

The video has no sound this time. I'm still learning and for some reason when the camera is mounted on the bars or near the motor the vibration makes a loud annoying sound.

GoPro Video Camera

So I bought a GoPro Motorsports Wide video camera. It arrived last Friday and had the opportunity to use it the next day. Right out of the box it worked great.

I did learn that if you mount it to the handle bars the camera rattles inside the protective case. I had to make a wrap for the camera from an old fleece jacket to fix that problem.

The files worked fine in iMovie and it took about an hour to edit the raw video down to about 15 minutes.




Near the end of the video is when the wild grouse flew right at my face. I ducked just in time and the tail feathers brushed my helmet visor.

I'm really going to have some fun with this, I can't wait for the Dragon Run in June.

Good Day, Bad Day

R.D., Andy & I went out for a great ride through the backroad twisties around Manassas & Stafford. Had a great lunch and the weather was perfect.

The bad part. Stopped to fill-up and on the way to Andy's start smelling a strong odor of gas. I look down and no cap, gas flowing down the tank and all over me.

Luckily Whitt's HD was open today and was able to get a new cap.

Met another XLF'er today

Met up with Kristin from N.J. (near Philly) Although I slept through my alarm I managed to get there not too late.

I took her on a tour of some good Virgina back roads. VA 688 through Orlean & Hume was a great ride. 

There was even enough daylight to ride a few mile on Skyline Drive to get some mountain views.

The exciting part of the ride was dodging a wild Grouse that flew right at me. I ducked just enough the tail feathers just brushed my visor. 

A cold ride & breakdown scare

It was supposed to be mid-50's but when the clouds came out the temps dropped. But I still went to Waugh's and back.

Back in the 'Burg I stopped for some lunch and started up for the short ride home and she sputtered out and wouldn't start back up.

The problem was almost too simple. The vacum tube for the fuel petcock had come off and the carb was bone dry. I was able to squeeze my chunky fingers in just enough to get the tube back on and she started right up. 

Tonight's project: trim the worn end of the petcock vacum tube so it fits nice & snug.

Lunch Ride part 2

Yesterday was such a great ride. We decided to do it again. This time after a nice ride we ended up in the 'Burg at Buffalo Wild Wings for some great burgers.