After minor "explosions", some wrenching is required

I'm breaking my rule again of commuting with the bike. But wife signed off on it and its a little necessary at the moment. Some changes at work have temporarily doubled my commute time. Filling up the car once a week or more often isn't going to work. So spring is upon us and it was time to get Taquache out on the road. I went and cleared all the crap off of the shelf known as Taquache in the garage and hit the starter real quick to make sure there was still juice in the battery. Didn't have time to run it so I didn't start it all the way. As you can probably figure out she didn't start the next day. I was all dressed out and packed up for the ride in, got in the saddle and sat there like a chump with my head hung low as I listened to the clicks and twitches that come with a starter lacking the "umph" to turn that engine.

Taquache as . . . the shelf

So I promptly got in the car one more time and the next day gave Taquache a jump, rode her to the gas station, filled up the tank and the tires and got back on the road to work. It really was a beautiful day to start doing it. Afternoon highs in the 50's, mostly clear day with snow still covering the mountains. Got almost halfway to work when a loud *POW* sounded and all power was lost. Coasted to the side as I found shifting action was still happening but just no power. I was afraid the clutch was the problem but as my friend picked me up on his way to work he noticed there was a chain laying in the highway. Remembering how Police Detectives once told me something like that is called a "clue" I looked down to find it was most likely my chain.

I had to leave Taquache on the side of the road for the night, which was quite nerve racking. But once again I was humbled by the help I could get from fellow riders when in need. My buddy had the truck and the ramp and we took a suspenseful ride in wondering if anyone had taken a fancy to Taquache's rugged beauty over the night and swept her out of my life. But she was there and we got her whisked off to another friend's house for some tooling. I acquired a rather expensive new Renthal O-ring chain and we got it fitted and put on the bike which was enough to get me back on the road. New sprockets came in the next week and those are on now as well.

The damage from the chain being thrown off. Luckily only damage to the bike.

New tires are the next needed bit. Saw some scalloping on the front and some cracks on the rear knobs. Going to go with the Heidenau K60 Scout on the rear and the Continental TKC80 on the front. Since I'm still figuring out my riding style I figured the 50/50 use of the K60 would work well and overall the bike will be a little more dirt than 50/50 with the TKC 80 on the front. Been great to have the right mechanically inclined and tool endowed friends to work this stuff. Family has been great letting me get out and take care of it.

Such wrench, many grease

So after the chain and sprockets were on I took the beast out with a couple friends up the Hatcher's pass road on a beautiful day. Wonderfully windy road up a couple thousand feet to some of the last remnants of winter. Roads are definitely dry albeit sandy in spots (made for a particularly hairy corner or two). If you'd read my previous posts I noted a real "twitchy" or "jerky" feeling on the power delivery without fluctuation in throttle or rpm's. Especially at the low side of the gears. The chain was definitely the problem. Power delivery is smooth and responsive again.


Moral of the day, MAINTAIN YOUR CHAIN!! Not hard to do, super simple with very little toolage needed. Check out the video's below that I found explained things well.

Only a tad nippy out

Please leave a comment down below or send me an email about where you would like me to ride for the first time up here. Whether they're scenic roads or trails I'm willing to go take a look and post it up because my bulletproof Taquache will take me there. Remember to like my facebook page or follow me on Google+ (link to the left) to get notifications of when I post up here. Thanks for stopping by and be safe out there.

Revzilla - How to clean & Lube your motorcycle chain
MC Garage on Motorcyclist Magazine - How to lubricate your chain
                                                                     Replace your chain and sprockets
                                                                     Will WD-40 destroy your chain's O-rings?