2016 - Lessons learned

[STooRay]

Season is over, 3 months hibernation awaits.
So here is some lessons learned in 2016:

Bikewise:

LD riding in rain is actually fun, wearing raingear made for fishermen in the Atlantic, and with a homemade backrest.

New GT4 tyres are better than old Avon Storm, and I`ve learned how easy it is to do the tirechange myself.

Homemade comfort seat is ugly but good. Can now ride for 8 hours straight w/o pain in my waste and reproduction department.

The new HONDA OEM Blinkerpaste with 1% snakeoil is better than the old HONDA Blinkeroil.

My 2003 Tower grey is way faster than my buddys 2006 Silver !


Most important lesson: if the servicemanual calls for engine-removal, always consult this forum first. Saved my life twice this year !


Lifewise:

The nest is now empty, and my youngest has moved to Oslo. That is a lovely 8 hour ride from here, and that compensates a bit for that empty feeling in my house.

I bought my estranged, multimillionaire brother some coffee and icecream. That resulted in him helping me out with some "unsolvable" property-line issues with the county (been ongoing for 30 years...), making my house sellable, and value boosting 10 times. You meet the nicest people on a Honda.




My wifes grandfather on NSU 500 in 1928. Attgatt have had some develpoment.

Riding has made me quite national romantic, but not a nationalist...


Enough about me.

What did you learn this year?
Please share

Stu

 

[Northernkm]

Nice, thanks for sharing. Also started the hibernation period for STeady, but it might last a wee bit more than 3 months... like at least 4.

Bikewise:

Love my ST, and looking forward to a full riding season in 2017 - only got it in early August, but still managed to put 11,000Km / 6800 miles on it

Need to learn to take pictures... 'cause if there is no evidence, it didn't happen!

Lifewise:

Doing great in a new job, love the new environment, new friends and colleagues. Only one left in the nest in Rosemere, and not for very long. Will soon sell the family home, which will allow me to get a garage (preferably heated and with attached living quarters) where I work for both my rides, currently parked for winter 950 Km apart. Sort of making project work difficult on the GL1100...
Lots of new in all sorts of good ways is making me feel young at heart.
Need to learn to take pictures...

 

[Tankereng]

Sometimes the trip is more exciting when you turn left...where the GPS says turn right.........

 

[2Late45]

Sometimes the trip is more exciting when you turn left...where the GPS says turn right.........

,and three lefts don't always make a right...

 

[Mellow]

Sometimes the trip is more exciting when you turn left...where the GPS says turn right.........

I remember that trip... we decided to go left to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

 

[ToddC]

Life lessons for 2016........

Quit riding so fast........second ticket this year on the ST. Silly ID cop couldn't help himself...11 over in a 60mph. First day of riding to WeSToc in CO. Crazy Canucks riding with me were spared tickets......why..?.....who knows. I think it's cloaking device.......

Moved to the sticks this year.....YEA!!
Sold Seattle house , bigger YEA!!

Grand kids at early Christmas are lots of fun....and silliness!

Plans for 2017....get all my house work done before spring...and ride more miles than JRob in Spokane. :bow1:

Everyone have a great Holiday Season !

ToddC

 

[Mellow]

Wow... I just realized I didn't learn a darn thing in 2016.....

 

[Tankereng]

I remember that trip... we decided to go left to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

That's the very trip that I was thinking about! We gotta do that again...

 

[Mellow]

That's the very trip that I was thinking about! We gotta do that again...

That memory was actually from 2010.. therefore, you violated the Thread Rule and as such, will be banned for a period of 2 hours... there, learned something now?

 

[Tankereng]

That memory was actually from 2010.. therefore, you violated the Thread Rule and as such, will be banned for a period of 2 hours... there, learned something now?

The trip was in 2010 but the lesson was not learned until 2016.... request early reinstatement on the grounds of being a little slow... lol

 

[Mellow]

ok fine.. lol

 

[STraymond]

Wow... I just realized I didn't learn a darn thing in 2016.....

And I learned twice as much as Mellow....

 

[larryg]

Homemade comfort seat is ugly but good. Can now ride for 8 hours straight w/o pain in my waste and reproduction department.

This is very interesting!
I'm seriously thinking of ordering an RDL, but might like to try to duplicate what you've done.
Can you give us some details, what you used, and how you built it up ??
Thanks, and enjoyed all of your post, very nice....

 

[thekaz]

I learned this year that when someone tells me that something is the best motorcycle product or mod ever I should use my 30 years of riding to vet the concept first LOL

 

[ibike2havefun]

Thanks for sharing, Stu. I enjoyed it.

Some of what I learned:

Motorcycles

Riding several hundred miles to attend events is fun; meeting the rest of you guys is even more fun
Perhaps I could complete a SS1K ride
I like the solitude inside my helmet
Changing the oil myself is easy, albeit slightly messy
Flushing and replacing the brake fluid myself is not hard, just a little tedious due to plastic removal
Checking the valve clearances myself, now that I've been shown how (thanks again, Blrfl!), is not scary
Moving TAGs is fun and heightens my awareness of interesting roadside features

Life

When buying a car, it's better to involve Mrs. Fun in the decision-making process
Starting to let go of parents is hard
Montana is a beautiful place, but I don't think I would want to live there
15 years on one project is a long time; fresh opportunities are not always a bad thing
Retirement can't (and, sadly,won't) get here soon enough
Our big white fluffy cat really likes nestling in my lap when I am trying to use the computer

 

[STooRay]

Homemade comfort seat is ugly but good. Can now ride for 8 hours straight w/o pain in my waste and reproduction department.

This is very interesting!
I'm seriously thinking of ordering an RDL, but might like to try to duplicate what you've done.
Can you give us some details, what you used, and how you built it up ??
Thanks, and enjoyed all of your post, very nice....

Sorry but I didn`t take much pictures, and I`m really not good in explaining in english but I will give it a try.
The OEM seat uses closed cell foam with same firmness all over, making your groin and center butt to hit the seat first and thus have to carry too much weight from your torso.
A seat wich has softer foam in the midle will leave more wight distributed to the rest of your butt and thighs, end permitting your groin and center butt to sink lower in the soft foam and reducing the tension.

The quickest fix is a kind of spencer-thing: Cut away 4 inches in the middle and replace ut with much softer foam.
Spray-glue is your friend. It is very,very strong. In three minutes you cannot tear it apart. Put the old seat cover on.


To build it more like I did, you just glue on a firmer foam in the outskirts and a softer foam in the middle.
You can sculpt it easily with an electric knife and a flap-disc. I smoothened it out with a 1/2 " polyester mat - sprayglued it on.
The black foam you see is about 50 % firmer than stock foam and the white foam in the middle is about 40% softer.

The upholstering is most difficult. The oem cover has stretch in it. See if you can get hold of some fabric with stretch (sailrite.com has one with 4-way stretch).
Mine was without , and I will redo the cover soon.

I recommend youtube. Lots of how to videos there to learn from.
Good luck!
Stu

 

[drbuzzard]

I got the mighty ST 1300 late in '15 so 2016 was my first full riding season on it. I found that I am more comfortable on it than on my goldwing

 

[larryg]

Thank you...

 

[Williamson]

Lessons learned in Australia

Motorcycle / Riding / Motoring

• The ST1300 is the best bike ever (I really learned that in 2013).
• Make the ride, part of the holiday, stop and smell the roses.
• I didn't get too much riding in done in 2016 (due to nearly six months off with a broken leg), but getting back on the bike after six months was great, and my riding had not gone rusty.
• The Russell Day Long saddle is the best saddle, ever.
• Riding season in St Helena, Australia is 52 weeks long, might get to a few degrees below 0[SUP]0[/SUP]C or above 40[SUP]0[/SUP]C on some days, but you can still ride.
• Don't forget to close the sunroof on your RAV4, if you are gunna leave it in the rain.

Life

• It seems 30 years and 20kgs make a difference seems (broken bones heal more slowly when you are in your 60's, than it your 30's, and if your not a FOB).
• Having adult children doesn't stop you worrying about them, just not paying for them - well not always.
• With all the children and their wives or husbands having their own houses leaves more room for more toys in the garage.
• I'm sick of work.
• Should've been more financially prudent 20 to 30 years ago, I wouldn't have to work now.

 

[tenny80]

Bikewise:
Started the year on a 2015 Vstrom 1000, I really liked the bike but it had a couple some issues I didn't like and was not the best for two up riding. I had been longing for a dual sport bike so I bought a DRZ400S. Since it would be my gravel road bike I thought a Sport Touring bike would suit my wife and I better so I picked up a 2012 Concours 14. Long story short I didn't look over the bike well enough, it had a lot of issues. By the time I got most of them resolved I was so annoyed with that bike that when a guy offered me some cash and a 2012 Vstrom 650 I took him up on it. I previously had a 05 650 and loved that bike. The 650 is my favorite bike, did a 3k trip to Gaspe Qc on it in September. My wife though... she hated it... Sold it to a nice gentlemen who road a Goldwing and found an amazing deal on a ST1300. I had wanted an R1200RT but it just wasn't in the budget. I didn't get to ride the ST much, and my wife or kids never got on it. It's hibernating now for winter. I hope to have it for 5+ years though after having so many bikes in 2016!

Lifewise:
We became foster parents, I wasn't so sure about it at first but my wife puts up with all my nonsense so I did the training, etc. It's had it's ups and downs but it was a great decision. The boy we have has been with us almost a year now and I couldn't imagine him not being here.

I got a promotion at work.

Bought my "dream" truck, a 2016 F150.

Life is great, couldn't be better... I hope 2017 continues on this trend as I can easily say 2016 was the best year of my life!