Mechanical Mishaps

After what can only be described as the ultimate procrastination I finally got around to installing the replacement LED strips on my BMW.

GiJoe and I had tried to fit them last year and ended up with blown/broken LEDs all round. We presumed somehow the controller failed so I had to order new strips. They arrived earlier in the year but I had been doing other things so they sat waiting.

Of course such an install requires some extra spannering hands, so off to GiJoe again ...

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The ride started at 9am on Saturday in Taupo, so a Friday evening trip down was required as I’m probably not the earliest of risers. I’d managed to tempt Devil into doing the adventure ride, but he was so keen he left Auckland at 1530, already packed and fuelled. I was not so lucky, with a day of work to pile through, so left work at 1700 (still early for an average day) and headed home. I hadn’t packed the previous night, so still had all that to do.

During the day Devil and I had ...

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Ah, another day of hapless mechanicing on my poor bike. If you thought the mods were over, you’d be well wrong. I have plenty of ideas left yet!

Of course, I shouldn’t really be left to my own devices so GiJoe was drafted in (probably somewhat reluctantly – and yet it’s like a train wreck to him, he simply can’t resist watching).

In today’s episode, it’s a new bash plate and a toolbox specific to the GSA luggage racks. After burning my leg during the Poronui weekend ...

Normally I woudn’t dedicate an entire blog to just one mod, but I thought this could apply to so many different bikes, was extremely handy and pretty easy to do.

The 1150GS had big fat handlebar grips, but when the R1200GS came out, they used thinner grips. I’ve been using my thinner ones since January, but the Hornet and KTM both have/had Oxford Grips, and you get used to thicker grips. I’ve also got big hands, so thin grips actually get quite annoying as you have to close your hand ...

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Twice in one month? Where is this going?

GiJoe had offered cake from his lovely lady who has been on a cake baking course during the week. Despite my sweet tooth, I decided later, as I was tired from work.

Friday afternoon it was offered again, and I asked if it came with a side of checking why my hot grips weren’t working. I don’t think he was too surprised.

Saturday morning, over to his place again (with ginger beer of course, his supply was dwindling) ...

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An unusual situation I would agree, but for a while I had been thinking off making the rear of the hornet more visible. I commute a lot, up and down the motorway, around town etc., and figured the more presence the rear of the bike had, the more chance I had at not being rear ended.

Givi makes a rear stop lamp kit that directly goes into the Givi E55 top box, which is what I have on the Hornet. Rather expensive, but more visibility. In the meantime, I added some reflective tape, which ...

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After posting some posts on KB about my wiring issue with the Zumo 550, Saturday morning rolls around. I head over to a mate, who likes wiring, and since I shouldn’t be left alone with a multimeter (and I now own one) I figure that he would be of some very useful assistance.

He shows me that there is far more to a multimeter than just measuring volts. It can even do circuit testing and other stuff (that can come when I need to know). This means I can hook into the wiring wherever, ...

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Ok... so not without some considerable help from the mechanics.

As blogged before, a uh, miscalculation in trajectory saw the BMW tumbling into a field. Rode her back, and the last two months have been spent sorting insurance claim, waiting for parts, then she got booked into the shop etc, and now she is finally being put back together with some shiny parts. While all that got going, I've been developing a healthy twitch in one eye, from the lack of riding her.

This ...

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