Finally, I got a chance to put the first 50 miles on the bike after the new top end was installed a week ago.
After almost four days of solid rain, then a day of rest, which did not include rest, but a lot of garden work, I was able to throw a leg over the saddle, plop my ass down, turn the key, prime the carb and fire her to life for something more than a ride to the store and back.
This time after a top end, I am taking my mechanic's advice, and breaking her in easy. Not hard here in the hills of NE TN. All the back roads are hilly, curvy, and marked at 45 mph or less. This makes for the "Don't drive at a constant, have the MPH and the RPMs up and down, allowing for the seating of the rings to go smoother for the first 50 miles." OK, so I put 68 miles on the bike yesterday, all on the back roads, all at 45 MPH or less, until I hit the magic 50 miles. Then I pumped her up to 55 MPH for a mile or two in between curves.
While the ride was only about two hours long, I still had a great ride. I took hiway 107...one of my favorite rides in the area and headed east for a while before jumping on a west bound road and heading for home.
The roads were quiet, not much traffic coming or going, they were mostly clear of debris, except for where people had gravel driveways that headed up a grade...allowing for wash out gravel in the road...of course these were mostly on or going into and out of curves...but damn...it was good!
I'm not real happy with the performance of the bike at this juncture, at any time the bike is running under 2k RPMs, she dogs. Real bad. As soon as she hits the magic 2 grand or above...it's like riding a rocket. Kinda sucks when that happens just before a curve or while whipping out of it. So once I get the 250 miles of suggested break in for the engine...she goes back in for the dyna tune...They will know about it then. Till that time, I will be aware of the "sling shot affect" and will react accordingly.
The pipes are another small disappointment. I didn't order the heat shields to go with em...it was an added expense, that while badly needed, were left for another time due to the expense of the total rebuild. In other words, they were something I wanted, but could live without...for now. I've learned to cock my boot away from the forward pipe while my foot is extended in the forward position, I have learned to make sure my leg is not resting near the pipe when the left leg is down at a stop...I have learned that I DO WANT HALF CHAPS! (I can get them for half the price of the heat shields!) But most of all, I learned that I really like heat shields.
Other than that, break in time was perfect. The weather was perfect for the new cylinders, pistons and rings...low 70's...so the heat of the day was not overwhelming for them. The roads, as I said earlier were empty, the rains had brought out the trees in fine young greens, or in their brilliant colors of whites, yellows, pinks, reds, and the rainbow of spring colors that simply make ya glad to be alive and experiencing it on a bike! The air was crisp and clean, and the aromas of the day were vibrant and bursting all around me! What an excellent day!
Gonna do it all again today....hoping to be done with the Garden of Good and Evil this morning...(That's what a friend of mine has decided to name the project I am building for my mom...a three tiered garden surrounding a 8x8 stone patio.)
Today I add the cow shit to the soil I put in yesterday...and leave Mom to happily toil away at her new garden, adding tomato plants, potato's, onions, Cukes, and what ever else suits her...I'm very proud of the effort we (my man and I,) have made for Mom...it looks great, and she just loves it!
OK, done for the ride log now...I'll give more details of today's ride...tomorrow...maybe some pictures, that's if I don't get too eager to ride and take off without the camera again today!
Chessie
