JT's Corner

JT and I headed to Amish with our sights set on
JT's / Evans corner. We found it right where it
always was and in beautiful shape too. Nothing to
report about the corner this trip we both made it through.


Tire inspection after rt 258.


Our favorite kind of sign! From here we headed west up rt 541, the
east side of Amish was much cleaner than the west but the riding was
still excellent.


There was plenty of horse shit in the road, and some of it was
alive! Actually a few squirrels and a ground hog were alive and stayed
that way but not by much, they seemed to be hiding in the shadows and
the piles of shit. Animals must like the sound of my bike cause
they left JT alone.


Lunch Rosco Village style! First time I've been there this season.


It was a long day of testing tires 370 miles or so. My new tire
handles fairly well, I am surprised how far it leans over and
still grips. I really tested it on rt 541, there is a beautiful
corner there that seems to never end...next time I need
to get a picture.

New Tire of a Dfferent Kind

After putting off changing the front tire for long enough
I finally decided to try some inexpensive tires out
that have been recommended on adv. The Shinko E700
runs about $39 shipped...you can't really beat that.


Little more aggressive but ok road manners...and JT and I tested it.
Feels funny when you are really leaned over but it stuck so I'm
good with that...trust me..


Old and worn out...really it was the tread cupping that was really bad.
I couldn't feel the edge so well anymore.


Bike minus front wheel!


Needed a little weight to keep the front off the ground while I did my work.


I also picked up some tools for the job at hand. I wanted to make
sure if I got a flat in the middle of nowhere I could handle a road
side repair....and I can. I only used the tools seen above and they
now reside on the bike.


JT was thinking of me when he ordered his balancing kit...he got
one with big enough ends to fit the KTM axle...thanks dude!


There were some concerns expressed that the cheap tire would be
hard to balance...I must have guessed right about the heavy spot
and it only took 3/4 of an ounce to get it really close.

Ride report is next on the list, JT and I had a sweet ride the
day after I mounted this tire up...more on that later.

Bike Tire

Sometimes ya carry some strange things on motorcycles.
It's not the strangest I have seen but looks funny.



I also changed out my wind screen for the original.
After my seat change I was getting a lot of turbulence
in the saddle. The stock screen seems to be better
so I'll run with it for a bit and see how it goes.

Vintage 2009

Another year at Mid-Ohio race track.
There were so many pictures I made a
quick slide show.
I look forward to 2010...

Tail Stand

Looks fairly normal minus a rear wheel.



Can you believe the front wheel needs to be 20 inches off the ground
to properly bleed the air from the cooling system! So I figured
this was the only way to do it. I also couldn't find any willing
people to hold it up for me.




looks big from here!

Meadows Drive

I ditched work early today and decided I could use a little ride.
Now there was a nasty rumor that a nice little road I enjoy riding
had been patched with tar and that it's unridable. Well I didn't find
much tar, but I did find a gravel patch, 2 dear, and several birds that
were all attracted to my bike for some reason. The biggest thing
I found on this road was this monster KTM parked momentarily for a glamor
shot with my favorite road sign in the background :-)

Flush Flush Flush Away

Back to my cooling system....AGAIN....
Lets have a look at what is living, or
dying inside my cooling system shall we!
First the overflow or puke tank.

mmmm....a nice puke gritty yellow....yummmmy

Now lets look what's inside the radiator and motor.

hummm...a nice milky blue with...well i don't know what!

My cap looks trashed as you can see! Wonder what color
is eating it alive? Any guesses?


So here is what I did. Drained it HOT! Forced flushed with water!


Then filled with this flush stuff, topped with a new cap....
I need to get 3 hours of riding in then this will come out
and my hope is I will have cleaned it enough to last...well
a season!


My flushing technique in action!

Sun Set Edgewater

Beautiful end to the day!

Emerald Necklace

Little jaunt on Saturday afternoon. Lots of slow moving traffic
but we avoided most of them. The weather was beautiful, 70's,
and sunny! Took a few pics but not nearly enough. The Thai
food was excellent, the yellow curry was the favorite dish!

East Side Run 2009

Nice little run about on the East side. Tommy ditched us so it was
up to JT and Mark and they did a fantastic job. Thanks dudes!
The weather was warm, no rain to be found and although there
was a good amount of traffic all was well. The KTM seems to be
back in action, my fuel mileage is getting better and better with
every ride.


The infamous Michells Mills Road (the one we were looking for anyway)


The old bridge for a little drink and rest.


Looking over the side we found lunch.

Valley Ride 5-26-2009

Out for a Memorial Day ride. Had a wonderful time and beautiful weather.
4 bikes and 6 people, Sara is just learning to ride the new to nighthawk
and Matty took it for a little test spin. Matty is about to be a father
this week and we are all happy for him!

Coolant Oil - Oil Coolant

Well I received my jet kit and prefilter this past week and I decided it was time to install it on Saturday. This should have been nice and straight forward but as I have learned with KTM's 950 Adventure or my Adventure anyway it's never that simple. After I peeled the tanks I noticed some crap in the overflow reservoir on close inspection it turns out to be oil. Crap! This stuff is hard to clean out too so it's probably going to be floating around in my system for a while.I did a compression test to make sure I had not blown a head gasket but that proved not to be the case, of course if it's just between a coolant and oil passage I guess that would not show up anyway. Here are some shots of what I found.

Camera Mount

All the on bike images were shot with this camera rig.
Made of 2 photo pieces made by Bogen Manfrotto.
The 386B Nano Clamp & the 814-1 Hydrostatic Arm.
Seems to work well on round stuff but I don't think
it's a solution for flat edges. Time and miles
will tell if it will hold up to the abuse.

Columbus via Amish

I had to work Saturday afternoon so I was planning on riding
through the great Ohio country side. As it turns out a few
fellow riders joined in. It was windy but beautiful!
Thanks JT, Donnie, and Mark I had a blast.

Lunch Time!

It's Friday, and Lunch Time and the Weather is Beautiful!
Little more of my commute to and from work. Has a little
off road, couple of turns, couple of hills and rises,
and a grated bridge or 2 to keep you on your toes.
It could be worse...