Rode to work

Kickstand safety switch got me

I brought the bike to Lincoln Marsh in Wheaton for a couple of pictures.  After taking a couple pictures, I noticed that the lighting was better on the other side of the lot.  I left the kickstand down and when I started pulling the clutch out to roll over there, the bike died immediately.  In my defense, the newest bike that I have ever owned until now was a 1982 KZ550.  I had heard of kickstand kill switches, but never had a motorcycle with one (although there have been a few times that it would have come in handy).  I sat there for a while, trying to rev it a bit while pulling the clutch-- etc., nothing made any sense.  Finally, after going for a short trail hike and coming back, it occurred to me that there must be a safety switch on the kickstand.  Lesson learned...

Repaired tail light, evicted stink bugs

After work last night, I took apart the tail light to figure out why it was not working (I was about to ride to work that afternoon when I checked the brake light and realized that neither it nor the running light were working).  It turned out to be a bad ground connection at a bullet connector under the fender.  Virginia mud must be slightly acidic.  After cleaning the three bullet connectors, I decided to remove the battery and charge it.  To my surprise, I found a small colony of live stink bugs living on and around the battery!  Luckily, they were very slow and not too bright.  I was able to catch every one that I saw with a pair of tweezers and a container.  Right now, I am waiting for the two hours to pass after fogging the garage.

October 12, 2013 -- The Trade

Just over a week ago, I had posted an ad on USA2strokers.com to trade my 1979 Yamaha RD400F (a very rare and collectible bike) for a KLR650.  There was a response within a day, offering a 2007 KLR650 and a parts bike basket-case.  I replied that I was interested, but wasn't sure how we would make the trade since we were 700 miles apart.  He offered to deliver, we hammered-out the details, and on Saturday he arrived with the bike.  After taking both bikes for a ride in the rain, we shook hands and did the paperwork.  An excellent trade!