April 1, 2022
Ever since I got the 250 Nighthawk the front suspension oil seals have been leaking. It's not the first motorcycle that my seals have leaked on so I didn't pay much attention to it. When the dust seal finally cracked from being dried out on one side I knew it was time to do something. The first thing I did was go to an online dealer I had used before and ordered the parts. Normally this is the easy part as usually the parts come in about two weeks. I ordered the seals in the beginning of November and when the middle of December rolled around I emailed the company to see what was the delay. I got a quick reply that the parts were on backorder and if I wanted to cancel they would do so. I let it go thinking they would come in another month. When March came around and I still didn't have the parts I called to see what was up.
To my discomfort the message on the phone was that the number was out of service. More emails yielded no results either. I called my credit card company to file a dispute, something they reacted to quickly by replacing the funds, mailing me forms to fill out and promising to get to the bottom of this. I ordered seals from another company and they came within a week. Upon their arrival I took the bike into the local shop on a Thursday and got it back on Tuesday. The new seals look spiffy and the front suspension is much firmer than it was before.
I have since heard that the online company, in business for twenty years, has gone belly up. I had done a lot of business with them prior to this and was saddened to hear the news.
This spring I have at least three oil changes to do and a drive belt change on the big scooter. While the miles haven't piled up on them, a good amount of time has passed and the oil has been in the bikes a good, long time. Stories of these tasks will follow.
Posted by Jim Zeiser.
January 23, 2022
This is the time of year that I dislike the most. January Winter. This year it's been especially cold with a few single digit temps, snow and black ice. To combat this the local highway department slathers salt on the roads with great gusto and right now you can't tell where the snow starts and the road ends in the gutter. I don't dare take any of the bikes out in this as rust protection is nonexistent on motorcycles and scooters. I go down once a week and start the bikes to keep their fuel ...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
October 18, 2021
Yesterday was the final event (so far) for the Hudson Valley Biker Network(HVBN). Over the season the heads of the Network have developed a scenic route through the Catskill Mountains called the Cat's Tail. Many events throughout the spring and summer kept me from partaking of this ride. Yesterday I got the chance when the HVBN leaders put together an event for a charity open to everyone instead of the modest groups who done the Cat's Tail before.
Starting from the Speedway gas station in Sa...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
September 29, 2021
A week ago I saddled up the big Kawasaki with my new removable saddle bags and headed out to Lake George with my friend and Best Man, Marc Horowitz, and his two sons. We met at a gas station in New Paltz just off the New York State Thruway and struck out from there. It was the first time in a while that the Kawasaki and I were on a major highway and all my concerns about it being up to the task faded within a few minutes. Their bikes have all been built in the 21st Century while the Kawasaki...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
September 14, 2021
This past few weeks have been both busy and non eventful so I don't have much to report on the two wheeled front. I missed about three motorcycle events due to weather and social commitments. I will be going to Americade in Lake George next week so a good story is forthcoming. In the meantime I soldier on riding the usual suspects, less one.
Last week I went to replace the muffler on the big scooter when I noticed something looked amiss in the rear axle. In a word two bearings complete...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
July 26, 2021
While that seems like a strange title, it isn't. Steady readers, all six of you, might remember two years ago I did a ride I called unsatisfactory. On that ride I was annoyed that about halfway through the route part of the pack turned and another part continued straight to a bar for lunch. When I discovered that I had followed the bar group I went home in disgust. This was that same ride and this time it didn't break up in the middle. Since the ride benefits suicide prevention I decided ...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
June 14, 2021
Now that my health adventure is under control I can finally get out and do more rides. Yesterday I rode to the "Love Holds Life" ride at the American Legion Hall in Poughkeepsie. I decided that since there wouldn't be any mountains to climb I would use the CF Moto scooter. It has enough strength to handle the roads on the east side of the Hudson and doesn't require dancing on the shift lever all day. That turned out to be the case on this day.
Did you know there are two streets named Overlo...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
June 3, 2021
After doing battle with a "Health Adventure" I finally felt good enough to get out on a group motorcycle ride last week. There was a benefit ride out of Moroney's Harley Davidson in New Windsor, NY. The proceeds went to Look Twice-Save a Life a group promoting motorcycle awareness among the general public. It was one of the first really hot days in May and I was really feeling it. As a result of how I was feeling I took the 250 Nighthawk since it's the lightest and easiest to ride among the ...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
April 22, 2021
Two years ago I sold my 150cc Chinese scooter and I kind of missed it. Don't get me wrong, my three bikes have done some amazing things for me in the last five years but I missed a small engine scooter in the fold. I learned in the ten years that I had my other scooter that there were some things about it that could have been better. It had small wheels that made it a little less than solid riding and the engine was working pretty hard at times due to its lack of power. The new scooter co...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
If you wish to comment my e-mail address is h1500e@hotmail.com. I'd like to hear anything-good or bad-that anyone would like to say. As they said in college, we're all lifelong learners.
