June 12, 2015
Each morning I’ve been working on the bike in the early hours before work, while it’s still a little cooler. I have a single car garage at my apartment, and it faces west. So it’s much cooler in the morning than in the late afternoon/evening. Working with only a small set of hand tools and on the ground (no lift, no bench, etc) isn’t what I’ve been used to the last few years, but it’s good practice for the next year. At least it’s clean concrete and not dirt or mud!
It seems like there’s a never-ending list of things to do, but suddenly the list is much shorter and I feel like I’m close to finishing up the bike. Over the last several days I’ve:
- Mounted new tires
- Installed a stiffer rear spring (this bike is designed for a lighter rider without all the stuff I’m carrying)
- Greased the steering head bearings, rear suspension pivot bearings, and swingarm bushings
- Mounted a new front fender (the original low front fender tends to pack up with mud in really muddy conditions, and in fact I tore it off in Mexico in the mud)
- Installed a larger, louder horn (I’m not a big fan of using the horn, but “when in Rome…”)
- Installed heated grips (yes, it gets cold in South America, even in the summer — there’s a lot of high elevation)
- Installed a new set of Holan Nomada II panniers. I have this brand on my Super Tenere as well, and really like them.
- Installed a new mounting cradle for my Garmin GPS. The previous one failed in Mexico.
Over the next few days, I’ll re-pack the bike using my checklist and make sure I haven’t missed anything.