Productive Weekend

I had an incredibly productive weekend, triggered by awareness of my imminent tour and an incredibly flat rear tire.

I left work early on Friday to run some errands. The R1200ST seemed to be handling strangely on my ride home to pick up some documents. Before I mounted back up to head out, I walked around the bike to take a look and found a sliver of metal embedded in the rear tire.

When I pulled the metal out (construction staple?), a loud hissing sound (of escaping air) commenced. I quickly rolled the R1200ST into the garage and changed into street clothes so I could complete my errands in the truck. While driving, I called Patrick at Motorcycles Unlimited and reserved two Michelin Pilot Roads.

Later that evening, I pulled both wheels off the bike, finding the rear tire completely deflated. I’m very proud to say that I completed all this work without having to call for a BSG (Big Strong Guy™) even once! I used a box wrench to lengthen the ratchet lever for my front axle, and found an angle for the rear wheel studs that allowed me to pull hard enough to break them loose.

Getting the new tires mounted was a simple walk-in deal on Saturday morning. Thanks Patrick!

With the wheels back on the bike, I decided to continue my wrenching streak by doing the 30k mile valve adjust and oil change early (at 28360 miles). With my now grease-smudged Jim VonBaden printouts from advrider, I’m getting pretty confident with the valve adjusts. The whole thing probably took me no more than 1.5 hours…if you don’t count the time wasted searching for tools, replenishing my paper towel supplies, and raptly gazing at my handiwork.

Some Medusa’s-nest clean up (electrical re-wiring) on Sunday brought the R1200ST into full mechanical readiness for my trip. I leave in 20 days. I can hardly wait!

I capped off the weekend by repotting some houseplants. See? Me domestic too.