On the right a Shinko 705 with 10k on it. On the left, a Shinko 705 that has only rolled across my garage floor. The Versys has new shoes. 😀
The Versys gets new shoes!
I can run faster and jump higher with these on!
We decided to purchase the Princess Auto motorcycle tire bead breaker, and the on sale, Dynamic tire balancer based on a review by a friend, so there was a flurry of seasonal tire changes completed in the garage this July.
Truth be told, I decided it was well past the time to replace my front tire on the Versys, and I opted to do it myself, so broke the bead with a series of wood clamps but it was a right PITA (pain in the arse) and when done, I tried to install balance beads and that too was an unholy mess until I learned the technique that worked to get the two ounces into the tire, but that valve stem was a terrible! It wouldn't take any air until I put the older valve core back in. I had bought a valve core removing tool, a few of them, but was I ever glad I did, as I had to cut mine in half to fit it under the paired brake disks, and it worked like a charm over sixteen times to seat and unseat that core! **Sigh.
I still had my rear tire on order and two more tires and tubes for Caroline's KLR, and when the tires arrived, we convinced ourselves that buying the Motorcycle Tire Changer with bead breaker for $89.99 Canadian was worth it. We ran into a mate Jayson from the Red Isle Riders, and I mentioned that the Motorcycle Wheel Balancing Stand was on sale this week, and he said he owned one, and it "Did alright." Good enough for me! We went in, and left Princess Auto lighter in the wallet than when we went in, but well armed with the motorcycle bead breaker and the tire balancer.
Assembling them was straight forward, and I used Caroline's 1/4" Ridgid impact driver along with blue loctite thread locker to assemble most of the two items. I could see that storing the bead breaker on a wall spike high in the garage was going to be perfectly acceptable when not in use, but I'd have to find a special home for the Wheel Balancer up and out of the way off of the shop floor. As the garage is also damp, I oiled everything that moved, and used anti seize paste on things that didn't like the hex lock nuts.
Or three turkeys visit West Point and Cedar Dunes, then blast home for a lovely Thanksgiving feast with the Kelly family.
It was Wobbly Cat's last day on PEI and I wanted to do a Monday ride, but we were both slug-a-bed, and it took us an age to get moving, and by the time the gears stopped squeaking and began to turn, it was around noon, and time to invite others to join in on the fun, so I asked Seeline if she wanted to join the ride that was heading out to West Point Cedar Dunes for some photos.
West Point Lighthouse PE
It took a while as Wobbly Cat was booking some airline tickets that day to take advantage of a drop in price, so we didn't clear my apartment until later in the afternoon... and this time there were no side cuts, it was straight down the Trans Canada to make time and collect Seeline from Crapaud on our way through, where we collected her at the South Shore Pharmacy, then the three of us rode straight down the TCH.
As it was lunch time, I hoped that the PEI Handpie Company would be open but no such luck on a Holiday Monday, but Wobbly opted to take some photos and it gave me a great idea for a wee parting gift... More on that later.
Day Tripping - Charlottetown PE to West Point PE and Return - Drive 310 km, 4 hours
Charlottetown PE to West Point PE and Return
The Handpie Company Photo Credit: WobblyCat
I think the tractor is winning this race! Photo Credit: WobblyCat
Well, we would beat our way south of the Trans Canada, and while doing that, we passed a field where they were harvesting the potato crop, and I did a U turn to get a shot of two.
The harvester is in the distance
It seems a bit strange... They spray the tops of the potato plant with a herbicide that kills the tops, stops the growth of the potatoes, and allow the greens to wither away so that there is minimal vegetation left during the harvesting process. The machine then lifts the mounded dirt including the potatoes and brings them up, stripping away the loose dirt and vegetation, and tumbles them into a potato truck that will take them back for washing, sorting and storage. For a short time frame, potato trucks are allowed to be driven by just about anyone, and if the driver is in a hurry, chances are you may get a few pounds of potatoes tossed in your general direction at stops or turns. :)
Another consideration is the dirt from the field pulled out onto the road. It's no bother when it is dry, but that red clay turns into slippery snot when it rains, so if wet, you treat it like riding across ice. No large steering or braking maneuvers until you are clear of it.
Once upon a time this represented wealth and hard work. Now it wants to be firewood
Yesterday we took someone special out for their birthday lunch, so today we thought we would have a picnic somewhere on the island, and of course there was no destination, it was just an excuse for a ride once again.
Caroline at Sea Cow Head Lighthouse Prince Edward Island
We pieced together some food items, I offered up "meat sticks", and she contributed a can of Kirkland tinned chicken that had seen better days. I tossed my gear into my top box and sent her a last message to say that I was out the door and on my way, but I also took the precaution of sharing my live location with her as I might have a used power bank purchase on Facebook Marketplace... Or perhaps not. lol. If he was awake and on my way, I'd ask if I could e-transfer the cash and pick it up on the way from Charlottetown out to Tryon, or so I thought. I did manage to make it as far as the MayPoint Road Ultramar before I heard the facebook messenger chime, but he lived in the wrong direction out past Stratford, so I transferred him the money and made arrangements to pick it up on Tuesday of this week when I would be free. It's an Anker 20,000mAh li-po pack that I'll be using to upgrade my off grid power for camping and general riding, with an eye towards bringing power up into my tank bag in future. (And he miss labelled it, turns out it was 10,000 mAh, but for $20 for an Anker branded battery I deemed it worthwhile)
Augustine Cove High Tide
Caroline uses a Quadlock mount with anti-vibration dampener to mount her phone for use with Google Maps for navigation about the island. There aren't many spots without coverage so it's a great tool for riding around, but it's not ideal unless you have a back up plan such as Maps.me with Open Street Maps (OSM) installed for offline routing if needed. Quadlock is a great system but you really need the anti-vibration dampener component or you can kiss your phone camera focus goodbye. iPhone Optical Image Stabilization OIS can be destroyed if you don't ride with the anti-vibe mount. Ask Caroline or myself for details on that gem. **Sigh
Anyhow, she was very kind and waved me ahead of her for the technical twisty bits as she was still feeling her way out for this start to the season, but soon found her pace or happy place if you will.
Caroline at Carleton PE
It was near 1300 so it was going to be a late lunch. lol. And once I'd settled down and pulled out my gear, I found that I'd messed up. I my imagination, I was going to use my SVEA123R Swedish Flamethrower to cook lunch in my brand new stainless steel cook set, an upgrade over the older aluminum setup that couldn't be used over a campfire, while these could be if you wanted to use them as a 1.1 litre billy can. What could go wrong?
I could have completely forgotten to fill the tank with fuel, that's what could go wrong!
SVEA123R with zero gas
Caroline to the rescue with her wee 110gr ISO butane cartridge and mini gas stove that I'd bought for her back in 2019. Lol. I felt like such an idiot, lunch was back on the menu, and it was now 1322 and we hadn't even begun to boil the water for lunch.
Caroline enjoying her Special Ramen.
Caroline brought along a tin of Costco chicken, and I'd prepped some onion and garlic before hand at home, so Caroline got the first pot, then it was my turn to wait for lunch.
1350 and mine is ready. Clearly we should have started this all earlier. lol.
You can see the topsoil, the clay, and the porous sandstone that makes up much of the island
I love this place almost as much as I love this girl.
Sea Cow Head Selfie!
Do you see that blue bag attached to the Caroline's rear rack? When we put our kickstands down, there was a bunch of trash that had been discarded by people using this spot, probably teens who forgot to bring their mothers along to clean up after them. How they expected aluminum beer cans to decompose is beyond me, but I love that Caroline isn't content to leave a place full of litter, and we both filled the bag, and included our lunch litter. I'm proud to be with someone who likes to leave the place better than when she found it.
Of course I had to spin out to the end of the point to get this shot with my bike. You might recall seeing me pose it here in the past? :)
2009 Versys KLE650 Sea Cow Head Prince Edward Island
We had to head back to Caroline's as Erika had planned to pick up her 1984 Honda CM250 that was stored for the winter in her garage.
And she showed up with her friend D'Anyil late in the afternoon. Thankfully I'd installed a battery tender on the bike earlier in the season, and put her bike on a charge so it was full, because it was obstinant and did seem to want to spark into life. Bikes need fuel, spark and air, and I was fairly sure of the spark, but it was discovered that the tank was dry, so the solution was to top it off with some premium gasoline Caroline keeps for her lawn mower, and then wait until the carburetor had a chance to refill.
Probably a good time to air up the tires, and Caroline has a portable battery operated air pump that is ideally suited to the purpose. Yep, they'd lost some pressure over the winter.
And it needed a top off of oil as well. A bit of Shell Rotella T4 15W40 and it was good to go.
Hunter is happy to be part of all the action
Erika got the bike running well with lots of choke and prayer, there was a burst of smoke and noise, and a shout... "IT'S ALIVE!!!". In spite of offering a stay for supper, Erika rode off on the Trans Canada Highway towards town followed by the purse driven by D'Anyil.
And of course Tazo and Hunter needed their customary loving at the end of the day. Awesome.
That was a great start to the season, and I'm hoping we can do a repeat soon. Perhaps with an expanded menu. :)
What do you take on your moto picnics?
P.S. The chocolate dessert I brought melted in their wrappers, and needed to be refrigerated in order to be eaten later on. Caroline was most pleased with the Icy Squares I'd brought with me. :)
