What Did You Did To Your Motobrick Today ?

[Laitch]

  I use an old toilet plunger to work it around, kind of like churning butter.

Churning butter with a toilet plunger is certain to build the immune systems of those who survive consuming it.  :2thumbup:

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Churning butter with a toilet plunger is certain to build the immune systems of those who survive consuming it.  :2thumbup:

Is that why Vermonters are such a hardy group?  We get our butter from the grocery store.

[Laitch]

We get our butter from the grocery store.

Not according to your previous post. Look, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. You're resourceful.  :clap:

[Laitch]

I closed the garage door on the end, and it bent the tray down without cracking the cowl.

Now that's what I call ingenious product testing.  :clap:

[mdk_mdk]

Thanks Gryph, I'll post the obligatory brown water picture after I wash!

I do it right in the laundry tub.  I filled about 1/3 full with warm water, add a 1/2 cap of laundry detergent and a squirt of Dawn dish detergent.  Any spots on the jacket get a drop or two of Dawn and a bit of a rub with my fingertips.  Then into the tub and let it soak for about 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes of soaking, work it around in the water.  I use an old toilet plunger to work it around, kind of like churning butter.  I do that for another 5 minutes. 

Pull the jacket out and let it drain until as much of the dirty water is out as possible.  Let the water out of the tub and refill about 1/3 full of warm water and repeat the churning to rinse the soap and dirt out.  Remove, drain the jacket and depending on how bad the rinse water is do another rinse.  Hang it on a sturdy hanger with a 5 foot piece of PVC pipe through the sleeves for a couple days to dry.

[alexg]

Hi:
I was thinking about the bike rack off the rear luggage rack. I think that the strength of material problems can be solved. However, the change in driving dynamics might still be noticeable. Basically, depending on how heavy the bicycle is, how tall and how far back, it might affect the efforts to lean the bike into a curve, and also the rotational inertia moment on the vertical axis (which will affect how fast the thing will respond to cornering efforts).

AlexG

[natalena]

I was thinking about the bike rack off the rear luggage rack. I think that the strength of material problems can be solved. However, the change in driving dynamics might still be noticeable. Basically, depending on how heavy the bicycle is, how tall and how far back, it might affect the efforts to lean the bike into a curve, and also the rotational inertia moment on the vertical axis (which will affect how fast the thing will respond to cornering efforts).

Hi Alex, we're on the same page with the changes to ride dynamics. The 2 test bikes were a 22lb round tube traditional carbon (Allez Epic), and an 18lb aero frame (Cervelo P2C). Upshot is there was no noticeable difference in the two bikes effect on ride/handling. There is minimal effect on reasonable speed sweeping turns, and low speed intersection turns are noticeable and not as 'heavy' feeling as two-up of course. Braking is the same, in both straight and leaning before turns. I'm looking at building a small internal cage for the cowl, which will mount onto the rear frame loop...this may wonky up the electronics per MB experts, but this is a "reverse café" so it may help the electrics. ;)

The most noticeable effect is at a standstill when leaning the bike onto the sidestand, feels a little top heavy, even for the K75s.

There is a HUGE improvement on stability and vibration by ratcheting the handlebar drops to the square sidecase "lock" hole. It tightens up, and tensions the frame forward enough where a wheelie at a stoplight, or stoppie in the carpool lane would be comfortable. No plans on testing that extreme though.

Cheers

[island_boy]

There's a guy down South here who shows up to triathlon's on motorcycle, with tent and bike rack mounted like this.  He welded it up/fab'd it himself.  It works quite well, and he does the races on a very low cost basis. 

Impressive!

[natalena]

There's a guy down South here who shows up to triathlon's on motorcycle, with tent and bike rack mounted like this.  He welded it up/fab'd it himself.  It works quite well, and he does the races on a very low cost basis. 

Impressive!

Super cool. I'm all for getting near zero carbon (known for bringing back deer draped on the bars and seat, on a MTB). FWIW, riding with a bicycle is easy-peasy compared to riding with an 8'6" triple stringer surfboard, I'll look for the pics on my 900 Ninja when we lived in San Diego.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

City cases are the biz for commuting or running errands around town.  Copped a pair on eBay for just $100!!!  Delivered this evening, they were in incredible shape.  Yeah, they had a couple very small cracks around the mounts, but no scrapes or scratches.  From 5 feet they look new.

Got them so cheap because they didn't have a key.  Grabbed one of the Ilsa's spare keys, and it worked!!!!!!   

Some times things come out way better than we deserve them to.

[Chaos]

City cases are the biz for commuting or running errands around town. 

Picked up a set last year and luv em.  Don't usually need the extra space and was always banging into the big cases in my crowded garage.  Not to mention the improved aerodynamics.  Good deal you got there.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Beyond the trimmer size I really like the single catch and the internal pocket.  Makes them very easy to open, and you can just toss whatever you have inside and close them up.  The only time I need the extra volume of the regular cases is when I'm out on a cross-country trip.

Another bonus is that they are about 10 times easier to remove and install than the standard cases.  Downside of that is that you have to be careful to have them securely attached to the bike.

[Laitch]

Beyond the trimmer size I really like the single catch and the internal pocket.  Makes them very easy to open, and you can just toss whatever you have inside and close them up. 

Would naked mole rats be comfortable in them?

[Martin]

More importantly how many profiteroles to a case. And for Ozinians how many tins of beer.
Regards Martin.

[K1300S]

Beyond the trimmer size I really like the single catch and the internal pocket.  Makes them very easy to open, and you can just toss whatever you have inside and close them up.  The only time I need the extra volume of the regular cases is when I'm out on a cross-country trip.

Another bonus is that they are about 10 times easier to remove and install than the standard cases.  Downside of that is that you have to be careful to have them securely attached to the bike.

every since i got my city cases a few years ago, the full size cases have been gathering dust.  the city's are so much better for day trips....i rarely take them off.

i actually have two sets of the type 3 full size cases...should get rid of a set since i never use them!

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Exactly, Marshall.  This is my second set, the first one is on my RS, and these are going on my K75S so I don't have to switch them around. 

The big ones on my RT stay there because I rarely use that bike for anything less than a weekend.  On that bike I adjust cargo capacity by adding or subtracting the iconic 22 liter top case.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Martin, I would imagine you could get at least a week's supply of profiteroles into each.  As far as beer, that is better carried in the iconic 22 liter case.  There are flexible coolers that fit in the case with a six pack and enough ice for an afternoon.  They're small enough to leave a bit of room in the case for sandwiches.

I realize that a six of beer is cutting it pretty close for an Ozian, but works fairly well for us Yanks.  Careful packing can allow you to get as many as 8 12oz. cans in there, but you have to drink a bit faster to empty them before the reduced amount of ice melts.  I have heard of guys who extend the cooling capacity by freezing some of them and using the frozen beer to augment the ice.  Not sure I want to go that far.

[Martin]

Thanks Gryph I recently acquired a 22 Lt OEM complete with mounts that needed a bit of fettling but is now in excellent condition. They don't come up very often and can be ridiculous prices, I managed to get one locally off a nice guy doing a café conversion for $120.00 Au. Previous 33 Lt SHAD had me all over the road on high wind days, to the point of being scary. The new 22 Lt is surprisingly stable under all the conditions I have encountered so far. I'm mulling over whether to make up a rack to go on top, undecided at this stage. I have looked at a few city cases but I'm not sure whether I'd use them enough to warrant getting them.

Regards Martin.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Get them if you can.  Trust me, Martin, you will love them.  They look so right, it's like they were specifically designed for the K75S.  The best part is the internal bin that lets you flip them open without the contents falling out.

They are the perfect size for running around town or commuting.   When I go to work, I carry a pair of shoes, a change of clothes, towel and shaving kit along with my laptop and lunch in them. 

[Martin]

They only seem to surface occasionally and most of the time they seem to be damaged. However I'll now keep an eye out for a reasonable set.
 Regards Martin.

[Chaos]

Good to hear everyone talking up the city cases.  They're already rare, if they become sought after iconic items the price will skyrocket and I can sell mine to buy Ural parts!

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Good to hear everyone talking up the city cases.  They're already rare, if they become sought after iconic items the price will skyrocket and I can sell mine to buy Ural parts!

Brilliant!!!!

[natalena]

Proof of Concept and Beta completed. Actual unit survived the "garage door" compression test module, and once inflicted on the unsuspecting public, resulted in zero noted: horn honking, panic waving to pull over, lights flashing, or odd dragging sounds. I did talk with a guy outside Starbucks for a while about bricks, he used to have an early K100, so the rack does get some attention.

Now to figure out how to carry the kayak to the boat launch.

[BlitzenGruv]

I'm moving from Nastyville East to Crossville.
Yesterday I carried the K behind my van to the new house, the last of four bikes to move. Rode it back today, leaving the van and trailer. Took US 70 the whole way, nice scenic road. Should be even nicer once Spring comes and I don't need to bundle up.
Water temp never went over 100. I think the bike likes the cool temps better than I do.
Big truck next week and the move will be complete.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Water temp never went over 100. I think the bike likes the cool temps better than I do.

Blitz, good to hear you're enjoying your bike.  Too much snow and ice on the driveway here to get out now, but the weekend is supposed to be better.

That temperature doesn't sound right.  How is your thermostat?  Have you checked your spark plugs lately?   Are they sooty?  How is the gas mileage?  Should be in the mid 40's.  My experience is that they still run at normal operating temperature in cold weather, it just takes a bit longer to get warmed up.