Cannondale R-6

I thought I wasn’t ever going to get another road bike since my rear end is getting so soft. However, while wandering around I saw a Cannondale R-6 and decided I might need one more. The R-6 is close to the road bike I’ve always wanted, how I’ve set up my ancient steel Colnago. Lightweight aluminum frame with a triple crankset for under $1K. I couldn’t keep my hands off of it, since even with a triple crank I knew I couldn’t pull the stock gearing with my weak legs. I put on the Mavic Kyzerium wheels that I had on the Colnago, which brought with them a wide ratio cluster. That meant I had to go to ebay and buy one of the new style XT rear derailleurs. Yup, these work fine on road bikes. this was in the right direction, but I needed some more so I started researching lower granny gears. I found that 26 tooth chan wheels should go right on to the Tioga crank without requiring any adjustments. I found that in LA these were impossible to buy over the counter, so I had to resort to the internet again. I also learned that technology had once more left behind and I had to learn about external bearing bottom brackets and the special tools they require. I found the tool I needed while on a trip out of state (which got me in trouble during bag check) and I was able to swap in the new granny with no problem.

The result was pretty much to my liking. I test out the gearing on Turnbull Canyon, and it worked without a hitch. I adjusted the the new-fangled (for me) combo brake lever-shifters without too many problems, but it looks complicated to swap the front brake to the right side per my normal preference, so I’ll leave that alone for the time being. The next big test was my annual Santa Ana to Solano Beach ride. Again no problems and a pretty pleasurable ride even with the stock saddle, which was more comfortable than it looked. Overall, the bike felt easier to ride than my reliable 25 year old steel Colnago. I have to admit though, that the Colnago does have a rather bizarre drivetrain, and its chainwheels are pretty worn. After I stole its wheels, I put back on a pair I had built with non matching hubs and a freewheel. At any rate, I guess I’m back into road bikes.

Canon G-10

The G-10 was a replacement for the G-9, which was one in a long string of Powershots I’ve owned. I’d almost given up on them after discovering DSLRs and even smaller point & shoots, but the raw feature in the G-9 brought me back as to them for use as a back-up camera. Although the reviews aren’t enthusiastic, in the field the wider wide angle (about 28mm equivalent) makes a big difference for my shooting and the controls are way better. The Achilles Heel of the G-9 was the ISO dial. It’s nice to have easy access to ISO, but on the G-9 it was very easy to put it max ISO when removing the camera from its case or a big pocket. On a bright day this resulted in very grainy photos. Another big improvement is a bigger battery, although it’s another unique configuration. The G-9 battery could be short lived relative to a good shooting session.

I’ve taken the G-9 shooting a couple times, using only the raw setting. I don’t think there’s much reason to use it otherwise, since it is kind of big and smaller cameras can take JPEGs that are fine by me.

My love-hate relationship with Macs

I’m a loyal Mac user, but it hasn’t been easy. OS-9 was certainly a trial, as was my G-5. My 15“ MacBook Pro and my 13” MacBook have been loyal servants. The latter I lugged on my back for a month long motorcycle trip to Alaska and the Yukon. It was my lifeline, tapping into the net at McDonalds (except in Canada) to get weather updates, make reservations, and in general learn about the places I was visiting. It beat carrying around a stack of AAA travel guides.

Currently though, quad MacPro tower has a blank screen on boot-up. It had been a very reliable machine up to this point, but now it’s starting to act like my G-5. I researched the G-5s and found that their failure rate was nearly 25%, mainly because of the power supplies, a long-time problem with Macs, going back to at least the LC. The G-5 also had the notorious jet engine problem where all 5 (?!) fans went to full power simultaneously for no good reason and the machine locked up. Apple never really solved this problem nor fessed up to it.

Anyway, the I’ve been loading up the MacPro, so I’m wondering if its power supply is having issues, too. I have an extra video card as well as 7gigs of RAM. It has 3 x 1 terabyte discs plus a 1.5 terabyte boot disc. It also has an eSATA card as well as a USB card. I’m also wondering if using the 1.5 terabyte disc as a boot drive is giving the Mac heartburn. I guess I’ll have to use my install DVD to see if I can bring it to life. I’m also tempted to strip out the extra video card, which I’m not using these days and remove the discs and put in my spare 250GB Seagate as the boot disc. The other discs would go into eSATA enclosures which would be better for security, anyway. Oh well, it’s never easy living with a Mac, but I use Windows machines at work, so I know it could be worse.

Yamaha R6S

Del Amo Motorsports had a number of 2007 Yamaha R6Ss on sale for a very reasonable price, so I decided to pick one up. I’d had a 2006 FZ-6 for one year and although I didn’t care for the bike, I was intrigued by the engine. I liked getting a version of that engine that hadn’t been dtuned, even if it wasn’t the latest technology. I was very pleasantly surprised. The R6S engine was not buzzy like the FZ-6 and the clutch engagement point was much more user friendly. Fuel mileage looked to be about the same. Powerband was also much more linear. The FZ-6 really needed to be wound up pretty tightly before it produced any power, and then it was a step function.

After dropping the R6S at an intersection before making a right turn, I decided that I needed to lower the bike a little. Since I’m not a radical rider missing a little peg clearance wasn’t going to be a problem. I got some lowering links on eBay and devised a harness to keep the bike up while changing out the links. This turned out to be relatively easy. At the same time I dropped the forks an inch in the triple clamps to maintain the steering geometry. That made it easy to install some clip on risers to ease the riding position. The stock saddle was pretty basic so I went to The Saddlemen to get it recovered. Their results can be hit or miss but this time they did a truly excellent job. The DL-650 job they did was better than the Corbin I’d bought. The job they did for my 1250 Bandit, though, wasn’t any better than stock in terms of comfort. Then again, the Corbin I had on the FZ-6 wasn’t any better than stock, either.

To make the wind blast tolerable, I added on a Laminar Lip. The one I ordered was actually for a 2003-2006 R6 and it fit okay but I had to go out and get a longer screw for one side. I did check the parts nos. and found that Yamaha had changed the windscreen for these R6s. I should tell the Laminar Lip guy about this some day. The Laminar Lip really worked in this case, creating a really quiet air stream. This installation is even better than the Lip on my GSX. I also replaced the brake lever, which was twisted up when I dropped the bike. I got an STM racing lever with a removable extension. It feels much better than stock and I think gives me better control. At least it looks cool. I slightly scratched the big, ugly muffler, so I used that as an excuse to order a Scorpion slip-on can at Vance & Hines, who were very helpful. It went on with very little trouble. You definitely have to wear good ear plugs, but at speed helmet wind noise predominates.

Fortunately I’d had sliders installed before I picked up the bike so the plastic work wasn’t damaged. To be on the safe side I added a clutch slider and a chain guard under the swing arm to keep my foot out of there in case of a crash. I also added axle sliders from SW-Motech, although I raided the rear one for my GSX and replaced with one I’d had on the FZ-6.

It took me a little while to get used to the bike, but I think I’m figuring it out. In the rain on the Pasadena Freeway I locked up the brakes a little and started sliding, but it recovered very gracefully. It makes a nice little commuting bike. (That should make some people sick) This bike is pretty much what the FZ-6 should have been, since it is more user friendly than and FZ-6, except for the riding position. For that matter, the FZ-6 was so buzzy and had so much wind buffeting that I traded it in for a 1250 Bandit, but that is another story.

Suzuki GSX-650F

By trading in my 2008 Suzuki 1250 Bandit with ABS, I made my farewell to the world of liter bikes. In exchange I picked up a GSX-650F Suzuki which is a Bandit 650 with a fairing. It is definitely not related to a GSXR. As far as I can tell, the GSX uses s 1250 frame with a different swingarm and forks. Almost all of the acessories from the 1250 fit onto the Little Bandit. The hugger did require drilling a new mounting hole, but the SW-Motech PLX compatible saddle bag racks went on with no problem. I did have to add some washers to my front axle protector and the rear axle is completely different. I swapped axle protectors with my R6S, replacing the R6S threaded shaft with a 1/4“ piece of threaded stainless steel I got at the hardware store with some new nuts. I was amazed that my stainless steel radiator protector even fit on the GSX. The 1250 sliders might have fit but I would have had to cut holes in the fairing and the fairing brackets, so I bought the very expensive GSX specific sliders which fit high on the bike instead of low.

The GSX isn’t much lighter than the 1250, but they seem to have removed the weight in the right places, and the balance is much better. The ergonomics are also better, with the saddle to peg relationship not causing cramps in my legs, and the stock bars don’t have that punitive bend. I did raise them with 3/4” risers I had in my spare parts box, left over from my SV 1000. I may put on the Holeshot handlebars someday. The stock saddle is better than the 1250 one, but not much better. It started getting to me on the return leg of a 70 mile trip out to Ventura. The Laminar Lip I put on it helps a lot, but not as much as the one I put on the R6S. I wish they had offered ABS on the 650; I think they offer it on the Bandit 650 in Europe, so it isn’t a technical or production issue.

Power is adequate on the little porker, although not in the same league as on the 1250, of course. I think the handling is a little better, especially the parking lot manners. Controls can get a little buzzy at some RPMs. MPG unfortunately has the same characteristics as the 1250. It goes down into the low 40s in town, but went up to 54 on the trip to Ventura. The 1250 got around 50mpg on the open road. As a comparison, my DL-650 gets pretty much the same mileage under all conditions. The engine looks the same as the 1250 one, except that the header pipes are noticeably bigger. Seems to have the same gigantic muffler.

Utilitarian definitely sums up this bike, which is what I was looking for. It seems to be good for commuting to work and lugging a lot of junk around. This summer I plan to take it across the country. I don’t really know if it’ll be a better long distance bike than my DL-650, which proved its legs on a trip to Alaska in 2008.

First entry

This is my first experiment with MacJournal which I hope to use as an offline conduit to my new blogs. This is for my general category about regular life such as my gardening and home repair experiences.

One of my current undertakings is the war with the pigeons. In the past I’ve tried to keep them from roosting by stapling vinyl covered chicken wire to their favorite roosting spots. This is ugly, but piles of pigeon droppings are worse. The latest tactic is to use Eaton’s Bird Repellent, available on the web from True Value. This is applied with a caulking gun. All of my father’s caulking guns are gone, so I had to forage for my own at Home Depot. I started with the cheapest $1.79 model and found that it was only to be used in desperation, although it would work, and might work better with a less viscous substance. I went back and got HD’s “professional” model caulking gone at about 5 times the price. Using it was luxury. With the samples Gaff gave me, I spread some on the carport and the roof of Mom’s house at the highest point. This seems to work, but you have to careful applying the stuff since it is very sticky and starts oozing once the tube is started. Probably best to wear vinyl gloves, which I discovered on the way back from Alaska at a Rite-Aid.

Hello world!

Well, after a failed attempt to set up a blog at hostIcan, I’m back here at wordpress.com to start my hosting career.  Starting a blog has turned out to be much more difficult than one would expect. For the time being I’ll stick to this hosted-for-you approach. Maybe I’ll even go back and try to get my blogger.com account working, too.

I’ve benefitted from the information and reviews I’ve found in forums and blogs, so I thought I should return the favor and, among other things, share my experiences with various products, travels, and more.