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Yay! First ride of my Minnesota season! (Brrr)

1K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  Donald1684 
#1 ·
Hey gang,
Well, it warmed up to 41°F today, nice and sunny, 10mph winds.

Tried to start my bike about 2 weeks ago, but my battery was dead, then I overcharged it and boiled it dry. :(

So, today I went to Fleet Farm and bought a rectangular AGM battery ($67) to replace the Yuasa T-battery; and while I was there I bought a Schumacher charger/maintainer ($25) so I don't wreak another juicebox.

Got 'er charged in an hour, popped it in the bike.
I drained the float bowls of the gas that's been sitting, and then made sure the fuel pump filled them up with the gas that has not been exposed to air for several months.

After a few cycles of cranking and waiting, it finally caught with the choke off and the throttle just slightly cracked.
I increased throttle until I was in the 3K range, then eased on the choke and slowly released the throttle.
The rev's dipped momentarily, then settled at about 1600.
I took some time to suit up and TCLOCS my bike.
After about 5 minutes the revs climbed into the 3K range and I backed off the choke.

Threw a leg over and rolled away.

Now, 41°F is riding temp, but not at all warm.
(At 70mph, feels like 23°F)
Even with longjohns, jeans, chaps, shirt, sweatshirt, leather jacket, fullface and gloves I still got cold after a while.
The worst was my exposed wrists (I need gauntlets) and my neck (shoulda brought the scarf or gaiter).

Anyway, I put down 30 miles in the farmland adjacent to my little town and had a real blast! (Too cold to go further, hands need to have feeling in them to work safely.)

I've had a ton of stress in my life lately, and getting out in the wind, burning off some energy today, was just what the doctor ordered.

The whole next week is supposed to be in the 40-50's everyday, woohoo, so hopefully I can do this again soon!

Well, just thought I'd tell you about my short, but nevertheless wonderful ride today.

Cheers!
:D
-Kris
 
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#2 ·
Kris,

Great news. The season is upon us for sure. I did just over 800 miles this week mainly as a stress relief and because I NEED to ride every day to stay sane ( ok, there are those who would argue it is not working) :oops: .

Please remember, that the outside temp may be fine or good enough for the ride, but the pavement is still extremely cold, and this has safety implications :!: .

Take care and enjoy.

Dragoon.
:D
 
#3 ·
Dragoon said:
Kris,...
Please remember, that the outside temp may be fine or good enough for the ride, but the pavement is still extremely cold, and this has safety implications :!: ....Dragoon.
:D
Good point.

I'm only riding when it's well above freezing, so I don't hit those icy patches of melt/refreeze.
And, the route I rode today I drove earlier today in my car, so I knew there were no big clobs of ice or piles of sand along the way.

Until we get the street-sweepers through, I treat every corner and intersection like a skating rink.
Thanks for the reminder, -K
 
#4 ·
I got my first ride of the season in today also, I live in Green Bay and the temp hit 43. Today was the first day that it was both warm enough and snow/ice free enough to ride. I gotta admit I was a bit apprehensive, after all the work I'd done over the winter there is always the possibility that I did not put something back together right and it would fall off. Everything seemed to be ok though. Hurray for spring!

-Scott
 
#6 ·
PainterD said:
It's going to be in the 50s early this next week, so it looks like we can do lunch half way between us some where. Maybe I'll give Gramps a holler and see if he want to join us and get that pretty FJR dirty too!!! >PD<
I'm waiting for a good rain first. Need to get that salt off the roads.
It was hard not to go today tho. :)
 
#7 ·
The rain is coming the way it sounds, so we will be riding before you know it.
I may freeze the boys off, but my hands will stay warm.! No need to ride below freezing I guess, but I think 45-50 degrees is warm enough to put on a couple hundred miles on for lunch. >PD<
 
#8 ·
PainterD said:
It's going to be in the 50s early this next week, so it looks like we can do lunch half way between us some where. Maybe I'll give Gramps a holler and see if he want to join us and get that pretty FJR dirty too!!! >PD<
Y'know, that would be cool as hell, unfortunately I have to work this weekend. :cry: I do travel that way sometimes though, my brother lives just over the border (in MN) and when I visit him I like to stop at the Leinenkugel brewery in Chippewa Falls.
 
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