1,000 miles in 4 years...

TeeCat

TeeCat

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I was curious, so I dug out my TX's title and looked at the odometer mileage, and then looked at the bike's odo as she sat in the shop last night. Four years later, almost to the day, between all the dialing in, troubleshooting, local little tentative jaunts and three trips to and from work, I have ridden her 1,000 miles, almost down to the tenth. It doesn't seem like that much... I might have guessed half that or a little more. But I could have ridden her to my in-laws' in Missouri and kept going for another little bit!

In that time, I have changed the oil about 6 times, between experimenting with oils, replacing the sump filter, installing the Mike's external oil cooler/filter, etc. She's gone from being neglected to being neurotically fussed over. Finally getting some more relaxed miles in, though. Been a long time coming!

TC
 
There are a lot of guys for whom the tinkering is more than a means to an end of being able to ride. I have my own personal balance. Lots of guys ride a lot less on bikes that are a lot shinier :) My concentration is on making it dependable (knock on wood). I have done maybe 5% of the work I've done to make it look better or for reasons other than making it dependable. In 4 yrs I would put around 30,000 mi on it at my current rate.
 
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Agreed on achieving personal balance. Attaining confidence in the bike and in one's own ability is a factor in that as well. I recall one member here - my friend Skip, I think - who likes to wrench more than ride. I'm not qualified enough with a wrench to be able to say that, though. :p

I confess that I do like to tinker, shine, make small parts, aesthetically enhance and refurbish, etc.. However, I'd estimate that about half of the work I have done over the last four years has been to locate existing or potential problems and eliminate or head them off. So, I suppose that bit is in direct pursuit of reliability. So for me, identifying and correcting PO hamfistedness is, indeed, a means to an end, though visual enhancements are great fun. It just takes me longer, admittedly; a tentative hand means a slow knowledge building process.

TC
 
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I had both my case covers off the other day, doing clutch and seals. I really, really wanted to strip the clear coat and polish them, but didn't do it. The reason was it would have delayed riding for a few hours :) I wanted to do both mutually exclusive things, and they were fighting each other. But I think I'll enjoy rebuilding the motor if I ever have to do it.
 
I see where you're coming from. Similarly, I had great trepidation about properly seeing to my front brake because I was afraid that I could potentially have the bike out of service until cows fly. :p That worked out well, though... it took me right about a week-ish to get everything happy.

I hear you on the conflicting urges, though. Hopefully, if you ever have to do the motor, it will be at a time when riding is not otherwise possible, such as winter, etc...

TC
 
What I would say about XS650's or motorcycles in general; is that its not about how many miles or kms you drive each year, but its really about how much enjoyment you get from the biking sport.

Some riders like to mainly ride and have no interest in maintenance, while others would rather spend time doing mechanical or electrical work on their bike. Some see their bike as an art form................its all about appearance. Each rider will find the balance that suits their needs.

Some guys will buy a new bike and never even know where the oil drain plug is..............just go to the dealer and hand over your credit card. Other lads want to know how every part of the bike works and how to do every bit of maintenance.

An XS650 lends itself to those who want to learn how mechanical/electrical equipment work together. Its a challenge, and very rewarding, to take something that works poorly, due to neglect, and bring it back to a smooth running machine.

I find that I get about 60% enjoyment from riding, and about 40% from working on the bike. However, once you bring the bike up to a high level of reliability, the wrenching part becomes much smaller. I guess that's why riders own more than one bike.................. the addiction has to be fed.:)
 
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retiredgentleman said:
What I would say about XS650's or motorcycles in general; is that its not about how many miles or kms you drive each year, but its really about how much enjoyment you get from the biking sport.

Some riders like to mainly ride and have no interest in maintenance, while others would rather spend time doing mechanical or electrical work on their bike. Some see their bike as an art form................its all about appearance. Each rider will find the balance that suits their needs.

Some guys will buy a new bike and never even know where the oil drain plug is..............just go to the dealer and hand over your credit card. Other lads want to know how every part of the bike works and how to do every bit of maintenance.

An XS650 lends itself to those who want to learn how mechanical/electrical equipment work together. Its a challenge, and very rewarding, to take something that works poorly, due to neglect, and bring it back to a smooth running machine.

I find that I get about 60% enjoyment from riding, and about 40% from working on the bike. However, once you bring the bike up to a high level of reliability, the wrenching part becomes much smaller. I guess that's why riders own more than one bike.................. the addiction has to fed.:)
Click to expand...

This was a great encapsulation of the vintage bike mystique, RG, and also covered the "other side of the coin"; there is a Harley rider at work - just the nicest guy - who, sadly, knows so little about his bike that it's a bit unsettling to me.

I have found it interesting to look at pics of my bike since August of '07 and see how she has changed, visually and functionally. But more than that, I have noticed a "shift" in the sort of wrenching that I do on her; now it's less about quelling big, messy oil leaks (main output shaft seal replacement was one of the first things I had to learn how to do), carb consternation, and ignition system replacements than it is about smaller jobs further down on the list. Consequently, there has been a bit less diagnostic junketing, a bit more "honest-to-goodness riding", and a lot less cussing. So for me, as frustrating as the wrenching has often been, it is finally paying off in some ways that suggest a measure of the success with this bike that I'd originally envisioned.

TC
 
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retiredgentleman said:
What I would say about XS650's or motorcycles in general; is that its not about how many miles or kms you drive each year, but its really about how much enjoyment you get from the biking sport.

Some riders like to mainly ride and have no interest in maintenance, while others would rather spend time doing mechanical or electrical work on their bike. Some see their bike as an art form................its all about appearance. Each rider will find the balance that suits their needs.

Some guys will buy a new bike and never even know where the oil drain plug is..............just go to the dealer and hand over your credit card. Other lads want to know how every part of the bike works and how to do every bit of maintenance.

An XS650 lends itself to those who want to learn how mechanical/electrical equipment work together. Its a challenge, and very rewarding, to take something that works poorly, due to neglect, and bring it back to a smooth running machine.

I find that I get about 60% enjoyment from riding, and about 40% from working on the bike. However, once you bring the bike up to a high level of reliability, the wrenching part becomes much smaller. I guess that's why riders own more than one bike.................. the addiction has to fed.:)
Click to expand...



I am kinda in that boat....it is pretty reliable now ( i rebuilt the whole thing myself), and i do like to drive it/maintain it, but its never far from the city. When it comes to real km's i ride my new stuff. I just got back from Vancouver Island on my Kawasaki Versys. Comfort, Luggage capacity and modern power/brakes/suspension win out for the highway and the fun of the mountains. Being over 3000 km's from home and wondering how i'm going to fix something or even get it back home so it can be fixed is no fun (and $$$$$$$$ if needs to come all the way home). Plus i can run all of my nice heated gear on the new bikes and cruise at about 160km's/hr on the way home through the boooooooring praries.

I still do all the work i can to my new bikes.

There is a reason people drive new bikes. Because i am idiot with a high limit credit card is not one of them.
 
I've put 4500 miles on mine in almost 2 months. But, I ride it EVERYWHERE. Most work days are about 100 miles round trip, sometimes more. Then there is the weekends just for fun.
 
CDNTX650....................when you went over to Vancouver Island, did you have a chance to check out the Kootenays or the Okanagan; or did you just do the Transcanada highway thing?

Just a few weeks back, I did over 2000 kms through the beautiful Kootenays and Okanagan on my XS. My bike is totally reliable and it loves to go through the mountains. BC is just the perfect place for bike trips. I just have no interest to go east into the prairies:D

On my trip just about every biker I met, had a bike that was less tha 5 years old. When I would say mine was 33 years old, they were speechless, and just smiled. Anyone can do a long trip on a modern bike less than 5 years old.....................but its a real adventure to do a trip with a classic "older" bike:bike:
 
I love my xs but I Just bought an 06 Supermoto just so I can keep riding when I need to fix something or wait on parts. I've only gotten to ride about 350 miles on my xs. And I try to ride everywhere. I'm still not bored with riding yet. Im hating that winter is going to come. But I guess it's more of an excuse to "fix" my bikes when I can't ride...

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Kinda. I'm a baby when it gets cold. Anything under 55 and I hate being outside. Haha. I thought I was going
To die when I was in North Carolina, and it was 19 degrees...

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