It was a week of taking care of the BMW motorcycles. Bill got to do most of the riding as I started my summer job. I was bummed at not getting to take the 310 in for its annual inspection while Bill took the R Nine T. Instead, Bill rode the 310 over to the Honda dealership for that inspection, and then the next day, he rode the R Nine T over to the Harley dealership for its inspection. Both bikes passed, but when we did an oil check on Saturday, we realized the R Nine T needed some oil.
Because of this oil need, we had to postpone our usual Saturday ride. For one thing, we had to get the proper oil to add, and we had to get the tool that opens the cylinder head for adding oil. When one buys a motorcycle, it comes with a small toolkit. This toolkit usually fits under the seat. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the R Nine T toolkit was back at the house in Bill’s tool chest. So we headed back home to pick up the toolkit and buy some oil.
Our first stop for the oil was back at the Honda dealership. During the inspection earlier in the week, Bill visited with the owner of the store. He was there again Saturday, so we had a nice little stop but no luck on the oil (15W x 50). However, the Honda shop owner suggested we try Cyclegear. Now we have shopped at Cyclegear for motorcycle clothing gear, but we would not have thought of them for motorcycle oil. Thanks to the suggestion, we found the oil we needed—Motorex, an oil manufactured in Switzerland.
Back we went to my parents’ garage. One of the suggestions for checking and changing the bike’s oil was to ride it for a couple of miles, let it sit for five minutes, and then check the oil. This warm up ride was my utilitarian ride. I geared up and headed out on my own. Since I knew the curvy road would get me at least a mile of the ride, I headed up it. What was interesting was I realized I relied more than I thought on Bill selecting our approaches into the curves. Riding solo gave me the opportunity to work on that skill.
I rode until the odometer moved from 1143 to 1146 to ensure I had covered at least two miles. Back at the garage, we waited the suggested five minutes, Bill checked the oil level again, and then added the oil. On the R Nine T, the oil fill “line” is a red circle; the oil should be near the top of the circle without going over. Well, despite adding only about half a cup of oil, it went over the top of the circle. Now oil needed to be drained which necessitated finding a large enough allen wrench to open the drain plug. Luckily Bill didn’t have to go all the way back to our house; he could run over to his Mom’s house and get the needed tool.
I haven’t mentioned the weather yet, but it was the first day of July, and the day was a typical July day—hot and humid. The temperature was in the upper 80s, but with the humidity, the heat index put us up in the 90s, and Bill was stuck working in the garage with only a small fan to cool him off. My Mom needed help on the computer, so I got to hang inside in the air conditioning. But he got the excess oil drained.
By now it was four o’clock in the afternoon, very late for us. I was pleasantly surprised when Bill said let’s ride. Due to the lateness of the day, the heat and its impact on Bill working away in the hot garage, we went for a zoomy, short ride. I love how the wind cools me off as we zip along. One perk of the late afternoon ride was I got to see two pairs of osprey up circling as they hunted. We sacrificed our slow speed practice which I didn’t mind on the warm day. And the final perk was my suggestion. Usually after our ride, we head home and cook a delicious blueberry French toast brunch. However, I was hot and tired and in no mood to cook, so I figured Bill for sure had to be hotter, more tired, and more not in the mood to cook. My suggestion was we head over to Kanpai Sushi and get our usual dinner and save the French toast for tomorrow.
It was a day where we learned a lot about the motorcycle and about our bike resources. I learned I need to think more purposefully about my ride even when I’m following behind Bill. And I relearned to always be grateful for every opportunity to ride.
Happy Independence Day! Have a wonderful day celebrating our awesome country’s birthday!
Flutterby Biker 