Road Captains Corner

Hello Brothers and welcome to the second installment of the Road Captains Corner. In this edition I’m going to try to update you on where we’re at with some of the runs I’m getting together, and details on the mileage contest, and of course the ever popular tech tips.

As far as runs, I have had a lengthy conversation with Bomber, President of the Old Line Maryland Chapter in regards to the Walter Reid run. As it turns out the logistics for getting any sizeable group into the hospital is next to impossible, not to mention the fact that the neighborhood that Walter Reid is in is not motorcycle friendly. Bomber came up with a great idea; the Maryland Chapter is called upon during the summer to escort Wounded Warrior buses from three military hospitals in the area, one of which is Walter Reid, to Fort Deitrich for a barbecue hosted by The Maryland Cattleman’s Association. I had just found out from “BD” Road Captain of the Old Line Chapter that they have added three more military hospitals to the list and could really use our help escorting to the barbecue. As info is made available I will advise the Parent Chapter. Could be a great day. 

I have also been in touch with Doug Abrams, Road Captain of the Delaware Valley Chapter as far as going down to the USS New Jersey. I asked Doug if we could get some discount tickets for the tour and possibly a little VIP treatment when we go on the tour. He mentioned that one of the Delaware Valley chapter hang arounds was currently in training to become a tour guide for the battleship, so that is looking pretty good. I’ll let you know when I have more info.

Okay let’s talk about the mileage contest, there have been a couple of inquiries as to the rules of the contest. First and foremost remember I STARTED THE CONTEST TO PROMOTE RIDING AND RAISE A LITTLE MONEY FOR THE CLUB. For the most part the participants are going to be working a lot on the honor system. I will be randomly checking mileages, and announcing the top three leaders at each monthly meeting. I would like to see the mileage at the start of the contest. It’s mileage on your ass if you have more than one bike that’s fine, Silent Ray was kind enough to put together two separate entry forms, one for a single bike and one for two bikes that should be a big help. If your speedometer is not working try to get it fixed if not and you have a gps that will also give you mileage on a trip. It’s pretty simple you drive the bike and keep track of the miles, if you have to cheat your only cheating yourself. Entry forms will both be on the website and at the meetings. If you need one mailed to you let me know.

Time for tech tips, riding season is right around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about knocking the dust off and getting the bikes ready for the season. Hopefully you had a battery tender, and changed your oil before putting the bike away

1)                          A lot of riders forget about their brake (on older bikes) and clutch cables. It is important to keep them adjusted and lubricated. Dri slide, bike aid film lubricant, or PJ-1 cable lube. If in doubt have it done professionally.

2)                          Loose hardware, it’s very important at least once a season to go over all the hardware on the bike to make sure nothing is loose. It’s also very important that when you are adding accessories or doing repair work that requires disassembly, that you use loctite on the hardware, blue medium strength loctite by Permatex works the best. Any stronger than medium strength could cause problems the next time you go to disassemble that part.

3)                          Another thing that you never hear much about is fork oil, I personally change mine every other season, but check in your owner’s manual and see what they suggest.

4)                          Tire’s, make sure you keep up on your tire pressure, check the treads frequently, and check sidewalls for dry rot and cracks.

5)                          Oil coolers, I am a big fan of oil coolers. They give you a little more oil capacity and help keep the engine cool, even in traffic. The HD coolers have a thermostat in them and wont allow the oil to flow to the cooler until it reaches a certain tempeture to keep oil warm in cooler weather.

       I’ll keep everyone informed as runs come together, lets have a safe riding season.