Dynojet has discontinued the Power Commander 5 / PCV and released the Power Commander 6.

The only difference is that the 6 is limited to +/- 15% fueling adjustment of the base map that Dynojet supplies.

This is because of EPA pressure. This is for all bikes.

For most people- this won't matter.

But for those wanting to actually do something beyond an exhaust, etc- you will need to go to a Dynojet dyno tuning center to pay them to tune further than 15%.

I have resisted these for my entire riding career. Picked this up locally on sale and I have to admit that summer riding with this is really nice. I doubt I'll be thinking about that if I face plant sometime, but in 90 degree plus weather it's an advantage...

Woo Hoo! I got my on-ramp back, and a few days ahead of schedule!

I mentioned in my photo challenge entry that due to ongoing freeway widening near my office, the on-ramp that I use to get home has been closed for reconstruction to line it up with the new section of freeway. For the past month, I had been taking a detour to the next available ramp, that has been crammed with cars since it was taking twice as much traffic as normal.

Much as I hate to be lumped in with "One of those types of riders, I had taken to some pretty aggressive riding tactics to muscle my way through and not have to sit through multiple cycles of traffic lights to get on to the freeway.

A few days ago, while I was sitting at the light for my ramp, assuming I'd pass it and go to the next one as usual, the barricades came down, and they were just reopening the new ramp. A few other cars bolted for it, as I did when the light turned green. And joy of joys, the new ramp is now two lanes wide, which will cut down on the wait time from the old one-lane ramp.

When you deal with traffic daily, something as simple as this can spark quite a bit of joy.

In case CC is not a familiar term, it will be ... soon. It stands for climate change, and almost always it refers to man-made climate change, the one we are already living with, the one which will get much worse soon.

So does it affect your riding already? Here is today's radar picture from Western Europe, one which looks like many others I have seen this summer. And these aren't bad days, there is no tornado, no major storm. Just rain: the little blue/black dots show extremely heavy rain, and more important (you cannot see this of course) these clusters are moving very slowly. In other words, when you get into one of them (diameter often 10-20km) you meet with all of the following: zero visibility, inches of water on the road, outpours from pipes, drivers unable to see you, etc. And if you keep riding in the wrong direction, it won't get any better for a seemingly very long time.

Now look at the extent of this phenomenon on the map, consider it keeps going hours after hours, only to return the next day or a few days later - this is something no rider can any longer ignore just counting on luck and a trench coat. And you guessed it, my guess, the forecasters have a hard time to warn you. The 6h forecast for that afternoon said showers and light rain.

the stator cover on my XL 350 is held on by 3 screws. one came out other 2 are frozen
this bike is an orphen that came to me form Denver. it has been sitting from mid 80s
the heads are a bit messed up so i tapped them down sprayed penetrant and let them sit then used JIS hand inpact driver, no luck. loooking at the one that came out if i dril the head it will not leave me but 2 threds to grab and not wanting to damage the magnisum cover i needed a better plane.
i took a small drill bit drilled a hole clean thru then used a inslin syringe to squirt penetrent down the hole let it sit for 2 days smacked them and out they came

The bike is going to be picked up between the 5th and the 8th and will be headed to Florida.
See ya California.

When I first got my CB, when I got to the last fuel bar on the display it would start to flash and give a miles left and an amount of fuel left.. Suddenly now as soon as the fuel bar starts flashing miles left and amount left just display - -

Anyone else have this issue or possibly shed light on why it has started doing this?

Many thanks.. Banksy

It’s been a while. Over a year in fact. It was exciting to have a plan to chuck a bag on the CB for a couple of day’s riding out of the state. Even better, I’d get to meet up with Pterodactyl, noroomtomove and Jalalski, a Triumph-riding companion from other adventures. Noroomtomove would return to Brisbane with me to get the CB1100 Forum calendar he had insisted on collecting in person.

Day 1: Brisbane to Casino

Regular readers know the drill with Cormanus’s maps. If you’re interested, click right here on this link to be taken to Google maps where you can toggle days, zoom in and out and do all sorts of fun things.

It came to pass that I set off from home in the late morning and made my way gently down the motorway to Nerang, where I parted company from traffic and set out on the back roads to the border. Knowing I was not at all “riding fit” and recognising that it was winter and would get colder as I headed south and up, I planned two shorter than normal days.

This freeway is a familiar sight at the start of any ride, although I didn’t quite like the look of the vehicle to my left. I was worried it might be proactive in drumming up business


It was good to be off the highway and into the country

My route took me through the Numinbah Valley to the border.

A minor border crossing from Queensland to New South Wales

Soon after I stopped for the first time at the Chillingham store for coffee and a sausage roll. The weather was looking more and more ominous.


From Chillingham, I rode the short distance to Murwillumbah with the sky darkening. As I turned west towards Kyogle, the first drops of rain landed, but soon stopped. I hoped it would continue to be the odd sprinkle.

Welcome back to life on the road, Cormanus. Within 10 kilometres, I was under a tree, hopping from one foot to another, as I pulled on the flouro, onesie waterproof to keep the rain out. It continued intermittently from there to Kyogle, putting a bit of a damper on a usually very enjoyable romp through a pleasantly winding road. More of a damper was added by the consequences of the massive rains that hit this part of the world earlier in the year: road damage here and lots of road works.

By the time I reached Casino, it was getting towards dusk so I found a billet in the Commercial Hotel.

Day 2: Casino to Tamworth


The link to the complete map of the ride can be found here.

Although cold, it was a lovely morning and, after filling up with petrol, I set out for Grafton, 100 kilometres or so to the south. From there I would turn west and ride along the Gwydir Highway, up the side of the Great Dividing Range, through the Gibraltar Range National Park, and across the plateau to Glen Innes where I would turn south to Tamworth.

There are better motorcycle roads than the Gwydir Highway, but it remains one of my favourites. Aside from the ancient forest on the range and some lovely corners on the steep ascent, the road across the plain leading to its foot is lovely as well as winding enough to be interesting.

I took one picture as lanyard cam is tricky to operate with heavy gloves on and impossible without the additional lug on the on-off switch which fell off somewhere around Casino. It’s a view of the CB1100 with the lower hills of the Great Dividing Range in view.


By the time I got to the top of the range, the cloud patches were increasing. I was glad to reach The Coffee Incident in Glen Innes, where I had a cup of tea and lunch.

Relying on noroomtomove’s First Law of Motion and Fuel Consumption, I bravely pushed on to Guyra where I refilled the tank for the final 150 kms to Tamworth. I was greeted by Pterodactyl with a bottle of beer—a gift from the management of the motel—and soon joined noroomtomove and Jalalski for a drink and catch up.

Some time later I made it to the shower where I realised that I’d got colder than I thought on the way.

Day 3: Tamworth
Jalalski was in Tamworth for business, so I had planned a bit of a ride for the CB1100 riders. It was sunny and cold and, by the time we had caught up with more of each other’s news and put the world to rights, it was time to go in search of coffee and a very late breakfast. Afterwards, a brief ride to the Powerhouse Motorcycle Museum and then to the Oxley Lookout, provided sufficient entertainment for one day and we returned to the motel for a well-deserved rest.

I didn’t take any photos at the museum as I’ve been there before and posted pictures (see here).

Here’s one of three CB1100s at the lookout.


And one of part of Tamworth and the Macquarie Plain. Somewhere in that general direction in early 2000 the CB and I met a very slippery patch of mud in an encounter that did not end all that happily. See the appropriately titled Chapter 13 in this post.


Day 4: Tamworth to Grafton

The link to the complete map of the ride can be found here.

Noroomtomove had declined all offers from me to post his CB1100 Forum calendar. He was determined to come to collect it so he could realize a long-held plan to ride from his home in Victoria to Brisbane. He’d tried in July 2019. We’d met in Sydney and made it as far north as Walcha before abandoning the plan. Every time it looked like he might make it in 2022, something got in the way, so it was a satisfying feeling when we both turned our noses north from Tamworth.

After 90 or so kilometres, we stopped at the wonderfully named Alternate Root Café in Uralla and warmed up with an excellent plate of poached eggs and a hot drink. We didn’t hurry as it was cold on the range.

Our next stop was Ebor Falls which were pretty after some rain.


We then proceeded a few hundred meters to Fusspots Café in Ebor which, despite being somewhere near the middle of nowhere, was doing a roaring trade. A hot cup of tea was welcome. After refuelling up the street we made our way along the lovely Armidale Road which tracks diagonally down the range to Grafton. We’d been told by a bloke at the café that he’s never been on such an awful road; that the potholes were everywhere and frightening. I must have misunderstood him, I think, and he must have travelled a different route as, while there were some potholes near Ebor, the road was in reasonable condition. Some parts had been reconstructed since I was last there eighteen months before.

Breezing up to the Roche’s Family Hotel in Grafton, where I’ve stayed a couple of times in the past, we were dismayed to learn that not only was there no accommodation, we’d be lucky to find any in Grafton due to an influx of flood relief workers. Luckily, several phone calls landed us a very comfortable room in the Abbey Motel.

Day 5: Grafton to Brisbane

The link to the complete map of the ride can be found here.

There are no photographs from Day 5. Chancing my arm a little in the will-I-run-out-of-fuel department, we rode to Kyogle for another late breakfast and fuel. I don’t know quite how noroomtomove does it, but he uses considerably less petrol than me.

We’d planned to ride over the Lions Road, always pleasant, but it seems to have been closed for some time. Initially it was shut when the borders were closed for covid, but it appears the massive rains earlier this year caused a landslide that has blocked it near the border. I suspect it isn’t a priority road for repair.

The alternative route past Mt Lindsay Highway is very pretty and just as much a fun ride, although the surface through the twisty bits on the Queensland side of the border leaves a little to be desired. Then it was ono the flat, gradually into the traffic and home to Brisbane.

Epilogue
Noroomtomove spent the weekend with us. Graham T generously drove us to Oakey to look at the Australian Army Air Museum. That was a pleasant outing and, given it was chilly by Queensland standards, it was pleasant to retreat to the comfort of the car.

On the Monday morning, I rode to the freeway with noroomtomove to point him south. I managed about 50 kms before we had to stop for fuel, after which we said our farewells and I rode home. He made a remarkably quick journey south, but that’s his story to tell.

For me, it was a real treat to be back on the bike for more than a short ride and with some purpose in mind. It was also a treat to catch up with Pterodactyl, noroomtomove and Jalalski after too long. May it happen again soon.

A final postscript: my last ride of note was aborted due to covid at my planned destination. On that occasion I travelled a little over 1,100 kilometres and it cost $83.80 or 7.54 cents/kilometre. The 1,500 kilometres this trip cost $182 or 12.1 cents/kilometre. Thanks Vlad.

Hey guys, I recently lubed my chain and waxed it today saw it had over 65mm of slack!!! I had the tires changed out by a Harley dealership (only thing closest to me) I guess I should have double checked the slack…..

Anyways I tighten the chain to a proper 30mm of slack and this is what the chain indicator is saying. Do you think I should replace the chain now or soon? I’m guessing from being too loose for so long could stretch the chain out with only 3k?

Much thanks!!

Anybody else get a valve ticking noise (at least that's what it sounds like) when the bike is warming up. it seems to be coming from the left hand side, (the side stand side). Seems a bit odd for a 3500 mile bike. Obviously I am not the first owner so I don't know how it's been riden or looked after in the past (2019 bike) Service is due in Nov so I think I'll ask them to check the clearances.