The latest data on new motorcycle sales in Australia for the first six months of the year may be of interest for comparative purposes. It's from [url=http://amcn.com.au/editorial/roadbikes-bolster-steady-increase-aussie-market/]Australian Motorcycle News.

Pretty sure that my title is simply poor French and not some sort of ethnic slur, but I suppose my new friend from Paris will provide any necessary correction.

Paul posted on this forum of his desire to ride a portion of the legendary Route 66 while he was visiting the Chicago area on business. Being a bit of a fan of the historic road, I offered to accompany him on a ride on August 20th. I get a kick out of planning rides (see the "Planner vs. Wanderer" thread elsewhere) and Paul was gracious enough to let me get my kicks on this route.

I was on time and Paul was, too. We agreed to meet at Wildfire Harley Davidson where he had arranged for his 24 hour rental. A few tips from Dan-the-Harley-Man on how to operate the bike and we were ready to go. Fortunately, the rental operation furnishes rain gear. Unfortunately, the rain gear is Harley-sized and Paul is Ninja-sized. The gear would come in handy later in the ride, though.

Prepped and Ready
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One circle around the huge parking lot and off we headed for the cross-town ride to pick up Route 66. Paul got comfortable with the bulk and vibration of the Harley very quickly. He certainly didn't need any riding tips from me, but I did give him some assistance on the rules of the road.

"What does flashing red light mean?"
"That's a signal for you to pull next to me to my right and we both roll through the intersection together" Hey...it's CLOSE to the rule, right?

How do you like your Harley, Paul?
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Route 66 officially ceased to exist on June 26, 1985. Officially, it existed for 59 years 7 months, but it lives on in legend, lore, and restored tourist attractions to this day and shall continue to do so for as long as copies of 'The Grapes of Wrath' are still in print. For as long as Bobby Troup's words can still be heard through Nat King Cole's voice. For as long as digital copies of "Easy Rider" and the TV series that bears its name can still be viewed. For as long as people from all over the world long to "motor west", she will be The Mother Road.

Chicago's annual Air & Water Show and Paul's relatively late rental pick up conspired against following the old route, now marked along most of it's length with brown "Historic Route 66" road signs, from its starting point at Buckingham Fountain along Lake Michigan. My plan was not to try to follow the route as it was laid out original or even as it evolved over the years, but rather to give him a flavor of what it would have been like to ride a two-lane US highway in the early to mid part of the 20th century. This meant avoiding the interstate which was plopped down directly over a large section of 66. Instead, we would detour off the historic route from time to time in order to ride on two-lane roads that sped up in the open areas and slowed down through the towns, just like 66 did.


Our first tour stop was McCook, IL. McCook is known for a few things: It was where the Outlaws motorcycle club was founded. It is home to an original Rt66 diner, The Steak N Egger, although it was originally call Snuffy's. Most important, though, is that McCook has this giant Las Vegas-styled sign, the cost of which probably more than the sum total value of the 50 or so crappy little homes that house the 150 residents of this industrial town. As an aside, the McCook Family Restaurant is located a few hundred feet from, but still in the shadow of, the sign. It is my father-in-law's favorite restaurant; huge portions of "Bohemian"/Polish food at a low price. It's pretty darn good, too.

Welcome to McCook
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Steak N Egger. I think there are a half-dozen or so of these little diners in and around Chicago.
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Just a bit south of the big sign, Joliet Rd., the street name of this section of Route 66, stops. Just stops dead.

Many years ago, two stone quarries were dug with Route 66/Joliet Rd. dividing the two. I'm sure it was quite an interesting ride along the narrow, mile long strip back before 1998 when cracks in the roadway caused the closing of the road and a huge lawsuit involving the State of Illinois and the quarry owners. It appears that this section of old 66 will remain forever off-limits to the nostalgia-crazed traveler. We took the detour, which really isn't a detour anymore, and found our way back to 66.

Route Closed
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A few miles down the road, Tony waited for us. Tony is my brother-in-law and a BMW rider. He was checking out his BMW dealer's celebration of BMW's 100th anniversary. I had emailed my usual riding crew about this event and Tony was the only one available. Conveniently, the dealership is just about 500' north of 66. Tony lives nearby and volunteered to lead us through the early stages of the ride. I knew that he knew the back-road out of the congestion and onto Route 66 in earnest.

Bluff Road - This may be Tony's "My Road", but I didn't ask him about that. Curvy, hilly, wooded, and in the middle of an a fairly populated and commercial/industrial area. Pretty cool. Oh, and this is when I got to see that Paul can really ride his bike.
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We worked our way south, but not necessarily on 66. As I said, the goal was to try to capture the essence of Route 66 and in this part of Illinois, the best way to do that was to follow a few other state routes that took us through outlying suburbs of Chicago and through the towns and cities beyond that.

If 66 was still the old road here, riding along it would look something like this.
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Reaching photo limit...end of Part I

Now that I have the windscreen on the CB I'd like to add hand/brush guards.. To keep the cold off my old man hands.

I want solid black (no clear or smoke)..

While shopping for them is easy, there are a million types, I am wondering what brands my fellow CB riders have gone with..


-Peter

These chain adjuster bolts are a little different than my last bike. Does anyone have a video or advice for adjusting these particular bolts for chain adjustment or after replacing tires?

Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I usually go CB riding almost all every weekend even in Winter and Summer but I have decided I don’t ride for a while because the heat this Summer is crazy.
Japanese Summer is so hot, in addition it’s too humid.
So riding on sunny day in the Summer is not comfortable even if I go to a seaside ways.
Although I basically ride but I can’t ride this Summer because the temperature is always 95F or higher and too humid for a long long time.
I actually went to a mountain road last weekend but it was pretty uncomfortable when I was riding in town’s roads.
Of course it was comfortable when I was riding on the mountain road but when I got home it changed to hell.
I haven’t thought I cannot ride in Summer.
Anyway, I have never experienced that hot Summer here in Japan.
I hope it gets cooler soon.
I forgot adding a picture.

Ok, I may be the last one coming to this party, I usually am, but I have just discovered polyester/spandex moisture wicking boxer briefs.
A few weeks ago I took a ride up into missouri on a hot July afternoon and by the time I headed back I was in misery. Hot damp and chafing from sweaty cotton underwear. I saw a riders blog on youtube about this kind of underwear and ended up trying them.
BIG difference, huge. Comfortable, wicks moisture away from your skin.
I've tried 3 brands now, personally I like the Jockeys, they have a more comfortable pouch to hold the family jewels.
Anyway, just thought I'd pass it along.

crutch
in northwest arkansas.

It's come to my attention that if the oil is allowed to drain for too long (such as overnight or for several hours), a motorcycle's oil pump can lose its prime and the engine can be damaged until it begins to pump properly.

I've never had this happen but it was reported on the ZX-10R forum today. It's rare but it does happen.

To avoid this, follow the procedure in the owner's manual; warm the engine before changing the oil, and don't let it drain any longer than necessary. Fill it straightaway, and check the sight glass per the manual. I've taken to filling the oil filter before installing it, too. Can't hurt anything.

Warming it up makes sure all the oil passages are filled and the pump is primed.

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Shot today in the parking structure at work.

I saw the thread on hard cases from samurider. I am a cheapskate and really don't want to drop $900 for those. Has anybody seen, used, or modified these cases -

[url=http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Hard-Saddle-Bags-Trunk-Luggage-Motorcycle-Cruiser-for-Harley-Honda-Yamaha-/171989437961?hash=item280b5e8e09:g:fU0AAOSwo6lWOxOn&vxp=mtr]http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Hard-Saddl...On&vxp=mtr

I'm not a fabricator but do you think some steel mounts could be fabricated for these to mount on the bike? I also have a tidy tail kit on mine sans rear fender and small LED turn signals and flashing brake lights. I am gonna guess those need to be extended? How difficult would that be?

I was gonna swing by my mechanic and see what he thought about it but figured the collective might have some ideas.

Cool article in the October issue of "Motor Cyclist" on the 75 - 76 Rotary powered Suzuki RE-5. Crazy cylindrical dash/tail light on the 75...