Sunday, November 2, 2008

5000 km update

I just passed the 5000 km (3100miles) mark on my bike. I lost a screw on one of the exhaust shields.

My bike sits outside with no cover and a nice little cool spell has sent the temps to near freezing at night. It still starts right up in the morning after the c-clip mod.

I rode in the 40's but one morning it was 34 degrees when I left for work. My leather jacket, some sub-zero gloves from work, and my open-face helmet with a full length face shield made my 15 mile commute doable.

I am still knocking around the idea of adding a windshield. A universal windshield at the local bike shop is about $75.

The carb mod has really dropped my mpg. It has gone from 75mpg to 65mpg and I am thinking I will move the clip up one notch in the spring and see if it will work that way into next winter.

Gas prices are nearly a dollar a gallon cheaper than when I bought the bike so my ROI in pure gas saving will take a little long than anticipated. As it stands right now, I have saved about 30% of the purchased price on the gas savings.

I also need to adjust the chain for a second time. I use a spray-on chain lube that I bought at WallyWorld and apply it about every other week, seems to be doing a good job on the cheap chain that came on the bike.

I plan to use the original equipment parts on the bike until they need replacing and then I will upgrade to parts that I think will be more cost effective.