Joined Sep 2008
97 Posts | 6+
Chicago
Hello,
I bought my '08 FE 650 out in Boise and took the long way home back to Chicago. Instead of 1600 miles or so I did 2600+ to take advantage of the opportunity of experiencing the roads. Great choice. Wow!
If been riding this incredible beast everyday since. Yeah, I've heard all the comments from my friends and all whom I meet. I even met a guy from Idaho as I was contemplating parking very illegally off Michigan Ave to get a coffee. When he found out I picked up the bike two weeks before in Boise he couldn't believe it and high fived me.
Ok, now to my problem. I Christened my baby to an "urban adventure" today lead by a friend that has been off-roading and rallying for a number of years.
The exporting of jobs has lead to the disassembly of the infrastructure for rail transportation leaving us a combination of rail road tracks to play with leading to deserted areas where the tracks have been removed. Next to these areas are some pieces of land that have trails from hikers, mountain bikers, etc. Yes, legality is an issue but I won't get into that touchy topic.
Excuse the unnecessary details.
Since my skill level is not up to my friends, having not ridden off-road in twenty or so years besides the few hundred miles I did in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota, I was walking my bike over the rails instead of riding.
Well, once the rear spun up on the rail and slid up to me and I dropped the bike. Being a dirt bike and not a Ducati I wasn't worried about it. Oh! How foolish. My skill at destroying things is above most engineer's skills.
As I picked up the bike I saw some fluid and then I saw the loose hose.... that rand from the rear brake reservoir to the M/C. What!?
The plastic that the hose from the reservoir connects to broke. I would think it could be replaced but I checked the parts manual and nothing is listed. This probably indicates I'm SOL and need to pick up another M/C,
My buddy didn't believe it. He had to come over and see it once I took her back off the tracks. He's crashed his WR every which way but with his rear M/C being tucked inside the post it's never been touched.
Is this common?
It looks like it should be. Yes, I foolishly dropped it on the rail but other must have dropped it logs, branches, rocks, etc. The location of this baby seems to make it a common issue but my searches of this site came up with a big goose egg.
Are there recommendations about fixing it besides the obvious, new M/C?
Are there recommendations on how to prevent this from happening again, besides the obvious of don't be stupid and drop it on a metal rail?
This bike is suppose to be my City Assault Vehicle for winter. This obviously means it will be joining me on the pavement on more than a few occasions.
I want to pick up a smaller CC 'Berg or KTM to destroy in the dirt to build up my skills.
My Swede was a dealer demo with ~ 30 hours/ 1100 miles when I took possession of her. Three weeks later she is approaching 90 hours and 3k miles. She is quite addictive and has made me take out everyday since we've been together rain or shine.
I killed my tail light today also which I am hoping is a simple bulb change but my luck keeps things more interesting then necessary. My energy seems to kill such electrical things like turn signals and tail lights.
Thank you for any leads on fixing and setting up protective measures for my long legged Swede's rear master cylinder.
Kosta
I bought my '08 FE 650 out in Boise and took the long way home back to Chicago. Instead of 1600 miles or so I did 2600+ to take advantage of the opportunity of experiencing the roads. Great choice. Wow!
If been riding this incredible beast everyday since. Yeah, I've heard all the comments from my friends and all whom I meet. I even met a guy from Idaho as I was contemplating parking very illegally off Michigan Ave to get a coffee. When he found out I picked up the bike two weeks before in Boise he couldn't believe it and high fived me.
Ok, now to my problem. I Christened my baby to an "urban adventure" today lead by a friend that has been off-roading and rallying for a number of years.
The exporting of jobs has lead to the disassembly of the infrastructure for rail transportation leaving us a combination of rail road tracks to play with leading to deserted areas where the tracks have been removed. Next to these areas are some pieces of land that have trails from hikers, mountain bikers, etc. Yes, legality is an issue but I won't get into that touchy topic.
Excuse the unnecessary details.
Since my skill level is not up to my friends, having not ridden off-road in twenty or so years besides the few hundred miles I did in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota, I was walking my bike over the rails instead of riding.
Well, once the rear spun up on the rail and slid up to me and I dropped the bike. Being a dirt bike and not a Ducati I wasn't worried about it. Oh! How foolish. My skill at destroying things is above most engineer's skills.
As I picked up the bike I saw some fluid and then I saw the loose hose.... that rand from the rear brake reservoir to the M/C. What!?
The plastic that the hose from the reservoir connects to broke. I would think it could be replaced but I checked the parts manual and nothing is listed. This probably indicates I'm SOL and need to pick up another M/C,
My buddy didn't believe it. He had to come over and see it once I took her back off the tracks. He's crashed his WR every which way but with his rear M/C being tucked inside the post it's never been touched.
Is this common?
It looks like it should be. Yes, I foolishly dropped it on the rail but other must have dropped it logs, branches, rocks, etc. The location of this baby seems to make it a common issue but my searches of this site came up with a big goose egg.
Are there recommendations about fixing it besides the obvious, new M/C?
Are there recommendations on how to prevent this from happening again, besides the obvious of don't be stupid and drop it on a metal rail?
This bike is suppose to be my City Assault Vehicle for winter. This obviously means it will be joining me on the pavement on more than a few occasions.
I want to pick up a smaller CC 'Berg or KTM to destroy in the dirt to build up my skills.
My Swede was a dealer demo with ~ 30 hours/ 1100 miles when I took possession of her. Three weeks later she is approaching 90 hours and 3k miles. She is quite addictive and has made me take out everyday since we've been together rain or shine.
I killed my tail light today also which I am hoping is a simple bulb change but my luck keeps things more interesting then necessary. My energy seems to kill such electrical things like turn signals and tail lights.
Thank you for any leads on fixing and setting up protective measures for my long legged Swede's rear master cylinder.
Kosta
