Well, here it is almost New Year and I haven't written anything for some time. Between being busy, the colder temps, and not being well, I just haven't been motivated to put any miles on the Ninjette. But today was different. The weather was beautiful with temps in the low 50's (F) all the way up to Lake Tahoe. I was thinking of riding up the Tahoe but then decided not to take the time. Fortunately for me I have numerous loop routes starting at my house in the Sierra foothills.

Today's ride was up through Coloma and on up to Georgetown, over to Cool and Pilot Hill, and then back down to El Dorado Hills via Salmon Falls Road prior to returning home. Total distance was only 70mi but much of it was on twisty little two-lane roads, all different. Ride time was one hour and forty minutes, enough time to really get a feel for my new saddle.

Did I mention I got a new saddle? I did. I called Corbin and ordered a "Gunfighter & Lady" saddle. This is a...

The Ninjette has been neglected for at least a week since I finished up Abby the Frankenmiata. I cannibalized my wrecked 1999 Miata to build a nice daily driver and track car using a beater 1990 for a tub. The 1990 Miata now has the drivetrain and suspension of a 1999, hence the appellation Frankenmiata. And the name Abby? Well, if you are a fan of the Mel Brooks movie, Young Frankenstein, you will know the source.

Abby and I will be off to Thunderhill this coming Friday to see if I can get my driving chops back. Trackmasters is having a 7-session track day! No doubt I will be thouroughly whipped when the day is over.

But getting back to the Ninjette world, I am beginning to hate Kawasaki for its excessive use of red Loctite. Today I replaced the bars on my Ninjette. The previous owner had dropped the bike and bent the bars. He tried to straighten them but wasn't too successful. I got new bars and tried to put them on.

Turns out that everything...

I probably should have put this in as my first blog post. I am blogging for a reason. I am working up to doing to some long-distance touring on my Ninjette. I am already thinking of doing a week-long loop through California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and back again. Part of this is how to get the Ninjette prepared to go the distance.

The first step is to make sure that everything on the bike is working properly. As this is a used bike that I purchased with 12,000 mi on it and the previous owner had made some counter-productive modifications, I am getting the bike back to stock and then making some useful modifications to improve braking, handling, a better seat (my 57-year-old butt is not nearly as "iron" as it used to be), and then carrying some things.

I will certainly get into setting up a way to run useful electrical devices such as a GPS, two-way radio (I am a ham radio operator and will include that on the bike), phone, GPS tracker, etc....

Went out riding today. My what an improvement good brakes make. Three things I want to add to yesterday's posting:

1. It takes a LOT of effort to bleed the front brake properly. You have to be persistent and get every last little bubble out or you will have a spongy brake. It doesn't help that the bubbles are trying to rise up the brake line while you are trying to pump fluid down to the caliper. Just be patient and keep working at it.
   
2. The hold-down clamp for the rear brake line failed and let my beautiful new Galfer smoke-grey line bow out and touch the muffler, melting that beautiful smoke-grey outer layer. I have rerouted it and used more tie-wraps to ensure that it doesn't happen again but that is just annoying.
   
3. Be prepared to exert hundreds of pounds of torque to remove the front disk mounting allen bolts. I don't know who last did the ones on my Ninjette but whoever they were, they were clearly a believer in red Loctite. And given the state of the rotor I suspect

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I love the opportunity to learn new things. Getting back on a bike after a 35-year hiatus has turned out to be just such an opportunity. And that bike turned out to be a 2006 Kawasaki Ninja EX250, a far cry from the Hodaka 100 that I had set up for desert racing back in the late '60s. (Yeah, I am that old.)

But I am never one to leave well enough alone, especially mechanical things. The Ninjette is no exclusion. So far I have put right the things that the young man who previously owned the bike had changed in an attempt to increase performance. The bike runs better and stronger now with the stock exhaust and airbox in place again.

I have made the first improvement to the bike -- new brakes. I have put a new rotor on the front with Vesrah pads, stainlesss-steel brake lines, and changed the brake fluid using a high-wet-boiling point synthetic DOT-4 brake fluid.

The rear brake rotor was in good shape so it just got new stock pads but it also got...