SoCal Tech day! 8/7

[adri99an]

[phr3ek]

Originally Posted by adri99an

I just know that through Ninjette I have made some good friends and had some great times.

i hate you for getting as a speeding ticket
if only you werent hauling ass on the freeway

you guys should go over to kawiforums
everyone there is a douchebag, but friendly, weird, douchebags
and im proud to say i am one of them
kevin can vouch for what im saying

[adri99an]

Originally Posted by phr3ek

i hate you for getting as a speeding ticket
if only you werent hauling ass on the freeway

you guys should go over to kawiforums
everyone there is a douchebag, but friendly, weird, douchebags
and im proud to say i am one of them
kevin can vouch for what im saying

Freak- we no longer believe anything you say because you said you were going to show and you didn't!

Next time don't try and keep up with a 250 on your 636 and you won't get a ticket??

I stayed for awhile then hit Idyllwild...had to get my ride on

GMR evening ride tomorrow- you in?

I was a member of kawiforums but I've been banned for putting a 150 tire on a 250R and because I call my 250R a ZX2R- they don't like that.....also because I put a Monster decal on my fairings- nope they no likey...also because I smoked a 600 up GMR and bragged about it...and because I always say Ninjette.org kills it!!!

[KJohnson21]

[phr3ek]

Originally Posted by adri99an

Freak- we no longer believe anything you say because you said you were going to show and you didn't!

Next time don't try and keep up with a 250 on your 636 and you won't get a ticket??

I stayed for awhile then hit Idyllwild...had to get my ride on

GMR evening ride tomorrow- you in?

I was a member of kawiforums but I've been banned for putting a 150 tire on a 250R and because I call my 250R a ZX2R- they don't like that.....also because I put a Monster decal on my fairings- nope they no likey...also because I smoked a 600 up GMR and bragged about it...and because I always say Ninjette.org kills it!!!

something came up
my penor

you 250 riders haul ass

no can do rides on week days
prolly not weekends either

[adri99an]

Originally Posted by phr3ek

something came up
my penor

you 250 riders haul ass

no can do rides on week days
prolly not weekends either

We could do a 3am GMR ride for you.....

[Kevin2109]

Originally Posted by adri99an

We could do a 3am GMR ride for you.....

or a 7pm tonight!

[ManyCavies]

Just want to say that I had a lot of fun! And thanks to KC for hosting, Someone please pass that message to KC.
Jeff; thanks for lunch and tell Sharon that I think she is cool and I look forward to having you guys for a visit
to everyone else, it was great to meet the new ones, and better to see old friends. Hoping all the new ones, become the old friends!

[CZroe]

OK, I've got LOTS of follow-up to do.

First of all: THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I took way too much advantage of KC and everyone's generosity. As usual, I am in over my head and following everyone else's lead, so I just stumble around getting in the way while everyone does everything for me. I can't thank you enough. I already feel like I'm abusing you guys, but I'll be back at KC's for a valve job and, if we have another tech day before I go back East in late Aug/Early Sept, I still have more to do (clipons, clutch, etc).

Someone asked me who did the rims for me but I couldn't remember (brain fart). I did remember correctly that he was in a state that started with M. Anyway, on the ride home I remembered that it was Tims250R. He did Matt's green wheels too.

At some point we were talking about who has the most posts. kkim, Alex, and Snake all have me beat by a long shot. I'd need more than twice my post count to match Snake, so those guys have a pretty secure position. I do not have a similarly comfortable hold on fourth so come and get me!
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/misc.php?do=topposters

People were asking about the stuff I'm getting rid of. Sorry I couldn't bring any. When I first mentioned bringing them I was still talking about coming with my sister and her car so that I could leave the bike and do a valve job, but that was off the table (too long/involved for a tech day) and I was at capacity with the hugger, undertail, rotor, clipons, etc. Most of it is stuff that' I'm giving away but when people asked what was for sale, I didn't even think to mention that I'm going to be getting rid of (SELLING!) a lot of non-motorcycle stuff too (65" LCD HDTV, computer/parts, etc). I'll make a different thread for all that and point you guys to it. I do still have Rotella T6 and K&N filters. I realize now that I forgot to ask if Honey Badger needed a filter.

Here's the stuff that I'm giving away or taking what I can get for (favors count):
GMAX XXL helmet with clear shield and new dark shield (could use new padding after I washed them)
Paddle stand with front fork adapters - Jeff/Sharon or Ken/Crissy
Spool stand (low profile) - Jeff/Sharon or Ken/Crissy
Old fender (make into a true "no cut" FE and sell it? )
Original undertail that you guys saw me replacing
Original black rims (front is dented but repairable)
3x tire irons
Tire bead breaker
Plastic toolbox
Crappy $7 40pc ratchet set that breaks every time I use it (has HF lifetime warranty/replacement)
Needle-style torque wrench in large plastic case (can't recall ever using it)
Magnetic tank bag (the same one I brought; switching to my new spare before the trip)
Fish tape (sealed in package)
Heat gun (may need to use first to install my hugger, which will be it's only use ever)
Turtle Wax brand Polishing/Rubbing compound
Heavy-duty axle grease
4 Shadow Conspiracy blue stem bolts (hollow bolts with 6mm hex heads useful for routing wires through mount points)
Hakko soldering iron (currently new/unused but I will be using to install my turn signals first)

I'll also be selling my sister's unused Motoboss L Communicator helmet (Bluetooth), but that'll go in the other thread.

Jeff: For some unknown reason, I assumed that you wanted the low-profile rear spool stand that I have but I do have another stand with the front fork adapters (originally a paddle-equipped rear swingarm stand). Which one did you want? You asked first so I say "take your pick" but the Johnsons are interested in what remains. FWIW, the low-pro stand makes things much easier when you remove the axle because it holds everything much lower to the ground. I usually just add a 2x4 under the tire to mostly align it and it makes it easy to put back together even by yourself. The other one lifts much higher.

Ken/Crissy: If Jeff takes the low-pro spool stand and you want the other stand, I can probably find the paddles so it will be good as a rear stand too. FWIW, you aren't supposed to use it with the front fork adapters unless you have it on a rear stand too, so you may still need one.

[CZroe]

Anyway, no one mentioned my big goof?! I'll try to break down the day for those who didn't make it.

Kevin and Adrian were already there working with KC when I arrived along with Jeff and Sharon sometime later in the morning. As stated earlier, Kevin was already elbow-deep in his carbs. Unlike me, he seemed to know what he was doing. Ken and Crissy arrived soon enough but Adrian didn't stick around for too much longer. I guess the road was calling! I thought about his bike when I saw a big bandage on the ground outside Autozone ("Hey look: Adri99an was here!").

Anyway, KC launched right into helping me with my rotor and quickly determined that I'm going to need to replace my front rotor as well soon enough (service limit; not the strange wear my rear rotor demonstrated). There were some pretty stubborn bolts. The previously rounded head actually wasn't as much of a problem as the last of the three but KC had all the right tools. I pretty much hogged his help the whole time.

With the tire off we moved right into getting the undertail mounted even when I wasn't too sure how we'd be mounting the plate, especially when I couldn't ride to the hardware store with no rear tire on. Jeff to the rescue! He volunteered with a strip of the pre-drilled aluminum plates that KC helped me bend and cut into L-brackets that will do perfectly until I get my swingarm plate mount. Actually, he did most of the work there too. We realized that the undertail had no mechanism for attaching at the bottom without drilling holes for the rubber wellnuts that were there on the original undertail. Say what you will about Sportisi skipping steps during the hugger installation instructions, but at least they tell you when and where to drill!

My sister's calling me to help pack and more more boxes. I'll pick this up later!

[KJohnson21]

Originally Posted by CZroe

OK, I've got LOTS of follow-up to do.

First of all: THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I took way too much advantage of KC and everyone's generosity. As usual, I am in over my head and following everyone else's lead, so I just stumble around getting in the way while everyone does everything for me. I can't thank you enough. I already feel like I'm abusing you guys, but I'll be back at KC's for a valve job and, if we have another tech day before I go back East in late Aug/Early Sept, I still have more to do (clipons, clutch, etc).

Someone asked me who did the rims for me but I couldn't remember (brain fart). I did remember correctly that he was in a state that started with M. Anyway, on the ride home I remembered that it was Tims250R. He did Matt's green wheels too.

At some point we were talking about who has the most posts. kkim, Alex, and Snake all have me beat by a long shot. I'd need more than twice my post count to match Snake, so those guys have a pretty secure position. I do not have a similarly comfortable hold on fourth so come and get me!
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/misc.php?do=topposters

People were asking about the stuff I'm getting rid of. Sorry I couldn't bring any. When I first mentioned bringing them I was still talking about coming with my sister and her car so that I could leave the bike and do a valve job, but that was off the table (too long/involved for a tech day) and I was at capacity with the hugger, undertail, rotor, clipons, etc. Most of it is stuff that' I'm giving away but when people asked what was for sale, I didn't even think to mention that I'm going to be getting rid of (SELLING!) a lot of non-motorcycle stuff too (65" LCD HDTV, computer/parts, etc). I'll make a different thread for all that and point you guys to it. I do still have Rotella T6 and K&N filters. I realize now that I forgot to ask if Honey Badger needed a filter.

Here's the stuff that I'm giving away or taking what I can get for (favors count):
New Motoboss winter gloves
GMAX XXL helmet with clear shield and new dark shield (could use new padding after I washed them)
Paddle stand with front fork adapters - Havok/Jeff or Ken/Crissy
Spool stand (low profile) - Jeff or Ken/Crissy
Old fender (make into a true "no cut" FE and sell it? )
Original undertail
Original black rims (front is dented but repairable)
3x tire irons
Tire bead breaker
Plastic toolbox
Crappy $7 40pc ratchet set that breaks every time I use it (has HF lifetime warranty/replacement)
Needle-style torque wrench in large plastic case (can't recall ever using it)

I'll also be selling my sister's unused Motoboss L Communicator helmet (Bluetooth), but that'll go in the other thread.

Jeff: For some unknown reason, I assumed that you wanted the low-profile rear spool stand that I have but I do have another stand with the front fork adapters (originally a paddle-equipped rear swingarm stand). Which one did you want? You asked first so I say "take your pick" but the Johnsons are interested in what remains. FWIW, the low-pro stand makes things much easier when you remove the axle because it holds everything much lower to the ground. I usually just add a 2x4 under the tire to mostly align it and it makes it easy to put back together even by yourself. The other one lifts much higher.

Ken/Crissy: If Jeff takes the low-pro spool stand and you want the other stand, I can probably find the paddles so it will be good as a rear stand too. FWIW, you aren't supposed to use it with the front fork adapters unless you have it on a rear stand too, so you may still need one.

Glad we could help JET!

I'll gladly take whatever stands that Jeff doesn't want. And I think I'm interested in the tire tools (bead breaker, irons). They'll all be useful on the next tech day!

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by CZroe

Anyway, no one mentioned my big goof?! I'll try to break down the day for those who didn't make it.

Kevin and Adrian were already there working with KC when I arrived along with Jeff and Sharon sometime later in the morning. As stated earlier, Kevin was already elbow-deep in his carbs. Unlike me, he seemed to know what he was doing. Ken and Crissy arrived soon enough but Adrian didn't stick around for too much longer. I guess the road was calling! I thought about his bike when I saw a big bandage on the ground outside Autozone ("Hey look: Adri99an was here!").

Anyway, KC launched right into helping me with my rotor and quickly determined that I'm going to need to replace my front rotor as well soon enough (service limit; not the strange wear my rear rotor demonstrated). There were some pretty stubborn bolts. The previously rounded head actually wasn't as much of a problem as the last of the three but KC had all the right tools. I pretty much hogged his help the whole time.

With the tire off we moved right into getting the undertail mounted even when I wasn't too sure how we'd be mounting the plate, especially when I couldn't ride to the hardware store with no rear tire on. Jeff to the rescue! He volunteered with a strip of the pre-drilled aluminum plates that KC later helped me bend and cut into L-brackets that will do perfectly until I get my swingarm plate mount. Actually, he did most of the work there too. We realized that the undertail had no mechanism for attaching at the bottom without drilling holes for the rubber wellnuts that were there on the original undertail. Say what you will about Sportisi skipping steps during the hugger installation instructions, but at least they tell you when and where to drill!

My sister's calling me to help pack and more more boxes. I'll pick this up later!

Continuing on...

We all marveled and took a long hard look at KC's electronics ingenuity that went into his gear indicator. The man is a programmer, mechanic, electronics guru, and even plays a few instruments. Pick a hobby, dude!

It was comfortable but I was still sweating uncontrollably. Did anyone notice how much I was drinking without using the bathroom? I was perspiring ALL of it. It was running out of my gloves and getting everything wet as well as soaking my glasses lenses! I had been so thirsty that my mouth was sticking closed while talking, despite the glass of water KC brought me, so I got a ridiculous amount of water refills at the interesting Pho place we took a break at. I had just had breakfast before arriving so I could only stomach a couple spring rolls and, surprise, another drink (frozen lemonade smoothie). That same breakfast that spoiled my appetite also came with a soda and I later got a 20oz Diet Coke from Autozone and still made it to 9:30PM when I arrived at work. I should have been bloated and/or ready to explode, but I was still thirsty!

So, yeah, how did I get to the Pho restaraunt in the middle of an undertail install with my tire unmounted? Grab bars are such a great invention (thanks, Ken). Jeff, being the nice guy that he is, remembered the steaks from Ken and Crissy's tech day and insisted that they let him contribute toward theirs. I didn't order/eat much but I threw in $21 as thanks for the tech day and, well, the guy there serving us was pretty involved with serving us (did we tip?).

Next stop was an attempt to score on the photo game thread with some livestock pictures. I kept trying to make some dumb joke about horsepower/horses but I couldn't make it work. They all thought we had food for them so anyone who got close was suddenly pretty popular!

When we returned everyone helped me fashion L-brackets that KC cut and we reused a piece from my original fender to mount the plate (good idea, guys). I was fast running out of time so I decided to leave my blinkers and plate light for later (I had hoped to get to work during daylight), but we still mounted it all and routed the wires. We realized that I still needed a couple nuts for mounting the makeshift plate bracket, but KC loaned me his bike to make a run to Autozone and the guy there just gave them to me (no charge). Not having gauge was a little disconcerting. I'm sure I left his turn signal on three times longer than I otherwise would have after pulling out of the driveway.

I felt bad being the only bike holding everyone back from a group ride so I was OK with rushing the tire and chain mounting, but KC wanted to make sure it was meticulously aligned and torqued and showed me the string method. Thanks! Unfortunately, I had to undo it all and adjust my chain slack before I could leave work because I had no slack. I thought the suspension felt weird on the ride home. I knew that it always seems to get tight when you crank down the axel but I was in a hurry by that point and didn't check again. Everything still feels fine, but it's a cheap chain anyway and I don't expect to be on it for any longer than my last one (about a year).

Having work, I couldn't stick around for the group ride. I didn't get underway until about 7:15PM, when I had originally hoped to arrive at work around 8:00PM ~120 miles away (92101; wasn't going to happen!) but I mistakenly still had KC's key from when I borrowed his bike. Oops. I even checked my pockets to make sure I didn't have someone's socket or wrench or whatever and I guess I thought it was my key. Good thing I had the Parrot headset on or I would have made it all the way to work! I was only 11 miles away but I was on a stretch of CA-60 with no exit for miles and each mile the wrong way counts twice toward the actual return distance.

After wishing everyone a safe ride, I gassed up and went flying off to work, hand-signaling the whole way (front turn signals only) after dark. I hope that I didn't delay everyone too much for their group ride so, if not, someone tell me how it went.

Originally Posted by KJohnson21

Glad we could help JET!

I'll gladly take whatever stands that Jeff doesn't want. And I think I'm interested in the tire tools (bead breaker, irons). They'll all be useful on the next tech day!

Awesome. I'm sure they will be useful to many. I can't find my rim savers but I may have a couple of those as well.

[CZroe]

Even though I left work around 1AM, I still had to return before 8AM. I usually leave my key and tank bag on the bike and come back to take care of it after relieving the other employee (secured garage with security cameras). When I came back, I found that someone used my key to take the rear seat was off to look at the wiring or the plate mount or something and wanted to make it obvious by leaving it that way (messin' with me). The building engineer's son was later asking did I "wash it or something." Cheeky bastard! I know it was him. I was watching the cameras at that moment so I implied that I was never concerned because I was watching the security cameras earlier too and knew it wasn't someone to be concerned about (it actually wasn't looking at my bike at that moment).

Edit: Added fish tape, heat gun, and magnetic tank bag to the list above.
Edit 2: Added Polishing/Rubbing compound, heavy-duty axel grease, 4x stem bolts, and a soldering iron.

[Havok]

Jett,

The low profile one is perfect for me. I'll get with you to plan a date to come get it. When I do if Ken wants I can pick up the stuff he is getting and drop it off to them as well.

That is why I love the tech days we have. I learn something new every time and having a group of people all pitching in and helping out everyone else makes it all worth while. I feel we are very lucky here in so cal with the members we have, every person is the do what needs to he done help out as much as you can type and it makes it that much more enjoyable.

I was so happy we got to have one while Sharon was here so she could see what we do. I can't wait for the next one.

[ManyCavies]

Originally Posted by Havok

Jett,

The low profile one is perfect for me. I'll get with you to plan a date to come get it. When I do if Ken wants I can pick up the stuff he is getting and drop it off to them as well.

Jeff: That would be awesome! I think Ken wants a few more things as well so Ken should chat with you.

Jett: You are wonderful for sharing the tools you can't take with you. They will be used by all those that spend Tech days with us. And if possible, to be shared with others.

I really hope that you can spend a night with us before you leave. We have spare rooms, and would love to just share a social visit.

[CZroe]

I just found out that my hugger piece got marred pretty badly on the ride home despite being wrapped in a blanket. Ah well. I've been meaning to order touch-up paint anyway.

Now, I forget who asked me about the CrampBuster but I should've mentioned that it would be great with the 1/4 turn throttle mod.

Link to original page on YouTube.

The comments section in that vid also mentioned how he cheaply matched his turn signals to Candy Plasma Blue. I mentioned it to Adri99an at the tech day, so this video is a double-duty follow-up. I'm not sure I want to experiment so I'm probably going to order the Colorrite for touching up.

Originally Posted by Havok

Jett,

The low profile one is perfect for me. I'll get with you to plan a date to come get it. When I do if Ken wants I can pick up the stuff he is getting and drop it off to them as well.

That is why I love the tech days we have. I learn something new every time and having a group of people all pitching in and helping out everyone else makes it all worth while. I feel we are very lucky here in so cal with the members we have, every person is the do what needs to he done help out as much as you can type and it makes it that much more enjoyable.

I was so happy we got to have one while Sharon was here so she could see what we do. I can't wait for the next one.

Sounds great. I have some long bolts that I was using with my previous spools before I lost one, so you can use those as makeshift spools if you don't have any yet. Instead of spools, I'm using two bolts with two sleeves over them myself. Yeah, Harbor Freight's spools are only about $5 but I always planned to order more black slider spools from eBay and didn't want those chrome-colored ones they sell. Ken/Crissy wanted the remaining stand with the bead breaker and tire irons (changing tires it almost all a front fork stand is good for ). Would you be in SD on a bike or in a cage? I bought them all individually and got them home on the bike but they'd be more than a handfull if carried together! The rest of the stuff is still up for grabs, so let me know if you want anything else.

Originally Posted by ManyCavies

Jeff: That would be awesome! I think Ken wants a few more things as well so Ken should chat with you.

Jett: You are wonderful for sharing the tools you can't take with you. They will be used by all those that spend Tech days with us. And if possible, to be shared with others.

I really hope that you can spend a night with us before you leave. We have spare rooms, and would love to just share a social visit.

Wow. Thanks for the generosity. Strange coincidence: I was trying to figure out how I could get my bike to KC for the valves with my crazy work schedule and the only way I could figure was if I rode it up after work on a Monday and crashed there overnight before doing the work Tuesday so I could return home in time for my graveyard shift. I hadn't asked him yet so I don't even know if Tuesday is a good day for doing the valves. Before I ask him, would a Monday night be a bad time to visit? If so, I'll ask him if I can crash there instead. I hope one of those is an option because I live a couple hours away. If someone could pick me up from KC's, I'd be glad to compensate you for the gas and time.

[CZroe]

I had to wait until I got home to do it right, but I did manage to wire up my turn signals at work.

Link to original page on YouTube.

Remember: I did not have an LED relay, so I had to wire it with incandescent bulbs for them to flash properly. I didn't want to splice up both of the OEM cables in order to preserve the resale value of my OEM blinkers, which I will ditch once I get a relay installed, so I used my old tag light socket for a Sylvania 67LL bulb (I had a pack of two in case I ended up converting my original tail light to an integrated one). I also had a turn signal socket and cut wire from a crash damaged blinker. The OEM connector was cut off/missing but the tabs that connect to the bulb socket itself were useful. I connected the plate light wires onto the lead and they fit inside the old plate light connector perfectly. I shared a ground for almost everything else and forced a second 67LL bulb into that crashed blinker socket. I didn't force it all the way in so I bent the bottom fin in so that it made contact.

I spent the next day doing it properly (soldering and wrapping vs. stripping and twisting). I also widened the holes in the L-brackets so they could adapt for the difference in spacing without being all crooked and uneven (spacing for the tag mount bracket I was using and spacing for the tail light bolts I was mounting to aren't the same).

It blinks a little bit slower with these bulbs vs. the OEM bulbs. I'm not very satisfied with the visibiliy from a distance. It wouldn't be so bad if the flashing side would just kill the red LEDs entirely while signaling or if the remainin red side didn't dim with each amber flash (makes the whole thing appear to flash from a distance).

[Cazper]

Looks alot like my setup... wish I could have been there... I definitely have gone through this ordeal before... hopefully next time!!!

[Cuongism]

Hey Dustin, are you available anytime today for me to do a quick pickup?

[Cazper]

Originally Posted by Cuongism

Hey Dustin, are you available anytime today for me to do a quick pickup?

Should be around pretty much all day... if you'd like tell me a time and I can meet you somewhere... at least outside the gate to save you the hassle and possible ticket...lol

[Cuongism]

You probably know Oceanside better than I do. I believe Oceanside plaza is right before the exit?

[Cazper]

Yeah it is... although it's a little "inland". If you already plan to come this far up then we could either meet at:

Denny's
487 Harbor Dr, Oceanside, CA

or:

Carrows Restaurant
936 North Coast Highway, Oceanside, CA

Both are much easier to get to when coming up the 5... just let me know what you think.

[Cuongism]

Cool, Denny's sounds good. Just let me know when

[Cazper]

How long would it take you to get here?

[Cuongism]

Half hour

[Cazper]

Sounds good... see you then!!!

love our PM traffic on the tech day thread...lol

[CZroe]

It's a done tech day so, why not?