It's a never ending chore...

 And I'm getting a bit better at it...

So, the old girl has had a bit of love and hopefully might actually get an outing every once and a while - it's embarrassing how long the last set where on the bike...

Big girls can boogie

 Go the Fat Ninja!

Just run in eh?

I'm slowly getting there at 159,000km...

Some prep...

With the Connie recently celebrating her twelfth birthday and the distance riding season about to kick off with a vengeance, it was time for a little maintenance.

With a mere 156,000km on the clock, I decided to first spoil her with some suspension maintenance.  So, one weekend, Dad and I removed the forks and shock and posted them off to Taupo for a service.

I actually cleaned them up before putting them in the envelope...

The PR4's were stuffed to, so off they came and an order placed...Cycletreads to the rescue...

One of the other little jobs we had to do while the rubber was off, was to see if we could get the TPMS sensors working again.  On early Connies like mine, you can relatively easily (some soldering required) replace the batteries whereas in later bikes it's not so easy.

Last time we did this, we got both going but unfortunately water got into the front one (from a tyre change) and then it had been sitting like that corroding away ever since.  Dad managed to clean it up and then soldered some new batteries in (more than once).

Delicate surgery

But, it's probably a good idea to check them before fitting the tyres eh?

Nothing happening...

So, this is how you do it:

As I said, it took a few goes to get them going but before the tyres went on, we were pretty sure that both of them were working.  Unfortunately the front one quit sometime after we tested it and before I test rode the bike.  We'll have another go in 9-10,000km.

Another unfortunate issue was that the rear shock turned out to not be serviceable - the suspension man didn't touch it as he had no way to re-gas it (could not even fit a valve).  So it came back the way it came out of the bike.

At least it was pretty easy to refit both the shock and forks.

Once the suspension was back in Dad left me to put the bikes clothes back on and fit the new rubber.

Trying a 55 profile on for size - yep, it fits under the hugger...

With all that done it was time for a test ride.  But, when I hit the starter I just got a brief whir and then click, click, click...damn!  A month of sitting around and a bit of mucking around with the ignition on (testing the TPMS etc) had flattened the battery.

I hooked up my battery charger and left it for a few hours only to find that my charger was kaput - double damn!  In the end I used a certain 250cc generator to pump in some ergs to get me going - I should really have got a picture or video of that...

Bike running, I discovered that it was low on fuel, so I decided to go and see if there was any available in Woodville.  It'd give me a good chance to charge the battery a bit, scrub in the tyres and get a feel for the fresh rubber and serviced front end.

So how'd it all go?  Well, it was that damn windy that I was blown silly and never really got the chance to "try things out" properly.  It was so windy that I didn't stop at the top of the track for a planned photo - I probably would have been blown over turning in the gravel parking area...

I ended up settling for some pics in the Esplanade.

Pretty girl, with flowers...

Now, it's time for a decent ride...

2019 NI800Countdown

That little stone...

The blighter in question

You may remember the little trouble maker above from my Four Points excursion.  It successfully stopped the LHS radiator fan and then because some idiot didn't remove the stone, killed said fan.  Arrrgggggh!

Anyway, I've dragged the chain a bit sorting the issue out but finally I tracked a second-hand one down in Oz - new ones appear to be made of gold or something...

it's like a little metal flower...

Oh, and maybe the writing on it on the other side means it's good for another 40hp?

Anyway, once here, I was pretty keen to get it on the bike.  So today I tore all the plastic off the LHS of the bike and went at it.

As you can see, everything is super easy to get at with plenty of room for XXXL hands...

Anyway, I got the old one out and (with difficulty) and then started the installation of the brand new second hand one.  In the picture above you can see one bolt on the left of the fan bracket.  Well, there also happens to be one on the right (and another easy to get one on the bottom) as well.  Try imagining me getting my fat hands in that gap to start a little bolt...

What's wrong with this picture?

As you can see, somehow the plastic on the RHS of the bike has come off as well...

Crap everywhere!

To get the little bolt in, I had to unbolt the radiator so I could make enough room for fingers and tools.  While I was there I also removed the original horn which has just been catching bugs since the Stebel was installed a hundred years ago...

Doing this made the job only just possible and gave me a fair bit more practice in pulling things apart.  I think that everything is now mostly where it should be...

Before installing the last piece of fairing I thought that it was probably a good idea to see if everything worked...

Yeah, the original one was noisy too - the RHS one is actually quieter for some reason.

Anyway, pretty pleased to have that sorted as it's pretty hot here at the mo and I'd hate to cook my baby.  Moral of the story: if you ever blow a fan on your radiator fans, check the fan before replacing the fuse and starting the bike!

Having got her warmed up I finished up my maintenance tasks by giving her some fresh oil front and rear.  I reckon she still sounds sweet as a nut with 154,000km on the clock now eh?

I might keep her...

Zumo install #3

Yeah, that's right #3...

Except it's more like: the continued work of Heath Robinson.

I needed to get the GPS up higher on the Tenere as it was blocking the very top line of the gauges.  And because of the little bump in the cradle it wasn't as simple as using the little plate that Dad made up for me for the 550.  Here's what I came up with:

Yeah, the bolts are still too long...

And no, it's not made out of wood - I'm not going to say what it's made of, you'll have to guess...

Front and centre

Now let's compare the before and after:

Ok, the camera angle is not the same but she's bang-on as as far I'm concerned - right chuffed like.

And of course I then had to tidy up the setup on the Connie too:

Need longer bolts...

Not bad for $10 and a little bit of shed time :)

Zumo install #2

Thanks to E-Bay (cheaper), a second cradle for the Zumo turned up just before Xmas.  So Xmas Eve seemed like the right day to install it on the Connie...

The job turned out a bit easier than on the Tenere but I did have to do some improvising...

After removing the old cradle off the Connie's Projekt D mount I noticed a wee problem.

Crap design!  (Tenere's mount pictured)

The mount is perfectly flat but as you can see the Zumo cradle has a "bulge" at the bottom where the harness is wired in.  Enter Mr Heath Robinson...

To get things to fit up nicely I had to make some spacers.  Rummaging in the shed I stumbled across the old handle-bar weights off the V-Strom.  These had a nice little bit of rubber (with some tube running through the centre) fitted to them.  I ended up chopping the two rubbers (and tube)  up to make the four spacers I needed.  I was then able to reuse the longer bolts out of the old Zumo's mount and Bob's your uncle!

Well, it's on...

It's not that pretty (and the bolts are too long) but it'll work until I think of something else.  One added bonus is that there's even more rubber-mounting - vibes shouldn't worry the GPS much...

Annoyingly, I'll need to order another weather cover...

Next up was the wiring job and on the Connie I have it wired to the battery so had to add a couple of terminals to the harness and then find a place for everything.

In progress, harness went in just where that other bunch of cables are.

And I even ran the USB cable up into the Glove-box.  Could be handy there.

Time for a test.

Snug fit!

And this is pretty close to what I see when pedalling.

Sorted!

Bad influence?

Maybe...

Two years ago I ran into Steve at the Houhora checkpoint on the Four Points.  He was riding his V-Strom and I was on the Tenere.  After having a cold drink with Steve and his wife, he had a quick chance to have a look at the Tenere before I disappeared looking for somewhere to fix my puncture...

A few weeks later at the after match function Steve was telling me how much he liked the Tenere and was going to look for one as his next bike.  He then took my one for a quick spin - this did not change his mind...

Fast forward to this year's NI1600 and this lovely beastie is what Steve turned up on:

It's the ES version so has all the fruit including electronically adjustable suspension, cruise control, etc, etc...And doesn't she look luverly!

And naturally, it handled the NI1600 no problem at all!

A Connie chasing a Tenere, chasing an ST1300...

But that's not all...

You may remember this post from April where I met Chris while he was riding an SS1600K on his R1 (of all things).  Well, in the time since that ride he's done gone and bought a Connie!  Far more sensible eh Steve?

Since he's had it, their has been major farkling (more on his website) done on the bike and you should see the light show it can put on...Also, check out those light mounts under the mirrors - Chris designed and printed them himself.  Far to clever...

Chris's Connie parked next to one of the faster coloured, Neutron Silver Connie's...

Naturally both Connie's smashed the NI1600...


And it's nice to know there's two other sensible long distance riders out there that now how to pick their bikes...

Fettling

Just a few checks...for no apparent reason...

Hammer not required...

How could I forget...

...the Forgotten Highway.

This last weekend the weather decided to sort itself out and gave us two perfect days - coolish but sunny, calm and not wet!  Saturday had me thrashing the mower and generally doing stuff that wasn't riding but I could not let Sunday go wasted on such mundane activities...

I was in need of logging a few miles just to see if I still could and just in case I decide to go on a long pootle in October so while walking the hound early in the morning I came up with a few possibilities.

New grips on, I left home just before nine and started making my way over towards the 'naki.  Conditions were perfect with zero wind and not a cloud in the sky.  Taranaki and the other wee snow covered hills could be seen for miles - but you'll have to take my word for it, I was on a mission and there was no time for photo stops.

I hadn't fuelled the Connie before leaving and guessed that fuel was going to be needed in Waverly or Patea but with the bike just loping along quietly, the fuel consumption was looking good.  Just North of Patea I finally got the low fuel warning but after some quick maths I worked out that Eltham was easily achievable.

Still 0.05 of a litre left in the 22L tank...

While gassing up I also picked up a new battery for my fob and took care of that alarm too - it had been coming up every now and again for the last few rides.  I also somehow stuffed the zip on my jacket and didn't notice it until Stratford when I stopped briefly to turn the camera on - luckily it wasn't too cold...

Now on the Forgotten Highway the fun factor increased and even though the roads were winter wet in places (and had a few dodgy patches) I made pretty good time through to Whangamomona.  Once again, I didn't stop but just waved to all the other riders and carried on up the road.

Clambering up over some of the saddles North of Whanga, I disappeared into the fog a few times and there were more road repairs and dodgy surfaces to deal with.  The tunnel was in good nick (no mud/rocks) this time though.

And then it was time for the gravel section...This section is usually pretty sweet and I've ridden the Connie through there at pace but today the surface was wet in places and definitely looked slippery, other sections had quite a bit of gravel on them but at least felt a little more grippy.  Perhaps it's because I'm more used to riding the S10 on gravel than the fat tyred Connie that I felt she moved around a bit more?  Here's some of the gravel:

About halfway through the gravel I stopped to check out the long drop on the side of the road and then was back into the last of the gravel.  Then there was more fog over a the last of the saddles into Taumarunui.

In Taumarunui I finally had a decent McStop where a cold drink was my priority number one.  I even managed to fix the zip in my jacket (for how long I wonder?) before getting back on for the cruise home.

Nice day in Taumarunui!

With a couple of possible options available for the return home, I ended up deciding to ride down the Western side of the mountains and did a fairly good job of behaving myself on my way through to National Park, Ohakune and Waiouru.

Nice day in Waiouru too - warmer than last time...

On the way South to Taihape I caught up to this young rider stuck in the traffic.  He/she was doing an even better job of behaving themselves than me...

In Taihape I stopped for more fuel and after topping up discovered that the fuel in Taihape is very cold!  Often in summer it's nice getting back on and being cooled by the fresh fuel but yesterday I reckon the fuel was colder than usual - 4 layers of pants in action too...

At Mangaweka I decided to get off SH1 and ride through to Rangiwahia, Kimbolton etc.  Surprisingly (it's winter after all) the road was in really nice condition and there wasn't too much stuff to slide around on - nice!

That familiar bridge

And yet another...

I finally parked up at home just after 4pm and having added another 590 odd km to the old girl's odo - naturally she had just lapped it up far easier than the rider...