20170723 - Redlands - Inglewood - Solvang - Inglewood - Redlands

I  reconnected with a friend today, picked her up in Inglewood, and went on a ride to Andersen's Split Pea Soup in Solvang Ca.  I'd been to Andersen's before and it is a nice restaurant.  The trip up the PCH is always wonderful.  I left at 6am since Google was saying the trip to pick her up would take 1:47 minutes.  I took 91 and when I arrived around I-405, I pulled over and found a place to park.  I was running early and needed  to check my oil.  The oil looked good and I was still early, so I stopped at Starbucks about 15 minutes from her house and had a hot chocolate while I checked email.

I pulled up to her place right on time and within about 15 minutes, we were having breakfast at Denny's while we caught up on everything since 2013, the time I saw her last.  The conversation would continue over  Bluetooth  Sena headsets for hours.  The plan was for us to get on 405, cut over to 10, and pick up the PCH in Santa Monica.

The coast was nice and cool almost all the way to Solvang.  The heat jumped up to 90+ for the last 5 miles or so to Andersen's.  We stopped once to check out the ocean and stretch.  The Pacific ocean is huge and gorgeous.  Where we stopped, there were multi-million dollar homes below us.  It must be normal in these circumstances to wonder what the people that own these homes do for a living because we both asked the question at the same time.  When I looked at all that blue water, I found myself wondering how far out I can see and how much water all that amounts to.  It is vast.   The answer to the first question comes from howstuffworks.com:

SquareRoot(height above surface / 0.5736) = distance to horizon.

 For us, overlooking homes below us, I guesstimate we were about 100' above sea level.  That would put the horizon 57 miles away!  Seeing something that far out is impossible without magnification.  From an airplane, only 6 miles high, you can readily see land features, but not too much more.

One thing to remember about Andersen's is that their portions are enormous.  I got Danish Meatloaf and the portion might have choked an NFL linebacker.  Joy ordered the  Danish Style Danish Sausage - Medister Polse, and it was equally sized.  We both left plenty on our plates.  Sorry mom.

The conversation and company was excellent.  There was so much to catch up on.  We weren't watching the clock.  I suspect we spent about an hour there.  Outside, it was 94.7 degrees and we baked for the ride back to Santa Barbara, where the temperature dropped back down to something reasonable, like 70 something.  We were starting to get a little saddle sore along the way, so we stopped at an In-N-Out burger place for something to drink and to get off the bike for awhile.  I'd never eaten at the California staple In-N-Out, and I still never have.  We had an iced tea and a lemon-aid and jumped back on the bike.  Traffic was horrible, but moving.  We were splitting lanes for miles.  It was all the return traffic from the weekend we were mixed in.  It's the first time I split lanes while 2-up.  On a big bike, that doesn't make any difference, but, I suspect on a smaller bike, it would.  We arrived back at Joy's place at 6pm and said our goodbye's till next time and I was on my way home.

605 was an absolute nightmare.  Traffic was completely stopped for miles in both directions.  I think something happened on one of the overpasses.  I was splitting lanes for over a half an hour straight.  That's a lot of weaving and mirror dodging.  The rest of the ride home was really uneventful.

Here's the maps:

The map above is comprised of 795,004 unique latitude, longitude coordinates.  The actual number of coordinates in the file would be approaching 1.5 million at this point, but every once in a while I uniq the file to make it easier to load.  After my trip in August, my bet is that I won't be able to get that number under 1 million any more.

20170623 - Morro Bay and Back

This was a short trip - about 600 miles.  Paul didn't have much tread left in his rear tire and we didn't want to come back on the belts, so we picked a distance that would burn off the rest of the tread and set him up for a tire change.

The temperature is heating up in southern California.  Depending on where we would go, the temperature could be anywhere from 74 degrees to 111.  Initially, I thought a route that was more in the mountains would be the best, but it turns out the coast is definitely the way to go; that meant the Pacific Coast Highway.

Our plan was to head after work, take I-10 straight out to the beach, turn right and head north.  Our stop for the evening would be Solvang, a dutch town halfway between Santa Monica and Monterey.  From there, we'd do a little back road riding and head back.

On the way, somewhere west of Ontario on I-10, I was dangling my feet off the pegs to give my knees a break when I hit a bump in the road.  As the suspension compressed, my feet lowered and left foot struck a break in the pavement.  Fortunately, my legs were hanging completely loose.  My boots helped, but not as much as if I were wearing steel tip boots.  I never wear steel tip boots because having my feet contained in leather for hours at a time is a great setup for athletes foot.  I prefer a hiking boot with Vibram soles for traction.

My foot went numb from my toes to about mid-way through the arch.  Even still, I knew this wasn't bad.  I just needed to wait for the numbness to wear off to figure out how bad this could be.  I've broken bones before and this wasn't what it feels like.  I was still able to shift without any issues.

I decided it wasn't bad and we pressed on.  In Solvang, I took a look.  My big toe took the brunt of it.  It was now 4 hours since it happened, and the nail was only a slight shade of lavender.  It didn't hurt much, so I decided that drilling it could expose me to infection and that wasn't worth the risk.  If it were really painful, it would have been necessary, but it really wasn't.

Other than this, the trip was very uneventful.  Solvang is a nice place to hang out.  We had breakfast at Paula's Pancake House and managed to get there just before everyone else.  We sat outside and enjoyed the morning before jumping back on the bikes.

It would have been nice to ride quite a bit more in the Solvang area.  All that country between there and Santa Monica, and I-5 is largely unexplored, except for some of the Morro Bay riding I've done.

20170618 66,000 mile service (500 miles early)

Why 500 miles early?  Well, it's pretty simple.  Being in school, I don't get to take nearly as many trips as when I'm not in school, so the bike has to be ready for long trips when I get the opportunity.  As luck, or misfortune, would have it, my professor hasn't finished grading, so I'm in a wait state on everything while the end of the semester looms.  When she turns it around, I'll have precious little time to make corrections and resubmit.  Right at this moment, I have the time for maintenance, and next weekend, I'm sensing a long distance ride.  The bike will be ready.

Right now, I'm living in an apartment while servicing a customer away from home.  I don't have a garage, but I do have a fenced in porch in front of my doorway.  Space would accommodate three K1600GTs parked right next to each other.  That's enough space to do an oil change.  The apartment complex doesn't allow vehicle maintenance in the parking lot.  There's a sign that says so.  I'm pretty sure they don't mean you can't work on your motorcycle on your porch.  It's fenced in, so the only one that might no is either upstairs neighbor if they should come down the stairs and look.  It works out that I have about 3mm on either side of the hard cases when going through the gate, so it's a tight, but workable situation.  The distance from the gate to the sliding glass door is approximately a foot from the front wheel as the back of the bike clears the gate, so this situation works.

Being the nice apartment owner I am, I don't want to drip oil on my front porch, so I put a tarp down before bringing the bike in.  I also use hospital chucks under my oil pan to catch any leaks.  If you don't know what chucks are, here's a pic.  These are great.  Get a stack in your garage.  It will save you from little spills.  You can get them at Walmart, a medical supply store, Amazon, and probably pharmacies.  Don't buy the washable ones.  You won't be washing these.  They are also known as urinary incontinence pads.

In this service:

Oil and filter change
Check Brakes front and rear
Drain the Condensate Hose
Check cooling fluid
Inspect all brake and clutch lines.
Check tires

Rear brakes were done 6,000 miles ago. These are good.
Front brakes have plenty of meat on the pads, so these will last at least another 6,000 miles.
Nothing came out of the condensate hose.  It's also southern California, so I don't imagine there would be much condensate from anywhere.
All fluids were topped up and didn't need to be touched.
The tires have plenty of meat on them.  They are both only 6,000 miles old.

Oil changes are now very easy.  When I did my service with Paul 6,000 miles ago, he built me a tool for getting to the Allen plug for the sump.  The tool is just as simple as can be.  Build one; you won't be sorry.  Start with a flat 5mm socket drive that will reach the plug and find yourself a piece of tubular scrap metal that is about 2.5 - 3 inches long that will just fit into the oil drain hole.  Sorry, I didn't measure the size.  Also, find yourself 6 or 8 small Allen head set screws, and drill some holes symmetrically around the pipe at the top and bottom that will accommodate the set screws.  You will need to tap these.  Once you have that, put your flat 5mm Allen into the pipe and set the screws so the Allen wrench remains perfectly centered and protrudes from the end no more than necessary to completely seat into the sump plug.

The tool guarantees that you will put the Allen wrench into the whole perfectly straight, so the risk of not finding the plug is minimized as is cross threading it when you're going to put it back in.

Here's a picture of the tool:

Paul, you rock, sir!

I use a GS-911 to read diagnostic codes and to reset the service reminder.  I've found it to be very useful, but a little messy to deal with.  It doesn't have a wireless antenna, so you have to be very close to the wireless router for this to work.  I just use my wireless hot-spot.  It makes things so much easier.

My GS-911 read as below

AutoScan : -
Base System Version :  0.251 - 0.144

Factory I-Level : K001-14-02-500
Actual I-Level : K001-14-02-500
Odometer : 65534.1 mls
Motorcycle Date : 17-06-2017
Distance to next service : 466.0 mls
Service due date : 20-11-2017

XAUDIO : -
Controller Name : XAUDIO
Controller  : 0F8900
Serial Number : 8003133721
Manufacturer : Service request out of range
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) : 13/01/22
VIN : ZX81751
Program Count : 1
Program Count Maximum : 1024
Firmware Date (YY/MM/DD) : 13/09/20
Kilometers when programmed : 0.00
Number of FW configurations : 5
..HW Electronics (HWEL)  :
....Firmware ID : 0EF4
....Firmware Version : 001.000.000
..Bootloader (BTLD)  :
....Firmware ID : 0FDE
....Firmware Version : 001.000.002
..SW Memory Image (SWFL)  :
....Firmware ID : 0A47
....Firmware Version : 001.004.000
..SW Memory Image (SWFL)  :
....Firmware ID : 0CBA
....Firmware Version : 001.004.000
..Coding Data (CAFD)  :
....Firmware ID : 0A48
....Firmware Version : 000.005.001
Fault Codes : 0
No Faults found :

XESA : -
Controller Name : XESA
Controller  : 0F8400
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) :p 13/02/03
VIN : ZX81751
Program Count : 0
Program Count Maximum : 1024
Firmware Date (YY/MM/DD) : 13/02/03
Kilometers when programmed : 0.00
Number of FW configurations : 4
..HW Electronics (HWEL)  :
....Firmware ID : 08AC
....Firmware Version : 001.000.000
..Bootloader (BTLD)  :
....Firmware ID : 0897
....Firmware Version : 001.000.000
..SW Memory Image (SWFL)  :
....Firmware ID : 0898
....Firmware Version : 001.002.000
..Coding Data (CAFD)  :
....Firmware ID : 089A
....Firmware Version : 001.002.000
: Hall Sensor Installed, Rear Strut
Fault Codes : 1
|
D7143A : No CAN message (ambient conditions from DME)
Currently present : NO
Engine warning light (MIL) : NO
Frequency count : 1
Logistic(Healing) count : 0
..Fault Code History :
....Record number : 1
....Odometer : 62229.5 mls
....ABS time : 123444
....Vehicle Speed : 0.0 mls/h
....Engine Speed :  0.0 rpm

XBCO : -
Controller Name : XBCO
Controller  : 0F8A00
Serial Number : 1304906917
Manufacturer : Loewe Lear
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) : 13/02/18
VIN : ZX81751
Program Count : 1
Program Count Maximum : 1024
Firmware Date (YY/MM/DD) : 13/09/20
Kilometers when programmed : 0.00
Number of FW configurations : 4
..HW Electronics (HWEL)  :
....Firmware ID : 08AF
....Firmware Version : 001.006.001
..Bootloader (BTLD)  :
....Firmware ID : 0891
....Firmware Version : 004.000.003
..SW Memory Image (SWFL)  :
....Firmware ID : 0892
....Firmware Version : 006.006.002
..Coding Data (CAFD)  :
....Firmware ID : 0893
....Firmware Version : 006.050.017
Fault Codes : 3
|
E59420 : No CAN message (status left multifunction switch from the KOMBI)
Currently present : NO
Engine warning light (MIL) : NO
Frequency count : 3
Logistic(Healing) count : 0
..Fault Code History :
....Record number : 1
....Odometer : 10425361.0 mls
....ABS time : 10748027
....System Voltage : 12.60 V
....KL15 Status : 1
....Record number : 2
....Odometer : 10425361.0 mls      <<<<<<<<<<<I'm in the 10 million mile club!!!  Yay me!
....ABS time : 4659219
....System Voltage : 13.20 V
....KL15 Status : 1
|
E59426 : No CAN message (from KOMBI)
Currently present : NO
Engine warning light (MIL) : NO
Frequency count : 3
Logistic(Healing) count : 0
..Fault Code History :
....Record number : 1
....Odometer : 10425361.0 mls
....ABS time : 10748027
....System Voltage : 12.60 V
....KL15 Status : 1
....Record number : 2
....Odometer : 10425361.0 mls
....ABS time : 4659219
....System Voltage : 13.20 V
....KL15 Status : 1
|
E5941C : No CAN message (from KOMBI)
Currently present : NO
Engine warning light (MIL) : NO
Frequency count : 3
Logistic(Healing) count : 0
..Fault Code History :
....Record number : 1
....Odometer : 10425361.0 mls
....ABS time : 10748027
....System Voltage : 12.60 V
....KL15 Status : 1
....Record number : 2
....Odometer : 10425361.0 mls
....ABS time : 4659219
....System Voltage : 13.20 V
....KL15 Status : 1

XRDC : -
Controller Name : XRDC
Controller  : 0F8100
Serial Number : 0421302431
Manufacturer : Schrader
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) : 13/02/11
VIN : ZX81751
Program Count : 1
Program Count Maximum : 1024
Firmware Date (YY/MM/DD) : 13/09/20
Kilometers when programmed : 0.00
Number of FW configurations : 4
..HW Electronics (HWEL)  :
....Firmware ID : 0B49
....Firmware Version : 000.001.008
..Bootloader (BTLD)  :
....Firmware ID : 0CB1
....Firmware Version : 000.002.025
..SW Memory Image (SWFL)  :
....Firmware ID : 0CB2
....Firmware Version : 001.000.070
..Coding Data (CAFD)  :
....Firmware ID : 0B4B
....Firmware Version : 000.005.000
Fault Codes : 0
No Faults found :

XKOMBI : -
Controller Name : XKOMBI
Controller  : 0F8800
Serial Number : 0000024888
Manufacturer : Preh
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) : 13/02/20
VIN : ZX81751
Program Count : 2
Program Count Maximum : 1024
Firmware Date (YY/MM/DD) : 14/05/06
Kilometers when programmed : 0.00
Number of FW configurations : 6
..HW Electronics (HWEL)  :
....Firmware ID : 08A7
....Firmware Version : 001.000.000
..Bootloader (BTLD)  :
....Firmware ID : 0C4D
....Firmware Version : 001.001.000
..SW Memory Image (SWFL)  :
....Firmware ID : 0CBC
....Firmware Version : 001.007.000
..SW Memory Image (SWFL)  :
....Firmware ID : 0CBB
....Firmware Version : 000.003.002
..Coding Data (CAFD)  :
....Firmware ID : 08A6
....Firmware Version : 001.006.018
..Hardware Type (HWAP)  :
....Firmware ID : 08A9
....Firmware Version : 255.255.255
Fault Codes : 0
No Faults found :

XASW : -
Controller Name : XASW
Controller  : 0F8200
Serial Number : 1301100194
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) : 13/01/11
VIN : ZX81751
Program Count : 1
Program Count Maximum : 1024
Firmware Date (YY/MM/DD) : 14/05/06
Kilometers when programmed : 0.00
Number of FW configurations : 4
..HW Electronics (HWEL)  :
....Firmware ID : 089E
....Firmware Version : 000.003.000
..Bootloader (BTLD)  :
....Firmware ID : 089B
....Firmware Version : 001.002.000
..SW Memory Image (SWFL)  :
....Firmware ID : 089C
....Firmware Version : 001.004.000
..Coding Data (CAFD)  :
....Firmware ID : 089D
....Firmware Version : 001.000.004
Fault Codes : 0
No Faults found :

XDWA : -
Controller Name : XDWA
Controller  : 0F8700
Manufacturer : META System
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) : 13/02/01
VIN : ZX81751
Program Count : 1
Program Count Maximum : 1024
Firmware Date (YY/MM/DD) : 13/09/20
Kilometers when programmed : 0.00
Number of FW configurations : 4
..HW Electronics (HWEL)  :
....Firmware ID : 0A4C
....Firmware Version : 001.000.000
..Bootloader (BTLD)  :
....Firmware ID : 0A49
....Firmware Version : 001.000.000
..SW Memory Image (SWFL)  :
....Firmware ID : 0A4A
....Firmware Version : 001.005.000
..Coding Data (CAFD)  :
....Firmware ID : 0A4B
....Firmware Version : 001.005.002
Fault Codes : 1
|
800029 : Alarm activation
Currently present : NO
Engine warning light (MIL) : NO
Frequency count : 3
Logistic(Healing) count : 0
..Fault Code History :
....Record number : 1
....Odometer : 61785.8 mls
....ABS time : -1
....Record number : 2
....Odometer : 62363.7 mls
....ABS time : -1

XFSA : -
Controller Name : XFSA
Controller  : 0F8000
Serial Number : 1300996719
Manufacturer : Loewe Lear
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) : 13/01/10
VIN : ZX81751
Program Count : 2
Program Count Maximum : 1024
Firmware Date (YY/MM/DD) : 14/05/06
Kilometers when programmed : 0.00
Number of FW configurations : 4
..HW Electronics (HWEL)  :
....Firmware ID : 08B0
....Firmware Version : 002.005.001
..Bootloader (BTLD)  :
....Firmware ID : 0894
....Firmware Version : 004.000.000
..SW Memory Image (SWFL)  :
....Firmware ID : 0895
....Firmware Version : 006.005.002
..Coding Data (CAFD)  :
....Firmware ID : 0896
....Firmware Version : 006.024.008
Fault Codes : 2
|
803E87 : Additional headlights 1, open circuit
Currently present : NO
Engine warning light (MIL) : NO
Frequency count : 3
Logistic(Healing) count : 38     <<<<< What's a heling count?
..Fault Code History :
....Record number : 1
....Odometer : 65362.6 mls
....ABS time : 4852461
....Board Voltage : 13.30 V
....KL15 Status : 1
....Record number : 2
....Odometer : 65362.6 mls
....ABS time : 4852877
....Board Voltage : 13.30 V
....KL15 Status : 1
|
803E89 : Additional headlights 2, open circuit
Currently present : NO
Engine warning light (MIL) : NO
Frequency count : 3
Logistic(Healing) count : 38
..Fault Code History :
....Record number : 1
....Odometer : 65362.6 mls
....ABS time : 4852461
....Board Voltage : 13.30 V
....KL15 Status : 1
....Record number : 2
....Odometer : 65362.6 mls
....ABS time : 4852877
....Board Voltage : 13.30 V
....KL15 Status : 1

XABS : -
Controller Name : XABS
Controller  : 0F8300
Serial Number : 6007400175
Manufacturer : Continental Automotive
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) : 13/02/04
VIN : ZX81751
Program Count : 0
Program Count Maximum : 1000
Firmware Date (YY/MM/DD) : 13/02/04
Kilometers when programmed : 0.00
Number of FW configurations : 3
..HW Electronics (HWEL)  :
....Firmware ID : 08BC
....Firmware Version : 001.000.000
..Bootloader (BTLD)  :
....Firmware ID : 08BA
....Firmware Version : 001.001.000
..SW Memory Image (SWFL)  :
....Firmware ID : 08BB
....Firmware Version : 002.001.000
Fault Codes : 0
No Faults found :

BMSX : -
Controller Name : BMSX
Controller  : 0F8B00
Serial Number : 0170035097
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) : 13/02/02
VIN : WB1061100DZX81751
Factory I-Level : K001-14-02-500
Actual I-Level : K001-14-02-500
Odometer : 65534.1 mls
Program Count : 1
Program Count Maximum : 60
Firmware Date (YY/MM/DD) : 13/02/28
Kilometers when programmed : 0.00
Number of FW configurations : 5
..HW Electronics (HWEL)  :
....Firmware ID : 08A3
....Firmware Version : 004.000.000
..Bootloader (BTLD)  :
....Firmware ID : 0C49
....Firmware Version : 004.000.000
..SW Memory Image (SWFL)  :
....Firmware ID : 0CBD
....Firmware Version : 008.000.001
..SW Memory Image (SWFL)  :
....Firmware ID : 0D2F
....Firmware Version : 008.010.000
..Coding Data (CAFD)  :
....Firmware ID : 08A2
....Firmware Version : 000.003.010
Fault Codes : 0
No Faults found :