COVID -19 Stopped Us In Our Tracks

I was looking forward to racing back-to-back ARHMA races this month at Streets of Willow and Big Willow race tracks but as anticipated, they have been canceled.  COVID-19 stopped us in our tracks.  Figuratively and literally...  

In mid-Feb, the horrible news of COVID-19 affecting those in China and then Italy weren’t enough for us to consider what we needed to do to be safe.  We knew it would eventually be at our doorstep.  When it arrived, our government acted quickly.  In an instant, our lives were transformed.  Much of our freedom was compromised in hopes for a better future.  We're told to stay at home.

This pandemic has us re-prioritizing our lives.  We’re hyper-focused on washing our hands, sanitizing surface areas, home schooling our children and protecting those who are most at-risk (60 years old and up) from being infected.  Coincidentally, aren’t these all things that should be prioritized: Health, quality time with families, especially our children and a respect for our elderly? We sometimes forget or don’t leave time for these things when we’re in the whirlwind of life.  COVID-19 has helped us press the pause button to re-frame what is important.  

“Positivity” is my top strength, according to Gallups Strengthsfinder.  These are difficult times.  I’d like to share some of my positivity with you to continue to have hope and to do your part in keeping yourself and others safe.  We will get through this.  A quote by Helen Keller, “Alone, we can do so little; Together we can do so much.”  Let’s all do our little part in keeping our community safe and healthy.  

By the way, I can't be on the track this month but I can still go on motorcycle rides which is aligned with the social distancing rules.  I'll be taking some time to do so to maintain my sanity and hope you take time to do something you enjoy during this crisis as well.

How Do You Show Up?

I race just to be in the race.  I race for the thrill and the fun of it.  I don’t ever expect to win.  

The win for me is doing all the hard work to get my motorcycle race-ready, actually clicking the pay button during online registration, getting my gear, motorcycle and me to the race track, starting the race... and most importantly, finishing the race with both wheels still on the ground.  

The win for me is SHOWING UP.  Showing up is the first win to many other wins.  Simply stated by Woody Allen, “Just showing up is half the battle”.  

But as a bonus, sometimes you get lucky and actually do win. Thanks AHRMA.

CB350 Top-End Rebuild: Day 2

I have watched so many videos on CB350 rebuilds, joined a Honda forum, read the entire shop manual and took copious notes on everything that I knew I had enough information to rebuild my engine.  But even after doing all the research I was very nervous about putting the engine back together.  I was so afraid that I might forget do something wrong.

My typed notes and the honda shop manual for references.

If you read my Day 1 rebuild, I found out that I was missing a part and needed a new part while preparing my parts.  I was able to order the piston circlip from a local motorcycle shop.  I learned that the cam chain tensioner I needed was discontinued through Honda.  The shop that I went to informed me that there was no inventory in any motorcycle shop across the nation.  Luckily I found one on eBay through a reliable vendor.

It's recommended to change all four piston circlips during a rebuild especially because they are so cheap ($1.50/each)
but I was only able to get two.  My old ones were good enough to reuse.  I paid $100 for the cam chain tensioner on Ebay.  

I convinced my friend Jason to supervise my work.  He has been working on motorcycle engines since he was fourteen years old.  Good thing I did because there were a couple of things I may have missed and he gave me some great tips.

Jason showed me different strategies for removing a seized screw.
Here he is warming up the screw to expand and loosen it.

Again, I found that I was still missing pieces.  Somehow I misplaced the placement dowels that go around a couple of the rods below that keeps the head in place.  Plus, after removing the air filter we found that the circlip to keep that in place was broken.  

At least we were able to get the pistons in the cylinders.  This would have been challenging to do by myself.
It was nice to have extra hands to hold up the cylinder head while I clamped down on the piston rings
to try to get them to fit in the cylinders properly.

My To-Do list.

I'm learning that patience and detailed organization is necessary to do a rebuild on an old motorcycle.  I've learned that certain parts are difficult to find and now understand why my ARHMA friends hoard old motorcycle parts.  Also, I thought that written notes and a few pics would be enough to recall how to put the engine back together.  Next time I'll be taking more pictures throughout each step of the process, maybe even a video.

Ride for a Cause

Seven years ago I lost my dear Grandma Juling.  She had dementia.  Alzheimer's is a common type of dementia.  I know the challenges of living with someone with dementia and the heartache of them not remembering who you are or the memories of the past.

I hope you will consider joining me in the Rides4ALZ on Sunday, July 15, 2018:

Event Details: 
Sunday, July 15th 
Registration: 9:30 AM | Kickstands Up: 10 AM 
100-mile ride through San Diego County 
After Party at AleSmith Brewing Company with an opportunity drawing 
Tickets: $50/rider, $20/passenger or After Party

CB350 Top-End Rebuild: Day 1

Today was the day... I was finally able to set aside some time to start putting my motorcycle engine back together.  I tore down the top end of my 1971 Honda CB350 in March hoping that I could get it back together and into the frame by April so that I could race again in the AHRMA Corsa Motoclassica.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get all the parts and machine work done on time for the race.

It's been almost a month since I've worked on my engine.  I had business travel, a wedding in Baja, my kiddo came home from college and wanted to do a road trip to NorCal-- I got busy.  I intentionally planned to work on my motorcycle engine on this Memorial Day.  I reviewed my notes and even re-watched some great YouTube videos.  If you're looking for a great series on rebuilding a CB350, I highly recommend Saturday's Wrench Episode 21.

Using a folding table as my workbench.

 Unfortunately, as I was organizing the parts for my engine on the table I noticed I was missing a part.  I'm missing a circlip, which holds the pin for the piston in place.  This meant that I couldn't start my rebuild today like planned.  Also, I joined the HondaTwins forum where "Doode" recommended that I check the cam chain rollers because those tend to wear out.  Of course, I'll need to order those as well.  Check out the photo below.

See the notches down the center?  They should be smooth.

Today wasn't totally wasted.  I took this opportunity to clean the outside of the engine.  It was pretty grimy.  I first tried Simple Green but found that Purple Power was much more powerful in cutting down the grime.

I sprayed it with Purple Power, let it sit for 10 minutes,
scrub with a wire brush.

I wish I would have taken a shot at the same angle as above
but this is the best I have in showing the results for today's cleaning.

I'm ordering new circlips and cam chain rollers from Honda this week.  I hope to update you on some progress soon after I receive the new parts.  In the meantime, if you have any tips/guidance you can provide me on my engine rebuild please leave it in the comments below.  Thanks!

#BJINBAJA

This weekend I attended the epic wedding of my friends, Brittany and Jason, in Todos Santos.  You're wondering, "What does this have to do with motorcycles?"  A lot.  Jason was an integral part of getting me to race in ARHMA.  He helped build my motivation to make me think that I could do it.  Also, he was tremendously helpful in coaching me for my first race.  Therefore, Jason has been a huge inspiration for me in racing ARHMA.

But the most exciting part about this weekend was the reaction I received from a group of new friends I met at the welcome reception.  I mentioned my San Diego Girl Garage meetup group and to my surprise, many of them were interested in being a part of it.  Although these women don't ride motorcycles, they have a ton of knowledge about motorcycles because their husbands ride and race motorcycles.  I was so happy to hear that they were willing to share their knowledge and experiences about motorcycles from the perspective of someone on the sidelines.

What's Your Ride?

As a new motorcycle rider, it can be overwhelming to shop for a first bike.  New riders should look for a motorcycle that is lightweight and one where you can place both feet on the ground.  A lightweight bike will make it easier to balance and you'll feel more confident and comfortable being able to stop with both feet being able to touch the ground.

I'm definitely not the expert on motorcycles but I've done my share of shopping.  Here are some of my favorites.  I feel that these are great choices for newbies:

Standard Naked Bike: Intended to do a little bit of everything.
My choice is the Yamaha FZ-07.  It has a comfortable seat and neutral ergonomics.  It's a naked bike so there's less plastic to damage.  But that also means it doesn't have a windscreen which could be annoying if you need to travel long distance, especially on the freeway.  Other than that, I think it's a cool looking moto to cruise around in.

Cruisers: Built for comfort not speed.
My choice is the Honda Rebel.  This is the motorcycle that I learned to ride on for my MSF course.  It was so easy to handle and I could easily place both feet flat on the ground when I stopped.

Sport Bikes: Built for speed, not for long distance.
My choice is the KTM RC390.  This bike is built to go fast but at 390cc it's lightweight and easy to handle.  I personally want one of these for the track.  I wouldn't recommend it for long distance rides though.

Another choice is the Ninja 250r.  My first road bike was the Ninja 300 and it was so fun to ride!  It wasn't super-powerful but it still made for a fun ride on the track.  It was easy to maneuver through the turns but because it was meant to be ridden in a tuck position, it doesn't make for a comfortable long-distance road trip.

Dual Sports: For both road and off-road.  Dual sports are like dirt bikes that are street legal.
My choice is the Honda CRF250L.  I own this bike and I absolutely love it!  I mainly use it for off-road but the cool part is that it is plated so I can ride on the road if I needed to.  For example, we cruised on the roads in Zion and could easily hit the off-road trails when we wanted to.

Adventure Tourers (ADV): larger and made for long rides.
My choice is the BMW 700GS.  I also own this bike.  This replaced my Ninja 300 because riding long distance on my Ninja was causing me back aches.  The BMW 700GS has more upright comfortable position.  Plus, the built-in hand warmers and tall windscreen makes for a more comfortable ride through the mountain.


Okay, so my recommendations are little biased since these are motorcycles that I already own or would want to own but I did my research and these were the ones that fit my needs.  I suggest you do the same.  First answer, "What kind of riding will I do?"  Then, do your research.  Go visit a motorcycle shop, sit on the motos and ask lots of questions.  Then, when you've figured out what moto you want, look for a used one.  Craigslist is a great place to shop.  There are many great deals out there and why pay top dollar for your "first" motorcycle.  After some experience on your new moto, you'll have more information about what you want your second motorcycle to be!