Greetings.

Hey, all. I'm Mark, but I pretty much go by Oblivion online.

I've got an '81 XJ750rh I bought in '95 with 11,454 miles on it. When I got it, it came with an '83 rh as a parts bike. The previous owner of the '83 was teaching his wife to ride and the burried the forks into a cop car she'd T-boned. The previous owner of my '81 scavanged the carbs off the '83 because he'd let his gunk up.

In the first 6 years I had the bike, I put on over 10k miles of my own. In the last 5 years, sadly, I've put on about 100 miles, total.

Just this weekend I had the carbs out for a cleaning and eventually got her running after 2 years of not even being able to start her. The 3 years before that, she was in my buddy's shed since I was living in the city and got tired of morons knocking her over. He was supposed to ride her for me to keep her limber, but I guess life got in the way.

Anyway, I'm picking up new plugs and a battery today, and hope to have her test-ridden, tagged and insured before the week is out.

With this recent bite of the riding bug, I decided to search out some new online resources and foud this place - what a great idea. When I started riding, I used to hang out on the rec.motorcycles newsgroup quite a bit. I look forward to similar comraderie here.

Anyway, just my long-winded way of saying 'hi.' I've got a VERY old web page about my bike set up here: http://geocities.com/jack_dracula/mc.htm I'll have to take some new pictures when I get her all back together.

Oh, BTW, you might notice from my avatar that she's for a Vetter fairing, case guards and a sissy bar/luggage rack - the original owner put all of that stuff on when it was brand new. It makes for a nice lite-tourer. Or, as I used it when I was in college - a decent grocery-getter (I blew the engine out of my car the very day I bought the motorcycle - so it was my only transport Senior year - hauling groceries throug the Chicago winter shure gets you looks).

 

Welcome!

 

8O
Having gone through a Chicago spring and remembering snow up to my waist and a windchill of -10 (this was at Great Lakes Naval Training Station back in '79), I admire your dedication, and will cross the street to avoid you. You're way too tough for me!

 

Jazzmoose, fear me not - riding in winter is a lot like snowmobiling - just make sure you're dressed for it. Oh, but unlike snowmobiling, avoid the snow I actually took my MSF course a Great Lakes - granted, a whole handfull of years after you were there.

One joke I picked up from a guy on rec.moto was to wear a small thermometer on the pull of my jacket. Then, when some 'smart' cager would pull up to me on a crisp day and say, "Do you have ANY idea how cold it is?" I could say yes, and tell them. And yes, I actually got to use that joke a handful of times. It's as inevitible as a cop asking you if you knew how fast you were going. Only, I don't recommend being sassy back to the cop.

And thanks for the welcome Richard. I wish I knew about this place sooner - it looks great.

 

Ah, the seas of oblivion. Welcome to you sir and a hearty congratulations for pulling her out of the cobwebs. I think your going to fit in here rather nicely. Enjoy your new spring of knowledge, Robert.

 

I didn't ride when the roads themselves were snowy/icy. Though I did get caught out in sleet once, if it looked like more than a dusting of snow was coming, I didn't ride. Chicago streets get cleared and dried pretty quickly though (the salt used is another issue entirely). The only real obstacle I had WRT snow was the alley behind my apartment. It was a bit trecherous and I did almost drop the bike once or twice, but the trick was to keep the momentum driving the bike forward, not on its side. And I kept my fee out as outriggers. Not something I'd WANT to repeat, but for the 4 houses to the dry pavement, it was OK. And we needed Cheerios and beer.

As for the cold starts, I always pulled the battery and kept it inside - a PITA, yes, but the bike was kept outside and I didn't have confidence a trickle charger would stick around. Knowing what I know about engines now, the cold-starts were rough on the ol' girl, I'm sure, but I never had a problem with her not catching as long as the battery was warm. To be honest, it's been so long that I don't remember if I did anything different in the starting procedure compared to warm-weather starts, but I don't think so. Fuel-enrichment lever full, turn key, hit the starter, give a quick twitch of the throttle as she caught, and let her warm up - adjusting the enricment by RPMs. I've always found that my bike ran/runs better in the cooler weather - maybe it was last tuned in January

Oh, also, check your manual, but I'm pretty sure it or the Haynes recommends lighter oil in cold temps. I know I followed that advice. You could really do some damage if you tried pushing molasses through the engine. Really, if you had any way to, preheating the engine/oil would be the best bet, I think. As a college student without a car, though, I wasn't too concerned.

Ths is a bit extreme, but I recently read of a pilot who used to drain his engine oil at the end of the day of flying in cold climes. In the morning, he'd warm it up a bit on the stove before replacing it in the engine. MIght be hogwash. Might shock the engine block. I'm not suggesting it, I'm just sayin' there are ways to get by if you really 'need' to.

Thanks again, all for the warm (no pun) welcome. I ran into some more issues w/ the beast yesterday, so I'm sure I'll be searching, reading, and posting more. For now, all I'll say is - hung callipers.

Don't EVER let your bike sit for 2-3 years

Quick edit/addendum: By "subzero," I assume by your location that you're speaking in C. not F. I don't know that I rode in as low as 0F. That's pretty darn cold when you add the wind (even with a windshield/fairing). But I certainly rode below 0C. Just wanted to be clear on that.