riding tunes and the zen of brake lights

[Swampy]

I have'em on my A14 (my adventure touring mount)(50/50 riding). Hook up well( though not knobbie well) and hang on the street. Only problem I'm having with them is rear tire wear. It'll have to be replaced at 2K. If you've got the bucks, go metzeler enduro 3, Great tires, come stock on tke KTMs will set ya back about 300 for the pair but will last a bit longer. Good tire. That's the way I'm going with the KLR. On my KTM LC4 (my dual sport ride 90/10) I run the Dunlop 606 rear and the K139 front. Serious legal knobbies, not for long road use but man-o-man hook up great in the dirt! Swampy

[klr650rider2001@yahoo.com]

My apologies in advance to you "techno-only-readers". I was perusing the news group page the other day and discovered the "database" page and found the "Songs for Long Distance Riding" table. Rather than add my favorite tune to the list, thought I'd mention three, double-set CDs I recently bought. They're compilations distributed by a company called "The Right Stuff" and carry the, the, the.... Harley Davidson (there, I said it) logo. The CDs are entitled Road Songs, volume 1; Road Songs, volume 2; and, Country Road Songs. Lots of good stuff here. The rock CDs (vols. 1 & 2) have the predictable but good tunes such as Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild" and "Magic Carpet Ride" and Lynard Skynard's "Freebird". The sets include tunes by Bob Seger, Pat Benatar, George Thorogood, Charlie Daniels Band and many others. The country CD is, IMHO, even better. I got mine at Best Buy and Frye's. The first volume has been out since '94; so, y'all may already know about these. I haven't seen a Classical Music Road Song CD. There's a rumor Honda or BMW might come out with one for Gold Wing and BMW riders. Now, for you technophiles who have stayed with me this long, I guess you might like some techy stuff to think about. But I've gotta say that I'd rather ride than wrench. And I'd rather listen to music then bust knuckles. But, if I gotta wrench, its nice to have some good music. These CDs are the ticket. Right now I am a little ticked-off because it looks like this weekend I'll have to listen to tunes while I work on the KLR. Here's the story: Seems the bike started blowing the main 20 amp fuse awhile back and I couldn't find the short; so, I replaced the glass fuse with a circuit breaker type fuse. (Got the tip off the list. Thanks.) Then, on a recent ride, I kept hearing a funny noise when I was hauling-a$$ down some dirt roads and hit some rough spots; it sounded sorta like it might be tools rattling around in that plastic box. Turns out it was my license tag holder hitting and rubbing on the rear tire. I had already raised the plate holder. (Got the tip off the list. Thanks.) However, the plate holder has a plastic tab that hangs down where the dealer pasted my safety inspection decal. (I'll refrain from slamming the dealer.) Well, that little plastic tab now has a curved notch in it that is shaped just like the profile of my rear tire. The safety inspection sticker is now blowing around somewhere out in East Texas. If you find it, let me know. I'll send you a SASE so you can return it to me. Great, now I need a new inspection sticker. But, guess what? The brake light doesn't come on when you press the rear brake pedal or pull on that spring coming out that gizmo above the back of the peddle. The brake light does light-up when you use the front brake. Sooo, it ain't gonna be as simple as a new sticker. (On the bright side, maybe I'm about to find that mystery short.) Now, I'm wondering why the problem on the dirt road all of a sudden. Its a new bike (A-15 purchased Jan '01 with 4000 miles.) In the past there was no problem handling the occasional washboard road. So, I took a look at the shock and notice there seems to be a fine coating of dust clinging to a thin film of oil around the bottom of the shock and swing arm in a few places. I'm thinking I'm gonna need a new shock. Ahh, I can't wait to spend the weekend in the garage in 100F heat working on the beast; or worse, haggling with the dealer over a warranty replacement. Hmm, guess I'll go listen to some tunes and figure out what to do about this quandary. Thanks for listening, listers. Its all good fun. Fred "Call Me the Breeze" Ogden A15 Mesquite, Texas