Monday, February 28, 2011

Polar Bear Challenge Wrap-up

The Polar Bear Challenge concluded on Feb 14, 2011. I did well in several categories


My Results:
  • 4th in most number of rides with 25 (1st had 71)
  • 2nd in mileage with 1059 miles (1st had 1094)
  • 1st and 5th with low temps with -21F (scooter) -5F (ural) (2nd had -11F)
  • 1st in points with 3038 (2nd had 2103)
  • 1st in miles below 0F with 178 (2nd had 17)


Full Final Top 10 Lists

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Solar Bear Challenge Wrap-up

The Solar Bear Challenge ended just a few weeks ago on February 14th. I participated after RC62 let me know about it. It was the “sister” challenge to the Polar Bear Challenge (PBC) for those who didn’t live in the right climate to ride below freezing (or didn’t want to).

The basic premise was to find letters that spelled the words “Solar Bear” on street signs and then run around the sign chanting “solar bear”. It was all very silly, and I found it surprisingly fun.

I made four videos for the letters S-O-L-A. You can see them here:

Because I was also participating in the PBC, I wasn’t eligible for the fabulous prize drawing at the end. The drawing was done on video, and was entertaining. Great job Rob! The results from the others are here: http://www.solarbear.rc62.net/page2/page2.html

I was surprised when a few days ago RC62 contacted me to get my mailing address. He said he had a few “extras” and wanted to send them out to the other participants. This little guy arrived on Saturday:

Solar Bear Challenge Wrap-up

He came with a little card seen above. This was on the back:

Solar Bear Challenge Wrap-up

Thanks again Rob! It was a fun challenge. I hope you run it again (or something similar) next year.

 

PS: PBC wrap-up coming soon.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Flood Run – Spring 2010

The Spring 2010 Flood Run was held on April 17. It originally started in 1965 as a charity event to respond to the river flooding by placing sandbags in Winona, MN. The flood of ‘65 was one of the worst floods of the Mississippi River in recent years. The river crested at 25 feet! It caused $200 million in damage and made 40,000 homeless. In response, Wisconsin senators created flood relief legislation in response to assist future flood victims.
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This year the charity was the kid’s at Gillette Children's Hospital. Riders were encouraged to purchase a $10 wrist band with the proceeds going to the charity above. The wrist band provided many discounts including food and lodging, but many of the discounts seemed to be at bars.
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Many of the bikes stopped in Maiden Rock, WI, but there were several other stops all up and down Mississippi River on WI-35 from Prescott to Fountain City and up MN-61 from Minnesota City to Hastings.
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Vendors were setup on both sides of the railroad tracks. Trains went by about every 30 minutes.
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The main road, WI-35, was packed with bikes for miles:
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The day was filled with mostly Harleys and other cruisers:
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Some sport bikes showed up:
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Even a couple nice cars showed up:
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Some vehicles didn’t seem to belong:
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With a license plate of “H8WNTR”, this guy needs to get a Ural:
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Indian was one of the vendors that showed up:
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This one is for you Gary:
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Video on Vimeo:

Video on Youtube:


NOTE: I'm not sure why I didn't post this earlier. I just found it in the drafts folder complete as of last April.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

This post documents replacing the alternator belt on my 2001 BMW R1150GS. Newer R1150GS’s use a slightly different belt and pulley, but the replacement procedure is similar. The major difference is the tensioning of the ELAST belt requires a different tool and procedure.

The tools I used:

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

1993 through 2003 50A alternators:
Poly V: 4PK611, BMW part 12 31 1 341 779

Newer bikes:
ELAST: 4PK592, '04-on Oilheads and most Hexheads,
BMW part 12 31 7 681 841
ELAST: 4PK582, R12RT/Adv, BMW part 12 31 7 690 57

Stock BMW Belt for my bike:

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

1) There are four nuts holding the alternator cover on. Remove them with the 4mm allen key socket.

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

2) The cover should pull out slightly and then down.

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

Alternator belt exposed:

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

3) Using the 13mm wrench, loosen the three bolts holding the alternator.

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

4) Pull the alternator down to put more slack on the belt if it didn’t slide down itself.

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

5) Pull the belt off

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

Old vs New belt:

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

Mine was apparently past the 36,000 mile replacement. It was making a bit of a noise. Pieces of the belt had started to come off inside. Checking the belt tension is critical to belt life. Check when you change the oil.

Old belt:

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

New belt:

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

Notice the four ribs on the belt. They match up with the ribs on the pulley. Make sure to line them up when reinstalling the belt.

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

6) The new belt just barely slipped back on.

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

7) BMW has very specific belt tensioning specifications. Don’t be tempted to treat this like a car belt and do it by feel.

8) I had to turn the direction adjuster on the torque wrench to “loosen” not the tighten motion to get the alternator to lift.

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

9) Using the 6mm allen key socket, extension, and torque wrench tighten the adjusting nut to 8 N-m. This will raise the alternator and pull it against the belt.

I found I needed to lift/tilt my gas tank slightly to have room with the torque wrench. See my air filter replacement guide for tips/photos.

BMW makes an adjustment tool that goes on the front rather than the back. Much Easier! I will think about getting it for the next tightening.

Adjuster for Poly V belts: tool 12 3 551, part 83 30 0 401 69

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

10) While holding the torque wrench, use the 13mm wrench and tighten the other two nuts holding the alternator.

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

11) Using the torque wrench and 13mm socket, torque all three nuts to 20 N-m.

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

12) All three tightened up. Use the starter to crank over the engine a couple times, but don’t start it. This will help seat the belt on the pulleys. Loosen the bolts and repeat steps 7-11.

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

13) Replace the alternator cover and tighten the four bolts with the 4mm allen key socket. The cover is plastic, so be careful not to over tighten.

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

14) Cover replaced

2001 BMW R1150GS Alternator Belt Replacement

15) Check the belt again in 6,000 or the next time you change your oil.

16) Go for a ride!

 

Good pictures/discussion of the Poly-V vs ELAST here.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Winter Part 2: The Revenge

This past weekend the Twin Cities and most of Minnesota received at least another twelve inches of snow. There was even some thunder snow! It’s very strange hearing thunder in a blizzard. The Twin Cities area is now experiencing the second snowiest winter (74.5”) in history since 1891 (76”)!

Winter Part 2 #ural

Just a week ago, I was out riding around on my SV650 and my Super9 enjoying unseasonably warm weather with highs up to 50F and lows in the mid 30s! It was fantastic getting out on two-wheels again! I didn’t realize how much I missed it. I also enjoyed being able to ride something besides the Ural every day.

SV650 and giant snowbank to top of lightpost

Most of the snow had melted from my yard with ugly brown grass appearing instead. The four to five foot snow banks had nearly disappeared too. The monster above has been going strong for some time though. The light post is embedded in the middle of it; it only sticks up one-two feet above. Amazing.

SV650 and a giant snow bank

The Mississippi River even started to clear up:

Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul.

It was a nice tease. Spring did a good job battling old man winter, but it appears he’s been knocked out cold. The massive snow banks have returned along with the cold temps.

Winter part 2: the revenge

The Ural had a nice week-long break, but now it’s the primary ride again. Just a few more weeks until spring is officially here.

For those interested, this is the current state of the R1150GS:

R1150GS nearly naked

There is still lots to do!