DesmoDog

Nah, I've ridden it at least 100 miles since then, and I still haven't died. Not once!

my workshop is the lower level of my house, so it is literally as big as my house too. That is also a very distorted view of it through what is basically a fish eye lens.

I forgot I posted anything about this here. I got the bike out in the spring, put enough miles on it so I could get the first service done... and then rode it one more time beofre putting it back in storage. The tires were bought but never installed. Never did a track day. The regulator got repalced uner warranty but they left the old battery in there so the one day I tried to ride it again, it woulnd't start. A buddy loaned me a battery (that was also junk but not quite as bad) so we could do the ride, but I never shut the bike off because I didn't trust it would restart... A few weeks later the same buddy gave me a brand new lithium battery to replace the one I had loaned him so he could ride his 888 one afternoon, and then didn't want to screw with pulling it back out so he just bought me a new one. Lot's of battery swapping going on here in the 'burbs. I did spend a stupid amount of time making camera mounts for it last winter though! Insta360. It mounts where the passenger peg used to go. Also has a rear mount to stabilize it. If you replace the pink post it note with an Insta 360 you can get video from this perspective. I probably should have mounted it at an angle to get more of a side view? I also made one for the front that mounts over the mirror base, but I'm not sure why. I highly doubt I'll ever use it. No mirror in this shot, I don't have bolts long enough to mount everything yet. All of the mounts were printed using carbon fiber infused nylon. The turn signals were also moved into the headlight so there are blanking plates there, side reflectors have blanking plates, and I may also put a Mighty Mouse sticker on the plastic behind the windscreen. ANYWAY... it wasn't a great summer for riding. The bike now has something like 700 miles on it, needs the new battery installed, and is still on it's no-name original tires. Maybe next season it will see some use.

If I could make it into Canada I'd have a chance to make Alaska. But, I think I'd end up getting home about four days later than you. Or just buying a house in Billings and calling it good. Though it would give me an excuse to buy another V85 so I'd have something somewhat disposable to do it on... I could leave sometime in June and meet you in BC...

Ya didn't invite me! You're gonna average 440 miles per day? Fack no I'm not going!

Only if you ride with your member out in 2nd gear.

Given the concern regarding the warning stickers, I probably shouldn't go into detail on what effects the ECU reflash will have on the bike, especially in second gear.

For reasons that probably aren't too hard to figure out considering my username, the 270 degree crank was a big selling point to me. This bike is WAY off my normal buying habits, that was one detail that helped it make the cut.

I brought one of these home last week, just in time for ski season to start here in Michigan. It'll be about five months before I can ride it, so for now it's sitting in my basement shop looking for ways to spend my money. With 0.5 miles on the trip odometer (total miles still says 0) it's got a Quickshifter, upgraded front brake pads, Upmap unit & reflash, Swingarm spools, USB port, tail tidy, and various warning stickers removed. Oh sure, you shake your head at that one, but I've removed five so far and have four more to go. Not to mention various barcode labels and an incredible amount of yellow marks that indicate somebody gave that item attention at some point. It will have better tires put on it as soon as the seasonal sales start. Or maybe sooner if I get impatient. I even got to break out the 3d printer. In prep for trackdays I've printed a couple plates to capture the nuts on the mirrors so they can be removed without disturbing the fairing. I am also anxiously awaiting the release of an add-on wiring harness to move the front turn signals onto the headlight, like in other parts of the world. Because if I don't do that, I'll still have to remove that pesky panel to get access to the mounting bolts. Come on Aprilia, figure it out. You don't have to make attaching/removing things so piddly. I had an RS-R a few years back they used something like 37 long screws just to hold the airbox lid on. Annoying. It may also get an exhaust, another reflash, rear shock, and fork inserts too, but I think those will wait until I've actually ridden. Maybe not. In stock USA trim there are five warning labels visible from this angle alone. F'ing lawyers...

Eric didn't mention the fancy hotel was dog friendly. Americans spoil their dogs? Says who? By the middle of the trip I was a little nervous my tires weren't going to make it, especially the rear one. But I got home with a few hundred miles to spare on it. Well, sort of. Technically it wasn't to the wear bars but I replaced it anyway. There were signs. Before I left the bike had 2100 miles on it. Internet reports said these tires were good for 6500 miles and up. Well there were a couple reports of more like 3500 but some guys just can't have nice things. I figured I'd be at 4500 miles when I got home so no worries. This is at just under 4500 miles, I would have replaced them sooner had I been home. No, I could not recreate this photo with the new tire installed.

Um, er... My gosh can you believe it? I forgot I had an appointment to wash my dog, I guess I won't be able to meet you on Tuesday!

Redesign after redesign. I've been melting a lot of plastic around here lately, but I think I'm finally done - if this one needs to be stiffer it's got places to bolt braces to. Now to print it out in a decent material, but that's going to have to wait few days. I have way too many of these sitting around that became previous versions before the prints were even complete. Pay no mind to the yellow strap, it's just something I had sitting around. It'll be replaced before use.

Yes and no. Finicky little bastards if you ask me. I have them on my Super Light too, but also have a set of stock carbs under the bench for when I've finally had enough of their BS. Cold starts are an absolute bitch with them. I know it can be improved but fer cripe sakes a choke circuit would be nice. On a street bike anyway. They're easier to deal with on a track bike because you expect to be fiddling with one of those all the time. All that said, the way they "chirp" in use is kind of endearing, especially on a bike as unrefined as a 900ss... fits the character of the bike to a "T".

For various reasons I decided to remove the airbox on my trackbike and go with pod filters instead. That means I'd have to bend up a few plates to mount the coils and battery. A couple hours work once I went out and got the material and then figured out how/where to cut and bend it. But wait! How about using the 3D printer? Should only take a couple hours to draw something up and get it printing. And it did. For the first part. But the first part is never good enough. Long story short I've been doing numerous parts for the past few days and have ended up here. The demo part to prove the concept. Trash material, mock up only, not intended for actual use. The demo was sturdier than I expected, so I went further with it. Here's the modrl of the updated "final" design, awaiting details to hold the battery down. Can't do those until I put my Super Light away for the year and pull it's battery to use for mock up. That may happen today? So yeah, 3D printing parts that could be simple sheets of aluminum is what's been taking up way too much time today. And yesterday. And a day or two before that. Well, that and getting strapped down to a back board... I'm also doing medical training to be a ski patrol, and have been put on a back board about six times in the past few days. Fun times, fun times... the bitch of that is, it's only training to pass a test for certification - we don't actually use backboards in this county! Gotta know how to do it to be certified. Not done where I'll be patrolling. Alrighty then.

Persuaded the Super Light to fire up and headed out for a bimble with a friend on an 888 SPO. Back to the '90s! Beautiful weather and between the ride and a conversation we had I decided the SL is NOT going to get sold next spring. During this stop I got a text asking me to take some photos at a weddding that evening but before that my wife got us tickets to a show. So a busy day for me. Ok, fine, this all happened yesterday but I'm slow to post and who really cares when anyway?