Running GMR

Vintage Ducati (with real Italians)

Log Item: It's summer and I just got back from another run on the scooter. This was a short one with the goal of taking some sharp turns on a winding road not far from home, but there was a lot of traffic and I ended up being jammed into it with a double yellow line and no practical way out. I've been back to  Palomar Mountain Road. Another guy did a YouTube Video of the run on a Diavel with the inevitable crash along the way. There are a lot of squids (new riders) on the road who over-drive their bikes. I didn't take photos on this run mainly because I was by myself. Will snap a few for the blog on the next run. I've also done San Gabriel Canyon Road (Azuza Canyon) and the GMR (Glendora Mountain Road), which are SoCal landmarks for guys who want to take their bikes out and run some curves.

I'm becoming a lot more comfortable on the bike as I ride it on some challenging street routes. It's not a classic sport bike (heavier, higher center of gravity) but it keeps up for the most part with the boys on their cafe racers.

Log Item: Service recommendations call for checking the clutch throwout bearing every 5,000 miles or 6 months.  I decided to jump the gun because I had time on my hands and it was early morning and cool. I removed the pressure plate (and the 6 screws and springs holding it on) and felt the bearing for smooth operation. All good. Then again, the bike is nearly new.

While I was into it, I cleaned the end of the pushrod and the cup that it rests in. (Neglecting to do this can lead to damage to your clutch slave cylinder). I blew out the clutch with CO2 (compressed air works but I only have CO2 at the house - used for off-road operation of air tools and for airing up tires) to get all the dust out. I retorqued my clutch screws to 8 ft-lbs and - mischief managed.