How's your day been?

[woodtickgreg]

So today I worked on the beemer, been having a lot of issues with starting and ABS lights. So today it got a new starter and battery. The old starter was definitely having problems.
Old starter out.

Ring gear looked good.

Same oem starter, but the pinion gear has been upgraded, its a little longer. Works the same.

New starter in.

And when I installed the battery I also installed a ug for the battery tender, I ordered an extension for it today so I don't have to pop the side cover off to use it.

So, new starter relay, new battery, new starter. Took care of the starting issue. But after a short ride the abs lights came on again. Hooked up the code reader and live diagnostic tool, it shows the alternator is not putting out enough voltage to charge the battery, so after riding for awhile the battery gets weak and the abs shuts down. Changing the alternator in this bike is going to be a major project and a pita! I basicly have to unbolt the front suspension and shock, and drop the front of the engine to get the alternator out. But it has to be done. Now I need to find a decent price on an alternator. The voltage regulator is part of the alternator.

 

[Gdurfey]

So today I worked on the beemer, been having a lot of issues with starting and ABS lights. So today it got a new starter and battery. The old starter was definitely having problems.
Old starter out.

Ring gear looked good.

Same oem starter, but the pinion gear has been upgraded, its a little longer. Works
So, new starter relay, new battery, new starter. Took care of the starting issue. But after a short ride the abs lights came on again. Hooked up the code reader and live diagnostic tool, it shows the alternator is not putting out enough voltage to charge the battery, so after riding for awhile the battery gets weak and the abs shuts down. Changing the alternator in this bike is going to be a major project and a pita! I basicly have to unbolt the front suspension and shock, and drop the front of the engine to get the alternator out. But it has to be done. Now I need to find a decent price on an alternator. The voltage regulator is part of the alternator.

wow, I had a K1000 for a bit, not even sure of the year now but it had a similar issue. If battery was just a bit down the abs light would kick on.... so, you have a real alternator on your bike? That has to be better than going after a stator.

 

[Gdurfey]

So, played with my new tractor a bit, got the trailer level yesterday finally and then made a small place for Denise’s wine sipping gliders. looki forward to trying out the home made fire pit but we have a state wide fire ban in place. 4 major fires burning and the worst smoke we have had in years. Pikes Peak looks like it is in the middle of the Blue Ridge mountains.

 

[Sprung]

Got home this evening from 7 nights of camping up in the WI Northwoods. Was a good trip and a much needed getaway. We've got another 7 night camping trip coming up in September, which we're already looking forward to.

And we're tent campers. Though do have some luxury (by tent camping standards) - we have cots w/ sleeping pads. We're past the point of wanting to sleep on the ground. My wife didn't really do any camping growing up, so I've certainly worked to make it a little more inviting for her and she has come to really enjoy it.

 

[FranklinWorkshops]

Spent 2 hrs at Costco yesterday having a set of Bridgestones installed. Crazy experience. After arriving, my wife and I walked next-door to a Bahama Breeze restaurant to have lunch while the tires were installed. About 20 minutes later, the Costco shop called and said the tires I bought were not in stock. I pointed out that they confirmed my appt and said the tires were in stock just a few days before. We finally decided to upgrade to a better tire they did have but they wanted $100 more for the total set. After some heart-felt discussion about bait and switch tactics, they cut the difference down to $50 which I accepted. A little research last night confirmed that in the end, I got a much better tire for a very low price, much lower than buying them on-line. Just don't like the hassle that Costco caused.

 

[FranklinWorkshops]

Got home this evening from 7 nights of camping up in the WI Northwoods. Was a good trip and a much needed getaway. We've got another 7 night camping trip coming up in September, which we're already looking forward to.

And we're tent campers. Though do have some luxury (by tent camping standards) - we have cots w/ sleeping pads. We're past the point of wanting to sleep on the ground. My wife didn't really do any camping growing up, so I've certainly worked to make it a little more inviting for her and she has come to really enjoy it.

My wife's idea of camping is staying at a Holiday Inn. She is NOT into sleeping in a tent.

 

[Gdurfey]

@Sprung , Matt, do you and kids fish?? wow, the thought of being away for 7 days is incredible!!! On the ground or on a cot; either way! Pictures would have been nice; but I will forgive you. Not sure about the rest of the gang though...…...

 

[Sprung]

@FranklinWorkshops - Camping is nice for us with two very rambunctious young boys. I don't have to worry about them destroying whatever hotel room we might be staying in!

@Gdurfey - We haven't done much fishing. We did a little on our trip. Catching a few small fish, about 4" long each, really excited our nearly 8 year old and I spent more time replacing worms on hooks than having my own line in the water! We're planning to try and do more fishing in the future. And, yeah, pics from the trip are scarce - tried to stay away from technology as much as we could on the trip.

 

[Gdurfey]

@Gdurfey - We haven't done much fishing. We did a little on our trip. Catching a few small fish, about 4" long each, really excited our nearly 8 year old and I spent more time replacing worms on hooks than having my own line in the water! We're planning to try and do more fishing in the future. And, yeah, pics from the trip are scarce - tried to stay away from technology as much as we could on the trip.
[/QUOTE]

That's what dads do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good on you and understand about the technology!!!!

 

[Wildthings]

@FranklinWorkshops - Camping is nice for us with two very rambunctious young boys. I don't have to worry about them destroying whatever hotel room we might be staying in!

@Gdurfey - We haven't done much fishing. We did a little on our trip. Catching a few small fish, about 4" long each, really excited our nearly 8 year old and I spent more time replacing worms on hooks than having my own line in the water! We're planning to try and do more fishing in the future. And, yeah, pics from the trip are scarce - tried to stay away from technology as much as we could on the trip.

Way to go Pop! I understand about the technology but pictures are future memories!!

 

[Gdurfey]

@Wildthings , so glad you are safe. Really feel for the folks of Lake Charles; you talk about a hit! yikes; sounds like infrastructure is just gone!!!

@BBEpoxy , you okay down there???

 

[woodtickgreg]

It was 92 and humid here yesterday, strong storms last night and today brought 2 to 4 inches of rain depending on where you were at. Driving the semi today is a challenge, roads flooded and expressways closed, lots of underpasses are still flooded and closed. No where near as bad as what folks have gone through down south. Prayers to all you folks down there.

 

[woodtickgreg]

Spent 7 hours today changing out the alternator in my BMW. Its probably the hardest part to get at on the bike. The front suspension controll arm and shock had to come off, loosen and raise the fuse panel box, remove the left side exhaust header, remove the left side intake tube, drain the oil and remove 1 oil line from the cooler, and remove both front engine covers. The alternator sits on top of the engine behind the covers.
I'm getting real good at stripping her down.

Here you can see the suspension controll arm is pulled forward and the exhaust header is off.

Removed the bolts from the fuse box and cut all the zip ties loose so I could pull the box up to get at the wire nuts and fasteners on the back side of the alternator.

Removing the oil line.

3 hours to get it out! New one on the bottom

Mounting fasteners transfered.

Applied some forms a gasket and re installed the front engine cover and the new alternator. Belts back on and tensioned. Belt was new 2 years or 3k miles ago.

7 hours total completely buttoned up and the fuel tank, seat and covers back on.

Doing this job myself and using an aftermarket alternator for $108 saved me a ton of money. BMW wants $1000 for the alternator and I bet about $1000 or more for the labor.
My back is toast from being bent over all day and on my knees. Not a fun job but I'm glad its done.

 

[woodtickgreg]

And since I had all the covers off I added a battery charging extension plug to the bike so I don't have to pull a cover off to get to the plug to put it on the battery tender.

It will be much easier to get at now.
l
It tucks out of the way when riding.

The excess cord just gets zip tied under the seat and out of sight.

 

[Gdurfey]

@woodtickgreg , Greg, understand about saving money!! Hard work, but so satisfying. Our 1800 Wings are a pain to do an air cleaner, but we learned. Might be 4 hours of my life, but it’s done right and I usually do it with one of the Wing buddies, so time well spent! Should only be 2 hours, but I have to relearn stuff because I don’t do it very often.

 

[woodtickgreg]

@Gdurfey I used to have an 2002 illusion blue gl1800. What a bike that was, gave that up in the divorce. At least with the beemer I can work on it myself, plus it's pretty cool that you hardly ever see one of them on the road. I like being a little different, lol. It has the three things that I like on a bike, windshield, cruise control, and saddle bags. Plus it's got a low seat height and its comfy. Kind of a poor mans wing. One of these days I want to do some customizing on the bike, I want to change the bags to a top load style, and I want to fan up a custom exhaust to get a little more sound out of it. I dont want it obnoxiously loud, just a little more sound as I like to hear my bike. I kinda want to make this a true bagger and run the pipes all the way back under the bags. I already have most of the parts and now that I have a welder I can fab up the rest of the pipes for the exhaust. Winter project. But before I do this I really need a motorcycle lift table so I'm not on my knees as much.

 

[Gdurfey]

@Gdurfey I used to have an 2002 illusion blue gl1800. What a bike that was, gave that up in the divorce. At least with the beemer I can work on it myself, plus it's pretty cool that you hardly ever see one of them on the road. I like being a little different, lol. It has the three things that I like on a bike, windshield, cruise control, and saddle bags. Plus it's got a low seat height and its comfy. Kind of a poor mans wing. One of these days I want to do some customizing on the bike, I want to change the bags to a top load style, and I want to fan up a custom exhaust to get a little more sound out of it. I dont want it obnoxiously loud, just a little more sound as I like to hear my bike. I kinda want to make this a true bagger and run the pipes all the way back under the bags. I already have most of the parts and now that I have a welder I can fab up the rest of the pipes for the exhaust. Winter project. But before I do this I really need a motorcycle lift table so I'm not on my knees as much.

I was able to get a lift table, a Handy, from a friend that was upgrading to one he could work on his trike. OMG, greatest thing this friend ever did for me was putting me first in line!!!! I love the thing. Your Beemer is definitely different, remember when they came out. There is one in the neighborhood and I think of you every time I see it!!!! The exhaust project sounds (no pun intended, but it sure works) great. I can't live without bags and a windshield!!

 

[Gdurfey]

Spent the weekend at the new property with Denise. She laughed as we got there....it was showering. What is camping without rain!!! But we were happy, we have been so dry, nice to see this change in the weather. I'm sneaking this post in at work so I can't upload pictures but we rented a one bottom plow to do a trench for temp electric service and then laid out the 6/3 direct burial from the construction panel up to the existing shed. Will connect both ends next weekend and install the RV outlet and have full time power vs. a generator. I also trenched a line to the water well so I can run a temp line to it as well. It is 240, but only 15 amp so can get away with a bit less expense than the 6/3. I bought 200 feet of the 6/3 from Cable Cabana; best price I could find. Went back over to the mouse-omendium and worked a bit more; and wife finally agrees to torch it. Wish it were that easy; will still probably have to de-construct the thing and mess with the mouse poop dust to actually tear it down. It has good bones; but the bones are all covered in...….well, it is just gross. Just not sure how to handle it. Then home Sunday to get the antique tractor off the other place as we close on Tuesday. Busy days but productive ones. Glad I have a desk job and a door to the office; don't think the snoring will go through the walls.

 

[T. Ben]

And since I had all the covers off I added a battery charging extension plug to the bike so I don't have to pull a cover off to get to the plug to put it on the battery tender.
View attachment 192821
It will be much easier to get at now.
View attachment 192822l
It tucks out of the way when riding.
View attachment 192823
The excess cord just gets zip tied under the seat and out of sight.
View attachment 192824

Having the extensions for the battery maintainer is the best! I have them on both of our snowmobiles.

 

[woodtickgreg]

@Gdurfey A lift table is on my wish list