A Red Lodge shake down ride

May 4, 2025

With all the maintenance caught up and great weather today, it was time for a ride to Red Lodge and back.  Nothing special, just cruised there with little traffic.  I did stop at Fox, Montana on the way.  It was a railroad stop for the grain elevator.  The rails are long gone and there isn’t much left.

In Red Lodge I stopped for a drink of water and a photo.

It was an uneventful ride back for about 120 miles.

Catching up on stuff

May 4, 2025

It’s a been a few weeks of catching up on some maintenance, getting ready for this riding season.  The first job was to get new tires mounted.  I went with the Michelin Road 6 GT again.  I had around 11,000 miles on the previous set and there were lots of riding left but I like new tires for the start of the season rather than dealing with getting them changed when riding is more important.  I’m not a tire snob nor expert but these tires really did handle well, particularly in the rain and I had lots of that last season.  I also bought steel valve stems with a right-angle fill, to replace the straight rubber ones.

While the wheels were off I replaced the brake pads.  The rears were down to the wear marks and I went ahead and order pads from the front all well.  Dummy me, I thought since there were 2 for the back and the front has 2 calipers, I’d need 4 for the front but it takes 4 on each side so I was short 4 when I did the job.  That’s OK, I just ordered another set and put them on later.

Above, the rear pads, the new ones on the left and the old ones on the right.

The old front pads with plenty of life left but I’m replacing them anyway.

A few days later, with the wheels back on, It was time for a hydraulic fuel flush.  I have a vacuum pump but chose to do it the old-fashioned way since both the bleed screw and the brake and clutch levers are within reach.  The clutch was pretty straight forward.  The fluid didn’t look too bad after 4 years and 40,000 miles.  The brake fluid didn’t look too bad either as shown below.

The trick with this bike is that it has ABS so just flushing the fluid the standard way doesn’t get all the old stuff out.  It’s necessary do the initial flush activate the ABS pump, and then flush the system again.  Yamaha used to sell a special tool that will put the bike in a test mode but it is no longer available.  That’s OK be those helpful people online show had to do the same thing with a single alligator clip.

The first step is is to make sure that the side stand safety switch is working.  This is the switch that prevents the bike from starting or running when the bike is in gear and the side stand is down.  Done.  

Next, I removed the battery cover.  Under there is a connector that has a dummy plug in it.  I pulled the plug and used the alligator clip to jumper two pins.

Now I turn on the ignition, wait until the instrument panel is booted up, and then hold down the start button for 4 seconds.  Now the bike is in test mode.  Next, I pull the front brake lever and push on the rear brake pedal, both at the same time.  I get a pulsing in the front lever, followed by one on the rear pedal, and then the front again.  The ABS pump has now brought in new fluid and pushed out the old.  Now I flush the front and read as I did before.

The next job, done some days later, is a coolant flush.  This is done by the book rather than what some YouTubers suggest like flushing with distilled water and then compressed air.  I suppose if the bike had 100K miles on it and had never been flushed, maybe, but that’s not the situation here.  Yes, I am over due but the bike was new and I haven’t been riding it hard.

The challenge is that to get to the radiator cap, I have to remove most of the front plastic pieces.  I followed an excellent guide online and it went well, although it took about 90 minutes.  Once all the plastic was about of the way, I loosened that radiator cap, pulled up a bucket, and removed the coolant drain bolt.

The coolant came out looking blue and crystal clear.  I removed the expansion tank, emptied it, and then pulled the lower radiator hoses annd drained them.  I reattached the hoses and the drain bolt and added the new coolant.  I poured VERY slowly to make sure I didn’t bring much air into the system.  After replacing the cap, I ran the engine up to operating temperature followed by long break where I left it cool down.  I removed the radiator cap and topped up the coolant.  In all I used about 2-1/2 quarts of Yamaha coolant.

Putting all the plastic pieces back on waited until the next day and took about 90 minutes.  The next day I fiddled around with a few more items on my check list.  I removed the side heat deflector panel to double-check that I’d tightened up the bolt underneath, which I hadn’t.  I also lubed what I could of the latches on the side cases and while they were opened, check that locks were tight.  I also checked the tire pressures.

Later that day, Friday, May 2, I took it out for a test ride.  I rode out to Shepard, cruised some back roads, and road back.

It ran great and I believe it’s ready for another long season of riding.

First Ride of 2025

March 2, 2025

It’s been relatively warm in the 50s for a few days so much of the snow has melted.  There was a lot of it, something like 18” on the ground around the house.  The key is that the streets are snow and ice free and when I saw that it was going to hit 61°F I knew I had to get the bike out.

It was mid afternoon and we’d returned from a 3-mile walk/hike with the dog at Riverfront Park.  It felt pretty good out so I grabbed by jacket, helmet, and gloves and rolled the bike out of its slumber.  When I hit the start button it fired right up as if it had just been parked the day before rather than the 2-months it was stashed.  I checked the tire pressures and both were at 38 PSI so I gave them each 4 pounds and got going.  The starting mileage is shown here.

I just wanted a short one to get the feeling back and it didn’t that long.  I rode out west on Rimrock Road and worked my way to the Canyon Creek Battlefield Memorial.  The roads are great but there is quite a bit of loose gravel in the intersections so one has to be wary.

I stopped at the memorial for the first photo on the season.

While I was there I noticed lots of spend brass on the ground.  I’d seen litter like this before and  I like to pick it all up with the thought that it might be added to an art project at some point.

I cruised back home on a zigzag pattern, logging about 35 miles for the day.

The last ride again

December 28, 2024

Is it really the end of December in Montana?  It sure doesn’t feel like winter but looking ahead on the weather app it appears things might be changing.  I’ve put the bike away twice for winter and taken it back out to enjoy another ride and today it was the same.  The last time I put it away, a week or so ago, I didn’t put it in it’s usual slumber location all the way back in the garage and needed to move it a bit to fit the ‘83 Volvo 240 in there with it.  With the temperature at 50 degrees and the roads clear, why not a short ride.

I didn’t have but a few hours and I thought about a longer one but once I got up on the highway above the rimrocks, I noticed a pretty strong wind that certainly takes the fine out of it.  So, I rode the new Skyline Drive to Akali Creek Road and took that to the base of Airport Road and back to Zimmerman.  It felt great.

And parked…

The final reading of the year.

Last Ride of the Year?

December 19, 2024

I’d put the bike away for the winter twice but winter seems to be arriving late so out it came again today.  It was 59 degrees so off I went to Lavinia, then to Roundup, then back home.  128 miles.

Rapelje roads

October 26, 2024

With my recent flat tire patched and pretty nice weather, it was a good day to get out and log some miles.  My friend, Keith, and I met up at 10am with a briskness in the air: 46°F.  We rode west, taking to new roundabout at 62nd and Rimrock and then south to Grand.  It was then then usual west board escape route from Billings to Laurel, then to Park City and Columbus.  We turned north on Hwy 306, Rapelje Road, to the village of Rapelje.

That road is pretty nice for the first part with sweeping curves through some hills and then it tops out on the prairie and runs pretty straight the rest of the way.  There was a pretty strong crosswind out of the west but nothing too much to deal with.

I didn’t take many photos of the ride today but the ones I shot previously, last March, are here. 

I did bring one of my film cam areas and did some shots but those will have to wait until I get into my darkroom to develop them a bit later.  Here are the few I did shoot with my phone.

After I was done shooting film, we did a quick tour of the town, population about 90, and then headed back the way we came.  We did made a quick stop to admire the scenery and the electrical substation.

We went back to Columbus and grabbed Hwy 421 to Joliet.  I’ve ridden this many times, as recently as last December, and there are some photos of that ride here.

As we rode back the temperature went up to about 68°F and I was thinking to shedding a layer but we continued on to Laurel where we made our final plan.  Keith wanted to hit a gas station on the way back and I decided to wait on that since I wanted to run more of the regular gas out before filling up with the winter, non-alcohol blend so we separated at Shilo and Grand and I headed for home.

An interesting thing occurred with the bike today.  When I left on my big trip last May, I zeroed out both of the trip counters.  The upper one I’d reset every day and I let the lower one just add up the days.  I never reset it and today it got to 10,000 miles and it reset to zero.

It was great ride today and I look forward to a few more before winter arrives and I have to put it away.

The Beartooth Yellowstone Park Loop

October 11, 2024

On September 18, 2021 I rode this loop for the first time and couldn’t believe that was the last time I did so it was definitely time.  What prompted me was seeing a news story that the Beartooth Highway is closing for the season next Tuesday.  That’s unfortunate because our weather is fantastic and I don’t see snow in the forecast for at least the next week or so.  But the gates will go up on Tuesday so I better get it done today.

Friday’s are gym day so I went and did my workout but couldn’t get in the pool due to a volleyball event taking over the locker rooms.  I came home and showered, had breakfast, and then gathered up my gear for the ride.  It’s a bit chilly, low-50s, so I put on some layers but didn’t feel I needed a liner in my cold weather jacket.  I did pull my riding pants on over my jeans and donned my winter gloves.  At 9:51 I was ready to go.  I shot a photo of the bike just as a neighborhood cat strutted across the yard.

I topped of my gas tank and did the usual route by heading out Grand, getting on Lipp Road, and then south on Buffalo Trail.  It’s a beautiful morning so I stopped for a couple photos before I got to Laurel.

I went through Laurel and the took Hwy 212 to Red Lodge.  When I got there I decided that it was time to put my thermal liner in my jacket.  It was in the low-60s but I knew it would get colder up on top as I approached almost 11,000 feet of elevation. 

Before I left town I pull in behind the Yodeler motel to check out their EV chargers that I’d seen listed online.

The small sign indicates that they are private property and it’s necessary to pay for your charge in the lobby.

My next stop was at the beginning of the Beartooth Hwy.  Fall colors are in abundance.

On the way up, I stopped at a few places for some scenery, with a motorcycle of course.

I made the usual stop at Vista Point.  Unlike the summer when it is packed with tourists, it was nearly empty today.

I continued on up to the top.  I’m glad I put the liner in my coat because the wind is really strong up here.

Of course, I had to get a photo next to the sign.

I descended on the other side of the pass and headed to Cooke City.  Lots more photo opportunities along the way.

I topped up the gas tank in Cooke City

After a few more miles down the road I arrived at Yellowstone Park.

I used my military Interagency Pass to get in the park and rode a few more miles to a picnic area for lunch.  I’d brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a heavily seeded bread that I made yesterday.

It was a nice place for a break.

The next 30 miles or so took me through the Lamar Valley.

I saw a few bison here and there but I finally came across a large herd.

I continued on, making the occasional stop to look at the scenery.

When I got to Tower Junction I decided to do the short couple of mile drive to check out Tower Falls.

Now it was back on the road.  I rode to Mammoth and then took the very curvy exit road to the North Entrance.

Then it was through the touristy town of Gardiner where I stopped for an elk.

And that was it.  I took 89 north, a very pleasant ride, to Livingston where I grabbed the slab (I-90) and rode that back to Billings, arriving home at 7pm.

A great day covering 368 miles.