Ah yes, souvenir stickers
"El Nino" my 2006 Kawasaki Ninja 650R has always been the most bulletproof bike I've owned; never broke down, never required any serious maintenance, just add fuel, do the oil changes, clean the air filter, that's it. However prior to setting out on the recent ride to Nogales I felt a very slight vibration, hardly noticeable but there nonetheless. A visual inspection revealed nothing out of the ordinary so I chalked it up to what? An anomaly? An aging rider's nervous fandango? In any event I decided not to worry and went along my merry way.
Then fast-forward to the last day’s ride of over
500 miles. It was fast, averaging more than 65 mph which is hustling right
along when you take into account fuel stops, lunch break, stops to change into
cold weather gear (helmet, boots, etc.) In short I ran the wheels off El Nino
with nary a complaint but the faint yet persistent vibration. But by the time I
reached home it had progressed beyond the “faint” level and was becoming highly
noticeable, particularly at speeds over 65 mph.
I've talked to a couple of my local riding buds Jerry Smith and Ron Wardman and there seems to be a consensus that it's likely El Nino has thrown a wheel weight. Should that be the case it will be a simple fix and of little concern. A quick trip to the garage for an inspection yielded nothing, there are weights on both wheels but of course I've no way of knowing if some are missing.
The rear wheel seems to have one...
As does the front wheel...
Anyway there you go, my latest report on things relating to the Mexico affair. As of this posting date I've yet to find the time to dig further into it. Riding off to Mexico a second time was great but I'm now way behind things here at home so it will have to wait a bit.
Postscript: At least I can rely on Riley lending me a hand with posting reports of the blog. Don't know what I'd do without him.
Film at eleven as they say….
LL
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