Fall Break

We don't have a riding season in Florida, but I've always held that it's all downhill through the Holidays after Halloween ... starting November 1 ... today. That pretty much means that the Holidays consume all the family interests and time, and significant riding is put on the back burner until next year. Short, day trips are still in order such as my ride up to Sugarloaf I have planned for tomorrow, but I'm pretty much stuck in Florida until the Spring.

Lake Okeechobee, Florida

Green Pond Road, Green Swamp

What these couple months are good for, however, is some serious maintenance. In particular are all those major maintenance items that take a lot of time and effort to do. At 18,293 miles, I'm sitting right on a point where I need to get a few procedures taken care of. Here is the short list that I plan to get knocked out before 20,000 miles:

• Brake Fluid Change (requires DOT4)
• Coolant Change (2.7 Quarts)
• Spark Plugs (CR9EIA-9, found them on eBay for $7 each!)
• Air Filter Element (No. 11013-0712)
• Valve Clearances and, if necessary, Shim Replacement (one member reported being out of spec at 20K miles)
• Steering Stem Bearing Repacking (it has ball and race bearings; can you believe that?)

Stay tuned for details on my progress on these maintenance items. Then I can work on my 2016 touring plan!