Triumph USB Hub?

I have GOT to have one of these, if only for the garage computer. Solid Alliance USB Hub for motorcycle fans:

The three port USB hub is in the shape of a motorcycle engine, when connected to the PC it imitates the noise of the engine starting, when the kick pedal is pushed the sound changes to as you accelerate a motorbike with gear change along with the engine vibration and finally to a racing bike sound.

Update: Soren found the place to buy it online.

Travel Page Update

Inspired by the map in this post I went a little apeshit on the Travel page on my TBAWiki.

Yeah, I gotta get a life. I also have to find a better, perhaps motorcycle-focused, mapping application for longer trips. It’s a pain moving several way points around, trying different routes.

Trip Log

The Great Falls-White Sulphur Loop, day run, June 25, 2007. Couldn’t make the map go around the north side of Canyon Ferry Lake.

Notes: The bike ran great. Needs a little fine tuning but pulls strong and pretty smooth. I have a real faint squeak that I can’t find, but I suspect the belt drive (again). I can’t find anything wrong – I suspect the belt and/or sprockets have been tweaked a little and are causing a tiny bit of rubbing. Found a nice little BBQ joint in Great Falls, near the Target store.

The Day Just Keeps Getting Better and Better

1. I rode my bike to work and it is running sweet.
2. I got my passport.
3. Netflix finally implemented drag-and-drop reordering of your movie queue.

The saddest thing is I’m almost excited about #3 the most.

I said, “almost.”

Yet Another Triumph Update

Everything is right with the world. My baby runs and she runs strong.

Tonight I fixed the fuel leak and fired her up, but she wouldn’t idle without the choke pulled out. I heard something leaking. I thought it could be an exhaust leak or some kind of vacuum leak. The vacuum caps were all in place but while investigating I noticed that I could practically pull the left carburetor out of the rubber manifold boot even though the clamps were all tight. Turns out the manifold boot was in backwards (not my fault! it’s not marked and both ends are identical to the nekkid eye). Once I corrected that the bike ran like a scalded ape.

But then there was this noise. I’d heard it late last year and thought it was just a dirty belt drive. It was a rubbery squeak whose frequency was proportional to the speed of the bike. In my investigations I found that the front sprocket nut was loose on the drive shaft. This allowed the front pulley to wobble and create the squeak as the pulley went in and out of alignment. So I got everything cranked down properly and no more squeak.

As I said, all is right with the world and I’m riding my bike to work tomorrow. Then begins the three week shake down because three weeks from now I’ll be in Nelson, BC.

Quick Triumph Update

Last night I fired up my bike for the first time since October 30, 2006. I couldn’t tweak the tuning, however, because there’s a massive gas leak coming from under the left carburetor. That will be tonight’s task.

TBA Wiki

And speaking of my motorcycle passion, I decided to set up my own little wikipedia just for my bike: TBA Wiki. There isn’t much there yet, but I’ll be fleshing it out as I have time. I’m sure it will generate not a little controversy at BonnevilleAmerica.com because much of what I plan to post about my bike, for example, the dreaded valve adjustment process that has been plaguing me for months, came from there. However, I plan to only keep information germane to my bike. I don’t intend to start scraping information wholesale off BA.com.

We’ll see how it goes.

UPDATE: The wiki software is just too prone to spammers, no matter how I try to lock it down, so I moved most of the content to WordPress, under the heading “Tech/Wiki.”

Triumph Progress

During the past weekend I managed to get everything put back together, except the parts I need off the bike to finish the valve adjustment. I put the carbs back in with new intake manifold boots and clamps, remounted the exhaust header pipes with new crush gaskets, installed the mufflers, put the side cover back on with a fresh gasket and finished the oil change, and finally, reinstalled the foot boards and controls.

One of the valve shims I need to finish the job arrived today and the other should be here mid-week. Once the shims and oil feed tube are reinstalled, I can pop on the camshaft cover, gas tank and seat. That’s more than a bit of oversimplification, but I should be able to fire it up this weekend.

I don’t want to jinx it, but… FINALLY.

Fine British Motorcycle, Fine British Humor

TRIUMPH ROCKET III – 21ST CENTURY MOTORCYCLE MANUFACTURE

Triumph Work Log

I still can’t believe it’s June and I haven’t ridden my bike once yet this year. It took more than 2 months to get the parts in after bending the valves. As of the end of May I was caught up to late March. I’m creating this maintenance record for archival purposes.

Mileage: 31,100
Time Period: Winter-Spring 2007