Fender Bender
Last Sunday was tough ...
The last 2 Sundays on the 1977 250 PE were tough. 2 weeks ago I rode with Mat and didn't feel comfortable on the 250. This week riding with Mat and Dave was even tougher as I managed to crash twice into 2 trees!
I should know better. The bike wasn't handling well the previous weekend but I just put it off to the the fact that we had a lot of rain and I felt the bike was sliding more on roots and a lot of stuff blown down by the wind. This past weekend it was worse, because it was even colder. I finally determined it was the front forks not responding properly and that it was the 20wt fork oil I had in it since the summer.
In previous years when I had this problem I replaced the std oil with ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) Type "A" as it doesn't get thicker in cold weather like the regular fork oil does. Of course, I find it too thin for the summer and have to replace it again.
This year it's only a problem since the weather has been cold but nice (no snow!) and I wouldn't notice a problem if I wasn't able to ride. I'm glad the weather has been good! I broke my nice front fender but had a spare $!0 swap meet fender and replaced it. Now I just need to change the fork oil before the next ride, and I should be set. And give my sore wrist I hurt in the crashes a rest ...
