ABS lower brake line routing overall

Mounting bracket and banjo bolts for front ABS intercept

Dead battery :-(

Oh dear, I went to fire up the old girl this morning and was greeted with the sick sounds of a battery that's gone belly-up. Such a shame. I was afraid this was going to happen, ever since that time it got fully discharged last year.

So I ordered an AGM sealed battery sized to fit the F650GS from BMW of Santa Cruz. At about 80 bucks shipped I hope I get a few years out of the thing.

Now I need a new trickle charger, I guess. It sounds like the old Battery Tender isn't going to work with this thing.

Looks like the fork mod idea is gaining traction

And maybe, just maybe, I can be happy that I was unable to do the work this Winter. This post at ADVRider.com will show you what I mean. It looks like one of the FFs over there will be manufacturing just the pieces I need. I'd much rather source the job to one of 'us' than either use a full Yammie front end or cobble the pieces together myself. The axle and brackets are the key pieces I'll need to use the stock BMW wheel assembly with the USD forks. I'll still have a solid upgrade path to Excel rims or whatnot, but I can do it incrementally, which is really important right now.

So here's the new seat

Rick Mayer has done a bang-up job on putting together a custom saddle for my old warhorse. The new seat is beautifully made and beautiful to look at. Click the images to see them in full. Quality is not the very best, as I took the pictures with a phone... But they're not bad for phone pictures, I figure.





It's set up as a wide-ranging compromise saddle combining long-distance two-up touring with dirt riding. I think Rick struck an excellent balance for my needs. The seat is already more comfortable than stock, and as I put a few miles on it I can only see it improving.

My new saddle is on the way!

Rick Mayer has shipped my upgraded saddle back to me as of today, and I'm dying to try it out. I'll post some pictures when it comes in. It's scheduled for delivery on Wednesday the eleventh of March.

Now I guess I ought to see about those water pump seals I've been meaning to change...