Erikw

(long-ish post, its been awhile..) I just ordered left and right boots from MG Cycle, around $32 for the pair, four in stock. Very nice. Interesting, the local guy quoted $99 for one, with none in stock and wasn't sure he was looking at the right part. I'm 0 for 2 with them but will keep trying so support the local guy. Regardless, I've put about 7k mi. on my 02 LeMans since getting it in April a few months ago. It had popping in and coughing issues the whole time and the left boot was blown off its mounting collar at the head twice. I over-tightened clamp the second time in an effort to make it stay. Seemed fine for commuting to work and around town. Then came my big cross-country ride in July. All was fine until we hit record heat in the desert, 122 degrees down on I-10. Unbelievable. The heat was too much for the left boot, and it tore itself beneath its front clamp. This made the coughing and backfiring much worse. I patched it as well as I could with black RTV silicone, which didn't work very well if at all. I babied the bike home, checking temp on the cylinder heads with my hand to be sure the left one wasn't a whole lot hotter than the right one due to lean running. It seemed ok. Highway running was fine, low speed stuff was full of pops and backfires. The bike got me 3k miles home without complaining, I just hope I didn't kill it in doing so. Hopefully fresh boots will solve most if not all of the popping coughing and hiccupps from before. I will let ya'll know. I want to preserve these boots some way some how from cracking in the near future. It also seems wise to have a backup set on the garage shelf wrapped in plastic. Having them should mean I'll never need them. That's how it usually works, doesn't it? btw, Thanks for all the info everyone has provided. I have benefitted tons from all the knowledge everyone shares here!!! Erik

Greetings. I'm stuck in third, I know for sure. Or I was until I took the trans cover off yesterday. My spring broke right in the middle of the loop on the long arm. The boss is 16mm. This is an early '02 LeMans. Was a supply of replacement springs ever established? I would love to get in touch with anyone who knows where to get a replacement. I am calling around the dealers but its 4th of July weekend so will be a few days before I get a response, then will bearing down on go-time for a big trip. Thanks for this forum!!! ps. third is the best gear to be stuck in if you have to pick one. Erik

I went last year for the first time ever and had a great time. The traffic was really bad, but there was room to scoot by in the ditch -- on an Aprilia Futura no less! Traffic control was inconsistent, so "creative" solutions worked pretty well, like cutting through a parking lot for 1/4 mile when the road is clogged. Getting into and out of the track still involved about 30 minutes of waiting in line in the heat - more if you don't lane-split through the cars & RVs. There is a back way into the track, through the military base, and that seemed better than the huge lines coming up the hills in front. I intended to camp at the track and sit in the grandstands. Neither happend and I still had a great time. Camping at the track would've been much better traffic-wise. I actually had grandstand passes and didn't use them b/c the crowd was so thick. I got stuck in the two bridges trying to get to my spot while the race was starting. Everyone could hear the bikes but not see them and everyone was trying to crush their way through in different directions. It was a really dumb predicament that could've turned ugly. Great spots to watch: The hills below the corkscrew, on the riders' left side of the track, the corkscrew, and the also the right side at that same spot, up between the campers. You have to find some that are willing to let you stand there. Some want to chase you off their turf but most are cool. It really is amazing to watch the riders falling off the side of the corkscrew, changing directions almost airborn. Just go exploring during qualifying & practice and you will find good lots of good places to watch. Just make sure to be in your spot well before the race starts! I hated missing part of it while wedged in a crush of people. Also, its very dusty everywhere. Good walking boots and socks will be useful. Everywhere you'll want to go is Up and over a tall hill. Bring food and water. The food lines were 45 minutes and more. They just weren't ready for the amount of people that showed up. I'd be surprised if its really a lot better this year. That stuff usually takes awhile to change. One last thing, bring a good street map of Monterey. Either their signage was pathetic or my expectation of a sign pointing towards the track was unreasonable. I got lost following a crowd of bikers who were not headed to the track... Have fun its an absolute blast! I'll do better next time!!!

I am planning on plenty of higher-mileage days and would like to try a set of rubber-covered pegs. Please email me: erikw@mindspring.com

New-to-me '02 LeMans needs a nice tank bag. Please email me if you have something that would work well. Thanks, Erik erikw@mindspring.com

I second that. Just wish I'd read it b4 clicking on the exe file. I *knew* it was bad, I just knew it! Lucky the virus blocker got it, but this thing kept trying different files until I shut down.