Valve Cover Hell

Sunday, 13 Apr 2003

Oilhead valve cover

R69S Valve Cover

‘stitch reflective flap

Marc says:

April has not been a good month for my valve covers. First there was a parking lot tip-over on the way to Death Valley story here where damage was done to the right valve cover of the R1150RT. Today, the R69S got a similar treatment.

Returning from breakfast I turned onto the 85 N entrance ramp from De Anza and oops…. low side. Laying in the roadway of a freeway on-ramp is not a good idea for man or motorcycle. I got up, righted the bike (a lot easier than lifting the R1150RT), and moved over to the sholder to assess damage.

I’m fine.
My gear is fine (slight tear in the reflective flap that covers the vent zipper on my ‘stitch).
The bike slid on three points: front tire, rear tire, and valve cover. Nothing else seems to have hit the ground.

As I was checking out the bike Carl and Dave pulled up to see what the problem was. Dave and I walked over to where I dumped it and found the roadway very slippery, more so than just rain on pavement. Perhaps some diesel fuel? Don’t know.

I do know I was going slow (maybe 10 MPH), took a wide line because of the wet roadway, and didn’t touch the brakes nor downshift, having down shifted before the turn.

This is the third minor scratch I’ve put in a vehicle this month: both motorcycles have scratched up valve covers and the car has a scratch in the front skirt due to parking next to a very high curb. Maybe I should stay off the road the rest of the month!