washing...

seems my bike washing episode has farther reaching cleaning effects that i initially realized...

after washing my bike, i absentmindedly left the key in my pocket. naturally, the shorts ended up going through the wash. which means the key got washed also!!

on the surface, this doesn't seem so bad. the problem comes in because the key is attached to a fob - the fob for the security system. so now, not only did i wash my bike and slick up my controls and footboards, i washed my key and fob. and, even though the fob is advertised as waterproof, it isn't. so now i have a useless piece of plastics and electronics hanging around with my key.

my first, lazy instinct is to just buy a new fob. but being the cheap person that i am (and in a money stricken state), i decide that maybe i only need a battery. i could buy a new battery and test out the fob. of course, i have to learn how to program the fob to work with my bike. i pull out mom* and read up on programming the fob. i learn that i really don't need the fob, i can set the alarm using a sequence of turn signals and the ignition switch known only to myself!! there are two problems with this. one, it would require me to program the bike (work). two, i would have to remember the sequence known only to myself. i revert back to using the useless fob.

after reading the programming instructions, i decide to remove the battery - after all, i am going to have to replace it. instead of just taking in the battery type, i like to take the battery so that i'm sure i pick up the right one. when i open the waterproof fob, what do i find?? water!!! not surprising, i didn't really expect it to be waterproof. i do the natural thing - start taking it apart and drying it off.

i don't know why, but i'm surprised the fob is made of only six parts - the key ring, the top and bottom outer shells, a circuit board, a rubber button piece that protects the circuit board and the battery. i take it all apart, drying each piece. figuring the fob was rendered useless when it went through its own wash cycle, i dry the circuit board using my t-shirt - not the brightest thing to do... i get it all dry and put back together.

now i have a finally dry fob sitting on my desk. what the hell, might as well go out and see if i can program it. following the instructions in mom, i attempt to program the fob. now the results of the different steps don't exactly follow the guide. but i don't panic - i follow all the steps. and when i'm done, it seems to be programmed.

i decided to set the security system. press and hold - bike alarms. cool!!! press twice (quickly) to deactivate - nothing. hmmm... press twice again - nothing. now a little panic starts to set in. i have it alarmed - the fuel injection is shut off - i can't ride the bike anywhere. not only that, i remember reading in mom that the whole security model needs to be replaced if the fob stops working while the bike is alarmed. damn, damn, damn... press twice again - still nothing. desperate, i start pressing the button many times is quick succession - it deactivates!!! schweeeeet... press and hold - bike alarms. press twice - nothing. press many times - deactivates. okay - so maybe i have to press more than twice - at least it works.

i walk in from the garage, proud of my accomplishment - especially since i don't have to spend any money to correct a stupid mistake of mine. excellent!!!

* motorcycle owners manual