| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
Back To Square One It started when I bought a fender extender for the Roadster. I pulled the front fender off to clean it and I noticed the paint was bubbled around the back edge. It’s rusting under the paint. So I started thinking about replacing it; possibly with an earlier fender. Like the one that was stock on my ’79 or on my old XLH1100. I’m pretty sure it would fit and would definitely work better than the shortened, “Stylish” newer choice. On Monday, David came by and helped me take the Christmas lights down from the house. When we were done, we went out for lunch and once again, I was struck by the color of his car. Then, I started thinking that maybe I should just paint the parts on the Roadster; but the tank I bought is for an Injected bike, so it won’t work, I think the rear fender will swap out OK, but I’d better make sure, and I’d better fit an old style fender to be sure it’ll fit before I buy one and have it painted; and my mind was off and racing. It didn’t help things when the decals for the tank arrived on Monday, either. So I started thinking that maybe I should just build a reliable engine. That had me thinking that I could take the original engine and have a bunch of machine work done to put new bushings in the case and cover for the cams. Add in new cams, crank assembly, cylinders & pistons and a couple of heads and probably an oil pump and bronze drive gear. Then, while it’s all apart, might as well go through the transmission. It would suck if one of the gears had a dog break off somewhere near Inuvik. Plus, replace the clutch plates and primary chain … It would cost me more than a new bike. Well; maybe if I look on Cycle Trader, I’ll find a cheap used 16. Well, there’s one for six grand. Nope. Wait; here’s a 2007 for $3499. It has a Mustang seat, sissy bar and luggage rack and it even has fork gaiters, but looks otherwise stock. Even the mufflers look stock. 07s were injected, so the tank I bought would fit and if the old style fender fits on my present Roadster, it’ll fit on this one. The bike’s at a dealership down in Florida, but they’ll ship it for $300 to me. Hmmm, it’s showing 31,000 on the odometer; that must be why it’s listed so cheap. So; I could have an injected Roadster for 3800. That really got me thinking until I looked at my bank account. It’s not time, yet. It was a fun way to pass a morning when the sky is grey and the temperature is below freezing. But I have to wait a bit longer. When I started looking at houses in Cincinnati, I went with the idea that the right house would come along at the right time and it did. Now, I just have to believe that the same thing will happen with a new bike. It happened when I bought the Roadster; it can and will happen again. In the meantime, I think I should pull the fender off the 78 and see if it will fit on the Roadster. | ||
| 86129squids |
Patience, good buddy! Or, you could start THIS project... https://knoxville.craigslist.org/mcy/d/franklin-su zuki-re5/6786892526.html Always wanted to witness one of those Norton racebikes on the track! | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Seeing as the fender moves up and down with the front wheel, I would be tempted to lighten it up with a plastic aftermarket fender. | ||
| Crusty |
I just pulled the fender off the 78 and it fits perfectly. Now; should I look a little closer at the rear fender that I bought and see if it'll fit? If it is interchangeable, then should I get the Roadster painted Soul Red? Or just get the new front fender painted black to match what's there? Something to think about, for sure. | ||
| Ourdee |
I think you want a red bike. | ||
| Adrenaline_junkie |
I vote for soul red! And to paraphrase Click & Clack, the Tappet Brothers, its always cheaper to repair them than to replace them. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Yeah.... red is good. | ||
| Crusty |
My Brain Hurts If you’re on the XL Forum, you pretty much know what’s been happening in my Motorcycle World. For the rest of you, here’s a quick update. In my last Snippet, I wrote about rust on my fender and trying to decide whether to get all the sheet metal painted Soul Red, or whether to buy a new fender and have it painted black to match the paint on the Roadster. I e-mailed the Snippet out and posted it on both the XL Forum and BadWeB. Then, Joe posted a link to a wrecked bike that’s for sale cheap with the admonition, Don't look at this unless your prepared to send your brain off in another direction. It could be perfect with as much as you want to change anyway… Of course, I looked, and it did send my brain off in another direction. Kind of like riding a mental roller coaster at really high speed. While the Buy It Now price is a very reasonable $3200, it’s still more than I can afford. But it’s up for auction similar to eBay, and I decided to figure out how much cash I can come up with. I registered with the site and I called a friend in Massachusetts to see if he would be willing to go pick it up. The bike’s in Vermont. It’s a 2016 Roadster with 5,000 miles on it. I don’t expect that I’m going to win it, but it might happen. In the book, The Richest Man in Babylon, one of the rules for making money was, the goddess of Good Luck favors men of action. If I let this opportunity go by without trying, I have zero chance of getting that bike. If I make a serious attempt, they might just accept my offer. In other words, I have nothing to lose by trying. The auction is running until Wednesday. I’m hoping that my information will clear before then. I had to give them my name, address and other details and send them a copy of my Driver’s License so they can check me out before I’m allowed to bid. Some of the vehicles can only be sold to validated businesses, but some can be sold to individuals. I enjoy building a bike and this would be one that I can ride to the Beaufort Sea (Arctic Ocean). I know what I want to do to it to make it right for my needs. It would be similar to what I’ve done for the Roadster, but it would be better. Better suspension, better wheel sizes so I would have a better choice of tires and the engine is fuel injected. With the other changes I plan to make, it would be a great Exploration ride and mile eater. So, I’m really hoping that it all falls into place. The probability is that I won’t get it, but there’s a chance I will. If it’s meant to happen, it will. | ||
| 86129squids |
Insert popcorn emoticon about now...  | ||
| Ourdee |
 | ||
| Crusty |
Knock-Off Wheel Spinners I was reading a thread about wheels for cars, and Zack posted a picture of an old MG with Knock-off wheel spinners and spoke wheels and it brought up an old memory. It was the summer of 1968; a magical time in my life. I had graduated High School and was enrolled in a local Community College. I had a job pumping gas that my friend, John Annal had set me up with. Life was looking pretty good. One evening, John and I had taken the bus into Harvard Square. The electric bus terminal was just outside the Square and it was about a three minute walk to the Subway station. We stopped in a little gas station and bought a couple of bottles of Coke from the vending machine and were just sitting there on the curb, when a lady in an MG pulled up. She had a tire that was going flat and asked us to change the wheel for the spare. It was one of those wire spoked wheels that had Knock-off spinners holding it to the axle. I had never seen one before and I don’t think John had, either. Anyway, the lady stood there and instructed us on how to change the tire. She knew all the details of the tire change, from how and where to use the unfamiliar jack to using the brass hammer to loosen and tighten the spinner and putting everything back into its place when we were finished. John and I got the job done, then she asked us how much it was going to cost. She thought we were employees of that gas station. We told her, “No charge”, but she couldn’t comprehend that we had done the job for free. Finally, she went inside to straighten it out with our “Boss”. John and I walked away to the subway and never saw that lady again. We chuckled a bit that she couldn’t accept the fact that we had helped her out for free. Nowadays, I occasionally see bumper stickers that say Practice Random Acts of Kindness. Back then, it was natural and normal. And it was fun. But it isn’t a lost art. I keep encountering it with Motorcycle People. I’ve met more good hearted and helpful people who are involved with motorcycles than I can count. The people on BadWeB and the folks on the XL forum (as well as many others) are all very helpful and caring. It’s an honor to be associated with such folk. I just thought I’d share that. | ||
| Tootal |
We just got around 6 inches of snow. Back in the 80's when we got dumped on I would pick some buddy's up in my Jeep and fill the cooler with Budweiser and just drive around pulling people out of ditches. When they tried to pay us we just offered them a beer! You're right Crusty, just a lot of fun! | ||
| Crusty |
Shot Down  Well; it ain't gonna happen. I need to be a licensed broker to bid on that particular bike. I just got the e-mail. I could contact one of their brokers, but then it would cost me another couple of hundred bucks, or maybe more; depending on Terms and Conditions. It's getting too crazy, so I'm just going to take it as a sign that I should wait. Oh, well. So, now I'm back to my original Whirling Dervish question; should I paint the Roadster red now, or wait until I get a new Roadster and paint that one red? The Roadster does look good in black, and it would be easier and faster to just paint the new front fender black for now. On a more positive note; the snow has stopped. It'll probably start back up; but so far, we've gotten a massive 2 inches - I think. Maybe less. If you had your fingers crossed for me, thank you; but you can uncross them now. I think I'll have a can of Hormel Chili with NO Beans! for lunch. | ||
| Ourdee |
I have 4" of snow so far. I've got a Jeep. The shovel is in the attic. Had ice cream for breakfast. When you are sick, you get what you want for meals. Time for another one of those 24 hour pills. I hate them. | ||
| 86129squids |
Sorry you're sick buddy, enjoy being fed, take your meds. looking forward to seeing you and the other miscreants in May! | ||
| Adrenaline_junkie |
Patience grasshopper, patience. This is what my local shop has done to try and sell one of their leftover Roadsters. Prices will come down more.  | ||
| Ourdee |
Ohh. | ||
| Crusty |
That's tragic. | ||
| Crusty |
Mental Constipation I think the weather is getting to me. We got 9.1 inches of snow here in Cheviot over the weekend. At least, that’s what channel 12 said. The sky is grey and the temps are below freezing. I don’t want to leave the house. I was out yesterday. I had to mail my property tax and I had to go buy a blind for the window in front of my computer desk, ‘cause the one that was there took a dump. The streets are pretty clear, though you have to keep an eye out for the idiots. I think that snow affects the drivers here the same way that water affects dogs with rabies. They really act wacked out. They speed past me on the right, only to stand on their brakes for the stopped traffic in front of them. One of these times, they’ll be in the snow when they try that crap and they’ll end up hitting a stopped car. I just try to give them lots of room. Anyhow, it’s cold and raw and there’s salt on the roads. There are little piles of snow at most intersections with traffic lights. It’s the snow that slid off cars because people here don’t clean their cars worth a damn. They just let the wind blow it off into my face as I’m riding behind them. Or it slides off when they accelerate from a stop at a traffic light. I could go out if I had to. The real reason I was out yesterday was because I was going nuts from boredom. So I went to the Postal Orifice, David’s shop and Home Despot. There was nothing really urgent that had to get done. A week and a half ago, I was out enjoying 60+ degree weather and I pulled up next to an SUV at a traffic light. The woman behind the wheel had her phone up in front of her face and was texting. When the light changed, she put the phone down and then drove away! I was amazed. I’ve never seen somebody do that. Imagine that! She was doing the Right Thing! I thought that was against the rules, or somethin’. I’m in a place where I have all kinds of things to write about running wild in my head, but I can’t seem to figure out how to put them down in writing. It’s weather like this that makes me want to go to Daytona for Bike Week again. I’m not planning to go this year. I need to be a little bit more frugal than I was last year. I really want to get that damned plastic paid down. I feel like I’m in loan shark territory when I see how much they’re milking me for in interest charges each month. I can watch the TT on my computer, but if the weather is especially nice there, I’ll regret not going. Then again, in 1996, I wasn’t going to go, then I changed my mind at the last minute. I called work and lied about having a family emergency, jumped on my bike and rode down the East Coast. I had a wonderful time and the temperatures were up in the 80s. It was just what I needed. I hope that doesn’t happen again; but if it does, I’ll deal with it. Either way, Springfield is coming. I hope the weather is flawless and the racing is close. I’m going to be with friends on Friday eating BBQ and Lasagna. Then I’ll be sitting with a group of great people at both the TT and the Mile. And I get to share the experience with them. If I can just focus on that, I’ll get through this crappy weather. | ||
| Zac4mac |
Really starting to get pumped for Springfield. Haven't had a vacation since Homecoming at the Garage Sale. Spent way too much money but have 2-2009 1125 crate motors and a bunch of very cool stuff. Anyway, the days are getting longer again and Summer will be here soon. Hopefully after at least a couple kick-ass blizzards so I can play in my Dakota Sport(318/4WD). Z | ||
| Pwnzor |
Getting pretty psyched up myself. I'm hoping to have my car done by then, and then convince Gretchen that we should drive it to Illinois... Gotta dream big. | ||
| 04buell |
We talked with Smoked to the Bone today and they are gonna be ready for us! Even said they will make sure they have a band so we can be entertained whilst we eat!! They are excited for us to visit!! TicToc....TicToc....TicToc!!! | ||
| Crusty |
Nurdles, Aglets and Must Be Fitted I got an e-mail the other day that informed me that the little blob of toothpaste you put on your toothbrush is called a nurdle. I never knew that; so I added it to my list of unusual words like aglet, jot and tittle. In case you’re wondering, an aglet is that little tubular plastic or metal end on your shoelace, a jot is the cross bar on the letter t and a tittle is the dot on the letter i. I find information like this fascinating, but it has nothing to do with motorcycles or traveling. Yesterday was not a kind day to me. I threw my back out early in the morning. I don’t even know how I did it. At first, it was just a moderate ache, but as the morning progressed, I could barely move. It started getting better in the afternoon, but it was still bad enough last night that I opted to sleep in the recliner, instead of my bed. It’s much better this morning, so I think sleeping in the recliner was the right decision; but I’m not completely recovered. The fender I ordered from Dennis Kirk arrived yesterday afternoon. I opened the box and there it was in all its raw steel glory. There was just one problem; there was only one side brace. So I called Dennis Kirk and the person who answered sent me over to Customer Service. They told me that the part description stated only 1 mounting bracket. I explained that it needed two, one for each side and I got shuffled off to a tech. He took my phone number and went to check out the stock. About ten minutes later, he called back to tell me that all the fenders they had in stock only had one brace, so he was going to send one out to me. That made me feel a little better. Now, the part description stated that the fender “Must Be Fitted”, so I took the fender and went down to the Roadster. I put four ¼-20 bolts in the tabs and put the bracket on and discovered what Must Be Fitted means. All the tabs needed to be bent a bit; both so that the bracket will fit and so that the fender will fit on the bike. To be completely honest, I don’t know if it will fit, once I get the other bracket. The good news is that Joe isn’t going to be shooting black for another week or two, so maybe I can get it sorted out in time. The bad news is that while I had the stock fender off, I saw that the bubbled paint on it was now cracked and lifting. By the time I was done screwing around with fenders, my back felt like there was an entire army of trolls camped in it and they were all building campfires. I made it back up to the living room and parked in the recliner and watched a movie on Netflix. I hope that bracket gets here quickly, and that the fender fits. If it doesn’t, then it’s back to square one. But I do have an idea or two… | ||
| Tootal |
Sorry to hear about your back John. I had a hinge in the middle of mine this last week too! I think it was too much twisting around working on the bottle line packer. Obviously I need to so some stretching before jumping into a job, but when production is halted you never take the time! Let me know if you need some bracket modifications! | ||
| Crusty |
Winter Rain and Henways It’s raining. The temperature is 37 F and it’s supposed to slowly drop a couple of degrees before nightfall. Then, the rain will turn to ice and snow. Weather underground is still predicting snow accumulations of 5 to 8 inches by tomorrow morning. Ain’t winter fun. I had a very unrestful sleep last night. I had something like four really bizarre dreams that woke me up, but now I can’t remember the details of any of them. I must have been tossing and turning because when I did get up, my back was killing me. I couldn’t even stand up straight. It is getting better as the morning progresses, but I’m not looking forward to shoveling snow tomorrow. Then again, maybe shoveling will help my back. I guess I’ll find out. Don in Buffalo is getting the same storm, but it’s all snow there. We were texting back and forth and he agreed with me that today is a good day to stay indoors and fix a henway for dinner. I’m thinking I’ll do just a little more than that, but not much. The second bracket for the new front fender arrived yesterday afternoon, so I think I’ll go down to the garage and see if I can get it on the fender and get the fender to fit the bike. I really hope so. Then I can get the fender off to Joe so he can paint it. I’m also looking at the Roadster and thinking about changing some of the chrome pieces to black. Small changes, but hopefully they’ll make the bike look nicer. I found a flat black air cleaner cover on fleaBay for ten bucks and I bought it. I’m going to put it on and see how it looks. I’m trying to walk that fine line between too much black and enough to make the bike look better. Years ago, I saw a Panhead that had all the pieces that were usually chrome painted gloss Black. The gas tanks and fenders were painted Turquoise, and the bike really looked good. And Bill built the Desert Rat. It had no chrome whatsoever. Everything was Flat Olive Drab or Flat Black, and it looked really good. My biggest problem is that the engine on the Roadster is not black, and I don’t want to pull it just to paint it, and I won’t do a rattle can job on it while it’s still in the frame. She’s a good looking bike as she sits, so I think that just a few small touches will enhance her appearance. I don’t want to make it look cheap, I want to make it look better. Other than the stuff for the bike and cooking dinner, I’m going to have a non-productive day. The weather sucks and I don’t have to go out in it. I think I’ll just kick back and watch a couple of movies. I watched the original Then Came Bronson the other night. It’s pretty lame, but I still like it. Maybe I’ll watch On Any Sunday again; or maybe Easy Rider. I’ll see what my mood is up for. The rain has picked up; I can hear it beating on the house. I’m glad I’m in here and not out in it. | ||
| Ourdee |
Tracey likes snow to the point of obsession. I woke this morning looked outside and declared, "We have been robbed!" 34 degrees and rain. Where is all that snow? | ||
| 86129squids |
Hey Crusticle- IIRC you can find a great documentary on the Dunlop family on Netflix, also maybe "Faster", about several contemporary roadracers. Maybe that'll help. Pissing rain here, but I gotta go find out why my hot tub's leaking before the cold front hits tonite...  | ||
| Crusty |
Winter Dreaming Yesterday was the kind of day that really makes me think the phrase WINTER SUCKS isn’t strong enough. When I woke up, the temperatures around the area were pretty varied. They ranged from 0 F to -8 F. As the day progressed, they rose all the way to a balmy 16 F. It wasn’t a day to take the Roadster out. I’ve ridden in temperatures that cold, but neither the bike nor I enjoy it. I was pretty much trapped in the house for the day. David did come by and took me and a fairly large box containing a front fender and air filter cover over to UPS, but he had things to do and so I was promptly returned home. I think I managed to escape Solitary Confinement for a grand total of 20 minutes. There was nothing worth watching on the Idiot Box, and the forums were on the quiet side, so I let my mind wander on what changes I would like to make to the Roadster. I can spend hours jumping from site to site comparing prices and contemplating which changes would be an improvement and which were a waste of time. I’m on an anti-chrome kick, at present. Now, chrome has its good points. It’s easier to keep shiny than bare aluminum and it doesn’t need to be waxed, but I think I prefer paint over it. So I looked at black handlebar risers and handlebar clamps. Then I looked at black sissy bars, luggage racks, fender rail covers and headlight mounts. But the thing I looked at in the most detail was brakes from an XR 1200. The calipers from an XR cost the same from Harley as the weaker calipers that are stock on the Roadster. I also priced a new master cylinder and realized that I could have much better brakes for five hundred bucks. (I just realized that I didn’t price out floating rotors – oops!) I spent several hours jumping from Ronnie’s Microfiche to fleaBay to J&P Cycles and Dennis Kirk. Then, I got sucked into looking to see who had the best price on TCX Fuel Boots. Boots have gotten crazy expensive over the years, like good gloves have. One thing I’ve almost learned is that it’s a bad idea for me to buy boots online. I know it intellectually, but I still get sucked in. And that’s after buying, I don’t remember how many, several pairs of boots that looked really good, but didn’t fit. Right now, the boot that has my eye is the brown Fuel boots. They’re a waterproof, side zip Engineer style boot. Being marketed towards motorcyclists, there’s no place close to me where I could go try them on. And at the price they’re going for ($279.00), I can’t afford to gamble. In the end, I decided that I wasn’t going to buy anything. Not even a copy of Willy Nelson’s 16 biggest hits for 8 bucks. But it did help to pass the day. It’s all going to eventually come together. I’ll buy little things for cheap each month (Including Willy's 16 best). The handlebar clamps or the headlight mount are running for 20 bucks each on Fleabay. The black sissy bar/luggage rack that I like is going for $120. I don’t know how much my Income Tax refund is going to be, but maybe it’ll be enough for the brakes. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll make it through the winter without going completely off my rocker. Today, the temperature is supposed to go up to about 40 F and tomorrow is supposed to be close to 50 with a lot of rain. That should get rid of most of that ugly white sh*t that’s all over the ground. Maybe I’ll be able to get out for a ride on Thursday. | ||
| Buellish |
John,I had a my handlebars powder coated black for $35,they look great. | ||
| Crusty |
Bad News and Good News Yesterday was one of those days. First, it was cold. I had wanted to get out on the bike, but the temperature was in the low teens and wasn’t going to get much warmer. Since I’m becoming a soft wuss, I was stalling until the temperature got to the 20 degree mark. So, I decided to do a load of laundry. When I got down to the basement, I saw a trail of water from the water heater to the floor drain. I’ve been expecting the water heater to die since I bought the house, and it finally met my expectations. So, to cut to the chase (and there’s a lot I’m cutting), I’ll be getting a new water heater delivered today. I won’t go into details, because there will be someone who’ll tell me that I’m doing it wrong, or I spent too much or I bought it from the wrong place, or… It’s going to empty my savings account, which wasn’t very big; but I think and hope it’ll be the last major expense for a long while. The Furnace and A/C are new, the refrigerator was new when I bought the house, the tree that was going to fall apart has been taken down and the roof looks like it’ll be good for a while. So, while I was a bit down, I got an e-mail from Joe who’s painting my front fender. It turns out that yesterday was a slow day for him at work, so he was able to start on it, and he sent me some photos that he took. He built a stand for the fender, and he wasn’t happy with the way the raw steel looked, so he did his magic and it’s looking better. He’s also doing the Air Cleaner cover. Seeing the progress made me feel a lot better.      In the meantime, the weather sucks. That’s to be expected; it’s the dead of winter. It happens every year at this time. However, there are a lot of positives to look at. I’ll have a new and trustworthy water heater, the Roadster is going to look even prettier than she does and the Springfield Mile is only four months away. And the Patriots are going to win the Toilet Bowl next week. I feel better now. } |
