| Author | Message | ||
     Ourdee |
You could get a new one that is taller for not a ton of money and new innards come with it. Tall turdlets are nice as we age. | ||
| 86129squids |
"You could get a new one that is taller for not a ton of money and new innards come with it. Tall turdlets are nice as we age." RD, you're a proven font of wisdom. Hog is right- I can head to my nearby Habitat Re-Store and usually find several nice shitters, often with the fancy 1 or 2 button flush option. Cheap, just a little more labor to replace than a heavy scrub job on an old throne. | ||
| Ourdee |
A friend of mine, when he was a single man bought a 5 bedroom house on 5 acres at the edge of an expensive town with a creek running through the property. His house set on a cliff over looking the wooded spread. As he was a bachelor and his master bathroom was half the size of my whole house, he put a desk in front on the throne for his convenience. | ||
| Crusty |
Fast Shipping Today’s Friday. It’s also Valentine’s Day, but that’s irrelevant to this Snippet. And I just got my package with the oil line and hose clamps. It took two days to get it. I got the new tires yesterday. It only took one day to get them. Things sure happen quickly in these Modern Times. There’s a very funny Charlie Chaplin movie by the name Modern Times. If you haven’t seen it,you’re missing one of the great movies. Anyhow, the tires may have gotten here quickly, but they’re going to sit in the basement until the tires that are on the Roadster wear down to the point of needing replacement. The oil line is going to sit and warm up for the time being. I’ll probably start replacing the old stuff tomorrow. I got 20 hose clamps (they were available in groups of 10) because I’m not sure if 10 would be enough. I’d rather have too many than not enough. I should be able to change out all the oil lines in one session. Now; this isn’t the first Iron Motor I’ve owned. Most folks call them Iron Heads, but they were known as Iron Motors when the Evo Sportster engines first made their appearance. Yes; the heads are made with cast iron,but so were the cylinders. Bill (whose bike this was) and I always called them Iron Motors. Lately, I’ve gotten into the habit of calling the 78 an Iron Head,but I think I’ll make a conscious effort to call it an Iron Motor. It will be a Tribute bike for Bill and calling it an Iron Motor just seems right. Anyway, as I said, this isn’t my first Iron Motor. I built the 79 XLCH and shipped it to Australia and Terri and I bought the 84 XLH and were in the process of building it when she got rear ended at a red light. It wasn’t quite done and the accident totaled it. However, even though I’ve owned a couple of Iron Motors, I feel like the 78 is a new and unfamiliar machine. However, I’m a moderately skilled parts changer and I hate shoddy workmanship so I think I’ll be able to get the 78 up and running. It’s just going to take a bit of time. My plan of attack is to get the oil lines changed, then to get the front brakes working. After that will be the rear brake; and somewhere in there I'll get all the wiring properly sorted out. I figure that the smartest thing to do is first, get the bike up and running, then, start doing the cosmetic stuff. The cosmetic stuff is where the money’s going to go. And I don’t have money to spare right now (do I ever?). Hell; it took getting a tax refund so I had enough to buy a 25 foot roll of 5/16 oil hose. The battery is going to croak me when that time comes; probably in another couple of months. A new gas tank won’t be cheap, either. Still; it’s a project. I’ll use the gas tank that was on it, for the time being. Once it’sup and running, I bet it’ll be a hoot to ride. I rode the 79 from northern New South Wales to Launceston, Tasmania and back in 1997; I bet this 78 would be fun to ride up to Massachusetts and back, as well. Before Bill died, we had been planning to ride from Massachusetts to L.A. on Iron Motors. I was going to ride this 78 and he was going to ride the Desert Rat. A lot of people have expressed their doubts about whether it’s a good idea to travel on an Iron Motor. To that, I’ll say that in 1979, Bill rode his 78 from Massachusetts to Minnesota, then to Nevada and then back to Massachusetts. And Buzz Buzzelli wrote in American Iron magazine about a friend of his who had 130k on her Iron Motor that she toured on. Bill believed in his Iron Motors and he would ride them anywhere. They’re better and more durable than most people think; but that’s true of all Sportsters, in general. So tomorrow, I’ll get the new oil lines on the bike. If I can get that done in a reasonable amount of time, then I’ll probably start on the front brakes. I have a bottle of DOT 5 brake fluid; I’ll see what I can find out. Hopefully, it won’t take much to get the front brake working. Progress. It’ll all come together, in time. I bet it would be fun to ride to Georgia… | ||
| Crusty |
When fleaBay Goes Bad So, last month, I decided to start working on the 78. My first order of business was to get it running. So I started cleaning it and looking it over to see what it was going to need. I ordered a few small parts from the shop and discussed the bike with Guido at the shop and dove in. One of the things I realized pretty quickly was that I could really use a Parts Manual to both look up part numbers and also look at the drawings to see how things fit together. So I went to eBay to see what was available. I don’t necessarily need pristine, a book with stained edges and dark fingerprints on the pages would work just fine. I also don’t need the book that’s listed at ten times the going price, plus only $94.72 shipping. I’m looking for an aid to getting the bike up and running. So I found one for $28.50 (+ $6.50 shipping) and bought it. I got the confirmation and a message that it was coming Priority Mail and would be delivered between Jan. 29 and Feb. 4. I never got a tracking number, which is a red flag, but I decided to wait and see. On Feb. 4, the mail came and no parts book yet, so I sent the seller a message through eBay, I purchased the parts catalog, but never received a tracking number. It was supposedly going to be delivered by today, but it hasn't arrived. Should I expect it soon? I'm working on a 1978 XLH 1000 and could sure use it. The next day, I got the reply, I’m looking into this. Then, nothing for a few days. On the 7th, I sent the message, I never received my manual. I contacted you days ago, and you stated that you would look into it. Since you haven't gotten back to me, I can only assume that you're not going to send it. Please refund my money so I can get one from somebody else. I waited and got no response, so I filed with eBay. They told me I had to wait until the 13th. If I hadn’t heard from the seller, or received the book, they’d refund my money. The 13th rolled around and nothing, so I told eBay that, and they promptly refunded my money. So I went looking and found one on a different site (Bonanza) and bought it and I left negative feedback for the scam artist on eBay. End of story, right? Well, not quite. A couple of days ago, I got the message, Hey did you get this manual. I was late getting it out. Also did you receive a refund already? To which I replied, I received the refund and I used it to buy a parts manual from someone else. I haven't received the manual from you. When it arrives, I'll print "Return to sender" on it and drop it at the Post Office. Then yesterday, I got this little gem, Just keep the manual if it arrives. Is there anyway you I can send you a feedback revision request over and you can change your negative remark. I will paypal you 50 dollars if you do it. Let me know. At first, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. His life might have gotten complicated and he just didn’t get the book out, or something. And I might have been willing to amend my feedback. But the offer of fifty bucks is another red flag. I bet he’ll send it “as soon as I change the feedback”. And he’ll have good feedback and I’ll get the green weenie. Oh; I still haven’t gotten the parts book that’s “in the mail”. I hate rip offs and this sounds like a classic to me. In the meantime, I got the other parts manual yesterday and it’s what I was looking for. I also got the mounting bracket for the original 2 into 1 Chrome Salami exhaust. As soon as I get my stuff from Guido, I’ll have almost everything ready to crank the 78 over. Well; I still need to play with the wiring; I need to connect the turn signals, and generator and I need to remove the old voltage regulator. And I have to get a battery, and Remount the gas tank and seat, and… It’ll be soon. | ||
| Crusty |
A Day In The Life On Thursday, R.D. called me and told me he wanted to come down to Cheviot. He’d read my Snippet about working in the yard and had a few yard tools that he wanted to give me. Tools that he had multiples of and wanted to get rid of, but didn’t want to just throw away. He also wanted to take me out for lunch. So yesterday morning, he arrived with a bunch of tools. A sledge Hammer, an axe, a mattock, a yard rake and a Sawzall with an assortment of blades. He also brought me a very pretty double bladed hatchet made by Estwing. I gave him the “Grand Tour” of the back yard and showed him the 78, which doesn’t really look that impressive down in the basement. R.D. had helped me unload it from the U-Haul truck when I moved all my stuff from Taxachusetts to Cheviot and he remembered the floppy handlebars and the fact that it had no front brakes. Both of those issues have been dealt with. We sat and had a cup of coffee and shot the bull for a while, then we headed out for Velvet Smoke. When we got there, we both had the same thing; Burnt Ends and BBQ Beans. He really liked it a lot as, of course did I. I hadn’t been there since last summer and my memory about how good they were had faded a bit. They were wonderful! I knew that I liked them, but I had forgotten just how good they really were. The beans were also very good. I had Lemonade to drink and when we finished, I felt like a satiated, overstuffed zombie. We came back to the house and spent a very pleasant afternoon in conversation talking about a wide variety of topics ranging from politics to farts (almost the same thing) to stories from our past. Just a good old fashioned Rap Session. It was the kind of day that brings to mind Ralph Waldo Emerson’s line that, “The way home from a Friend’s house is never long”. R.D. left just after sunset and I had quite a bit to reflect on through the evening. One of the things I was thinking about was his comment that while he liked the BBQ from Woot’s (which is no longer in business), he felt it was just OK. I had loved it. But then I remembered that Mark hadn’t been impressed with the BBQ from Jim’s Smokin’ Que, while I think the ribs there are some of the flat out best I’ve ever tasted. So I came to the conclusion that BBQ falls into the same broad category as Pizza or Chinese Food. I love good Pizza, as do most other people. However; the word Good is highly variable. My ex and I had different preferences when it came to Pizza. There were some places that I liked a lot, but she was only lukewarm about, and vice versa. There were only a couple of places that we both agreed on, but when we did, the Pizza was invariable superb. Then somebody else would tell me that the pizza from that place was garbage and they preferred pizza from someplace that I considered mediocre, at best. The same holds true for Chinese. I’ve gotten food from some places that I loved, that others thought sucked. And the opposite holds true, as well. In my home town of Waltham, I liked the food from one place (whose name I can’t remember) a lot. And when Chinese food came up in conversation with my friend Bill, he had nothing good to say about it at all. I discovered that opinions on Chinese food were variable depending on the individual. Sometimes the best came from the little dive that looked like a Ptomaine Palace, and sometimes the beautiful upscale restaurant’s food sucked. I could also extend this to helmets, but that would be getting even farther off from the original topic. So, to get back to yesterday; R.D. and I had some great BBQ for lunch (which we both agreed on) and a very good Bull session that lasted all afternoon. And I have a bunch of new-to-me yard tools that will make working out back more enjoyable. It was a Very Good Day. | ||
| 86129squids |
A Snippet worth snipping onto. Glad to have the day's picture sketched into my mind. "We came back to the house and spent a very pleasant afternoon in conversation talking about a wide variety of topics ranging from politics to farts (almost the same thing) to stories from our past. Just a good old fashioned Rap Session. It was the kind of day that brings to mind Ralph Waldo Emerson’s line that, “The way home from a Friend’s house is never long”." Well put. I love me some good writing, and these Snippets are consistently good. What's also good is to argue about good food. Quality. Certainly motorcycle maintenance. We've got a place nearby what does really good Chinese type grub. I can spend $40ish plus tip for a 3 person meal, cooked to order, with shrimp toast (added as an appetizer, ends up all mine), and we all can eat twice or more. Time before last, I came in to pick up our takeout- they were a bit busy. The matron/owner had her young daughter taking care of a 6 top. I watched/listened as she took their order... she nailed it. Sent in the order, worked a bit at the cash register, then maintained the table. About the time I got my order to leave, an 8 top came in. They seemed regulars. As I paid, I left a 20 spot, told her mom that was for the young'un. Little girl was flat awesome. | ||
| Crusty |
From the Twilight Zone on Monday Morning It’s raining again. It rains a lot, here in Cincinnati. It’s supposed to rain until Wednesday afternoon, then it’s going to turn into snow before it quits and the temps will drop below freezing. So I get rain and warm or sunny and cold. In a few months, the choice will be rain and warm or sunny and hot. In spite of the less than ideal weather, living here beats the hell out of living in Massachusetts. There, it’s snow and cold or sunny and freakin’ freezing. Anyhow; I’ve had a few thoughts running through my head.One train of thought involved fiscal responsibility. For example; back when my second marriage ended, I was pretty destitute. I got a job on a flood control tunnel and started making money. After I had been there a couple of months, I bought an old, beat up van from one of my co-workers for cheap. That was in the early fall. I drove that van through the winter. One night, on my way home, a rod started knocking. The van wasn’t worth the price to fix the engine, so I scrapped it. When I went back to work and was talking about it, the guy I bought it from was being very adamant that he never gave me any warranty. Hell;it was a shit box; I knew what I was buying and I told him that and that I wasn’t holding him responsible in the least. It was something like 20 years old and it was better transportation in the winter than the bike. It had served its purpose and I had no complaints whatsoever. Several years later, another employee at a company I worked for had a Mazda that he’d bought new. He drove it for a year and a half and never did any maintenance. He never even checked the oil. One day, the engine seized and he had it towed to the dealer he bought it from to have it fixed under warranty. They pointed out that he was supposed to maintain the car and they wouldn’t warranty it. He got pissed off and stated that he wasn’t going to make any more payments on the car loan. I guess that he thought that not paying off a loan from a bank would somehow hurt a car dealership. That made no sense to me at all. When I bought the Roadster, I got a personal loan from a friend to pay for it. I put over 50,000 miles on the bike in a year and a half and was only halfway through paying off the borrowed money when the engine let go.One of the mechanics at the shop said to me that he had been wondering if I was going to continue making payments because the bike died. That had me scratching my head. Why wouldn’t I pay back a personal loan from a friend? Because an eleven year old bike broke down? That’s about as lame an excuse as I’ve ever heard and it would really show just how much of a friend I was to somebody who’d trust me. I guess that I’m still affected by that meatball who tried to scam me for a parts book on fleaBay, then tried to bribe me into changing my bad feedback. There are some sleazebags out there, but I honestly believe that most people are decent folks who try to do the right thing. Occasionally, I’m wrong, but that’s preferable to thinking that everybody is out to screw me over. It’s kind of like the comparison between an optimist and a pessimist. A pessimist is more often right, but an optimist enjoys life a whole lot more. I’d rather be an optimist. | ||
| Ourdee |
Honesty And Moral High Ground: I used to try to take the short cuts. I had been taught that any job worth doing was worth doing right. Problem came up when I didn't think a job was worth doing. It was a short phase that caused me no end of grief. Then I jumped on a high and mighty band wagon. I only took the high ground. I would lecture anyone with an attitude like I had. If someone said so-and-so was a worthless such-and-such, I'd jump in to extol the benefits of having so-and-so around, and that there was greatness in them. We just needed to bring it out. What happened was I started believing all the crap as I spouted it. I started to actualize the greatness within myself. The world around me became a greater place. I decided that by not being scared of being wrong and only repeating any mistake once, there was greatness in everyone and you could see it from anyone that could develop a "Want To". As a trainer at the time I quit teaching tasks and concentrated on teaching people to think and develop their attitudes and self confidence. Instead of holding their hand on a file to cut metal, I invited them to feel the metal. Most were able to discern just the part that needed removed instead of just scouring an area. Too often we attack what is not a problem because we don't develop an ability to know what is really wrong. Our finances reflect what we think will make us happy. If we learn to want what we have and only desire what we need, wealth is attainable. I used to think I wanted certain toys. I figured out that I just wanted to try them out. I can rent a toy and get it out of my system. I don't want to own a bunch of stuff. If I do not purchase things, I do not need to earn as much money. The less I own the less I need to be concerned with. Freedom is just another word for nothing left to loose. Free is not always free. So, don't lose your mind, but mind what you loose. | ||
| Daddio |
After 3 days of sunshine and temps in the 40s, the ice and snow was almost gone from the road in front of my house; so the city decided it would be good to come by with a road-grader and knock down the 4' high berm of snow along the road, plow it into the center, and use a loader and dump trucks to haul it away. Sooo, about 1" of freshly hard-packed snow across the road, pretty much curb-to-curb. Of course, just as the we loading all that snow, it started snowing again, 8 to 20 inches expected... I haven't been on a bike since October 9th, when we got our first major snow. I keep telling myself "4 more months!" pretty soon it'll be "3 more months!" | ||
| Ourdee |
It's time to move or trailer out. | ||
| 86129squids |
Heck, NoRice (Tim) breaks out the snowmobiles when the white stuff sets up. I'm very glad to be a Tennessee boy, born and raised. | ||
| Crusty |
Hallelujah! I see the Light! Actually I see two of them and they can easily be the Blinding Light of Pure Stupidity. The little voice in my head is telling me that I should just stop right there and leave everyone wondering WTF??!? I won’t do that, though. I went with my brother David to Sam’s Club this morning (he has a membership) and bought two 4 foot LED fixtures. Once again, they use half the electricity and put out more than twice the amount of light as fluorescent lights. I took my time installing them in the basement, because I wanted to do it right. I think it took all of 20 minutes; most of which was spent finding the tools I needed. As I said, they’re very bright and I don’t think I’ll have any problem seeing what I’m working on. I was going to buy the fixtures at Wally World for $22.00, but they only had one in stock. The fixtures I got from Sammy’s were selling for something like $35.00 last week, but they dropped the price to $24.00. Also, Sam’s had a lot of them. I could get two at one place. With Wally World, I’d have to get one from one store, then travel for 20 minutes to another store to get the second one. The Sammy fixtures also were linkable. Each fixture has a grounded outlet on the end, so they can be plugged in to each other. They came with chains and S hooks and eye screws that I screwed into the floor joists to hang the lights from. My cellar has never been brighter. Now, I want to get the shelf brackets and toilet paper holder and put them in the bathroom down in the cellar. These are all little things, but they’re little improvements. Add up enough little things and they have a Big Effect. Just like the Three Stooges on their way to Niagara Falls, it’s step by step; inch by inch. (If you don’t understand that reference, watch Gents Without Cents – It’s a real classic) Anyhow, I’ve had a very good day. I have bright lights in my basement, all my bills are paid, I put a large chunk of my monthly deposit on my credit card, I managed to put a few bucks into my Savings account and I had some very tasty pulled chicken with my specially seasoned, roasted potatoes for dinner. And Matthew’s son, who was on the verge of death has regained consciousness and is even off the ventilator. Some days are nothing but Good. Now, I think I’ll kick back with a good book inside my little home where I’m warm and out of the ever-present Cincinnati rain. | ||
| Crusty |
Just Another Rainy Day Yesterday, it was actually sunny and warm. Warmer, in fact, than the forecast was predicting. I spent the majority of the afternoon out in the back yard chopping up jungle. I managed to reduce it by a huge amount and was thoroughly whipped when I finally called it quits for the day. I still have quite a bit to go, but I’m pretty sure I’ll have almost all of it cleared by early Spring, if not before. This morning, I’m a bit sore, but not that bad. I felt like a limp dishrag last night and had to push myself to fix dinner. I did, though and had a very tasty BLT. Then, I retired to the recliner to watch the idiot box. I was in bed before 10:30 and slept through the night. I used to take sleeping through the night for granted, but now that I’ve become an old fart, I can realize just what a gift that is. I got the parts from the shop on Saturday and proceeded to mount the exhaust and breather pipe on the 78. I discovered that what I thought was the right muffler bracket is one for the siamesed exhaust that came on the XLCR and was stock on the 79 Sportsters. I figured out how to make it work; I had to get some longer bolts and space the bracket out, but it isn’t right. So now the search is on for the right bracket. I have hundreds of different bolts, but I had to make a run to Home Teapot to get a couple of 3/8” x 3” bolts. That wound up taking a couple of hours, when I thought it would only take a couple of minutes. That’s the way it usually goes. In other news, there’s a Midwest Meet&Greet that’s going to occur in Cuba, Missouri in mid June. One of the people who’s going to attend is Larry May, and he’s got a 77 XLH that’s set up the way I want to set up the 78. Well, close; He has the original Sportster hard bags and a crash bar. Hmmm; I wonder if Guido still has the set of Sportster hard bags that I had put on my 86 1100? Anyway, I hope he brings that bike to the rally. I want to look at a couple of things on it that I have questions about. I also want to admire the paint. It’s painted the same blue that my 78 FXE was painted. I’ll try to copy the photo he put on the thread on the XL forum so you can get an idea of how I want it to look. Just picture it in bright red instead of blue. I’m going to try to make that rally. I don’t know if I’ll have the money to go, but I’ll give it my best shot. There’s a campground that has very reasonable rates; $11.00 per night for a tent site. What I’d really like to do is get the 78 up and running and ride it to the rally. It won’t look anywhere near as nice as Larry May’s 77, but I think it would still be fun. Eventually, it will look that good, but before I make it pretty, I want to run it and see just what it’s going to need. It’s going to be a Tribute bike, but it will be a functional tribute bike. With all this talk about a Sportster rally in June, I have to focus on the March Badness rally a few weeks from now. Part of me wants to skip it. I can use that money to help pay down my debt. That’s a very compelling argument. I’ve pretty much focused on that as my goal for this year, and it’s a very achievable goal. But at the same time, I should do things that I enjoy doing. I really won’t be spending a lot of money if I go to Suches. And I really enjoy spending time with everybody there. They really are a great group of people. Also, I love the ribs from Jim’s Smokin’ Que. Velvet Smoke, right here in Cincinnati, has the best Burnt Ends I’ve eaten, but Jim’s has my favorite ribs. (the best Pulled Pork is at the WVBR Saturday night Dinner at Jack & Judy’s house in Harrisville) Hmmm; I think I may have just quieted that part of me that’s resisting going. One thing I need to do is give my tires a close look. I have a set waiting to go on the Roadster, but I don’t want to put them on until the tires on the bike are worn down. I also don’t want to head out for the rally and have my tires worn out before I get home. I’ve had that happen twice in the past, and it’s always an expensive mistake. I’ll check the tires out when I go downstairs in a short while. So; that’s where I’m at on a dreary, drizzly Monday morning. I think I’ll go downstairs and look at the tires on the Roadster and maybe install the new ignition switch on the 78. Larry May and his 77 XLH  (Message edited by Crusty on March 02, 2020) | ||
| Crusty |
I'm on a BLT kick lately; so this morning, I'm having one made with Wright's thick sliced bacon with a sliced, vine ripened tomato, Iceberg lettuce and Hellman's mayonnaise on a brioche roll. It goes really well with my third cup of Kenya fresh ground coffee with half and half. The sun is shining and the sky is blue and the temperature is supposed to go up to the upper 50s. Life is good! | ||
| 86129squids |
I'm all about a BLTC breakfast. I add cheese, and prefer a bread called "Nature's Own Butterbread"- it toasts beautifully. With butter lettuce, Duke's mayo, cracked pepper, and one of my homegrown heirloom 'maters. Makes me sad to have to buy a tomato. Good news is our seed start this year is about 100%! I'll be giving away orphan tomato plants to friends and fandamily again this year.   | ||
| Crusty |
On a Beautiful Spring Day My feet hurt; the toe that I dislocated up in Canada was really giving me fits, earlier. My back is also pretty stiff. I bet I sleep like a baby tonight. I hope I do, anyway. Today was magnificent, weather wise. While it technically isn't spring yet, it sure felt like it was. The sky was mostly blue with just a few puffy white clouds and the temperature made it up into the mid-60s (15-18 C). This morning, I decided that I was going to play with the 78 until it was time to head out for the Noonie, then I would work on the yard when I got back. Like most plans, it only worked part way. I had been playing with the wiring before the meeting, and when I got back, I wanted to get a bit more accomplished. That led to my being in the basement until well after I normally start dinner. I got quite a bit accomplished, but I discovered more things that need attention. I have the turn signals wired in and the new ignition switch is in place. I had to take the headlight and mounting bracket off to wire in the turn signals, but it’s done and done right. I also had to find the cut wires for the rear turn signals and connect them to the new turn signals. When I went to put the new ignition switch on the bike, I discovered that the manifold clamps were put on wrong (what a surprise!) and the choke wasn’t working like it should. So the carb and manifold came off. Then, I discovered that the inlet for the fuel line on the carb wasn’t all there. When I set the carb down, this black varnish smelling liquid oozed out, so I took the float bowl off and found some black tar-like crap inside. It took me a while to get the float bowl clean. While I was cleaning it out, I called the shop and Sandra’s going to send me a brass fitting for the fuel line and also a couple of new O-rings. The ones that were on the bike were pinched. Little by little, I’m getting this bike sorted out. I hope I get it to the point where I can crank it up soon. To be honest, considering how many things I’ve found that are screwed up, I’m almost afraid to try to start it. I hope Bill didn’t pay a lot for this bike, ‘cause if he did, he got screwed. This bike has had a hard life and has had butchers pulling maintenance on it. Real hack jobs. It’s a project, though. My plan is to first get it running. Once it runs, I’ll start working on making it look a lot better. My fear is that the engine has had the same amount of skilled maintenance the rest of the bike has displayed. I really suspect that I’m going to have to delve into pulling major maintenance on the engine. I don’t like to make negative projections, but everything else I see is leading me to that conclusion. I doubt that they did any engine work more diligently than the jury rigged work on the rest of the bike. Well; I’ll fall back into my “Hope for the best, but expect the worst” kind of semi- optimistic attitude. While I would like to get the 78 up and rideable, I won’t do so at the expense of my planned financial budget. I’m pretty focused on getting my debt paid off and I want to build the Gentleman’s Express. In that order; those are my priorities. The 78 will come after that. I’m willing to spend a reasonable amount of money to get it running, but not so much that I’ll have to divert money from my priorities. And speaking of priorities, I’ve taken a hard look at myself and my plans for this year, and I’ve decided that I will do a few short rides and maybe a trip up to Massachusetts. I’ll be going down to Suches for March Badness in just a few weeks. Then, in June there’s the Midwest Meet&Greet in Cuba, Missouri. I figure a ride up to Massachusetts in July, then the WVBR in August, followed by the Springfield Miles on Labor Day weekend. Springfield will be the only Flat Track races I’ll attend, this year. Of course, there are three of them; a short Track on Friday evening and two Miles; one on Saturday and one on Sunday. And, even though I think I shouldn’t, I’ll probably make it back to Suches for Buelltoberfest. Maybe I’ll stop at Cumberland Falls and see a Moonbow. It’s a pretty campground; now all I have to do is get my dead ass out of the tent and ride down to the falls and see it. Well; that’s the way this year is shaping up. Everything is subject to change. Like they say in the Army, No battle Plan survives contact with the enemy. Another way of putting it is, Man makes plans and God laughs. I hope he doesn’t laugh too much at my expense. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Many of you know that I am an avid consumer of audio books. I always make sure to get the unabridged versions, and I always sample the narrator's other works to make sure he has a voice that I can at least tolerate, if not enjoy outright. That being said, I greatly enjoy these snippets, and I especially like the style in which they are written. On my recent road trip to California, I knocked out a couple of excellent titles, one of which was Ghost Rider by Neil Peart. The whole time, I kept thinking, "this sounds a lot like John's Snippets, but in an extended format. Crusty, if you haven't read it, I'd suggest you do. I honestly think you've got a full length Road Novel inside that head of yours, if you were to take all these Snippets and stitch them together. Even if you never write a book, know that we all look forward to your various vignettes in all their fabulous flavors. | ||
| Crusty |
Sometimes It Gets So Hard, You See Lately I’ve been wondering if a Roadster is the right starting point for my Gentleman’s Express. I really like the blacked out look and the better suspension and the extra front brake, but along with those virtues there are some negatives. Having to replace both fenders and the gas tank are the obvious first steps. And while I have a gas tank and a rear fender, I’ll have to change out the tail light and turn signals. I don’t know for sure what front fender I’ll want to use. I’m thinking that maybe a front from a V Rod or an XR 1200 will fit. I’ve been expecting those issues, but the one that has set me back is tires. The Express is going to be a comfortable Sport Tourer. A Grand Tourismo. While I can find some sport (short life) tires, I’ll have trouble finding tires with reasonable life expectancies in the right sizes. So I looked at other Sportster models. The Superlow T has different sized wheels, and I can find tires that I like that will fit it and it already has the bigger gas tank and fenders that work better than those G-string wannabes that come on the Roadster, but it has way too much Shiney. I want tasteful, not glitzy and it has one really glaring negative; it only has a single front brake. There’s no provision for putting a dual front brake on it either. Well; I could change the front end, but then I’d have to change the wheel size and the tires I think I’d like won’t fit. That leads me to wonder who are the decision makers at the MoFoCo aiming their products at? I realize that everybody modifies their bike to personalize it, but am I really that far from the mainstream? I want a Sportster that goes, stops and handles reasonably well, but I think that the "Fashionable" hacked off fenders are stupid. The current Roadster is not a serious motorcycle, in my book. It’s a toy. I know, the meatheads at Juneau Ave. want me to spend a sh*tload more money and buy a garbage wagon if I’m going to use my motorcycle for touring. I had one; a 1988 FLHS that I bought new and put 125+ k on. Then I got a Buell Thunderbolt and saw just how much I had been missing. I personally think that those clueless morons have no idea why people buy and ride their bikes. Picking Elton John as their headliner for the 100th Anniversary bash was one signpost. I’m not badmouthing Elton John, but he is not who people associate with Harleys and their persona. And the group that would have really been appropriate, Steppenwolf, wasn’t even considered as a second or even third rate performer. Ah, well; enough whining and bitching. Maybe what I should do is find a 2008 Roadster and use that for the basis of my future bike. I could get one for a reasonable price. and it would be easier to modify. But then I’d be stuck with the same wheel sizes that I currently have, and… Considering that I won’t be seriously looking until the fall, I have plenty to keep my mind occupied | ||
| Ourdee |
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| Ratbuell |
Ride a Scout, and an FTR. The FTR is tall (think M2), but both are serious performers with boatloads of aftermarket goodies out there for them. | ||
| 86129squids |
+1. My neighbor has a Scout, dang slick machine. He traded a nice Triumph for it. Says he's kinda scared of the power of the Scout... one day I'm hoping to wangle out a test ride from him. Even sounds the tits! | ||
| Pwnzor |
I've been a fan of this particular Scout since we met William a couple of years ago at TWoS  | ||
| Ratbuell |
Torquey, powerful, water cooled, 9,000 rpm, DOHC, belt drive, smooth, low, handle great, ride nice, good wheelbase for stability. Scout Sixty is a 5 speed/80 horse; Scout (1100cc) is a six speed and I believe 100hp. Nice reduced-reach suite is available if desired (seat, controls, bars). First time I rode one, I thought "this is what a Sportster should be..." (Message edited by ratbuell on March 05, 2020) | ||
| Crusty |
If someone were to give me a Scout, I'd sell it and buy a Sportster. I rode a Scout when they first came out in 2014. Yes, they make more power than a Sportster; but not more power than an XB. Two weeks after I demo rode the Scout, I took an EBR 1190SX out on a Demo ride in Westfield, Massachusetts. It made the Indian look and feel emasculated. It made 50% more power and weighed less. And it handled like a Buell. The Scout locks you into one fixed seating position. I like to put serious miles on my bikes; I wouldn't enjoy doing that on a Scout. I haven't demo'd an FTR, but if I do, I'd like to do it with either Froggy or Mike Kirkpatrick with their EBRs at hand for comparison. My next motorcycle purchase will be a Sportster. I'm not sure which variant it will be at present. While I wish the not-so-big Cheeses at the MoFoCo would pull their heads out of their corporate asses, if I have to, I'll make my own idea of a Gentleman's Express. Oh; I believe the not-so-big Cheeses at Polaris have just as bad a case of rectal occulitis as their Milwaukee counterparts; quite possibly worse. | ||
| Ourdee |
I still want to try an old BlackBird out. | ||
| Ourdee |
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| 86129squids |
RD- I had a close friend, Ed Nabors (now deceased, RIP buddy) who was a founder of the BMW ROK (Riders Of Knoxville)- a serious lifelong rider, he's put more miles on more different bikes than about anyone I've ever known... he and another friend joined me to test the 1125R when it was about to launch, down at Barber- he was in his 70's, still good to do track time on the new Buell. He said the Blackbird was probably his favorite bike of all time. That bike debuted just before the Hayabusa, which stole the thunder. I still want to try an old Yamaha GTS1000 out... the Knoxville dealer had one for sale, gathered dust like most of them I'd guess. Yamaha has always had the most interesting designs over the years. I once owned an '87 FZ700- first bike I hit 135 on. Felt like it was on rails, as did my sweet green Sprint. And Gawd but I miss my old RZ350, had it in 1990 when I moved to Knoxvegas. Like God's own slingshot, so quick... plus it was 0.40 overbore, Spec II pipes, Boyesen reeds, one tooth dropped front sprocket, dang. Some neighborhood dude who owns a late model, modern Vespa parked it on the street just off my property today. I can see why they became so popular- wouldn't mind having one of those, but I'd want an old vintage 2smoke. Someone in our local CL has one... Whoops, I think I just pooted out a Snippet! | ||
| Ourdee |
The Old BlackBirds continue to trend as overpriced. I believe they are better than given credit for. | ||
| Pwnzor |
RD, I rode a 2000 Blackbird to TWoS a couple of years ago, for April Buells 2018... but when I look through the pictures, it seems you did not make it to that one. A shame, because that bike is a real screamer. I was actually able to keep up with Froggy's crazy ass.  |
