Wow, March! Such Latency! Much Delinquency!
Well, my weekly report has already fallen on it's face and simply laid there for the last three weeks. I need to rectify that. For now, have some snippets of what's been going on since my last report.
Remember the nail in the Yager's rear tire? I pulled it and bought a Dynaplug kit from my local Cycle Gear. Initial cost is steep for a tire plugging system, but the per-plug cost for refills is cheaper than the generic plugs that auto parts stores carry. I also chose it because the plugs were smaller and lighter than a car plug. So, initial outlay aside, I plugged the tire, aired it up and went out for a test ride. I rode less than ten miles before I picked up another puncture in the rear tire! In the last 27 years of riding powered two-wheelers, I've had a whopping four flat tires; getting half that number in such a short period was a bit infuriating. Looking at the tread wear indicators on the tire, there was about 2mm of thread left above the wear bar. So, I'd used up a bit more than two-thirds of the tread and another plug would just upset the balance of the wheel further.
A new set of Michelin Power Pure SC tires was ordered tout de suite. Fancy sales copy aside, they are nice tires. I've ridden several bikes with them fitted and have been delighted to read/hear about the grip and longevity of these tires. Initially, the factory size of the Yager's front tire was not available from Michelin. While it has become available, it took a fair bit of calling around to find a vendor that had the tire in a "front" version. The tires were received last weekend. I waited until a replacement OE exhaust gasket arrived before pulling the wheels (The whole exhaust must be removed to remove the rear tire and swing-arm section). The gasket arrived Wednesday, I picked it up Thursday over lunch and took the wheels off on Thursday night. The wheels and tires were dropped off for mounting and balancing over lunch yesterday and picked up after work. They're not on the bike yet, it's pouring rain outside.
I spent last night at the club garage doing final assembly to a friends "frankenstein" Vespa GT200. It's made from three different model-years and a bit of trickery. My efforts weren't in vain, it fired up as soon as fuel found its way to the carburetor. Not too shabby. We're riding it to Yuma next Saturday, and possibly Douglas tomorrow.
I want to buy a small press and a crankshaft installer in the near-term future to make small engine assemblies a bit easier. I have no shortage of engines to bang on lately. This is palatable as long as I'm not picking up the parts tabs for stuff that isn't mine. since I now have truck payments, my budget for parts and tools has shrunk considerably and I need to save my pesos to fix my own little fleet of bikes.
Six months. I've had the truck six months, and there's a scrape on the front bumper. Mea culpa, I allowed myself to get distracted while parking at work and I grazed one of the concrete pillars that hold the parking awning up. At least it only scraped a plastic bit, so no rust or major repair. Trying to decide if I want to just get the bumper skin re-sprayed or pull the bits off and replace them with the chromed steel front bumper from one of the SE-trim trucks; it's look a bit more robust and would match the factory-fitted rear chrome bumper. Guess I need to price out my options after the Yuma ride and make a decision on that.
Work has been extra-special lately. I will offer this: Shockwave, will you be home around the end of March / beginning of April? It's likely that I'll be able to buy you those beers I promised a years ago. I'll keep you apprised of things as they unfold.
Remember the nail in the Yager's rear tire? I pulled it and bought a Dynaplug kit from my local Cycle Gear. Initial cost is steep for a tire plugging system, but the per-plug cost for refills is cheaper than the generic plugs that auto parts stores carry. I also chose it because the plugs were smaller and lighter than a car plug. So, initial outlay aside, I plugged the tire, aired it up and went out for a test ride. I rode less than ten miles before I picked up another puncture in the rear tire! In the last 27 years of riding powered two-wheelers, I've had a whopping four flat tires; getting half that number in such a short period was a bit infuriating. Looking at the tread wear indicators on the tire, there was about 2mm of thread left above the wear bar. So, I'd used up a bit more than two-thirds of the tread and another plug would just upset the balance of the wheel further.
A new set of Michelin Power Pure SC tires was ordered tout de suite. Fancy sales copy aside, they are nice tires. I've ridden several bikes with them fitted and have been delighted to read/hear about the grip and longevity of these tires. Initially, the factory size of the Yager's front tire was not available from Michelin. While it has become available, it took a fair bit of calling around to find a vendor that had the tire in a "front" version. The tires were received last weekend. I waited until a replacement OE exhaust gasket arrived before pulling the wheels (The whole exhaust must be removed to remove the rear tire and swing-arm section). The gasket arrived Wednesday, I picked it up Thursday over lunch and took the wheels off on Thursday night. The wheels and tires were dropped off for mounting and balancing over lunch yesterday and picked up after work. They're not on the bike yet, it's pouring rain outside.
I spent last night at the club garage doing final assembly to a friends "frankenstein" Vespa GT200. It's made from three different model-years and a bit of trickery. My efforts weren't in vain, it fired up as soon as fuel found its way to the carburetor. Not too shabby. We're riding it to Yuma next Saturday, and possibly Douglas tomorrow.
I want to buy a small press and a crankshaft installer in the near-term future to make small engine assemblies a bit easier. I have no shortage of engines to bang on lately. This is palatable as long as I'm not picking up the parts tabs for stuff that isn't mine. since I now have truck payments, my budget for parts and tools has shrunk considerably and I need to save my pesos to fix my own little fleet of bikes.
Six months. I've had the truck six months, and there's a scrape on the front bumper. Mea culpa, I allowed myself to get distracted while parking at work and I grazed one of the concrete pillars that hold the parking awning up. At least it only scraped a plastic bit, so no rust or major repair. Trying to decide if I want to just get the bumper skin re-sprayed or pull the bits off and replace them with the chromed steel front bumper from one of the SE-trim trucks; it's look a bit more robust and would match the factory-fitted rear chrome bumper. Guess I need to price out my options after the Yuma ride and make a decision on that.
Work has been extra-special lately. I will offer this: Shockwave, will you be home around the end of March / beginning of April? It's likely that I'll be able to buy you those beers I promised a years ago. I'll keep you apprised of things as they unfold.