One year later

My Crazy Uncle has been gone for one year today. I miss the shit out of that guy. I was out working on my Honda and thinking about how much he would have dug my new scooter and we'd have gone riding together. Come to think of it, I was using some tools that a different uncle gave me. He was less crazy but every bit as influential. He used to drive me around in his 442 Olds. Cancer stole him too. Maybe they are hanging out together.

J.S.Mengel 

I love this picture.

So went on this ride sort of around the state. We got a room in Terre Haute and the next morning went down to the continental breakfast. It was pretty grim and offended Johnny sensibilities, such as they were. He suggests we go get coffee at the gas station. I'm thinking breakfast and coffee at the gas station are not really the same thing but he seemed adamant about drinking gas station coffee. So we load all our shit on the bikes and drive across the street to the Marathon station. There's a marquee on the front of the building and I catch a glimpse of what it says and start cracking up inside my helmet. A big van or something is parked in front of the sign so I just see it for a second and Johnny misses it. Still giggling to myself, I get a couple bottles of water for the trip, and a large coffee. Maybe some cupcakes or something, can't remember. He does his thing and we go outside to loiter in front of the no loitering sign. It's really more of a suggestion than a rule anyway. I'm standing there grinning like a dumbass. More than usual. Unk asks me what's so funny. I tell him when this van pulls away, take a look at the sign on the wall. Some lady comes out and moves the van a minute or two later. He walks over to have a look and loses it. He starts laughing his ass off. 

So we're standing there in the gas station parking lot about seven in the morning, drinking shitty coffee,  laughing like a couple of stoned teenagers. Now our friends Gymi, and Red were supposed to come with us on the trip. Things didn't work out so it was just me and Unk. He says, "Stand in front of the sign and we'll get a picture to send to Gymi". So I did. 

Straight from Unks cell phone.

So he sends the picture to Gymi and we drink some more coffee and tell jokes and try not to make eye contact with the schizophrenic urban camper who walks by. That guy was scary, he was engaged in a heated argument with himself. Seriously, he was fucking pissed. Luckily he was walking fast and more concerned with the voices in his head than the two motorcyclists speaking ill of the dead. So we finish up and get ready to saddle up and I look at him and say "What if Gymi's wife's name is Kathy?". He gets this blank look on his face for just a split second...and then starts fucking cracking up again. My face hurt I was laughing so hard. Gymi's wife's name is not Kathy, I checked. 

I hope Unk is hanging out with uncle Mark having a good time. They'll be sitting in some bag chairs, drinking coffee, telling stories...  Shit, I hope they run in to Kathy so Unk can tell her the story and they can laugh about it together. 

Rest in peace Uncle John. You too, Kathy. Whoever you were. We meant no disrespect, we were just a couple of insensitive assholes drinking coffee at the Marathon in Terre Haute. 

Things I'm learning while working on the VFR

1)  There is not enough light in my garage.

2) Bolt cutters work pretty darn well to cut an endless chain. (saw that on the VFR forum)

3) Latex gloves are a wonderful invention.

4) Working on a fully faired, watercooled,  V-4 is a pain in the ass an exercise in patience.

5) Charging the battery on your camera is key to using it to take pictures for the blog.

Since I have no pics watch Joey Dunlop go 'round the Isle of Man. Amazing video. I used to watch this when I was a wee lad (okay, I was eleven). I've seen Dave Roper narrate a lap of the TT circuit riding a Matchless. I've also seen Mike Hailwood do it in a video as well. I wish I could find that video, it had all kinds of cool shit on it. Anyway, enjoy the King of the Mountain in V-4 to Victory. 6 1/2 minutes of it anyway.

About the lack of comment replies...

I must apologize. I read the comments to moderate them but sometimes don't have time to leave a comment. Then I forget. How rude. Anyway, thanks for leaving comments and I'll work on replying in a bit more timely fashion.

Tools and horn

Not a very inspired post title but I'm tired. Got the chain tool today. Looks like a winner. Chain is on it's way.

The little tab on the top gets sawed off...

And welded on the end to double the thickness...

To loosen that there pinch bolt.

Yes, it's filthy. Even I don't let my bikes get that dirty. That's previous owner dirt. I'll get to it. I decided to add that little 17mm box wrench at the end of the new wrench so if I needed to make an adjustment on the road I would have both tools required to do the job. I wouldn't use it as an everyday tool as the spanner is only 304 stainless. Kinda soft. I had them burn it out on the big laser at work. Sorry, I can't make you a wrench but I can supply the CAD file if anyone wants it. Leave a comment with some contact info and I'll see what I can do. 

I also got my horn upgraded tonight. Well, I finished tonight. It's taken me three separate nights to have enough time to get it done. I combined the stock horn with a horn from a Blazer I found in a junkyard. The Blazer had a nice row of weather sealed Bosch relays right there under the hood. So if you're looking for a horn upgrade head to the junkyard. I don't think it's as loud as the Fiamm on the S-Wee but combined with the stock horn it has a decidedly European sound to it. The Japanese beep combined with the Detroit Honk sounds pretty good. Louder and unique. And it cost me almost nothing. Except for some mosquito bites and I cussed at my soldering irons a few times. Oh, I also made a sweet tank prop after the prototype just about went all stigmata on me. More on that later. Must get ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz.......... later. 

A few issues with the Viffer

I rode the Viffer to work yesterday. Now, I know I need a chain and I'm getting the distinct feeling that the PO was not all that interested in maintenance. The single sided swingarm requires a special tool to adjust the chain. He didn't have the tool. Huh? 10K mi. and you never adjusted the chain? Owners manual? Nope. O.K., so the manual is on it's way from Honda and I'm looking into building the tool.

From VFR discussion board

I heard a funky noise last night on the way home and I'm thinking it's the chain. Not sure. It's parked until I can figure it out. I did a little searching on the forums and I'm not the only one who's heard it. This is no big surprise, I knew it needed a chain when I bought it. I didn't know I needed one of these:

 That goofy looking spanner in the lower right is the mystery tool. I'm told it's the only thing in the tool kit that's worth a piss anyway. Of course, by 2006 Honda wasn't interested in including toolkits in all bikes sold. I hear some had em, some didn't. For a reasonable fee they'd sell you one. There's also a shock tool that's missing from the picture but I've got a preload spanner that'll fit already.
The clutch is also acting weird. It's got a bit of a light switch quality to it. Nothing, nothing, nothing, ENGAGE. It's my first time with a hydraulic clutch. I adjusted the lever but I'm sure it needs to have the fluid changed. Evidently the slave cylinder's proximity to the chain will cause chain lube to get past the seal and contaminate the fluid.

So, I've got that going for me. No worries, I'm just buried right now. Work, kids, everything I own needs work. I ordered a chain and sprockets, the new chain tool is being laser cut, I'm about halfway through upgrading my horn. I'll keep ya'll posted. Maybe.

My Dad bought a motorcycle

http://shopteacherbob.blogspot.com/2013/04/now-its-spring-for-sure.html

Yeah, you knew that. He dropped off the plate and the weather was nice so I gassed her up and delivered the bike last night. Gonna miss that bike.

I rode the Viffer to work yesterday. I do love this one, too. It needs a chain bad so I'm going to have to park her until I get a little maintenance done. I need a special tool to adjust the chain. The ride seemed a little mushy so I need to see what's going on there as well. It could be that I'm just used to the old bike but if the heavier bike with a 90lb. weakling in the saddle seems mushy...might be time for a fill and drain of the forks.
The shock has a reputation for being lackluster so that's not a surprise.
Nice today, maybe I'll find time to take some proper photos.

Motorbikes and riding suits

I have been very busy of late but quite fortunate. No complaints. I didn't think I'd get a new bike this year. I've got a new bike.

Such a clean garage.

I hate selling vehicles because I always take a bath on the sale price and I'm not a fan of dealing with knuckleheads. I sold my bike to my dad. Couldn't have been easier.

All cleaned up for the new owner.

I'm up to my ears in stuff to do at home and on the job. Hey, that's a much better problem than not having any work. So moving right along...

The Super Suit

So I told you I ordered the Aerostitch Roadcrafter one-piece riding suit. I was worried about the fit but I don't think it could fit any better without tailoring. My concern was that the 40L would be too large and I'd be in the same pickle as my last set of gear. No sweat. It fits well and there is some room under for layering. It's still on the tight side there so I'll have to be selective about my layering but I can wear my British Commando sweater under it. The wrists are a bit tight with that on. With some newer polypropylene long underwear and a fleece I'll still have some room.
I wore the suit twice now. The first time it was 42° with a light drizzle on the way in at 5:30 a.m. I was wearing a t-shirt, collared shirt, and jeans. Slightly chilly in the chest area. The gloves I chose that morning were just elkskin with no insulation. I got to work dry but my fingers were cold. On the way home at 5:00, it was raining pretty good but had warmed up to 52°. I forgot my glove covers so my hands got soaked. On the sides of the suit there are waterproof zippers with a velcro flap over the top to allow you access to your pants under the suit. I forgot to zip one and I could feel my hip getting wet on the ride home. I also got what is known as Aerostitch crotch. There is a flap down the front of the suit that stops about where your left leg starts. The zipper continues down to your ankle. It's one continuous zipper from neck to ankle. For some reason there is a tendency for water to get in right around that area and I had wet pants. Not too bad but I was going home, not the other way around. If I had gotten to work with a wet crotch I would have been upset. The next time I wore the suit it was a pretty good rain on the way in and a fucking downpour on the way home. No issues that time. I was dry as a bone. I brought along the rain covers and I also Sno-sealed my gloves and boots. My boots are waterproof anyhow but I have to wear metatarsal boots for work.

Wet on the outside

I think it's a matter of knowing the gear and knowing what to look out for. The big zipper is a bit tricky to get the hang of. I actually got one of the teeth at the top a little beat up but I didn't realize the zipper has a locking mechanism and you must use a zipper pull to move the zippers. The instructions explained that you should try the suit on and take it off a few times in front of a mirror to get the hang of the zipper and the in-out procedure. The procedure is counter-intuitive. That matters not however, because if you just do it the way they say it's surprisingly easy to get into. So for the most part, I'm happy. I will be riding more but the way the weather is I'm not going out of my way to ride until I get my gear dialed in. After the 52° and rainy...it snowed a day or two later. And then a day or two later it snowed again. And the next day it was 50° and sunny. It makes about as much sense as trying to figure out what time it is in any given part of the state.

The paperwork for the Viffer is sorted and I'm legal. I can ride it at will now. It will need some TLC and I plan to do a little this and that to her. The Old Man came by and rode the S-Wee on Saturday. He decided he couldn't live without it so he wrote me a check. Shit, that was easy. I told him I'd wash it because after the  gear tests in the rain the poor thing was filthy. It was nice today so I gave it a bath. Well, sort of a whore bath. My water sucks for washing cars and bikes. I got all the ickyness off the bottom and cleaned the wheels and just stayed away from the paint. Otherwise it would just be spot-central. Actually, this was the first time I used my hose since last year. When I filled up my bucket it looked like chocolate milk. One of these days I've got to get one of those garden hose water softeners.  (Maybe not for $150.00)

I've got the new scoot and I'm pretty well geared up to ride so now I just need to...ride.

Rock on.

In the meantime...

As usual, I've got a lot happening. But while you are waiting patiently take a look at this nice knuck. These pictures were taken by Mark Kawakami over at joyridesartco.blogspot.com. Mark is a fantastic bike photographer. My favorite, actually. Pretty much all of the posed, lit pics I've ever taken of bikes were done in hopes of pulling off his style. I digress. I'm guessing TVI will dig this one.

For a bike that's got all the cliche stuff going on, this is a really cool build. The suede black is just right. I love those grips. I'm really digging the axed tanks. It's subtle in this shot, as it should be. Built by Kurt Morrow.

You can really see the payoff of the ax job here. Nice and skinny. Great photos, great build. Go over to Marks site and look at the rest of the pics.