calling Belfast....

I just got off the phone with the bike shop in Belfast. My helmet went out yesterday, flat black, XS. I swear I ordered a small but I guess not. If it feels too tight, I'll just put it on ebay and order another one. It was shipped Parcel Post which means it could be here anywhere from 1-8 weeks from now. I plan on ordering a cheaper DOT helmet to use for the first few months of riding. I'd hate to take a little spill and ruin my fancy pants European helmet. But I have other things to worry about instead of helmets. Saturday we're pulling the side cover and if need be, we'll tear the engine down again....

the curse continues....

Saturday we hit the shop early and actually had power! I successfully cut the new drive chain (thanks to our new vise and punch set). Both new sprockets have been installed, same with the new coils and condensor. The day was going fairly well until I tried to kick over the engine to get some oil moving around. That's the moment the curse hit.

The kickstarter moved back without resistance for about 4 inches, then came to a solid stop. Nothing moved inside the engine. I know the pistons aren't stuck, the cam chain is good and all the gears in the crankcase should be fine. It was checked by BnC Machine Shop about a month ago. So, I believe the problem lies in the kickstarter gears. I don't have much experience with the mysterious workings inside the crankcase.

Needless to say, I'm hitting the shop next Saturday extra early and I'm not gonna leave until I have it solved or my brain locks up in frustration. First, off comes the right cover so I can make sure the crankshaft is turning. Then it's on to the rest of the possibilities. I also found out that when my exhaust was knocked over at a friend's garage, it bent the pipes so now they won't fit into the exhaust ports. Plus, I misplaced my exhaust mounts. It's the curse, or just the fact that my bike is so mishmashed that I'm going to continue to run into these issues.

In happier news, I have a engine cover bolt set coming and maybe even a headlight bucket. Still waiting for that auction to end. Maybe my helmet will be here this week. Gotta get to work on the database of hell, I mean fun.

adios

hooray for USPS!

I got my jacket today and it's kick ass. The leather is a lot softer than I expected and fairly light compared to the jacket I wear to work everyday. Not sure if I'll ever use the cargo pockets but they're good to have. Now, I need to order the armor (both sets) and eventually find those armored pants. As soon as I get the new UTMC patch, I'm gonna send the new skin saver off to the taylor to sew the patches on. There's one more memorial patch that needs to be added but I think it's still in the design phase. Hopefully that will get finished up soon. I also dropped off all the shop info and cash for my helmet at my Mom's place.

The RedQueen and I are gonna have dinner with my Ma after shop time on Saturday. Sunday was going to be the bike expo but I think I'm gonna skip it. I looked over the site and didn't see much that interested me. Now, the Ohio AMA Vintage Days, that's gonna be kick ass. I hope I have enough saddle time by July to make the 4 hour trek to Lexington. So, Sunday will be spent cleaning and maybe shopping for rats. The RQ and I used to have pet rats years ago and we've been wanting a pet. I'm hoping to find an all black one but it's unlikely. Pet rat and a rat bike.. hhehehe.

I'm freaking exhausted from work. How can sitting infront of a computer all day make me so fucking tired? Oh wait, it's because I never truly wake up, regardless of how much caffiene I ingest. Plus, I get like this during the winter but it's almost gone! Speaking of tired... I'm off to bed.


adios

**EDIT**

The lady that gave birth to me can't bring my helmet back from the UK. So, I found a place with less expensive shipping and ordered it today. Hopefully it will be here by the end of next week. But we'll see, things crossing the Atlantic don't get here so quick.

brain catchers

I've been spending more time thinking about helmets, their quality and the certification processes. After much debate, I'm going with an ECE compliant helmet. Which means a couple of things. I'll be paying more for a helmet, parts will be more expensive and hopefully, it will be a safer lid. I searched and searched for a cool and unique helmet with good features and a moderate price. I didn't want to just buy a European version of an American helmet. I want something that is more, well, me. After a few hours of searching the net, I found a couple of helmet shops in the UK. Then, I saw it in all of it's stunning flat black beauty. Behold the Caberg V2:



It has an inner flip down visor, kinda like a fighter pilot helmet. Pretty damn sweet. I almost ordered it today but then realized that shipping would cost me about $100. That immediatly bummed me out until I realized that my Mom is headed off to the UK on Tuesday for vacation. So, she's gonna take the subway, I mean Underground, and pick one up for me. Good ol' Mom, gotta love her!

This weekend, we should have power back at the shop, or H6 as we started calling. I picked up some misc tools and goodies at the newly opened Harbor Freight store. Saturday, we'll be hitting the wrenches and hopefully getting some serious work done. After that, we might hit the Motorcycle Expo at the Fairgrounds on Sunday. Should be a busy weekend! As always, I'll try to post how it all goes. Time to find out if the sprocket mish-mash that I got from CRC2 will work. Knowing Rob, I bet it will. That guy is a walking library of bike knowledge.


adios

adios $$$

I just said goodbye to the last of my tax return check. I won a new riding leather from eBay. I saved about $100 and it's brand new. The only thing I don't like is the type of armor it accepts is just closed cell foam. But, I'm gonna try to find or make another armor (CE or Knox) fit. If worse comes to worse, I'll just double up on the padding. Anywho, here's a pic of the jacket:



I found a few other jackets I liked but I love the old school look of this jacket. Plus, it's got a certain MadMax/Cyberpunk look to it.

**EDIT**
I found a better set of armor from newenough.com that will double up the protection. Also, it's going to be a lovely 16degrees tomorrow, so no shop time. Next weekend, looks good, a little rainy but good. So maybe I'll be able to slap those new parts on and make more progress. Plus, I just
got a message from the seller on ebay. My jacket should go out today. Hopefully I'll be giving a full review by mid next week.


have a good one...

curse of the frankencycle

I hit CRC2 today to pick up some parts and the curse struck me again. My rear sprocket is a 33 tooth, not the standard 34. Plus, the mounting holes are much larger than what they should be and it's a smaller sprocket. So, Rob found something that matches up with a little mish-mashing. I'm not sure if it's going to work but we'll find out this weekend. So, in theory, I have a new front and rear sprocket, new (to me) coils, fuel line and a heavy duty (non o-ring) chain.

I'm hoping the weather this weekend is nice and that the damn outlet is working again at the shop. Kinda hard to use power tools when you don't have power. I can atleast get the sprockets installed and maybe get the wiring cleaned up. So far, things are coming along at a good pace. With any luck I'll get a good chunk of the work done Saturday. I still have misc things to buy like more electrical connectors, cotter pins and other bits. I need to bring my seat home and start cutting it down to a more cafe style seat. Think I'm gonna use the orginal pan and cut out the cheap thick foam. Then replace it with a nice closed cell foam to rest my scrawny ass on.

Since I didn't fiddle with my carbs too much, I'm hoping I won't have to sync them but I'll probably end up doing it anyway. That will be a learning experience. I found an electronic ignition for my bike, gonna set me be back about $190 but it will be worth every penny. Still need to get a helmet, jacket and these kick ass armored pants you wear under jeans. I'm probably just gonna ride in my dirty carharts, they should hold up a little better than jeans, plus the armor underneath.


back to work....

crashes, kids and parts

Accident video from a Rider's point of view. I'd like to think there would be some road justice if that happened to me. But in all reality, I'd be laying there doing the same thing.

It's ye olde Valentines Day. Tonight the RedQueen and I will be heading down town to Mikado for some tasty Japanese food. After that is .... well.... private.


I'm heading to CRC2 to pick up my sprockets and a few other odds and ends today at lunch. I want to get some hotter coils and a few other things but I'm going to wait until Weds. Spring is creeping in slowly. The birds are returning, high school kids are hiding behind my apt building smoking pot. I don't care about them smoking pot, just don't want them hiding in my fucking hallway rolling blunts, then smoking by my kitchen window. I hate the smell of pot. So, I did what any adult would do, I called the non-emergent police line. I was just gonna ask them to go someplace else but they're wanna be gangsters and I don't patience for that bullshit.

Anywho...breakfast time.

closer...closer....

Funkz and I hit the shop early on Saturday. It was a nippley 20something degress outside but the shop heaters worked well until the outlet crapped out. We worked until it got super cold, then it was time for lunch. I got the bar end mirrors mounted and also put on that ignition mount/fuse holder. The switch is about 1/2" smaller in diameter than the mount so I need to find a couple of washers to clamp it in to place. We pulled my front and rear sprockets, so I have to hit CRC2 on Tuesday. No luck with removing the chain, no power = no dremel = no chain cutting. I've looked over that chain atleast 3 or 4 times trying to find a master link but I think it's a press on style.

We got the wiring figured out for Funkz gravestone taillight. Looks pretty damn cool. I also got a nice little bag of misc tools from my Grandpa. I should be getting more soon. He gave me his 5" Littletown vise, some old Williams tools and a few other things I need like a punch set. I've decided to go with the Machinist route, probably through IUPUI. Now, I just need to start talking with enrollment staff about night school and the such.

I spent a good chunk of my tax return on furniture and other misc things for the new apartment. I'll post some pics once it's all set up. There's still enough $ leftover for bike parts and maybe a new leather or helmet. I'm trying to find a good leather that has Knox CE armor but won't cost me a crap load. I think I'm going with the Fieldsheer Duece II. It's a pretty plain old school jacket and has pockets for armor. I'm looking into the HJC AC-12 helmet. Seems to be a good lid with great features for a nice price. But I'm gonna wait until I can try it on before I order it. I spent about an hour reading up on helmets here . Definitly turned me away from a few brands like Icon for example. Anyway, gotta get to work.


adios

blah blah blah

So, I'm trying to decide what to do with myself about school and work. This debate seems to be going around right now. I want to go back to school but I don't know what I want to go for. I'd like to get some rough idea before applying. I've pondered everything from following in my Grandfather's footsteps and being a machinist to teaching (philosophy, science, ???) and even some forensics. But the problem is my wide range of interests. And (I know this is stupid) I almost feel like it's too late to start college. I know that's bullshit and I only feel that way because so much importance was placed on college in High School. Fuck, I'm only gonna turn 28 this year, I better figure something out. I know I don't want to be in IT/Telecom anymore. The people are generally boring and I seem to have lost my ability to seperate myself from work. Maybe the few cool jobs I've had in the past have ruined my work mindset. Don't get me wrong, I still show up and do my job but I just don't like it.

Screw all the non bike crap...

On to more important things. Tomorrow Funkz and I will be braving the 25degree weather to hit the shop and get more done. I plan on pulling the front and rear sprockets, drive chain and mounting that ignition cover. I might even extend that wiring if my fingers don't fall off first. I got outbid on that headlight bucket and now I can't find a decent one. I'm gonna wait until Cycle Recycle has one, maybe get all my stuff at once. My tax checks came through today but I'm gonna be dropping most of it on furniture for our new swank apartment. The RedQueen and I moved last weekend and it rocks. We're going to have Funkz take some black and white pics of our bikes and frame them. Plus RQ wants to find cool old school vintage pics (I want some boardtrack racing) to frame as well. Dammit I'm lucky to have a girl that loves vintage bikes.
I wish I had gotten into bikes much sooner in life but my grandparents would barely let me have a minibike with a tiny 3hp Tecumsah pullstart. If I had an earlier start, maybe I could have enough experience built up to start a shop. I'd love to just build up old bikes and sell 'em. But I like building rats and I doubt we'd sell very many of them. Indy is full of weekend warriors and replica racers.

1 point for UK Media

Click Me!

It's a damn shame we don't have commercials like this in the US. No one wants to drop that beer or sitcom ad.