Busy Week

 Its that time of year again when keeping up at work is almost impossible. My wife is on an extended weekend vacation to Florida so I've been putting in a few extra hours to try to help the situation. I may even go in today and spray a couple lawns. I guess I'm not the only one feeling rushed because yesterday I found our spray trailer with a crushed pallet under it. It must have been used to raise the trailer off the ball. I wonder if it collapsed when they unhooked the trailer or later on.

 So I have this gallon water cooler that gets filled with fresh water, ice and about a teaspoon of lemon juice. I take it to work every day and when I work in the shop it sits on my bench or tool box. For the longest time I thought someone was messing with me because I'd keep finding the lid open on it. I know I had been closing the lid but for a little while I thought maybe old timers disease was setting in. Yesterday the cooler was in the truck and so was I when I heard a pop and saw that the lid flew open.

 Why is pressure building in my cooler? I don't know if its the ice melting and the temp rising causing the pressure to rise or if it has something to do with the lemon juice but it will happen multiple times a day. Its annoying and I'm afraid I'll take a gulp sometime and swallow whatever insects decided to take shelter in there when I'm not looking. Small ants or maybe a ladybug I'm alright with but if its got a stinger or eight legs then I'd prefer not to drink it down. I may have to buy a new cooler.

 I told you last time about wanting to try my hand at painting real fire with an air brush. I know this is gonna turn out bad but I ordered some candy paint anyway and if I get some time I may even start practicing later today.

 Those three bottles on the left are actually a red, yellow and orange. Why they all look like brown is a mystery to me. Actually, everything about this painting exercise is a mystery to me. Oh, if you never hear from me again about painting flames then you know I crashed and burned.

Later.

Gloom, Despair And Agony On Me

 No this isn't an episode of Hee Haw but I'm a bit bummed out. Nothing serious, just struggling with my painting adventures. I've self taught myself a whole lot of things NOT to do and hoping I'll stumble upon the right way of approaching these projects without fouling it all up. I find myself making a mistake and then starting over. I'll get past the step where I made the mistake and then screw up some other step. I'll then start over and get those two right only to eff something else up. I do have to admit that I'm fine doing it this way rather than following some online instructions or reading a book. Hey, here's a rare financial tip from the Greasy Shop Rag. Buy stock in Rustoleum paints because they're experiencing a nice sales burst right now. Ace hardware is doing pretty good on sandpaper sales too.
 Lets start with the Sporty because its not half bad.

 It looks pretty decent in the shop but out in the sunlight I can see a few light scratches. Many of them will be hidden by the graphics I want to paint on here but and if history repeats itself I'll be sanding the whole damn thing down anyway.

 I think I posted a pic of the BSA tank looking kinda glossy. It had a few flaws in it and when I tried to wet sand them out I went through to the primer. That was a blessing anyway cuz I knew the whole thing could have looked better.

 I'm hoping I can pick up the process from here without having to sand it all the way down. I've had some funny reactions going on at times so its really a crap shoot. Here's a prime example on the sportster front fender:

 I had been giving some thought to the graphics for the sporty and decided it was time to get a tank mounted on my air brush compressor. On a recent resupply run for sandpaper I picked up and adapter that connects a propane tank to 1/4" pipe tread. This allowed me to tee a tank inline from the compressor to a regulator and then to the paint gun. It works much better but my skills in that type of painting are also lacking. I've been practicing on an old tank with piss poor results. Maybe I should just paint all my bikes with bed liner and wrap them in barbed wire. It worked for the Rat Turd.

  That's all for now. Hopefully next time we talk about paint it has something to do with waxing or polishing and not painting.

Later.

Front Wheel Bearing

  The wifes BMW had a noise coming from the front end and I suspected it may be a front wheel bearing. Last week I decided it was time to address this issue so I stopped at the parts store and picked up the highest quality bearing they had. Nothing but the best for honeys car. Being a 2011 car most of the bolts came apart quite easily, but when it came time to push the CV axle back out of the hub I ran into some stubbornness. I didn't have the puller I needed and kinda cobbled one together. It was a weak effort at making a puller and after moving the hub about 1/16" out of the bearing, the puller started to bend. This whole time there was some serious noise coming from the other side of the shop. A team of four were trying to remove the fifth wheel plate from a semi tractor and they were having more problems than I was. Pounding, grinding, torching, pounding, cussing, pounding, air hammers...the whole works. I was getting a headache from their noise and my frustration with the wheel bearing and decided to give up for the night. The problem was I needed to put all this crap back together to drive the car home. When I torqued the axle nut back down it wouldn't pull the bearing halves back together. There was now a considerable amount of play in that front wheel. Not dangerous play, but enough that I'd see tire wear if I kept driving it like that. Two days later on Friday I decided to revisit that stubborn bearing.

 The initial disassembly went fast. After all, I already knew which tools to grab and the sequence for disassembly. This time around I had Greg helping me and he came up with some improvements to my home made puller. Crank the puller tight, pound. Crank the puller tight, pound. It came out slow and half the bearing inner race was still on the hub but that would easily be removed with a grinder and a swift blow of a chisel. The remaining bearing would get pushed out in the press, then the new bearing pressed back in. There was a little dinking around but everything went together pretty good.
 Here's the real story. That wheel bearing was never bad. I (and a respected mechanic) heard the noise coming from the left front of the car. Turns out the differential is bolted to the left side of the engine so when its oil level dropped below the differentials output bearing and started making noise, I was fooled into thinking it could be a wheel bearing. Now it clearly also has gear whine that changes as you switch from power to coasting. That noisy session in the shop the first time around eventually revealed the truth. I was turning the wheel hub and could hear that it was noisy but couldn't pin point it. By the time the other half of the shop quieted down enough for me to find the real source of the noise, I had already pulled that hub a bit and started separating the bearing. I would have never done that if I had known there was almost no oil in the front differential. That'll make a noise every time. Kinda odd for a car that was just serviced at the dealership. Yes, I suppose I should have gone through the car better myself.
 I've been in contact with the dealer and although the short term warranty that came with the car is expired, they are willing to take a look at it. I have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow. I'm not sure how this is gonna end but I'll keep you posted.

Later.

Dropped The Ultra

 It seems nothing will get me into a pissier mood than dropping a bike. All the pecan pie and cold beer in the world won't help my attitude right now but I'm giving it a shot anyway.

 Of course I had to buy a bike that weighs as much as a medium sized elephant. When that pachyderm decides its time to lay down there ain't much I'm gonna do to stop it. Even when I was a young buck I don't think I'd have been able to keep that behemoth from tipping over. Here's where the bike was sitting:

 Well, actually it was closer to the Subaru. I was trying to roll the beast closer to the wall so I could move some crap out of that small room in the background. That stain on the floor isn't from tears, its an oil slick from my lawn mower. I really should fix that mower.
 I hate the kick stand on these Harleys. It has slop in it and will rock ahead but it always stops short of tipping forward. I get nervous every time it happens but the longer I've owned the bike, the more used to it I've become. Well guess what? I've become careless with that damn stand and this time it bit me in the ass. The bike rocked forward and tipped over. It happened fast and I couldn't stop it. The fairing rubbed along the bumper of the Subaru and settled to a stop as the handlebars came to full lock. The saddlebag guard was on the ground and I was standing on that oil slick stuck between the bike and car.
 They say that in these situations you get an adrenaline rush and have somewhat super human strength. I don't know who "they" are but I wish a few of them were here to help me lift the damn bike because my back was having none of it. I always figured that if I dropped this pig, er, elephant, that I wouldn't be able to right it. I turned around, grabbed a bar end and the seat backrest and tried to lift. Only because I was able to push against the Subaru with my legs was I able to accomplish the task. If I were alone in the wild you'd find me laying in a puddle of tears with a broke back.
 So now that the mammoth is upright and stable I nervously scan for damage. Right away I notice a long scuff in the fairing. I figure the scuff will buff out but then as I scan the surface of the paint with my trusty flashlight I notice a series of fractures in the plastic.

 Dem ain't gonna buff out. The weight of this mastodon was concentrated on that edge of the plastic fairing and it fractured. There's also a "chrome against concrete" scuff in the saddlebag protector. The fact that I had the air shocks set pretty low helped keep the bike from tipping farther to the side. I was too disgusted to look for more damage and headed into the house for the aforementioned beer and pie.
 I know it seems petty to get upset about a few blemishes on a bike. The thing is that this has happened on every damn bike I've owned and I was kinda proud of myself for not having tipped this one over yet. Now I find myself among the ranks of any other putz that has performed this act of stupidity. I need to find a silver lining and may have found a couple. If I go back and find more scratches then just maybe I can justify some sort of custom paint job. That would be cool. The other thing is that after a first scratch on a bike I've always kinda loosened up a bit with my riding attitude. You know like a little less "stick up the butt" proper riding and more "to hell with it, lets lay this biotch over and see what it'll do".
 Now I'm really looking forward to next spring.

Later.

Groundhog Day

 This past week had me stuck in a rut.  When asked "How ya doing?" I'd reply "Its Groundhog Day again". The difference between my week and Bill Murray's adventure is that I didn't try to create the perfect day. I just trudged through waiting for things to change.
 Well something is very different this morning. I woke at my usual time, 0-dark thirty, and noticed that it quickly got light outside. Thanks to the wonders of the modern smart phone there is no setting the clock back but only acknowledging that daylight saving time has ended. Something else is different. Today my wife and I are faced with a big unexpected financial burden. Last night we were on the interstate when the car engine killed. A lot of things go through your head when these things happen and I immediately realized a tow truck might be in my future. I was doing 70 (ish) in the left lane and needed to get to the right shoulder before I lost momentum. I know I pissed one guy off who probably thought I was just an a-hole cutting him off but shit happens and there was no left shoulder. Once safely on the shoulder and having answered all my wife's questions I made an attempt to restart the engine. The starter engaged and the motor spun but there was clearly no compression. I was pretty sure the timing belt checked out and there is no fixing that on the side of the road on a rainy Saturday night. Even if I had the tools and parts there is no fixing it. See this Subaru engine is an "interference" engine meaning if the timing belt is out of time there can be contact between the valves and piston. Based on the two loud bangs from under the hood and the feeling at one point that the drive train momentarily locked up I'd say there was not just contact but an all out brawl.

 Out of curiosity I popped the hood but there was nothing to see. I got back into the relative warmth of the car and my wife handed me the phone number for road service that she had found in the glove box. After a long conversation with the roadside assistance rep we came to an agreement as to where I was located. A tow truck should be to our aid in half an hour. We sat in the car being blown around by the wind blasts from big rigs and came to the conclusion that seat belts might be a good idea even though we weren't moving. About ten minutes into our adventure we had a state trooper pull up behind us and I was actually happy to have his reds blinding me through my rear view mirror. Our flashers weren't working and with just tail lights on a rainy night we were feeling a bit vulnerable. The trooper made the usual drivers license check but didn't even ask to see insurance papers after we explained that they had a truck in route already. He offered to hang out until we were off the hiway.

 If you don't know what your roadside assistance covers then maybe its a good time to check your policy. I found out mine covers the hook and ten miles. We were sixty miles from home so there would be some out of pocket expense. The towing service showed up when they said they would despite one more phone call and two text messages. They actually made a miserable situation somewhat palatable.

Safely back home but not under its own power.

 This was my wifes car. The plan was to run it till summer and then get her something else. I would run her hand-me-down car and we'd keep the truck for pulling the trailer and hauling shit. Right now I don't know what the new plan is. I can't walk away from a car I still owe money on but I don't know if its a good idea to stick big money into a high mileage car. I'd have to keep it forever because there would be no breaking even by selling it. If it were a bike I'd fix it no questions asked because I always plan on keeping every bike I buy even though I don't keep them.

 Right now I need to decide if we look for a temporary beater, a permanent replacement or something else that I'm not even considering. Until then my wife will have to drop me off at work in the morning and then drive my barbaric pickup truck the rest of her way to work. It just occurred to me that if it snows and I need to leave at an odd hour, she's stranded. 

 I think I preferred the humdrum boring week I was stuck in.

Later.

PMCS

 Preventive maintenance checks and services. That is (or at least was) a term used by our military to describe regular equipment maintenance. In motorcycle circles you may hear the term "pre-ride check list" or something similar. You would think that someone that has served 21 years in a National Guard mechanized infantry unit, works as a mechanic and has rode bikes all his life would grasp the concept of making sure his equipment was ready for service. While I do understand the importance of pre-op checks there are some days when "Did the bike start?" Is the only check made.
This last week I rode the sportster to work. I can strap my cooler to the sissy bar and carry a few essentials in a bacpac. I can't stop for carry out dinner on the way home or stop to buy auto parts to keep my old dodge running but I can enjoy the freedom of a lighter bike with no wind shield. I also enjoy the top gear roll on power of the big bore twin. During one particularly energetic dash around some slower cages I almost had an incident and it was due to lack of maintenance. Really no big deal but the left grip came almost all the way off the bar at a bad time. I noticed it in time and made the appropriate corrections but the point is that it never should have happened. After work that day I decided to look the bike over before riding home. Besides gluing the grip on, I wanted to check why the bike was handling like a boat on a river. Turns out the front tire had 9 pounds of air in it. That's inexcusable and I'm ashamed to admit it. As long as I was on a roll I decided to look into why the headlight was shining 'coon on one side and lighting up the ditch on the other. Sure enough, the sealed beam rotated in the housing. This is a condition not easily remedied due to the housing having cracks in it. As I was looking the bike over a coworker noticed that the one and only bolt holding the gas tank on was missing its nut. It's not like the tank would fall off but I put a nut on that bolt anyway.

 So what does this all mean? The riding season is winding down for that bike. The mornings will be getting colder and I'll want to sit behind the protection of the Ultras fairing and keep warm with the heated grips and seat. Today I'll make a check list of what needs to happen to the sporty over the winter to bring it back up to safe standards. 

 I also want to move some things around in my small heated shop and see if there is any possibility of having two bikes torn apart in here. The shop has been terribly neglected this summer...as it should be during warm riding weather in a state with a limited riding season.

Later.

Watson Street Cycle Show

 Yesterday there was a car and bike show in Ripon and I decided to enter the Rat Turd like I have for the last few years. If you follow this blog then you know that bike has some running issues and I'm here to tell you it still does. I left home at 630am with the intent of registering the bike at the show and then walking to work. That all happened but the 20 mile ride was extended a bit when I turned off the hiway and headed for back roads due to loss of power. If I keep it under 45 it seems I can ride all day but above that I'm screwed. I first thought my jetting was wonky, then thought my fuel delivery lines were restricted. I know its not a tank vent issue. Now I'm thinking maybe the diaphragm/slide/needle of one or more of the cv carbs is the culprit. Anyway, I made it there and back with no points for speed but a passing grade on style.
 It was a typical turnout for this show with some new blood in the mix. One of my (and many others) favorite bikes was this contraption:

Here are a few other random bikes from the show:

And of course my favorite:

 Next week is the show in Green Lake. I'll be there, will you?

Scott

Doubt

 I last reported that I was gonna look into the fuel system on the Rat Turd because it was running like crap. Imagine a turd running like crap. Anyway, I had previously used some JB Weld to seal some fuel tubes on the bank of four carbs.

Because the engine seemed to be starving for fuel I was concerned I may have gotten carried away with the epoxy and created a restriction. A closer look here shows excess epoxy squeezed out of the tube.

 It took a lot to break the epoxy bond. It involved a vise, hammer and a lot of twisting force. Once apart I discovered that everything was as it should be. My assembly method with the epoxy was spot on. Too bad because now I am back to not knowing where the running problem is. The tank vent and fuel petcock were next on the list to check.

 Pour some gas in, watch it flow out. No obstructions in the tank and no problem with flow.

 So what have I accomplished here? I felt I had to check this off the list before I moved on. If I had confidence in my ability to successfully complete the initial repair then I could have saved a lot of time by not tearing this all apart. Maybe that kind of confidence is really just stubbornness and an unwillingness of a person to admit they are capable of making a mistake? So far my only mistake was doubting my first repair and that brings me full circle to where I started. Lucky for me the only thing this cost me was some wrenching time which I don't mind at all. In fact I enjoy the challenge of figuring out my running issues without just throwing money at the problem.
 I think the next step will be to revisit some wiring issues I had back in October of 2013 when the bike gave me grief while running the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Later.

Workshop Wednesday-Fail, Fail, Fail...Nailed it!

 It's Wednesday. I leave for vacation on Saturday. That means I need to make it three more days without driving myself nuts or screwing up and getting hurt at work. Odds are I'll be fine but shit happens and the fact that I can't control it makes me uneasy.
 There are a bunch of repairs sitting on the incoming shelf and the in-progress shelf is full. I think I have enough time to get all these jobs done unless there are parts to be ordered. Then again, if things go like they did yesterday, I may not get them all looked at. Sometimes it seems it doesn't even pay to get out of bed in the morning...

 Replacing this muffler should have been as simple as turning out four bolts and making the swap. Not. One screw came out normally. The rest had to have a nut welded to the head and be turned out that way. One was kinda hidden and required "modifying" the old muffler. I hate working on concrete saws. There's never a simple fix on these machines that run in the worst possible conditions.
 Some repairs aren't repairs at all. Many times I find the problem and determine repairs would exceed replacement cost. In this case a new crankshaft assembly, gaskets and labor are needed. Plus, we still need to find the fuel problem that hydro locked the engine. By the time I'm done the cost is close to buying a new one with a warranty.  Dumpster filler.

  Other times you think the situation is under control only to find things are fouled up beyond your wildest imagination. I instructed one guy how I wanted some simple landscaping done. He was to grab a couple more guys to help. When I went out a little later to check on them, this is what I found...

One tractor stuck in the retention pond and eight guys scratching their heads trying to get it out. Of course moments after this pic was taken, the boss rolled up and saw the whole thing.

 The good news is that the day has to come to an end sometime. The best radio in the house is the one on the Ultra so sometimes I find myself winding down with a cool one while sitting on the bike...and no, I don't make vroom vroom noises.

Later.

Flags, Fish and Fresh Oil

 Last weekend my wife and I were on a ride and it was pretty hot outside. Not "yea it's warm lets go for a ride" hot, but "crap its hot, pull over and find some shade" kinda hot. We found a park and used the rest rooms, looked at some ducks and stretched our legs. Unrelated to the story but something I had never seen before, was that this small city had their own flag. The US flag was on a pole elevated higher than the state flag which was on a pole next to it and then their city flag same level as the state flag on its own pole. This may be common but after 54 years it's the first time I've ever seen a city flag. Anyway, I usually do a walk around of the bike in these situations to look for problems and sure enough I found one.

This pic has nothing to do with this story but don't you just want
 to grab that fish and push that eyeball in till the two eyes are even sized.
Every muscle in my body was telling me to snatch him out of there and fix
 his bulgy eye problem. Stupid fish.

It appeared my two year old Harley had an oil leak. At first glance it looked like the front push rod base was seeping oil.

 Closer inspection of the oil patterns ruled this out and sometimes you have to back up and look at the whole picture.

 Right above this oily mess is the air filter. It has a rain sock on it in this pic.

 I swiped my hand under the filter and got a big dose of engine oil. Warm temps combined with my habit of hugging the full mark on the dipstick created this mess. I'll clean it up and wash the filter and should be good to go for a while.

  Back to the fish. Is this normal for this fish to have one big eye? None of the other fish looked like they needed their face clamped in a vise to straighten out their appearance. Maybe he got into a fight with another fish and took a fin to the face. Maybe he was doing laps, high sided and hit the wall. All the other fish were quite active but popeye here just kinda stared at the side of the tank. It's like he wanted me to pick him up and help him. I may have to go back and investigate in a few weeks. Do you think the staff at the restaurant will be suspicious if they see me walk in with a small net and a C clamp?

Later.

Hot Hot Hot

 BLAMO! Just like that summer weather has arrived. Already the lawns are getting a brown tint and are a bit crispy with the lack of rain. Temps have been in the upper 80s and will remain that way for a week they say. It is 77 degrees already this morning with highs predicted near 90. I know that seems fine to most of you but for me that is too hot. Yes, I whine when its too cold or too wet and now when its too hot. Guess what else I have to whine about. Yesterday it was too windy. The wind made the heat bearable but it also cost me a pair of my favorite sunglasses. I was riding along minding my own business and just started across a bridge when an updraft or some kind of weird wind hit me from down low, went up my chest and pulled the glasses right off my face. It was like an invisible hand just yanked them off my head. I reached out for them in a quick panic type reaction but I was too late. I watched as they flew over the guard rail and ultimately into the Wisconsin river.

 On the topic of things that don't happen too often, mine wasn't the only bike parked at the shop yesterday. Al finally got the needed battery for his Buzz Lightyear bike and rode it in Saturday. Of the other two people at work that ride, one has a broken leg and won't be on a bike for a while and I'm not sure what the story is with the other. I know he has been riding, just not to work.
 Today we will ride down to Madison to visit our daughter. My wife was with her Friday and Saturday when she went in for back surgery. We'll visit with her again today to see how she is doing.

Later.

Spring

 Update on the spray booth. Progress is slow but ideas and procuring materials is still alive. I was working on the Jet air filtration system mentioned in the last post. I had it sitting on a plastic garbage can in the shop when I gave up on it for the night. When I came out the next morning I discovered the unit had fallen off the can and ruined a 32" lcd tv that was sitting near it. Seems when the shop furnace kicked on it blew heat directly on the plastic can and allowed it to collapse under the weight of the filtration unit. I don't have a time machine so I'll just have to get over it.
 Today I am going to pick up a sliding door for the paint booth. I know nothing about the door but the price seemed right so why not. Yesterday I tried to remove the old air conditioner from the shop wall. It has to come out so I can use the hole for a vent. It's glued in and wont budge. Gonna need a sawzall but I don't own one. I do have an ax, sledge hammer and hi-lift jack so I'm confident I'll get that sucker out of there.
 After raking the beds around the house yesterday, I got the sportster out and went for a ride. Felt good. The bike does need some attention. The amount of rattling from loose or broken pieces ready to fall off overcomes the sound of the exhaust. That's a lot of rattling.
 In other news, We're gonna cut the cable. I ordered an Amazon Fire Stick and have been using it for a few days now. There's a lot of stuff to watch but with no guide to see whats playing, it can be frustrating. I'm sure we'll figure it out. The remote that comes with the firestick has voice activation. Her name is Alexa and she aint too bright or maybe I'm just not asking her nice enough but getting acceptable results from her is frustrating at times. At one point I wanted to throw the remote at the tv but instead gave her the command to "self destruct". This is what her reply was:

 She's a freakin comedian.

Later.

Puter Problems

 It may not look any different from your view but from here things are fresh, clean, vivid and exciting. What am I talking about? I bought a new laptop. I'm not excited about having to make the purchase but there is something exciting about unboxing a new gizmo and getting that first whiff of new plastic. That smell means to me that nobody else has screwed things up yet and that task is fully on my shoulders. I don't necessarily like the smell of plastic but it's better than the smell of rotting food crumbs jammed in the cracks of a keyboard or whatever residue the cats leave behind when they rub their junk on my monitor.

 I was feverishly trying to get my old laptop up and running again when my wife made me an offer. Get rid of all the old computer crap laying around and buy yourself something new.  This did kinda fit into the spring cleaning theme going on around here so I took her up on the deal.
 Normally I would research the shit out of a new puter purchase but this time I did something different. I went on amazon, looked for a "best buy" with high ratings, made sure it had some minimum capabilities I needed and added it to my cart. Done. Three days later its waiting for me at home.

 Back in the day when you bought a new computer it came with an assload of paperwork. Directions, warranty cards and owners manuals and other trash can filler for every piece screwed to the motherboard. This laptop had two pieces of paper and one of them was just a screen protector. The other was a quick start guide that basically said I should plug the laptop into a power source before turning it on. Alrighty then.

 So I'm back online with my new shop computer. It won't help make this blog any better or your experience here worthwhile but it should keep me happy.

Later.

Another Back Blade Update

 The GoPro camera that I monster trucked while trying to get some Back Blade footage has been replaced with a Gopro Hero 5 Black edition. This camera is a bit different than the version I had before. There is now a video touch screen that makes changing settings a breeze and allows for instant playback. I'm not sure if the case/mount is as nice but it hasn't failed yet so I shouldn't complain.
 I put together some footage to show what the back blade can do. You'll notice in some of the scenes that the blade has down pressure and can really lift that hard packed snow without gouging the gravel lot. Well, check it out for yourself...

 I wanted to get a few more angles and a full width view in daylight but when I got to work I discovered that wouldn't be possible.

 It seems the night shift had an encounter with an immovable object. The outer edge of the wing took a direct hit that made it buckle. This was the only way it could have bent without busting the shear bolt. Shit happens and we'll fix it. The good news is that my welds on the plow mount all held. Gotta be happy about that.
 Does this change the way I feel about these back blades? Hell no. That wing is built heavy enough for what it was intended to do. If it were stronger the rest of the plow mount may have bent.
 The other day when it snowed throughout the day it was my mission to keep a certain large factory clear of snow and ice so trucks and forklifts could keep moving and employees could safely get in and out of the lots. When I've done this in the past with just a front blade I always struggled to keep up. Not with the back blade. The wider path and down pressure to scrape cleaner make a big difference.
 I know this blade isn't for everyone. I don't do residential drives on my route but I can see how the down pressure would be helpful. Then again you can add down pressure to some front blades. In fact the kit came in to convert my front blade to have down pressure. This will help in certain back dragging situations for sure. I look at it like this. If you have a toolbox, you don't just put a leatherman in the top drawer and hope for the best. You fill the box with tools you may need for different jobs. A full box doesn't make a professional but a professional doesn't just carry a leatherman.

Later.

Bearings, Bolts and Gremlins

 The last time we talked about the BSA I was complaining that I lost the bearings for the clutch basket. Twenty of the little suckers and I figured I had lost them during disassembly a few decades ago. I ordered new ones and have that side of the engine buttoned up now. I used new allen head bolts in place of the buggered up phillips head screws that were in there.

 So I figure the next step is to put the engine in the frame because it's already too heavy for me to lift and set in there without damaging the frame paint. I laid the engine on its side and planned on setting the frame over it.

Simple, right? Just grab the engine bolts...now where did I put those bolts? They must be nearby because I only separated the engine and frame a few years ago. I searched for a while and guess what I found?

 Twenty clutch bearings lightly oiled in a sealed container. Good for me to have packed them this way and marked the container. Now why couldn't I find them before I ordered new ones? Sigh. Where are my motor mount bolts? I swear if I buy new bolts and then find the old ones I'm gonna be real pissy.

 I think I'm gonna go on an all out cleaning mission in my shop. I'll touch everything. Some stuff will be put away and a lot will be tossed in the garbage. I think if I touch it I'll remember that it hit file 13 and then I won't spend hours searching for something that isn't there. We'll see how it goes when it comes time to actually throw the stuff away.

Later.

GoPro Tough!

 I told you about the Ebling back blade we put on my plow truck at work. My goal was to get some footage of this blade in action and put it on our company web page. Sometimes things work out as planned and sometimes they go to crap. The first video recorded just fine. Here is the second video I took. There is nothing wrong with your video, there are a few blank pauses in the clip.

 I ended the video "gopro tough" but the fact of the matter is the camera is shot. I'm sure the designers didn't plan on their product being monster trucked numerous times by a Ford F550 with two blades and a couple tons of salt on board, but it actually held up better than it should have. The camera powers up but the display is half blank, half burnt. That means I can't change any settings. I thought maybe I could connect via the remote app on my phone but the camera no longer syncs with it or with the smart remote. And, the real killer, the camera gets suspiciously warm as soon as I put the battery in it. Yikes! Rest in peace (pieces) GoPro.

Later.

No Bearing

 I got to workin on the BSA last weekend and thought I was making some progress.

 I found a bunch of parts that all looked like they belonged together and so I cleaned them up and started assembly. It soon became obvious I was missing something. A close inspection of the above pic will make it clear whats missing.
 I'll make it easier for you.

 I'm missing 20 bearings that should be supporting the clutch basket. I can't find them anywhere but I'll make one more lap around the shop just to be sure. I took this apart some time in the 1990's and I don't remember the disassembly in detail but I can see that it would be easy to pull this apart and have the bearings all hit the ground. What I may have done with them if I even found them all is uncertain.
 For now the plan is to take a look at what other parts I may need to finish assembly of the engine before I place an order for old Brit parts.
 I suppose I could move on to other parts of the bike assembly. I'll keep you posted.

Later.

Snow

 Unless you've been hiding in a warm room with no windows or access to media, you're aware of the cold blast and snow that just hit us. I've been plowing snow for what feels like forever. I just did the math and "forever" is 25 hours in the truck for Friday and Saturday. We rotated shifts so we could be on the job around the clock and that worked out pretty good. In the past we had times where we tried to push right through and that left everybody wasted for a whole day afterwards. With only seven hours of sleep in the last two nights I feel fine. I hear some of you don't get much more sleep than that anyway with your weak bladders and fears of what the stock market will do.

 This was my view for quite a few hours. Pulling loading docks. Drag snow out, back in and salt, repeat. Keeping a factory moving during snow storms isn't like keeping a gas station open. If some dick head in a rusty chevy gets a wet foot cuz the pumps weren't clear then he gets pissy. There's a special kinda of pissy that comes if you're paying hundreds of factory workers to wait around while truck tires spin for traction trying to move trailers.
 I had a broken a tranny line. Had to dump some oil in to get back to shop for the repair. We had a big tractor get stuck in a retention pond. Another truck had a seized brake caliper. Pretty much a normal snow event. Stuff happens and this was all fixable. On a good note, the mystery electrical problem in the wheel loader was cured with our last repair effort.
 I need to wrap this up and go snow blow my own driveway. It's nine below zero out there. Brrr.

Later.

No Political Content

 I have a problem staying organized at work. My area looks like a bomb went off because right now there are no less than twenty chainsaws and other handheld pieces of equipment in various stages of disrepair. Most of them are waiting on parts.

 It's really not a problem from an organizational point of view. No parts are getting mixed up between units. My real problem is when people see this mess they think they can just grab stuff off my bench and not return it, as if I don't care or won't miss it. Guess what? I know it's missing. If I have to get a new can of carb clean every other day then I know someone is taking it. In an effort to figure out if the culprit was gremlins or coworkers, I started marking the bottom of cans with an "S" so I could track them. Guess what? I found those cans everywhere. And just because it's only ten feet away doesn't make it ok. Put the shit back where you found it! My stuff is closest to the tire machine and I always find a side cutter and various tools used as pry bars laying over there. Put the shit back! It's not ok that I have to waste time looking for my own stuff.

 The can on the right is one of my marked cans. After it was discovered that I was tracking these things, I've noticed a lot of other marked cans.
 I don't know what to do. When I was super organized it just made it easier for people to borrow my tools. On the other hand it was easier for me to see when something was missing. I'm not the only one in the shop with organizational issues. Check this guys bench out.

 He would tell you these are just the "frequently used" tools and it is a waste of time to put them back in the box. I'm not gonna argue with that because I do the same thing. The funny thing is I bet you could take him out of the room and he could tell you every single tool on that lift without looking at it... except for the ones some ass bag borrowed.

Later.

Never Forget

 Wednesday I told you about my desire to paint the sporty and enter it in todays bike show. I know its not a show bike but so what. Run what ya brung.
 I was gonna just repaint the bike black but ran into a few issues. In fact I got quite frustrated in my efforts. When asked how the painting project was going, these are the words that came out of my mouth...
 Have you ever walked through the woods in the dark and have your flashlight puke out? A few steps further a tree branch slaps you in the face and then you fall into a deep hole. You struggle but can't get out of the hole. After many attempts you just accept the fact that you will play out your days in this hole. That is how my painting project was going.
 But then I heard a voice. It was my wife and she encouraged me. Of course by then I had already lost my cool and sprayed the entire tank in gold glitter as a protest. So now what? The show is days away and the bike I want to take is painted like a cheap piece of costume jewelry. I said screw it and decided to just free style the paint job. With the eagle sissy bar it was easy to come up with a patriotic theme and just start squirting paint. It's definitely a forty foot paint job. Any closer and it looks like ass but I had fun with it and it gave me some ideas for a paint job I would ultimately like to do on this bike...when I have more time.

 Ya, its more of a 3rd grade art project but its on there and its dry.

 Because I spent so much time dickin around with the tank paint, I didn't get a whole lot else done. The eagle is back on after cutting off the whole lower section of the old rack system. The rear fender was chopped flush and the front fender got a splash of color. I also relocated the plate and wrapped the pipes. I think the wrap looks good but the real reason for doing it can be seen by the holes in my riding pants and two pair of work pants.
 So if you are looking for something to do today, why not come to Green Lake and check out the bike show. I'll be there.

Later.