Tunnel Vision

 This year we decided to put a bigger salter on my plow truck. Instead of leaving the flat bed on the truck, we remove it and bolt the salter directly to the frame rails. This allows for better vision of the back blade and also saves the aluminum bed from corrosion. Speaking of corrosion, any spilled salt lands on the fuel tank, drive shaft and frame rails. Despite being undercoated, this could lead to rust issues. For that reason we decided to dress things up a bit and prevent spilled salt from getting there.

 We had Ripon Truck Repair bend a piece of steel for our tunnel. This was a job worth farming out. We just don't have the equipment to bend such a piece and they were able to do it the same day and to our exact specs.

 Mocking things up. Yes, that salter is freakin huge. The F550 will handle it but it still looks huge. In fact the only problem I foresee is whether or not our skid loader will be able to dump into it.

 The rear valance. I have it bolted on so it can be easily removed to service the multitude of wires and connectors back there. The holes are for a trailer plug, flatbed lighting plug, back blade control plug, back blade power, and salter wiring to include a vibrator, strobe lighting and a camera. Last year all these wires were just zip tied to the frame and it was an ugly mess but it was worth it. We learned a lot about the back blade and fitting a salter to work with it. So much so that this year we tooled up another truck with that combo.

 Ya theres a lot going on back here. Another issue we addressed was the fuel filler. We had some problems with slow filling and decided to fix that by creating a new permanent mounting spot for the hose. Last year it was pretty long and we just used a bungee cord to secure it. You can kinda see it under the license plate.

 This is so much cleaner looking than last year. As a selling dealer for the salter and back blade, this project is something that can be justified not only for function but what is possible for custom applications.

 I'm anxious for some snow so I can get back behind the wheel of this rig. I like plowing and this truck with its 11 foot front blade and 16 foot back blade is a treat to use. The extra size of this salter allows me to carry twice the volume of salt which equals less trips back to the shop to refill.

 I did something different on this project. I didn't over analyze every decision and just went with the flow. I accepted things without thinking about the outcome. That experiment failed and I'm going back to my old ways. The few minutes I usually spend looking off into space is a lot less time than having to redo something because I wasn't looking at the whole picture. Thinking is working and just because it looks like I'm on break doesn't mean I'm not actually saving time and money. That wasn't aimed at anyone, its just the way I feel. Something else done different on this one was that I had a lot of help. Not in decision making but in the physical labor. Having the young guys crawling under the truck and doing the heavy lifting, welding and cutting was much appreciated.

Later.

Ultra Handlebar Swap

 Sometimes I like to ride "tank to tank". What I mean is I like to run till I need fuel and those fuel stops are the only stops. The only way to do this is to be comfortable on the bike and my Ultra had me reaching for the bars. Lucky for me The Motor Company offers a bar with a little less reach and I bought a set last winter. I knew the swap was going to be quite involved and I only recently decided to take it on.

Because the bar riser bolts are under the fairing, a lot of stuff had to come apart to get at them.

 After removing the front of the fairing and unbolting and rocking the rest of the fairing forward, I was able to remove the bars.

 Wires everywhere! Wires inside the bar and wires on the outside. Actually when you think about all the functions this doesn't seem that bad. Heated grips, radio, cb, turn signals, start, kill, high beam, throttle by wire, volume, etc. The rest of the swap was uneventful. I hope I tightened the bars down in a favorable location because I really don't want to have to take a bunch of stuff apart to make an adjustment. I won't know till we get some decent rain, The roads are STILL salt covered.
 I also added some more led lighting, this time to the top of the fairing under the windshield.

 Those orange lights stay illuminated with the other marker lights. The only difference is that the two end sets of lights on each side flash with the turn signals. I like the way they look, even when they are not lit up. The fairing has a groove where these are mounted and looks like something is missing. I have to wonder if they design these bikes with pieces like this as part of the original design and then just remove them and offer as add-ons or if a design team comes up with this stuff after the fact. To me they just look like they belong on this touring rig.

Later.

Who's Knockin At My Door?

 Ding dong. What the heck? Who's ringing my bell? That bell rings less than once a month, probably cuz I don't play well with others. Anyway I get up out of my lazyboy and find the neighbor standing outside my door along with some dude. This dude was dressed in such a way that he was obviously a biker. I stood there all cleaned up in a dress shirt not looking at all like a grease monkey.
 " You fixed my 30 year old snow blower once. Do you think you could help this guy with his bike?"
 "Certainly. Let's see what you've got."
 The bike was a big twin with points. The electric start was out but it was also a kicker. The concern was that the oil pressure light wasn't coming on when the ignition was flipped on. The bike wouldn't start.
 We'll call him "Rick". Not because I want to protect his identity, no, we'll call him Rick cuz if I remember right that was his name. Rick says he only has twenty miles on a fresh rebuild and I can see there are a few wires hanging out. I know exactly what's going on here cuz I've been there. The project isn't done but the excitement to ride out weighs everything else and you slap it together enough to ride into town. That's cool.
 We're working in the street and it's getting dark. I walk back to get some tools, my glasses and a flashlight. The neighbor supplies some bug dope. After 20 minutes of tossing ideas back and forth along with some inconsistent results with a test light, we determined there must be a bad ground. Sure enough the negative battery cable was loose.
 One or two kicks later and the v-twin roared to life. Rick rode off to enjoy his fresh project. I strolled back into the house and flopped down in my big comfy chair and the neighbor did whatever neighbors do.
 If the doorbell ever rings again I prefer it to be something like this rather than someone shoving their wares or political ideas in my face.

End.

Story Board

Here is my sporty. A fun machine by any standard. This is where it died.

This is the trailer I used to get it home. The efforts I made installing all that E-track really paid off. It was a breeze loading and hauling the bike home.

Here is a rats nest of wires. In this mess is the reason for the failure. I suspect a 26 year old circuit breaker is the culprit.

Oops! Even Busch Light deserves to be treated better than this. No problem. There's a lot more where that one came from!

 The bike isn't fixed yet. I had to pick up some breakers the next day and then I got side tracked...like buying a new bike.
 Lets see. The Rat Turd needs a fuel tank. The sporty needs this repair. And now my daughter wants to learn to ride. She thinks she's getting the sporty but what she really needs is something lighter to learn on. I've replied to a few craigslist ads but haven't found the right bike for her yet. Let me know if you hear of a cheap 250-400cc starter bike in central Wisconsin.






Discoveries

 My little workshop has one lift and enough room to work all the way around it. Because I stripped the BSA down to nothing but a bare frame, it was easy to make the decision to remove it from the lift and put the Rat Turd up there. This in no way halts the very slow but present progress on the BSA.

 The Rat Turd (Doesn't it seem weird that I'm capitalizing rat turd?) is a fun bike to work on because anything goes. More details can be found here. If I want to try something new I'll just weld it on. If I hate it I'll cut and grind it off. It's not like I'm gonna wreck the bike!
 I noticed a small spot of oil under the bike and decided to investigate. When I pulled the left engine side cover I immediately noticed the answer to an unrelated problem I was having. Do you see it?

 Unless you are able to zoom in and study the pic you may not be able to see it. I'll zoom in for you.

 It seems last time I replaced this cover there was a gremlin hiding in here and he must have pushed that green wire to a spot where it would get pinched. This explains the intermittent side stand switch problems.
 Following the wire harness led to another discovery...

 I heard an odd sound coming from behind the side cover.

 When opened, I realized I needed more power to get the 1.21 gigawatts needed to move forward on this project!
 Yes I know this is lame so just r-e-l-a-x.  I was in the phone app store and saw this flux capacitor and loaded it on an old phone.  I've been in a funk lately with the bikes and am having a hard time turning ideas into hard results. On the plus side I did come up with an idea for a hand shifter that will allow me to keep my left foot on the highway peg when I just need to grab a gear or two. I have some lawn mower parts that will be just right for the job.

 We finally got some precipitation and I am about to go to work and relocate some snow. Have a great new year!

Random Thoughts

   I saw a poster for a charity walk to help find a cure for alzheimers disease. I forgot the date and missed the event. Instead I spent saturday afternoon working on the sportster. Things were getting frustrating trying to remove the rear wheel bearing races. I started getting a bit side-tracked. Between the lights and wiring, clutch, primary cover and a bunch of other details, I was feeling overwhelmed.

 I decided to put my feet up and just reflect on what I had going on here. This ain't no show bike. Its a daily rider that has to be reliable. I don't have a puller that will yank the rear wheel bearing races so that will have to wait for now. Maybe a little heat will help get those races out. This got me thinking about heat, why do people call them hot water heaters? If the water was hot, it wouldn't need to be heated.

 The best way for me to clear my head is to go for a ride. I threw a leg over the Rat Turd and flew away. The circus is in town. I drove past the entrance and a sign said "Fair Parking".  I wanted the good parking but was never able to find it. Are they trying to keep it a secret? Put up a nice big sign for all levels of parking.

I headed back home refreshed from my ride but sadly couldn't stay focused.

End.

Workshop Wednesday-Crappy Day

 If you don't like whining then move your cursor up to the corner by that X and opt out cuz I had a crappy day.
 Even though I didn't know it at the time, I forgot to post this blog. I post every sunday and wednesday morning. I'm sure it would have been something wonderful, witty and enlightening.
 My windscreen on the Rat Turd was full of bug carcasses so I decided to clean it. Whatever I used looked fine at the time but once I got on the road and had to look through it, it was terrible. The ride into the sun for twenty miles sucked.
 I picked up my morning quart of orange juice but they were out of chocolate chip muffins. No biggie, its not much out of my way to get them somewhere else.
 Everything went wrong at work. I'm pretty sure that even though I didn't directly mess anything up, I didn't make the company any money today. I should have known when the first saw repair of the day was so old it still had points and condensor that the day would suck. Intermittent electrical issues were the tone of the day which was actually a better sound than the country music playing in the background.
 One machine wouldn't run right and kept killing. After an hour of diagnosing it turned out the owner had installed a non-resistor spark plug. In some cases this really makes a difference. I assumed the plug that was in it was correct but it wasn't.
 A machine that I had worked on this spring when we were super busy came back yesterday. The first time around I had battery voltage at the regulator but it wasn't charging. I put a regulator on it and it started charging like it should. Full stop. Bill
'em. NEXT. Wrong. Yesterday Greg and I were looking at it and to make a long story short, there was an intermittent connection at the fuse block. Greg fixed it and the machine works again. I decided that I need to slow down and take a few extra minutes looking over equipment when I work on it. I also need to take some of my own advice and always ask "why?" The biggest waste of time can be fixing something thats just the result of something else thats broke.
 Listen to me whine. Poor me. I rode my motorcycle to a job. Couldn't get the right flavor muffins. Didn't get yelled at for screwing up. Rode back to a house and flipped open a laptop to post a blog.

 I hate soap opera crap. There are people out there with real problems that get by every day without crying about it. Take a close look at your life and decide if you really have it tough or maybe just a few simple different decisions could make it better. Help yourself rather than waiting for help.

 OK, here's what I learned today.
1- Don't make assumptions. If you do, accept the consequences of having made a mistake.
2- Slow down. an extra few minutes aren't gonna matter. Its better to be slow and consistent than being fast but having to do it twice.
3- Ask yourself "why?" Often times you will find the root of the problem and save time in the long run.

END

Wired

 Saturday I was able to spend the day in my little workshop working on the sportster. I wanted to get started on this mess...

 The module on the frame backbone to the left is a Badlands Auto Turn Signal Flasher. The module on the right is a converter for the rear tail lights. It allows me to run the combination brake/turn signal tail lights rather than the stock separate turn signals that came from the Motor Company.
 The modules are wired in and everything works the way it should. I haven't finished the wiring cleanup yet because I need to order a front brake light switch and that comes with long leads that will have to be wired in near the steering neck.

 I mounted the 5 3/4" headlight with its 100/80 watt bulb. I had been looking for the right material to make some bushings but everything at the hardware stores was thin wall tubing. I wanted something with a little more beef to it.

 I found what I was looking for at work when Greg was repairing an extending pole saw. This saw telescopes in and out and has about three different sized aluminum tubes in it. All of them are thick wall tubing. Score! Rescued even before it hit the dumpster! There are a few other places on the bike where I can use this tubing.


 I need to make a trip to the hardware store and pick up a new soldering iron tip.

 The tip broke before I was finished for the day. I found that if I kinda got the ends to touch I was able to get it warm enough to melt the solder. Then I just kept a puddle going where the break was. Ya, I know but you do what you got to do to get by.

In other wiring related news, today I'm going to wire in my new voltage regulator. Its actually a regulator that belongs on this bike. The one on there now was installed as temporary repair.

 I'm looking forward to making this a gremlin-free zone. Too many wires and some aren't even hooked up to anything. Hey, it worked in a pinch and I'd do it again but its time to get this cleaned up. This is one area where the factory look will do just fine.