Thinking About Daytona

 Tens years ago I vacationed in Florida during Daytona bike week with a couple friends. We trailered the bikes from Wisconsin to the northern part of Florida where we abandoned the truck for the week.

 It was nice to go from the crappy snow weather to warm ridable weather. Seeing the ocean and watching the waves roll in can be mesmerizing. The only waves we saw back home were when we scooped the ice chips out of a freshly drilled fishing hole. There was one cooler morning but still 50 degrees warmer than the temps back home.

 We did all the touristy stuff including the space center and of course we went to the speedway. If it had a motor, no matter how big or how small, I had to check it out.

 We ventured as far south as we could without a boat. After a few days in the Keys we headed back north to the waiting truck and trailer. It sucked to have to return to the ice and snow after such warmth. I don't know, I mean I do like the winter but not the arctic blast we've had this year.
 The bikes held up well which really isn't surprising because we spent some time going through them. A breakdown can be fun if its repairable on the spot but can ruin a vacation if the bike needs parts.
 The only real problem we had was when we stopped somewhere in Kentucky and peaked in the trailer to check the bikes. My Ape was tipped over and bouncing against the trailer wall. Ya it turned an absolutely perfect bike into a used scratched up bike but it could have been worse. If it would have tipped the other way it would have been bouncing against Jeffs Harley. Now that would have sucked.

Workshop Wednesday-A Hint of Spring

 I'm in my little workshop trying to get things organized.  A long winter means I will have spent a lot of time in here and there are remnants of projects laying everywhere. Its easy to clean up but its also easy to save crap "just in case" I need it some day. I sometimes feel like I'm one bad decision away from ending up on an episode of Hoarders. I'm not walking around on top of stuff or saving garbage. I just need to tidy up a bit.
 My immediate goal is to clean off this desk. Here's a partial list of what I'm looking at. Stickers, light bulbs for bikes and cars, a tripod I made for taking video with the cell phone, a piece of aluminium for the bike, bushings, assorted pieces of shrink tubing from the tail light project, a screen protector for my phone, 3 flashlights, a hat, safety glasses, body filler, a bottle of Detail Doctor (approved by Danny "The Count" Koker)(I've only seen one episode of his show), a usb disc drive, another flashlight, a compass, mink oil for my boots, a stack of cds, a license plate frame from the sporty, a file, 4 drill bits, a belt from our clothes washer, a couple of bingo ink daubers (that's right, you got a problem with that?), an oil filter and some important looking paperwork.

 *there was a long pause here while I tossed some of this crap in the garbage can which is within arms reach. I also need to up the count on flashlights and drill bits.*

 I need to take my Mityvac brake bleeder to work to fix the brakes on a forklift. I'm looking at the empty box right now but have no idea where the tool is. The pump, hoses and the bottle are all missing. My guess is they are in a leak proof container because I know the bottle will have fluid residue in it and spill. I only kept the box so I could easily find the instructions. Obviously I didn't look everywhere or I would have found it, but I feel I've looked everywhere it should be. The garage isn't such a mess that its hiding under something. Actually the garage is in pretty good shape. This has happened before. A week from now I'll find what I was looking for. I don't know if its the onset of old timers disease or what.

 I have three computers that I need to get rid of...err recycle. They have exceeded the one year rule and the second year rule. That is, I haven't used them in a year so they should go but they are cool so they got a one year extension. I still didn't use them in the second year so bye bye computers. Here's the plan. Remove the circuit boards and give to someone that recycles that stuff. Check the memory to see if it fits anything I'm currently running,  smash the hard drives with a sledge hammer, toss the plastic pieces.

 My goal is to remove any unnecessary items from this room and make it more motorcycle friendly.I want to be able to get my lift table in here without it taking up all the free space. That means I need change the entire layout of the room. This old carpet should go. Heck, I might even slap a coat of paint on the walls.

 The really big news for the week is that I was able to take the rat turd out for a ride on Monday. I was impressed that the battery was still strong enough to fire the bike up and that the fuel wasn't sour. My "winterizing" effort was nothing more than finding a corner to stuff the bike into. The weather has turned to crap again but that short ride I took should hold me till spring actually gets here.

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.

Workshop Wednesday-Good Luck Er No?

  What good luck, I found the problem with one of my forklift projects...

Coolant is finding its way around the base seal of the cylinder sleeves. Mmm Mmm, pudding anyone?
 What bad luck, nobody seems to be able to identify the engine as there are no visible markings on it or the forklift. Thats gonna make ordering parts interesting. Maybe after I pull it out something will become obvious.


 What good luck, seven McNuggets in a 6 piece box...

 What bad luck, I'm eating McNuggets.

Mail Order Stuff

 My plan for yesterday was to do a little work on the sportster, take some pics and post the results here. That didn't happen. I spent the day with my wife. Our lives get so busy and we barely see each other some times so it was nice to hang out together for the day.
 This morning at 2 a.m. I had to go to work and plow snow. Then because my shovel dude didn't come in I had to cover his route. I got done about 10:30, picked up some chicken BBQ the local fire department was cooking up and headed home. It was delicious.
 I've been ordering some parts and a few have come in.

 I mentioned I was going to order a HID kit for the headlight. I changed my mind and just ordered a 5 3/4" light that accepts a H4 bulb. I chose a 100/80 watt bulb from Hella. This will work pretty good for now. If I decide I want more I'm not out much money.
 One of my goals was to beef up the front end. I'm waiting on a 4 piston caliper that was ordered a couple weeks ago. Not sure why its not here yet. I also purchased braided brake line. This combo is going to give me some decent braking power that this bike really needs. To prevent the bike from nose diving I also ordered Progressive fork springs. Seals and dust covers will also be arriving soon.
 In the electrical department I received my Badlands Auto Signal Shutoff. This will fix my biggest complaint with this bike...push and hold turn signals. The module has its own flasher unit and also has a 4-way flasher feature. I also ordered a voltage regulator because the three wire unit I cobbled on temporarily really isn't giving me the full potential of my stator.
 So for the next few weeks expect to see write-ups about the crap I just mentioned. I also have an idea for a sculpture of sorts on the sissy bar. Stay tuned.

Workshop Wednesday-Rather Be Biking

 Last week I got a call from a customer looking for a quote on a small job. It seems they had a rain gutter problem.

 I think these gutters are supposed to be heated. For some reason this one seems to be a problem every year. The cones are there because there is a city sidewalk buried somewhere under that ice.

 I ran the SkyTrac while co-worker James ran a pick axe. Shortly after these power wires were exposed he switched to and electric jack hammer. Once the gutter was exposed we started chipping away at the huge layer of ice on the sidewalk. All the ice chunks were pushed to the street then plowed away with a truck.

 It was a lot of work but the end result was worth it. I hope it doesn't freeze over again because this job kinda sucked. Its tough working on ice when you are creating little ice chips that just make things more slippery. I landed on my ass once and James took at least three diggers.
 This is going down as one of the coldest winters on record. Sure it looks sunny in these pics but the temps were in the single digits. I'm ready for spring and looking forward to that first ride of the year.

Mama Tried

 So yesterday I made it down to Milwaukee to the Mama Tried motorcycle show.

 There was a good representation of bikes there. Something for the dirt, track, ice and street. There were a couple really old bikes and a few show bikes but I think most everything there was ridden or raced on a regular basis. Of course the chopper scene was well represented.
 I was excited to see a lot of bikes that I was actually familiar with from following their owners blogs. I don't know these people but I did meet a few. I also met Brandon shown here on the right.

 Brandon and I know each other from vacationing with a group at the BuRP rally a few years in a row. The last time we saw each other was about seven years ago. We hadn't talked about meeting at the show so he was surprised to hear from me. Pleasantly I hope.  We spent a couple hours catching up and talking bikes. Its funny how a separation of seven years really doesn't change things. I mean a lot of things have happened to each of us in that time but we got along just like we've been hangin together all that time. The bikes were great but the time spent BSing with Brandon was what made the day for me.

 About the bikes. Ya know I sit in my little shop and dream up stupid ideas then apply them to a bike. What I was reminded of is paint. I'm not a good painter but saw a lot of cool paint work. As a budget builder I realize I need to step up my game in the paint department.