How was your day

[Guzzistajohn]

How was my day. Geeze dusty I just don't know what to do with my fat little daughter (aka morbidly obese) we can't take her anywhere, she's eating us out of house and home. The other day we took her out to a Chinese Buffett and all the cooks went on strike.

Yesterday she stepped on the dogs tail, we had to change its name to beaver.

We also have a Persian rug now, she sat on the cat.


Got any ideas? I'm at my wits end here.

John is spring patch.   

[oldbike54]

Poor poor weenie dog. Glad he went peacefully dusty. He's chasing all the short legged squirrels in doggie heaven now.

John in springburg

 She had some mixed blood , no idea what . Could run like the wind and no critter was a match . That is until the last 10 months or so . What a spirit this 14.1 LB dog had . lived about 9 months longer than the vet predicted , and until the last few days was pretty active . I took her "walkabout" every evening , you had to keep a close eye as even though her wide open speed had slowed to a waddle , she was determined to venture out . Sis is holding up , but damn that call to her was tough .

  Dusty

[Testarossa]

Spent the day in the garage and solved a couple of nagging issues.

Pulled the head off the Triumph and figured out why the pushrod tubes were leaking oil: First, I used a double-think head gasket so the tubes weren't snug enough against their O-ring seals; and there was a part missing. Turns out the base of each tube is supposed to sit on a gummy white plastic washer, not mentioned or pictured in either of the shop manuals I have for this bike. I only learned about it at the TriumphRat forum. I annealed the original head gasket, replaced the the tube O-rings, used the white washers and buttoned everything back up.

And I got the Guzzi idling properly after all the jetting and air filter changes.

So.

Last day of skiing tomorrow and we'll test-ride both motorcycles on Sunday.

Whee!

[oldbike54]

 Seth , what Triumph manual do you have ? The Chilton's are probably the best , even the official factory manuals contained mistakes corrected by addendums , W/O which they could be confusing .

  Dusty

[Testarossa]

I have Haynes and Glenn's, and downloaded a factory service manual.

I'm not surprised by omissions like this, just frustrated. When I rebuilt my Laverda I went nuts ordering valve-train parts -- no one could figure out the part numbers, and then I realized the exploded parts drawing for the head, in the manual AND the parts book, was flopped right-for-left, then labelled. So half the time when you ordered a part you got the mirror image for the other side.

[balvenie]

            With rain looking set-in for another day, preparation was begun after lunch, on some tricky carpentery in the garage, at my bench. Some progress was made before a brief trip to indoors revealed a break in the clouds, with blue sky peeping through. A hasty look at the weather radar suggested that the showers were becoming few and far between and shortly afterwards, I was on the bike, checking out a ride that hopefully would be less frequented by dangerous drivers, than the usual route of many years standing, which pre dates my Guzzi.
            The hinterland localities of Mooloolah, Hunchy and Dulong came and went, displaying official signs warning of cattle and mounted horsemen, while now and then a playing field would pass by, that was so heavily attended by parked cars, that you could guess neither the name of the game nor those of the teams competing.
             The rain did not hold off, choosing to fall while nearing a challenging uphill section, the real highlight of the route. A brief sanctuary was found in Woombye and on exiting the muddy carpark, I was treated to a most sedate rear wheel slide, in spite of feathering the clutch and using a minimum of throttle. Recovering from this amusing interlude, the glowering state of the sky became apparent. So overcast had it become, that my tinted visor was going to be too dark for me to proceed. Ordinarily, there would have been another hour of daylight but by staying out, I ran the risk of being Stopped by nitpickers
              As for the route itself, a few "moments" were experienced but weekends are when the crazies come out, so it could have been a lot worse

[bpreynolds]

Another one step up, 2 back on the Thunderbird Sport.  Finally got the carbs dialed in and bike on the road for the first time since January.  But as per usual, I was quickly thrown back to square 2 when the bike began to massively overhead with hot hot hot light flashing at me and fan not running on radiator.  Made it back to the house before bike quit right before driveway.  Let it cool, topped off antifreeze, it fired right back up and off I went for more testing with same results, only this time bike heated up with burning smell, still no fan, and it quit a half mile away from the house so I pushed it home.  Pushing a bike a half a mile doesn't seem like much but in 95 degree heat it does seem like 3 miles.  Try to figure out how to jump the fan to see if the motor is still good today.  Never done that before so I'm not sure.  Oh well.  Those 4-5 miles sure were fun.  Engine ran smoothly but still a very rough and beastly bike, a '99 model but it feels much older in soul.

[Muzz]

A phone call from 16 yr old grandson yesterday;  was it possible to dig out the 250 4wd quad bike and do some off-roading with 4 of his mates?  It fired straight up even after 5 months of non use, so on to the trailer and off we go with him and his mates in one vehicle, the son and his dog in the Terrano and me and my dearly beloved towing the trailer and bike in the Mistral.  Went to a place they had discovered while fishing, and one where a fair few 4WD exponents go. A great time was had by all. The Honda Big Red probably didn't know what hit it! . It certainly was given a workout. The sun shone, no one got hurt, the dog found an old sheep's head so he was in heaven and everyone had a great time.

I actually think that the young guys quite enjoyed just having a blast without having to look "cool".

[Testarossa]

Lot of good times on this thread!

We had a wonderful weekend. Drove up to A-Basin Saturday morning and met my Ozzie mate Sven for our last skiing morning of the season. Bluebird day and the snowboarder girls were out in their bikinis. Lovely soft snow.

Sunday was hot so Gail and I saddled up the T for a ride in the mountains. Did one of my favorite loops up to 9,500 feet along the Peak-to-Peak highway, down to Lyons. The old girl still isn't happy, stumbling below 3,500 rpm and above 5,000. Plugs look perfect so I'll put the needle back where it was and troubleshoot the entire ignition system. Maybe it's something as simple as plug caps or advance springs. Would like to get this fixed before we leave for Cripple Creek on Saturday.

Sunday evening I went for a jaunt on the Triumph. Fired on the first kick. Now that the oil leak is fixed it runs like a champ -- pulls far stronger than the Guzzi and I had so much fun I almost forgot to come home for supper. It does run rich so there are new Amal jets in the immediate future. Riding it up to Fort Collins on Tuesday for an early Fathers Day ride with the daughter. Whee!

[oldbike54]

 Seth ,

 Yes , good times  Mixed with some bad , that's OK , we are among friends here . On the Triumph , where is the needle set ?

  Dusty

[Testarossa]

Hi, Dusty --

Triumph is now on whatever was stock for sea level.  I'm going to drop it a notch. Local expert says 105 needle jet (106 is stock), middle clip, 170 main (190 is stock), 3.0 slide. I opened the pilot screw one turn and it idled a bit faster.

Have ordered the 105 and 170 jets and will drop the needle this afternoon when the rain starts.

[oldbike54]

 Sounds like your local guy knows what he is doing . Keep us apprised . Single carb 650 Triumphs are a joy in the mountains .

  Dusty

[rodekyll]

got really, stupid-hot here yesterday.  Some say it broke 70.     I'm not calling them liars, but if true, it's one day in a row -- possibly a record.  It was so hot I took the insulation off of a window and opened it to let the bugs in.  At 1:AM, or "dawn" as we call it, the rocks in my garden were still warm.  Today promises to be more of the same.

[travelingbyguzzi]

Long range forecasts (the next decade) call for warmer and drier weather around the Northwest. It sounds great from a riders perspective.
We have had the earliest and warmest summer that I can remember and I came to Seattle 25 years ago.
Summary: weather is good Health is good. Work is plentiful. Life is good.

[Testarossa]

Dusty:

The guys at The Bonneville Shop in Broomfield recommended 220 main (down from 230) and 005 needle jet (down from 006). Thus equipped I just made my 12-mile warmup loop and the plugs look great. Everyone is happy.  Mountain loop with my daughter tomorrow.

[Testarossa]

Another great day in retirement.

Rode the Triumph up to Fort Collins to pick up my daughter for an early Fathers Day outing. The bike didn't feel happy, hesitating and sputtering until, about 10 miles into the trip, the air cleaner shook off and the power came in smooth and strong. The oil leaks are gone and everything works -- and boy is it loud on the unbaffled Burgess "silencers." Next project is to find some reasonably priced mellow mufflers.



We rode up around the south end of Horsetooth Reservoir to Masonville and south to Carter Lake, in and out of light rain, on a twisty 80-mile loop. The real thunderstorm held off until five minutes after we arrived home in Longmont.

Tuesday is the new Saturday.

[Penderic]

Great summer weather here - getting some great rides in! Whoopee! 

This morning, by mistake, I doubled the dose of my blood pressure medicine. Should be ok - the pills are so tiny!

Just a little light headed for a while.


Had a great ride later on. 

[balvenie]

              Last Thursday morning my right shoulder was subjected to a Barbotage procedure, to flush out a long-term calcium deposit from the supraspinatus tendon. It is this location that has given me shoulder pain for the last 47 years and for the last few weeks it has been unbearable, necessitating my GF's help in showering, dressing and undressing. Even a 15 minute walk to my GP 3 weeks ago for a referral to the specialist was painful; likewise standing from the sitting position in the waiting room. There was no escape from it, although I did manage to sleep on my left side at night.
              The less said about the procedure the better, however the promised post procedure pain did not eventuate for which I am not one bit sorry. A precautionary supply of pain killer meds had been acquired just in case but it seems that pain has had enough of me for now and my right arm mobility has improved enormously and yesterday I had the confidence to work on charging my car's battery. Hurt myself once and called it quits. The car can wait.
              What won't wait however is my left shoulder, which pretty much locked up, owing to my reaching for something overhead a few days before the procedure Never happened before in my life. It became obvious right there and then that the right shoulder had to be fixed Quick, before the left went the same way and I was completely disabled. Upon reflection, maybe the left broke down because it was doing the work of both shoulders. For instance, there is a lot of "gymnastics" going on just doing the above, very ordinary things even when you have assistance.
              Since Thursday, I have been promising myself an experimental, 15 minute walk to see if my GP is within reach without my resorting to a cab; speaking of which, I reckon $200 has gone down that hole of late. And so it was that wearing 3 jumpers and with trakky dakks on over my blue jeans, I took off for a walk around the block observed by a young girl dressed in shorts and shirt. Yes, there is definitely something wrong with this this old bloke who does not like the cold To cut a long story short, Mission Accomplished and I anticipate saving cab fares in future Just might be a while before the bike gets a workout.

[oldbike54]

 Trakky Dakks ? OK Bill , are we dressing like a combination of Clegg and Compo ?

  Dusty

[guzzisteve]

Actually had an enjoyable time changing a new customers oil. Freaking Gold Norge, real beauty.  The guy asked me if I was in the Club, was just nice to hear someone else asking, been awhile. 

[Gliderjohn]

Quote from Guzzisteve:

Freaking Gold Norge, real beauty

Custom paint I take it? Would like a picture.
GliderJohn

[balvenie]

Trakky Dakks ? OK Bill , are we dressing like a combination of Clegg and Compo ?

  Dusty

Trakky Dakks=track suit pants

OK, now what is Clegg and Compo?

[oldbike54]

Trakky Dakks=track suit pants

OK, now what is Clegg and Compo?

 Obviously you aren't familiar with the English show "Last of the summer wine" . Norman Clegg always wore at least 3 layers of clothing , and William Simonite ( Compo ) always wore Wellies . One wonders if we are all speaking English 

  Dusty

[balvenie]

Well there ya go. I'm just not familiar with that "branch" of the culture

[Muzz]

A good day (make that weekend) thanks Dusty.

Have picked up a manual bar bender, reasonably chunky 35kgs worth.  Will bend 60x8 flat, 20mm round or 16mm square. Managed to get a stand made out of a chunky bit of channel and a couple of bits of flat plate for nix to go with it.  Have inserted some threaded plugs in to the garage floor to hold it down and drilled an assortment of holes in the top plate which will take the bar bender, my hand operated metal guillotine, and the hydraulic pipe bender. All works well.

Had to give the son a hand on Saturday as he has had a large increase in the work coming in (power steering and wheel alignment). He had needed a transmission support, but with the tax etc. coming due he could not afford to get one. With a couple of bits of pipe, a couple of plastic bushes knocked up on the lathe, an old Holden screw jack I had lying around and the rim off an old wheel we found out the back of beyond I knocked one up.  Painted black it looks the bees knees, and it had its first work out. Goes a treat!

Sunday afternoon and it was back in the garage turning the steps off a set of metal bunks in to a folding stand for the sliding mitre saw. things are falling in to place and my bar bender will soon be getting it's first real workout.

A very satisfying weekend all in all.

[guzzisteve]

Quote from Guzzisteve:
Custom paint I take it? Would like a picture.
GliderJohn

John, was an 09 model & came in factory gold but different from my 93 SP3, no copper color in it.

[rodekyll]

I work by the job, so I have no regular paycheck.  Some weeks I have none.  This past week was my most productive of the year so far.  The fun coincidence of the week was two macbooks in for email problems.  I don't see a lot of macs, so two in a week would be very unusual.  The odds of seeing two with the same random problem (and as it turns out the owners are friends with each other) are astronomical.

With all the work though my fishing has suffered.  I need another 2-pair of kings to be flush.  I did manage to coax ashore the largest one I've ever taken from my secret fishing hole (the one everyone knows about).  These are Medevici fish, so they run ~18# - 25#.  This wild joker raised the ante to 35#.  It took about 90min to tire him out and pull him up the beach (nets are for sissies), and he straightened one tine of my treble hook farther than I could rebend it.  To give an idea of the food value of a fish that size -- a standard sockeye (red) salmon gives about 4-7 half-pints of skinned, boneless meat.  This fella yielded 22 half-pints from the side meat.  Approx. 15% of his 'round' weight was in the belly meat, which I smoke instead of can.  So this fish had it in spades.  So ends a gruesome run of bad poker metaphors.

I've also lost hours on the trike, since I'm too freaking tired after chasing money and fish to think or move.  I did get a lot of wiring done on the trike, some special-orders installed (thanks for the bolts, Joe -- they arrived Friday), and the electric trunk popper figured out.  I hoped to be on dashboard and headlight design, but like I said, I've been too tired to think.  So spawns a gruesome run of poker metaphors.

[balvenie]

but that Brit stuff is great .
  Dusty

Ahh yes Foyles War, Dr Who, Silent Witness

[oldbike54]

Ahh yes Foyles War, Dr Who, Silent Witness

 Oh my yes . Doc Martin also , our educational channel in Oklahoma buys the good stuff . 

  Dusty

[oldbike54]

 Speaking of high quality entertainment , just heard on the radio that my favorite comic strip of all time is back . Yep , Bloom County has returned . Yee Haw 

  Dusty