Typical Day Around The Shack

I was going to run the truck through the car wash when I went out two weeks ago but it was closed. I didn't think a place where you didn't interact with a single solitary sole would have been closed but yet it was. I wanted to get the normal dirt and mud off but also since I had driven it in one of the late snows I wanted to get the salt residue off. Since the truck is skinned with aluminum, I don't want to have problems with corrosion so I got ambitious and washed it at home yesterday. Not that this is a big deal but it does show how far reaching this shut down is.

The painted parts for the Rapido turned out pretty well for a rattle can paint job. I'm real pleased with the way the shocks came out. I started cleaning up the frame and it could use a fresh coat of paint but I think I can make it look acceptable without taking it all the way down. Have to see how that works out in the next couple of days.

Welded up the lead pot yesterday as well. I'm going to hammer in a couple of spouts to facilitate pouring the hot lead into molds. I'll heat up a spot with the torch 90 degrees to the handle and then hit the top edge with the cross peen and form a small vee in the side and then repeat the process for the other side of the pot. Surly borrowed the molds for the lead soldiers for some project he's got in mind but I didn't have a lead pot to give him. This will take care of that operation, plus one of these days I want to pour some more bullets for my muzzle loader. No hurry on that since I've only shot the thing once in the last 15 years or so, plus I believe the range is currently closed due to the virus. Even if it's not, I'm not going to chance it.

I ordered the exhaust flanges and a book on rebuilding the slant-six. I'll keep bouncing back and forth between the car and the Rapido project until the Rapido is completed and then tackle another bike project. It'd be nice to wrap up the 900 project this summer. I'd like to take that sidecar for a spin.

I got a text yesterday from a buddy of mine about a young lady who's touring the world on a Royal Enfield Himalayan like I've got. You can read about her adventures here. I didn't dig into the site too deeply yet but looks to be pretty interesting reading. She's solo touring from South America to Alaska. She's already done quite a bit of touring around Europe.

Stay safe, wash your hands, stay home as much as possible.