Royal Enfield News

I saw an article where Royal Enfield is discontinuing the 500 cc Bullet. The article gives a nice short history of Enfield and the 350 and 500 cc bikes. It also mentions that there's a new 350 in the works. At the price point the Enfields are selling at, the 350 might be a good addition to the small bike market. Honda used to sell 350s by the truckload. Great size for both beginners and experienced riders who don't need or want to wrestle a big bike around or pay for the privilege of having a bike that'll go 150 miles an hour but don't have access to any road that has a has a speed limit higher than 55. Good mileage as well. Something to keep in mind for the future. The low gas prices aren't going to last forever.

The article also had a photo of a 350 trials bike that's a real beaut. Something like that is what I'm shooting for with the Rickati project when or if I ever get back on that one. I did get myself some tank decals for it recently. Not exactly much movement towards the finish line but it keeps me thinking about it. That and the fact that it's only about two feet from the welding bench, so I'm circling around it all the time.

I've been out on my Himalayan a bit lately. I was planning on doing some riding and a camping trip or two this summer but that's out for now. I have put a little over 100 miles on it since it was serviced, though. I'll just keep using it for errands and hopefully things will clear up enough I'll be able to do a little trip to the state park that's not too far off before the snow flies.

Nose Job

I cut out some more pieces for work yesterday and then cut out the strips to close in the top and bottom of the nose for the jitney project. I still need to work on my plasma cutting technique, as it's hard for me to follow my layout line while trying to cut quickly. The cuts on the pieces for the car came out OK but I made sure I stayed proud of the line. I figured it would be better to grind a bit more rather than creating a gap that I'd have to fill in. I was looking for a corner to corner fit so I'll have a nice rounded edge after I get done welding and grinding it. That way it will look pretty close to what the corners of the side rail tubing looks like. On the original plan the rails were made from car frame rails that were in the shape of a channel and were bent to the rounded profile.

The top and bottom strips have holes drilled and countersunk so I can plug weld the strips to the braces/spacers I welded into the frame. All the material is 1/8" so I want to make sure everything will stay together when the car's finished. Never can tell, this thing might make a run on the salt flats some day. I'm planning on welding it up today and then maybe take a look at the chainless bicycle.

The guy with the bike said he was in no hurry but that's a dangerous thing to say to me. Actually, I'm kind of curious about how this thing works and I'd like to get it out of here - I don't need anything else with wheels around here now or maybe ever unless I send something else down the road. He said the rear brake was dragging and he thought that's why the bike shop he took it to said it couldn't be fixed. I think they were just blowing him off. However, I fixed the rear brake already so that eliminates that issue. I looked at the manual and it shows how to install the cable and the procedure for getting it adjusted. If there's nothing mechanically wrong with the hub, it looks pretty straight forward. I'll find out soon enough.

Parts is Parts

I finished the parts for work and delivered them the other evening when I went in to resume the welding lessons. I should cut out another batch while I've got the plasma cutter out.

We didn't get much welding done with our first lesson but that's OK. We worked on the MIG machine a bit and got it running properly again and got caught up on what the boys have been doing over the summer. The boss wants me to show them how to use the blade sharpener for the mower blades so that'll be next time.

I went to the funeral home Wednesday evening. The deceased was the father of one of my son's good friends. Nice guy - retired machinist who made it to 80 and died in his sleep. There were several of my son's friends in attendance. I've known these guys since they were in high school or younger. They've all turned out really well - mid to late forties now, good jobs, families, "stand up" guys all of them. Not like those that are pulling down statues, defacing public monuments, etc, and it's obviously not about anything with race when Abe Lincoln and the 54th Massachusetts are hit. I'm afraid the end times are here for the good old USA.

However, on a happier note, flat track racing will resume and Royal Enfield will be fielding a bike in the production class.

That in itself is cool and if you play your cards right, you can give it a try. That's real cool.

The guy who used to cut my hair before I moved to the country is retiring at the end of the week after almost 60 years of running his barber shop. He's eighty years old, so I guess it's time. It just so happens he's also my old boxing coach. If I remember correctly he had over 100 amateur bouts and two Golden Gloves titles plus club fights and exhibitions. In fact, I watched one of the exhibitions he put on at the high school when I was attending and that's what got me started. He helped a lot of us young guys make the transition to young men. He talked me into running a 10.5 mile race back in '76 the town was hosting as part of the bicentennial celebration. I asked him why I should run a 10.5 mile run and the answer was because I'm your coach and I said you should. So run I did.

Enjoy your retirement Johnny & thanks for everything.

Vacation Day

Pretty enjoyable day yesterday, cooties precautions not withstanding. I took the Missus to get a blood draw prior to her seeing the oncologist next week. A mask was required at the medical facility, so she suited up and I stayed in the car - beautiful day for it actually. The temperature was 75 degrees with a beautiful blue sky above. The bicycle shop is just down the street from there so we stopped and got a couple of things for the chainless bike. This time I put on the mask and she waited in the car. We stopped after that at Walgreens so the Missus could get her passport photo, picked up some dinner and headed home. After dinner I cut the front yard. When I came in from mowing, the Missus wanted some ice cream so we headed off to the Dairy Queen.

Normally this would have just been a regular day in the life. Getting the Missus out of the house safely has become a big deal in the "new normal". I'm doing OK with all of this crap other than the boredom of every day being just like the previous day. Of course our crazy weather here in the mid-west definitely keeps you on your toes. I did get a text from my boss about another job I was getting ready to start on when I took my leave. He was wondering if I could make a prototype at home and then if it works out OK he can have one of the other guys start producing them. I'll probably talk it over with him later today. Making this thing wouldn't be much of an issue for me as long as I don't have to chase parts. I don't want to get too complacent. I do like being the "fixer". Make something that solves a problem and then move on to something else. I don't really care to do much in the way of repetitive work. I do still like getting a paycheck, however.

Be good - to yourself and those around you.

Be A Builder

Photo From Here

As a tradesman and shop teacher, building is the only way. I realize this statement applies on another level as well but builders of things are not destroyers of businesses and statues regardless of their politics.

I finished getting all the plants in the ground yesterday morning. It was much cooler than the previous two days and overcast. While it was looking like rain might be in the works, I watered all the new stuff anyway. And then we got a gully washer about 3:00 o'clock. It was definitely needed. Our soil is pretty sandy so it dries out quickly. The corn was looking a little peaked and the yard had turned mostly brown. We're supposed to get some more rain this week, so that'll be good.

I plasma cut some pieces for work yesterday. I'll clean them up and finish that job today or tomorrow. While I've got the plasma cutter out I want to cut out a couple of pieces for the jitney project. I don't know how well that plasma will hold up in the long run but it sure works well on the thin gauge stuff. I need to pick up the pace a bit on the projects. I've still got some more work to do around the shack along with all the normal chores but I'd like to see the finish line on a couple of things. Might be time to pick one and pursue it diligently.

Planting Time

I ordered some plants and seeds quite a while ago and they finally showed up - half the order on Thursday, the other half on Friday. Most of the plants are perennials that won't require much care - hostas and day lilies. I also got a couple of blueberry bushes and some cantaloupe seeds. It's a little late to be planting the cantaloupe but apparently, everyone was ordering plants and seeds this spring so orders were delayed. I got all the day lilies planted yesterday, the hostas are all bare root so I put them in a bucket of water to revive them and I'll plant them and most of the rest of the things today.

 It was pretty damn hot out yesterday for working out in the sun. My little thermometer had 94 degrees in the shade and I wasn't in the shade. I worked up a pretty good sweat and then came in the house to cool down a bit. Old cardiac patients need to watch the heat, but by the same token, the only way to get acclimated is to get out in it. It usually takes me about two weeks until I'm comfortable with it. I've always been that way but it's more important that I take extra care now. Just like shoveling snow in the winter.

Surly came down and gave me a hand putting the air conditioner in the window. First time I've seen him in too long of a while. I hope this crap goes away one of these days soon. Lots of us grandparents are missing having contact with our families. It's not healthy.

Better days are coming, or so they say. I sure as hell hope so.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

However, the prelims apparently will be. 2020 is definitely going to be one for the books. Other than securing the perimeter with concertina wire, I'm about as ready as I'm going to be for whatever the second half of the year throws at me - tend my garden, take care of the Missus and play with the toys.

 I am going to resume the welding lessons but not working the day shift at the side gig. It's close quarters in there. If one person gets the cooties, everyone will get it. The boss did show me a job he wants me to tackle on a Saturday. I'm thinking it'll be at least a two day job at first glance but I need to take a good hard look at it. Measure things up and come up with a plan. He bought a big double tub commercial stainless sink unit. Roughly 3' wide x 6' long. I need to cut out the old sink and blend in the backsplash to match up with the new sink, make provisions for another faucet and blend one side of the new unit into the existing work area. Any welding that would need to be done would have to be done by yours truly using my own welder. I can TIG stainless but it's not my strong suit, plus any material I would need I'd have to have on hand ahead of time since I'd be working on a weekend. Something else to think about.

I received a notice about a virtual 5K coming up in about a month. My running buddy and I did the first annual one last year. It looks like you've got a 3-4 day window to do your thing and they have an app that you can use to run the same course as last year that will automatically post your results. I don't have a smart phone so that's out for me but the park where we do our Sunday walks would be good enough for me. Each lap is a mile, so three times around plus a little would do it. My running buddy has a deal that will record the mileage accurately so we could do that. I checked my resting pulse yesterday morning and I'm still under 60 bpm but I could use some cardio work. The local bike race has been cancelled so that's out. There was going to be a 50 mile ride in August but no word on that one that I've seen. I'll check with my running buddy and see if she wants to do the virtual 5K. Might be the best chance we have this year to get another tee shirt.

From Running 'Cause I Can't Fly:

"We never know when our last day on earth will be. So, love with full sincerity, believe with true faith, and hope with all of your might. Better to have lived in truth and discovered life, than to have lived half heartedly and died long before you ever ceased breathing."

- Cristina Marrero

Royal Enfield

Double engined Royal Enfield dragster - how cool is that? I don't  know anything about this rig. I just happened to run across the photos here. I'd like to see the tail end of the bike also.

Here's another cool Enfield: https://www.pipeburn.com/song-of-sosa-a-sosa-metalworks-story/
This one's built around one of the new 650 motors. These 650s seem to be catching on. There are two models, both of them very reasonably priced. Enfield has been pushing them pretty hard. Like the one in the video, Enfield has been getting bikes out to customizers and promoting them hard. They're a big company. You'll see a lot of their bikes out on the road before too long, I'd be willing to wager. I'm pretty happy with my Himalayan. Overweight and under powered but fun little bike for what I do.

I got the wheel rack moved into the barn and all the wheels rounded up. I broke down another one off an old Sprint - another Pirelli MT53 bites the dust. Worked around the shack a bit and on a job for work. I got a text from my boss last evening. I had sketched out a job and looked up all the parts right before I took my leave. There's another teacher that works the summers there and the boss wants me to line him up on making them. I've got some finished parts to drop off and the boss and I can pow-wow a bit about me coming back. The Missus has an appointment with the oncologist pretty soon. I'd like to get her opinion before I commit to anything but I might come in after hours and resume the welding lessons.

Weather's supposed to warm up. I'm going to start earlier in the morning and work a bit after supper and stay out of the heat during the middle of the day. Just keep chipping away at it.

Wheel Rack

I got the rack for the spare wheels made. Wasn't much to it. I drew up a sketch the other day with my cut list, so it was cut to length and screw it together. I'll finish cleaning up the spot for it today and get all the wheels put away. I'm not sure what I'm going to do on the bottom yet. I'll probably make a shelf. I've got some car and bike parts in plastic tubs. They might bridge the stretchers as it is but slipping a piece of plywood or particle board in there won't be a problem. The bottom measures 21 x 48 so I can get a piece that will flop right down on there with a little bit of overhang in the front. Won't even need the saw. I would have got a piece yesterday but the lumberyard wasn't completely open. I stood in the foyer and had to phone my order in and pay with a card. I think that might be the first time I've ever bought lumber with a credit card. I usually pay cash unless it's a big number, then I write a check. If this is what the new normal is going to look like, I'm not going to like it.

I'm in a Royal Enfield group on Facebook. I saw a post about a trip over the Himalayas next year. The price is right at 3 K for the 15 day trip plus you have to get to New Delhi and some other expenses. I think that would be one helluva trip for someone other than me. I don't think I could handle the high elevations. I'd hate to tackle that and then get altitude sickness. I've wanted to take a long distance bike tour since I've been about 18 years old. It's starting to look like that will never happen. Not like I've got much to complain about though. There are a couple of other things left on the bucket list I'd like to check off yet if I'm able - Hawaii for number 50, Spain, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. Cuzzin Ricky says we should go to Alaska one more time also. If the cooties come back in the fall there'll be no travel next year either, so my days as a world traveler might be over. Again, can't really bitch. I've been real lucky to have seen as much of it as I have.

After I get the wheel rack done today, it'll be back on a project of some sort. Not sure what but I'll be sure to give my two hour minimum. Gotta keep on rockin!

B, S & T

One of the great things about the internet is the availability to find the music you like any time you like, along with instructional videos. The Missus typed in a search on how to cut a bald man's hair and yesterday she gave it a go. Turned out real nice. She bought an outfit that came with clippers, scissors, etc at a yard sale a while ago - brand new for five bucks - and got up the courage to try it out. Next time she'll tackle the beard as well. And speaking of beards, I was doing walkies yesterday at the park and a group of young girls and group leaders asked to take my picture. They were on a scavenger hunt and needed to find a guy with a bushy beard. So maybe it is time to trim the beard. Did four miles, by the way.

I was contacted by a guy I worked with at the high school who has a chainless bicycle. Apparently the bike isn't working properly and needs to find someone to take a look at it. He struck out at the local bike shop and the company who made it is out of business. I told him I'd take a look at it for him but I've never even seen a chainless bike and if the thing needs parts I'd guess they won't be available. He used to work in the special ed department with some severely handicapped kids. Probably qualifies for sainthood - so I can at least have a look at his bike.

Everything else moving right along. Did some more work on the property - Mother Nature is always trying to reclaim what's hers. I've still got plenty to do but it's looking pretty good around here now. Next up is a rack for some bike parts, both push bike and motor bike. I might not get too much done on the motorbike projects this summer but I am going to get the barn cleaned up and organized.

Remember to roll with the punches and keep your powder dry.

18 Yellow Roses

Don't have 18 yellow roses or any white ones either. The storm blew all the flowers off the potted rose on the porch and the wild roses out back. Not as bad as losing part of that magnolia tree but that's life in the country. I did get most of the tree cleaned up. I've still got a big chunk that's about 8' long. I'm debating whether I should cut it in half with the hand saw and then drag it out back to finish cutting it up with my electric chainsaw or drive the truck down there and load it and the rest of the branches and then take it all in one trip. The big chunk is not all that heavy - I can probably load it by myself without screwing myself up. Maybe I'll tackle that today. That corner's the lowest on the property and I don't want to leave ruts in the yard.

I printed up some more photos the other night from days gone by. Judging by the sweatshirt the Missus is wearing, late '70s. We had lots of fun and laughs back then. I hand colored one of the prints and put it in the frame made from the old cast iron register. The frame and the photo of the Missus compliment each other well. I bought a couple of cheap black frames and hung those up in my "gallery" also. 11x14 frames matted for 8x10 photos. I need to go through some of my negatives from my travels and get a couple prints made up to hang out there as well. Definitely need to get at least one print from Italy.

I had to move the truck out of the garage to get the mower out, so I decided to take a good hard look at the Rebel while I had some room. The license plate light bracket has a junction box built into it for that big gob of wires. However, when you move all those wires out of the way there's room in there for a taillight using the stock lens and I could make up a bracket to hold the license plate light and license plate down there.

The side view looks pretty good without the big ugly taillight on top of the fender. The grab strap is fastened to the seat bracket. I could make a new bracket out of stainless without the grab strap and polish it up or use carbon steel and paint it with black wrinkle paint. Fill in the holes in the fender and Bob's your uncle. Take the passenger pegs off and make new brackets or get a pillion pad and leave the pegs on.

The air cleaner stuff is missing. I checked on Bike Bandit and all of the parts are no longer available. I might check my local Honda shop and see if they have what I need. I measured up the carb for an air cleaner and it's 49 mm. I got the number for a replacement battery so I can see about getting some parts, what it will all cost and if I really want to go this route. As anyone who has read this blog for any length of time knows, I've got plenty of irons in the fire now. I'll let this one season a bit while I work on finishing a couple other things. 

Powered Up

Saw these on Facebook. I also got a text from my boss wanting to know when I'm coming back to work. If I go back to work I could fund a chopper build - I really like the one in the foreground in the top photo. On the other hand, I'm really enjoying being home every day, working on things as I get the urge. Maybe just try and scratch the chopper itch with the little Rebel. Or maybe just try and focus on finishing a few things. I do need to finish one of the projects for work - maybe today or tomorrow. No hurry on that one. They were running low on the other pieces but those are done.

I got a little yard work done Tuesday before the bad weather showed up. The Missus volunteered that I should plant a little more grass seed where the new well pipe went through the yard. While that's true, it wasn't really on my radar. Done now though.

Didn't get much of anything else done, though. Hot, muggy, windy and monsoon rains in the afternoon. Power went out several times in the evening. I know the generator works now. It's got a five second delay before it starts up, so whenever the power goes out, just stop what you're doing and things will be up and running before you can count to ten. I was surprised that it took almost a year before the thing actually was needed. I'll still keep flashlights and kerosene lamps around. I don't know how well the electronics on the gen-set are protected against a lightning surge. Belt & suspenders as it were.

The weather looks to be decent starting today and for the next five or so. Perfect for working in the shop. I'll see if I can't take advantage of it.

Going to have to take care of some storm damage also.

When Will We Ever Learn?

Beautiful weekend if you just consider the weather. I picked up some work to do on Friday so I did a bit of fooling around trying to figure out a way to streamline the operation a bit. I need to make at least twenty pieces of one part. They're not that hard to make but because the part is small it's hard to hold to do what I need to do. I made a couple pieces up trying different approaches and I think I've got it down to where I can knock them out pretty quickly now. I'm sure they will be needing more of these in the future, so I'd like to master the procedure. I've got another part to make as well. I should make at least thirty of these. These get plasma cut out of stainless sheet, then get two holes drilled, a couple of bends, and a small tack weld. That'll keep me busy for a bit.

I got out and walked with a group from the boxing club yesterday. Several of the guys ran, a couple young guys rode bikes and a couple of us walked - I got three miles in. It was easy to stay at a safe "social distance" on the walking path. I don't know how important all that is now. The warm sunshine is supposed to kill the virus rather quickly. If it doesn't, there's going to be a big surge of people getting sick after all the groups out protesting, rioting/looting. If they don't get sick, it will be pretty obvious that, once again, the guys in charge don't know their asses from a hole in the ground. "We're from the government and we're here to help."

"When will we ever learn, when will we ever learn?" 

Cool Water

I went to the hardware store to see about the gasket for my pitcher pump and they had one but it was larger than the old one I brought in to match up. Since the gasket is made from leather, I figured I'd just make my own.

I had a sheet of leather, so I traced around the old one and cut it out after making some adjustment for the distorted shape. I punched a hole for the center bolt and punched holes where the check valve hinges. When I went to install it, it looked like maybe I should have made the OD bigger. In fact the hardware store gasket might have worked. I'm going to make up another larger one for a spare before I put all the tools away. I should be set then for as long as I'm going to be living here. Never occurred to me to have a spare until this one failed. I suppose if you were going to be homesteading or living "inside the wire" you'd put a little more effort and planning into what you'd need for spares and tools than what I've done. Since I've got all kinds of tools and a hardware store is only about 5 minutes away, most of my disaster planning has been food, water and shelter. However, if it's not prudent to leave the house or transportation isn't running, things could get very bad in a very short period of time.

While continuing the clean-up campaign in the big barn, I broke down a couple of bike tires. The three small spoons/levers in the photo are store bought. They're handy enough to pack along if you were touring but they don't offer enough leverage to make it easy to get that initial bit of tire over the edge of the rim. The two longer ones are a couple I made up from 1/2" cold rolled that I hammered out on one end. Not real handy to pack along on the bike but they sure make the job easier. The length was determined by the tool box I used to carry along for my race bike. The other little gizmo in the photo is a tire tool that is used to bleed the air out, remove the valve core and hold the valve stem in place when changing a tire. Everyone should have one of these in their kit. The county usually has a recycling day when you can take in old tires but that didn't happen this year. Maybe I'll set the old tires out behind the shop and start a mosquito farm until I can recycle them. Making progress on the clean-up at least.

I had to replant a couple of the mounds for the cukes and cantaloupes. My seed was stuff left over from a couple of years ago. I didn't want to leave the shack to get new seed, also, all I really needed was about four seeds of each. It's still early enough I should be able to harvest a couple of things from these as long as they germinate. If not, a couple of the cantaloupes did come up so I should get some melons one way or the other. The tomatoes and peppers are looking good and I'll be getting some strawberries soon. Gooseberries are looking good, so there should be a pie in my future.

I did read something the other day concerning gardening that I found interesting. Even though you may have a large garden with a variety of vegetables, the caloric content in these is probably not going to be enough to support you. As a half-assed vegan, I can tell you man does not live by garden vegetables alone. If you add in some some cheese, pasta, rice, or potatoes, you can make it through the day alright but long term living off veggies is not going to sustain you very well. However, fresh garden veggies and fruit are a great way to balance out your diet and supplement your food stores.

This pandemic has been pretty interesting from a scholarly point of view. The Missus and I have been doing quite well, fortunately. However, just about every day I come across something I had never considered as far as disaster preparations are concerned. Hopefully we'll never have to go through something like this again but it has given me the opportunity to see a few weak spots in my quest for self-sufficiency. The cost of freedom is eternal vigilance, after all.

Sore Tooth

The sore tooth I mentioned the other day decided to really blow up Sunday afternoon. I went to the dentist yesterday and the offender is the last remaining wisdom tooth. He prescribed some anti-biotics that hopefully will quiet things down. If not - out it comes. It states on the package that the anti-biotic may cause diarrhea. Not just while taking it but weeks or months down the road. So now I have to deal with a pandemic, civil unrest with protest marches and riots and whether or not I'll be able to make it from my shop to the bathroom in the house. Shitting my pants may not be a big concern in the big picture with all that's going on, but it damn sure is a big thing on a personal level.

I read an editorial in the Fabricator magazine the other day concerning individual health during this time of pandemic. Since the cooties only seems to effect people if they are old, fat and sickly, the editorial stresses the importance of not being fat and sickly - not much any of us can do about growing old. The editorial offered an interesting take on why we should all take charge of our personal health from a source usually associated with the business end or specific techniques of manufacturing.

Now in an attempt to tie the two paragraphs together, a couple of observations from the quarantine. I was probably as well prepared or better prepared for the pandemic as the average guy. Not knowing what exactly I was preparing for makes it a bit difficult to be prepared for all contingencies. I don't have any anti-biotics in house, so I had to leave the house to go to the dentist. However, the dentist just recently opened back up. I don't know what if anything I can do about that.

Sunday I went to put the pitcher pump back on the stand pipe and found out the gasket between the top and bottom pieces of the pump was leaking. Since I got the generator and a new well, I should have water all the time, but if the electric pump were to quit, what then? I'm heading to the hardware store today to see if they have a replacement part. If so, I'll get two.

I usually keep a few bucks cash around the shack but my real stash is in the lock box at the bank. I don't know if I can get access to that or not. Most all of the banks have closed their lobbies and all banking is done through the drive-up windows. I'd rather not keep a lot of cash on hand but I would like to make sure I can access it during a time of emergency. Need to think about that. Ammo can buried out back with a pirate map I can give to Surly. All of you might want to consider spending more cash and less debit or credit card. The government now can follow you around by tracking your phone, vehicle and purchase records. Probably the only reason they haven't outlawed cash already is they don't allow you to buy weed with a debit card and they don't want to lose that source of revenue. Thanks dopers.

Looks like I need to make a list of spare parts and stock up on essential items - redundancy. Two is one, one is none and all that. Probably be a good idea to get one of the old bikes running that doesn't have any electronics to worry about in case of an EMP event. I also need to do a better job of rotating my back up food supply to keep it fresh. Maybe start a calendar with a list of things to do annually, semi-annually, monthly, etc. Now that there's people taking it to the streets, which is liable to get worse before the summer is over, take some action in that direction as well. I keep a bag packed in my truck all the time but the Missus needs to put something similar together.

The tooth is feeling a little better now after taking a couple of Tylenol, so I'll get busy. Just need to remember - never trust a fart!