I re-assembled the Sportster rear end yesterday. After hooking up the brake cable I turned the rear wheel over by hand while pushing down on the brake pedal. I can tell the drum is a little off center after being turned, but I don't think it'll be a problem. In addition to being out of round, the drum was tapered slightly. Now the taper is gone, as is the out of roundness. It is slightly off center, but I'm not concerned about it - good finish on the drum and new linings, it should give good braking and, most importantly, be safe.
I installed the new shocks while I was in the shop. I still need to reinstall the chain guard and align the rear wheel. I usually run a straight edge along the wheels or pull a string line for that. Since the heat was climbing again, I left the tools out and headed for the shack after getting the shocks installed. I'll get out to the shop this morning and get things cleaned up before it gets hot and then install the rebuild kit for the front brake master cylinder. I need to check the manual to see what brake fluid it requires before I can bleed the system.
Another two-tone green Ford pickup truck. I'm still considering a similar combination for the jitney. Maybe light green with the dark green for some accent stripes. That's a long way off, and if the temperatures don't cool down some, it'll be even longer.
I managed to finish this one while escaping the heat. I bought this one and another of Least Heat-Moons' books recently from Abe Books. They were dirt cheap and came with free shipping. I read Blue Highways by him years ago and re-read it not too long ago - one of the few books I've ever read twice. It's a great story of traveling across the United States. I've covered a lot of the same ground using the blue highways myself. One of these days I'll try Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance for the third or fourth time and see if I can force my way through it.
3 comments:
I've had the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Madness forever but have yet to read it. we should make a youtube mini movie of the book in animation... like a cartoon version of the book as told by the author narration... however it would be described. no AI animation though. only hand drawn old type of cartoon. backgrounds painted by Bob Ross.
then post it on youtube and make everybody happy so we don't have to read the book. I'm not (can't) doing it.
Your movie idea sounds something like the Triplets of Belville - most enjoyable cartoon with a great soundtrack. However, in order to make the movie, one of us would have to actually read the book. Doesn't look like either of us are the ones for the job. I did read Zen and Now, which is about a guy following Pirsig's route. He gives his views on the trip and on Pirsig - Pirsig was a nut job. I wrote a short review of Zen and Now on the blog in November of 2012 and can recommend reading that one and just skipping Pirsig's book.
Life is too short to finish reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I did it. The ending makes no sense. It's just pine needles and philosophical gibberish. The fact that it's a seminal book is just an insult from commie navel gazers.
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