After Action Report

 

I did the 5Kyesterday morning - my slowest time ever - but the streets were snow covered and the snow kept piling up during the race. My goal was to keep from falling on my ass and I managed to do that in spite of having one close call. 

The roads were terrible but the race started just a few miles from my house. I've done a ton of running and walking events starting with a 10 miler in 1976 and I've only failed to not show up for an event I had registered for twice in all those years. Coach Jen decided to walk with me rather than run, so we chatted and she got her steps in for the day. I was surprised by the turnout with the weather and road conditions being what they were, but the overall winner still managed a 19-minute finishing time. I, on the other hand, did 19-minute miles.

I stopped at the grocery on the way home and I heard Elvis singing the above tune on the store's loudspeaker. It's my favorite Elvis Christmas tune and really showcases his voice. 

On a totally different subject, I came across this article:

KLAR: Did You Thank a Farmer This Thanksgiving? - Granite Grok

Since I live in farm country and they've taken thousands of acres out of production for solar farms, this hits pretty close to home. Not a long read, but if you eat, might want to give it a few minutes of your time.

Going out this morning and see what I need to do as far as snow removal. Depending on the outcome of that, I'm planning on getting out to the shop for a couple of hours.

5K Snow Day

 

I got the front end back under the vintage trials bike yesterday. I still need to fill the forks with oil. The nearest I can tell they take 135cc of 10 weight fluid. Fortunately, I have some in house. I'll check that I've got all the bolts tightened up and then see about getting the motor installed. 

I'm doing a 5K this morning - should be fun. 26 degrees and snowing they say. I've actually been training for this one. One of the local churches has a recreation center with a walking track - 8 laps make a mile. I've been walking twice a week for 45 minutes each time. Depending on conditions, however, I might just pussy-foot the whole course. Don't want to break a hip, you know. 

The forecast is anywhere from 6 to 10 inches of snow, so I did get the snowblower running yesterday. It has a 110-volt starter, so I don't have to try and start a cold 8hp motor with the recoil. I've got a couple of snow shovels ready to go as well. Just have to see what develops. Hopefully it won't involve me throwing my back out after a lot of shoveling.  

It's a Heartache

 

The day before Thanksgiving two National Guard soldiers are shot in the nation's capital and as I write this, they are in critical condition. Things in this country just keep getting crazier.

On the homefront, I went in search of a "MC" acetylene tank Tuesday. I thought it was going to be a long haul but about halfway I went by a welding shop that had a sign advertising the fact they are a drop point for the company my tank came from. I did a quick turn around in the middle of the road and "sho nuff", they had what I needed and saved me some drive time. 

While talking to the owner he asked me if I knew Joe B. who was a high school shop teacher and a steel purveyor. As a matter of fact, I worked with him for 14 years and we had a couple of classes together at Purdue. In fact, his shop was right next to mine at the career center and we became good friends. Joe was quite the critter but burning the candle at both ends led to him having a heart attack and passing away at the young age of 42. He left quite an impression on me and I'm sure everyone else who crossed his path, just like the weld shop owner.

When I got home I went to open up the tank and the stem on the valve twisted off. Now I had two full tanks that I couldn't use. So yesterday I head back out to the welding supply. They gave me two tanks with small hand wheels on them, rather than the tanks requiring the wrench. Since I don't do too much soldering with the air-acetylene torch, these two tanks might be a lifetime supply.

The automotive machinist checked in and the cylinder head is going to require a lot of work, which translates into a lot of money, but I told him to go ahead. Again, since I'm working a five-year plan now, old Allis should be serviceable at least that long.

The next few days I plan on getting the tractor radiator finished, painting the hood and grill, and putting the front end back together on the vintage trials bike. They're forecasting snow coming in Saturday along with colder temps. Since the tractor won't be running, might just be hunkering down here for a few days and get some work done.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I hope you're able to spend some time with friends and family and truly give thanks for all your blessings.

Always Something

 

I got the radiator out of the shroud and went to test it but when I went to hook up the tester on the tank neck I found the neck was too long for the tester to reach the bottom and seal. After a quick couple of minutes and measurements, I hopped in the truck to get an "O" ring from the hardware store, then came home and spit out an aluminum spacer ring on the lathe. Worked just like I planned it - not that it was all that difficult.

When I got the pressure tester hooked up, I found that the leaks were along the seam where the top tank is fastened to the core. The hard part was getting the seam clean enough to get a good bond. I got one side done, I hooked the tester back up and when I got done pumping it up the tester slipped out of my hand and poked a hole in one of the tubes. I finished up the leaks on top and I'll try and solder the hole in the tube today. If I don't have any luck, I'll cut the ends of the tube and solder where they enter the tanks. I'll then tackle trying to get the shroud soldered back on the radiator without causing another leak. The place where I bought my parts has a replacement radiator listed as out of stock, so I'm going to have to fix this one.

I had another raccoon get into the shop. I heard it up on top, so I set the trap. I caught it two days later and it wasn't at all happy in there. It tore the handle off so I couldn't use it to carry the trap down the ladder. The trap has a couple of short chains I use to keep the trap in place, so I grabbed those and lifted the trap up that way. When I did the coon jumped up and tried to bite me. No harm done but made me jump and turn loose of the trap. I got it taken care of, but I need to do a walk around the shop again and see if I can figure out where they are getting in. I got the trap cleaned up and the repairs made, so I'll get it set again and then get back on the tractor job.

Tractor Progress

 

This one struck a chord with me, since in one of the last classes I taught at the community college, 4 out of 10 students couldn't tell time. As my dear old Pappy used to say: "Couldn't pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were written on the heel."

The valve cover looks pretty good with a fresh coat of paint and the new chrome breather. 

I welded up the radiator shell yesterday and I remembered I had a quart of Allis orange I bought years ago to paint the fenders after repairing them. I opened it up and it looks good, surprisingly enough, so I'll paint the shell and the hood before it goes back together.

I dug the radiator pressure testing kit out yesterday and checked to see if I had the proper size plugs to pressure test the radiator. The kit was designed to test a radiator while installed in a vehicle, but mine has some homemade gizmos using rubber balls that are inserted into the inlet and outlets and then seal the openings by squeezing the rubber balls using the big wing nut. In the photo, I stuck one of the plugs in the lower hose. The rubber plug wouldn't fit in the top but there was a Rube Goldberg fitting that was in the box that worked just fine. I'll see about filling the radiator with water today and pumping up some pressure and see what's leaking. The tractor parts are due to arrive today, so as long as I can fix the radiator, I'll be set with my end of the repair, after I paint, that is.

I replaced a deck board yesterday, so I loaded up the necessary tools in my old carpenter toolbox to take to the job. I got to thinking about the box when I was putting the tools away, trying to remember when I made it. I'm not exactly sure, but if memory serves me correctly, I was working as a maintenance man at MarBel Corporation some 50 years ago. When I made it the Missus and I were newlyweds living in an apartment and I kept all of my woodworking tools in the box. The box was kept in my little closet workshop until we got our first house and I had a garage for my tools.   

That's Alright Mama

 

I got the cylinder head delivered to the machinist, so that's alright with me. He said he'll see what it needs and call me at the end of this week or next week. I ordered the gasket set, oil filter and a few other things - they should be in next week. I went shopping yesterday and got the oil and anti-freeze, along with a new fan belt and some orange engine enamel. I painted the valve cover later in the day.

 The radiator shell needs a good cleaning and a small weld repair. The radiator itself needs to have the leak(s) repaired and then the fan shroud reattached. However, I'm fairly certain at least one of the leaks is coming from an area that's down in the right corner hidden by the shroud and as you can see in the photo, the shroud has come loose on the bottom left. I'm going to get the dirt and grease cleaned up today and come up with a plan of attack.

Once I get the radiator repaired, I can get back on the motorcycle projects as well as the list of things to tackle around the shack. 

New Mufflers

 

The mufflers are installed and looking good. I didn't fire the bike up so I could hear how they sound, but that'll happen. My main concern right now is getting the tractor running.

I degreased the cylinder head and valve cover and then tried to call the machinist. When I dialed the number it said it couldn't go through. I had talked to TVI earlier in the day about finding a shop and he said the only one he knew about was the one I was trying to call. After failing to get through, I sent him a message and he sent me the correct number and the actual name of the place. I called the correct number, but no answer. Looks like there's going to be a lot of leg work trying to get the machine work done along with rounding up all the parts.

I did get the lawn mowed for the last time of the season and I picked up the radiator for the tractor. That's looking like it's going to be more than a simple fix as well but finding a radiator repair shop would probably be about like finding an automotive machine shop. I'll give it a go and see what I can do.  

Mud Daubers

Nikola and I put in 4 miles at the park yesterday. When I got home I got the old mountain bike out of the barn to get the tires aired up and check the batteries on the lights. My handlebar bag was not zipped fully due to the pepper spray sticking out for easy access. When I opened the bag, much to my surprise, I found mud dauber nests in there. I'm glad they were empty and I didn't run into the same trouble I did with the yellow jackets in the woodpile. The batteries in the tail light and the small headlight are still good, but the large 6 volt is dead. I'll be making a run to Menards this week, so I'll add that to the list.

I got the Sportster muffler project about 5 minutes from being finished when the neighbor called about the tractor. He had the head pulled off and one of the valves sticks out farther than the rest. The cylinder liners don't look bad, but he wasn't real certain where the anti-freeze was getting into the oil. Cylinders 3 & 4 have been getting fluid in them, so probably the head gasket. I've got a number to call today for a guy who comes highly recommended when it comes to working on these old things. 

The neighbor said he'll have the radiator out of the tractor today. Depending on the outcome of the phone call, I'll see about delivering the head, finishing the mufflers and repairing the radiator.  

Bike Stuff

 

I don't think I've ever posted an Emmylou Harris song on here before. I did see her in concert once, years ago. I was listening to tunes on my phone while in the shop yesterday and this one came up. If you pick a song, You Tube will make a "mix tape" of songs that are similar. Since I like most any type of music, I'm usually happy with whatever comes up, especially songs like this one that I haven't heard in a long time. The only problem with that is they throw in a commercial usually after every two songs. Which means I have to grab the phone and hit skip when the commercials come on. Small price to pay I suppose.

I finished the muffler brackets for the Sportster yesterday - everything but paint that is. I'll take care of that today and then get everything back together. The long bracket in the photo is the stock support bracket I believe. It didn't line up with the drag pipe on the front cylinder when I got the bike. I made a 1" bushing that got the pipe lined up where it should be and made a tab to hold the muffler stud in place. The brackets for both mufflers have slots so I can slip them on the shortened drag pipes. I bent a little return bend on the end of the slot to prevent the mufflers from falling off if the nuts come loose. 

By the time I finished out in the shop it was dark and I still hadn't gotten the mail. I have an aluminum bracket I made on the bike handlebar for mounting a flashlight. The original flashlight I made it for was a Dorcy brand that used AA batteries. It got broke somehow, so I ordered a replacement, but they sent me a different style. This one uses D cell batteries and the beam is a bright circle of about 12" in diameter when shining out in front of the bike at a distance of about 8'. The old one had a nice wide circle of light that is much better for bike riding. I'm going to park this bike for the winter and get out the old mountain bike. It's set up for riding in the dark with a pair of lights one near and one far. 

I took the Allis over to the neighbor's shop yesterday. I don't know how much he's going to want me to help him with the actual mechanic work, but I'll take care of all the leg work of getting parts and fluids. The radiator is leaking, so I'll see about repairing that. I've fixed quite a few radiators over the years but it's been a while since I've done one. I've got a kit to pressurize them in order to find a leak and to check the repair before putting it back in the vehicle - just need to find it.

In addition to getting the snow blower ready to go, I'm going to get the David Bradley going as well. It has a blade on the front of it. The tractor hasn't been run in years, but the last time it was running well - might come in handy while waiting for the Allis to come home and I've been thinking about selling it and the attachments anyway. Might as well get it ready to take to the auction house.  

Muffler #1

 

I've got the first muffler just about ready to go. As you can tell from the photo it's drooping a bit, so I need to bend the new bracket to raise it up a bit. The bracket's made from a piece of 3/16" angle, so I'll need to heat it up a bit in order to bend it. When I'm happy with that one I'll tackle the one on the front cylinder. That one will be easier - just a tab on the stock muffler bracket. 

It's supposed to be a beautiful day today, so I want to cut the grass, mainly to chop up the leaves, and install the bracket on the outside wall for the ham radio antenna wire. I need to get the snowblower ready to go as well.

I got a membership at the local recreation center. It's one of those big inflatable structures with a walking/running track, weight room, pickle ball courts and fitness classes. It's part of a local church, it's only about a 5-minute drive from the shack and it's only $25.00 per month with no contract. I've been going there a couple days a week and walking briskly for 45 minutes, as well as doing some strength training and Tai-Chi on the off days. I'm starting to feel some improvement. I needed to do something since I'm not coaching any boxers anymore. And the way things are going, we might all become hunter/gatherers in the future. Best to be in shape.

Winter Wonderland

 First we take Manhattan, then we shovel snow, and then we take Berlin. It appears as if the Islamists have taken over New York. The newly elected mayor is not only an Islamist but also a Socialist. It's interesting that the 9/11 attack was also brought about by Islamists. How quickly they forget. 

As for the rest of the country, let us hope they at least remember that today is Veterans Day and take a moment to remember all that have served to make this country great. It's time to quit fighting amongst ourselves and do what's best for the country. I normally try to tip-toe around politics on here, but it's time for all the Neros in Washington to stop fiddling while the country is burning.

We got 3-4 inches of snow Sunday night. Since the tractor is out of service, that's probably a foreshadowing of what's to come this winter. I shoveled the sidewalk and the aprons to the garage, so they'd dry out and about two hours later it was snowing again. Looks like it might be one of those winters. 

I worked a bit in the shop Sunday. I turned the heater on to warm it up but the propane only lasted about 20 minutes. I knew the tank was about empty but I've got spares. I did start on getting the mufflers installed on the Sportster, though. I decided to finish the Sportster before the trials bike. It won't take much to finish up the pipes and install the new ignition, then I can put it to bed for the winter and it'll be ready to ride come springtime. 

50 Years Gone

 

Emotional Weather Report

 

First post with the new computer. Cold and rainy day and they're talking a high of 34 today with a little rain in the forecast or maybe spitting a little snow. I'm glad I got most of my outdoor stuff done before the weather turned. I've still got a lot more that needs done, but most of the rest of it can be done when it's cold outside. 

If you're looking for a little background music for a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon, listen to these favorites of mine from way back that are still extremely relevant to what's going on today. In fact, Marvin was asking that question back then.

Yep, that's all there is.

Autumn Leaves

 

The top photo is a shot in the back yard. It sure looks good at this time of year. It would look nicer without the big propane tank in the photo, but you have to have one somewhere if you want to have heat.

The bottom photo shows the railroad tracks that run parallel to the tree line in the other photo. Straight as an arrow to the end of the line at the power plant next town over. The power plant was scheduled to be closed down but apparently the new wind and solar projects aren't enough to pick up the slack. However, if they keep taking prime farm ground out of production for the solar farms, they won't be able to plant basements on the property which will slow down the influx of people moving in from points west and keep the power demand from growing too fast also.

The weather has been beautiful lately. A bit warmer than normal for this time of year which has delayed the trees changing color, as well as the one apple tree blooming, it's been great weather for painting and doing other outside chores. I painted the man door on the shop, the trim on the chicken coop, some trim on the house and some other outside chores. 

I pulled the old Allis out of the barn yesterday to get it winter ready - put some air in the tires, installed the new shoes on the scraper blade and then started checking all the fluids. Everything was going well until the last thing I checked was the engine oil and it's looking pretty milky. I talked to my neighbor the mechanic to see if he'd be willing to work on it. I'm going to start it up today and see if there are bubbles in the radiator. I don't want to spend any great some of money on a repair, but I don't want to spend a great some of money on a replacement either. I checked out Steiner Tractor Parts and they have a kit with the head and valve cover gaskets plus a couple other necessary items for $70.00. Might as well grind the valves, maybe mill the surface while the head is off too. With labor, $500 to $700 at least - maybe more. I haven't had any machine work done for a long time. No way I could get another tractor for that kind of money. Steiner also has a kit with pistons and sleeves and the whole works for a bit over $620. That would run the total bill up well over a grand, but it might be worth it. At my age, probably good for a lifetime. 

Shorties

 

The shorty mufflers came in yesterday. They are short, measuring only 12" long. I took a look in the afternoon to see what would be involved to get them mounted up. It looks like I'll just need to shorten up the drag pipes by about 8" and then weld a couple of tabs onto the muffler bracket to fasten the new mufflers onto. I don't mind hacking the drag pipes off a bit - they're a dime a dozen - and any tabs I weld onto the bracket can be cut off if in the future someone would want to put stock pipes or another set of drag pipes on.

I'm going to finish putting the front end back together on the trials bike next, however. I get that done and I'll be able to roll it out of the way and roll the Sportster up front where the welder and the heater are. It's going to be nice the next few days, so I want to get some things done around the shack before it gets too cold. It won't take too much to finish up both the Sportster and the trials bike, then move on to the next one along with whatever else comes along. Something else always comes along.

More Moto Thoughts +

 

If I were to start my radio station, this one would be on the playlist. A short song like most of the ones I listened to on WLS back in the day. They had to be short to get the song to fit on a 45rpm record. Lots of good music on those records, though. 

I stumbled across this while looking for the Ducati video. It's an in-depth look at the shrinking number of motorcycles on the road. I didn't listen to all of it, but I heard the most obvious things I'd already thought about - cost, older riders aging out, and young people not willing to put their phones down long enough to learn to ride. 

Since I didn't listen to the whole thing, I don't know if he addressed the issue of motorcycle dealers who don't want to deal. When I was shopping for a bike when I bought my Himalayan, I went to a couple of shops to see what was out there. I had read about the Honda NC700 and it looked like something I would be happy with. The dealer had one on the floor that was two years old but he wasn't willing to deal at all. Likewise, I looked at a Ducati Scrambler that was a year old and that guy didn't want to budge any on the price either. He called me up a couple of days later and said he'd knock off a few bucks but then he quoted me a price that added back in a $1,500 setup and dealer fee of some sort. I settled on the Himalayan at Speed City Cycle in Indy. He was willing to talk and make a deal like grown-ups used to do. 

Royal Enfield has a nice line of bikes at very reasonable prices, by the way. Bikes that would be good for people just starting out, commuters and old farts like me who don't need the fastest thing on the street or that weighs 900 pounds. Mine's a little gutless for high-speed highways, but Itchy Boots rode hers halfway around the world. 

If you want to get new riders on bikes, you should be willing to bend a bit on the price of the bike, especially if you've got one that's been gathering dust sitting on the showroom floor for a year or two. You can make your profit on accessories - helmet, jacket, gloves, Tee shirt - and service. Or you can go out of business like a lot of dealers have in the last few years.

I spent some more of my Soc. Sec. check on a new welding helmet and some replacement parts. My eye never fully recovered after surgery in January so I bit the bullet and got an auto-darkening helmet. I see double at certain distances and my depth perception is not what it once was. The new auto-darkening helmets have a much bigger viewing area, and better clarity when viewing the arc. This one has a button on the outside of the helmet you push when switching to grinding mode, so you don't have to lift your helmet to change modes. The shades run from 5 to 13, and it's a Chip Foose model, which won't help my welding ability one bit, but I like the HD color scheme.

The other items are a replacement cutting shield. It's a Jackson acetate #5. It's hard to find the acetate shields. Most of the ones you come across are polycarbonate which scratch easily. The high school kids would lay the shield down on the bench face down so the part you looked through would always get scratched up. The acetate ones last much longer. In my case, probably a lifetime.

I also bought some replacement clear lenses for my Miller helmet that take an oddball size plastic. The new helmet came with spares, so like the cutting shield, probably a lifetime supply.

Italian Symphony

Continuing along with the muffler discussion, when I was looking for a photo of the Conti mufflers I decided to look a little deeper and went in search of a video. The one above features a highly modified Ducati Sport without Contis. Instead, it has a pair of reverse cone meggas, as the British say. If you're a fan boy of the bevel drive Ducatis like I am, you'll want to watch the whole thing. If you just want to see, and for our discussion hear, a 750 out on the road, skip ahead to the 4:00 minute mark. 

Comparing open pipes on the Ducati with the Sportster is a lot like the apples to oranges thing. The Ducati engine is a 90-degree twin, the Sportster a 45-degree twin. The state of tune from the factory favors the Ducati, but it has a long stroke for torque similar to the Harley. Later model Ducatis had a much shorter stroke to bore ratio. I've owned both and the later ones revved more like a Jap bike.

With the 45-degree design of the Sportster, they can't do much to change the bore/stroke ratio because they run into interference issues with the pistons due to the narrow vee angle. When comparing the two, I remember reading in one of the bike mags back in the seventies Ducatis were a Harley for the thinking man.

So, listen to the Ducati in the video to get an appreciation of what, in my opinion, a vee twin with open pipes should sound like. This is not a slam against the Harleys, they just need those drag pipes toned down a bit. The mufflers I ordered for the Sportster will be here this week. That should tone it down to a reasonable level.   

Finding Mufflers is Exhausting

Sportster pic straight from the Harley factory manual showing the 2 into 1 exhaust like one of the ones Surly brought down for me. If it hadn't have been hacked off and was still chrome, I'd have been all set. If whoever just wanted to make the bike louder would have taken the end cap out of it, there'd have been plenty of noise without destroying the looks of the pipe. Or better still, just open up the hole in the center of it. 

I'm finding this whole episode of dealing with pipes exhausting, pun intended. The drag pipes look cool, but they cause a loss of torque and in my book, they're just too loud. I've suffered enough hearing loss, primarily from the workplace, but also from firearms, cars, motorcycles, and rock and roll music. I also don't see any reason to irritate the neighbors. 

And one more thing, years ago in the town I was living in, the police were on a crusade against motorcycles. The cops would stop a loud bike and stick their nightstick up the pipe and it better hit something like a baffle or they'd write you a ticket. And while they had you pulled over, they'd measure your handlebars to make sure they weren't too tall. They'd also measure car bumpers if you had the rear end jacked up. Loud pipes don't seem to draw much police attention anymore, at least around here, and of course, with all the front wheel drive cars, no point in installing long shackles or air shocks like they used to do. 

These are what big twin mufflers should be. Straight through, no loss of horsepower, and make beautiful music. These are Conti pipes as found on bevel drive Ducati motorcycles like my '73 750 Sport. Them Eye-Ties had it going on when it came to designing things of beauty and function.