Street Rod

 

Saw this in the Cycle World weekly e-mail - new HD 750 Street Rod. Looks cool, priced at $8,699.00. It's got a few more ponies than the regular Street, as well as lots of other chassis improvements. I like it. Now that the Sportster has left the building, I've got room. 

Taking Out The Garbage

Tack welded the parts for the can mover. Looks like it's going to work just fine providing I can figure out the spring loaded latch. In the video they demonstrate moving the lever to actuate the release but the pin in the slot doesn't move until you take the weight off the can when lowering it down. Then it pops up out of the slot. When the lever is moved in the other direction, the pin drops back into the slot. I'm guessing that the lever and the pin are connected by a spring and there is also a spring pulling the pin downward into the slot. Still need to give that a bit more thought but I'll figure it out. I'm just like the Mounties - I always get my man.

The crazy weather didn't seem to bother the magnolia tree too much. Even though we got a bit of snow Friday night, it still blossomed out nicely. Good sign.

However, not a good sign, was what I saw in the Wall Street Journal the other day. The students at University of California, San Diego were protesting the announced choice of the commencement speaker as being offensive, oppressive and a few other things.Who is this bad man? The Dalai Lama! I've had the privilege and honor to see the Dalai Lama in person and if you think this man is oppressive or offensive, you really need to get in touch with reality. Maybe book a flight to Tibet right after graduation and see what those people have been putting up with or ask his Holiness what it's like having to live in exile. What a waste of an education.

I'm finishing the current session at my college this week. We don't have any protesting going on but the percentage of knuckleheads attending seems to be increasing. I think it's time to start stringing the concertina wire around the perimeter here at the shack and settle into the life of a recluse. I'm off next week for spring break and then I'm down to only 60 working days left in my career. With breaks and working only two days per week, that'll take me until December to get the 60 in, but I'm ready to go. The boss did me a real favor scheduling me four days per week. Made the decision to quit real easy.

Spring is on the way and taking out the garbage is becoming more enjoyable. There's always that silver lining.

Good Bye Old Paint

I sold the Sportster this past weekend. Surly was trying to broker a deal with the guy I bought it from to buy my Honda but the prospective buyer said he'd rather buy the Sportster back. He shot me a low ball number but I made the deal. I bought it from him when he was dealing with a serious medical issue, mainly to help him out, but also because I always wanted one like this. Thankfully, his health issue has been resolved and I wish him many safe miles in the saddle.

I started working on a device to transport my garbage can like the one in the previous post.

I made up most of the parts at the college the other day. I brought everything home to dial in some details when I had the truck and garbage can together, and to mill the slots needed in the piece of channel iron. I haven't quite worked out the details of the spring latch yet, but I'll get it. I'll get the parts all tacked together and see that it's going to work and then I'll iron out the rest of the wrinkles.

I also got the Dzus brackets made up and installed on the sidecar fender skirt and Surly sorted/organized some parts for the BSA when he came down to pick up the Sporty. There's not a lot left of fab work on the sidecar rig and I'm about 75% done on a Sprint project I've been tinkering with off and on. As soon as I finish the sidecar fender I'll see about jerking the motor on the bike and get back on the VW some more. I've got my schedule finalized at the college for the remainder of the year - two days per week from now on - so I'll have more free time, plus the weather's warming up so I should be able to pick up the pace a bit on the projects. I always say that but it never really seems to happen. Seems there's always something else that comes along to eat up my time. Could be worse, though. I've been there a few times before, as most all of us have.

Have a good week.

Craftsmanship & Clever Ideas

Surly sent me a link to this build. This dude's a fabricator. There's a step by step sequence of the build at the link. Check it out.

Saw this one over at Noot's. This is the way it used to be done. There's another photo of the backside of the drum at his site. Beautiful work. 

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And from the why didn't I think of this file, the cansporter. This goes into your receiver hitch so you can transport your garbage can without a hassle. I park my truck where there's about an 18" drop off from the level of the yard, so yanking it up into the back of the truck isn't too tough but I still have to drag it out when I get to the other end of the lane. It's a bit hard on the back if the can's loaded up heavy. One of these things would make it a lot easier. With shipping it's about $200. Might be worth the investment.

Custom fabrication on motorcycles and garbage can transporters. Good old Yankee ingenuity and craftsmanship - just two of the things that make America great.

Tough Guy

A former student of mine from my high school days posted this and a few additional photos on Facebook the other day. This is a photo I took when we used to train at the high school before we opened up the gym - probably close to 15 years ago. I always liked the photo because he looked so relaxed - he fought that way to. Always under control. He showed up for his first Golden Gloves appearance and he was wearing a black top and black trunks. After stepping into the ring, the ref had me put a band of athletic tape around his waist so the judges could see the belt line. I got about half way around and the ref commented that I might need another roll of tape! He fought as a Superheavy, needless to say. One of many Golden Glove champions Jimmy and I have had the pleasure to be associated with.

Both teaching and coaching can be very rewarding - can be a royal pain in the ass also, however. I'll probably continue to do some coaching in the future but I've made up my mind that my teaching days will be over at the end of the calendar year. I'm not all that impressed with Facebook but it's nice to see that many of my former students have turned out so well. With a lot of them, judging by what they were doing in high school, it could've gone either way. 

For all my fellow teachers and coaches out there, keep up the good work. Even if we get slapped around in the press and by the politicians, the students know and appreciate our efforts.