Baby Sportster?

I saw an ad in the latest AMA magazine for this bike. It's from QJ Motors - a firm I'd never heard of before. The ad listed SSR Motorsports as the exclusive distributor for the SRV 300. At first glance it looked like another iteration of a Sportster, but it's only 300cc and $5,000. Too small and not near expensive enough to be a HD. QJ Motors and Benelli are both owned by the same company, QJ Group. I'm familiar with the Benelli name, but they're now Chinese rather than Italian. The link will give you a short update on the brand.

And speaking of Sportsters, I put the cam chest back together but neglected to install the rear brake pivot shaft through the hole in the cover. I'll blame that on the fact I didn't take it apart along with the fact I had the cable and shaft zip-tied out of the way - out of sight, out of mind. Fortunately, I bought two gaskets when I ordered, so no real harm done. Just a pain in the ass having to take it apart again. I finished up installing the lifters and pushrods yesterday, so the engine work should be complete now. 

Next up is deciding if I want to make a rack for behind the seat while I've got the rear wheel off. If so, need to get that completed and then I can install the new tire. I still need to get a front tire and decide if I want to replace the drag pipes, which I do. I just don't know if I can buy something like I want at a reasonable price or if I want to go through the trouble of making a set. I'm leaning toward fabbing up a set and then sending them out for the Jet Hot coating like I did on the jitney. A couple of short slip-on mufflers would be an easy improvement from a noise stand-point. Something else to think about.

And while we're talking motorbikes, The AMA magazine also had an article about the Royal Enfield motor bicycle from 1901. Basically, this is a brand new, hand-built machine to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the company in 2021. Interesting article. Royal Enfield has some sharp people in their marketing, as well as in their engineering department. I don't have any firm sales figures, but they seem to be selling a lot of motorcycles here in the US now. I'm happy with my Himalayan. It was fun riding it on my little road-trip last weekend. The 650 models are probably more in line with what riders here in the US are looking for. Most American riders think even a 650 is too small but I'd be willing to ride my 411cc Himalayan cross country, but I'm a guy who has ridden a good part of the country on a bicycle. 

And now for something completely different, I picked up a couple of loaves of sourdough bread the other day as payment for the repair on the cart at the CSA. That's one of the prettiest loaves of bread I've ever seen - tastes as good as it looks also. The bartering system is still alive and well and with the way things are going, might be making a real solid comeback in the not too distant future.

Baby Pickup

 

I saw this Hyundai pickup in the parking lot at the grocery store Monday. I saw one in Tulsa last year when I was out there, but this is the first one I've seen around here. It's a cute little thing but not much good for hauling. If you could put a trailer hitch on it, it might be pretty handy. I like the cover on the bed - good for securing things when you're parked and out of the elements. I don't know what kind of mileage it gets, but probably much better than my full-size Ford. I filled it and a 5 gallon can last night and the tab was $76.44. Probably much cheaper to fill up the Hyundai.

I was looking at the ass end of the Sportster trying to decide what to do about the two holes in the fender and I was struck by the thought a small rack would be handy. The license plate bracket is pretty stout, so I could make something that would bolt to the license plate bracket in the rear and the two holes in the front. It's a small area but the rack could cantilever over the bracket a bit. I wouldn't want it to be an eyesore, but it would be nice to have a spot to strap on a jacket or rain gear. I'm going to give that some thought. I did order a rear tire and tube, so progress hasn't stopped completely.

The grandson is now officially enrolled in college. He'll be starting welding classes in January. Very proud of the young man.

It's a Very Strange World

 

Master Jack came out in 1968, the year I graduated from high school. '68 was a very strange world, but in retrospect, nothing compared to what's going on now and the last couple of years. Obviously, you can't downplay Vietnam, but we've had riots, big bank bankruptcies, and if we keep the proxy war going against the Russians, we're going to have more than we can handle, maybe even on the home front. Let's not forget the pandemic, either. It's now becoming painfully obvious that everything associated with Covid-19 and the vaccines was total bullshit. In fact, some would say the whole deal was manufactured, both the virus and the "cure", to start reducing the population. Scary shit, right there.

I went to the doctor yesterday and, as I suspected, he cut me loose. However, since I'm not back to 100 percent, he said to keep doing my therapy and start doing some strength training. Since I actually did my therapy as he had instructed and he knew I was a boxing instructor, I think he figured I might actually do what he suggested. He explained the benefits of the strength training for my blood sugar and my overall health. He gave me the print-out "Barbell Training is Big Medicine" from Starting Strength. This fits right in with my plan of getting signed up at a health club. 

On the way home I stopped at the county park to check out the trails for our Sunday walks/hikes. The park focuses on farm life from around 1910 as well as an earlier section of the park with a log home and outbuildings. The trails are nice and we'll be able to do a 3-4 mile walk and it's close to home.

It's been quite a while since I've taken any photos with a film camera. I dug this one out a couple of weeks ago and put a roll of film in it. Since it's a box camera, there aren't any aperture or shutter speed adjustments. I used ASA 125 film, which is faster than what was probably used back when the camera was new. And the shutter might be a little slower than originally due to its age, which means the negatives might be over exposed by a stop or two. Only one way to find out and that's to get the roll developed. I shot the roll on one of our Sunday hikes and at the county park so no once in a lifetime shots. I'm going to load another roll in one of my good twin lens cameras and when I get that one shot up, I'll mix up some fresh chemicals and develop both rolls.

I installed the new trim on the shop window after I got home. One of the 2x4s was a little warped, so the joints aren't quite as tight as I would like, but that's what caulk is for. Depending on the weather, I want to get it caulked today and then paint over the nail heads and give it a second coat.

Busy day yesterday. I'm hoping to keep my momentum up for a while. I've got more to do outside and with the nice weather, it's a good time to do it. It's nice to be able to use both arms again.

Dream a Little Dream

 

Put on the Mamas & Papas while in the woodshop the last couple of days. Great group from back in the day.

I rode the Himalayan south Saturday for a funeral service for my cousin's husband. Beautiful day for a bike ride. In fact, I was thinking on the way down how nice it would be if I kept on going all the way to Kentucky or Tennessee. As it ended up, however, I put about 120 miles on the bike for the round trip. 

After I got home I made the pieces to replace the trim on the shop window. I painted one side after cutting them out and painted the other side Sunday morning before going on a hike. I'll see about installing them today after I see the shoulder doc this morning. I imagine he'll cut me loose after telling me to keep doing the exercises. My range of motion still needs some work but I'm a good 90% now.

Going along with that, my Medicare insurance provider has a health club deal. there aren't any in town here but down the road a bit there are two. One has a heavy bag and is open 24/7. I'm going to check it out and see if it works for me when the weather turns cold.

 

Bicycle Repair Man

 

I used to watch Monty Python every week on the local PBS station - don't know where they came up with their ideas, but definitely entertaining.

The seat on this aluminum framed bicycle is cantilevered out behind the shock mount. I should have included a photo of the whole bike to make it easier to see where the cracked section is located and better understand why it cracked, but I wanted to show the original weld and the new crack in detail.

This photo gives a better idea of how it all works as well as the finished weld on the right side of the bike. The seat post is the tube on the far left of the photo. 

The left side had a crack through the middle of the original repair, plus another crack that ran along the bottom edge. I ground the weld down and rewelded it. There was nothing wrong with the original repair. The material is just too thin for the type of service the bike was subjected to. The bike is now in the hands of a new owner who I would assume will take it a little easier on the jumps. I contemplated adding some additional gusseting but think it should be fine now.

Bicycle Repair Man to the rescue once again! 

Constitution Day

 Happy belated Constitution Day! 

As Ron Paul explains above, this is how things are supposed to be, not the screwed up mess we find ourselves in now. Hillsdale College offers a free course - Constitution 101 - if you wish to learn more. I've never taken it, but I really should. I do have the free copy of the Constitution they send out and their bumper sticker about loving the Constitution. The federal government ignoring the Bill of Rights is what concerns me the most. The first and second amendments are the ones that get the most discussion, but the 10th was designed to prevent many of the things Mr. Paul cited above. Most of the power is to remain with the states, not the federal government.

I don't classify myself as a conspiracy theorist, I'm more of the paranoid type. But that doesn't rule out being bat-shit crazy I suppose. 

I spent Constitution Day morning doing a 5K. They dropped the racewalk class this year, so I was contemplating doing a little running. I tried running a bit the other morning. I wore my "girdle" and I had a little chest pain later on in the day, but nothing serious. However, when it was time to line up for the race, I saw the 84 year old guy getting ready to toe the line. He beat me last year and I didn't know if he would show up this year, both because of his age, and the fact there was no racewalk class. He got a jump on me at the start but I closed to within a few feet of him at about the half way point. I think he got tired of hearing my footsteps and tried picking up the pace, but it looked like he developed a stitch in his side because he was holding on to his side. At that point, since we are in different age divisions, I could have passed him by running easily enough, but I didn't want to try and overtake him by walking. I've got a lot of respect for the old dude. Actually, he probably would've beat me anyway. He's a competitor. However, if I had picked it up a little I would have placed third in my age bracket and they were giving awards to the top three finishers. I got beat by six seconds. Coach Jen did place third in her age group. 

Lumberjacking

 

Now that the shoulder is serviceable, I'm tackling some overdue yard maintenance here at the shack. My neighbor has a bucket lift, so I invited him over to partake in the fun. He lopped off some branches that were rubbing the power line coming into the house and the feed for my shop. I got the ground man job hauling branches away and doing the final clean-up.

I also finished cutting up the downed tree as well - gave my shoulder a good workout, and the rest of me as well. It's been quite a while since I've done much physical work and I felt it the next morning. Not bad, but enough to remind me I need to get back to the gym and/or doing some more strenuous work around the shack. I'm going to rent a log splitter to take care of the wood in the photo as well as some other pieces I've got that need splitting which will help with that. I'm also going to take a tour next week of a health club nearby. It's a no contract, 24/7 place. I'm looking for a warm place for the winter months.

My former colleagues at the high school, Kevin and DJ, got the bushings for TVI taken care of. Thanks to both of those gentlemen, and congratulations to Kevin on the birth of his daughter.

I need to take a trip north to take care of some business/run some errands. 5K this weekend and some odds jobs on the agenda, like always. It's been nice working outside lately. Fast approaching my favorite time of the year, meaning I need to finish a few things before the weather turns.