Snippets

[sportsterpaul]

Nice John, I too hope you get 20 years out of it. But I am pessimistic. Should your path cross with a “Speed Queen” machine check it out. They don’t advertise and are still American made.

[Steve9]

Yeh

I bought a new top-line LG. Worked wonderfully!

18 months boards went it would cost $700 to ficks, genius me got no service plan onit.

We ran out bought a new maytag $900. worked marginally.

I bitched about the LG on sociallized media and LG contacted me, sent a repairman out and totally fixed it.

The maytag, which has a service plan is out in the shed.

It's just my girl and I and two Bulldogs

I LOVE the LG so we shall see how long forever is this time. Next time I'll get a service plan

[Crusty]

I Hate Everybody


Today, the weather was nice, There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the temps were in the low 50s. It wasn’t as nice as yesterday was ( 63º F), but it was one hell of a lot nicer than the crap we had just a few weeks ago.

I had a number of errands to run, so I was out on the express hitting places like the post office, my brother’s shop, the cable company and the supermarket. I was in a fairly good mood when I came out of the supermarket and saw the scratch. Then my mood went straight to hell.

Some asshole had put a scratch down the painted panel of my left saddlebag. I don’t know if it was caused by a shopping cart, a typical Cincinnati driver with less than minimal driving skills or if it was a deliberately malicious act; but it really pissed me off. I’ve only had the new paint on the bike for two months and it’s already getting damaged. Hell; I haven’t put 500 miles on it yet. The good news is that I have the panel from the 40 liter bags, and I can swap it for the scratched piece. That knowledge isn’t helping my attitude, though. I’m still pissed.

So now I just have to try to focus on the good things in my life. If I can do that, I’ll feel better. I know; I’ll focus on that stripped button head Torx bolt on the 05 that I’ve been fighting for the past two days. I only had to remove the front fender and wheel to try to get it out. I will get it out, eventually, but it’s being a royal PITA. It should have been a 30 minute job to put the crash bar on the Roadster, however, tomorrow will be day three (I took today off because I was in a really bad mood after returning home from running errands). I’m really tempted to go buy a Dremel tool. It seems that no matter how many tools I have, I’m always missing the one that would make a job a sh*tload easier.

On a good note, I was at Cin City (I still think that’s a stupid name for a motorcycle shop) H-D yesterday, and they’ve replaced most of the cute little air headed fluffernutters with people who know what they’re doing. They didn’t have the bolts in stock, but they called the dealers in the area and then I went and picked them up. It was a great excuse to ride on a beautiful warm Spring like day. And the folks at the parts counter knew what they were doing. While the manager was chasing down the bolts, another parts guy pulled up the size and thread of the bolts I was looking for. For the record, they’re 3/8-16 by 1.5” Button head Torx bolts. You know; I could replace them with some grade 8 hex heads. I have them in my stash of hardware. Maybe I will. I need to chase down a MAC Tools truck and get a new insert for my now screwed up T 45 socket. I’m glad I happened to have a couple of other T 45 sockets, even though they won’t help remove the chewed up bolt. I can use them if I decide to put the new Torx bolts in.

Tomorrow, I’ll mail my trusty Leatherman tool to Oregon to have it rehabbed under warranty. As I stated on the form, the pivot points are worn and so are the various tools. It looks old, worn out and tired. Much like it’s owner. It’s going to feel strange to not have my Leatherman with me. I’ve been carrying one for decades. It’s bailed me out more times than I can recount. I used it to fix my friend’s Gold Wing on a trip through Vermont, once. Another time, my Leatherman and a 4” crescent wrench were the only tools I used to change out the radiator in my pickup truck. It’s a great tool and it’s very handy. I use it all the time and I’ll feel naked without it.

Well; enough whining. I’m starting to feel a little better, though I’d still like to pour roofing tar in the shorts of the person who scratched my paint.

Oh well; sh*t happens.

[gravydog]

That sucks to hear about the scratch, I know a guy that can fix that, or it could be a good place for a cool sticker, I like bullet holes. If you contact Mac tools, I'm pretty sure you can mail them the broken tool and they will warranty it.

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

[Crusty]

It's a long scratch; about a foot long. I figure I'll try to chase down a Mac truck. In the meantime, I think I'll buy that Wen rotary tool from Home Teapot for 15 bucks that comes with cut off wheels and other attachments.

Today, I'll make another stab at getting that bolt out. I'm filing down two sides by hand so that I'll be able to get a 1/2" open end wrench on it. I'd drill it out, but there isn't room to fit a drill in there. It's a good teacher of patience.

I once read that if you pray for Patience, God doesn't just give you Patience, He gives you situations that make you develop it. I don't remember praying for Patience, but I guess it's time for me to develop a bit more of it... Or somethin'.

[BKB]

John, check out some of the local pawn shops. Tools are a commonly pawned item & prices are usually good. It's the first place I look when I need tools, after the sticker shock in the big box stores sets in.

[Crusty]

That's a good idea! Thanks!

[gravydog]

Yep, I've gotten some pretty good tool deals at pawn shops, check those cashland places also, they're basically pawn shops.

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[Steve9]

Sorry to hear about the scratch.

Resentments...

[Crusty]

Hello Ma; Hello Pa…


…It was a tough fight; but I finally won.

It started the other day. I decided that I’d put the crash bar on the Roadster. I knew it would fit; it was barely hitting the fork legs of the Express, so I was pretty positive that it would fit. I figured the job would take about half an hour. It took four days and it exhausted all my patience. I am nothing if not persistent, however (like the Pacleds on Star Trek) and I found a way to get the job done.

It started when I stripped out a T45 button head Torx bolt (3/8-16 x 1 1/2 “ long). I couldn’t get a good angle on it, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t get it to break loose. I stripped out the inside on the head and also chewed up the bit in my socket. I couldn’t get a good purchase with my vise grips and there wasn’t room to get my drill in there to drill out the head. I don’t have a Dremel tool at present (but I bought one from Amazon; it’s supposed to be delivered this coming Friday). What I finally resorted to was sitting there with a file that I could move about an inch at a time and just patiently filed flats on the side of the button head. Once I got it filed down to where I could fit a 13mm open end wrench on it, I was able to finally get the bolt to move a little.

I probably could have finished the job on the second day, but instead of fighting the bolt, I took advantage of the 63º F weather and went for an afternoon long ride. I just happend to ride up to Powder Keg H-D where they had the bolts in stock. With tax, they came to a princely $1.82. I spent more on gas to get them. I took the next couple of days off, intentionally, but today, I decided I’d try once again after I ordered the Dremel.

Anywho; I got the chewed up bolt out, put the crash bar on and got everything tightened. I put the front wheel and fender back on the bike (I had to remove them because I needed the space) and I even did a bit of cleaning on things while they were apart.

I’m feeling a good bit of satisfaction. I got the sonovabitch and I didn’t have to wait for the Dremel.

I took a couple of photos as a test of my new (used) camera.