Snippets

[sportsterpaul]

Good for you John, May you enjoy many miles of many smiles!!!

[Crusty]

Pop Goes The Weasel


Today, I spent hours playing with the wiring harness for the Express and I made a little bit of progress. A very little bit of progress.

I had the gas tank, seat and side covers off the Cussed’em so I could figure out the wiring and how to route it and it looks like the trend for the 16 to fight me is still in force. Today, I discovered that the oil tank is just different enough that the fuse block won’t fit. Now, I’ll have to figure out where to re-route it so that it will still be accessible and functional. I’m also going to have to change out the connectors for the rear turn signals and tail light. To my credit, I did figure out where four small connectors go and how to route a little bit of the main harness.

I got to the point of frustration where I was tempted to start throwing things, so I spent 15 minutes or so putting the Cussed’em back together so that it’s rideable, then I came upstairs and washed up and fixed dinner. I know that I can get everything sorted, but my patience really is being tested.

I went online to FansChoice TV to watch the flat track races from New Richmond, Wisconsin and the races got rained out until tomorrow. It figures. Some days are like that. I’ll just have to mellow out and hope that I’ll have a better attitude when I go back downstairs and try to get everything sorted a little better.

Well; like Obie once told me, “Nobody said it was going to be easy”.

Tomorrow, I’ll watch the races and give my attitude a chance to settle down. I’ll work on the wiring a little if I feel up to it; but if I don’t, I’ll let it sit until I do feel a bit more placid. This project has really challenged me in a lot of very unexpected ways. I hope the satisfaction I feel when I finally get it all done matches the level of frustration I’ve felt at many points in the build.

Anyhow; tonight, I’m feeling cranky and frustrated; hopefully it’ll pass quickly.

I hate electrical problems.

[gravydog]

Just remember, "If you can't fix it with a hammer, you must have an electrical problem"

[Crusty]

Working on the Gentleman's Express is very educational. It's teaching me new and better ways to cuss. I'm learning new languages to swear in!

%$&*^#@!!???!

[Crusty]

A Yo-Yo Kind of Week


Anybody remember Duncan yo-yos? They were big in the ‘60s I wasn’t that good with one; I could make it sleep and walk the dog a little, but the more elaborate tricks were beyond me.

This past week reminds me of yo-yos. I’ve been up and down so much my head is spinning. I’ve spent a bunch of money on parts for the Express and it seems that when I try to put everything together, there’s more that I need to buy.

I talked with a very knowledgeable guy at Cycle Electric, and I’ve figured out that I can keep the alternator and regulator that came with the Express. That was a major up for me; especially since an earlier regulator won’t fit on the bike; even if I change out the alternator. I pulled the gas tank, seat and side covers off the Cussed’em so I could see how to route the wiring harness, and even cut a few zip ties to see things better. That was when I discovered that I was going to have to replace the oil tank. The '06 fuse block fits in a notch on the top of the tank, and that notch doesn’t exist on the 16. I kept trying to find a way to relocate the fuse block, but I ran out of ideas. After working on the bike for hours, all I accomplished was to get just four connectors plugged in. I got to the point I was about to start throwing things, so I decided to walk away before I did something stupid. I couldn’t just walk away, though. I had to put the Cussed’em back together so I would have transportation; which is what I did.

I made my way upstairs and fixed a lazy man’s supper - I boiled a couple of hot dogs and heated a can of chili beans. Then I went into the living room to watch the flat track races from New Richmond, Wisconsin to relax. After a couple of practice sessions, it started to rain, and the races got postponed until Sunday. That didn’t help my attitude, so I watched a little TV and tried to shut my mind down a bit.

After my mind mellowed out a bit, I went on fleaBay and started looking for an oil tank. I couldn’t find one, so I went over to Pinhead Cycles website and they had one for $130.00. So I gritted my teeth and bought it. I figured that it would give me time to get calm enough while waiting for it to be delivered and that would be good.

I didn’t get a response from Pinhead, but I figured that was because nobody was there on the weekend and they would send me notice it had shipped on Monday.

Microcenter sent me an e-mail and they had an “Open Box” Maestro Evolve 3 laptop for $47.96. It’s a very small and very basic laptop, but I figured it would be good as a laptop I can carry on the bike and I can write Snippets when I’m on the road. The local Microcenter only had one, so I bought it. After tax it cost me $51.70.

I was fairly busy yesterday (Monday). My Social Security came in and I was running to supermarkets and I had to hit Microcenter and pick up my laptop. I got home mid-afternoon and saw that there was no e-mail from Pinhead. I went to PayPal and there was no record of a transaction, so I went to Pinwall’s website and the oil tank was still there. I tried to buy it again, but I got nowhere. So I called them. It turned out that the software had a glitch. The tank had sold before I made my first attempt on Saturday night, but the software wasn’t removing the listing like it should. I was out of luck. My attitude went right down the toilet.

Then, a package was delivered to my front porch. My friend Greg in St. Louis sent me a carburetor. He included a note telling me what needle he had used and what jets and even sent other jets in a plastic bottle. I wasn’t expecting that and it really lifted my spirits.

This morning, I was waiting to go shopping with my brother and I went on fleaBay once more. I found an oil tank from an ’06 for $109.00 so I bought it That put me in an even better mood.

I spent most of the day with David hitting places like Jungle Jim’s, Sam’s Club and Kroger and got home mid-afternoon. I put the groceries away and I got a call from Andrew at Dark Horse. Somebody screwed up and forgot to include a bunch of labor on my engine, and I owed them a large chunk of cash. My positive mood instantly evaporated.

Now; I picked up the engine a month ago. It took them a month to figure out that I didn’t pay them enough?

Without going into a long and tedious explanation, I paid the bill with my credit card. After that, my mood was back in the crapper until I talked with Melia in Australia. She and I discussed the situation in depth and afterwards, I wasn’t nearly as ticked off.

There’s just one fly in the ointment. Now,I don’t have the money to go to Suches next week. I was thinking that I was going to have to be pretty miserly before I got the call from Dark Horse. Now, I’m leaning towards staying home and squeezing nickels until the buffalos sh*t. The good news is that this is a four week month and I’m pretty sure I have enough food in the freezer to last me until my next check. The Laundry jar is empty and I have no spare cash.

Well; like the Stones sang, “You can’t always get what you want…” But you do get what you need.

[sportsterpaul]

John, good talking to you earlier and happy for you and myself as we both had some positive news earlier today, life is good again!

[Crusty]

Feeling My Age




I’m very stiff and sore today. I need to back up and explain why.


It started on Tuesday. Andrew from Dark Horse called me and told me that they had screwed up in their billing and that I owed them a big chunk of money. That bothered me a lot. After wrestling with it through the night, I called him back on Wednesday morning and told him that I wasn’t comfortable with that and I asked for an explanation.


It turned out that their computer had dropped the portion of the bill that included a big chunk of money that I paid that covered it, so I didn’t owe them anything and Andrew was extremely apologetic and refunded the money I'd paid on Tuesday.


I had decided that I was going to skip going down to Buelltoberfest before the bill got sorted out, but after, I changed back to my previous plans.


I changed the rear wheel on the Cussed’em Wednesday afternoon. I’ve had the spoke mag wheel ready to go on for a while, but I was waiting until the tire was worn down enough to need changing. I put the spoke mag wheel on to replace that ugly disk mag wheel; while I was at it, I also replaced the rear brake pads. It’s a routine job, but it fought me every inch of the way, but I got it done and now I have a better looking wheel, a new tire and new brake pads on the back of the Cussed’em. The front tire is scheduled for delivery today; but even though pulling the front wheel is a piece of cake compared to the rear wheel, I think I’ll wait until tomorrow to change it.


My garage door opener took a major dump on Tuesday, as well. I knew it was going to when I fixed it a couple of months ago. So, since I didn’t owe Dark Horse and I had gotten a $50.00 gift card to Home Teapot for my birthday, I went and bought a new opener.


I spent most of yesterday installing it and it works like it should. However, by the time I got finished with the installation, I was very tired and my body was stiffening up. I fell asleep early and this morning, I can barely function. All I want to do today is go downstairs and open the garage door and close it and watch it work like it should.


But… The new tire is coming today and so is the oil tank for the Express. If I put the oil tank in the bike, then I can make some real progress with installing the wiring harness. Of course, it depends when the tire and oil tank get delivered. If they don’t arrive until late afternoon, then I won’t have time to get both installed. And if my aching body doesn’t feel a bit more flexible, I doubt I’ll want to install either.


Now, it’s time to get honest. When I started to write this Snippet, I was going to write that I wasn’t going to go to Buelltoberfest. I was very stiff and sore and the idea of camping did not appeal in the least. However; now that I’m into my second cup of coffee and I’m loosening up a bit, I guess I’ll go.


This will be the last event until next Spring and if I miss it, I’ll have regrets for months. I plotted out a good route over secondary roads and it will take two days to get down there, but it should be a nice ride. I still have to plot a ride home, but I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. It will be a good test of my new little laptop to plot the route when I’m in Suches.


I have a good life and I’m blessed with good friends. Several of them will be in Suches and I'll get to spend time with them. A little bit of stiffness and some muscle pain is a very small price to pay for such fortune.


And a week from now, I’ll be waking up in my favorite campground, anywhere!

[ChinCactus]

Remember, there is a Tropical storm heading into that area. Expect much rain.

Oh, that's next weekend, correct? Never Mind.

[sprink]

Originally Posted by Crusty

Feeling My Age




I’m very stiff and sore today. I need to back up and explain why.



My garage door opener took a major dump on Tuesday, as well. I knew it was going to when I fixed it a couple of months ago. So, since I didn’t owe Dark Horse and I had gotten a $50.00 gift card to Home Teapot for my birthday, I went and bought a new opener.


I spent most of yesterday installing it and it works like it should. However, by the time I got finished with the installation, I was very tired and my body was stiffening up. I fell asleep early and this morning, I can barely function. All I want to do today is go downstairs and open the garage door and close it and watch it work like it should.


And if my aching body doesn’t feel a bit more flexible, I doubt I’ll want to install either.





And a week from now, I’ll be waking up in my favorite campground, anywhere!

It's amazing how hard it is working overhead when you aren't used to it. I spent most of my life working overhead, half of it on ladders. After two years away from that, I helped an electrician for half a day above a lay in ceiling. That kicked my ass much harder than I expected.

Glad you are planning to get to Suches. I hope to see you there.

[Crusty]

Front tire's mounted on the Cussed'em. Now, all I have to do is change the oil and put the saddlebags on.