Work, bitch, beer! SSDD

We won the 2nd round of our softball tourney!!!!

We beat a team that beat us hadily twice in the regular season. Revenge is sooooo sweet.

Now the worst we can do is 3rd place.

Way to go, bullski!

Yesterday: took the girls to see SHrek 3 at the local "@nd run" theater then the whole family went to Dorney park after dinner.

Today: Went to the Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers Market.

Worked a bit on files, and week-end set up for a scheduled work meeting. Took a few items to the Children's Hospital Thrift store - a support outlet for hospital in this area. This group moves a lot of stuff, and contributes excess to the Salvation Army. Apparently, they receive a lot of donations that are new, and clothing that was never worn.

BTW, bk ... a nice looking bike-hope you get the all the doodads needed, and do a spin soon.

Stopped at the vedio store, and picked up, Premonitions with Sandra Bullock?

After I woke this afternoon, I spent the entire evening on the phone trying to find another kid so we don't have to forfeit tomorrow night. Finally stuck it with a pretty good player.

Checked out Premonitions with Sandra Bullock .... terrible stuff-save your money! Cleaned off window ledges about outside of house covered in dust-wondered where all the sanding dust had gone. Off to store for supplies-food.

Brought the new ride home...pics tomorrow!

After working two 18-hour days in a row, we slept until darn near 4pm. Dropped him off at work, went to the store, came home and made potato salad and fruit salad, got together all the stuff for sandwiches, stocked the cooler with plenty of beer and margarita premix, topped it all off with ice and loaded the car, figured out what I'm wearing tomorrow, now I'm about to hit the shower before I go play girl (he's running sound at a local club tonight...I go sit next to him drinking and pretending I have no idea how any of the equipment works).

Tomorrow....bus trip to Chicago to see Jimmy Buffett! We're double-dating with another couple, and one more couple is planning to drive down to see if they can buy scalped tickets. If so, they'll be joining us inside. Can't freaken WAIT! I need to blow off some serious energy.

ohyeah- hey Beth-- you suck. ;P

got to work at 0745 to find out that 1) the normally slow 0000-0800 shift had gotten slammed, and 2) all of my people called in sick.

Lovely. Then it got better- the monitoring software we use shit the bed. The database basically... exploded. Lovely.

Made for an easy turnover of my watch, though... "Hey-- here's your turnover-- the shit's broke.. all the way. Bye!!"

Finalized the deal for the last few bits I need for the KLR. $201 going on my credit card. Ouch! But I should be able to ride her after this. Bout damn time, too. It'll be nice to finish the project... just in time to start another.

Yesterday: got on my bike in the AM to find my front tire flat. Filled it- -slow leak due to some finishing brads- and limped to work. Got there, sat through a class for an hour, and told the boss I had to go to the moto shop to get a tire. Ended up taking 4 hours- apparently the shop mechanic that assembled my bike put threadlock on the threaded axle on the front wheel. Idiot. Got that freed up, convinced my buds at Cyclegear to change the tire my way (use a stainless-steel valvestem assembly, and put 1 ounce of airsoft pellets in the tire, and don't worry about balance- that's what the pellets are for. No charge, and they let me use their tools-- so I bought 'em a large pie and a couple sodas for lunch from the Dominos behind their shop.

Was absolutely baked from being in the heat all day, got home and crashed out for 3 hours. Then got up around 9 and got to work on the right side of the KLR engine- just a maintenance inspection to assure the water pump impeller, oil screen, etc, were all in good shape. They were, so I buttoned up the motor and torqued al lthe case bolts to spec, then filled the oil to capacity and put in a new filter. All I lack now to be done with the motor is a choke plunger assembly, radiator fan switch (can't fill the engine coolant till I have this, for obvious reasons), a CDI, and a couple banjo bolts form the LAPS to put the CCV system together. Then it's time to fire her up and ride somewhere.

I'm seeing a strong possibility of lots of riding next weekend. If things go as I think they may, I will probably sell the 650R as I'm not really a sporty-bike kinda guy. I could see possibly replacing it with a used BMW F650 or a Suzuki Vstrom (leaning towards the Strom, as Teutonic maintenance is $$

Suzi V-strom




BMW F650

The preferred Dakar Rallybike variant

More of a motostrada. More street oriented, but the same chassis/engine as all F650s. The suspension is less suitable to offroad use.

Vanilla F650. As above, more street specific.

The V-strom has Japanese reliability and cheap parts. Maintain it-- change the oil and set the valve lash- and you'll easily get 150,000+ out of the engine. Vtwin motor has less vibes for street use, and the bike itself is suitable for pavement and prepared trail use. (Fireroads, gravel, etc)

The F650 is just dead sexy. While not a dirtbike, it's been tested in the Paris-Dakar rally in near stock trim and did just fine. It's a thumper (single cylinder), with the accompanying reputation of being more vibe-prone. However, reports from friends that ride this bike say the engines is smooooooove.

Either bike will do what I need- commute, superslab trips, and one day head to Prudhoe Bay Alaska, without a problem. Both can be found for $3500 in 3-year-old or older, slightly-farkled trim. Either would suit me much better than the 650R, to be honest. Plus, selling the 650R, I'd greatly decrease my debt.

But if I go back to just one bike, I'm keeping the KLR. It's the Jeep of the motorcycle world. Not to mention, dead-sexy in her own right:


Though a KTM 640ADV would be hard to turn down as well (for 35% more money, it better be!)


Honestly, the KLR is the one for me, come to think. Stone axe reliability- and if it breaks, you can fix it at any small engine shop. I know guys who had carb problems in BFE, took a carb off a riding mower, and got back underway. Got home some 12,000 miles later (several month trip) and haven't been bothered to rebuild the "proper" carb because it runs just fine as it is. Plus, I own it outright

Get a cruiser.

I don't particularly care for cruisers. For one thing, too much damn chrome- I'd spend my time polishing instead of riding.

But if I had to, it's a short list of bikes:

Honda VTX1800:


Suzuki M109R:


Kawasaki Mean Streak:


or Honda F6 "Dragon" Valkyrie (that's a V6 in her, folks!!!):


pretty much covers it. Nothing all chopped out, though- my bikes HAVE to be able to carry luggage, tent, groundcloth, backpacker's stove and possibly a small cooler.

Right now the biggest gig against me having a cruiser- is their length. I just don't have the room for them in the garage. That length is also why I don't care for them much- they're not as maneuverable as shorter bikes. Which is why I have to laugh when all the jackasses around here put drag swingarms on their sportbikes. Stupid fuckers.

ohyeah, and all my bikes from now on will have a centerstand. Things are a godesend when packing up the bke.

Impossible to have one on the 650R.

We got 3rd place in our tourney!!!

My neck/shoulder/arm are coming along great...finally!! It seems that something clicked and I am feeling much better.

I also did my first 'water war' with the fire dept. It was a blast and actually the exercise did my arm some good. I went 1-2, not bad for not having a clue.

bull ... good to hear arm/shoulder better!

Worked at work early AM - made it home early. Cleaned out rain gutter of a torn shingle-will do repairs some roof ASP.

Spent a day just hanging with my youngest.

Prepped all my equipment, prepared all my food and washed the truck for the camping trip. I leave tomorrow morning. Hot fun in the summer time.

Grr. Fucking Reservist! They cant do anything... and when you ask them to do something they bitch and are all like... we only do this once a month. We cant do what you want us to do! Then get out of the Marine Corps! Bad Weekend

Just put a guy having a major MI on the helicopter and off to the Cath Lab. 40 minutes from our door to diagnosis, labs, XR and all the necessary meds to the back of the chopper. Damn, we good.

bull-mice to hear something positive for a change .... good work, you and your team-mates!

found out the last few parts I need for my bike (well, those I can't fab myself, easy) are on the way from Tennessee as of 1800 today. Which hopefully means I'll have 'em by this weekend (hopefully before then- as I have a busy day on Saturday)

Last bits of my wife's lift for her Jeep arrrived today. So I'll be removing the stock front coils, installing a 2" spacer and a set of coils from a V8 Grand Cherokee, reassembling the front and moving to the back. Remove the stock rear coils and chuck 'em in the parts bin for a future coil swap, install the stock front coils in the back, and button it all back together. Replace a bum pitman-arm tierod end (using a poly dust boot instead of the rubber shit that doesn't last), align it all as best I can and install the takeoff 31's frmo a buddie's jeep we lifted. Which, oh yeah, means sometime between now and then I need to pop the beads on those tires, install about 6 ounces of airsoft pellets, and remove the lead rim weights. Should be able to get the alignment really close, but will take it in for professional attention next week sometime.

So should i get portals for my TJ?

Took in a cat last night-dehydrated and staving-had a brakdown cage stuffed in a shed which Ms. Df. decided should be put together in the dark-mission acomplished, and cage and cat united on deck. Fed and gave water-cat seems better, and will take off to vet for an evaluation and shots soon ---may have aquired another cat .... times like this wish t_b's doorstep was near-only kidding t_b!

Perhaps...but some people don't seem to mind. I sent you a text from the show Saturday at intermission but forgot to sign it...do I still have the right number?

Today being Tuesday I have finally recovered from Saturday. We only left the house to get cigarettes from the time we got home Sunday morning until about two hours ago. Apparently we're a LOT older than we used to be. So now I'm home doing laundry and hoping my liver is still intact.

if you have to ask, you ain't using that jeep right.

:nods:

portals, 35s, longarms, and minimal suspension lift. Hells yeah.

819-3172? That's me.....

hell, next time, if ya'll don't mind a third, let me know. I'll take the bike up thattaway... .

ROFLMAO!!! Someone is very confused then. I have 425-4964.

Heck no, we don't mind! Although I'd love to see you standing on the side of the hill with us after having ridden your bike from Charleston to Chicago.

913 miles. Two easy days.

Even easier "if I had saxophones"....

-worked 1200-0800. Yes, a new shift, all the better to fuck up any semblance of a normal sleep cycle.

-bought an auto battery tender to keep the battery in the blazer and or jeep livid. Went to crank the Jeep last week- dead as a doornail, two Optima Red Tops D-E-A-D. The only drain on them is the computer and the alarm. Might be time for that solar-cell battery tender project to happen.

-adapted the cable that came with the tender to my normal setup- Anderson Powerpole connectors mounted on the vehicle and the charger. Set it to work charging the jeep up. Gonna be a bit....

-hacked my Sirius Sportster boombox to use an Anderson so I can run it off the truck's battery, directly. It'll be nice to be able to listen to it without going through a dozen D cells every hour or two.

-used my last two Powerpoles. Damn- 50-pack of them lasted me just over a year. They're too damn useful.

Finished off some office stuff, then worked with the painter a bit redoing deck areas! About a high of 78 degrees at beach now outside with sun-will be 20/30 degrees warmer inland today. A few major brush fires under control-but, still smokey those areas-very little wind!

farted about till about 0300, up at 0930. Work from 1200-2000. Got home to find the wife in a royal mood (she's not feeling well). Kept my damn mouth shut for the most part.

Watched S1Ep1 of the Sopranos. Got out to the garage, rebuilt one of the cage battery charging cables I made using a 16AWG dropcord with the electrical ends cut off. Now it's armored and less like;y to be effected by vehicles, dogs, etc. Got the Jeep pretty much charged up to full now. Had to take the charger off when I went to work due to rain. Now I won't have to (I'd had a dropcord flaked out to the jeep and the charger, et al sitting on the winch- high voltage+water=bad juju). Now I'll just have a 12VDC line flaked out of the garage door, and it's insulated and weathersealed so no worries anyway.

About 2200 I got to tearing the bike apart so I could address the lower front water outlet thread issue. Took about 2 hours to tap the hole due to poor access and not having enough room to use a proper tap handle. Broke a cheap 1/4" combi wrench. But after all's said, managed to get the hole tapped out (thankfully, a stripped 6mm hole is perfect for tapping 5/16" threads in without a drill). Installed the 6X1.0 helicoil and all is good now. $30 and 3 hours to repair that one hole-- but I didn't have to take the damn engine apart, so it's a wash!

Just awaiting the CDI, rad fan switch, and choke plunger and after that I oughta be a small misc hardware run to Advance away from getting this puppy running. All that comes to mind is 3 8X1.25X15 bolts, a couple crush washers and a bolt (spec of which I need to look up in my parts diag), and that oughta be it. Oh, and the aftermarket shift lever I ordered from Ebay yesterday morning. Hated to spend the $30 but had to have it- the stock bit is known to be made of swiss cheese poorly welded, so had to go.

But, once I get her running, she's mine, she works, and I shouldn't have to do anything to her but ride. Honestly, I could take this bike around the world- it's been done.

EDIT: price of shift lever. Not even I am nuts enough to spend 430 dollars on a damn shift lever. ;P

woke up at 0930 realizing I felt like crap. I have 11 days of sick time to burn, sooo....

called in sick today. Then slept till about 1900. Been all achey and stuffy for days, might as well kick it in the nose, right?

got my box-o-bits in the mail today- the CDI unit, choke plunger, cable bracket. looks like there'll be a late night with the soldering iron and socket set. might even be able to fire her up tonight. W00t!

Woke up in my bed at my house, which was a bizarre start to the day. Meetings from 9am to around 1pm, then a whole slew of errands. Now just killing time until it's time to leave the house again.

Unloaded a storage shed for inventory of stuff really needed-right. This stuff has been saved for many decades, old electrical boxes, outlets, fuses, wire 12/14 gauge, saws, clamps, swim fins, diving masks, caulking tubes, and paints- Made a little room for another, and her 'stuff' i.e., for another collector, and only for fast moving things like office supplies-near her car!

found out all I need to get the bike to run is a coil.

ARGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!

I came to work, I worked and now I want to go home.

Times like this I wish I had the money and a larger place. I would happily take in another cat to keep Bea Shady company.

Sorry to report, unfortunately, cat was put down at vets. Seems it had a severe neurological problem-possibly was hit by a car, seemed to be better with the food and water we provided him-probably was for a time. But cat then would move in circles. Two Vets after a number of joint tests, indicated that was best for animal-do not like this at all-however, we do only as last resort, and what is best for animal. Quite saddened.

woke at 0930, still achey and overall blah-feeling. called in sick (I HATE calling in!). went back to bed for a bit, just woke at 1300. Feeling better, may have to see about cutting the grass later if this continues.

Found a new bike to add to my short list of cruisers:


Triumph Rocket III. Oh. my. DAMN. Three cylinders, 2300cc, the most powerful production bike. The sound is something you just gotta hear. All the best aspexts of a smallblock and an F1 engine.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pnVFFgzlqc

As of this afternoon, I have made a conscious decision not to see my SO until Monday. There's not a problem, I'm just scared I don't know how to be on my own any more. He laughed hysterically at me and told me he'd see me tomorrow. I just got a little freaked out by the fact that I've ALWAYS been on my own, didn't need anybody for anything...and now I've been with him damn near 24/7 for almost four months.

I think that was quite enough of an accomplishment. Hell...I even teared up a little when I dropped him off at work.

Shifted stuff in garage-can now park a car there-yes! After almost 14 months of construction on this place, finally got tools and building materials shifted to only a dozen piles-and boxes. About another few weeks things may be in place-hope.

got the front and side yards cut, and about 1/3 of the back (bloody hell it's grown!!). Went to start on the weedeating-- to find that the new weedeater's flexshaft has also broken.

ARGHHHHH!!!!!

Tore apart both units, verifying the flexshafts are broken. Grr.

Got all the parts and tools together for the wife's new tires/wheels/lift install tomorrow. Should go rather easily-- and she's going to help me with it.

Got my motorcycle permit.

Df said: "Sorry to report, unfortunately, cat was put down at vets. Seems it had a severe neurological problem-possibly was hit by a car, seemed to be better with the food and water we provided him-probably was for a time. But cat then would move in circles. Two Vets after a number of joint tests, indicated that was best for animal-do not like this at all-however, we do only as last resort, and what is best for animal. Quite saddened."

I'm very sorry to hear this, Df. My condolences on you and your wife's loss. Thanks very much for trying your best. You're a saint.

With the help of a friend, put new front brakes on the wife's car only to find out it needs new rear brakes too.

It's always something.

Thanks for you kind thoughts t_b, but about as close to a saint, as bull would be turned loose in any huge brewery for 24 hours, and not drink the place dry! The animal did not suffer-but, still bummed out about the turn of events-not cool. Yet, will continue to do as we can.

Today helped a few people at work, came home, and helped to set-up several new cages, to replace some older ones. After about 10/15 years of daily use, the cages start to ware, and it is best to replace them with new ones as possible. The idea is to then recycle the older ones to non-profit groups, that really need this stuff-they can repaint, and even weld some small areas if needed. Works out well for all, and especially the animals are much better off, i.e., since cleaning and better care can now be given to them properly in larger, and cleaner cages.

do you alwas do important shit backwards?

me: lifted the wife's jeep 4" to include new shocks, and put a set of takeoff 32's on it. All for just south of $300.

Hey, she needed new tires. then we figured she needed new shocks (and did she-- the old ones were completely non-functional!). Helol, at that point, we might as well do the lift.

Then I recalled I had a set of 32s I took off a buddy when we overhauled his jeep before he shipped it to Guam, for the purpose of putting on her jeep one day. Hmm-- $130 for shocks, plus $500 for tires, versus $170 for shocks, $80 for new front springs, move the stock front springs to the rear, and put on a set of tires that still have half their life left but are on not-so-pretty rims (just some clearcoat missing, because these rims were on a working jeep).

All told, think it came to $270. Plus, her right rear rim was bent. So it was more like :

$130 for cheapie shocks
$500 for tires
$80 for a rim, if I can find one

vs:
$170 for quality shocks
$0 for tires
$0 for rims
$20 for coil spacers
$80 for front coils
$0 for rear lift coils (moved the fron stock coils to rear, threw away stock rear coils)

$710 vs $270. Plus, she got the lift she's been wanting for years in the bargain. Bonus.

Plus, the fact that after all this, she's obviously excited about the truck again. Now I just need to get her convinced to let me put a new front bumper in the style of ARB products' offering on the front, and a heavy-duty rear bumper with swingout tire carrier on the back (well honey, you gotta carry a spare, and a 32 isn't gonna fit in the back).

Testdrove it, has a little death wobble. Not surprising, as the balance weights are absent on the takeoff tires I installed. So I'm off now to pop the bead on one side, install 8 ounces of airsoft pellets, and test again. Hopefully that'll make it drivable till I can get time to take it in for a full alignment.....

Signed up for the MSF course and ordered "Ride Like A Pro" DVD.

And yes, bk, I do shit backwards - I learned it on South Park.