Letting Go

Well, I traded my bike. I am now the proud owner of a 16' Fireball sailboat. Its from the 70s, but is in great shape. I will need to do some sanding and painting, but its all just grunt work. No complicated mechanics.

It was hard to let the bike go. But the guy who took it rebuilds bikes, so I know it wont be wasted. He is thinking of turning it into a bobber. I hope I can see it when its done.

For now, I'll be sailing.

This will be my last post on this blog. I hope to start another chronicling my boat adventures.

Trade Show

I saw a sailboat on Kijiji that I liked, so I took a chance and emailed the owner to ask if he wanted to trade. It seems he is a bit of an opposite to me. He rebuilds bikes (Mostly Harleys) and bought a sailboat to try something new. I used to sail and bought a bike to try something new. Both of us have reached an impasse. So, the trade seems to work for each of us. I am going tomorrow to see the boat, but it seems a good trade overall. Saturday may be my last day as a bike owner.

No Shows

Neither guy bothered to show. Neither bothered to call or email that they weren’t going to show. I am frustrated…

I sold my motorcycle jack and have reduced the price on the bike.

Have I Got A Deal for You!

Well, I had emails and calls coming out of the woodwork this week. Most of them were a waste of time, as either no one showed up or they felt the bike wasn’t for them. One guy came with his girlfriend, wanting to know if it was a good bike for both of them to ride on the highway. He said it was the best bike he had looked at. But, I had to point out that this was a small bike, with only 400ccs and was light. I said I wouldn’t ride it on the highway alone, let alone with a passenger. I never heard back form him, which makes me glad. I don’t mind selling the bike as is, as I do feel it’s a good deal, but I don’t want to be partially responsible for someone getting killed because I was being a sleazy salesman. Anyway, I have one guy very interested who wants to come by on Friday who wants to buy it on an installment plan. And I have another guy coming on Saturday to buy it outright…

Or so they say.

I emailed a few people about trades for computers and sailboats. I had one guy with a sailboat that was very, very interested! Unfortunately, I feel like I jerked his chain, as I then had the calls and emails about cash deals. So I put the boat trade on hold. So, now I wait to hear about those who promise to come. I hope they keep their promises.

The Agony of Defeat

Boy, am I in pain. Yesterday, when I fell, I know my arm would be sore from the scrape. I hadn’t expected the pain I have in my shoulder. My guess is that the shock of the impact must have travelled up my arm and affected something in my neck and shoulder. I don’t think it’s a bone, because the pain is more of a muscular one. However, I am finding it hard to even move my arm. Last night, I felt like that ski jumper at the start of the old Wide World of Sports.

But, enough of my whining. The guy who came yesterday said it was the best bike he had seen, as he was travelling to see several. But I haven’t heard back. He was going to see some more, so I assume he saw a better bike later in the day. I had another guy email me, asking to put a deposit on the bike and would pay in full in a few weeks. He is willing to buy it sight unseen. If I don’t sell by Friday, it is his for the taking.

Wow, even typing this is causing my arm to seize.

Thrills & Spills

Well, a motorcycle has a way of teaching you to respect it. That’s for sure. Today, I did some work on it with regard to the exhaust, as there was some smoke coming from the engine. Not difficult, but took some time. Anyway, I decided to ride it a bit so I could be sure everything was fine. And it was.

But I began to get too confident. Stupidly, I did not wear a jacket out riding, though thankfully I was wearing jeans… And, of course, my helmet. I tried riding more quickly and found I had no troubles on the straight roads. Usually, when I corner, I slow right down. But I was getting sure of myself, so I took the corner more quickly that I had in the past. I must have over-steered, because I went down quickly. I got up right away and told a gentleman that had come over to help that I was fine. I rode away with my dignity laying on the pavement. Now, I have fallen from a bicycle while going faster than this, but I still could have injured myself. Thank God for helmets. I will never understand those that do not want to wear them. My arm took the worst of it. There is a nice scrape on my right arm and a smaller one on my hip. No damage to my head, though… No more than I had already, anyway!

This reinforced my decision to take a safety course, because it was a total rookie mistake.

The guy who emailed to see my bike showed up. He likes the bike but is going to see some others. He'll call soon, says he.

So, back to the waiting game.

Doing the Wave

Well, I can’t resist the feeling anymore. I am absolutely hooked. I love riding motorcycles! Twice I was riding today around my neighbourhood, taking the bike up to sixty KPH. I received my first ‘we’re both bike, so let’s pretend like we are friends’ wave from another rider on a Ninja. I tried to wave in such a way as not make it obvious that I was thrilled. It was a cool little flick in his direction… But I wanted to give him a great, flapping wave I was so excited. It didn’t last long, however, as I passed a guy on some great, honking Harley-Davidson. I gave him a larger, excited, goofy wave, but he just ignored me. I guess my dinky, light-blue Honda wasn’t good enough compared to his great chunk of American metal. So much for the biker fraternity...

My wife and I have been talking quite a bit about it. She is still concerned but recognizes that I really enjoy this and that I am, by nature, a cautious person. So, she has accepted that I will ride.
As for the bike, it handles well although I still have some trouble getting it back into first. I am also a little hesitant about coming out of first from a stop. I didn’t stall today, but felt a shudder at times. And the bike revs a bit high when I stop and idle at stop signs.

The bike is a good size. It handles easily and quickly. I really can’t see the need for large displacement motorcycles. I never intend to ride on major highways and don’t see myself taking long trips with tons of gear and passengers. Perhaps as I get more used to it, I might want more, but I think that the light weight of the bike is better than the weight of a big displacement bike. Most of the world rides smaller bikes. Can’t see why North Americans are so obsessed with big bikes.

But, I have decided that I really am going to sell the bike. I want to take the safety course and can’t afford it without selling the bike. So, it has to go. I have someone coming tomorrow to look at it. I hope to sell it then take my course next week or the week after. In the future, I will look to buy a newer bike. I’ve enjoyed fixing the bike, but I think I like riding more.

Ridin’ & Fixin’; Fixin’ & Ridin’

Rocker cover bolts were in and I had fun bopping around the neighbourhood. However, I still see some oil leaking. I will have to break down and use the gasket I bought earlier int eh project. I had been holding off, as I thought if I had the proper bolts, I wouldn’t get the leakage. Also, I may have a bit of leakage at the cylinder head. Its hard to tells. It isn’t much but I want to deal with it. The problem is that I don’t want to give up riding around on the bike.

One other problem is that connection between the engine and the exhaust pipes is not eh greatest and exhaust is coming out straight from the engine. Checking closer I realized that I have four different types of bolts holding the pipe to the engine. And the exhaust is not secure against the engine. I have ordered more parts. Like the bolts previously, they are not expensive, but it adds up. And as well, each time I do work, the joy of riding slips away. I will have to wait until next Wednesday for the new bolts and to see if I can correct this problem.

I still haven’t done the safety inspection. Money & tine are the greatest of thieves.

Isn't It Ironic?

The juxtapositions that life likes to throw around just continue to hit me. I sold my parts bike on Saturday. On Sunday, I was doing some work and realized that one of the shoulder bolts that secure the rocker cover in place was broken. It was sheared completely. I was looking for the reason why there was some oil leakage and this is probably why. Anyway, it was then that I realized that that parts I would need had left just the day before. The bolts aren’t expensive; only about $3 a piece. However, it required ordering and waiting. It took until today to get the parts in. Installing them took no time…

And off I went for a ride around the neighbourhood. Now, the bike still hasn’t been safetied or licensed. So, I don’t want to go far. But, even going around the block is fun. I still tend to stall out from stop signs. And I know I am not stopping properly. I tend to drag my feet. And I haven’t got the habit of using the rear brake regularly.

Other than that, I am doing well.

The bike is still for sale, but I have had no real interest. I may have to drop the price soon, but I am hesitant as I am enjoying riding it. And my wife has told me she can accept me riding. More to consider….

Parting Out II

I can see why auto theft can be profitable. You can make good money stripping parts and selling them off. I sold off my parts bike today. I bought it for $100, with extra parts. So far, I have made $270 from it, along with keeping a large assortment of parts I need for my bike. The rims, tires, wring harness, stator and flywheel that I have on my bike all came from the parts bike. I wish my retirement investments were as lucrative. Maybe I’ll go into the scrap business when I retire. The new add is on Kijiji without the parts bike.

Parting Out

No sooner did I post yesterday’s blog update than I started to receive emails are leading to something. Not exactly what I was looking for, but in the right direction. In a way, it is saddening, in that all the interest has been in my parts bike. I sold off the ignition coil yesterday. Someone is coming tomorrow to look at buying the parts bike in total. If I get my asking price, I will have made almost 3 times what I paid for it. And I would still have many great parts for my bike.

I have to admit that I am having second thoughts about selling. My wife has asked me if I am sure I want to sell. She is feeling better, since some time has now separated her from the accident. But, I know she would still be very uncomfortable with me riding.

But for me, the allure remains…

Death of a Salesman

I know I could never have been successful in retail or sales. Customers would just drive me nuts. I deal with people all the time, but in education I am dealing with something important. When you are dealing with a parent, you learn to put up with a lot because their children so important to them.

I couldn’t do that in sales, because it just isn’t that important. And I think, because it isn’t vital, people actually waste more time at it. I love Kijiji, as I have said before. And I have sent questions to people in the past about items and then not pursued them. But I have never bombarded people with questions when I had no real intent to buy. And that is what I feel is happening. Guys are on line, dreaming about a bike and sending out questions as part of their dreaming.

Not idle questions either. Details and long rambling responses to my answers. I have had one guy email me over ten times with question after question, often repeating himself. I kept thinking about that character in the movie Notting Hill who repeatedly comes into Hugh Grant’s travel book shop asking for novels by Charles Dickens and John Grisham. I have spent my fair share of time wandering through bike shops day-dreaming, but I have never approached a salesperson to ask questions, knowing I had no real intent to buy. I figured I was wasting my time with the daydream, but what was the point of wasting someone else’s time.

So far I have had no serious offers on the bike, although I have had interest in my parts bike and parts from that bike. People should be coming tonight to have a look.

Life Is A Funny Old Thing...

Life has a way of not flowing according to plan. Yesterday was a fine example of that.
I took the bike over to the high school near me. Its only a couple of blocks away and the parking lot is empty on weekends. Well, I was off like a rabbit, zipping around the parking lot. It surrounds the school and has many areas for turning. It is cut regularly with speed bumps and has several very large pot holes. So, it allowed for some fun maneuvering. Sections are long enough that I could take the bike up to 60 kph with no concern. The bike braked well and handled great. I was amazed at how easily I could ride it. I was able to shift through the gears, brake and downshift at the same time and take corners at various speeds. I was having a ball.
Then I saw my son ride up on his bicycle. He had been out with my wife shopping and I just assumed he had come back and ridden over to see what I was up to. But then I saw his face. He had an unusual look of concern. My son is sixteen. He is great kid and will be a fine man in a few years, but he isn’t prone to displaying too many emotions.

“You’re in trouble,” he said to me as I pull to a stop beside him. Right then, I assumed he’s trying to pull my leg. The straight face… The curt warning… I figured his mother had sent him with some plan to get my goat. So, I relaxed and asked why, waiting to here some story about how I had done something wrong at home.

“Mom saw an accident total and she’s upset,” My son said and his tone told me that this is no joke.

“What happened?” I thought she had been in an accident for a moment.

“We were coming out of Walmart and a motorcycle got hit by a truck.,” he said.

Now I knew why I was in trouble.

My wife has never been happy about this project. She has legitimate concerns about the safety of motorcycles. She knows I am cautious. But she has no trust for the traffic that will be around me. She has tolerated this project reluctantly, knowing that it has brought me immense happiness (Despite all the frustrations) and has seen that my tinkering with the bike has brought me a level of contentment. But I knew that was about to change.

So, I began the long trip home, making my way through a park pushing the bike. Two blocks can be a long way when you anticipate a problem.

I parked the bike in the garage and came in to the house, waiting to hear about the accident. My wife was on the couch, talking with our daughters. She stopped to say hi, but went on with her conversation. Her exterior was calm, but I know her. We have almost twenty-five years together, so I don’t need many visual clues to know when she is upset. I went up to the bedroom and she followed a few minutes later.

“You saw an accident?” I asked.

“Yes.” She was quiet and sounded as if she didn’t want to go any further.

“Tell me about it.”

She didn’t look at me. She is usually a very direct woman. Its one of the things I admire about her. But she couldn’t look at me. She said they had been driving through the parking lot of the local shopping centre, moving from Walmart to the Future Shop. There is a secondary highway that runs by the stores. In the background, she was aware of the sound of a big bike, like a Harley. Suddenly, there was a loud crash and my wife and son stopped. They saw the accident seconds after it happened and went over to help. My wife was on the phone to emergency services right way and had to stay on the line to describe the situation to the 911 dispatcher.
The rider had been on the rode, travelling along when an SUV pulled out in front of him from the shopping centre parking lot. The bike t-boned the SUV at the hood and the rider few over the truck and landed hard. My wife said the visor plastic was broken everywhere. The rider tried to get up several times but people kept trying to get him to lie still until emergency vehicles arrived.

Then blood started rushing out of his helmet.

My wife was a pale as I had ever seen her at this point.

“I’m not sure if he was dead or not.”

People were calling out if anyone had first aid, but no one came forward. My wife was on the phone describing the events to the 911 operator. But to crowd was getting larger at this point and she was getting pushed out of the way. Police arrived first, then Fire & Rescue. With that, she left her number with the 911 operator in case anyone needed to talk to her, but she wanted to leave. She was disgusted by the people who just seemed to be coming to watch.

When she was done telling me the account, she got quiet. As I said, she was very pale. But she never said anything to me about my bike. I knew she wanted to, but I also know she wanted me to be happy.

“I’m selling the bike.” I said. She protested, saying she didn’t want to take anything from me.

But at that point I knew I had to get rid of it.

None of us live in a vacuum. We all live with choices, consequences and responsibilities. I made a choice twenty-two years ago to marry and live my life with this wonderful woman. I made a choice to have a family that I love dearly. These things lead to responsibilities, such as making sure I can support and maintain the family.

But there are greater responsibilities as well. And one is to do our best not to hurt the ones we love. My wife was willing to keep her fears to herself, but I could tell she was in pain about it. I know she would be thinking of the riders family and how their lives have changed in an instant. I know she would be thinking about the driver of the SUV, whose life has also changed in an instant mistake. I know she was in pain because she was trying to allow me to have my happiness.

I can’t have that. Working on the bike has been a blast. As I have said, there were frustrations, but I now know a great deal more about mechanics that I ever have. And riding was fun too. It was easier in many ways than I thought it would be. But then, I haven’t done it in traffic. But things like this are vastly less important than people.

And it already too easy to hurt the ones we love.

I am willing to live with the risk of motorcycle riding. But only for myself. I am not willing to live with the risk to the ones I love.

So, the bike is up for sale. If you are interested, look on Kijiji Brantford! (Ad ID 205445350)

I think I’ll go back to sailing….

Houston, We Have Lift-Off

I have been sick as a dog this week, so it took longer than I expected to get the bike home. But it can back home today!

Sad thing is, by the time it was delivered, I had to go out on some errands. And by the time I got home for that, I had to run out again to meet my sister for a movie. But in between, I managed to squeeze in my first ride!

Yes, unbelievably, I have ridden my bike. Just around the corner… And completely illegally, as the bike is not certified and I have no insurance, but it was great! The bike ran fine. I stalled it once at a stop sign, but it started up great again. The only problem (And it is probably me) is that I couldn’t fine neutral once I wanted to stop. It took several tries to get it right.

So, the price paid to the mechanic was worth it, even if it was a lot more than I wanted to pay. To safety, my father-in-law and I will have to get the signals working right. And I should do the fork seals. But other than that it is ready to ride. The mechanic says the tires and brakes are fine. So I should be able to get it on the road soon. I can’t wait! I even took the plunge and went and wrote my M1, so I am actually licensed to ride a motorcycle in Ontario.

I am on the way. Enjoy the pictures of the middle-aged guy feeling as excited as a kid at Christmas!

Bikes and Cash

Great news… Of sorts.

I heard from the mechanic today and he has the bike running regularly! And it took only $250 worth of his time. He has suggested a few things with regard to my carburetor and I have told him to go ahead. It will take the total up to $400. So, the bike has cost me more than I had planned.

Which, now that I have come to know bikes a bit more, isn’t surprising. This is an expensive hobby, even when you are trying to do it on the cheap.

Another few days and the bike will be home!

People and Things

Well…

The garage is clean…

Rather spare looking. I took the parts bike over to the shop yesterday. My son and I had fun cram it into the mini van. I have had it in before but this time, it seemed to be rather uncooperative. I don’t really know why. But, with some jiggling and removing parts, we got it rolled into the back of the van. Rolling it into the shop, I found the mechanic working on another bike. Mine sat forlornly in a back corner, tucked away and forgotten.

But clean. Boy was it clean. The mechanic says it’s much easier to work on a clean bike, so he gives them a thorough washing when they come in. It was hard to recognize, with parts shining that I never thought would shine!

I also took the time to finally change the ownership on the bike. The history of previous owners is an interesting thing. This bike has been owned by twelve people, moving from Hamilton to Oakville, then back to Hamilton. Now it’s in Brantford, via Stoney Creek.

The history shows that it has been owned for very brief times and for very long times. It makes me wonder how it has been treated and if the long time owners were happy with it. I wonder if it was used by the long term owners or if it just sat in a garage for a long time. I also wonder about the short-term owners and how they treated the motorcycle. Is it because of their use that there are problems? Is it maltreatment or neglect more than just age? I have a keen interest in history, so wondering about the path an object has taken is something I consider often. In fact, I am reading an interesting book at the moment, called ‘People of the Book’ by Geraldine Brooks. It is a fictional account of the people who have come into contact with a Jewish prayer book, the Sarajevo Haggadah. It is a good book that shows the impact that people have on objects and vice versa. In the same way, I look back at the history of my motorcycle and wonder at the people who have used it and how their lives may have been different because of the bike.

I hope by the week end to have more information about my motorcycle. It may even be fixed. And I might just try a Google search of previous owners.

The Wait Conitnues

I didn’t realize how much I had become attached to this project. Over the past week, I have felt a sense of loss at having had to hand over the bike to a mechanic. Perhaps loss is the wrong word, but certainly a sense of failure and reduced masculinity.

I have never been one who has demonstrated much in the way of traditional ‘male’ interests and abilities. I played football once long ago, but that was the only sport I ever played with some interest. And it wasn’t because I was talented in the sport. It was because I was a teenager and I got to knock people down. I don’t watch sports. I prefer to go to art galleries. In my profession, I have worked in elementary education, which is usually associated with women. And anything mechanical has always been a mystery to me.

But after a week of having the bike at the shop, I have moved away from that sense of failure. And it wasn’t because of some cathartic event or because I am moving through some weird grieving process. The reason is more petty than that. The mechanic, someone highly trained and experienced with machines, is having trouble locating the problem. Strange, isn’t it. Despite the fact this is going to cost me more than I had ever thought, I am relieved because the problem wasn;t with me…. It’s the damn bike!

Anyway, he and I have talked. He runs a little shop that is just starting out. We have agreed on a price to diagnose and he will work on it. If he can’t get it running, I will pay one price. If he does, I will pay his hourly rate. Also, he is doing it between his ‘real’ jobs, so the bike often sits and waits. That’s okay, because I have more time than money for this project. Now, he tells me all the ‘big’ stuff (Ignition coil, CDI unit, stator, rotor) seem to be fine. So is the kill switch. So its on to the smaller stuff.

The problem is that it takes time. So, its wait and see.

Going Beyond

Over the last 10 days, my father-in-law and I have removed the rotor and replaced it with one from my parts bike. We have gone over every electrical connection, cleaned them and used dielectric grease to help improve the connections. We have replaced the ignition coil and the CDI unit with the one from my parts bike. We have spent quite a lot of time on this and unfortunately, I feel that we are actually moving backward on this. We get spark at one point and nothing the next, except the times we get nothing seem to be increasing.

I have come to the decision that I need to get some professional advice and have contacted a shop in town to come pick up the bike and go over it to let me know what needs to be done. In a sense, I am disappointed in that I couldn’t do this without help. In another sense, the realization that I have learned quite a bit about motorcycles. The fact that I could have an intelligent conversation with the mechanic and point him in the right direction is something I never thought I would be able to do. When I get the bike back, I will continue my updates.

Share and Share Alike

One of the biggest benefits of this project is the number of people I have come in contact with and the great willingness to share information and offer support. The people I have met on the internet who work on old bikes absolutely love them. The care and detail that goes into restoring them is astounding. The level of precision is beyond me. I admire the skill, knowledge and diligence. It is something that I know I cannot match, but I am sure glad they are there to support me.

Parting Out

The weirdness continues. After running great one day, I could not even get a spark the next. On top of it, the carburetor started overflowing. This weekend did not allow fro much progress. I took a great deal of time taking out the exhaust system from my parts bike to sell to some guy in New York State. What is beneficial is that the price he is paying actually covers the cost of my parts bike (So I will be subtracting that from my cost list). The negative part is that it took a long time, with the bolts on the exhaust being very unforgiving, thus not allowing m to move forward. It is worth it in that it continues to support my need to remain revenue neutral in the project.

My father-in-law and I spent our time on Sunday fixing the carbs. He was showing me how to use some Vernier calipers. Interesting, but it gave me a bit of a headache. First of all, reading decimalized inches just doesn’t make sense to someone now used to metric. It gets all screwy in my head. Anyway, we had to replace the floats, using floats from another set of carbs. We have replaced the ignition coil and CDI unit from main bike with the parts from the parts bike. I am waiting on a flywheel puller that should be in tomorrow, as we want to take the rotor off to see if there is anything behind that may be trapping moisture.

Boy, reading the last half of the previous paragraph, you’d think I actually knew something about motors. Well, you can fool some of the people….

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!

I'm so excited, I'm beside myself! More words tomorrow. I'll let video talk today. The video was taken by my son, who got a little creative in the shooting.

Another Motorcycle

There is one thing about refurbishing an old motorcycle that seems incongruous with what I see as Zen Buddhism. Fixing an old motorcycle requires ‘stuff’. Not lots of stuff; not ‘flashy’ things or even new shiny things. But lots of ‘stuff’ none the less.

In particular, parts. I have come to understand that parts are everything. The gaps in my blog are the result of one thing and one thing only.

I don’t have parts to fix what needs fixing, so I find myself waiting.

Well, my wait should be over, as I have accumulated more ‘stuff’ in the form of another motorcycle! It is a 1981 Honda CM400E. It has all the same components as mine, except the wheels are spoked and it uses drum brakes. So I have a great parts source now. The bike came with a large assortment of parts from another 1981 CM400T that the guy had taken apart. It was a good deal, costing me only $100 and 3 hours driving time. The parts I need form my bike I can already take from these sources will more than make up for it and I have several people looking to buy the parts off me that I will not need. Overall, the purchase will be revenue neutral in the long run. However, in the meantime, I have a lot of parts. The guy I bought these things from had just thrown all the parts in a bin. That just drives me crazy! I can’t stand digging around for things. I find the more I am disorganized, the more time I waste looking for things or cleaning up mistakes (See my blog on the missing bolt for example). I have arranged the parts into liquor boxes, using the various compartments to separate and organize the parts. I have advertised on several internet sites to get rid of the parts I don’t need (And to raise some revenue for my project). But, I also had to reorganize my garage because now I need space for two motorcycles.

I have decided, however, that the accumulation is going to stop. I should have enough now to get the bike going. And if I don’t I am going to end the project, as I am putting money into it and getting to the point where I could have purchased a running motorcycle.

As I hinted in the past, I am not a patient guy when it comes to mechanical things. With people, I have the patience of Job, especially with children. That’s a big part of my work, sort I have developed it over time. But with machines, it is another story. Part of the reason is just my lack of knowledge. Not knowing why something isn’t working drives me crazy. In the past, I have focused my ‘manly’ manual skills on work that doesn’t require a lot in terms of knowledge, such as renovating several homes. The knowledge I needed wasn’t extensive. Skills needed developing, but that is practice. The actual level of knowledge is not vast. Even basic plumbing I have completed without much concern because the level of knowledge needed is straightforward, even if the level of skill needed can take some time to master.

But working on motors with electrical parts and mechanical parts requires a great deal of knowledge. Even the task of trouble shooting requires quite a bit. Take the problem I have right now in not getting my bike to start. I can follow a troubleshooting sequence, but when there are multiple reasons that can cause the same problem, experience and skills are important, but knowledge of the intricacies of the various parts and how they interact make it very challenging.
The patience to know and acquire skills is one thing I hope to find in this project. The use of my mind and skills to achieve a sense of order, to me, is the best form of peace. In that it is akin to prayer. If the accumulation of stuff is not exactly Zen, I am pretty sure that state of being is.

Good Friday is a day to remember that much of what we take for granted is actually achieved through sacrifice. But true sacrifice is something almost foreign to our modern culture.

I spent the morning and early afternoon working on my bike, so there was little sacrifice in my day. Nor was there much accomplished to move the project forward. Not that it made the day any less enjoyable.

I removed the front wheel and checked to see if the tire was tubeless or not. The tire is a Bridgestone Spitfire, which is tubeless. But since many use tubes anyway, I wasn’t sure if there was one or not. There wasn’t. So the whole tire needs replacing. That will run about $120 with installation.

Next, I put in the new choke cable. I had the carburetor out and wove the cable through, put the carbs back in and realized I had tangled the cable around a piece of the frame. So, out came the carbs again and I did it all again.

My father-in-law and I spent a long time running down a problem with the ignition. I seem to have intermittent ignition problems with the bike. I get a good spark one day and nothing the next. So we went through wires one by one with the tester. My FIL thinks that the problem lies in the alternator, so off the cover came. We took out the bolt, but couldn’t get the rotor off. After some reading we realized we need a rotor puller, which put an end to that work for the day.

I spent some time cleaning up the bike, taking off rust and crud, as well as polishing the cover that goes over the alternator. It is apparent that the bike has been dumped some time in the past, because of the scratches on the co er. For me, it only adds to the character of the bike.

Spending Spree

Such fun!

In my attempt to keep this project revenue neutral, I recently sold off items from another hobby. This raised enough money that I was able to go on a bit of a shopping spree. One thing I find is that, at least compared to parts for my Civic, motorcycle parts tend to be inexpensive. It’s just a matter of tracking them down!

With my new found cash, I purchased a new air filter and a battery. I am tired of recharging the old one and I think many problems are as a result of the lack of cranking power of the present battery. I purchased a new choke and a package of gaskets for the bike. I lucked out, in that the place where I bought the choke and gaskets was moving. As a result, they were in a bit of disarray and sold me the gaskets at half price because they couldn’t find what I originally wanted. I had asked for a valve cover gasket and exhaust gaskets. The package I purchased has all the gaskets on the bike. This could prove very useful down the road.

I also bought motorcycle jack off Kijiji. I am a real Kijiji fan. A guy was selling a motorcycle/ATV jack for $50. When I called the guy about the jack, he told me he was just about to come to my town to meet his girlfriend. We arranged to meet at a Tim Hortons. We discussed the location, because there are actually a number of Hortons in my area. I headed over and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

After a long wait, I was a little angry and left. I called him and in about an hour he called back, angry that I had stood him up. After some conversation, it became clear that I was waiting at one Horton’s and he was waiting at another. We each calmed down and made arrangements to meet again.

This time we made sure we each understood where to meet. I am now the proud owner of a new motorcycle jack.

On Friday, I have time off and will be going wholeheartedly on the bike!

The Beginner's Mind

According to one Zen Buddhist nun, the beginner’s mind is “innocent of preconceptions and expectations, judgments and prejudices. Beginner's mind is just present to explore and observe and see ‘things as-it-is’." The beginner should see things “like a small child, full of curiosity and wonder and amazement. ‘I wonder what this is? I wonder what that is? I wonder what this means?’ It is avoiding a fixed point of view or a prior judgment. (Abbess Zenkei Blanche Hartman).

In working on this project, I can see that my ups and downs are as a result of my being fixed on an end point. That is having the bike to ride! What I need to keep in mind is the reason why I bought a $300 bike in the first place (Other than the fact that I am cheap!). I bought it to learn. I want to know how the bike works and the reasons why a bike doesn’t work. Keeping the focus on now and not on the end is what I need to do. I need to be innocent of expectations.

By the way, the trip to Crazy Al’s was a waste of time. I bought a helmet to justify the trip, but it really wasn’t worth it. I felt no real disappointment, however, as I had no real expectations that the reality would live up to the advertising. Is that Zen or just plain cynical?

Ups and Downs

I have gone from elation to frustration. Yesterday, the bike ran fine. I had it going for quite a while and was quite pleased. Today, I couldn't get the thing to turn over. I stepped back mentally and went through a troubleshooting checklist.

Several times.

But no luck.

I think the battery is the biggest problem right now. Its pretty much shot and I think I am not getting enough juice, even with the charger.

I felt the frustration creeping in, so I walked away and let my thoughts percolate. There is always tomorrow.

I have decided to do one more thing that I have never done before. There is a place in London Ontario called 'Crazy Al's' that sells motorcycle gear. It is having a grand opening and offering 'free' stuff and helmets at a very reduced rate. I'm going early to stand in line and see what happens. I've never stood in line for a store... I avoid Boxing Day sales like the plague. But, it is my goal to get on the road on a bike as cheaply as possible, so I am going to give it a skeptical try.

A Great Day!

The luck if the Irish is with me today! I put my bike back together and it started up just fine. I let it run for about a half an hour. We played with the idle. Now it idles well much of the time. During the time I had it running, it would run down a bit at times, give a bit of a ‘cough’ and would begin to run again fine. But most of the time, I just let it run without the throttle.

Over the last week, I have replaced the plugs, drained and refilled the oil, put in a new oil filter, cleaned out the carburetors and put everything back in place. The carbs look great. The insides are shiny clean. The outside is free of dirt, grime and surface rust. I was toying with the idea of replacing the float valve needle as a matter of course (At the suggestion of my father-in-law) but when I priced new ones from the local dealer (Almost $25 a piece – Outrageous!). So, I cleaned up the ones I had and made sure the rubber tips were in good shape. It all went back together. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carburetor)

One thing I keep trying to do is find the replacements for the bolts that came off the carbs. I stripped some of the heads taking them off. Not horribly, but enough that I’d like to replace them. Now, this is Canada. Metric is our official system of measurement. So I figured finding these types of bolts would be easy. Not so. For some reason, the 6mm flange bolts holding the carbs to the engine are impossible to find. The 8mm sized flange bolts are no problem, but forget the 6mm. I settled for regular hex head bolts. Metric Philips bolts on the carbs were impossible to find as well. The Allen and Robertson head versions were easy to find.

Part of me wants to use all parts that are as original as possible, but I also don’t want to spend my life driving around looking for bolts.

I have discovered at least one reason for my flooding problems. My choke cable doesn’t work properly. In fact, the choke handle came loose from the cable while I had it fully extended. In starting the bike, right now I need to pull the choke manually from the cable as it runs under my seat.

While running the engine so long, some smoke appeared. My father-in-law insisted that it was just old oil and gunk being burnt off the engine, but I was more skeptical. In shutting it down, I noticed some oil dripping from the cylinder head. So, we are going to replace the head gasket.

Overall, I am very pleased. Replacing the choke and the head gasket will take some time, but overall this project is going well. I am going to be putting the bike up on blocks so I can take the wheels off. The front tire definitely needs replacing. I need to do some lubing and oiling (On the bike, not myself – That’s for another type of blog).

A good day’s work.

Now, its time to price parts online.

Exxon Valdez or The Mystery of the Vanishing Bolt

Note: No wildlife was harmed in the making of this blog entry!

In my last entry, I talked about the amount of time I thought I would have to put into looking for parts. When I did, I was thinking about finding parts that ad worn out or rusted or were damaged in trying to remove them.

What I wasn’t thinking about was the time I would have to put into looking for parts I had lost!

After consulting the Honda Twins site yesterday, I was all set to drain the oil from my bike. I had assumed it was low on oil and that the oil that was there was dirty. At first, I was confused in that the pictures in the manual and what I was looking at didn’t jive. It turns out that my Clymer manual had it wrong. The advice I got from the Honda Twins site was not only accurate but given with a sense of humour. So I approached the oil draining wit some confidence.

I placed a bucket under the drain plug and started to undo the plug. Now, I haven’t drained oil but I have watched it being done to a car. I had assumed the oil would drain smoothly. Boy, was I wrong.

I had the bucket placed directly beneath the drain plug, but because the plug is horizontal, the oil began to shoot out the hole with some pressure, missing my bucket altogether. Oil hit the floor and began to spread. I moved the bucket over and let the oil drain….

And drain…

And drain.

I started to realize that the bucket I had was too small…

Too late.

It overflowed as I scrambled to get another bucket underneath. More oil all over the floor. My garage was starting to look a lot like Alaska after the Exxon Valdez spill!

It took a while, but I got the oil mopped up in into an old orange juice jug. The rages went into plastic bags, along with all the paper towels. (I’m lucky to have a gas station nearby that takes old oil. They took the towels, too.)

Well, having cleaned up the mess, I went to put back the drain plug. Only to find it gone.

And I mean gone. I spent the next hour rummaging through the bags and towels. I poured out the oil in the orange juice jug into a container. I swept the floor and searched shelves (Even ones I hadn’t been near).

The drain plug was gone. It went to that place where socks go when they disappear in the in the dryer. So, I went off to the local motorcycle shop. I bought a new bolt and came back. It didn’t fit. So, off I went again to the local cycle shop and changed the bolt.

And it didn’t fit.

A check at Honda Twins told me that the problem may be the pitch on the bolt and offered me information to ask the next time I go to the cycle shop.

Too much time was wasted today due to my errors, but I will take it as a learning experience. I seem to be having more learning experiences than I’d like, but it was a good day all in all. At least I was able to install the oil filter.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Time passes at odd intervals. There is no such thing as a constant flow of time. Today, while cleaning out the carburetors with my father-in-law, time passed very rapidly. Removing and cleaning the mufflers, again time seemed to move quickly. The rest of the day seemed to drag however.

One thing that I had not considered when I started this was the amount of time I might spend in finding and getting parts for the bike. I have never owned such an old vehicle, so I had never considered this very much. Now, I am lucky in that I work close to the oldest motorcycle dealer in Canada. They deal in Hondas and claim they can deal with older bikes. They have parts fiches on-line, which have helped a great deal. That said I have the feeling I will spend more time looking for parts than I will in actually installing them.

I had good news in cleaning the carbs. First, they were relatively clean. Second, everything inside looked good, with nothing bent, chipped or pitted. We decided the change the float valve needles just to be sure, but everything else looked fine. The outside was gunky, so I cleaned it up with a toothbrush and some cleaner.

Each day I work on the bike, I begin to realize what a deal I got!

Carb Reduced

Today, for the very first time in my life, I almost felt like a mechanic. I removed the carburetor from the bike. Once I read through the manual, it was rather straight-forward. Slip off some hoses. Remove some side plates that fixed the motor to the frame. Remove some bolts holding the carbs to the motor. Then slide it out and remove the throttle and choke cables.

Only two small hitches for me. The first was not having the right sized wrench to take the bolts that attached the carbs to the motor. Actually, I had socket wrenches that would fit, but the space wouldn’t allow for it. I had to take a ride over to my father-in-law to find the right size. The second was that one of the bolts was slightly stripped. In taking it off, I stripped its head even worse. I needed to get vice grips on it to get it moving. It came out simply once it started moving.

I will need to replace the bolt, however.

Now, I don’t really know what a carburetor should look like, but this one looked very clean inside. The parts I could see were shiny. I suspect something is sticking, however, as some of the parts were hard to move. Also, what seemed like a lot of gasoline poured out of it. The carburetor will be heading over to my father-in-law’s tonight. He will do most of the work, with me looking over his shoulder.

I assumed there was something like a ‘carb cleaning kit’ with cleaner and some of the normal wear parts that would need replacing. Nope. I do need to by carb cleaner, though.

Laying on my back in the garage, trying to reach my big mitts into some cramped portion of the bike in order to loosen bolts, I finally had a true appreciation for why people like working on vehicles. It was a great feeling.

Success... Of Sorts

Success!

Of sorts.

It was a fabulous weekend here in Southern Ontario. It was great to be able to roll the bike out onto the driveway and work in the sunshine.

On Saturday, after much fiddling and error, I had the bike running for over ten minutes. Before, however, I managed to flood it several times. But once the spark plugs were dried out and we let the carburetor dry out, I managed to get it going. It rang very strong for the ten minutes I left it going, so I was very happy at that point. I learned several things while doing this. One was a simple little trick to check for compression without using any gauges. Did you know that if you put your thumb over the hole where the spark plug goes and try to turn over the engine, you should not be able to keep your thumb over the hole? The air pressure of the moving piston should be enough to push your thumb off. I couldn’t keep my thumb over the hole, so we have some decent compression in the engine!

Now, I started with success of sorts. The problem came later in the day. I had my family over for dinner (Parents and brother with his family) and I wanted to show them the bike. So, they all gathered around in the garage and I hopped on, full of confidence after my morning success. I turned over the engine. It started up and ran for a few seconds.

Then there was a loud crack. A backfire… And the engine died. I tried to getting it started again but it was flooded. I couldn’t get it going again.

Rather anti-climactic.



Sunday afternoon, I was working on it again. It turned over for a second and there was another loud backfire. I decided at this point that I needed to do some reading, so I went to the manual and the internet. It seems backfires occur when there is to rich or too lean a mixture of gas. In my case, I suspect there is too much gasoline getting in, as it seems to flood quite easily.

After some reading, I decided to start taking the bike apart, as I needed to take out the carburetor. I took of the gas tank, which turned out to be very easy. I began on the carburetor, but ran out of time, as I got caught up on detaching the carburetor from the throttle cable.

All in all, I was very pleased with the weekend, but this is going to take a lot of work.

Off to price a carb cleaning kit!

Steve McQueen Riding on a Fast Machine

I spent last night cleaning my garage and putting away my new tools. I got rid of some sad specimens that I had acquired over the years. I have many carpentry tools, as I have renovated several of my houses, but very few mechanical tools. I found an odd assortment of metric heads for my socket wrench, but am missing some. I will have to scour some flea markets to make up the difference. Anyway, I have a relatively orderly work area. Saturday will be here soon and I will have my first lengthy period of time to work on the bike.

When I began looking for a bike, I considered getting a relatively new bike so I wouldn’t have to worry about repairs. I came realize that I actually wanted to know the whole bike, so repairing it should be part of the experience. Another reason for the decision was the realization that I don’t think there are many newer model bikes that I like very much. Sport bikes look too aggressive and too many cruisers look huge and bloated. And the displacement size of the engines just sounded for too large for a newbie like myself.

I like the look of older bikes. I went to the bike show in Toronto a few months back and saw a bike line that will be available in Canada this year called Royal Enfield (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Enfield_Motors). Great looking bikes right out of the fifties… Literally. The company has been making bikes in India in pretty much the same way since the demise of its British parent in the 1950s. I have no idea what the quality is like, but they sure a fabulous looking bikes! There is a military model bike that would make you look as if you stepped out of a war movie.



I don’t know about you, but a motorcycle should have some nostalgia to it. I’m 47. I don’t need to look like a fleeing secret agent screaming down the highway on some crotch rocket that looks like it belongs in a Sci Fi movie. And I am in elementary education for goodness sake. So trying to look like some Hell’s Angel on a fat cruiser seems a little silly.

But make me look like Steve McQueen in The Great Escape… Now that’s a motorcycle!

Canadian Tire, Zen and the Pursuit of Happiness

I need to begin saying that this second day working on the bike was much more successful that the previous one. First, I adjusted my expectations. If I can squeeze out 30 minutes to work on the bike during the week, I feel lucky. So the amount I can accomplish will be small. Second, in doing this I want it to be enjoyable and relaxing. Thus, I need to be mindful of my approach at all times.

This led me think more about my theme of zen. Now, I believe that a zen state can be achieved several ways. First and perhaps the most famous is through meditation. While I pray on occasion, I don’t see myself as one for sitting still, let alone sitting still with my eyes closed, trying to force out thoughts by concentrating on a lotus flower.

Thankfully, a zen state can be achieved through repetitive, non-verbal activities. I study traditional, Okinawan karate. Traditional karate is not like ‘North American’ karate. The focus is on repetitive movement in kata. If you think of martial arts as being on a continuum, traditional Meibukan Karate is closer Tai Chi than to Mixed Martial Arts fighting. It is an excellent way to maintain fitness and reduce stress. (If you want to know more about this type of karate, see the Meibukan Karate link on the right.)

A zen state can also be achieved by remaining completely mindful of your activities and staying ‘in the now’. This state of mind is a great remedy for stress.

It is third way of attaining a state of zen that I hope to achieve in my work on the motorcycle. Because this is a new activity, it is actually easy to remain in the now, as my mind is focused on problem solving at every turn, in little things and in big.

In a small way, I felt I achieved that today in the short time I had to work on the bike. I look over the fuel line and a few other small items. I also wanted to take out the battery so I could have it tested. Needless to say, after my experience with the license plate, I was a little hesitant about the battery, especially since my manual says it can be tricky to remove.

However, it popped out easily.

I took it into Canadian Tire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Tire) and had it tested. Despite sitting outside for most of our Ontario winter, it tested fine, but obviously needed charging. Great! I had been worried that I might have to buy a new battery. There is $75 not spent.

Sort of.

Now, if you aren’t Canadian, you probably don’t know Canadian Tire (CT for short). When my brother-in-law, who is an American from Boston and rides a BMW R1200GS, first came to

Canada, he thought CT sold only tires. Poor deprived man…

Canadian Tire is actually a shrine to all things mechanical, automotive, etc.

Anyway, I was in CT to have the battery tested. That was a free service. Wily bunch, they are. Because of course, I am now in the store, thinking about my bike and realizing I need more tools (Remember the license plate?). So, I start up and down the aisles... Just looking.

Needless to say, the cost for the bike project just went up.

But not by much, though. Because when CT has sales, they have great sales. A set of eight Stanley metric combination wrenches and a large set of over 40 Mastercraft screwdrivers (Including various torx drivers) made their way home with me. Both with lifetime guarantees and supposedly ‘professional grade’…

We’ll see.

So the free battery check cost me $42 CAD in tools.

My total expenditure on the bike is now $413 CAD.

I really don’t know if that is living in a state of zen, but it sure made for an enjoyable evening.