Rpoc

[cheesy]

Tomorrow will be two months since I ordered the replacement hub. About a month since i ordered the reaction arm bushings. I went for an hour ride on Christmas day and had the bearings come loose in the hub again.

The bearings are a slip fit, press in by hand. Mine have spun so many times that the gap was .025"/.6mm. I figure if I take the wheel apart to have the hub sleeved now, I'll probably break a spoke. And those will be on back order. So I got the correct size stock and shimmed the puppies. I did a test fit that took some thinking on my part. Once I got them in place, it took a slide hammer to get them back out. That made me happy. I cut new shims and put it all back together.

I also shimmed the reaction arm bushings. There's still some slop in there, but it's been reduced by half.

New Years Day Freeze Your Ass Ride coming up on Monday.

[2LZ]

Nice fix! I know that waiting on parts thing, now that I have to order some items straight from the UK. Takes a while.

[cheesy]

Thanks, 2LZ.

Just like Chinariders, ya gotta do what ya gotta do if you can't get parts and ya wanna ride.

[Sport Rider]

Originally Posted by 2LZ

Nice fix! I know that waiting on parts thing, now that I have to order some items straight from the UK. Takes a while.

I've been researching bikes lately, particularly sport touring bikes as I want to downsize the goldwing a bit. I was looking at the Moto Guzzi Norge. nice looking bike and the right size. the more I researched, I found that with MG bikes, getting parts and service can be quite problematic. I decided to stick with something more mainstream. Like perhaps a ural.

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by Sport Rider

I've been researching bikes lately, particularly sport touring bikes as I want to downsize the goldwing a bit. I was looking at the Moto Guzzi Norge. nice looking bike and the right size. the more I researched, I found that with MG bikes, getting parts and service can be quite problematic. I decided to stick with something more mainstream. Like perhaps a ural.

[cheesy]

Have you ever started a project and, several hours into it, you start to think, "WTF was I thinking?".

Behold, a model of the original Ural, the M72.



It's a 1/35 scale kit out of Russia and A LOT smaller than I expected. The frame and front fork took several hours because I'd drop a tiny part on the floor and spend ten minutes looking for it. Remembering that I had the 'octopus' in the other garage helped greatly. The frame pieces turned out to be molded somewhat bent.(Thanks, Ivan) So, it was glue one section. Let it set, then glue another section, then let it set. Ad infinitum.

The engine was about a dozen pieces and sits nicely on the quarter. My sausage fingers apparently do not like working with tiny pieces. Such that, I'm having flashbacks of being 8 years old with strings of model cement and ooky finger prints on a model of a 1964 Dodge. If I recall, the glue smelled better, too.

What sucks is that I also have a 1/35 BMW R75, which replaced the BMW R71, that became the Ural M72. Why? Because I'm an idiot.

[2LZ]

Oh....no way.

[XLsior]

well its is a kit...some nutters do that sort of thing from scratch...

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by XLsior

well its is a kit...some nutters do that sort of thing from scratch...

Not that. I just can't see/finger the tiny stuff anymore. I'd be one-eyeing it, with multiple magnifiers in tow.....then probably fling the tiny part across the room because my tweezers are jittery. I'll stick with wrenches. ;-)

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by 2LZ

Not that. I just can't see/finger the tiny stuff anymore. I'd be one-eyeing it, with multiple magnifiers in tow.....then probably fling the tiny part across the room because my tweezers are jittery. I'll stick with wrenches. ;-)

You were looking over my shoulder?

I don't need to throw the offending part, it just shoots out from the tweezers.

[cheesy]

In an effort not to be one of those retired guys that die in his easy chair, I rejoined a bicycle and ski club that I belonged to in the 80's. Because it's kind of crappy weather for old coots to ride in, they get together on Tuesday mornings for a 3 to 5 mile walk.

Being a bit more goofy than your typical coot, I rode the Ural to the start. This older gent walked up to me as I was taking off my helmet and asks, in an Eastern European accent, "Is that an Ooral?" Then he introduced himself as Gene, an old Russian guy who's been in the US for 40 years. Then out of the blue, he asks if I'm Mike. Someone let out my secret that I planned to show up.

There were about 9 of us on the walk this morning. Gene and I did the 5 mile route together and BS'd the entire walk. Turns out, Gene was in the Russian Army and spent three years north of the Arctic Circle While he was stationed there, his vehicle was an old Ural motorcycle. I probably learned more about the Russian Army from him in an hour, than I've ever known.

BTW, not only do my quads ache, so do my biceps.

[Bruces]

Stay away from Gene ! Being sent by the military to the Arctic for 3 years means he is trouble !

[cheesy]

Six months since I ordered my new front hub and five months since I ordered the reaction arm bushings. It's bad news, good news, bad news. Bad news, hubs are still on back order. Good news, the bushings are back in stock. Bad news, I ordered two bushings and Redmond only sent one.

Joy.

[cheesy]

Things are looking up. Not only was I able to kick start the RPOC today, I did it twice. I rode through the subdivision and was able to go through the gears, up and down, with no ankle pain.

As soon as the damn swelling goes down enough so I can wear a boot, I'll be wearing out tires and wasting gas again.

[cheesy]

60 miles today. And other than the destination being a visitation for a former coworkers spouse for the first half of the ride, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The pic is at the local BP station where the DuKane ABATE group set up one of their locations for Motorcycle Awareness Day. I stood next to the road and held a sign that said, "Save A Life, Don't Text And Drive" for a few hours. Met with a couple of local politicians, pet some doggies, and gabbed with some of the county and local cops.

The cops wrote several traffic tickets during today's shindig and I kind of participated in one. Unless it's hands free, texting while driving Illannoy is a big NO NO Illannoy. It's considered a moving violation. One, it's a spendy ticket, and two, three moving violations in a 12 month period is bye bye license for a while.
Anywho, I'm watching this woman sitting in line at the light, texting War And Peace. One of the cops saw it, too. He pulls his squad alongside her car and is staring at her through the passenger window. She's doing a War And Peace re-edit and never looks up. I look at the cop with a shit eating grin on my face and he returns it. Traffic starts to move and he pulls in behind her. Makes with the lights after the intersection and pulls her over at McDonald's. That stop was a good half hour. The cop came over later to where I was standing and we were talking about the stop. She got the moving violation and two equipment violations. I didn't ask what the equipment ones were for but I mentioned she could have had one more for flicking a lit butt out the window but it was pretty windy today, so it blew back into the car.

Afterwards, we all met at Knuckleheads, a local watering hole. DuKane ABATE picked up the tab for the brats and snacks. Drinks were out of pocket. I had my first beer in 6 months. I've been in this town for almost 5 years and never thought once about stopping into the place. Kind of a combination Old Mans/Biker Bar. It reminded me of the Stateline Tap where Mrs.C's Dad had his home away from home. Knowing that, I know Mrs. C won't ever set foot in it.