Skeptical Progress

I just had a call from Stu and my bike is all set and ready to be picked up.  He said the power band is back, the engine noises are gone, and things are humming along wonderfully.

That's the good news.

The bad news is he said it still hiccups occasionally, and he isn't certain why.  He said the next progressive step is tuning, and that I should give thought to installing a power commander - and maybe some aftermarket pipes while I'm at it - at some point.  Well, with the season winding down, I'll have time to think about it (as well as have a chance to save up some money if I choose to go down that route).

Kinda bummed that the stupid hiccup'ing thing is still around.  Stu said it's infrequent, which is about what it was before.  So, I'll pick the thing up on Saturday and take it for a spin and see what I think.

The repairs that were done, while apparently not solving the hiccuping issue, were still sorely needed.  And at the end of the day, spending a few grand now is cheaper than buying a whole new bike...which I didn't have the money for, anyway.

I'll let you know how things go.

Cognex Halloween

My company's Halloween party was on Friday.  I went as the Blue Screen of Death.  The costume came out 'ok' - had I given myself a bit more time to work on it, I think I could have pulled together a better cowl for the head.

No matter - I came in 10th place.  Not great, but not too shabby, either.

Pics:

I really liked how the scythe came out.  I'd commandeered a few junked PC's from work and cannibalized their circuit boards to make the blade...

Here's the completed look.  I even used a junked pike bar for a belt.  (It's the little things that show you're really giving your all.)

And yes, I even rigged up a light inside, to illuminate the screen.

I'm hoping this will be the last year that I go with a costume which requires covering my face and/or carrying something on my head.  It's unwieldy, uncomfortable, and exceptionally hot inside the outfit.

But I'm not that bright and may very well repeat the mistakes of the past...

Halloween Debris

A pile of tools amidst a scattered mess of random nonsense?

Must be costume creation time, for Cognex's annual Halloween party/contest!

So far, folks seem to really like what I threw together this year.  I'll post a pic later on...

Progress...of a sort

I dropped the bike back off at the shop on Tuesday night for it's latest round of treatments.  New heads/valves/springs, as well as new intake seals on the manifolds.  With any luck, it would be the last time I needed work done on this thing for a long time.

Well, luck was with me, but it was all bad.  Stu just called to let me know that the rocker arms are out of spec.  (He'd let me know beforehand that there was a chance for this happening, given the sounds that have been coming from the top end lately.)  So, now that'll add some to the repair bill.  Ugh, this bike is killing me.

But, I don't have the money for a new one, so I might as well stretch this one out for a bit longer.  And by a bit longer, I mean hopefully another 50,000 miles.

The weather has been chilly, but clear - in other words; great riding weather.  Especially given the foliage going on around here.  I'd hoped to pick the bike up on Saturday and take it out for a nice long ride, but now pickup will be pushed out until next week.  Which will certainly be long enough for some rain and/or snow to come along, I'm sure.

Here's hoping you folks out there are getting some miles on.

Work Hard, Pay The Repair Bill

1st Annual Legion Riders Halloween Bash & Annual Halloween Run

Halloween was in the air this weekend!  First, on Saturday night, we held our first annual American Legion Riders Halloween Bash.  There was music, dancing, and merriment all around. And food?  Good lord...we were worrired we wouldn't have enough but when it came to party time, our guests more than came through.  We were running out of room on the FOUR tables we had set up, and could have fed an entire army.

Here's a pic of the sheet cake that Artie and Edie brought.  I had to snap a pic (and a close-up) of the image, I thought it was so cool.

I resurrected my Beaker costume from years ago.  It's seen some hard times, but managed to survive one more party.  I'd forgotten how hot it got inside the head, as well as how it was basically impossible to eat or drink with it on.  Folks kept sticking straw into my beer so I could mange, but no thanks - I've heard too many horror stories about wicked hangovers, drinking beer through a straw.

I lasted as long as possible but eventually ditched the thing and spent the rest of the night in comfort.  Besides, he was falling apart again!  When it came time to clean up, I made the tough decision to part ways.  I knew I wouldn't be wearing this again, so it was the end of the line.  Sorry Beak, we had some good times together, but now it's the dumpster for ya.  (You can see he was shocked by my cold-heartedness.)

Sunday was the Annual Halloween Run.  The weather dawned much warmer and clearer than last year's run, so I figured I was safe rigging up the Haunted Hitchhiker onto the lower back of the bike again.  (He made it through, unscathed.)

The same two mini skulls on the passing lamps (with the lampst turned off, of course).

An added bonus - Mike had made it up from Jersey!  And he had his trusty skeleton mounted onto his bike once again.

Alas, the turnout at my house was quite dismal this year.  Folks are being real weenies lately, but we still had a great day nonetheless.

We shot over to the run, registered, and set the kickstands in the parking lot out back.  A buddy of mine that was already parked, told me we'd just missed a nice old-fashioned beat-down.  His story was corroborated a bit later when I bumped into Jan, who also informed me that I'd missed the show.  Apparently some guy had been posting some kind of chit about a member of the Outlaws, and the Outlaws had come to pay him a visit.  Apparently there were raised voices, some shoving, followed by the obligatory fisticuffs and blood.   I guess the guy who had been talking smack, wound up receiving the smacking.  Too bad I missed it, but again; we still had a great day nonetheless.

Strolling around the grounds, there were some folks who were in the spirit of things.  First; the Geico money guy...

This bike was pretty cool.  The key was off, but the lights in the eyes were lit up.  Pretty sharp.

Another Geico money guy!  (Can you imagine their embarassment at showing up to the party, wearing the same outfit?)

This little guy seemed to be having a great time...

I didn't snap a pic of my costume, but it was the same thing I usually wear; the skull mask and gloves.  Each year when I put it on, I'm reminded of how I don't have any real peripheral vision, how the mask presses uncomfortably into my nose and chin, and how basically uncomfortable it is all around.  Then, on the run, the kids lining the streets always point me out, shout out how much they love the skull, clapping and cheering, etc.  That feels awesome, and I remind myself that I need to wear the mask again next year.

The after-party was the usual; a band, some food, and lots of laughs.  We watched the first half of the Pats game then hammered over to the Legion for the second half (what a way to lose!!) and rounded out the day with more laughter and good times.  It was a good day all around.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Presents!

I shot over to the bike shop yesterday to drop off some money for parts and while I was there, I figured I'd pick Stu's brain.  See, every time I do an oil change on the bike, the black slop runs over the front of my frame, the front motor mount, etc.  Just makes a big mess.  So I figured Stu might have a trick to keeping things clean when he does oil changes.  Well...he doesn't.  But, he did say that he'd bought one of those sleeves that are supposed to cup under the filter, catch the oil, and run it over to a funnel on the opposite side (in the pic below, the drain funnel is the little open slot on the left) preventing a big mess...

And then to my surprise, he said I could have it.  Really?  Sweet!  LOL, but then came the explanation.  He said it didn't work for him at all, but he attributed that mostly to the fact that when he's working on a bike, it's up on the lift, and chocked/strapped into position - meaning it's straight up and down.  However, since when I do oil changes, my bike will be on the 'stand and leaning over, there's a chance it may work for me.

I'll know for sure when my next service time comes up.  Which has been slow to arrive of late because of the repairs my bike needs.  Hopefully after this next surgery session, I'll be good to go, and will then have an answer on the oil catcher for you.

Until then...

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Where Ya Been?

It's budget season here at work and that means long (long!) hours and not much down time.  Things are finally beginning to quiet down a bit and I was able to treat myself to a benefit run yesterday.  It was a charity to raise money in memory of a guy from Taunton.  I didn't know him but it sure seemed like a lot of folks did.  A great turnout in the parking lot (even if you can't really tell from my blurry pic)...

...which means a lot of hungry folks....

The food lines moved quickly and soon folks had full bellies and were milling about, chatting and checking out the bikes.  There were some bike games in the back of the parking lot but I forgot about them (and didn't hear them), so I'm afraid I don't have any pics for ya.

I was beat as all hell  (16 hour days will do that to a guy) so I made an early exit and hit my couch for the Pats game.  (I fell asleep for the first 10 minutes but then woke for the rest of what wound up to be a painful game to watch, but with a thrilling come-from-behind-with-5-seconds-left victory, so all was good.)

The bike was in the shop a bit ago as well, and needs to go back in for some follow-up surgery.  I'd hoped to push that off to the off-season, but I may need to move it up sooner than that.  It'll depend on the funds available thing (how come there's never enough funds available?).  I'll do a writeup on that once things are all set and done.  Oh, I did change my brakes, finally, so stopping is much better now.

Here's hoping everyone has been getting some miles on.  Gotta get 'em while ya can, the season is winding down.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Mischief

We had our annual Oktoberfest event at the Legion on Saturday night.  It was a great night for many folks, including the ones who had to leave a bit early because they overserved themselves, LOL.  No problem, just park the bike out back for the night, safe and sound...allegedly.

I say "allegedly" because this is what happens when you leave your bike unattended...


The bike's owner took it in stride...at first. He's getting a little peeved that no one is telling him who did it, though. He's threatening to TP everyone's houses, continuously, until he finds out who did it.

It's been pouring for two days and (I believe) is supposed to rain all week.  It's pretty tough to TP someone's house in the pouring rain...

...so I think I'm safe for a little while....

Ride Hard, Pull Pranks