Thursday, May 22, 2014
As Glen Danzig said; "Can't Sleep"
I didn't realize this post had...posted. I was trying to blog from my phone (about how it was the night before a bike trip and therefore zzz's would be few and far between), but I wasn't able to bring up the keypad to write a description/entry with. I could only type out the title. Oh well - live and learn.
Rollin' to Rolling
It's the eve of our annual trip to Rolling Thunder. I'm getting amped up - feeling jittery...I know I won't sleep well tonight, but that's ok. It's the first big trip of the season and I'm excited! My only concern is my back - I'm not sure how that's going to hold up (which is why I'm not continuing on to NC for the Tail of the Dragon this year). Have I already mentioned all of this? (Shrug)
I'm bringing a spare set of new plugs with me, along with some emory cloth, so hopefully the bike will be ok for the ride down, the ride around, and then the ride back.
The weather for tomorrow morning will be wet, but down there? It looks to be awesome - sunny, 70's, and NOT HUMID for a change, for the entire weekend. Sounds perfect for a guy like me!
Emails are flying around between the guys and K - playful banter and such. She's excited for us to get down there, we're excited to hit the road...let's just get this thing going already!
Ok - tons of stuff to wrap up here at work, so it's a quick post today. Tomorrow, we ride!
I'm bringing a spare set of new plugs with me, along with some emory cloth, so hopefully the bike will be ok for the ride down, the ride around, and then the ride back.
The weather for tomorrow morning will be wet, but down there? It looks to be awesome - sunny, 70's, and NOT HUMID for a change, for the entire weekend. Sounds perfect for a guy like me!
Emails are flying around between the guys and K - playful banter and such. She's excited for us to get down there, we're excited to hit the road...let's just get this thing going already!
Ok - tons of stuff to wrap up here at work, so it's a quick post today. Tomorrow, we ride!
Monday, May 19, 2014
Cinco Completo
The Cinco de Roasto caught a major weather break this year. Up until two days beforehand, the forecasts were calling for a complete washout. But late Thursday night, things began to change a bit. First the all-day rain was going to peter out later in the afternoon. By Friday morning, it was going to end by 3. By Friday night, the weather said it would stop raining by 1. Come Saturday morning, things were about as good as we could have hoped for; before we were even back with the pig, there were patches of blue poking through the clouds, and by eat-time, there wasn't a cloud to be seen.
Turnout was off this year (only about 110 people). It seems there were a lot of folks that had family obligations going on this year (family in town, kids graduating, etc.), but that's ok, we still had a great time.
Tim and Lynner arrived Friday around 3:30 - not too soaked, but more than happy to clean up and dry off. Around 5, we headed over to the Post for laughter and chatter. No sooner did I have a beer in my hand than my phone started ringing - it was Myszka, and he was standing in my driveway! (I'd asked him a few times if he was joining us this year, but he'd not sounded promising, so I hadn't been expecting him.) Anyway, the poor guy had just finished riding 10 hours in the rain, so I shot over with the Jeep to pick him up. From there it was back to the Post, then later, on to Chickie Flynns' for dinner, then back to the house for cards until late-thirty in the evening.
Saturday was the normal; up early, meet up at the farm to collect the pig, then off to breakfast, then back to the house to get things going. Before long, the fire was going, the pig was cooking, and the drinks were flowing. As the day moved along, folks came and went and it was awesome to catch up with so many faces that I don't get to see often enough.
After the feast, we continued on with the revelry, had the Moment of Silence, then the Toast of Life, and then just kept on keepin' on until quite late again. Tim, Lynner and I were the last three up and when we noticed it was 4am, we figured it was time to call it a night. The luge remnants were tossed onto the fire, the lights were turned out, and Cinco de Roasto 13 was in the books.
It seemed like I'd just closed my eyes when I heard a motorcycle start up in my driveway. I quick glance at the clock; it was 7am! I bolted up and out to try and catch Myszka but just missed him as the tail end of his bike rounded the corner of my driveway and the sound faded off into the distance.
We collected the remaining souls from the house and hit the cafe for the customary breakfast & parking lot pic. Hugs and handshakes after that, and then Tim & Lynner were disappearing toward the horizon, and home.
Back at the house I was very grateful for the cleanup help from the boys and girls, and before too long, the backyard was all set. Inside wasn't bad, but the floors would need a thorough washing. Certainly not a problem at all.
Pics!
Here's the jacket the crew gave me last year; mounted with pride on the wall in the basement.
The forecast had been looking pretty bad for Saturday...
Thursday wasn't too bad, though, and some folks came early to set their tents up. McCarthy also came by with the trailer and cooking implements.
Thursday night pre-celebration with McCarthy, Nelly, Ziggy and Drea.
Me and Tim cleaned out the liquor store of BL's...
Friday dinner at Chickie's. Matt called for a round of Glenlivet...
Customary Saturday morning at the farm...
Followed by customary breakfast...
Roasting Pig!
Eddie' bobbed Triumph - LOVE this bike!
Artwork in the driveway, courtesy of the kiddo's...
It's hard to make out, but there are 5 bikes tucked into my garage. And they were even lined up in the proper order of departure.
The luge saw some damage as the night wore on...
And there was quite a selection, as usual...
Bob showed up with a whole box full of custom-ordered koozies. How cool is that!
Sunday morning during cleanup. I should have left these guys alone...but didn't...
There are many, many more pics on Facebook, which I'm sure you've probably seen by now. It was another great year and for those that didn't make it, I hope you will next year!
Now I just need to get caught up on my sleep...we roll toward DC in 4 days!!
Turnout was off this year (only about 110 people). It seems there were a lot of folks that had family obligations going on this year (family in town, kids graduating, etc.), but that's ok, we still had a great time.
Tim and Lynner arrived Friday around 3:30 - not too soaked, but more than happy to clean up and dry off. Around 5, we headed over to the Post for laughter and chatter. No sooner did I have a beer in my hand than my phone started ringing - it was Myszka, and he was standing in my driveway! (I'd asked him a few times if he was joining us this year, but he'd not sounded promising, so I hadn't been expecting him.) Anyway, the poor guy had just finished riding 10 hours in the rain, so I shot over with the Jeep to pick him up. From there it was back to the Post, then later, on to Chickie Flynns' for dinner, then back to the house for cards until late-thirty in the evening.
Saturday was the normal; up early, meet up at the farm to collect the pig, then off to breakfast, then back to the house to get things going. Before long, the fire was going, the pig was cooking, and the drinks were flowing. As the day moved along, folks came and went and it was awesome to catch up with so many faces that I don't get to see often enough.
After the feast, we continued on with the revelry, had the Moment of Silence, then the Toast of Life, and then just kept on keepin' on until quite late again. Tim, Lynner and I were the last three up and when we noticed it was 4am, we figured it was time to call it a night. The luge remnants were tossed onto the fire, the lights were turned out, and Cinco de Roasto 13 was in the books.
It seemed like I'd just closed my eyes when I heard a motorcycle start up in my driveway. I quick glance at the clock; it was 7am! I bolted up and out to try and catch Myszka but just missed him as the tail end of his bike rounded the corner of my driveway and the sound faded off into the distance.
We collected the remaining souls from the house and hit the cafe for the customary breakfast & parking lot pic. Hugs and handshakes after that, and then Tim & Lynner were disappearing toward the horizon, and home.
Back at the house I was very grateful for the cleanup help from the boys and girls, and before too long, the backyard was all set. Inside wasn't bad, but the floors would need a thorough washing. Certainly not a problem at all.
Pics!
Here's the jacket the crew gave me last year; mounted with pride on the wall in the basement.
The forecast had been looking pretty bad for Saturday...
Thursday wasn't too bad, though, and some folks came early to set their tents up. McCarthy also came by with the trailer and cooking implements.
Thursday night pre-celebration with McCarthy, Nelly, Ziggy and Drea.
Me and Tim cleaned out the liquor store of BL's...
Friday dinner at Chickie's. Matt called for a round of Glenlivet...
Customary Saturday morning at the farm...
Followed by customary breakfast...
Roasting Pig!
Eddie' bobbed Triumph - LOVE this bike!
Artwork in the driveway, courtesy of the kiddo's...
It's hard to make out, but there are 5 bikes tucked into my garage. And they were even lined up in the proper order of departure.
The luge saw some damage as the night wore on...
And there was quite a selection, as usual...
Bob showed up with a whole box full of custom-ordered koozies. How cool is that!
Sunday morning during cleanup. I should have left these guys alone...but didn't...
There are many, many more pics on Facebook, which I'm sure you've probably seen by now. It was another great year and for those that didn't make it, I hope you will next year!
Now I just need to get caught up on my sleep...we roll toward DC in 4 days!!
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Why Am I Here?
I'm not surpoosed to be in at work today, but I had too many things still sitting on my plate, so I'm here...but don't tell anyone. If they know I'm in, they'll start coming to me with more things to do.
Anyway - just a quick post to catch you all up on a couple things. One; I've fixed the bike problem. Well, ok..."fixed" is probably not the correct word...I've found a work-around. Here's how that came to be...
Tuesday night, I was working on the bike and looking at wiring, connections, etc., trying to see if anything jumped out at me as the obvious source of the skipping problem. No luck. But, I did pull the plugs and check them to see how they looked. They were a little fouled, due to the power commander still running rich, but no big deal. I cleaned them up and popped them back in, and didn't give it another thought.
Zig called while I was working on the bike and said he'd read my post about the issue reappearing, and wanted to take the bike out to experience it for himself. Sure, no problem, take it. Take it far away!
So he swung by yesterday afternoon and took it for a long spin. When he came back, the first thing he said was; "Take that fucking seat and throw it in the woods as far as you can!" (It would seem he's not a fan of it.) He did go on to say that not only is it extremly solid and uncomfortable, but it just sits you in an odd/uncomfortable position. (But it looks so good on the bike!!!)
Anyway, I asked him if the bike had skipped at all for him, and he said no, it ran fine the entire time. He'd gone slowly, fast, bogged it down, opened it up, etc. Nothing. The bike didn't exhibit any symptoms at all.
And that's when it hit me...
Way back when this problem first appeared, the first thing I'd done was pull the plugs and clean them up. That solved the problem for about a week or so. And here it was, almost a year later, and I'd done the same thing. I'd cleaned the plugs up and the bike seemed to run fine. Sweet! I have a workaround!
I'll simply ride the bike until it starts to skip again, clean the plugs, and then I should be good to go! In fact, I've got the plug socket, the rachet, and some emery cloth set out to bring with me on the trip to DC. Now, if the bike starts to act up, I'll just clean the plugs at the next gas stop (hmmm...I'll need to bring a rag, too, since they'll be too hot to hold), and I should be all set.
On a serious note, this does lead me in a specific direction, though. Instead of replacing the ECM, I think the next thing is to replace the plug wires. Maybe they are the culprit. Time will tell.
Ok, time to get rolling. Way too many things to get done back at the house today, in preparation for Saturday's party. Oh, the weather? It's changed! Now, instead of a 70% chance of rain, it's now 90%!! Awesome! :-( Oh well. The good news is it looks like the folks riding out from New York will miss most of the rain.
Ta for now...
Anyway - just a quick post to catch you all up on a couple things. One; I've fixed the bike problem. Well, ok..."fixed" is probably not the correct word...I've found a work-around. Here's how that came to be...
Tuesday night, I was working on the bike and looking at wiring, connections, etc., trying to see if anything jumped out at me as the obvious source of the skipping problem. No luck. But, I did pull the plugs and check them to see how they looked. They were a little fouled, due to the power commander still running rich, but no big deal. I cleaned them up and popped them back in, and didn't give it another thought.
Zig called while I was working on the bike and said he'd read my post about the issue reappearing, and wanted to take the bike out to experience it for himself. Sure, no problem, take it. Take it far away!
So he swung by yesterday afternoon and took it for a long spin. When he came back, the first thing he said was; "Take that fucking seat and throw it in the woods as far as you can!" (It would seem he's not a fan of it.) He did go on to say that not only is it extremly solid and uncomfortable, but it just sits you in an odd/uncomfortable position. (But it looks so good on the bike!!!)
Anyway, I asked him if the bike had skipped at all for him, and he said no, it ran fine the entire time. He'd gone slowly, fast, bogged it down, opened it up, etc. Nothing. The bike didn't exhibit any symptoms at all.
And that's when it hit me...
Way back when this problem first appeared, the first thing I'd done was pull the plugs and clean them up. That solved the problem for about a week or so. And here it was, almost a year later, and I'd done the same thing. I'd cleaned the plugs up and the bike seemed to run fine. Sweet! I have a workaround!
I'll simply ride the bike until it starts to skip again, clean the plugs, and then I should be good to go! In fact, I've got the plug socket, the rachet, and some emery cloth set out to bring with me on the trip to DC. Now, if the bike starts to act up, I'll just clean the plugs at the next gas stop (hmmm...I'll need to bring a rag, too, since they'll be too hot to hold), and I should be all set.
On a serious note, this does lead me in a specific direction, though. Instead of replacing the ECM, I think the next thing is to replace the plug wires. Maybe they are the culprit. Time will tell.
Ok, time to get rolling. Way too many things to get done back at the house today, in preparation for Saturday's party. Oh, the weather? It's changed! Now, instead of a 70% chance of rain, it's now 90%!! Awesome! :-( Oh well. The good news is it looks like the folks riding out from New York will miss most of the rain.
Ta for now...
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Roasto Preppo
It's Wednesday before this year's Cinco de Roasto and I'm itchin' to hit the road. I've got a Legion Riders meeting tonight, there's a B's game (Game 7!!) on tonight, and I've still got a lot of cleaning and preparing to do at the homestead, in preparation for an onslaught of visitors this weekend.
The weather? Yeah...it seems my streak of good weather has run its course. The forecasts are wavering, though. Some say 68% chance of rain, others are saying 70%... :-/
No matter - the event will go on, regardless! Tim and Lynner are hitting the road tomorrow, staying overnight at the 'Vous motel, and then completing the journey on Friday. I hope they don't get too wet...
I haven't been able to catch up with Mark yet, but I'm told that he is riding out so it will be great to see him! It would be great to see Bryan as well, but the last I heard, he was still in the deciding stage, as he's not sure his schedule will allow for the trip.
I've also heard rumblings that Myszka might make an appearance again this year, but that has not been confirmed...or denied! (When I texted him about it, his replay was very vague.) So here's hoping I'll get to see him, too.
I've got some canopies, some quick pop-ups, and some tarps lined up and ready. I've asked folks to "think sunshine", and some have even said they're going to do anti-rain dances for me. It can't hure, right?
Even if it is a soaker, the basement will be in full swing I'm sure, and we're going to have plenty of fun, regardless.
Almost time to head on outta here. Those of you that I will see on Saturday; Bring It! Those that I won't; you have no excuses for not coming!
Let's get this thing started...
Ride Hard, Take Chances
The weather? Yeah...it seems my streak of good weather has run its course. The forecasts are wavering, though. Some say 68% chance of rain, others are saying 70%... :-/
No matter - the event will go on, regardless! Tim and Lynner are hitting the road tomorrow, staying overnight at the 'Vous motel, and then completing the journey on Friday. I hope they don't get too wet...
I haven't been able to catch up with Mark yet, but I'm told that he is riding out so it will be great to see him! It would be great to see Bryan as well, but the last I heard, he was still in the deciding stage, as he's not sure his schedule will allow for the trip.
I've also heard rumblings that Myszka might make an appearance again this year, but that has not been confirmed...or denied! (When I texted him about it, his replay was very vague.) So here's hoping I'll get to see him, too.
I've got some canopies, some quick pop-ups, and some tarps lined up and ready. I've asked folks to "think sunshine", and some have even said they're going to do anti-rain dances for me. It can't hure, right?
Even if it is a soaker, the basement will be in full swing I'm sure, and we're going to have plenty of fun, regardless.
Almost time to head on outta here. Those of you that I will see on Saturday; Bring It! Those that I won't; you have no excuses for not coming!
Let's get this thing started...
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Monday, May 12, 2014
Crossroads
I attended Waltham's memorial run on Saturday and it was a good test for my back - which has been feeling much better lately. As I was milling about the house, doing some chores before heading over to the Post to meet up with the other guys, I kept thinking; I need to swap that solo seat out and put the stock seat back on. I need to be smart about my back and not push things. Yep...I really should do that. And then I'd start on some other chore, and when that was done, I'd think "Oh yeah, I need to swap that seat out..." and then I'd take care of some other task, and so on. Finally I realized that I was pushing off swapping the seats because my ego just wouldn't allow it. I like the way the bike looks with the solo seat on it. And hell, my back was feeling great, so F it, the solo seat stays on.
Well, that wasn't such a smart idea, as my back really didn't take a liking to the solo seat (it was the first time I've ridden since I injured it). Oh well, live and learn, right? My back is still feeling "ok" but I think I did take a bit of a step backwards. Not a good thing when I'm looking at a road trip of +2,000 miles in a couple of weeks (Rolling Thunder, then on to NC for the Tail of the Dragon).
The run itself was a decent one. The only drawback was that pothole season is in full session and it was tough trying to weave around them all. Maybe that had something to do with my back's lack of happiness. (shrug).
I didn't think to snap any pics of Saturday's run, but Michele took one and sent it for me to use. Thanks Michele!
Anyway, none of this has anything to do with the title of this post. "Crossroads" refers to my bike and what to do with it. For you see, when I was riding back from the memorial run on Saturday, out of the blue, my bike's skipping problem reared its ugly head, and in a big way. No more of this very faint "maybe that was a skip?" kind of thing going on. There were three very distinct times when the bike absolutely missed the firing stroke and bucked hard. Needless to say; I am not happy at all.
I've been contemplating replacing the electronic control module since the most improvement I've seen so far was when the Cape Cod dealership flashed the one I have. But the more I think about it, the more I'm worried that I'm just throwing more good money after bad. So I'm at a crossroads. Do I make one more attempt to correct this problem, or do I get rid of this f'ing pain in my ass and just get a new one? (I think I've made more than a valiant effort at fixing this thing!)
I am going to see how it behaves in the next few days, and then make the decision as to whether I can trust it to bring it down to DC. If yes, then off I go (with fingers crossed). If no, then I will see what I can get for a trade on it and see about buying a new one. I'll keep you posted.
I've got a lot of thinking to do.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Well, that wasn't such a smart idea, as my back really didn't take a liking to the solo seat (it was the first time I've ridden since I injured it). Oh well, live and learn, right? My back is still feeling "ok" but I think I did take a bit of a step backwards. Not a good thing when I'm looking at a road trip of +2,000 miles in a couple of weeks (Rolling Thunder, then on to NC for the Tail of the Dragon).
The run itself was a decent one. The only drawback was that pothole season is in full session and it was tough trying to weave around them all. Maybe that had something to do with my back's lack of happiness. (shrug).
I didn't think to snap any pics of Saturday's run, but Michele took one and sent it for me to use. Thanks Michele!
Anyway, none of this has anything to do with the title of this post. "Crossroads" refers to my bike and what to do with it. For you see, when I was riding back from the memorial run on Saturday, out of the blue, my bike's skipping problem reared its ugly head, and in a big way. No more of this very faint "maybe that was a skip?" kind of thing going on. There were three very distinct times when the bike absolutely missed the firing stroke and bucked hard. Needless to say; I am not happy at all.
I've been contemplating replacing the electronic control module since the most improvement I've seen so far was when the Cape Cod dealership flashed the one I have. But the more I think about it, the more I'm worried that I'm just throwing more good money after bad. So I'm at a crossroads. Do I make one more attempt to correct this problem, or do I get rid of this f'ing pain in my ass and just get a new one? (I think I've made more than a valiant effort at fixing this thing!)
I am going to see how it behaves in the next few days, and then make the decision as to whether I can trust it to bring it down to DC. If yes, then off I go (with fingers crossed). If no, then I will see what I can get for a trade on it and see about buying a new one. I'll keep you posted.
I've got a lot of thinking to do.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Back Up and Running
I've been meaning to get something posted up here, as I was afraid it'd been far too long. But I see it's only been a week, so I guess that's not terrible (albeit; not great). I wish I had something more for you but I'm still sidelined from riding because of my back. It's coming along slowly and I'm actually starting to do some exercising again, but I haven't yet taken the step of swinging a leg over. That will change this weekend, though. I found out late Tuesday night that one of our brother Legion chapters is holding a memorial run on Saturday so me and a couple of the guys will make the ride over to help support their cause. I'm sure I'll know soon enough how my back feels about being back in the saddle.
Let's see...what else. Kanabroski's wedding was this past weekend, and that was a great time, with great people. Lots of laughs and I'm sure; lots of funny looks from those around us. Oh well.
So there you go - that's all I've got for you. I know this blog has been pretty lame of late but the better weather is upon us and I've got my fingers crossed that I'll have some good stuff for you soon. Bear with me.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Let's see...what else. Kanabroski's wedding was this past weekend, and that was a great time, with great people. Lots of laughs and I'm sure; lots of funny looks from those around us. Oh well.
So there you go - that's all I've got for you. I know this blog has been pretty lame of late but the better weather is upon us and I've got my fingers crossed that I'll have some good stuff for you soon. Bear with me.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
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