The Service Continues

 So yesterday after a nice hour or so test ride to check out the rear tire and brake work I did the front brake pads. It went very well and I was out riding it all afternoon seating the new brakes.You know, it takes a few miles before they really mate with the rotors. After around a mile I had pretty good brakes and 10 or 15 minutes later they were great ! So I rode for a few hours and enjoyed my bike and the great weather we are having.Today I'm going out on it and search  for a shop that will do the inspection so she's all legal again and I can ride her on the high way and anywhere else I want.Once I get this one done I'll take the BMW K100 in and get it done as well so I can focus my attention on my four two strokes that also need new stickers.It's a lot of work having to deal with this for six bikes and four cars but I'm a motor head and this is just the way it is.Today is a beautiful day here in NY . It's cool out only in the 50'sF but that's great riding weather so with a bit of good fortune I'll get inspected this morning and head out lookin for adventure on my 1975 Moto Guzzi 850-T.

The Major Service On The Moto Guzzi Continues

 Back in the early summer before all this insane weather started happening I had planed to do a major service on my 1975 Moto Guzzi . I bought all sorts of parts that I wanted to change, tires, front fork components,  brakes, a brand new seat that I'm still waiting for, and all sorts of other stuff. So, last week I finally got to it with the carb rebuild and the charging system fix.It seems the front oil seal wore out and flooded the alternator with oil.This ruined the brushes and perhaps the stator as well by soaking the inside with oil.Lucky for me I have a few of these on the shelf so I changed it out and put on a new volt meter up on the handle bars so I can see the voltage as I'm riding now.After that I adjusted the valves and dropped the oil pan to have a look inside the bottom end of the motor.Found that all was good and very clean in there so I put it all back together with new gaskets and oil.Took it for a test ride Sunday and she runs great so yesterday I decided to put on the new rear tire. This job went well and I got to use the new tool I bought to pull the air fill stem through the hole in the rim. It worked ok but I need to get a better one.I went cheap just to try it and now that I know it's worth having I want one that will last.This one already started to show signs that it's breaking.The cable is beginning to break after one fucking use! Well,this is what you get for 8 bucks off Amazon. So, today I ride and tomorrow I do the new front brake pads. By the end of this winter I want this bike in good enough shape for a long cross country trip in case I have some good fortune and can actually afford to go on one. I love doing this stuff. This is the MG on a road trip. Nothing makes me happier than rolling down the road packed into the unknown!

 

Found This On The Internet It's Called "The Crooked and Obscene"

 These links are better than  the other one.

https://swaysuniverse.com/trending-news/trump-towering-literally-43-foot-nude-marionette-of-the-donald-debuts-in-sin-city/

https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160818/union-square/meet-man-behind-naked-donald-trump-statue/

A Plug For One Of The Good Guys

 

Reverend Billy Talen

Wed, Oct 2, 10:36 PM (12 hours ago)

to me

Earth Activism in the Wind and Waves   Governments, corporations, militaries:  these are not people.  Their power is based on violent separation from life, domination from afar.  They consistently put poisons into the Earth.  And who defends the Earth?  Individual souls and small groups like families where love grows, or neighborhoods, which can then grow into movements.  But we activists, whatever our campaign, have been unable to change the devotion of major institutions to toxins and war.    So - who defends the Earth?  The Earth defends itself.  The Earth is the only living being that responds realistically to the poisons we put in the air, water and soil.  Look at the Earth now. In the 500 mile path of Hurricane Helene’s destruction, there are completely depoliticized Americans who are looking up at the sky and wondering for the first time, “All this.  Where does it come from?”   Can we create a new kind of activism with the Earth as our teacher?  Maybe we don’t notice it sometimes, but the Earth is already there in our work.  When we think of our activism, we need to see the Earth in the risk we take.  The Earth urges us on!  The Earth is the ultimate activist, putting fierce love into our resistance.   The wind and waves lead us through old walls to a question we have avoided for centuries.  “All this..."

Our Friends From Far Away   The Newest New Yorkers as we call them are moving on with their helpers, the East Village Neighbors Who Care.   They have humanized Earthchxrch since February, as they studied English, ran the kitchen and the sewing machine and created resumes together and prayed and prayed.  This was such an experience for us, and we are so grateful to these compassionate laughing risking-it-all young men and the beautiful community that rose up with everyone caring for everyone.  We were glad to open our doors.  We wish you ease and safety.  You are always welcome here. Image credits:  Brennan Cavanaugh (photo), Savitri D (photo & poster)

Everyone Who Lives Here is a New Yorker Show! Northside of Union Sq, B'way & 17th St Saturday Oct 5th, 1 to 5pm   Artist: Coco Fusco and many more.  RevBilly & StopShopping Choir take stage 4pm

Donate

The Church of Stop Shopping POB 1556 NY NY 10013

Moto Guzzi Work

 Been doing stuff on my T each day as I get her ready to get inspected and in condition to travel again.She would pass an inspection as is but I want to do all this work first just because.You know, that's just how I am.So after getting the carbs all squared away and running a couple tanks of gas through them I got the power washer out yesterday and blaster her off. Now that she's all clean it's time to adjust the valves and drop the oil pan. So this is today's work. Yesterday the new tool I bought to pull the valve stem on the tube into the wheel rim arrived so now I'm also able to fit the new rear tire on the bike. This will probably happen on Monday. I always wanted one of these tools but just never got around to getting one. For 8 bucks I can now do the job of installing the tube in the tire and getting the air fill stem through the hole in the rim without getting my hands all bruised and cut.You know, these new tires have really stiff sidewalls unlike the old stuff we used to run. In other news I dodged a bullet by not heading south because of the bridge washout up at my camp last month.This hurricane really messed up the area where I was headed. My brother in law lives in Ashville NC and had a tree smash through his roof and crash into his bedroom while sleeping and could have been killed! So you see, everything happens for a reason and the reason in terms of my life is that I'm not in a tent under 20 inches of rain water and trees falling. So like my brother in law I'm also a lucky guy. I can't even begin to imagine what I would do if something like this hurricane hit and I was in a tent traveling on my bike like this.

I was supposed to be in this motorcycle campground at this place called Meadows Of Dan  in southwest Virginia on the border with North Carolina yesterday when this thing hit. What a mess , well this is climate change. No wait, that's fake news right?

Progress

 Yesterday I worked on the Moto Guzzi sorting out the leaks in the carbs. After fooling around with them for what seemed like forever I discovered the problem was in the new fuel lines I ran not the carbs as I thought. So, I drained the gas tank thru both petcocks into a can through a funnel with white cloth in it to check for dirt or rust. It came out clean. Then I put the old fuel lines back on and had no leaks. I finally got it running mid day and took it up the street. It felt good so I decided to shut it off and test ride it around town after dinner when the traffic is all gone. The test ride went well and today I'm going to ride her and see how it all works after riding for an hour or so. If that is good then she's fixed and I can move on to the valve adjustment and oil change. Gonna order a new rear tire today and some other bits for both the MG and the BMW to get both bikes ready for inspection. Yesterday was a good day. It sucks that all my travel plans have been ruined for this year but sometimes these things happen for a good reason so I'm going to make the best of it and not let it jam me up. While looking through some files I came across a photo of me on my 1969 Yamaha DS6C. I've owned this bike since Oct of 1972! I think I'm going to take her out for a ride tomorrow and give all this work a rest while I reconnect with my old friend.

As I get older I realize that I have to sell some of these bikes off.It is a burden having to work on them all the time. This DS6C is a keeper. So is the 1971 Yamaha R5, the 1975 Moto Guzzi , and one of the 3 older  YDS series Yamaha motorcycles I have.  Four is manageable, right now I have six on the road and god knows how many projects. The 75 Yamaha RD350 will be the first to go, in fact I think I'm going to put it on Craigslist tonight and I may even list my 1966 Plymouth Valiant convertible. Been taking it to car shows with a 4 sale sign and now it's time to advertise it as well. It's time for me to get back to the things that matter to me  like my core collection of motorcycles, my wagon, and either my camp or getting another place up there to replace the camp. Time is moving fast for me now. Soon I'll be gone

The  Herd

The 66 Valiant 

Working On The Moto Guzzi

 So now I'm up to my eyeballs in work on the Moto Guzzi.After doing a rebuild on both carbs I installed them only to have a leak.Didn't take long to see where it was and now the fix is happening.It was these two bolts that hold on the filter housing on the side of each carb.The fiber washers were worn out and not sealing. Luckily I remembered I had the two carbs from the parts bike I bought a few years back so I dug them out.They had the housings and the bolts.I took them apart carefully and the washers are still in decent shape .So, I cleaned up the bolts and left the washers in place then soaked them overnight. Now it's time to put this thing back together. Sure hope this fixes it.

My garage is total chaos ever since Covid. I just let it all go to shit.Well,that is about to change. After this job on the MG is finished I'm going to start getting organized so I can work this winter.I need to get rid of the 1975 RD350 and then begin the clean up.Well, back to the job at hand

With a bit of good luck the Moto Guzzi should be up and running today so I cam test ride it and then set the valves & change the oil.Have to order a new rear tire too.Had to use the one I bought for it back in the spring on the front of the BMW K100.They are the same size. So,when this bike is fitted with new tires and brakes, all tuned properly, and both are inspected I'll have both my over the road bikes set.At that point I can turn my attention to the four two strokes I have registered and once they are finished I'll be all set for next year. The two strokes are easy,just a cleaning and adjustments really. Time to go to work now.