Winter Begins

So,now it's starting to get cold.Winter is close at hand and I've been busy getting ready.Last week I got all six of my  insured , registered, and inspected motorcycles up and running. My two strokes love this cold weather so every year in late November I ride them up until the first snow. Some years I get lucky and can use them into the new year and some years only into mid December so it's important to me to get out and ride 'em. Today is crappy , cold and grey out with a forecast of rain after 10AM so no riding. Same for tomorrow but Thursday is looking good.It's looking like Thursday will be my last chance to ride the three oldest ones pictured here because snow is forecast for Friday and once that happens I can only use them after a good rain falls cleaning the salt off the roads.

I doubt I'll be getting to run these beauties again until April .Well,I have one day left to enjoy them as I ride each one for an hour or so then fill the tank with fresh high octane gas to store it .I'll lock them in my shed and pull out one of the project bikes I have been working on for the down payment money for a house out in the desert. I can't wait for the day when I no longer have to go thru this winter storage routine ! I think the first project will be to get that pretty 1966 Yamaha YM1 that I got from my friend Richard a few years back finished. You know,the one that came from the same dealership that I bought my very first bike from back in 1965 that also came with all the original paperwork signed by the guy who sold me my first bike ! This one is a keeper but I need to finish it so I can part with that pretty blue bike above.Don't need two of them and I really want this one. Then after the YM1 is done I need to finish that pretty 1970 DS6C I was building a couple years back .Never quite finished it then one of the side covers got damaged so now I need to re paint that .No big deal but something I need to do.

Richard is not well now,he has cancer and it doesn't look good .I'd like to be able to send him photos of his old bike all restored before he goes so I'm starting with it. It's the bike on the left in the photo above . It's close to being a runner . I saw Richard at a bike show back in August in PA. He told me then that he was sick.It was as if he was saying good bye .This is the part of growing old I don't like.Well, at some point all our numbers get called in this lottery we call life. Anyway,back to the bikes, the  1971Yamaha R5 has been the workhorse of my fleet for many years. I used her all the time riding out to Mid Ohio 600 miles away on the interstates fully loaded packed like a horse.

She went into semi retirement when I bought the Moto Guzzi 850-T back in 2007 but still remains in service year round. I usually ride the "T" in the winter because she has chrome cylinder bores and you can't let them sit for too long or they go bad.With constant use they are good for a couple hundred thousand miles as long as you keep the oil changed and don't beat the bike. So,I use her and the R5 for my winter riding.This year there is the new bike too,the 1988 BMW K100 RS. I just put those new tires and brakes on her and I want to keep them for travel next summer so she will only see limited use . Perhaps a short ride every two or three weeks of no more than 20 miles.You know,just enough to keep the fluids moving.It's almost a full time job taking care of all these motorcycles properly . Then we get to the new project part of this coming winter. I think I may bring this little beauty I bought back in 2006 home.I picked this up on Ebay for 256. dollars ! No one even bid on it but me.I was amazed at the condition when I went in my truck to pick it up.It only has 5000 miles on it !The paint is mint! the chrome is good ! And,it has good compression !!!!

I really like this bike and was thinking about it as a keeper but I need a house out in Arizona more than all these motorcycles.I'll keep some,the Moto Guzzi, the K100,the 69 green ds6c,the 71 R5. The fate of the 65 YDS3 is still to be decided,I'd like to keep her because I did my first cross country trip on one exactly like her.Shit,it even came from the same dealership where I bought my first two bikes just like Richards old YM1 but if I come up short she will get sold.These two photos were taken on that first cross country trip so very long ago in the summer of '69

But,like back then in the old days I'm coming to understand that in order to get where you want to go you need to let go or else you stay. That was true freedom in those days. Just a sleeping bag and one change of cloths.No tools,spare parts ,or any other bullshit like I carry today . Nope , just what was needed to survive.Look at that pack.It's mind boggling,we were two up on that little 250 Me and my friend George heading to LA from NY .We made it,used it while out there for a year then I rode it back east a year later. I got to get back to that freedom somehow . All I want to do is ride and camp ,travel the west and have a nice little place to call home with my wife out in the desert.

No More Miss

With the help of the other guys on the BMW K bike forum I was able to sort out the problem that was causing the missing in the engine of my 1988 K100.It was a frustrating couple days but also a good couple days getting to know the inner workings of this fuel injection system.I came across some great people from around the world who helped me make sense out of it and yesterday I figured it out.It was a combination of problems,corrosion on an electrical connection on the throttle stop switch and leaky vacuum lines letting air into the system.I was able to get it running pretty well and ended going out riding on her for the afternoon doing around 60 miles with no real problems .I stopped by the auto parts store to show off my new girlfriend to a friend who works there. He has been riding as long as I have and works on BMW's .  I could have had him fix it but if I did that I never would have learned anything  and like when I first got my Moto Guzzi I needed to learn everything about it before I could travel on it so I could deal with anything on the road by myself. He has a tire machine and a lift so he told me to bring it by when I'm ready to mount new tires and I can use his equipment .There are always issues with a bike when it's first brought back to life after decades of sitting.Usually it takes me a few hundred miles to work thru them so this one was actually better than most.I had her going pretty good in around 175 miles. So,now I keep running her locally on dry road until I can get enough money together to buy new rubber and steel braided brake lines.I already own the rebuild kit for the front master cylinder and did the rear master  right up front because it wasn't functional at all when I first got this bike. It was lucky that it was frozen with the brakes in a movable position so it could be rolled around but the brake pedal was frozen solid. I've come a long way with this motorcycle since that day in early November 2014 when my friend Tony dropped it off.

Engin miss video

The Finished Product ( The Flying Brick)

Yup,I finished getting the 1988 BMW K100RS back together the other day.I dug out all the parts and totally cleaned everything and polished it as I put her back together. It was the perfect day to do this,not really raining but damp and sprinkling some .Not a good day to ride for sure but a great day to wrench.So,slowly things went together.I fixed any problems I came across as I went and by late afternoon she was all back together and ready to photograph for the insurance company.I just needed to go out the next day and get a set of new bar grips. Woke up to a beautiful day Thursday and headed out on the Moto Guzzi to get the grips and ride a while.Found just what I needed at this gem of a bike shop called " Two For The Road " out on RT 112 in Medford , NY ph # 631 289 8470 . He's the only independent bike shop left here in Long Island that I know of.It's sad,there used to be bike shops like this all over the place but like everything else in this corporate never never land called USA they are all gone.Squeezed out by the big dealers who sell stuff the owner can't work on . Guys like me and bikes shops like this are a dying breed .But,He's still here and so am I. Anyway,I got the grips and upon my return home put them on .Rolled out the bike to photograph and took her up and down the street a few times to test .She runs GREAT ! I LOVE IT !! Here is the photo of the finished product of my long project that seemed like it would never end.

I'm glad I took my time and did this job right.It really paid off in the end when I put her in gear for that first ride up the street and everything worked as it should.She's solid as a rock and runs smooth as silk. Bone stock and ready to ride .So the plan is to register her when I head up to my camp in a couple weeks. It's easier to deal with DMV up in the country than down here in this insane asylum .Once I register her I will take her for a short ride around town to test and then buy new tires and mount them.At that point she will be finished and roadworthy . It's been a good couple of days.Way better than taking a 400 mile ride in the rain and sitting in my camp in the rain .I was productive and also had fun. I'll get the work done on the stream in late September and after I put this bike on the road I'll get back to building the sellers to get the down payment money for that house out in Arizona.This bike will be my "Out West " bike . Water cooled ,fuel injected ,and capable of doing long distances fast in the heat of summer.The right machine for my next phase in this life.

Plans Change

Yesterday I was getting ready to head north to my camp on the Moto Guzzi and today I'm working on the 1988 BMW K 100. Yes,plans change.The weather made me rethink my plan to go work on the camp.It was raining up north and going to get worse as the week progressed .Today the entire eastern half of New York State from bottom ,where I am now, to the very top,where my camp is,is getting soaked with heavy rain.Tomorrow is not much better and same goes for Friday up north.So,I decided to not take this trip.It would be a waste of time and money and besides,we are going up in the truck with my Yamaha R5 in the back later this month anyway so I can do the work then.The money I save by not going now can be used to get the BMW on the road ! Back in the spring I made her run and also bought the stuff I need to fix the front master cylinder so the brakes work right.Now it's time to get this project moving forward again.So,today I put the body work back together and get her nice and clean so I can take some photos for the insurance company then I can call them and get insurance so when we go up to camp later in September I can go to the DMV office up there and get her on the road.It's so much easier up there than down here . Here is what I did back in the spring . I started with a bike that had sat for 14 years with old gas in the tank. Everything inside that tank turned to shit and needed to be replaced after the tank was all cleaned out.I ended up with a tank that was as clean as new with all the components replaced with the correct stuff right down to the fuel injectors on the engine.I reused the injectors after cleaning them,everything else above then has been replaced with new.

Here is a short video I made of the initial start up after doing all this work. My good friend Juan gave me a new battery.He bought it for his bike but after we filled it with acid and charged it he realized it was the wrong one.It was too large for the box in his BMW R80 . He couldn't return it once filled . We checked it against the battery that came out of the K100 and it was the same so he gave it to me.

I got this bike running right around my 68th birthday and decided that when I turn 70 in two years I am going to ride it on another long trip like I did with the "T" back in 2010.So ,plans change and that's a good thing as long as there is forward motion. Today I work on this motorcycle .Yesterday I got the garage all ready,cleaned it,moved my other projects into the shed so I have room to work,got the "K" into position , and then went out for a nice evening ride on my 1975 Moto Guzzi 850-T. She's running real good these days,even better now with the new battery,new rear tire,and clean oil.It will be good to have a second long distance bike.Now when time permits I'll be able to restore my "T" because I'll be able to take her out of service long enough to do it right. Of course,this won't be happening anytime soon as I have a million other projects in front of it like moving to Arizona and all the work that is required to accomplish that goal like building bikes to sell for down payment money on a house there.But,as time marches on I do make steady progress towards this goal .It's pouring rain now.If I would have taken the 7 AM ferry I'd be riding in heavy rain getting soaked for the next 7 or 8 hours.This was the right call for sure !

Trying To Ride North

               A photo from 2014 when I rode most of Nova Scotia in the rain

Been planning to head up to my camp to do some work on the bridge and the stream bed.It has gotten all silted up and the pipe that runs under the stone bridge has become blocked and now buried  causing a small lake to form when it rains and the bridge to act as a dam.It.s not a good thing.In spring when the snow melts and it rains it gets so backed up it actually flows over the bridge and is eroding it.So,I was planning on going up this week to dig it out.I wanted to take the old Dodge Aspen with my Yamaha R5 hung on the back bumper so yesterday I made it so the bumper will accept the better ,stronger rack I have but couldn't use when I went to retrieve my little Yamaha YJ1 back in June.I worked for a couple hours grinding out mounting holes at the underside of the bumper for clearance and everything worked out great.Got the racks on and they are rock solid. Tried using the bike lift to get the bike on the bumper,no good.It's too heavy for me to just hump it up into them and I don't have any help.Even if I did have help here I don't have any up at my camp  so for now this plan has been shelved.That wasted the entire morning.Then,I decided to take the Moto Guzzi,you know,ride up rather than use the car.Started packing then realized I needed to replace the rear tire.I had bought one the other day so I went out and did that. By the time I finished it was too late and I was too burnt out to finish packing and then load the bike so I could leave this morning. I decided to go on Wednesday instead and pack today(Tuesday). I get up this morning and look at the weather and all I see is rain in my 400 mile path between here and my camp.Now I'm rethinking when and how I'm going.I'm going on the Moto Guzzi ,this is certain , that is if I go at all.It's so frustrating .Looks like it's going to be real nasty until Saturday and who knows what will be happening then.Today they forecast sunny for Sat,Sun,and Mon but tomorrow ? So I pack and get ready and wait.You know,if it was just a rainy day I'd go.I'd put on my rain gear and go but it could rain for a fucking week the way things are going this year and that would be no fun at all and impossible to work in as well. On the bright side,I got my new tire installed and while I was in there I cleaned the rear brakes and also did an oil change on the motor  and cleaned the spark plugs so the bike is serviced.

Been Out Ridin (a cross post from FB Fugitive)

Yup,I've been out ridin the "T" and here is a cross post from my other blog ,"Face Book Fugitive " where I seem to post more about what's going on in my life other than just my adventures on the "T" . Next week I'll be riding up to the Adirondacks on my old friend and will make a real post here about that ride and the week that follows at my camp but for now this will have to do.
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I've been real lax in posting here in my blog lately. Not for lack of stuff to write about and pictures to share but mostly just out of laziness .Sometimes I get this way. Been busy ,I painted my neighbors house for her,went out to Michigan to get my little bike,went up to the camp in July and rode & kayaked,Got the Moto Guzzi running real well and went to visit with my friend Juan who now lives up in the Hudson River Valley. Took a road trip to White Rose Motorcycle Club in PA .So,there are lots of things to talk about.The Michigan trip has already been covered so I guess I'll start with my ride up to the Adirondacks in my old 71 Chevy truck. After breaking my ass packing all I needed for the week I headed out.I had the 1971 Yamaha R5 and my kayak in the back of the truck with the rest of my camping gear and off I went at 4:45 to get the  AM ferry to Bridgeport ,CT

.It was a good day and I made great time arriving exactly seven hours after leaving the ferry .It was a nice day until I hit this very heavy rain about 50 miles north of Albany.It came down in buckets ! I pushed on and after leaving the Northway to cross the Adirondacks I stopped to eat on the side of the road.It was letting up some as I ate and by the time I was ready to roll it had stopped so the ride thru the High Peaks area was ok.The sun came out as I neared my camp up in the northwest corner of the park and when I arrived in early afternoon it was dry enough to unload and set up my camp.

Setting up is no easy task ,it takes hours to unload,take the boards off the windows and door,wheel everything up the hill in the wheel barrel ,clean the place,set up the water pump and hoses ,the shower area,and the house . After the place was set up I still had time to drive the seven miles to the store to get ice for the ice chests which I did before calling it a day.

Woke up to a beautiful day and decided to head into town to go shopping and get all the supplies I was going to need for the next couple days.As I was having breakfast I was listening to my weather radio and hearing that I was going to have a great week weather wise so made up my mind to just call this a vacation and not work.I'm going riding and kayaking is what I was thinking as I was finishing my coffee . Cleaned up some and off I went on my bike to get food for a couple days and check my emails at the local coffee shop.

The trip into Potsdam is a nice ride especially if I take the back roads thru Lake Ozonia .It's a good ride thru the woods and adds about 5 or 6 miles to the trip. So,I went off and did a short side trip before going shopping. Went riding lots on this trip,every day actually. On the 4th of July I decided to go riding so I packed up my bike with some stuff,my computer,and the rain gear just in case and off I went towards Potsdam .Hit the coffee shop to get online and have my last cup of coffee for the day.As I'm sitting there checking my emails this older guy comes up to me and proclaims "It has to be you" I look up with this puzzled look and he says "it has to be you who owns that beautiful Yamaha out there" and for the next twenty minutes we talk bikes.He ,like so many others in my age group no longer rides.For some reason these guys just quit and you can see it in them that they wish they hadn't.The excuses are always about family or to dangerous or some combination of the two and I just smile and usually say that it doesn't matter what happens out there because when your number is up it's up and going out doing what you love sure beats cancer or some other garbage that we all will get sooner or later anyway. Not me,I'm gonna ride right on out of this life if I have any say in things.This usually shuts them down and they end the conversation shortly after.This guys story was about this old bike he had that got stolen by some guy who he brought around to see it.Then he tells me this happened 40 years ago.Oh well,you either are a biker or you wish you were .After finishing my coffee I headed out the door and fired my bike up to go get gas and ride.Now at the gas station I fill the bike and go inside to get my change.As I'm walking across the parking lot I see this guy on a modern dirt bike checking out my bike.We start talking .We talk bikes,the state of the country,and all sorts of other shit for about ten minutes then he invites me to go riding with him.Of course I accept and we head on over to his place to tell his wife we are going out riding for the afternoon and also to switch bikes.It turns out he's another one like me with lots of bikes so after checking out all his cool machines he decides which one to take and off we went on a hundred plus mile ride all over the northwest part of the Adirondacks on back roads.It was a great ride and I made a friend. What a great way to spend the 4th of July I was thinking as I headed back over towards St Regis Falls to my camp and dinner.Spent the next couple days in my kayak and riding in the evenings. I decided to explore the river over in Potsdam this trip. It was good.I put in right in town at this park owned by the university and headed upstream.Found that there are all these islands up stream with trails on them but didn't have any rope to tie off my kayak so I just explored all the little coves and worked my way around the shoreline.

Spent the better part of four hours exploring this day and as I was paddling back towards the put in site I decided I'd return the next day with some rope so I can tie up and check out the islands some.
Returned to camp in the late afternoon and went riding.It was a good ride out to the north and the flat land of the St Lawrence River Valley where it's very rural with small and large farms scattered about.Took some dirt roads and had lots of fun just wandering before calling it a day
Woke up to another beautiful day and headed back to the river with a rope attached to my kayak this time.It was a warm sunny day as I put in .Paddled over to the big island where the trails are and they have a small dock where you can tie up.

After exploring some on the island I paddled up river as far as I could go where there is a dam then turned and let the current take me home .It was a great way to spend another afternoon and I enjoyed it tremendously . Loaded up the truck and headed back to camp but not before stopping for an ice cream cone on this warm July day in Northern New York.Went out riding after dinner.I figured I had better because the next day it was time to start loading the truck for the trip home.Rode over towards Parishville then headed along the river out into the sticks.Found this side road with a small wooden bridge over the river so I took it.Met this woman on a 4 wheeler on the other side and she told me about this place up the road where lots of bikers go for lunch and to fill up with the non ethanol gas they sell there.So,now on my next trip up I have a new place to explore.My next trip up,Hmmm that will be next week in the beginning of September .Well,this summer has flown by and there is still more to report on from it like my trip up to visit Juan for a couple days.This trip was in August . As usual it started with a ferry trip across LI Sound It was only an hour and a half ride over to his place in Cold Spring in the Hudson River Valley.Got there early,around 10AM and had coffee while we caught up.Then off we went on an adventure to ride up north a couple hours to this art installation called ART OMI . It was a really cool place filled with all these sculptures on a hundred or more acres out in the country.The ride up was nice.We stopped for lunch in Rhinebeck then pushed on.Spent a couple hours checking out this place.Took lots of photos too.Here are a few,enjoy !

Rode back south to Cold Spring and relaxed outside for the evening then the next day we were off to ride some more into the Catskills.It was a good day of riding as we avoided the rain drops.It did rain but not on us .Saturday morning I got up with the birds chirping after a night of heavy rain.I was sure that I'd be heading home in rain wearing my rain gear but much to my surprise it was a beautiful morning and at a little after 7AM I hit the road to back road it east to I - 84 and Danbury where I get back on good road thry the woods down to Bridgeport and the ferry back to Long Island. It was a good 3 day trip and I got in about 500 miles of riding. Notice the smaller pack,it was nice just going light for a change.No camping on this trip so much less gear to carry.But,on the next trip that began 4 days later that wouldn't be the case.

I thought I had a week or more to do some things and get ready to go down to PA and the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Show at White Rose MC but that wasn't the case.I got home from Juan's on Saturday and on Monday morning I get this email from one of my friends asking if I'm going to White Rose on Thursday.That's when I realized I had three days to get ready and get outta here.Well,the bike was good for the most part but I decided to get a new battery before going on this trip.So,Tuesday I did that then slow charged it overnight before installing it.I was on the 7AM boat to Bridgeport on Thursday morning again heading out for a week of bike show and camping.Wandering around after the 3 days at White Rose with my friends heading northwest alone on my bike.It was good ! Had a great time at White Rose with my friends.Met some new people.This one couple stands out in my mind.She is an artist and he does bikes .They are in an old school bus that has been turned into a very comfy home.Traveling around spreading the word on climate change ,living as much off the grid as possible and selling bike parts and art. Nice people. Here is a link to their site,check 'em out
The Bus
http://mindfultrekker.blogspot.com/
The Art
https://www.etsy.com/shop/PeacefulEarthStudio

Rolled out of White Rose at around 10AM Sunday morning heading northwest.Camped out in the national forest and wandered on Monday camping in a new place.Didn't take any photos just wandered about on a loaded bike taking it all in.I like doing this,makes me feel like I'm on one of those epic journeys that I go on from time to time.Keeps me motivated and pointed towards the next one.On Tuesday I crossed into NY out in western NY anf started heading east towards home.Rode the interstate for a few hours then back roads thru the Catskills.Crossed the Hudson at Kingston and camped in this state park I usually hit south of Rhinebeck that is a short two hour ride from the ferry back to LI.Was home by 3PM on Wed and my trip was over.So,there you have it.I'm up to date now and getting ready to head out again at some point next week .Back up to camp.Juan may ride up with me.I am going to work on the stream and the bridge.Should be fun and then I'm back up there again the end of September for two weeks with Celia.So,there will be more to write about shortly .Summer has flown by this year. It's been cool and wet but I got lots of riding in and with any luck I'll be getting more.