It's Always Something

 So, last Friday I was getting ready to take the last bike in for an inspection.Rolled it out of the shed where it has been stored since late March and cleaned it up. After I got it all cleaned up I put in a battery and started it up.All seemed good so I shut it off and had a cup of coffee.Came back after around 10 minutes to see a puddle of gas under the bike.The carbs are leaking. I tapped them with a screwdriver handle and they stopped leaking so I started it and rode it up the street a few times. It felt rich and the leak returned. Pulled the carbs off and cleaned & reset them to factory specs ,they still leaked !. So now I'm in the process of rebuilding another set of carbs for the bike.I ended up going out riding Friday on the Moto Guzzi . Spent Saturday digging thru my parts looking for everything I need to fix this problem and now have all the stuff gathered.Next rainy or very cold day I will build the new carbs and this will get solved.  

Yesterday was a beautiful day and I spent the first half of it outdoors at a car show and swap meet . It was good just walking around looking at old cars and searching for stuff I can use in the swap meet.Ran into my friend Wade and wandered around with him talking to different people about their rides. Saw a very original condition 1949 Ford F1 pick up there.This was incredible. It was all original in good used condition ,a true survivor with a flat head 239 cu in V8 .Same truck as I had back in the 70's and early 80's. I still lust for one of these. Didn't have my camera with me but I do have a photo of my old F1 from back in the day 

I want another one of these !  After the car show I took the Moto Guzzi out for an hour or so and wandered around town down by the beach and along the harbor .It was a good ride and the bike ran well. It's a nice day out today here in New York . Kind of cold but a good day none the less so I'm heading out . Maybe I'll ride some or take my convertible out for a short ride , I don't know but what I do know is I'm not going to sit around here fooling with the 1966 YM1 carbs .

Back To Bikes

 Yesterday was a good day of car work with my good friend Steve.We made some real progress on the Barracuda .Got the exhaust all figured out .This is a major step forward .The starter is in ,the manifolds are on , the head pipes are connected to the manifolds ,and we did a temporary hook up of the rest of the system to check the fit.It all fits where it belongs and hangs right so now we take it off and deal with some other things that are easier to do without the exhaust in the way.That's next weeks work . 

 

 

So,today I ride.Gonna take my nice little 1969 Yamaha DS6C out to get it inspected and then ride for the day.This bike is lots of fun .Once this one is inspected I have two more to get done to get the whole fleet all legal and roadworthy . I'd like to have this chore done before Thanksgiving .Looks like I'll be a busy boy the next few days if I'm going to meet this goal but I'm motivated so I'll probably get it done.

The two older ones need to be gone thru before I take them in so after my ride today I'll pull the one I plan on using tomorrow out of the storage shed and get it into the garage so I can start getting it ready .Shouldn't take much effort on either one of these beauties.Just have to give them the once over . They were running in the spring but all that stuff with working on the house prevented me from doing anything other than stuff that was necessary on my bikes.I just focused on the Moto Guzzi so I could ride some when time allowed.Sure am glad that stuff is behind me now !

I'm still looking forward . Still planning and preparing for that next long ride west.Decided to rebuild the clutch in the Moto Guzzi .Did some looking around for what I need , talked to a clutch  business about having the old disc re lined and came to the conclusion that getting a new disc is cheaper and more than likely better .Not sure how I'm going to pull off another trip like I want but I'll die trying . This photo was taken by my old friend Richard Vogel . We were somewhere in Nevada or Utah in 1970 when this was shot.I was looking forward then and still am.

Converting To Dual Exhaust

 So now that the nice little 273 V8 is installed in the Barracuda we are starting to set up the exhaust. These cars came from the factory with a single exhaust system only. There was a low performance version and a high performance version but both were single.To run dual exhaust and have the pipes run the way they should correctly we need to alter the transmission cross member that the rear mount is attached to.By doing this both pipes will hang nice and close to the bottom of the car where they belong instead of the passenger side hanging lower than the drivers side. So,this was the job for yesterday.We took two cross members  and made one into a part that will work according to what the manufacturer of the new exhaust system says. They sent a diagram so we made a paper template , layed it out  , and with a plasma cutter cut it out. After we had the material removed we decided to take the curved part we needed out of another cross member rather than fool around bending .Over the years I parted out many of these cars so I have a few of these parts on hand to use. So in these photos you can see what we did.

Next week we start hanging the pipes and button up this motor job. Today I ride. Gonna take out my little 1969 Yamaha DS6C for a ride and get her inspected  finally.

 

 It's a cold morning here in NY but sunny with temps in the high 40's F so I'll dress for it and start getting used to winter riding. We have a good weather forecast from now until the end of the week so I'll be riding some when not wrenching. Speaking of wrenching I took the clutch disk into a clutch shop to see if it could be re lined.He says he can do it but the cost is more than a new one so it looks like I'll be ordering a new clutch disc and rebuilding the later unit that is currently in the bike instead of the older one that is on the shelf. I'm gonna play around with the adjustment some to see if I can get it to not slip so I can use it over the winter while I gather what I need to do the job.To replace the  disc I need to take the motor out of the bike.This is a big job , been there done that so I know what I'm in for.Well,it's Saturday morning,the sun is shinning and want to ride. This is what it looks like pulling the motor out of a 1975 Moto Guzzi 850-T 

This is all fun stuff to me !

Today Is Motor Install Day Continued

 Well as promised here are some photos of the installation we did today. It was a fun day working on the car.It's always fun to put a motor in when you are building a car..

So, tomorrow we start setting up the motor.First off we must alter the transmission  cross member because we are going to run dual exhaust  so some cutting and welding will be necessary. Then we start bolting stuff on like the exhaust manifolds ,starter motor ,steering column ,alternator , radiator and so on until everything is back in place.A couple days from now it should be running then we can get back to dealing with the brake lines and the interior.I love seeing it come back together. This is the reward for all the work. It was a good day of wrenching !

Today Is Motor Install Day

 Yup , today the 273 goes back into Steve's 1965 Barracuda.It's been lots of fun work and now we make a major leap forward.It started with us pulling out the motor back in the early summer.

 

Then he rebuilt the front end and we did the brake system. While it was all apart we figured we'd paint the engine bay  so I brought down my HVLP turbine unit and did that job. 

And now it's time to put in the freshened up all painted 273 V8 . Should be a good day doing this.I like this kind of work.So,if all goes smoothly I'll have some photos and will continue this post this evening.In other moto related news I pulled out the old low inertia Ram clutch I had used in my Moto Guzzi back when I rode across the country in 2010. The one I replaced it with in 2016 or 17 is slipping now so I'm going to try to rebuild the older one as it's replacement. You see , I save everything because you just never know when you may need it . Looking into options for getting the clutch disc pads replaced with Kevlar ones rather than buying a new disc for 250 bucks .There is a clutch rebuilder down near Steve's house so today or tomorrow I'll be stopping there to talk with him.He cut the flywheel for my 1965 Valiant Station Wagon last year when I had all that trouble with the shifter  in the 4 speed transmission. That got resolved with having the shifter rebuilt and while I had the whole mess apart I also replaced the transmission and gave it a new clutch which required having the flywheel resurfaced. It used to be an easy thing to have done at the auto parts store but no more,no one does it anymore because there are so few cars with manual transmissions being produced .I know , I'm a dinosaur but I love my 4 speeds almost as much as my motorcycles.

Another Day On Two Wheels

 Today I ride ! Heading out east today on the BMW to ride with a guy I met in my search for riding partners on Craigslist. So,we'll see how it goes.You know , it's hard for me to find people to do anything with.I don't go out to bars or drink so that road is closed and there just aren't many ways to connect with other people who ride. My old friends are gone for the most part. They either moved away or died . I still have a couple old friends I work on cars with so it's not all bad but no riding partners. Today I head east,gonna meet up in Port Jefferson and head out towards the east end from there.We have a good weather forecast for today with warm temps in the mid 60's F and this time of the year on a weekday the roads aren't so bad ,well, at least until 3PM when the idiots start to start heading home from work. That's my window ,10AM to around 3PM the rest of the time here in this place is a fucking nightmare on the roads.So,hopefully things will go well today and I'll have a good day of motorcycle riding.  Put the convertible away yesterday after I helped my friend Steve put in the dash board and the windshield in the 1965 Barracuda we are fixing up to flip. Took the convertible to a car show on Sunday with a For Sale sign in it but got no real action on it. Once it gets sold we can get serious about buying a house up in Northern New York . Later in the week we will be putting in the motor as we start to button up this project .After that it's time to start on my wagon ! Finally , I'm going to start forward motion on my little 1965 Valiant Station wagon .It will be a happy day when that car is back in service .I miss my wagon.She's been down for over 2 years now.Well it's time to get ready to head out for the day on this beast .

More to come when I return this afternoon.Going to bring my camera with me.It's real nice out east this time of year so I should get some decent photos to post with a ride report later in the day or tomorrow .

Now it's the end of the day . The ride didn't go as planned.We did meet up and talked some but he had to pick up his son and do something with him so no riding for him today. Seems like an ok guy so we'll see what develops . I did head east and ride .I had a good day wandering around . The bike ran well and I covered  a little over 100 miles. Didn't take any photos though.It was cloudy and I didn't really see anything of interest that I wanted to photograph . So,tomorrow is another day of decent riding weather and I'm going to take my 1969 Yamaha DS6C out and get it inspected. Think I'll pick up a new battery for the 1975 Yamaha RD350 my friend Pete gave me over the summer and start making a runner out of it.May sell it or may keep it as a rider , either way it has to be gone thru and made to work. Saw these deer the other day while out riding at a stop at the beach . I learned how to swim at this beach when I was a little kid , now I'm an old man .What a life it's been !

Today I Ride

 Been really busy here at home fixing the house up.I started back in May and it's finally to a point where I can put some distance between working on the house and me. It's been a long haul.I had to put off trips to my camp in the Adirondacks and days of riding my motorcycles but here I am in October and the place is in pretty good shape again. Today I think I'll head out for a good long ride on my old Moto Guzzi. Did an oil change on her yesterday so she's all ready to hit the road. I did have a bit of time a few weeks ago to get it and the BMW K 100 RS inspected and I also finally got the new rear tire installed on the BMW. My friend Tony told me about this little shop he found near by. They mounted the tire on his Moto Guzzi back in the spring when I pulled the wheel off for him.Well,I gave them my rear wheel with a new Avon RoadRider tire and for 30 bucks they mounted it and balanced it .So,now I have my two road bikes up and on the road.Next it's the four old Yamaha two strokes. Thought about taking one of them in today but it's too nice out to tie up the day getting an inspection done when I can be riding out east .We have sun and temps in the high 60's F today.

So,I think I'll just leave this post to finish up after I return when there is more to this story to report. Sure feels good to have my life back !

Now it's the first week in November. Got sidetracked from this post but not my life. Went kayaking last week with my friend Ron.We went out east in the Peconic River and out into the Peconic Bay for a paddle that lasted all afternoon.It was an incredible day. The temps were in the high 70's F and it was sunny.Before heading out to do this paddle we went to his hangar at the local airport to check out his project plane he's building.I wish I had my camera with me  but I didn't so no photos. Anyway , I am very impressed with the work he's doing on this. He's another gearhead but on a whole other level ! Been doing some routine service on my bikes.The other day the clutch on the Moto Guzzi slipped in high gear when I hit the gas hard .It may just be an adjustment problem or something more serious.This story will play out slowly and with any luck it will just be some adjustments. Took the BMW K100 out yesterday for a good ride.She runs great. Stopped at a light this guy told me my headlight was out. I put the high beam on and it worked so I need a new bulb .Minor problem that's easy to deal with. Today I'm heading out to get the 1971 Yamaha inspected then heading to my storage garage to switch it with my 66 Valiant convertible. I want to take the convertible to a car show tomorrow with a for sale sign on it .You never know ,it might sell or not but I have to start the process . I need money to buy that house I want up in Northern New. Long Island has really degraded , it is way over crowded and the people who have taken over are less than desireable.They are reckless drivers and rude entitled idiots to put it frankly .I'm a native here and this place was paradise when I was growing up. It was the country , farms and woods all over the place .Now, high density housing and all the bullshit it brings with it . I'm wanting to live out my last days in a place where I can ride safely and enjoy nature so Northern NY it is. Arizona was my first choice but we got priced out of that market and the climate change  issues there don't bode well for the future where as Northern NY is forecast to become milder in winter and somewhat wetter in summer so there will be water to drink and winter won't be as brutal as it used to be up there.Been watching the weather up there closely over the past decade and have seen a steady warming trend in the winter months.So,enough of this crap , I have to head out now to pick up this beautiful car on this beautiful motorcycle .

LIFE IS GOOD !