Feeling Better

Well, the Covid has released it's grip on me . It was really fucked up but it's in the past now .Still waiting for a negative test but I haven't been sick for 4 or 5 days now. The weather here in New York really sucks, cold and damp and foggy. It's been this way for days now with no end in sight. Hoping for a neg test tomorrow so I can go visit with my family. My nephew and his two children are coming down from Oneonta where they live for a visit.We all have to test because  my brother in law Mark has leukemia and a bad ticker so anything like Covid could kill him. So,we all test whenever we get together just to be safe. Modern life really sucks sometimes ! Was hoping to get some riding in this week but the weather forecast is rain , fog , and drizzle all week. Ordered some oil painting supplies last night .They won't be here in time to take the edge off this week but they will be here soon and I'll make good use of them when they finally do arrive. The Covid left me weak . My neighbor just came over in need of some help with his car.They are nice people in their late 80's so I do what I can for them.Seems their battery is shot.I did get the car started but told them to get AAA to put in a new battery because if they take this out someplace it will let them down out in the world.There is some sort of short circuit somewhere that no one seems able to find.Their mechanic rigged a kill switch so the battery doesn't drain when not in use but they forgot to use it last night . I put a charger on it for 15 minutes and then used my jump pack to start the car.The battery was so dead the jump pack wouldn't start the car on it's own but that 15 minutes gave it just enough to get going. Sure wish I brought my paints home from my camp.I was certain I was going back in a week or so but never did. I still can't believe I have no paint here ! Well,there's not much else going on so this will be another short and boring post .This is how life is these days ,short and boring . I really need some excitement. You know , something to look forward to. I miss the road trips I sure hope I can get one more good long road trip in before I kick the bucket !

Got The Covid

Well, it seems my luck has run out.Somehow I managed to avoid this crap but it seems this new strain is very contagious .My wife works in retail and she got it first then it was my turn.I'm 3 days into it now and feel like crap. I ache pretty much from head to toe and now my nose is running non stop with sneezing fits. Oh well,it can't always be cool stuff to write about .

Fixed The YM1

 So over the past week I dug through boxes of parts and gathered all these parts to build a couple sets of carburetors for my sweet little  1966 305cc Yamaha YM1 . 

I love this bike.It's the first motorcycle I ever restored. Did that job way back in 1989 . Before that I just rode them and fixed them when they broke. It all started when My DS6C got stolen a decade earlier.I recovered that bike a week or so later all trashed and stuck it in the corner of this garage I rented .It sat for 3 years while I fooled with the Triumph I got from my friend Richard .Finally I sold that rat and in desperation I picked up a parts bike for the DS6C and fixed the damn thing.Rode it for a bunch of years and then it needed work and I found this 1971 Yamaha R5 in 1985.Now I had two bikes . Then a month later I found a couple more DS6's and a couple R5's . Now I had all these parts bikes.Kept finding more and people used to just give them to me . I filled my garage with bikes then I dismantled them and built a parts inventory .As I was doing this I found the little blue 66 YM1 .It was a rat but all there and had compression so I dove in and fixed it up to ride and as time went on I made her real nice

She went from a rat to a show bike and was in use the entire time.

 

Now here we are in December of 2023 . I'm putting her back together with some nice fresh carbs.Started her yesterday and all seems good so this morning I'll button it all up and test ride her.If the test ride is good I'll ride her out to the shop on Wed or Thurs  and get her inspected .  This repair project has led to me beginning the job of doing an inventory and re boxing of all my parts ! I did plan on this but have been putting it off.I last did this over 20 years ago so it is going to be a real challenge .There are hundreds of boxes of parts for 6 different motorcycles that I need to sort out.

I wonder what treasures I will find that I forgot I had ! So now the fun begins .This will be my winter project. It's nice and warm down in the basement and who knows , I may even take a break from the inventory thing and do a painting or two.It's not so bad being retired. Money is always a worry but stuff like this keeps me in a positive frame of mind and moving forward .  Maybe we'll get lucky and have a warm winter again like last year.If that's the case then I'll be riding too . Riding always puts me in a good place mentally so this winter may turn out to be a good one. Tomorrow I have to service my neighbors generator so it's all ready for use if needed. I'll probably do my two  generators that  I keep here at home at the same time .  The one I keep at my camp gets serviced every time I pack up to leave so it's always ready when I arrive . Work never really ends when you retire , the only change is in the flow of money.