The Wagon,BMW,Moto Guzzi,and my life in retirement

 I have a few balls in the air right now and it's ok. Work on the wagon went well and after getting the front clip installed I got her inspected and she's back in service as I get ready to start the next phase of body work on her. 

Next week Steve and I are going to start finishing the paint work on this 65 Barracuda he's been getting ready for sale so we can continue on our own stuff and get the quarters hung on the wagon. 

 

Meanwhile I had my BMW K100RS for sale on Craigslist. Well, I decided to take the ad down and hold on to her a bit longer. I started riding her the other day and since then have put on over 300 miles with no problems with my leg to speak of. The bad leg thing is really the only reason I wanted to sell the bike.   She's a good distance rider so with that in mind I am trying to get my leg in shape and taker her on a trip in late September. Been waiting on parts for the Moto Guzzi so long distance travel on it isn't really a possibility at this point.

It's been a good few days reconnecting with my K100. Yesterday I rode 150 miles on her! This weekend I'm going to install new brake pads on both front & rear wheels and put on a new front tire. I did the rear tire less than 500 miles ago back in April so she will be all ready for a road trip very soon. I think I'm going to have to start working again come Fall. I like being retired, I can do all sorts of cool stuff like fixing my cars & bikes but when the cold weather returns I think I'd rather be working than hanging around the house. Being idle is nowhere so I'm gonna try to pick up a couple small paint jobs or something to keep myself active. I also got the 1975 Yamaha RD350 that Pete gave me up and running nicely so I can sell it. Been trying to get Jeff, the guy down the street to buy it. He's got all these project bikes that don't run and nothing to ride. I'd rather see it go to him than some stranger but the first person that comes up with  the money will get it. This is life these days. I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that I'm 75 years old but what else would I be doing but stuff like this? Maybe I should start buying LOTTO tickets. You never know, if I won some money I could travel again like I used to do. I'd sure like to hit the road again for a good long 3 month or so camping trip on my motorcycle. That's what else I would do!

Moving Forward

 The work on my Valiant station wagon is moving right along.I did a major piece of work over the past week or so and now she's looking like a car again.After pulling off the front fenders and getting the replacement fenders all set to install I gathered all the nuts and bolts I would need and cleaned them up as well. The job went pretty smooth but it was brutally hot outside and my work space has full sun mid day. Most days I started early and by 11AM  I had to stop. By 2PM I could continue as the sun moved behind some trees as it headed west so I got another three hours in before I quit for the day. Here are some photos of how it went.

So, now it's time to start on the doors and the rocker panels . Today I go to a shop I deal with and set up a time to get her inspected so I can start driving her between where I live and Steve's house 20 miles away to do the quarter panel replacement. He's got a plasma cutter and a better welder than me and a nice flat concrete surface where we can do this job easily .I'm enjoying this project . Being retired is still work and I like work, it keeps me fit and pointed in the right direction. No more to report, it's been too hot to kayak or do much riding but that will change soon I hope. The work on the doors should be interesting.I picked up a set of doors that are in pretty good shape in a trade for a 4 speed bell housing I had a few years ago.They are in better shape than the ones on the car but I need to make the windows work. So, it looks like I'll be starting on them next here at home on the work bench . It's nice having the parts I need on hand I don't have to waste time searching all over the place for them. Well it's time to start my day . After setting up an appointment for the inspection I plan on changing the rear bumper .