What did you do today...

[jstark47]

Yesterday we drove 180 miles into upstate Pennsylvania to talk to a sidecar fabricator / installer, then drove home. Interesting and informative trip!

You mean to say that Mrs. jstark47 still has the bug??? I thought she would have one by now, lol.

Oh yeah, she has the bug. The only question is how and when it will be fulfilled, not if. Since she's down to one bike, and I have three, I figured I could donate the Bonneville as the tug for a rig. It's got a full tube steel frame and lots of torque at low rpm's, so it should make a good tug. Still not sure she's gonna do it this year, though. (See my next post).

[jstark47]

Remember my step daughter the noobie rider and her "starter" bike the GSX-R600? viewtopic.php?p=279652&#279652

She's taking her Rider's Edge course today. Called us during a break, has had a bit of an epiphany about suitable starter bikes... She's now going to "allow" us to buy her a used starter bike - Ninja 250, Ninja500, GS500, something like that. Great news, except there goes some of the funding for the sidecar project..... <<sigh>> oh, well, there's always another year!

[ceemes]

I took a look at the GPz up close and was shocked. Kawasaki made the bike have front forks with air assist, rear uni-trak shock, on-board diagnostics and digital fuel, battery, kickstand, oil read out. It also has Hazard switch, very effective windscreen/ fairing, lot's of grunt to do burnouts, and a deep growl from the exhaust. The frame was mint as was the engine casing. I was surprised to see it has an oil cooler and center stand.

This is a bike from 1983 and it has more tech than my 2001 Vulcan 500 and all Ninja 500 and 650s. I love how everything was easily accessible such as the spark plugs, carburetor screws and valves which means I could work on the bike easily compared to my Vulcan. WTF Kawasaki?! update all your bikes, the tech is cheap and it would be very useful for riders.

Things that prevented me from buying it right there and ride home? The guy's ad made it sound like he still rides it but it turns out the bike was sitting there for a long while but he jets the carbs, changes the oil and tends the battery. The clutch handle was hard to pull in, the rear brake needs some cleaning and the tires are almost bald in the rear and both are 5 years old and hard but not cracked or rotted. The big WTF was when he told me that he doesn't use the clutch to shift and then I just decided to walk away. If WD-40 could make the clutch handle move smoothly and if the clutch or shift dogs aren't in bad shape from being ridden without using a clutch then I'll buy it and take care of the tires myself.

Thankfully there's another GPz 750 near me that's for sale and the owner still rides it and tires are almost new. He wants a bit more for it but that bike is too awesome to pass up, only problem is that he doesn't have an engine guard like the other guy. Scary power coming from my Vulcan 500 but still controllable. It's true, they don't make 'em like they used to. I'm drooling at it's picture right now.

My third bikes was the GPz1100 from that era, can't remember if it was an 83 or 85. If was fuel injected and had all the bells and whistles you could imagine. And it was scary fast and very stable at speed. However, it was more of a straight line bike and you really did not want to hit the twisties too hard with it, also the fairings buzzed like hell in harmony with the engine vibration. And I am not sure why, but it seems Quackers of that period all suffered from electronic issues when it got wet out, but my GPz1100 and KZ550 were right cows to start on wet days. However, that GPzed you are eyeballing is a very nice classic sport bike and you will have a hell of a lot of fun with it.

[ceemes]

That booklet came from the union or the employer???

Employer. The general consensus is that it belongs in the picket line porta potty.

Our union has recommended we reject it.

For some reason, I thought that communication between the employer and the employees was strictly though the union during a labour dispute. Presenting the offer to the employees and not the union was considered bargaining in bad faith, because the negotiating athority is in the hands of the union not the individual worker... I could be wrong though.

Anyone with knowledge of BC Labour Law please speak up if I'm wrong...

The amended BC Labour Labour Law under the DYI Gordo Campbell's Regime has been amended and simplified to one single line "F U C K the workers, contracts are meant to be broken!!" Just ask the Hospital Employee's Union.

[Johnj]

This morning I went riding again. It's a beautiful day, a little bite in the air, the shining sun, the fields after harvest. Today was animal encounter day. First as I'm leaving Rushville I spy a squirrel in the road. I beep the horn and he starts running the same direction I'm traveling. Then, just as I reached him, he cuts left and I feel the bump. (Bye little squirrel dude) Then a couple miles down the road I see a large shadow on the road, except it's undulating and darker, and as I close it raises from the road to envelope me... and I ride through a flock of birds. I encounter another flock, how freaky. Then I saw a single large (looked like 4 foot tall) white bird just standind along the side of MO-92. All in all a fine day, and I still get to go to work.

[ceemes]

Then, just as I reached him, he cuts left and I feel the bump. (Bye little squirrel dude).

What?? You didn't stop to scrape him up? Damn man, flattened squirrel is the prime makings of Road Kill Stew.

Went for two rides today and engaged in a little Chemical Weapon Genocide.

First ride was in the morning to meet up with my sibs in Surrey and have breakfast with Mom who is down visiting from Penticton, scored a frozen ready to cook home made deep dish apple pie, ready to cook apple crisp, three jars of home made Strawberry Jam and a bag of Gala Apples all farm fresh from the Okanagan.

Second ride was to the shops, didn't bother to put on full cool weather kit and boy was that the right call. Even with just the liner on in my ventilated jacket, I was baking. Usually this time of year with its clear and sunny out, the temps are dropping well below 0 Celius.

One of the reason I went to the shops was after a few weeks of attempting mutual cohabitation with invading hordes from the Fruit Fly Nation, I decided that enough was enough and that Genocide was the only option. Returned home and let loose with full on Chemical Warfare, the results have been impressive, much more so then cutting off all visible foods sources and other counter methods. Not sure why, but this year has been bad for the little buggers.

[blues2cruise]

I also went for a ride. I rode past two of the picket lines beeping all the way.



Apparently the union decided my talents would be better utilized helping in the union office than on the picket line...... Fine by me....
They like the fact that I keep researching and finding "dirt" on the bad employer we have.
They treat workers like commodities and clients like cargo.

[jstark47]

Got a call from my step daughter about 6:00, she passed her MSF course. We've got another rider in the family (even if she's 1,500 miles away)!!

[ofblong]

sweet....



Ugh just ran the windows 7 "test" on my computer and my motherboard is the only thing that wont work with windows 7 because of the fastrak 378 controller for the sata drives. Since I only use sata for hard drives im kinda stuck with windows xp... sucks cause I can get windows 7 full home premium for $30 thanks to student discount.

[Skier]

Yesterday we drove 180 miles into upstate Pennsylvania to talk to a sidecar fabricator / installer, then drove home. Interesting and informative trip!

Claude will set ya right.

Today I'm sending off the check for getting replacement parts for my hack.