24 Hours ago...

That isn’t enough blow by to be concerned about IMO.

 

I’m painting some light-blocking panels for a project and need the paint to dry in a reasonable amount of time, so I fired up the kiln with its sand-battery accessory. Ambient temperature in the garage is 34 degrees Fahrenheit. The sand temp after 5 minutes of burn time is 100 degrees Fahrenheit . The garage is drafty enough that a glue isn’t necessary yet, but that’s the next summer project. As it is I can run the contraption for 30 minutes before I start to work and it will keep the space comfortable enough for several hours.
Current temp in the un-insulated garage is 45 degrees along the back wall. Well above that near the work.

I checked an hour later and the temp hadn’t changed.

 

Spring is in the air. The pretty lady fired up after hardly any fiddling (might need a new battery). Tomorrow is the first riding day of this year.
https://youtube.com/shorts/r0smuMo_P2c?feature=share

 

I managed around 70 miles today, which is quite a lot considering how much of where I live is urban and that I stopped for lunch. I honestly do miss living in the west where a 4 hour round-trip would take me to far more twisty roads and not to more than a few very small towns (or none if I planned the route). In any case it was a fine day without a single idiot motorist to be found.

 

I was fishing yesterday and heard a bike go by. Over mid 50's temp. I think it was.

 

Word of warning. When coming to a stop at an off-camber hillside make sure that you put the correct foot down. I'm on day three of being quite sore due to misjudging an intersection that I hadn't been to before. Thankfully it's only soft-tissue damage and not a broken ankle (or hip).

 

I will admit to dropping my sportster this weekend. Doing cone drills and I was very tired and stopped only to roll my foot/ankle on a rock I did not see in the parking lot. It did not help that I layed on the front brake too hard which pushed me forward as I put my foot down.
The darn sportster has very tight front brakes. XJ650 is way easier to ride but I was doing the cone drills on the heavier, top heavier less maneuverable bike for the very reason it was harder. Learned my lesson that I need to also practice my stopping more. Good point about the correct foot.

 

Also, make sure you haven't pulled up right next to a pothole.

 

Saturday it was almost 70 F here so I got the XJ700 airhead out at my son's place and he had already gotten his two bikes uncovered and running (750 Vulcan and 750 Magna) and we took a nice ride through the back roads. Thoroughly enjoyed the mild weather (between morning rain and evening rain!) for my birthday.

 

As of day 10 it’s at least a pulled hamstring, and hop Not a torn hamstring. I did go for a short ride this evening and all was fine. Walking is still painful though.

 

I think I found a use for the leftover chain once I finish the clock.
Yes, I'm finishing the clock...right after I finish the faux fireplace for my daughter, refinishing and hanging the shelf for my wife, completing the ukulele I'm building so I can start learning again, and after the school year is over.

Oh, the hamstring is nearly healed.

 

Silly me forgot the link.



I don't have the fancy equipment, but I do have enough of what's needed to make a nice knife. I might have to build a trip hammer first though.

 

Sweet! I'll be cheering for you when you make it to Forged in Fire!!

 

That may be a year or two away. I already have too many projects to catch up on, and things keep breaking for some reason. The latest was the idler pulley for the serpentine belt on the Jeep. The day before it was the sunroof track, and getting the sunroof back in waterproof shape ran the battery down. Somehow the radio was killed during the jump-start process. Ugh. At least the XJ750 hardly ever has problems.

The clock will be the first project on the list for this summer.

 

What clock? LOL. Been a long time, I figured I'd check in on this thread and see the finished project. Tick tock!!!

 

The one that's still sitting on the workbench

 

So...That very handy device that I put on two years ago to reduce the force required for the clutch-pull...
The cable snapped off as I pulled into to the driveway just now. Thankfully. I'll be doing some investigating this week to figure out why the short cable that came with the device failed. I think it was rubbing on the housing for the thing, but it might just be that the cable is a bit too thin for the application.
I'm only a little bummed. I did make it home without needing to push the bike.

 

To balance the prior post:
Earlier today I had to stop in a parking lot to allow the cart-wrangler to clear the aisle so I could park. A man in his mid 40's was walking by and exclamed, "Man! You got that running F*&^'ing good!!!" I haven't stopped smiling since.

 

Well...The cable was not the problem. The clutch lever was too floppy, which caused the cable to rub on the lever. Fortunately they come with a spare short-cable. Unfortunately I have no idea where I put it. Thankfully there's a sale on the unit, so I'll be riding again in two days. That'll give me plenty of time to braze-up the divot that was worn into the lever, and make a bushing to eliminate the slop.

 

Decided to do some compression testing. Last year I got #1: 150 psi #2: 160 psi #3: 110 psi #4: 92 psi
After the valve lapping project I now get #1: 185 psi #2: 185 psi #3: 180 psi #4: 173 psi - all a bit above the max (165 psi) but may be due to the compression tester. I'm thinking this is great, much better.
Leak down test #1: 90/90 #2: 90/72 #3: 90/90 #4: 90/90
Great, not what is wrong with cylinder 2?? The stethoscope seems to indicate leakage to the exhaust. Time to tear into it again and recheck the exhaust shims. I do know that one of the cyl. 2 exhaust shims was at max size (185) in order to be able to get all 20 gaps in spec. Now, after running to the clinic and other places, maybe I need to go smaller. Checking will tell.