Well fuck, I don't know, I'll be back later.

Sidecar

Well I thought (and still might) I was going to buy this Velorex sidecar for $1000 which looks like this:


But I haven't heard back from the guy, so I have been re-exploring other options. There seems to be a great chance that I can get a Ural frame, wheel, brake, attachments, the whole deal for about $500, then I talked to the folks at Dauntless sidecar and they said that they thought that would be a good idea, and what I would need from there was two of these (from them):


Mind you this is a company that sells a ton of really expensive stuff, so the fact that they told me not to buy a frame from them, and all I would need for a sidecar if I got the frame (and that my subframe idea looked good) was two of those for $15 each.... They could have told me I needed a kit for $350 and I'd not have known better, because I don't... this isn't my thing... yet.

So the Ural frame together looks like this:


But with a wheel.


The last step after mounting, I believe would be to get a metal plate of some quality and bolt it to the top of that and somehow work out a way of mounting some ballast, which once I find out where to put it will just be more metal plate hahaha.

The key difference between the two is about $400.

The guy I'd be getting the Ural frame from sells these:



Which lets just say... is the dream.

Heavier

I guess that the reason I talk about motorcycles all the time, I think about them all the time, is because it is a way to fill a void, a void which grows a bit each and every day that moves forward.

See I have some of the greatest friends in the world, I really have been lucky that way the last few years. But Jon is spending more and more time in Korea, I mean he's about to come home for 3 weeks, then he'll be back in Korea for 16 months? His career is moving forward and taking him with it. Brent is home on the weekends which is great, I give Brent a lot of shit, but really I don't know what I'd do without him. I mean he's a helicopter pilot and a fireman, but we stay leveled in pretty much all aspects. Kyle, when I see him its like nothing has changed, its glorious, but I see him very rarely - I know he like the others is a friend for life, but he's going somewhere, and I don't know at what point ... See, my friends are moving past me, each day a little further away, Paul is looking for a place to live on the North Shore. Guys who were freshman in high school when I was a senior, or Liam who is only 18 is now starting to pass me by. I think that Liam like Brent, and Like Kyle, I will always be able to interact with him, he and I are very much alike.

But.. See, I'm here, right now in bed under 4 blankets with a wool sweater and a wool hat. I haven't slept more than three hours in I don't know how long, and those three hours are getting to be a while ago.

I don't... There are a couple years I can't remember, there is a lot of time that is so jumbled up in my head... like when was I in Ohio? When was I in Vermont? What years were those? I can't even remember what classes I took at Worcester State or Quinsig, let alone the content of them, I am hard pressed to remember what I learned at MMI. It's like was it all a waste? A waste of time? Energy? Money? But who would I be if I hadn't done it? I mean I can honestly say I would get knocked down, pick myself up and go back for more, over and over, its like being a boxer in a loosing streak, because god do I feel like I lost a fight most of the time. I am having serious trouble picking myself up from this last bout. I have been home for over a year.

Another void is more intimate, or just flat out intimate if you want to think of it that way. I dated Amy for a few weeks in my early 20s, but that never really took off. I have done other stuff which doesn't count for anything, basically for me I could have been flipping hamburgers at Wendy's for the amount of pleasure I got out of it.

But there is a deeper need than THAT. I have not been with a guy in any capacity for 11 years. I miss cuddling. I miss being close to someone. I miss just being able to touch and hold someone else. I miss trusting like that. I miss not being afraid all the time. I miss feeling safe. People say I should go back out and try.. and I make feeble attempts here and there, but really... most of the time physical contact causes me pain, then there's the skeletons I carry around with me, those fears, that animal instinct to pull away from an embrace, and even sometimes still.. a handshake. Oh yes, I am a catch, I am 50 pounds underweight, my teeth look like 1812 English teeth, I can only be touched gently, I am afraid of being close to someone, and oh yes, I'm on disability... yes! I bet the line to date me goes around the corner.

I realize self doubt is considered unattractive, but so is self deception. I know exactly what I look like and how much comes to the table. If I weren't me, I wouldn't date me.


Then deeper down the reason I talk about bikes absolutely non stop is when I stop to think, if I can avoid everything above, I begin to think about the things I have done, experienced, been through. My friends have heard some of the stories, but I only tell the ones that can bring a smile to your face. There is plenty that I could tell, or just add certain left out details to the other stories. Like the confession booth story... Its the details that raise the hairs on the back of my neck.

Or worse I think of who I used to be.. A little boy who was trusting, driven, played baseball with his friends, dreamed of being an actor or an engineer. The 8 year old who collected pocket watches, the 10 year old who wore a 1940s tank watch on his wrist every day to school. Hopes and dreams. No nightmares. No sadness, no hate... I wouldn't even know where to find that boy anymore, he has been gone for so long.

Fuck it, I'm done with this for a while, I want to go back to thinking about sidecars.

Hit a Snag with the Yamaha...

So I got the tire changed on the rear wheel and mounted the wheel, fixed up the brake, the bits you see below connecting the brake lever to the brake rod are all new. Thats really quite the spring, which is good, keeps me from locking up the rear wheel.


OK so first I want you to look at the sidecover, see? Thats the power of cardboard and gorilla tape!

NOW you can look at the front wheel, I will use an email I sent to a friend to explain, its easier:

Hey ====,

I'm going to need a bit of === Shop Time help =p When you have time, It's really quite simple just need some time in a lathe.

I went to change the front brake pads on the Yamaha tonight because they looked pretty worn, and when I got the caliper off I found rust on the piston which is more or less stuck, the bolt that holds the pads in place, even with Liquid Wrench broke an allen wrench trying to get it free, impact driver didn't work either... basically the caliper needs a new piston and totally rebuilt - which I can't afford. The caliper in the basement off the GS550 forks isn't much better.

So I snagged the Norton front wheel for grins, I had hoped to fit it someday, but wasn't planning on doing it anytime soon. It works well enough and won't need rebuilding.

I can't afford the parts to fix the calipers or the master cylinder (which also needs rebuilt). I can afford a new brake cable for the Norton brake, and the wheel actually fits.

The Axle ALMOST fits, thats where the lathe comes into play. I need to take a little bit off the thicker end that slides through the left fork leg, and a very little off the smaller end that slides through the right fork leg.

I won't have a speedo for a while, but I am good at guessing speeds because the Triumph and BMW and Enfield I had in Phoenix all had busted cables - and the inspection place doesn't check if your speedo works. I will have a tach which is good, and I can at a later date fit an electronic Speedo.

So to recap my 82 Yamaha has Flat slide carbs designed for Triumph's and Norton's, a Norton headlight, a Harley seat, and now a Norton front wheel... it also has a Suzuki rear fender.... and its a hardtail... oh yes and it has Honda turn signals with Kawasaki stems, and Ducati handlebars with a Norton throttle... Something is seriously wrong with me - though most can be passed off to my lack of budget.

I also technically need to make spacers, I have some bar stock in the basement we can measure where the wheel should be and do it that way.

I have the Norton and Yamaha axle in a box so measurements won't be an issue.

On the bright side the rear wheel is now fitted (needs air), the chain is on, and the rear brake is set up correctly at last! The bike is now down to the Jets and the front axle - and then it will be road worthy. I'm going to get a sidecar platform for it, and it will be my year round bike.

Anyways, thats the bit,
Best,

This is the actual brake plate, its zip tied in. I need a cable and a spring. I will need to make an arm that keeps the brake from spinning, but thats sheet metal and 3 holes.

I am being STUPID

OK... we all know I have a deep seated weakness for wanting another bike, it doesn't matter what bike I have now, I always want another bike...

I don't NEED another bike. I have two options for sidecars that will work with the Yamaha XS400.

The Velorex 562:


Or the Cozy


OR....

I could just get a frame for $500 from a guy in Conn.

So I need to make a subframe - which means Paul or Chris needs to make a subframe which I have to design.


They tend to look like that, they provide something for the sidecar to clamp onto - on bikes where the engine makes up much of the frame.

SO in end, I'm going to put a sidecar on the XS400 and ride it till it dont run anymore, then I'll put the sidecar on a Royal Enfield.

Motorcycles - SURPRISE I changed my Mind!

Alright, so as you probably know (obviously) I was all set up in my head to buy a Dnepr Sidecar rig for about $4000 - or rather mom was going to buy it because it would replace my car for year round riding and the whole deal.



What occurred to me there is I have never had a Dnepr or a Ural, only that one BMW, and they are WONDERFUL bikes, but the more I look into it the more I find peoples signatures in Forums that say "Ural miles should be looked at in dog years" and the parts supply for these bikes - its there, but the sources seem to be switching around a lot.

I found...

See Mom has been thinking about going back to motorcycles so I was investigating bikes for her, I thought of Royal Enfield instantly because of how perfect they are in every way except upkeep for a beginner and someone who is unsure, but she'd want new, and new is $6000 and no longer the engine I know. Where as there is a retro Suzuki 250 that is BEAUTIFUL for $3700, Fuel Injection, 82mpg, 330 pounds curb weight, the whole deal.

But I'd remembered this 1995 Enfield 500 Bullet that was for sale in Ohio at one of my favorite parts suppliers. It is complete with 1500 miles on it, and they vouch for its goodness. So it occurred to me because they want $3500 for plus say $400 shipping to here unless I took 3 days and rode it home on B highways but that might kill me. So THIS is the bike:



Here is the OEM picture for that year:


And one from the other side of the same year bike:




So then I'd just get a Cozy Euro Sidecar for the Enfield:



See... I know these bikes. You can get cheep parts for them from the USA, England, and India. You can get knobby tires for them because people use them for scramblers, so thats winter taking care of. They get better gas than the Dnepr, the rig would be just over 100 pounds lighter than the Dnepr rig.

I HAVE an alloy barrel and an expensive European made Piston down here in the basement for THAT engine.

So instead of getting a BIG heavy Dnepr, why not get a light Enfield. With the one in Phoenix I fixed all the engine parts and left the body pretty much alone this time. So I know that I can run an Enfield year round, and I know that I can keep it up, and I know that this time I wont be dumb because I get progressively better about them.

So yeah.. thats the new plan. And I vow not to randomly paint or alter anything to make it look "older" or any of that shit. Just turn it into a sidecar rig, maybe over time get the proper shocks and springs, and just ride the thing year round as my primary.

If the Norton sells for what I hope it will then in 2 months I should have enough money (after the Norton sells) to just buy the Enfield outright, then I can change the fluids, sell the car, sell the XS400 - give that money to mom, and then save up for a sidecar, that would be about 6 months which would give me a month or two to learn the sidecar before the snow starts to fly.

HOUSE, XS400, and Dnepr

XS400 Album on FB


Mom and I went and looked at a GREAT house today, its in Paxton which I more than sort of hate, but you know its not about me, and Mom's work is RIGHT down the street (literally), so there's that. Its also a lovely neighborhood.

Mom really likes the layout, and I have to agree, its pretty spiffy, and pretty much all of her furniture will fit in the house with no issue that I can see. I'd down in the basement which has 2 separate entrances, full bathroom, full kitchen, living room with fire place, a nice room that I could put dad's desk and lots of book cases in, and then a solid sized bedroom. She also said I could have the garage - its an over sized single car, and it would be Fantastic!

I know its impossible to say "This is the house!" but god, it would be absolutely perfect for what we want and need. So cross your fingers that this place sells sooner than later.

What's amazing is its the kind of house that mom wanted, I was edging for a 2 family, and well, in this case this house is a hell of a lot better. There are only a couple slight issues I can see with the place. One is that the bathroom in the basement is going to need a wall taken down and the tub ripped out as its far to shallow to actually take a bath in, and I haven't been able to take showers in months. So there's that - but its a relatively easy fix.

Second is because it is a ranch with a finished basement there is a main stair case in here foyer sort of area that leads straight down into my living area. The slight downside of that is that anything going on downstairs - the sound would carry straight up, so I'm brain storming how we could work around that. I'm not sure there is a work around, I just got to get back and stare at it for about 10 minutes, I'll think of something. There is a simple work around if I could remember how high the ceilings are on the main floor. Just build a box around the stairs with a door.

But I mean this is absolutely fantastic.



Thats the plan for the tub, a nice deep soaking tub. Also with the claw feet it saves from the problem I have now, which is the concrete below the tub acts like a cold sink, combine that with cast iron and the water you put in the tub cools down with great speed. With a modern tub that is Not cast iron plus those legs and what ever I put in the tub should remain a good temp for a while.

ANYWAYS... I'm done for now, I'm just excited. Prospects!


OH And,

First off mom expressed an interest in taking back up with motorcycles, she was actually quite good, I thought about it and decided that if she was serious about it the bike for her would be a 2010 Suzuki TU250. They weigh 330 pounds with fuel and oil, have bottom end torque, glorious reviews for a beginner/commuter bike, are easier to handle than an Enfield (which is hard to say), and cost less that $4000 brand new with a 1 year unlimited mile warranty.



Mom also suggested that when the disability money comes through that I go ahead and buy a Dnepr. That would be a full sidecar rig, not expensive, at all, and a bike that can be ridden year round in any conditions on and off road.

As you can see there is absolutely no fear of me sinking money into one trying to make it look battered or retro or anything...