Sidecar

Well there are no pictures easily uploaded yet (thats a Lie) ok so here we go:


So thats the general look of her when we got her home. I'll be into the whole venture about $625 at the end, except $75 is out of my current pocket, the rest is compliments of a friend who I have to pay back within the next year. To give you a couple ideas about this Russian masterpiece, the spokes on the wheel are welded to the hub and to the rim - which I have never heard of before, but hey... The other is that the tire which has no wear on it was "Made in USSR" which collapsed as you remember in 1991.

I have begun to grind paint and such off the fender and off the frame. I took the fender off last night and also managed to get one of the couplers off and am working on the threads.

I'm not entirely sure yet what I am doing about the fender, but I suspect that I am mounting different lights on it. Possible some lights that are on all the time? Or I'll paint it white or Red - the fender I mean. Red I think is best. I want to be visible.

Anyways, more later. Don't feel well.

Wow another...

Listening to "thrash unreal" because frankly I like the song.

I'm not overly excited right now, 3 bottles of piss on the speaker next to me, and half a can of Pepsi.

I like the people who think thats disgusting. Our society has taken on such an interesting feeling towards being clean, and what is ok, and what isn't. The piss doesn't smell, doesn't effect anything, might as well be a glass of water. But its not clear, so we find it revolting. We jerk off, we piss, some of us suck dicks and swallow what comes out, and yet a bottle of piss is disgusting.

I also sort of get a kick out of people who are so big on being totally clean. I get the wanting to Look Good, I do, I really do. But to be totally fair.. its not actually necessary. We have people who wash before every meal, take 2-3 showers a day, scrub everything, wash clothes, all of that because what? Germs?

I have a dirty little secret for you. I haven't had a shower in months (I do take baths almost every day). My hands tend to be stained with grease doesn't matter if I'm eating. My clothes hang on my frame for days (I would like to say when I have to be somewhere I clean up). But what I'm saying is, besides me already health issues - I almost Never get sick. I don't get flu shots, I don't do any of this preventative stuff that everyone is so big on, I'm a scrub, most clean freaks would expect some sickness to kill me down here, and yet... I'm fine.

I think our society has become WAY too obsessed with being clean. There's nothing wrong with it necessarily, but there's also nothing wrong with being dirty. Not from the getting sick stand point.


All the same though I feel like death. I am improving though, I'm up to 149 pounds. I don't feel well. I don't mean to complain. I ache all over and I have this pain behind my right shoulder blade... my knuckles - I feel like I just walked out of a fist fight. This is the epitome of uncool.

I also tried to befriend a SJ grad who happens to be gay. I don't want anything from him besides another friend. I have 3 local gay friends and two are dating each other and I rarely see them. The other is awesome, and family, but not in my age group. This guy was, and we've had a couple good conversations. But well, it didn't work. He ignored me completely. I guess thats the easiest way to "not hurt someone's feelings" or well, I don't know. Its not like I want to sleep with him. I just don't have very many gay friends, because well, I don't exactly come off that way, and I just, all my friends were stage crew guys. Fuck I don't know. I have this desire to have more gay friends. I don't have any intention of replacing my current friends, and I don't want gay friends who are practically girls... I just... I can't lean over to Ducci and say "wow, look at him" Brent's so easy going I actually could do that with him (and have) but I don't know.

Fuck it, I'm just lonely. I'm tired. I haven't had anything resembling an intimate relationship with another guy in 11 years.

Anyways, I'm done.

One of my favorite songs is called "Teardrop" by Jose Gonzalez. You can hear it in the link below.


I recently discovered that the opening music to the show House is actually Teardrop sung by someone else. It's always pretty awesome when I realize things like this - well awesome to me.


I got one of the greatest compliments ever last night, from a friend. He said:

I just want to say that I think you're an amazing person. Despite your situation, you just keep doing your thing every day, and keep on pushing on.

That meant the absolute world to me, hands down, especially from him. Sometimes I wish the world wasn't so big, I wish he wasn't so far away, I want to introduce him to Liam, I think they'd get along incredibly well.

Brent and Jon came over tonight and collected the Ducati. So now the garage has just 2 motorcycles in it, the Yamaha XS400 and the KZ1000. I have some work left on the XS400. I was going to let Jon bring that back to Lunenburg too, but my friend Steve wants to learn how to ride motorcycles this summer and I trust him with it, so I'll teach him to ride on the XS, then probably loan it to him for as long as he wants it. In a way as much as its not my style, it fits him, maybe small as a 400, but the style, the seat, the paint, the hard tail. Stevie looks like a Harley guy, and the newer Harleys are set up to look like "Bar Hoppers" which is the American version of the English "Cafe Racers" and my XS is most certainly set up like a Bar Hopper.

I was having some pretty awesome (not awesome at all) reactions to the changes in my medications today. I went up on the nerve pain killer from 2700mg a day to 3600mg a day, then the drug thats supposed to make me happier went from 25mg to 50mg. They are going slow because that drugs family doesn't agree with me. So my jaw has been tight, I shake more, I feel like I'm going to throw up, and my heads pretty fucked up. But those side effects should pass.

This video was taken last night. I didn't know till half way in that Jon was shooting a video. He was trying to capture the facial ticks lol. We were waiting for Pizza, and I was sitting on a tin of cold war rations from 1963. We were listening to CSN&Y's "4 Way Street" Its one of the rare occasions where you see me interacting with friends, probably the only youtube video I have that I didn't make hahaha, so you get the real mccoy.

BRENT WATCH THIS NOW:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsyMtYoSkC0

Makes Ducci laugh like crazy, and you've seen the show so you should get a real kick out of it too.


Welll.... The Kawasaki is almost solid. Been working hard on her, today she got new clutch cable, sprockets, chain, chain guard is installed, shocks are solid, new tires - which look fucking excellent. The gas still pours out the bottom of the carbs so I guess I have toooo take those apart =/ though I'll clean the tank out first.





Jon worked on the Harley tank for about 9 hours. See the small new tank we got and cleaned and painted up so nice doesn't fit! It fits, but the fuel tap is on the wrong side and buries the fuel tap in the air box. So that was out. So last night we mounted the old battered tank and man when they say "Sport" well this is the 1200S - ie - Sport. It actually has balls. Its a gas to ride, 50mph in second gear at 4000rpm. She'll go up to 6500rpm and has 5 gears. So Jon's thrilled, and I'm quite pleased with it myself though I feel weird saying that about a Harley.

So anyways the black tank which was beat to shit. Jon (I took pictures) brought over fiberglass he'd got for fixing his boat and we ground the paint off that side, then he began doing the glasswork. Well there was a large dent that couldn't be filled, but we wanted SOMETHING there, and then I remembered I had a 5" Diameter Suzuki badge thats meant to go on the end of a crank case over the alternator on a GS550. So Jon flexed that around a bit and it fit over the dent, then a lot of glass over that and the other dents. Lots of sanding, then several small layers of Bondo with a lot of clean up work, then of course the flat shit brown paint - 4 layers. So the tank should be ready to go in the morning.


It occurred to me as I was working on the KZ (my car no longer handles highways, the transmission is going) that I have wanted a vintage bike with shrouded shocks since I was 16. Well... I'm 26, I have had close to 40 motorcycles, my oldest running bike being a 73 Triumph. I have finally achieved my dream with a 77 Kawasaki. I am pleased.

Jon has agreed to take the 82 Yamaha and put her in his garage while he's gone, and not pass off the 78 Suzuki GS750 for repair till he comes back from Korea in 4 months for 2 weeks (hopefully we'll be moved by then). He is also going to keep the Ducati 900GTS in his garage till after we move.


So there will just be the Kawasaki in the garage, and hopefully my car will be gone soon.

This is the 3 bikes together (my three, or my two and my brother's):


Then just the two Superbikes:
1977 Kawaski KZ1000 and 1977 Ducati 900GTS - first years both.


When I mounted the shrouded shocks on the KZ, I put the KZ's old shocks on the Ducati, and so now she has a suspension. I also mounted the left sidecover which looks superb. They weigh the same, go the same - though the Ducati would handle better.

ANYWAYS I'm done. Cheers.

And We are back with the KZ1000.

Ducci has now given me the Kawasaki outright on the understanding that I'll fix the Suzuki for him. Since I am 99% sure the Suzuki needs a new one of these:


I'm rather happy making that bargain, even if it needs more I'll be able to trace it.

I posted on the Real Classic forum and now have a general understanding of why my carbs are overflowing fuel. I have to pull the carbs off the bike to sort this little issue, but I am confident. So once that is sorted out, I have to buy some parts for the bike, happily a fellow emailed me today offering me $600 for all of my Enfield Stuff, and including cables the Kawasaki needs $600 in parts.

Here's the Tally:
======Tires Unlimited=====
Tires:
Front: 325P-19 K70 $68.81
Rear: 400S-18 K70 $73.09
Tubes:
Front: $10.95
Rear: $10.95
Rim Tape:
Front: $1.07
Rear: $1.07

======Z1====== (I am converting the 630 chain to 530 chain for lighter weight, cheeper, and more HP)
F18 Sprocket $13.80
R42 Sprocket $26.19
530 Chain $97.67
Split Link $4.43

Front Master Cylinder Rebuild: $33.86
Rear Master Cylinder Rebuild: $72.87
Front Caliper Rebuild: $31.27
Rear Caliper Rebuild: $18.98
Front Pads: $25.48
Rear Pads: 23.26

Clutch Cable $14.85
Speedo Cable $13.85
Tach Cable $13.52
Throttle Cable $14.25 (may need 2)

=====Old Bike Barn=======
Brake Lever: $11.95

================Totals=============
Wheels $165.94
Secondary $142.09
Front Brakes $102.56
Rear Brakes $127.40
Cables $70.72

Grand Total $608.71


Then when the Norton basket case is gone, I'll be able to get a sidecar for the KZ and ditch the car. Heres a fellow who mounted what looks to be a Champion Sidecar on a 70s KZ:


I of course can't afford a Champion sidecar no matter how good they look, so I'll be getting a Dnepr:



Jon had tried to talk me out of a Ural by going back over the KZ1000 idea, which was "its yours as long as I can ride it when I get home" and I had to say that that wouldn't work, because the car and the other bikes were all going away, so unless he loaned me the Harley or the Suzuki while he was riding the KZ, it just wouldn't work. At which point he realized what I meant and being Jon told me I could just Have the Kawasaki, but only if I fix the Suzuki. We worked out the details, and it was agreed upon, shaking hands over the telephone as it were.

So well, yeah, it all works, its a bumpy process, but it always works.

Plan

OK so I talked for about 4 hours today on the phone with Matt from Rhode Island who sells vintage Urals that are road legal. He goes through the engines before he sells, updates the carbs (I mean they're still out dated, but they are post 1939). These bikes run 6V electrical systems, have Reverse, are good to about 70mph, don't shake, good parts supply, come with a spare wheel that will bolt on direct to sidecar, front, or rear wheel. Kick start only, are made to track good in the snow, you can get knobby tires for them. They are easy to work on, will need to be kept up with, but I can run it year round. The frame is specifically designed to be run with a sidecar so it won't flex.

They cost between $2500 and 4500, so between selling the Norton basket case and that money coming in in June or July, as well as what ever money I get for the car, as well as the eventual small change I'll get for the Yamaha from Liam... The end result is nothing in the garage except for tools, the Al's Ducati, and my Ural.

The nice thing about this idea is the bike makes the HP I want, will be ready to go when I get her, and is worth what she is worth, which means I don't go over my Disability budget. The vintage means that I am exempt from a ton of laws concerning emissions and turn signals. It also means I'll be riding a motorcycle I really care about, not a 70s or 80s Jap bike, but also not an English bike thats hard to start and hard on the body to ride.

Anyways...

1957 Ural:


1978 Ural:

Well it got kinda tricky for a moment, I was offered an extended loan on the KZ1000 because it has a cradle frame and that would be better suited for a sidecar rig. But I can't afford the cost of getting the KZ running, not tires, chain, sprockets, etc... not all the stuff I just did on the Yamaha, especially since I can't afford a sidecar without help, and the only reason to make the switch from the Yamaha to the Kawasaki.


Relatively speaking the Kawasaki is ten times the bike the Yamaha is. In size, power, style, condition.


But the Yamaha is almost done, its down to the front wheel and brake, as well as carb jets. Thats it, thats what the Yamaha is down to. Some minor tricks... I need to think.