The Coyote's Ramblings - 2004C
July
- August
Copyright
© 2000-2004 The Coyote's Den
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7/5/04
Five days later
and I still haven't fixed that danged turn signal/running light problem.
I do have effective turn signals for safety's sake and, besides, Muff
will be back from the Great North before long and he LIVES wiring!
I'm taking a heat break from tearing the scooter down, taking the
sheetmetal and fairing off. By the time I ride her again, I'll
have the rebuilt engine in; tomorrow is the day to take her to Dink
for the swap!!!
There's a bunch of sanding and painting to do...and
it just doesn't seem to want to stop raining. Yesterday was
the only day this past weekend that I didn't get caught by it and
it was just too danged hot! It was good seeing a bunch of you
out in Milton and downtown but it looks like about a week before I
see you on the road again. 'Til then, take care and ride safe.
7/14/04
Okay, nine days
without my scoot and I'm getting antsy! All the painting is
done and, since I found out today that it MIGHT be done by this weekend
(but not before), I'm building a new light bar. I found some
lights I like better than the ones I got from Big Lots way back when,
and I think they'll throw more light. Also, I was never quite
satisfied with my mounting system, so this should be neater and easier
to mount and dismount.
Sorry I missed y'all at Milton last week,
but I had a good time at Five Flags. We ran into Doctor and
Mrs. Pepper and enjoyed their company as well as the races.
We got to see some wrecking and pit fights which were a precursor
to Sunday's NASCAR show, too. It doesn't look very good for
my making Ava's this Friday, but htere's no races at Five Flags, so
I might just drive out.
Tomorrow, I've got a drive to Biloxi,
to the VA Medical Center, for some preliminary work, so I sure hope
it doesn't rain. My procedure is on the 27th, but Muff is going
to drive me over for that, since they're gonna put me under and won't
let me drive. Personally, I think it's a big pain in the ass!
Y'all
take care and be safe. There's been too many motorcycles down,
lately, and I don't want you to be one of them.
7/18/04
Two
weeks...TWO flippin' weeks!!! First thing Thurday morning, before
I had to leave for Biloxi, I got a bad call from Dink. He got
the rebuilt engine in and fired 'er up...and she smoked worse than
I do. Long story but the gist is we're gonna graft the old top end
on the new bottom, but it's another week of waiting (at least).
The
up side of this is that I wasn't happy with some of my paint work,
so now I have the time to strip it down and do it again. I think
the new light bar is going to work well, too...IF I ever get it all
back together again! Okay, that's out of my system.
Question...does
anyone know anything about a regular Friday night get-together at
the McDonald's at Mobile Highway and Saufley Field Road? The
last couple of Friday's, I've seen scoots and rods out there, but
was always on my way somewhere and didn't stop. Is this something
that should be added to the regular weekly stuff? Howsabout
someone letting me know. Ciao for now.
8/15/04
Alright already! I'm back, so stop complaining.
I got the bike back Saturday after my last entry, and got it back
together to ride on Sunday. It was a little frustrating keeping
it under 3500 RPM for the break-in period, but I did manage it...mostly.
Dink recommended 200 miles and my book called for 500, so I split
the difference at 350. The trouble was, it has been so hot before
this weekend, that I only took her out in the cool(er) evenings.
I had also forgotten to tell Dink about the stripped threads on the
oil pan, so he didn't swap pans, as I had planned on originally, so
I was a little uneasy about that. Finally, oil change time came,
so I took that opportunity to change the oil pan too.
Finally,
this last Friday, I was ready to ride to Milton, with a decent highway
speed. I was going to take the scenic route, out Barrancas to
Bayfront and then up Scenic Highway to the fill and on to Milton.
As I was climbing the Bayou Chico Bridge...with a bit of throttle...I
could see by the setting sun behind me, a thick cloud of smoke in
my mirror! Panicked, I turned around and headed for the house.
First thing Saturday morning, I was at Dink's. He explained
that sometimes it took a little while for all the oil rings to seat
and to just run it tight through the gears a few times and that might
help set them.
Okay, I did that Saturday, quite a bit, but it
never did stop the smoking. This morning, I took her out again
and was on my way to Navarre when she really started missing on me.
I managed to limp home in time to catch the race from Watkin's Glen,
and then went out to check my plugs. Unfortunately, I can't
access the two inner plugs without removing the tank, which means
removing the seat, removing the bags, etc. I know now that it's
the #2 cylindar with the problem! The other three looked great
(heck they only have 500 miles on them), but that one was really oil-fouled.
All put back together again, I took a nice sunset ride and she seems
good...if still a little smoky. I guess I'll keep working on
it. Ugh, dentist appoinment in the morning. Later!
8/23/04
Yes, I'm riding; yes, it's still
smoking; and yes, three fillings. Unfortunately, I can't ride
more than about 150 miles without that plug fouling, so we're gonna
bite the bullet. Friday, I ordered the overbore kit and when
Dink fnishes with it, my 750 is going to be an 825. The other
option would be to bump her all the way to 900, with re-sleeving,
except for a couple of little things: a new cam, new carburation and
an oil cooler. I've been looking for the oil cooler for quite
a while, anyway, and I just haven't found one to work on this block.
Oh well, the 750 has been plenty for me all these years, so 825 is
just a bonus.
My riding has all been short-range lately (I don't
really want to go any further than I can limp back on 3 cylindars)
but I've still managed to get damp a few times. Actually,
with this heat it's felt pretty good. Nothing else seem to be
happening except the wait...and another break-in<sob>.
If anything else comes up, I might actually write about it.
Later.
7/8/04
This is my fourth day
without riding, and I haven't gone nuts...yet! I AM getting
tired of sanding, though, from the look outside, I don't think I'm
doing much painting today. It's coming along, but I won't be
riding until next week, sometime. While you guys will be at
the Milton Sonic tomorrow evening, I'll be at Five Flags Speedway.
Take care and seeya...later.
8/30/04
..and
no, nothing has come up. I'm still waiting for the overbore
kit to come in...which should be this week. In the meantime,
I have been getting out and about, and seeing some of you in the process.
The weeknight bike nights seem to be kinda weak-nights, but I guess
that's just the heat of summer keeping folks in their air conditioning.
Although it wasn't a listed bike night, there was a bunch of folks
at D&R last Friday. Is that something I've been missing?
Saturday
was the Memorial Ride for JR, and there was a good turn out for that,
as well as the party at Pat's Pond that evening. I'd done a
pretty good job of dodging raindrops this past week, but my luck ran
out on Sunday, on the way over to the Dock for the Steel Pony
Party...such as it was. So much for prizes and specials.
Sorry folks, I just work with the info they give me.
Lessee,
coming up... Dragon's Party at Pat's Pond this weekend, blood drive
at Channel 3 on Mobile Highway on Saturday (you know that's one of
my pet projects) and a CMA service over in Foley on Sunday.
Should be enough to keep everyone riding somewhere this weekend...if
it doesn't rain to much. Be safe!
9/13/04
The kit is in...the same day
that Dink left for the Triumph plant in England. I was going
to tear the scoot down this week and take it in, but I think I'm going
to wait until after Hurricane Ivan has done his thing. There's
a good chance we'll be without power for some time, so I don't know
when this will get updated again. It was five days when Opal
came through. Thoughts and prayers are appreciated.
9/15/04
Dark
and only breezy so far...and I guess I'm as ready as I'm going to
be. I can still remember my first hurricane as a small
kid living in Brownsville...peering between the boards as the wind
slowly uprooted a tree in my front yard. It just kept leaning,
leaning from the force of the wind as the tangled roots emerged from
muck of our front yard. This was sometime in the 50's and
we didn't have air conditioning back then, so I don't really recall
the hardships afterward. Fifty-some odd years later, I'm tired,
and I'm apprehensive. Then, I was the protected one, with no
responsibility, but now, I'm the caretaker for my 85 year-old Mother
and, what's scarey is, she trusts me to keep her safe.
I stepped
outside again and the wind is rising, small limbs dropping on the
roof. I heard a report that the police caught someone trying
to loot a home near Perdido that had been evacuated yesterday.
It makes me wonder how safe my generator is, out on the carport.
I guess that's only one more thing for Smitty and I to watch out for.
Dammit...I wish this were over!
9/18/04
I
don't know when I'm going to finally be able to upload this since
there's no phone service...and probably won't be for quite a while.
Interestingly enough, I'm keying this by candle llight. I have
a generator and normally, one shouldn't connect a computer, but I
run a UPS, which is a line conditioner, so I'm safe from fluctuations
and surges.
Wednesday night was the most terrifying of my life.
We lost power about 6PM, so all we had were the flashlights and candle.
It was blowing and raining much too much to go crank up the generator
on the carport, so we were just hunkered down waiting it out.
I'm not sure what time I went to be but I think I managed to grab
little 15 and 20 minutes bits of sleep. I can't describe the
sound of the wind as it kept increasing and increasing. I live
in a solid brick house on a concrete slab, so I didn't have any creaking,
but the sound of stuff hitting the roof and windows never seemed to
stop!
I know I slept some because at 1:30AM, the feel of the
house shaking woke me up. I made my way to the carport, which
was on the lee side of the wind, and looked out into the maelstrom.
Half of a tree was lying a few feet from my bike barn, which is a
sheet-metal lean-to behind my laundry room. The force of the
wind and rain was such that I couldn't even stick my head around the
corner to check on the bike. Now, THAT'S some serious wind!
(Note: I'm only running the generator for about 45 minutes every
couple of hours to preserve the refrigerator since I don't know when
we'll get gasoline (or power, or telephone service, or electrical
service, OR potable water, et cetera, so I'm gonna close for now)
7/28/04
Okay, make that TWO weeks! I should
have her back this week...sometime. Everything is painted and
waxed, and ready to put back on. I've even found an oil dip
stick with thermometer from out of Canada. Now, if I can
just get myself functioning again...
I'm still a tad under the
weather from my procedure on Tuesday, at the VA Medical Center in
Biloxi. Sunday was bad enough, starting a clear liquid diet,
but Monday was really tough. The worst was this stuff I had
to drink...4 liters in 2 hours...and it tasted like crap! Kinda
appropriate, considering the consequences. I got through that
part okay, but I sure wasn't leaving the house Monday evening.
Tuesday
morning, Muff came by and drove me over to Biloxi. I've never
had a general anesthesia, so I was a bit trepidatious, but I never
even knew when I went under! As soon as the Doc said "okay",
a nurse was asking me how I felt. Duh... It was real funny
going home; I'd be in a conversation with Muff and it would be like
30 miles before I knew it. The trip home was a LOT shorter than
the one over.
Anyway, I've gotten plenty of sleep, but I still
don't have any energy. I sure hope it comes back by the time
the scoot is ready. Anyhow, y'all take care and.....ZZZZZzzzzzzzz.
9/19/04
Well, no ABATE
meeting today (I sppose(hmm, my yoooo doesn't seem to be working)),
bt I did get the bike ot this afternoon and ride arond the neighborhood.
The troble was all the trees down(dang, I need a new keyboard).
A National Gard engineer nit from Central Florida is ctting or area
ot so Gulf Power can get their trucks in(wow, a "u"). Anyhow,
I'm hot and sweaty but well-hydrated and MRE'ed. I know this
won't be up-loaded until I get power and comm lines, but I hope everyone
is doing okay...Later.
9/24/04
Lights....air conditioning....refrigeration!
Thank you, Georgia Power, thank you. Thanks, too, to the guy
at the Baptist church, for adjusting the clock on your bell system.
There's still a lot of trees lying on the sides of the roads but,
for the most part, the roads are passable. There are still
quite a few intersections with traffic lights still down, but
traffic seems to have calmed down a bit. I haven't noticed
any lines at gas stations today and I took Mom out grocery shopping
today. At last, a semblance of normalcy!
I'm planning (for
the moment, anyway) to try to go to the Nine Mile Sonic tonight and
see who shows up. Heck, I don't even know if they're open yet
(or still there, for that matter). Bike-wise, D&D had no
damage and actually may have power by the end of the day. I
stopped by Burke's Machine Shop(who would do the actual cylindar boring)
and they may be a little longer getting open, so I'll keep checking
before I drop the scoot off for the over-bore. I have a report
that Thunder Beach is alredy under way over in PC, but Pensacola Beach
is going to be closed for a long time for any activities. Okay,
I'm really rambling now, so that's it for now.
9/20/09
The telephone's back...but not the power...so
I have a small window of opportunity the get this up and out. MRE's
are pretty good, particularly the pork riblets...kinda like the old
McDonald's sandwich. Rode around the block(s) last evening before
dark. She started on the first crank and was I happy about that,
since it's been almost a week. Well, gonna shut it down for
now and get on-line...I hope!
9/21/04
Last
day of Summer...don't I wish! It's hot, real hot, and still
no electricity. I did manage to find some gas for the generator
without a 50-mile drive and a two hour wait. Just sheer luck
at my local conveniience store. He is running the pumps off
a Lincoln Electric welding machine. MRE's are still holding
up well, with enough variety to keep it interesting. There are
only 24 menues so the better damn well have power back on before I
start repeating.
Rode around and checked up on some of the folks.
Nothing too serious and only one submerged motorcycle, so this is
getting to be like bike wrecks: any one you can walk away from is
a good one. I changed the oil in the generator, since I just
happened to remember I hadn't changed it since Hurrican Opal....nine
years ago. Oops! Gonna keep this short so I can get it
uploaded. Keep the thoughts and prayers coming; we can still
use them. Adios.
9/22/04
Funny, the first day of Autumn feels just like the
last day of Summer. Still no power but full water pressure.
I took a shower and it smelled like a swimming pool, so I suppose
they're adequately chlorinating the stuff although we're still under the
boil order. Got a call from Sean that they now have power AND
cable, so I took Mom over there for the afternoon. She wants
to come back here to sleep in her own bed, though. Funny, I
feel the same way, even if it is sweaty until early morning.
Since
the power camo on over on Lillian Highway, the Baptist church's
bells have been ringing at 5AM, waking me up, instead of their scheduled
9AM. I finall walked over there after the THIRD time of being
awakened in the dark and found out the only guy who knows how to work
the system left town and isn't back yet. The nice guy I talked
to said he's really try to find someone to do something about it since
it's waking the relief workers staying at the church, too. Enough
for now so I can get on-line while the generator's still running.
9/26/04
I
guess it's finally the letdown to normalcy, but I'm incredibly exhausted!
Granted, there's still a lot of clean up of rather large pieces of
wood out in the yard but, for the most part, the "have-to" stuff is
done. My back is totally shot but I still have to strip the
bike before taking it to Dink on Tuesday. Now, if I just had
cable back.
By the way, I DID make it up to Nine Mile on Friday...but
I was it! Considering the traffic, I don't blame anyone for
not coming, even if they did have the time and energy. Ciao
for now.
9/30/04
Still tired, but making progress...
Dink got the scoot Tuesday morning and the lights are on at Burke's,
so it's just sit and wait time. I was re-doing the dings in
the tank today and realized...all over again...that I'm not a paint
and body man. My old Opal-era chain saw seems to have given
up the ghost so I spent the afternoon tracking down another electric
chain saw. I went to 2 WalMarts, 2 Lowe's, Home Depot, and finally
wound up finding a Craftsman at Sears. Best of all, they were
on sale, $20 off. Cool!
In my running around town, I saw
Cox cable trucks everywhere...except in my neighborhood. I'm
so tired of a fuzzy channel 3 and 23...and not much else. At
least the fair opens in 3 weeks. I need a real corn dog.