EMP Pulse Prep

 Today's ride your motorcycle to work day - I'm a little late on the notification. Probably should have posted this last week or yesterday at the minimum. Since I'm no longer punching a clock, it doesn't apply to me. However, I did get out on the Himalayan over the weekend. I didn't go far but it was a nice ride.

A snapshot of some of the hitch hardware. The most interesting things are the wires with the spiral wound on one end. You wind the wire on the bolt, insert the wire through the plate, the access hole in the frame and the hole for the bolt. Insert the plate through the access hole, then pull the wire snug and it pulls the plate and the bolt into position. When you lift the hitch into position, you insert the wire into the bolt hole and pull the bolt down. Put the nut on and there you go. Someone was thinking when they came up with those wires. 

I drew the layout for the new tongue on the Go-Go carrier Sunday and picked up the material yesterday. I ran some other errands and cut some grass, so that was as far as I got on that project. 

I'm going to the college today to get a copy of my transcript, even though I'll probably never need it and then going to buy a new toilet. Cut some grass after that. I do lead an exciting life.

I went to the ham radio club meeting last evening. They put on a presentation about a dark sky event. This could be caused by a variety of things - natural or man-made disaster, or an EMP. I think I'm fairly well prepared for most events except an EMP which is capable of knocking out all electronics. I bought a small Faraday bag a couple of years ago for my little transistor radio, but I need to look into EMP preparedness a bit deeper. I imagine my whole house generator will be disabled, so my portable welder will be pressed into service. I keep the battery charged up on that, but I should run it every couple of months or mothball it. I should make sure one of my old motorcycles would be operational as well - something with just points and condenser ignition rather than electronic. Regardless of what happens in the future, I'll probably be better prepared the average guy, but I think I can do a little better without much effort.

One Down, Two More to Go

 

Presented without comment.

I got the hitch installed on the Missus' car with a little help from Surly. I had everything ready to go when he got here, so all I needed was a pair of hands to hold one side of the hitch up while I did the other side, install the nuts and Bob's your uncle. His side had a 12 mm bolt that went into a nut welded inside the frame rail. The threads were rusted but fortunately I have the proper tap and was able to chase the threads so the bolt would spin in with his fingers.

We put the carrier into the hitch and I'm going to have to modify the tongue to raise the carrier up a couple inches. I'm going to measure what I need today and get started on the project Monday.

I went to the boxing gym Friday evening and Jimmy gave me some work to do. I need to make some clips that go on the poles for his dog sled to keep the harness from slipping. Not a big job, just one more thing on the list.

So, I've got a couple of shop jobs and I've still got plenty of yard work to do. The weather should co-operate this coming week. Hopefully the smoke from the Canadian wildfires will subside along with the fluff from the cotton wood trees. I swept the garage floor before starting on the hitch job, but I need to do it again to get rid of the cotton wood fluff that blew in while the door was open.

Hitch in My Fuel Supply

 

Yesterday was Marvin Heemeyer Day. Remember, Hell has no fury like a welder scorned. Photo from here.

The trailer hitch for the Missus' car showed up yesterday. I'm going to see if I can get it installed over the weekend. I'll need a second pair of hands to hoist it up over the muffler and get the nuts started on the bolts coming down through the frame rails. Installation schedule will be determined by my help.

It rained most of the day yesterday, so I piddled around the shack doing some chores.

One of the things I did was order the fuel manage system from Hitchcock for my Royal Enfield. I ordered the Fuel X Lite rather than the Fuel X Pro. The Pro model has a dozen different maps you can choose from, which is about 11 more than I think I'll need. If I change the air induction or exhaust system, the Lite version should be able to adjust for that in addition to making it run better, especially when the engine is cold. 

I'll be back in the shop today. I've got some clean-up work to do and need to get some more work done on the fork legs for the trials bike so I can get the front end back under it. I've got a couple more bikes waiting in the wings. Need to stay busy.

Hat Trick

 

Three of my favorite things - Guzzi cafe, sidecar racer, and flat track racers, with two of the greatest of all time in the saddle, Mark Brelsford and Cal Rayborn, no less. It's been quite a while since I've been to a motorcycle race of any type. I think the last roadrace was the Moto GP at Indy and that's been a while ago. There was also a flat track event at the fairgrounds as part of the racing weekend. I had a chance to see Kenny Roberts that night on a replica TZ 750 powered Yamaha that he made history with back in the day. I also had a chance to see him at Daytona way back when on the road race course. All three photos from here. 

Nothing much to report on the project front. I've been doing a bunch of outside work - cutting brush, planting flowers, getting grass going, and trying not to screw up my chest. There's some rain in the forecast, so I'll be back in the shop as well as taking care of some stuff in the shack.  

Mailbox

 I steer clear of any religious topics on the blog, but Ole Johnny Cash might be onto something here. The way things are going not only in our country, but worldwide, The Man might be coming around before long.

I pulled the garbage can carrier out of the hitch on the truck the other day so I could load up the Go-Go carrier. As long as I had it out of the hitch, I decided to give it a fresh coat of paint, oil the mechanism and grease up the tube and pin so it'll come out of the hitch easily. I've been called upon to help get ball mounts out of receiver hitches that have rusted in. Removing them once in a while and giving them a coating of grease can eliminate a problem when you need to remove it.

The appliance dolly fix is going as planned - maybe even a little better. I was just finishing up the first side when the Missus summoned me. 

I'm not sure what prompted it, but she wanted me to go get the mailbox that was in front of her grandparents' house. The house suffered from neglect after her grandparents passed away to the point it was finally condemned. We went to take a look at it after the previous owner moved thinking we might buy the place and move there. Small house, but there's just the two of us. Not a huge lot, but out in the country and there was a nice place to build a shop in back. Unfortunately, we were too late and it was scheduled for demolition.  

To make a long story longer, the house had a partial basement under it that Grandpa dug by hand. When the Missus and I started dating she was living with her grandparents. Grandpa and I hit it off right away. The old man was born in 1896 and the Missus to be and I started dating in 1967, so he was up in the years by then and had emphysema. He couldn't do much of anything physical, so I cut his grass for him and afterwards we'd sit and he'd tell me stories about what used to be. He was a tough old bird in his younger days - you'd have to be to dig your own basement by hand after the house was already built.

Anyway, back to the mailbox. The Missus got a hold of the current owner who told her to come get the mailbox. She told me I need a saw and a shovel, but having pulled a few posts in my time, I loaded up a "C" clamp, a long bar and some blocking as well. The box was leaning back at about a 30-degree angle and didn't seem like it would take much to get it out of the ground. I wiggled it around a bit but it didn't give any when I tried to pull it out, so I put the "C' clamp on the post, used the blocking as a fulcrum and put some weight on the 4' pinch bar and it started moving. I had to change my blocking a couple of times, but it came out with little difficulty. 

I put my girdle on before going to work to protect my chest and I already had a sore muscle on my side from working on the Go-Go carrier and using the lop shears the other day, but at my age I could have hurt myself sleeping. Regardless, pretty sore when I got done going two out of three falls with the mailbox.

I'm going to a boxing match today. One of the guys Coach Jen and I have been working with has a bout. Let's hope all the coaching pays off. 

Goin' to a Go-Go

 

Theme music!

I assembled the carrier for the Go-Go mobility scooter yesterday - pretty straight forward. It looks like I'll have to modify the tongue to get the carrier up in the air a bit more but nothing I can't handle. I'll see what it looks like once the hitch is installed on the car.

I bought an appliance dolly from Harbor Freight a few years back. After using it only a few times, the belts on the stair risers broke and it seems they don't sell replacement belts. I had some strips left over from making the skis on the sled for Coach Jen's gym that just happened to be the right width to fit, so the wheels started turning and I wondered if I could get them bent to fit the radius on the metal piece where the belt used to go.

I cut a piece to go halfway around, clamped it in the vise, put the heat gun to it, pulled it around the radius, and then clamped it in place until it cooled down. As you can see from the left side of the photo, it retained the proper shape after cooling, so I bent the other end as well. I'll do the same for the other side of the dolly then drill and countersink some holes and screw the nylon pieces down to keep them in place. If it all goes as planned, I'll look like a genius with this one. If not, nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the old saying goes.

Memorial Day

 

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The grandson came down yesterday to give me hand with getting some grass growing where the trees used to be. He's currently working for a landscaping outfit and has some skills. It's up to me now to keep the areas watered. I've got plenty of other yard work in addition to trying to get some grass growing. Mother Nature abhors a vacuum.

The strawberries I planted last year are doing well. I should get a few berries, unless the birds and rabbits get them first. Lots of gooseberries on the plants as well.

The Missus bought a mobility scooter, which means a trailer hitch and a cargo carrier. The cargo carrier came the other day. I opened up the box yesterday to get the instruction book out. Doesn't look too complicated. I'll see later today when I assemble it.

I was going to have a trailer outfit put the trailer hitch on the car but after looking into it, I can buy the hitch and install it myself. I watched a video on the installation, and it looks pretty straight forward. I'll need another pair of hands to lift the hitch into position after getting the bolts in place in the frame rails, but I can have Surly or the grandson give me a hand. Should be a considerable savings for a couple hours of work. I'm going to order the hitch this week.