Moving along

 Hello everyone,

Pretty much the same as last week. I’ve ordered a bunch of parts for the bike, even got one very cool piece for the sidecar. This is the spare tire wheel lock.

It was a little expensive but about 1/2 the price I’ve seen them sell for in the last couple of years. I also signed up for a local auction and hope to pick up some parts there also.

I’ve got everything ready now to start cutting wood.

That job will start tomorrow. Outside work is always good here!

Still waiting for the tile for the kitchen catastrophe. I’ll start on that when the wood cutting is done.

No concerts for a while, but have several weddings to attend in the next couple of weeks.

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI

Just the usual, until this weekend

 Hello everyone,

The past couple of weeks have been slow progress on the bike and just mowing and weed whacking etc.. 

BUT, this past weekend was a big switcheroo! Started out on Thursday, took the grandson out for his birthday to a go cart/ game place and had an absolute blast!! Everyone but his mom came,( she had school meetings unfortunately), and our youngest son( who lives in Tennessee).  We played laser tag, raced go carts, ate pizza and just had a blast!!

Got up the next morning and drove to Cincinnati, and saw Billy Joel Friday night!

It was a great show! We’ve seen him several times now and it is always really good!

So we messed around Saturday and ended up spending the night at a winery. Pretty nice place out in the country, got up early on Sunday and drove to a park just down the street and spent a few hours there. Went for a walk, had an extra cup or two of coffee and then drove to Dayton Ohio.

We drove to Dayton to see the 2021 Motorcycle Cannonball Race. If you’ve never heard about it, look it up! These are all pre 1930 motorcycles, that they drive about 250 miles a day for roughly 14 days! These people who are the riders, are all tougher than boiled owl, as my brother would say. There were 88 drivers that started on Friday in Michigan and on Sunday the were still 84 running bikes. There were 9 women also racing! The oldest bike was a 1909 Harley, and the oldest rider was 84!! I’m telling you that still, sitting here this morning writing this, I am absolutely amazed that these people on these bikes do this every couple of years! These bikes are worth a fortune, and most of the time you only see them in museums, and yet, here they are out racing for 3600 miles!

After spending the afternoon and evening with these people and listening to all the stories and joy, I’m quite inspired to finish mine, and get some joy and have some stories to tell as well.

We’ll, I think that’s all for now, today is travel home day. I’ve got my parts list made up for the bike and should have everything ordered by the weekend for the next few steps in the process. Wood cutting starts this week as well. Still waiting for the tile to come so that project is still in the offing.

Talk to you soon,

TVI

Had a minor catastrophe

 Hello everyone, 

Progress has been slow on the bike for the past couple of weeks. Managed to get a few pieces in place but that’s about all. 

Went out to Shipchewanna for a few days, ran up into Michigan and went to the Gilmore Auto Museum, which was pretty cool. Came home and had some things to take care of and then….

Catastrophe struck!! The little plastic water line for our ice cube maker in the fridge broke, luckily I was still awake when it happened but, I was outside and I’m not sure how long the water was spraying!! I got it shutoff but it ruined our floor in the kitchen and part of the dining room. We had 10” wide southern yellow pine plank floors and this buckle was not the worst of them!

I waited about a week with fans and a dehumidifier running before I ended up having to pull it all up. 

At least I won’t have to pull up the underlayment. I guess we’re going to go with some kind of tile, and at the same time we’re going to do the mud room, laundry room and the powder room.

So, with wood cutting and this project it looks like the bike will get shoved back for a month or so.

That’s ok, I’m going to order some parts while I’m waiting, so when I get back to it they should be here waiting.

Went to a couple of concerts this past week. Saw Daryl Hall and John Oats last Thursday and last night saw The Doobie Brothers! Both were really fun concerts! 

As far as this week goes, kind of the same old same old. Mowing, weed whacking, weed pulling stuff. Might do a little on the bike, if I can squeeze it in.

We’ll, I guess that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI

Kind of a slow week

 Hello everyone,

I fought a summer cold for about 10 days, and finally got over it in the last couple of days. 

So, that being said, I didn’t get a lot accomplished this past week. I did get the pickup truck fixed and back running again. That took awhile but it’s done.

I also got a few parts ordered for the bike. The linkage for the sidecar brake to the bike is here, I need to make the holes slightly bigger and I got the bike brake return spring and it’s installed. I’ve got some parts ordered to mount the headlight and, when they come in I discovered that I have a piece of the front fork assembly on in reverse. So, when I get those parts in I have to take the front end apart anyway to install the slider covers. Then, when I reassemble it all the pieces should be on there and not have to come off, plus I can get the front brake cable installed and make sure it’s long enough. I stuck some 4” risers on the bike and it feels more comfortable at that handlebar height.

I’ve been doing the mowing/ weed whacking thing. That is an almost full time job here!!

We’ll, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI

Well, I got a little excited

 Hello everyone,

So, for the first time in a very long time I have a summer cold. Seems weird but, still have it. 

At the moment I still don’t have the parts for the pickup and I was going to sand blast the side car frame before I put it on the bike. We’ll, I couldn’t wait to do it so….

I stuck it on there so I could get a feel of what it is I’m actually building. I’ve only driven one sidecar in my life and that was around the block many years ago.

I like it so far. That said, I had sandblasted and painted most of the parts to mount the body on and so…

Now the body isn’t bolted down yet, I think I mounted the rear holder upside down. I need to swap it around and see if it levels the hack out some. I still have to put on the new tire, it’s shorter by about an 1 1/2”. I just have it hooked on there, no settings or anything, but I’m really starting to get a feel for what I’m creating here and I really like it!

I’m thinking that, I’m a little ahead of schedule, but there is still a mountain of things to do.

Today I’m house sitting at my oldest son’s house. He had a new pool installed and I’m here to let the electrician in to finish up the install for the pump.

Hopefully in the next few days I can do a few things on the bike. The parts for the truck should be here on Wednesday or Thursday. I need it put back together because I’m still trying to sell it.

We’ll, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon, 

TVI

Baby steps

 Hello everyone,

After getting the roller together, I took the solenoid valve out of the pickup. It’s a little different setup than what I saw, so the parts are a little more expensive than I had hoped, but, oh well, has to be fixed.

The top pic is the whole valve body and the bottom pic is the problem. The whole solenoid package has to be changed because the selector switch is part of that assembly. Plus, the cam plate looks kind of suspect.

Besides that I’ve been hanging a few parts on the Harley and blasting and painting some of the pieces for the side car frame. The whole frame needs to be sandblasted and I need to have the pickup closed back up before I do that. Parts should be here next week and hopefully blast the frame after that.

The next pic shows the difference between the 3 1/2 gallon tanks and the 5 gallon tanks. I think the bigger tanks fit this particular bike better. If I can get the smaller ones widened how I want them, the only thing it will change is the length of the fuel line between the tanks.

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI

ROLLER! Two wheeled at least!

 Hello everyone, 

Yep, did it! First time this iteration of this bike has been assembled this far in 40 plus years.

I don’t think I’m going to use this particular front fender, and this view also shows the 3 1/2 gallon tank. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have those tanks widened. When you sit on the bike the bigger tank feels better.

Next up will be cleaning and attaching the sidecar fray.

But first, my pickup truck needs attention. Before we went to see my youngest son, I went out to start it and it wouldn’t crank. Checked out things and discovered it doesn’t know it’s in park. Apparently the selector switch in the transmission is a common problem with these trucks. So today, I have to drop the oil and the pan and see if I can change the switch with or without dropping the valve body. I’ll get it apart today and then order the parts.

Getting the bike this far has got me really excited, so hopefully I can keep pushing on. My plan is to have the bike a three wheeled roller by Labor Day. After that it’ll be wood cutting time. Not working should make it easier, I’ll be able to do that task during the week and not just on weekends as in previous years. Once the wood is done I should be able to start finishing up all the fitting up of all the parts and then start on the engine.

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon, 

TVI