I woke up this morning feeling rugged and tired. I popped a sleeping pill (doctor prescribed) the night before to help me dream away the problems I'm having. My life has become completely unmanageable and I'm trying to fight it. Being organized has always been trouble for me and lastly it has become worse than usual. Crawling out from the back seat of my Mercury sable, which has become my "home away from home." The Mercury is not running properly and I have borrowed a car to help pay the bills, bills that are continually mounting. On this morning the sun finally shone it self. Lately it had been hiding behind dark pillows of clouds for several weeks and counting. When it has shone, there has been a constant threat of thundering rain. My eyes are sensitive to light and today there was a need for shades. My choice of color...rose. Pulling up to my favorite fuel pit, to pick up a fix of java. For some odd reason I feeling came over me that a new life is coming. I do not have a dime in my pockets and was given a free pass with the clerk due to frequency of visits. This ensured my return as a loyal customer. Entering the bathroom, I splashed cool water on my face to help wake up. While washing the stench of stale cigs on my hands sickens me.
Downing the coffee, I rolled into the parking lot of the local delivery of bad news, USPS. Today I have a feeling of good news for the sun has been shinning for several days and the continual rain appears to have ceased. A single letter was in my mailbox, Carroll County Court is on the return address. Sliding my finger through the flap to reveal its contents. I have just received court ordered therapy. Evaluations are not immiscible in court but these types of orders help the local economy (mental heath industry is thriving up here). No Dale Bozzio you are not alone. Reversing direction mentally, I dialed the owner of the car that is on loan to me; on a cell phone that contains way too many drop down menu's and is driving me nuts. Foreign governments can make use of these phones as torturering devises. The language used in the operating system is completely foreign to me and many others I'm sure. Having visions of eggheads sitting in cubical pounding away on computer keyboards thinking the rest of the world is in tune with their train of thought. Many of the words used in the menus I needed to look up in the dictionary to decipher the meaning. Us common folk have no idea what they are referring to (an example of this would be when resizing a picture they use the word attributes, most of us use the wording-resize-). Jen answers the phone on the copper line; they have both copper and wireless phone connections. She is the aunt to my son. Lovely women with kind words to say to most but not all (she has the potential of a viper). She has past the point of no return, the age of fifty, always tending to the yard and managing her husbands business. With out her he would tumble into an unorganized world of chaos. A yard colored with purples, reds
and yellows along the walkway to their home, greeting prospecting clients. Briefly mentioning the latest round of court orders, I asked if she is a preferred provider to Blue Cross/ Blue Shield (alternative methods of therapy are accepted in Supreme Court). She replied "no but I do accept Master Card or Visa." "Very good, charge it."
The car on loan is a 1985 Chevrolet Corvette, a very soothing Zen. Color: black on gray and is a favorite combination of mine. The Chevrolet Corvette is capable of "pulling off" any color of the rainbow (including yellow) and has this appearance that a good day is coming. Seat position is low to the ground and well-worn condition, a sign of many productive therapy sessions. Dropping my right hand over the gear selector, depressing the safety switch with my palm and dropping it into Drive. I theorize that the safety switch is built into the gear selector to thwart any children seeking therapy. Cases of children (inspiring to become mechanical engineers) are rumored to have jumped into Vettes with sticks. One child depressing the safety switch with the sticks while the other slamming the selector downward until forward motion is achieved. The Corvette is equipped with the classic, proven 350 cubic inch tuned for performance. Capable of tremendous forward thrust in short order.
The Corvette learches forward, slightly downward and to the right as the gears of the transmission mesh together indicating she is ready to begin a productive day of therapy. My first stop in my preplanned travels is the Carroll County House of Correction. My future ex-wife called me asking to sign her out of trouble. When arriving at the "house of pain," in hopes of hearing about a benign situation gone haywire with the help of an antagonizing mouth, I asked the constable "what happened now." He informed me that he is not obligated to say but that she will remain in protective custody until further notice. Hearing these words I mumbled "its over." Turning on my heals and exiting the house of pain it dawned on me that my marriage was officially over. I'm ready for a new life.
Creative Commons Copyright by
Dess Dermondy
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Kick Start Morning
While darkness still exists and no movement around the home is heard, its time to move and move quickly. To awake anyone at this time in the morning would ruin my selfish thoughts. The bike awaits outside in the still morning air and has not been started for six days now. Slowly becoming a memory of a summer gone by. Work has been relentlessly calling, weekends have become part of the working week, enough is enough. Today is the break out day. A pocket full of hundreds is all that's needed. You can keep your GPS systems for they only get in the way of the mission, getting lost on my bike. No need to leave letters of intent, they will only be lies. Personally Am a bad lier so why bother. Slowly and softly oping the door to exit my home. The familiar squeak from the door hinge sounds a quite alarm. This hinge will need oiling in the near future. Shutting the door it clicks into locked position. Today there is no need to check for my keys because I do not plan to return anytime today or the following. I worry about that later, the mission is at hand. A simple note explaining what I am up to is all I left. Pulling back the cover that keeps the rain from decaying chrome, what little chrome I have.
Personally I do not like chrome, it only starts to rust and decay as soon as you install it. Preferring instead polished aluminum. The reasoning is that aluminum you can re shine at a latter date. Chrome, unless it is the expensive variety (triple chrome) is not worth it. To pay for triple chrome you can expect to pay a premium. There is a fellow on the "West Coast" who charges more than a premium and gets away with it. Triple chrome is very expensive and hard to come by with the stringent EPA regulations, so why bother with it. Nobody will say directly that chrome doesn't look good. It does look good but trying to maintain it on a road bike is near impossible. Bikes that are carried in covered trailers have a better chance of maintaining polished chrome. Never mind that argument," wheres the throttle."
Leaning the bike to the left with the handle bars kicked to the left, grabbing the throttle with the right hand, several preliminary twists to prime the cylinders. two quick twists is all she needs. Kicking the motor over several times with the ignition in the off position. Bring the front cylinder to or near top dead center. This will be indicated by the kicker being harder to push through its cycle. once top dead center is established, one more twist of the throttle. Flick the ignition on. Stand straight up on the kick starter and with full force drop down on the kicker. In the morning (first start), the motor will on occasion give just a cough. Re prime and kick through again, she will fire with ignition properly timed, it has no choice.
Ending the last sentience with "will start" is an intriguing phrase. Most "junk boxes' wont start. A pan head or other similar older motors need to be rebuilt properly first, key word is, properly. Areas that are neglected on the motor will affect ignition timing, namely the timing gears. There are a series of gears and bushings located in the timing cover that are commonly over looked and they affect timing, it is called "accumulative error." With compression, (good) fuel and the ignition times properly the motor has no choice but to fire if it does not then there is some position of this that is "off." Notice that I cover my ass with the use of the word "properly."Another area of concern is the distributor. There is potential for gear lash in the shaft. When considering rebuilding an older motor there is real potential for cost to rise vertically in short order. A new top end is not a motor rebuild. Owning older bikes is not for everyone unless mechanically inclined or have a bank account flush with funds. Mechanically inclined is enough as long as you are willing to talk to folks that know and are willing to listen. over the years I have asked many questions to Ace mechanics who usually are willing to answer your questions and then elaborate on other areas of concern. Keep picking at there brain if you are able to catch them when hey are willing to give information (timing is everything on this one). Next thing you know several hours have pasted and your walking away with valuable information to apply to your bike. Most shop manuals do not tell how to rebuild a motor and the many areas of concern. these manuals assume you are a trained mechanic.
Where was I. Maintain idle while the motor warms to operating temperature. Off I go to get lost on my bike.
Creative Commons copyright by
Dess Dermondy
Personally I do not like chrome, it only starts to rust and decay as soon as you install it. Preferring instead polished aluminum. The reasoning is that aluminum you can re shine at a latter date. Chrome, unless it is the expensive variety (triple chrome) is not worth it. To pay for triple chrome you can expect to pay a premium. There is a fellow on the "West Coast" who charges more than a premium and gets away with it. Triple chrome is very expensive and hard to come by with the stringent EPA regulations, so why bother with it. Nobody will say directly that chrome doesn't look good. It does look good but trying to maintain it on a road bike is near impossible. Bikes that are carried in covered trailers have a better chance of maintaining polished chrome. Never mind that argument," wheres the throttle."
Leaning the bike to the left with the handle bars kicked to the left, grabbing the throttle with the right hand, several preliminary twists to prime the cylinders. two quick twists is all she needs. Kicking the motor over several times with the ignition in the off position. Bring the front cylinder to or near top dead center. This will be indicated by the kicker being harder to push through its cycle. once top dead center is established, one more twist of the throttle. Flick the ignition on. Stand straight up on the kick starter and with full force drop down on the kicker. In the morning (first start), the motor will on occasion give just a cough. Re prime and kick through again, she will fire with ignition properly timed, it has no choice.
Ending the last sentience with "will start" is an intriguing phrase. Most "junk boxes' wont start. A pan head or other similar older motors need to be rebuilt properly first, key word is, properly. Areas that are neglected on the motor will affect ignition timing, namely the timing gears. There are a series of gears and bushings located in the timing cover that are commonly over looked and they affect timing, it is called "accumulative error." With compression, (good) fuel and the ignition times properly the motor has no choice but to fire if it does not then there is some position of this that is "off." Notice that I cover my ass with the use of the word "properly."Another area of concern is the distributor. There is potential for gear lash in the shaft. When considering rebuilding an older motor there is real potential for cost to rise vertically in short order. A new top end is not a motor rebuild. Owning older bikes is not for everyone unless mechanically inclined or have a bank account flush with funds. Mechanically inclined is enough as long as you are willing to talk to folks that know and are willing to listen. over the years I have asked many questions to Ace mechanics who usually are willing to answer your questions and then elaborate on other areas of concern. Keep picking at there brain if you are able to catch them when hey are willing to give information (timing is everything on this one). Next thing you know several hours have pasted and your walking away with valuable information to apply to your bike. Most shop manuals do not tell how to rebuild a motor and the many areas of concern. these manuals assume you are a trained mechanic.
Where was I. Maintain idle while the motor warms to operating temperature. Off I go to get lost on my bike.
Creative Commons copyright by
Dess Dermondy
Friday, August 5, 2011
Dess Dermondy: Dess Dermondy: What Steven Tyler, I and others are...
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Fouling Sport On a rec...
On a recent Sunday afternoon the cell phone started buzzing on my soon to be shut off phone. Clicking the flap open and stating “ya,” it is Walter, Walter is my soon be to be ex-brother in-law. The call had an air of confusion, I started to sit straight up in my seat as if this was going to help me tune into the conversation better. “Looking for puppies…Sportster,” is what came over the wireless airwaves. Up here in the Mt Washington Valley, the signal of a cell bounces off mountains and hills to make conversation, out of norm, difficult to understand. Sitting straight up in my seat I yelled back “calm down man, what’s the deal.” “I just bought a 1970 Sportster” he replied. I pulled over in a shallow ditch on the side of the road that had better reception and slammed the gear selector in park. The conversation jolted me with surprise. Walter, not having much experience in riding road bikes not to mention a 900cc vibrating Sportster equipped with a spark plug eliminator Super B carburetor built by S&S some 30 years earlier, had just called to inform me of this purchase.
Walter managed to follow in the tracks that I made earlier in the day. During an earlier recent tour of the Ossipee Valley with nothing better to do than drive around dreaming of a trophy wife and what would I do if cash were plentiful? I came across the same Sportster. The bike was apparently involved in a panic sale. Priced at half true value. Stopping twice to have a good look at her. First time was to get a better look at the price that was spray painted on a piece of wood, fuzzy at best. Positioning my glasses in front of my eyeballs, I realized it was not a fuzzy blurred mistake, but a short sale. Second time was just to have another look. It was an affordable rig for most folks but my bank account, being negative, stated that there is not enough cash on hand to purchase this machine myself at this time. I talked briefly with the seller to check and make sure it wasn’t a clerical error with regard to the price. The price was correct and I chock it off as another missed deal. These types of deals you need cash in hand to make immediate purchase. I had none. Walter has plenty, he came across the bike and negotiated a deal that required him to drive to the bank and hand the cash over, in which the sell agreed. Not quite sure what he had just purchased; he commissioned me to have a better look. Jumper cables were dragged out from the back shed; we had drained the battery trying to start the bike. Fortunately it does have an electric start other wise the three of us would have been wiped out trying to pump it to life. When she fired, that familiar sound of a deep thump rang out that only a Harley Davidson Motorcycle is capable making. Harley once tried to patent the sound but was denied by the USCO. That deep thump indicated that compression was at a norm. Super B carburetors were fine back in the day but currently are completely out dated. Some folks refer to this model carburetor as a toilet bowl, referring to its fuel flushing capabilities. This particular specimen was in dire need of a rebuild, if short on cash. Most, these days are tossed into the nearest trashcan and forgotten about.
After a thorough look over I informed Walter that it appeared all the bike needed was an updated carburetor. It sounded fantastic as far as probability of running well with minimal time spent on mechanics. We started off to his home and I wound the throttle to Full Wide Open. The bike fell apart. At three quarters and WFO the bike lost forward momentum. There was also a bit of clanking coming from the front cylinder. The prayer is push rod trouble and not connecting rod nightmares. Rounding the final curve in route to Willies house the bike shut down. “We almost made it,” I yelled to Wally who was driving in his work van. At first it seemed as though it was electrical trouble due to the abrupt shut down of the motor. Most, but not all, mechanical failures will give warning. We were able to restart the bike but only had one lung functional (gas fouled plug). The carburetor was flushing fuel into the cylinders without throttling. It made it to Wallies shed on one lung with plenty of time in the day to make pocket money.
Looking the over carefully the classic lines that designers incorporated into the early Sportsters became evident. Some of those classic lines are making a come back. Visit your local Harley dealer and take a close look at the Sportster line-up. The cast-in the cam cover-housing name of Sportster is straight from the original Sportsters’. Some folks might be upset with Harley in rehashing the early look of the Sportster but it is working. A glance at the stock price is evidence. The Harley Davidson Sportsters’ are attractive like never before. The all black model is one that is particularly attractive to me.
Walter and I headed for the local dealer several days later to purchase a new carburetor. The fellow tending the counter announced the price, which is a bit pricey for my neighborhood. Hoping to save him money I began negotiations. My intent was to buy the carburetor minus the backing plate and air cleaner. Reusing the existing one. Completely complicating the negotiation with a confusing explanation of what I was trying to do, the clerk handed me the parts catalog. Not being in tuned with these parts manuals, I informed the clerk that I had forgotten my reading glasses and was becoming dizzy looking at the manual. He gave me an odd look and turned to Walter for some sanity. He told Walter he was willing to shave a $100 off the price for the complete kit in an apparent attempt to rid of me. Hearing this, I nodded to Walter in agreement with the clerk and wandered off to have a look at the XR1200.
The carburetor took a mare three days to arrive. Installation was immediate. The clanking of steel on steel turned out to be a simple adjustment to the front cylinder exhaust pushrod. After installing the carb and tighten of bolts a test ride was now at hand. Pulling out of the driveway and heading west the Sportster was ready for action. Rolling the throttle to increase RPM and forward motion, that familiar rhythmic sound that only a Harley could produce, came to life. Running up through the gears until fourth gear was reached. The only bad deal to the early Sportsters’ is that the transmission needed one more gear, fifth. The bike had minimal issues.
What started out as a test drive turned into an all day adventure. After several hours of roaming around I could feel the heat from the motor on my inner thigh. It was rumored that the top-end of the motor had been rebuilt. With fresh steel parts installed the motor needed to run cool. Deciding to pull over at a relaxing spot and take a look at the bike for any missing parts that might have vibrated off. The smell of an air-cooled motor running at 250 degrees is distinctive. The smell of heated gas and oil encased in aluminum awakens most motorcycle enthusiasts. Looking the bike over, while relaxing on a laid down tree taken out by a recent Tornado, I noticed the heat waves rising above the motor. The heat waves distorted the scenery behind the bike. This is a good indicator that the temperature of the motor was well past 250-degree mark. Waiting for the motor to cool down took some time. When the heat waves were not evident any more I brushed my hand over the valve cover to check the temperature. At 120 degrees I find that you can hold your hand on aluminum or steel for that mater, for several seconds or longer depending on your tolerance for heat. It was time to remount. My desire to ride again has come back to life.
Creative Commons copyright by
Dess Dermondy
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Walter managed to follow in the tracks that I made earlier in the day. During an earlier recent tour of the Ossipee Valley with nothing better to do than drive around dreaming of a trophy wife and what would I do if cash were plentiful? I came across the same Sportster. The bike was apparently involved in a panic sale. Priced at half true value. Stopping twice to have a good look at her. First time was to get a better look at the price that was spray painted on a piece of wood, fuzzy at best. Positioning my glasses in front of my eyeballs, I realized it was not a fuzzy blurred mistake, but a short sale. Second time was just to have another look. It was an affordable rig for most folks but my bank account, being negative, stated that there is not enough cash on hand to purchase this machine myself at this time. I talked briefly with the seller to check and make sure it wasn’t a clerical error with regard to the price. The price was correct and I chock it off as another missed deal. These types of deals you need cash in hand to make immediate purchase. I had none. Walter has plenty, he came across the bike and negotiated a deal that required him to drive to the bank and hand the cash over, in which the sell agreed. Not quite sure what he had just purchased; he commissioned me to have a better look. Jumper cables were dragged out from the back shed; we had drained the battery trying to start the bike. Fortunately it does have an electric start other wise the three of us would have been wiped out trying to pump it to life. When she fired, that familiar sound of a deep thump rang out that only a Harley Davidson Motorcycle is capable making. Harley once tried to patent the sound but was denied by the USCO. That deep thump indicated that compression was at a norm. Super B carburetors were fine back in the day but currently are completely out dated. Some folks refer to this model carburetor as a toilet bowl, referring to its fuel flushing capabilities. This particular specimen was in dire need of a rebuild, if short on cash. Most, these days are tossed into the nearest trashcan and forgotten about.
After a thorough look over I informed Walter that it appeared all the bike needed was an updated carburetor. It sounded fantastic as far as probability of running well with minimal time spent on mechanics. We started off to his home and I wound the throttle to Full Wide Open. The bike fell apart. At three quarters and WFO the bike lost forward momentum. There was also a bit of clanking coming from the front cylinder. The prayer is push rod trouble and not connecting rod nightmares. Rounding the final curve in route to Willies house the bike shut down. “We almost made it,” I yelled to Wally who was driving in his work van. At first it seemed as though it was electrical trouble due to the abrupt shut down of the motor. Most, but not all, mechanical failures will give warning. We were able to restart the bike but only had one lung functional (gas fouled plug). The carburetor was flushing fuel into the cylinders without throttling. It made it to Wallies shed on one lung with plenty of time in the day to make pocket money.
Looking the over carefully the classic lines that designers incorporated into the early Sportsters became evident. Some of those classic lines are making a come back. Visit your local Harley dealer and take a close look at the Sportster line-up. The cast-in the cam cover-housing name of Sportster is straight from the original Sportsters’. Some folks might be upset with Harley in rehashing the early look of the Sportster but it is working. A glance at the stock price is evidence. The Harley Davidson Sportsters’ are attractive like never before. The all black model is one that is particularly attractive to me.
Walter and I headed for the local dealer several days later to purchase a new carburetor. The fellow tending the counter announced the price, which is a bit pricey for my neighborhood. Hoping to save him money I began negotiations. My intent was to buy the carburetor minus the backing plate and air cleaner. Reusing the existing one. Completely complicating the negotiation with a confusing explanation of what I was trying to do, the clerk handed me the parts catalog. Not being in tuned with these parts manuals, I informed the clerk that I had forgotten my reading glasses and was becoming dizzy looking at the manual. He gave me an odd look and turned to Walter for some sanity. He told Walter he was willing to shave a $100 off the price for the complete kit in an apparent attempt to rid of me. Hearing this, I nodded to Walter in agreement with the clerk and wandered off to have a look at the XR1200.
The carburetor took a mare three days to arrive. Installation was immediate. The clanking of steel on steel turned out to be a simple adjustment to the front cylinder exhaust pushrod. After installing the carb and tighten of bolts a test ride was now at hand. Pulling out of the driveway and heading west the Sportster was ready for action. Rolling the throttle to increase RPM and forward motion, that familiar rhythmic sound that only a Harley could produce, came to life. Running up through the gears until fourth gear was reached. The only bad deal to the early Sportsters’ is that the transmission needed one more gear, fifth. The bike had minimal issues.
What started out as a test drive turned into an all day adventure. After several hours of roaming around I could feel the heat from the motor on my inner thigh. It was rumored that the top-end of the motor had been rebuilt. With fresh steel parts installed the motor needed to run cool. Deciding to pull over at a relaxing spot and take a look at the bike for any missing parts that might have vibrated off. The smell of an air-cooled motor running at 250 degrees is distinctive. The smell of heated gas and oil encased in aluminum awakens most motorcycle enthusiasts. Looking the bike over, while relaxing on a laid down tree taken out by a recent Tornado, I noticed the heat waves rising above the motor. The heat waves distorted the scenery behind the bike. This is a good indicator that the temperature of the motor was well past 250-degree mark. Waiting for the motor to cool down took some time. When the heat waves were not evident any more I brushed my hand over the valve cover to check the temperature. At 120 degrees I find that you can hold your hand on aluminum or steel for that mater, for several seconds or longer depending on your tolerance for heat. It was time to remount. My desire to ride again has come back to life.
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Dess Dermondy
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