Patch

Wondering if you chose to strip the panels then repaint? I have found 2 or 3 additional clear coats go a long way in protecting the base color and finish; easy to touch up or buff out abrasions from add-on's (tank bags....) You can also mix a touch of flake in the first additional coat which will catch the sun and step her out of the crowed a bit yet be barely noticeable up close. Very easy step to do.. Was there much drive line work needed? I like the tread you chose, tough tough choice. They can be tricky when hot above 60 mph but certainly a versatile choice for enduro's. You're missing some nice weather here Calgary. Hope you're back before the deep chills pass or risk loosing your Canadian fur and mutating into a SnowBird;)

Well that's good you can now see through the jest, right? I wrote you up a thingy but for the most part it behind you now. So here's the whats next stuff.. ...then the carb cleaner nozzle placed tight to the porting and you look for the spray pattern coming through the port to the barrel, then compressed air and one more shot of carb cleaner. Providing you see a clean spray pattern flowing through to the barrel, safe to bet that, that circuit is ready. You did go through this step? Next if you are reusing the jets remember that they are old and have just held back an army of chemicals and proctology students, she’s going to be cranky at idle, the jets may flow different to one another. Fortunately we can deal with this through tuning and the proper way to do this is with rpm, period! It does not have to be perfect at 900 rpm the engine is not in the performance curve, this circuit once on, stays on and, helps transition to the midrange circuit - that is what is important! Heat is why we give it that extra 1/8 – ¼ in or out turn after reaching maximum tuned rpm through the pilot screws: below is how I do it you do what works best for you. Set to 900 via large idle screw –cyl. 1 is dialed in then out with the Pilot screw moving past your starting point of say say 1 ¾ turns - follow the rpm as it increases slowly (this tells you you are turning the correct way) then listen for the rpm to start to decrease and stop – then apply more combustion heat by turning in ¼ turn – Reset the big idle screw to 900 rpms and move to #2 and repeat the process for all 4. The thread count will differ because the jugs may most likely be more or less efficient so don’t stress over this, they will change with some solid running down the road and you can then revisit for a final tune; try to keep the second tuning under half a turn, if you can’t then sync or jets are too mismatched or compression varies too much. None of the above works easily if you don’t bench sync the throttle plates before installing the carbs, an easy way is to use a drill bit between the casting and the plate, the bit should slide easily past each do all 4 - then using the large idle screw set throttle to start position above the pilot ports, a quick check should show them equal. And this too is done Syncing the carbs to the jugs can wait, this is a performance tune and the jugs will change after some pressure cycles from long rides.. Not sure where the clutch status is at the moment you mention it working fine? So I will assume you have replaced the required rubber bits! But what about the copper washers??????????????

Look Bro, this isn't a piano;) Click on this link below. Do you have have anything like these or access to? https://www.mscdirect.com/industrialtools/weiler-brass-brushes.html Take the nose of the jet and bush it into the brass brush several times. You only need a small hole which can and will allow your cleaning chem to pass through, soften and clear the port. Place a cup of water in a frying pan add 2 tablespoons of Mr.Clean or what ever and simmer with a lid over top. If this doesn't clear the port then toss it, the carbon from too many cold short starts is too hard and not worth the effort.

From my experience varnishing is an engine killer. I've always had a need to take things apart examine, repair and at times make things worse. But I have done this often enough to reconsider short comings in maintenance, design or poor practices. When Ajay's interest in my hobby grew I thought some rebuild projects would help him develop theory so we took on bikes, cars and what ever together. Oddly I was quite anxious to get him to the bone yards where I could teach him how to apply his senses to different engines, this included pulling covers, carbs, plugs and checking seals. Later I'd tune say -50% let him then tune the rest, then I would show him what ranges he missed. At the beginning on a running something we started as I started with a vacuum gauge and different lengths of screwdrivers, explaining what he was hearing and why it mattered. I found a bike I was always curious about years back, flew down and road it back; now if I say she was at best running on 3 that would be an exaggeration/ she was well below operating limits on the three that could fire. I used only chemicals to restore her limits; not stuff you buy on the shelves but concoctions that a blacksmith in the 70's had shown me and some of what the oldman had passed down as well. I was as a matter a fact about the results as I had done this many times before but I was taken back by Ajay's surprise at the results then others as I entered into what was new to me, forums. Here's some of what I know about old neglected engines: they are usually gummed up, they have had too many owners try to cheap out and give up, they have too many air and oil leaks, they have weak valve springs (high rpm issues) they usually can't seal compression, they are without hone, valve seats are contaminated and carbs well are just shells filled with ..... choices Lets start with the bearings: ball bearings, needle bearing, axial/thrust bearings, journal bearings... They share some common design tables for example, polished and honed or hatched surfaces combined. Why? Now I know we have at least one member that runs a machine shop perhaps he chine in and share some of his schooling? Another common is tempering, why in the same component do engineers mix tempering, and example here could be journals, harden steel crank bearing surface with a soft journal cap. Why? I remember a story my oldman told me about an old truck seizing the crank middle of nowhere. They were tractor towed to a farm and began the tear down, the story went on to how they were back on the road noon the next day. How they did that was by soaking an old leather harness they found hanging in the barn in oil and over night and cut it to render the bad cap and journal suitable to complete their trip. What they understood was they needed to maintain oil pressure to keep the piston rods from crashing and the cranks from seizing again. (1st time I share this) Honed surfaces hold oil molecules, these molecules reduce friction for whatever bears against them. On the cylinder walls the honing process develops a crosshatch, the angle of the crosshatch is a spec which does two things, hold oil molecules and causes ring rotation. Both are very important and neither can happen when the honing is coated with varnish. It doesn't have to be Seafoam as I mentioned I've used much more aggressive products with much faster results; but for a maintenance schedule I have trouble seeing the down side. Some years back I was involved with developing some heat energy trials, part of this was to better understand how we could direct more efficiently random and stalled heat for transfer. Patterns and surface texture combinations proved to be the key in my passive transfer which I implement with success. Take a cooling fin surface textured, once defined and shaped the texture provides a direction path this place the energy where it can be more effectively transferred into the exchange medium which on a bike is fluids and air movement. It is important to view the complete system even if the are walled off and or separate exchanges. If you chrome that same fin it will be less effective at transfer, tho likely more effective at attractive the bling bling chicks. Inside the engines most of the castings have bite/rough surfaces, its not just because of manufacturing cost but proven effective bot for liquids and air. So what happens to the dissolved byproducts after say adding Seafoam in the crankcase for maintenance purposes? It will flow with the oil through the system and, expected to only be out of.... when the system is drained; it will not get filtered by the oil filter the microns are to small. In the case of a clogged system that has many mile of neglect or unknown history, with signs of problems; then NO, this is just too passive. Just as it is to passive to unblock a carboned up pilot jet, a more hands on aggressive approach is needed. Washing out the bearings: you can't wash out the bearings in the crank case. They are wet bearing, some like the journals require high pressure to function. In this case what is important is that the tolerances be kept as close to spec as possible. When we loose the spec (exceeds limits) we loose oil pressure and the bearing surface is the oil and then is unable to resist the loads, (in other words - the oil refreshes to fast for lack of flow resistance!) (too slow oil begins to brake down around 200* and cokes above 300*) Stuck rings for example can increase the abrasive contaminants in the oil that then serves to ware down the tolerances, a sign of this effect can be measure by checking oil pressure. An other cause of this could be leaking gaskets that allow unfiltered air into the crankcase or a fancy eye candy air filter that filters less than it should, same for oil filters.

There is at least 2 proven products for stiction, one works fast the other prevents within intervals, they are friction modifiers and not something we want to use with a wet clutch like our bikes. Did you know Seafoam can be added to your oil change? Oil on the 6.0 is a serious maintenance schedule. Working on them means cleaning away any potential contaminates that may enter the system. The Huei fuel system is absolutely unforgiving, clean stable oil is a must. I still had the heat issue to deal with so I ran a bottle Seafoam through the system right after changing the oil that’s for 14lt of oil. https://seafoamsales.com/how2instructions/ I monitored oil pressures, heat via diagnostics and viscosity visually/feel off the dip, it was as they promote, all true. Also and more import to the exercise was that it lowered temps. The 3 we monitor are all buddied up together up front (skipping past intercooler) so one can affect the other. If my crankcase oil is a lower value then so too is my coolant and same for trans. In general I found coolant stayed lower longer and oil under moderate load was 6* over coolant and when pushed 8* that is certainly a win. Does it help with stiction? Well likely not aggressive enough to on these Huei’s. But for the thermal conduction (heat transfer) yes it was the only new factor applied, so it had to have cleaned the walls that provide the contact area or dissolve restrictions along the way and throughout because the whole system is a heatsink the cooler just . Here’s something else, the ICP blew; this is very much built like a oil sending unit on a typical engine, it can clog and if the clog disappears on an old unit she’ll leak under pressure. ICP was du no doubt but it wasn’t leaking till.. Focuses on the oil passing through. I am a believer in changing oil before winter storage which in my opinion reduces pitting, drying out with the combustion acids left to degrade surfaces. I can see how one might consider changing oil adding seafoam put some miles on and then storing. Of course you can use it to stabilize the fuel in the tank but I always drain my blows regardless. In case I haven’t mentioned before I don’t think firing up a bike for 5 or 10 minutes while stored is a good idea, for one operating tempature is rarely achieved meaning to much carbon, and two it tends to pug the pilots. But fuel off you may consider spinning it over to pump fresh working oil through the system and keep the chem’s working for you. Anyways safe to run on, every other oil interval will likely reduce performance losses. One additional note, this thing about using ATF for stuck rings or preventive crankcase maintenance is a bad idea and proven so as well. Patch

So my 6.0, I mentioned I tore down the turbo but then and afterwards I developed exhaust leaks. These freaking up and down stream pipe are a major pain in the ass, cab on, but I took my time and fixed it all up. SK has an app for measuring HP and estimated torque so we gave it a go and the 6.0 is a fun thing when all lit up! Heading out and she starts smoking, ****! I have all ford injectors all recent and #8 was just dune say 10k ago. When we monitor systems on these, one thing we check for is oil temps. It is accepted that its ok if within 15* of coolant, mine was 12* suggesting under load I may exceed this limit. Ford diesels have a complex oil system that performs a double duty; it is also used as hydraulics to drive the Huei fuel injectors. The oil pressure before the injector is between 500 and 3700 psi the injector multiplies this by 7, here’s a quick clip. As a result a Huei injection system shears the oil much quicker than a motorcycle gear box. There is no ring on a Huei piston it achieves pressure through its design fit tolerance! This presents potential issues because and in large part of its exposure to heat. The oil under duty can foam, this can and usually does create something called “stiction” If you disassemble a Huei and examine the intensifier piston you will find what we found back in the day, golden brown varnish coated wall surfaces (say like a sticking lifter). This has now changed the tolerance and you guessed it stic tion. I pulled codes and found #8 was over fueling, why 8? Well design flaw of course, not the injector but heat distribution at that location, (end of fluid runs) yes 2 fluids oil and diesel. One thing I noticed when tearing down the turbo was that my ICP was showing signs of age, it is difficult to get at on the early 04s as it’s under the turbo and, they are expensive if not replacing with the China brand.

Hi guys, So Seafoam in the crankcase, does it benefit? Some recent and past background. My first street bike was the Commando. Many in my neighborhood ran British the metrics were just at their begging’s in Canada quick but seemed to not last. They were 2 stokes for the most part and to most of us we found their dialect impossible to understand or tune! Our bikes got torn down often and if I were to sum it all up, the consistent problem was heat related. Well heat on air cooled anything is first (then shear) to degrade crankcase oils. Adding to this was the effect on all the gaskets that cooked crack and leak both oil out and contaminates in and so this grind wore us down quickly. 2000 mile intervals help some but not enough. STP who didn’t have a case going? Bardahl gasket stop leak good for what ails, not really. Tearing them down we saw consistencies like bad journal caps for one, so would xW50 be the answer? It helps but it was also slower to refresh which leads to coking, so right back to the bottom line, it had to be a thermal property issue. Another major here was varnished cylinders, caps are easy but varnish cheats compression. Not only does varnish reduce thermal conduction but it stalls the rings, makes them ineffective at distributing combustion heat. Now stalled rings not rotating means they are in a constant position not following the hone; the honing instead of forcing rotation is smooth like glass unable to trap and hold oil molecules. This insulating property also reduces heat transfer, that’s like more than 40% of our expect heat transfer, serious stuff on an air cooled engine because what can’t be dissipated has to be stored. More chemicals between intervals were needed and it proved helpful because we were dissolving the leftover broken down oil by-products caused by combustion! What these chem’s did was keep the passages flowing, an example journal ports, push rods and restore some “bite” to the alloy surfaces. The oil rings would wash the cylinder walls second rig would agitate and scrape it down to the crankcase, then the top ring (compression ring) could rotate and lock meaning, we use more of the compression to torque the crank! We still had sheer to deal with tho and the oils of the day were not reliable or living up to the hype. Sure Brand names could get you through a race but could it get you through to the next interval?

I agree with you that it is proper to test the system as a whole then, to isolate and address the malfunctioning individual parts and if none are found then assume the TCI the culprit. But it's one thing to troubleshoot thru a running bike and an other to troubleshoot one that just want fire. So, if we have voltage in and switch thru TCI grounding to collapse...., then we should be able to test the TCI switching/ for troubleshooting a no spark! Its just a switch. Does it apply here? This just could be an ideal situation for testing the TCI switching directly: after knowing what we all need to know first. "Steve there was no other post on this subject. I was out riding and the bike started to act up after i checked a few things I tried a spare TCI and the bike immediately ran fine. Then that TCI went bad." As mentioned it could be bad luck, if you believe in it. Like Jefff mentioned the system needs to be tested. Personally my spidey senses say short, where that is, my first look sees would be coils then harnesses to and from the TCI. If the TCI circuitry failed twice and within a few miles then its either a bump or heat related short, so again both coils and harness need checking, especially coil 2, if the coil shorts internally or across the 2 fields then the voltage output thru and to TCI switch to ground could toast the switching circuit. If not sure how to test then let us know.

Interesting my first read of the thread. Lots comes to mind here and, thinking back to a setup problem Ajay and I were going thru when he moved up to the 1100 cat from the taller 750, his complaint was getting the bike low. Now I had just reshoed it, so I went and, found no issues. I attributed it to him getting use to the wider saddle, longer wheel base, heavier-ness, and to set the C/G by quick throttle and count on the fast response to lift and pull him up and out! Now on a bigger and heavier bike then here mentioned and in very cold weather, dry, wet, snow then ice changing conditions as the sun made her way thru, over and past the ONT. HW11 which is an up or down HW depending on heading; we are either in a left bank or right for half a day or so, with the odd short snappy twist, (this is a truckers rout or a late season rout) Now I can't think of a moments regret with the Pirelli outside of perhaps slow to warm or say stiff! City on this same bike is a known issue regardless of brand. Now I get the narrower front but there is a price to pay with regards to roll off center, just as there would be with an under inflated when viewing the contact patch in cross section. This also applies when the rear is overly fat. Now on the 91 Venture I really enjoyed the Metz but as I've mentioned I think the Michelin handled the rain better. Soon it will be time to reshoe the beast and I'm not going to play around because it a chore to do, I'll be back to the white wall Perelli's just because I know what to expect, not that other brands aren't worth consideration.

If yours are flat not ported then on for every speed bump, pothole and ramp angle;) If your shocks were more worn then, we likely would be having this conversation. Following Keven's drawing the piston is opened by lower coil spring then pressed close by hydraulics to reduce dive.

Did I miss your post regarding the first decision to change the TCI? Could you link it here please.. I'd like to understand how it started and what you noticed that lead to the TCI, with some details. First thing I thought of was coils. The TCI is a protected circuit at the moments the sheets aren't in front of me... These coils are around 1.5 ohms if memory serves, which is not what I would have thought would be a chosen value but, suggests that Yam had confidence in there protection design! So what can go wrong? Like I said I like to mull it over a bit but/ if you are not discharging to ground the it is conceivable that one or more coils are discharging thru the primary! So coil readings may point us somewhere, volts, ohms on both primary and secondary. Then a close look at the harnesses to and from the TCI would serve you well. This could mean a pin to pin resistance but also a pin to each pin, maybe I'll leave it to Bongo to explain that testing if you aren't following what I mean by... Short between wires in same harness..

Have run the Cats for many years I have a pretty good understanding of leaky carbs and over simplified fuel delivery. This isn't the case with this model. The bench mark for the fuel relay is 5 seconds. And yes there can be a small variance. If you mix bikes then evap may not be equal. Evap is surface area and temp related: the larger the bowl the greater the surface area, the higher the temp the faster the evap in relation to surface area! Are the float needles leaking? The pump has a pressure switch build in; if you needle (s) leak and you want to make a quick confirmation guess via the pump then this is what I do: cycle the key twice to fill the bowls/ (book value is 10 seconds 5x2) on the 3rd key cycle you will hear the pump slow ticking down as the bowl float needle seats/ (pressure builds) cycle one more time the pump will click 2 or 3 times before shutting off/ now wait 10 seconds (the engine is cold) cycle the key again if she clicks more than say twice your needles are leaking! The bowl fuel level is set because of: air volume above, fuel volume above the jets, (keeping them fed)/ and because of riding angles. This speaks to the importance of a well balanced fuel/air proportioned bowl! Regarding volume test: if you were stating that the bike chokes or stumbles at near or open throttle the we would likely suggest a volume problem, or main jet issues. Would not mean that the pump is at fault, directly, but possible. I found no volume test in this manual for these pumps but seems like a fare result. Patch

"In my opinion Metzler suck on the RSV. I’ve had 2 delaminates on my 99 and would never use them again." Zzysx I think your opinion after the above is valid obvious you ended up with what ever happened in that production batch. I would doubt that the experience is or was limited to Ventures tho, crazy stuff. I personally maintain tire brands get one shot at my safety period, after which they are off my list for good.. Of course I'm old enough to not worry about running out of tire brands!

I get it WildBill, every time I mention it to a H.D. owner I get a blasting, think that's because they think us metric riders are as hard of hearing as them, long time H.D. riders are? Remember one fellow told me that his 1st gear slam is what is, expected from a well lubed well shaken tiny gear and fork - no different then a well oiled hinge on a spring loaded door;) Of course he had quite a few miles on his like 12,000 ish, not including trailered miles of course.. Just teasin

I've run quite a bit on the Bridge Stone, what you describe, to me, sounds like one of 2 things, the bike may not be set up correctly or... your twisting position is in need of tweaking. VideoArizona I think has a VMax video posted in that forum here,,, watch how the test pilot went to pull it down for the cameras but you clearly see the bike yank him back upright! There are many tricks to getting these big bikes to to tack, I'd conscientiously spot check shoulder and knee position as first steps. If that's not it then it must be in the setup?

Picking on Harley's for the moment. Last year just after breaking my foot and while Taping it up at a rather large Flee Market in Northern Ont. hills; I met a gentlemen and his wife as they readied to ride. I can't remember his age early 70's very tall American riding with his very elegant wife, he explained his love of and all the engines he went through on his 10ish year old bike till he finally upgraded to the newer engine. Anyway the point of this memory being his rider training; he mounted then his wife and then he 360'ed right there at the foot of the drive on an incline, certainly a showing of his skill! There was another and I am being purposely absent on what gives but; not sure the town however below Thunder Bay I had a solute from an o.p.p. motorcycle patrol. Wasn't sure exactly what was transpiring till it was all but over; he first pulled up beside me, SK was to my left tail, I was fiddling with the cowl pocket trying to snap it close, feet out on the pegs, on cruise at 60 klm when he caught my peripheral in the left lane, I had a rig in front. Steep bush grade on the right, he lifted off the seat briefly then plunked firmly down and straitened up his riding position, Hmm I thought he might be pulling me over? Then he signaled with his hand I thought like in parade fashion, so I dropped a gear slowing down and he snapped into my lane! OK he's pulling the rig over? Nope there was a rented out motel say 200' ahead, with a large tent set up and all the bikes lined up and covered a group had rented out the motel. Well he again singled and made a tight, steep down grade right turn and while still on the grade, his foot on the brake, he stood, turned to the right and launched me a salute all while still rolling towards the motel wall! I can still see the larger than life smile on his face as we (eyes right) tipped back! Don't think I've mentioned this story but if I have well blame it on my maturity.. So there's something to be said about the Harley handling and balance for sure! Now if they could just figure out how to build a less clunky gear slammin gearbox;) and a muffler system that stays on...

I hope you had to look that up? Sometimes between you and Bongo I doubt I've ever worked on a Venture. Maybe my diet, I must need more bata something? Luv, I would build a long term feasibility plan for the bike. Not too long ago you thought maybe time to look at a replacement bike? Hard to do I know but if this girl isn't bringing it to you any more then maybe that itch is what needs attention? Have you already deleted the antidive system?

Perhaps then, plan a picnic, take your wife on the bike, bring a tent, walk time back a bit, just don't let Old Blue see you two smooching, these old girls can be territorial!

It's not hard to figure out why VR works so well for many of us. True much of this is Don's fault his non egotistical approach to disputes is puzzling. That said, I am and have been in many forums some with life memberships paid up but, choosing a couple years back to just give it a rest. As you know I enjoy troubleshooting, some of the other forums kept me sharp and you learn thru the younger ego driven guys as well, just not as much. Break it down what has VR for content? There's a good library! There's lot of diversity in shared experience! The bike experience and riding of course that make for and provides a shared common denominator! All true and more; but what I think is going on here is more to do with maturity and all those other sites we left behind us! I'm a stickler for solid theory and that's not all that hard to find round here. So I know a guy that knows a guy... for drones, let me see if I can find his site.. Patch

Jeez man - by the title I thought maybe you were sideswiped by a meteor or the Enterprise in hot pursuit of... "What the heck am I going to ride when this bike worn out or dies a horrible death?" It's all that rubbing you do to her that's going to ware her down first, not the riding! You might consider applying friction creams to this tender loving behavior or add a girlfriend to your backseat maybe... Will

Welcome Beachbum to our mostly happy hangout/forum. I'd better mention real quickly here less I forget myself. The moment I saw your handle it reminded me of a poem I wrote for a lady/beachbum, long story but just sayin in case I get fresh, I'll state now its likely just flash backs.. The 91 is a solid ride very dependable once you go through them and work out minor stuff that members have posted extensively on. I'll say this about VR we have a library - but prefer you ask a question any question, here there are no stupid questions! The truth is we look forward to a small something going wrong at your expense/ and our combined how-to wrenching then kicks in. Recommend a bottle of ASA by the tool kit for just such debates;) Not true about Harley's we like them plenty, why just last year I stopped to help one broken down in a parking lot, again! Let us know how she starts, how you find 5th gear, and how she airs up, and we'll help you spend your weekends...lol Patch

Yes the clutch handle was a carry-on moment. I happened to carry some quick epoxy and fuel hose clamps never know when a fellow rider needs a fellow riders helping hand. I posted a short essay on that trip in the watering hole. Regarding jets: reasons they can be hard to clean are often heat related, why heat, it hardens the varnish. Another is backfiring (in the original term past intake valves) this is when we find blackened jet ports. As gas degrades we get this varnishing potential. Water in the blows, this too is a problem when a bike sits and or is started for a few minutes only not allowing the engine to reach operating temperatures. Crud from the bowl gets carried off through to the jets and sits not flushed out by fresh gas. This is the easy blockage to clean. If there is ant glimmer of light then chemical treatments have a chance at working to clear a jet. If not then we need to poke through or replace. I recommend stock jetting till a problem is confirmed; and is why I recommend checking and comparing, verses not knowingly reassembling an existing problem! The use of torch tip cleaners is not a recommended approach. The barbed hardened wire is designed to cut - you do not want to enlarge or reshape the jet port!!! Tip cleaning is just to keep the production going, the tips are easily replaced on a torch not so on a carb I have used lacquer thinner on the odd time but soak time for a jet can be lengthy, it also explosive. I assume you didn't literally polish out the honing for the clutch housings, but rather checked for pitting or fine parallel scratches and shiny spots. Don't to flush the parts with dot3

First thought is as others mentioned, the tip over switch. Try knocking it with the butt end of something.

A short wrap-around the finger story. In 04 I agreed to build a parkade in a small but busy town which kept me away from home the better part of a year. Tough times, boom times here in AB, steel prices through the roof, concrete and delivery, winter and early spring charges, negotiations and more negations. Also had something like 28,000 cubic yards of dirt to give away sounds easy. To add to these pressures I was asked to and negotiated cost and subtrade contracts for the above structure which I wouldn’t be the prime on. One evening I get a call from the boys, dad - can we keep a kitten we found? It was early March of 05 and I was scheduled to be home in bed for 2 months, now just weeks away and I replied; sorry but no, we already have a cat and a dog! Well dads I don’t have to explain the deafening silence that fell over the house extensions for the balance of that call! Later that month I was home, snoozing often in the family room those first couple of days, just feeling high on the sounds of quiet. This one afternoon I open my eyes to find this tiny grey kitten napping on my chest, its head tucked in under my unbuttoned shirt! There too was Tigger our dog sleeping between my legs with his legs point strait up. Charley our cat nowhere in sight, typical (there’s an interesting story about Charley). And so as it was meant to be, our family grew one more member. We settled on the name of Miss. SnoopKitty. She was to become our new Second Lady of the household. Miss. SnoopKitty took much of Tigger’s characteristics, they became inseparable and together enjoyed walks in tall grass, sun up to sun down days at the beach with the wife and boys and greetings at the front door were equally shared! Also together they kept our green spaces free of any unwelcomed mammals, at days end together they’d be waiting on the stoop till all have checked in. Lots of changes have come and gone in the past 13 years, Tigger and Charley left us, the wife and I… Yet Miss SnoopKitty stuck around and through it all! Funny how she divided her days between each of us we usually knew where she was by what time of the day it was. She has traveled a lot with us, not in the back seat mind you, her Throne one of many was right up front on the dash, in front of the wheel, as our nagging second set of eyes. She really enjoyed the fifth wheel, we always took our work boots off outside at days end! And every morning there’d be her idea of breakfast waiting and neatly served up in a row right in front of the boot rack! And every morning she’d come in squawking like an alarm clock, and we’d squawk back acknowledgingly respecting the First Lady of the fifth wheel in need of attention and in want of her treats; we then head out and her off to a still hot bunk. So Miss SnoopKitty over the last month all but stopped eating. This is one of those man to mush rarities. I /we tried every label out there, just a couple of treats is all she’d effort. First I thought a cold, maybe a flue, and then we thought about this old tomcat that Miss SnoopKitty had been visiting with and, has since moved on; like when Tigger did, broken hart, plausible right? Vet time yesterday, O-M-G there must be a sucker field we walk through as we cross that threshold!? Well the good news is that Miss. SnoopKitty had a little to eat last night, and again this morning. Now it’s not much and yes too early to tell, but an improvement! The Vet had a label not found at the local markets “ Oh but this food will help heal “Kitty”s” stomach”! hmm? At that price I’m thinking it should knock us off a couple SnoopKitty clones;) Anyway, not sure how long she’ll keep me in the mutt house as punishment for all the poking, shots or allowing a total stranger to humiliate her as never before is going to last but, sometimes: a man just has to man-up… Patch

Thanks Will!