BlueSky

Puc, you, Tippy, and Tweeks have made some epic trips around the country! I have really enjoyed reading about them and seeing all the photos and videos!

In the Army they taught us to did a trench around the high side of our tents so water would flow around instead of through the tent.

I rode my RSV about 25 miles today to wash the carbs. I realized my rear brake was barely functional if at all. I kept riding anyway. I did have the front tire shrieking in protest at one stop light. Tomorrow, I'll check it out.

There isn't but so much we can do. Even retirees like me have to go out sometimes and buy food, go to Dr. appts. and other necessities. I went for a ride today on my Kawasaki enough to wash the carbs. I rode for 10 miles or so and then bought gas touching the gas pump, and then went to the Pharmacy to pick up one of the necessities of life for old codgers, drugs!

Tweeks is the greatest!

I'm an old coot in the category that is the most vulnerable but I'm more worried about what this is doing to our economy. We could have a economic depression caused by all the precautions we are taking to prevent the spread of this virus. We're damned if we do and damned if we don't. All this money being printed and tossed around is not all good.

The rear brake on the RSV is too powerful as it is stock. So, it doesn't need anything that improves its braking power. Quite a few riders have gone down after hitting the rear brake too hard. The front brake could use some improvement. I have a 2007 RSV with 23k on it and the brake pads are still good. On mine for now, I just flush the lines with fresh fluid and try to be aware that I shouldn't hit the rear pedal too hard.

I went to my annual physical exam today. The outfit I go to is a large company with several offices and many doctors and PAs. All of their offices usually see walk-ins who are usually sick and also handle family care such as annual physicals. At the local office they were only seeing people who had appts and were not sick. Sick people/walk-ins were redirected to two of their other offices trying to prevent the spread of Chinese virus. I thought that was a good idea. The result... at almost 76, I'm still alive! I impressed my lady doctor so much she didn't do her usual medicare bs such as memory test. They usually ask questions like, "Where are you right now?" I always answer, "Golden Corral", since the building used to be a Golden Corral! They probably failed me on the test!

Power for everybody who is riding with you too!

The good thing is that riding shouldn't be risky as far as contacting the virus except for gasing up. So, we can ride all we want! My wife is 17 yrs younger than I and she's trying to keep me at home while she does the shopping which pisses me off a little. But, there are plenty of things I need to be working on around the house. So, now is a good time to git-er-done! We usually keep lots of everything around the house. I don't like running out of anything, so we were well stocked before this crapola. That includes guns and ammo.

I got "walking pneumonia" back in 1967 when we spent 3 nights in the woods during basic training. It was 20 degrees at night and the Army sleeping bags were not adequate. I went on sick call the next weekend and spent the weekend sleeping almost around the clock in the Ft. Bragg hospital. Monday I went back to the training camp and finished basic training. Every time I get a chest Xray, the doctor will comment about the scarring in my lungs. I've never noticed any negative after effects of the pneumonia. Never smoked.

If found the test of the corded compressors.

Evidently, the guy did a test of plug in types before and he compared the winner of that comparison to the battery operated compressors in the attached video. The winner was the Harbor Freight compressor. I couldn't find the plug in comparison when I searched his site.

Hey, 150 million folks in the USA have been killed by guns. One of our senile presidential candidates said so.

From what I read a while ago about a police motorcycle test, the Harleys were deemed okay if the oil did not exceed 400 degrees F which is astounding to me. But today's oils can take a lot of heat I presume. The NOAC test is performed at 450 degrees F if I remember correctly. Evidently, Yammy knew what they were doing when they built the new Venture.

Here is a video of inflators testing that may interest you.

Where's my beer?! I need a beer! Thanks for this video Puc! I love CCR! I keep a CCR CD in my truck's CD changer so I can listen occasionally.

In the blog, the mechanic I know as Ivan is referred to a Vanya. And he is the one in the group who is the mechanic who repairs the old bikes on the trip. And one of them gets its engine pulled and the head removed/repaired on the trip!

I like to watch auto diagnosis/repair videos and one of my favorite youtube mechanics is Ivan who has the Pine Hollow Diagnostic channel. He is a Russian immigrant and came over when he was a small child. He has a masters degree and is very smart. Both of his parents have phds. Anyway, in 2008 when he graduated from Cornell, he, his brother, and 3 more friends bought cheap Japanese bikes, costing from $50 to $1,000 and went on an almost 9,000 mile trip across the country and back. Their blog on adventure rider makes an interesting read I think. Some of you may be interested in reading it. https://advrider.com/f/threads/cross-country-on-a-50-bike-ny-sf-and-back.366117/

It's a plot to reduce the social security payments! Wiping out mostly us old farts!

The tan or blonde as some call it is my favorite color for these bikes. My 89 is Maroon and I really wish it was blonde!

Something strange about the dimensions given on that can. 13 x 35 x 11 inches! 35" can't be right can it?

Rotella T4 is conventional oil but it meets the JASO spec for motorcycles with a wet clutch. T6 is synthetic. Either one should be fine. That Castrol probably doesn't meet the JASO spec and is probably energy conserving which is a NO NO for wet clutches.

The 3.5L eco has been sold now for 10 years so Ford has had time to iron out any wrinkles it may have had. I think the Raptor has had the 3.5L ecoboost for the last several years.

The "Divide and Conquer" video was educational to me. I never knew that much detail on just how cruel Hitler and the Nazis were when they invaded the rest of Europe. A surprise attack gives you a huge advantage especially when you don't care about the private citizens. But Hitler's arrogance brought him down when he attacked Russia and when he went up against the British Spitfires.