uncledj

Best wishes for Gunner. Kicked a few $ his way.

Best wishes for you and Gunner. Kicked a few $ your way.

It's inevitable. As technology improves, more and more will be done by machines. Just imagine: Once the technology used for self driving cars gets the bugs worked out, and is proven safe...what happens to truck drivers...bus drivers....taxi drivers and the like....??? What are the masses going to do when machines do most / all of the work...??? It's difficult / impossible to imagine where this is all going.

I was thinking of having a get together at the cabin in North Central PA the same weekend as the Sinnemahoning Rattlesnake Roundup. It's kind of a big event around there, and it's based out of the local Sportsmans Club, about 3 miles from the cabin. I didn't see any set date yet, but it's usually mid-June, which may conflict with Freebirds MD. We'll have to see how it plays out, but that's what I was thinkin'.

Got a call from Dad today. He said "John.....I've made a decision"....(pregnant pause)...."I'm not going to drive anymore"....Fearing the worst, I asked what happened to make him change his mind, since he's been pretty stubborn about giving up driving. He said that he'd had two close calls in one day.....having trouble judging distance to the car in front of him,....so it's time to quit. I re-affirmed that I can come up when he needs me to, and my sister who's a bit closer can do the same. He says he'll have no problem getting groceries and the like, but he'll let me know if he needs me. Wife and I are going to try to step it up a bit and visit more often. It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive for us each way, and we currently go up at least once a month, but I think we're going to try for at least twice a month, with my sister going up whenever she can. Anyhoo, I just wanted to share the news that he quit driving without us or anyone else forcing him to quit, and, thank GOD he didn't get in any accidents. It's kinda sad, but at the same time a happy resolution to this concern. Thanks everyone for the input.

Looks like I get to be the first to thank our Vets. I never felt the call, and have never served, but I thank God that my Dad WWII and older brother Vietnam came back. We all owe our Vets a great debt. THANK YOU for your service.

I like the stock look, although I never liked the dull look of the passenger footrests when folded up. My mods are mostly utilitarian....Leveling links and clutch spring upgrade are all I've done to my second gen. I always appreciate the custom look of many of the bikes I've seen at the rallies, and think I'd like to do the same, but there's also a lot to be said for the simple beauty of such a wonderfully styled and built machine.

Wife and I were on vacation in the Dominican Republic a few years back, and it seems scooters are the primary mode of transportation down there. I saw one of those MB5 bikes with a guy driving, woman and child squeezed onto the seat behind him, and TOWING A TRAILER piled high with garbage bags full of something.... I guess it beat walking. I think those MB5 are 50cc, so that had to be a heck of a strain on that little powerplant.

On my second gen, I miss the gear position indicator, and I REALLY miss the Tach. Don't like the rev limiter. Other than that, I think it's a great scoot.

You'll have a few folks chime in, but I know there's some small ones you can mount on the handlebar. I kinda like the setup a few folks have done, ...removing the tape deck and putting some small gauges in that space. Let us know what you decide on, and post a pic when complete. Good Luck !!!

I can't speak for God, and I'm a poor Theologist, so I can't speak for what the various religions would claim God would want, but it's a moot point. Political matters in the US are pretty secular....I think they're pretty secular everywhere that's not a Theocracy, ....so while God may not care about the borders we've drawn, we MUST. Otherwise we may as well eliminate all borders, which seems to be what some folks want. (Globalism) It seems that if that's what they're after, they'll have to level the playing field a bit by lifting the downtrodden countries up at the expense of the wealthy countries, effectively taking them down a few notches. As a productive member of this society, I don't much care for the idea of having to pay for the rest of the world, on top of those who can't or won't pay for themselves in THIS country. God help us all. Not sure what happened with the type size, but I didn't feel like re-doing it.

I never did understand the PC mindset that we're supposed to embrace and celebrate diversity of culture. They say this diversity is what makes us strong. I call BS. I welcome all who are willing to do their best to assimilate, work hard and have a positive effect for our nation, but I reject the idea that an array of cultures trying to coexist somehow is beneficial. It seems that many immigrants are not wanting to become US Citizens, but rather conduct a sort of a "soft invasion"....slowly turning the US into the country they left.....(Which makes no sense, since if where they left was so great,,,they wouldn't have left) Such diversity merely adds to confusion, misunderstanding, and offers obvious barriers to communication. IMHO. We're in deep doo-doo. As for the desire that many have for "Open Borders".....If a state has no border, it has no sovereignty, and therefore is not a state at all. (When I say state, I mean Nation State, such as the US)

It kinda' depends on the exact situation, and ya usually have to react instinctively, as there's usually not enough time to think it through, but what I will say is DO NOT use the brake for whichever tire is flat (Front, Rear)....which is kind of tough on a First Gen with linked brakes. Pull in the clutch and coast to the side of the road.....What's worked for me is to stand on the footpegs rather than stay in the seat so you have your knees for some extra suspension travel if she starts to jump like a buckin' bronc, and standing makes it easier to do a controlled launch off the bike if necessary. There's no guarantee of a happy outcome, .....the best you can do is improve your chances. I've been through a sudden flat at highway speeds twice, and once on a 35 mph road when I was young.... I chose to ride my enduro about 10 miles on a flat, trying to get home. I went down hard on the enduro when the car in front of me braked suddenly, (I should have kept more distance) I went down soft on a Honda 750 with my girlfriend on back....got it almost stopped before she went down.....And, thankfully, I was able to keep my Second Gen up from 80 mph to a complete stop. I should mention that these were all rear tire flats. I've never had to deal with a front tire flat. It takes a mixture of skill, instinct and luck to come out of such a situation without a scratch. Ride safe

PERNICIOUS Sounds like a female name.....sometimes describes a females nature....

I went with the copper gaskets. You're right....they're pricey, at just shy of $50 to my door, but like Kevin said, heat transfer is important so I had to agree that copper would be best. Now to wait for the parts.

As far as mating surfaces go, the heads look pretty good, but the manifolds had some flaking rust. I tapped the surfaces lightly with a ball pein hammer to flake the rust off, then took a wire wheel to it, but there's some surface imperfections. Should I see if I can get the manifold resurfaced....go with a gasket....or use the copper sealer...???

Thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

With your Canadian equivalent of are you suggesting I use the gasket? Anyhoo, I'll never seize everything up pretty good, so it shouldn't be so difficult to remove again, if it should be necessary. (At least for a while)

This plays off of my recent post about replacing the exhaust manifold bolts on my 01 Dodge pickup. 5.9...(360) I ended up being able to remove the broken studs / bolts that were protruding from the head. The two that were broken off flush I couldn't get out, tried the easy out thing, but abandoned that for fear of breaking the easy out, which would put me in a world of hurt... and the holes I drilled for the easy out are pretty well centered, so I'm going to drill them to size and re-tap the heads. Looks like it'll work out. I think I'll put the one manifold back on, then put it all back together and see if it solves the problem. I can't see where the other side has any evidence of leaking....I can find no cracks in the manifold...so I'm not gonna mess with the other side unless it's necessary. The interesting thing is that there were no gaskets. I saw that gaskets are available, so I got a set, but am now wondering if I should use them or not. Opinions?

It's just not worth it to try to berate or educate them. The best thing is to get out of their way as best you can and let'em go by. Turn off if you need to. If they're good people, they'll recognize the mistake on their own and try to learn from it. If they're not good people they won't care, and if you try to yell at them, anger usually gets more anger. Could even be dangerous. Trying to prove you're the bigger badass to someone you don't know is stupid....maybe even dangerous. Whether it's after such an incident on a bike, ...or an argument with wife / family / friends / fellow employees or boss, it's best to grit your teeth, and if you can't smile and reply with courtesy, kindness and grace, then don't say anything. That is where true strength is shown. Life's too short to spend any more time than your nature requires being angry. Took me a lot of years to realize that, but it's working pretty good for me now. Just wish I was better at dealing with my anger over politics.......That'll still get me goin'.

Ditto on that. Wife likes the second gen just fine, but says she thinks the first gen is a bit more comfortable. From the drivers perspective, ....I prefer the second gen, with the pillowtop seats.....aaaaahhhhhh......

Bologna (Baloney) samich in Waldo is over-rated anyway. Glad ya made it home safe.

That reminds me: I saw a Blonde First Gen in Mt. Vernon, OH the other day. It had the trunk removed, and best of all it had a huge middle finger gesture very clearly etched into the windshield. What class. I wish I could have gotten a picture, but I was driving and he was waiting at a light at a cross street. I doubt he was a member, but ya never know.

Take a break, rest up, heal up, and you'll be back at it next year. Keep us filled in on your progress. Thoughts will be with you......Black Cherry riders are special folks.

My older brother retired about a year and a half ago, and moved down to Big Pine Key, about halfway between Marathon and Key West. He's been tryin' to get me to move down there.....called the other day and said a local HVAC company is advertising for an experienced tech at $39 an hour. That's a bit more than I make, but I've a good retirement building and I'm not gonna walk away from that before it's where it needs to be for a comfortable retirement. When we retire, Wife and I may buy a shack down there to Winter in, or maybe just live in the RV if we can find a place to park it long term. Still have some time to figure it out.