Snaggletooth

Thanks for the info. I just had a couple of local guys order the DEKA's from Bohannons but being able to get them locally is a plus. Not a bad price either with the price match. My DEKA is going into it's 5th year. It was always showing 12.8v on the digital meter in the mornings. Lately it's been at 12.7v. That isn't to bad of a drop over 4 years. Maybe that will improve when I get back to riding it every day. As long as it still only drops no lower than 11.7 during cranking I'll assume it's holding its own pretty well.

Using the exisiting holes in the original frame matched to the new 2x2 section that would work well with bolts or pins. The pins would be great for weekend use and then back to "On the End" storage in the garage. Quick and easy. Good idea. I am some what limited on space with a one car garage with a '95 Lincoln (bigun), the '84 Venture and the Tag-A-Long all in there at once. I built a wooden stand against the rear wall where I can back the trailer up to it under the frame and stand the trailer up against the the wall. Any longer tongue and it hits the rafters. (hence the sliding extention idea). The bikes sits to the right side with a 1 1/2" pad under the side stand to hold it almost level. Plenty of room for the car to pull in (and still be able to get out). I build a 8' x 2 1/2' work bench on hinges that folds up against tbe right wall behind the bike. I try to utilize the storage and work space I have to the max. The work space I built in the basement has more room than the garage. To bad I can't get the bike down there.

Are we alike or what? I took my test in Omaha by Peony Park. Road around the parking lot, stopped at designated locations, pulled back to the office and got my endorsement. Can't remember the cost. Took it on my big bike also. My Honda 305 CL77 Scrambler. Date was May of 1963 0r 1964. More than likely we have crossed paths at some point. I worked at Big Bear Equipment for a few years. (If you were jamming any MF stuff) At least you could ride a scrambler in the wind. That Dream was a nightmare with a heavy side wind. Wore off my chicken strips going in a straight line with a cross wind. Ahh, Peony Park. Where Nebraska met the beach.

And there ya go. Fancy plans for the scraps of angle iron I've been saving up. Nice Jeff.

The first time I got my MC endorsment was here in Nebraska. Parked the bike on the street in front of the DMV. Went in and took the written test and passed. He told me to pull the bike around back and pull up under the window. He said "Stop under this window. When I wave at you drive to each corner of the lot and stop. When you've done each corner pulled back to this window and watch for me." He waved, I stopped at the four corners and pulled back up. He motioned for me to come inside. Passed! cost $5.00 for the MC stamp. It was soooooo hard. I took my "BIG BIKE" that day. My Honda 305 Dream.

Plus the issue that the HF Tag-a-Long is built with the axle well back on the frame. When aiming for the goal of 20-25 lbs hitch tongue weight it increases pretty quickly with a full load in the trailer plus adding on the weight of a loaded cooler in front of the body. It all affects the handling at speed.

I was planning on getting a new ball receiver anyway. The one on the trailer was crushed a bit by the PO when he installed it. Guess he didn't know the washer trick. Hey Jeff. I need to get the frame off the storage rack and get a good measure on the ID of the HF tongue tubing. If the 2x2 tube will fit inside well enough it should work fine. One less connection anyway. A single tube tongue won't work as I stand it on end on a rack for winter storage and cutting out the rafters didn't seem like a bright idea. This way I can either remove the 2x2 or maybe slide it down inside for winter storage. I ran cross the carrier on a web page I found. Like the simple design and it looks tough enough to handle a loaded cooler. Mike

That's just cruel man. It's 27 F, been snowing, the wind was doing the "Sideways snow white out" routine and the highways were slick as snot while I was on my way home last night. We ain't gone have much snow on the ground but the drifts should be impressive. Don't work up a sweat down that way. Mike

Ok, It's 3:00 AM and I haven't gone out to the garage to measure the ID of the tongue tubing on the Tag-a-Long. I know the OD is 2 3/8". I've been tossing around the idea of the longer tongue and ran across something that hadn't come to mind yet. Anybody else done a tongue mod this way? Instead of welding onto, or replacing the entire tongue with a longer section of tubing the idea of using a 2x2" OD tube to slip inside the original tongue, much like a reciever hitch, using the original receiver mounting holes to secure it in place and add the desired length. All that would be needed is a new receiver to fit the smaller tubing and to add to the length of the wiring harness. Seems quite simple. Any thoughts? I've got an old co-worker putting together the angle iron needed for the frame of a cooler hitch like the one in the pic.

Well let me say you were busy. But you know the question is going to come up. Are you keeping the fast bike to?

I wish Dan. We have talked by PM a lot over the years but never got to meet you. You probably saw Wizards bike and got us confused. He's the lil fella. By the way, when you get a chance PM me your address. It's going into my GPS incase I wander into your area. BTW....ME

I've had several HJC helmets over the years and when I decided to buy a new one I liked the reviews for the HJC SY MAX II modular on the WebBikeWorld site so I went with that. The model was getting older and I found one at MotorcycleGear.com and purchased from them. I was happy with the helmet for fit and finish and liked the modular feature a lot. I'd had full face in the past so the flip up was a plus. I'd had the helmet for a little over a year when I started to have problems with the chin release not working right. Some times it would pop right open and sometimes not. Didn't care for the NOT part. So I researched the SY MAX II. Found another article on WebBikeWorld concerning the chin latch failure. http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/hjc-sy-max-2-flip-up-failure/ Kind of uncomfortable with that info so I contacted HJC directly. They were aware of the failures but less than helpful due to two things 1) Past the 1 year warrenty 2) They don't sell directly to the public. So they did suggest to contact the seller. I fired off a friendly inquiry to the MotorcycleGear folks about the situation and they were well aware of the problem also. Within 48 hour I had a RAF to send it back and the best they could do was exchange it for another helmet. Except for two things. 1) The SY MAX II was out if stock and probably stay that way. 2) A friend of mine had done a rather nice pin stripe job on it. Dang! So I set the helmet aside and figured for what I had bought the helmet for I wasn't out that much and would buy another new helmet. (Probably a full face model after learning a bit about the latch problems on modulars) So the helmet got set aside and I got bored the other day and decided to look at the latch assembly and see what failed. What I found was not the same issue as described in the WBW article at all. What I found was not the pivot points at the latch catches but the center point where the pivot is for the chin release bar. The molded plastic nub for the screw mount had completely pulled away for the chin body itself. This is not even much a pressure point. Just a spot to retain the end of the pivot to lift the bar that goes to the release catches. I decided to clean up the parts and attempt to expoxy the nub back into place. I built it back up with some extra epoxy and filled the screw hole for a good grip. I stripped down all the mounting points for the release catches and inspected every mounting nub in the helmet. I found no other sign of weakness at any point so it went back together when the expoxy cured on my repair. With the repair made the chin release worked well as new. I'm not to concerned about another failure at that point as if that breaks again the chin will still lock and stay locked with an impact. I do still have concerns about the overall durabilty of the mounting points for the retaining and release catches. The plastic nubs there are no stronger than the one I repaired. If they break under impact..... the chin will more than likely not stay closed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knockin HJC at all. I still like their products. Kudo for the customer service from MotorcycleGear folks for standing behind their sales and respect to WBW for their honest articles and reviews for products good or bad. But with knowing what I've seen during this last deal with my own helmet I do question the safey of the modulars just due the number of moving parts that may fail. So with that said if you have a modular helmet and have noticed any difference in the movement of releases or pivots, before the season starts take a look at it. Be sure it's safe for the time you need it.

Oh stop it! I'm getting all misty.

Just got another "Winter Storm Watch" for tonight and tomorrow morning for maybe another 4" of snow. Last one of those we got they ended up closing the Interstate. Again.

I ran across the site years ago that gives the date you meet your fate. Thought it might be a comic follow-up to Ecks post. Ah, who wants to know the answer to that anyway? I was just checking to make sure I had time to try to meet up with some of this bunch over this summer. I've been here since 2007 and have not been able to schedule any, NOT ONE, M&E, MD or rally in all that time. It's time to fit a couple in.

Never mind..... took it down. Too much political opinion stuff popped up.. Peace!

Yep, with all new, completely drained fuel lines they can be quirky to get them all filled again. Cycling the pump on and off a few times will help but I ended up opening the bowl drains on each carb one at a time and cycling the pump a few times until the the flow was steady. I suppose feeding the upper feed line from the pump by shooting some gas in from the top (carb side) may of been faster. I had replaced the section of fuel line from the fuel filter to the pump with clear line. I had a huge bubble in there for a few days. Finally took it out and ran it hard WOT for a few miles and the bubble found it's way out. Of course you have made sure the petcock is clear and open all the way and the fuel filter is new and clear so I won't even bring that up.

I saw in a new article today old Punxsutawney Phil is facing a death penalty. He must be on your list to.

Hey Jeff. Happy Birthday my friend.

Oh crap. I didn't think anybody saw that. My old neighborhood was the critical mass center for Walnut and Oak trees. If the squirrels weren't bombing you with nuts when you fired the bike up they were rolling them in front of you when you tried to leave. I like walnuts. They go well with squirrel meat. Both are hard to run over.

Now that is odd. The OEM allen bolt is 10mm. I'm hoping the PO didn't get too creative. You don't want to know some of the things I've found done to forks over the years. It gets ugly. Air impacts work fine for taking them apart. (but ya gotta get a bite). NOT EVER for putting them back together. (in my opinion anyway) If it is an 8mm you might get lucky to get a bite with a Torx bit. I was just digging in my box and I don't have any Torx bit that will bite on a 10mm. Take a break, back at it tomorrow. It will get there. Mike

I'll check my spare parts but I don't remember having any extras. Maybe one of the guys will have one laying around. Send a PM to skydoc_17 and check with him. He might have one and he does order parts for members. None of it's really fast no matter where you get them from. Mike

That sounds like it's tight then. Yep. Try the 10mm allen and do you have a hand impact with a 10mm bit? Hand impacts are your best friend on these bikes.

Ok then. I'm sending a PM with my PP address for you.

John, on the air collars...... There are rubber bumpers (looks like a round castle nut) that fit on the forks just above the air collars. If you have a tube sticking up above the tops of the trees that far you may have one missing. And check closely that the thin wire circlips that go below the air collars are still in their grooves on the inner legs. With the bumpers and clips in place everything should fall where it should and go no farther.