Spring has sprung

Yeppers...it's Springtime here finally and how do we know this???? Well sir it's like this, about two weeks ago here in the Colonies we changed the clock settings and sprung forward do to all this Daylight Savings Time malarky.

Now I don't know if this was in step with the rest of the known world or not as our fearless leaders decided a few years back to change the time when we changed time for whatever reasons that only they can fully understand.

So we might've been in step or outta step, I'm not totally sure which.

Anyway, getting back to all this, along with the change in time, we've also had a change in seasons as well. It's now officially Springtime here and throughout the world, except or New Zealand and Australia and others down under.

And with the new season, there comes a seasonal nuisance that affects some but not all. That something is hayfever of which I suffer.

While living in and being stationed with the Air Force in the country that I consider home, England in case you're not up to speed, I discovered the hard way that pollen affects me in the worst way with the swollen eyes, sneezing, feeling miserable and all else that goes with it.

And these little beauties are just some of what can cause it as well as signs of Spring:

 

Don't pay any attention to the old shack, that's not my house in case you're wondering, it's a chicken coop, sans chickens..

Also, due to getting a nice Income Tax refund, and providing things go to plan, I'll be making a little trip back to Blighty in May to see the family and to go to a couple of places such as the National Motorcycle Museum in Brum, Sammy Miller's place to see his collection and to the Newbury area to visit the place I was stationed all those years ago, RAF Welford and Greenham Common.

Greenham will be recognized for the Peace Ladies that camped there back in the 80s, after I left. I'd like to see the place again after 30 years and see how it's changed.

That's the plan and providing there's no problems that crop up and the hayfever isn't too bad, it's trip on.

Modern vs non-modern.....a rant

I'm gonna go off on a rant today 'caue I can and I want to. The cause of this rant is the fact it isso much harder to work on modern machinery, stuff that has been made within the past 10 years, than it is to work on stuff that is around 40 years old.

Yes I understand that with all the pollution nonsense, computer thingamabobs, safety doodahs and whatever, it does tend to make things harder to deal with, repair and just plain fix and that has to do with complexity.

A good case in point is the difference between my project BSAs which are about 40 years old each and my pickup which is a 1999 Ford Ranger.

Though I admit to not being a full fledged, know everything about the stuff and can fix anything with a roll of duct tape and a Swiss Army knife kinda guy, I have a slight bit of knowledge that I have managed to pick up over the years throught the osmosis process.

I have stripped the frame of Vicky down to nada and have a really good idea where everything goes and can figure out which spanner to use if need be.

However, in order to change out a simple fuel filter on my truck, a degree in some type of mechanical enginerring is more or less needed as it requires a special little tool in order to release a garter spring that will uncouple the filter from the fuel line. I have the tool and did it work????? By heck it did NOT and the more I try, the more I get frustrated with the whole bloody mess.

Where as on Vicky, if I want to remove the gas tank, I jsut remove the rubber bung, undo the nut from the bolt, loosen th ehose clamp on the fuel line to the carb and pull it off, lift and the tank is sitting on my bench doing SFA until I decide to put it back on.

Easy peasy and simple as hell right??? So why isn't the Ford? Stupid engineering? A diabolical trick to make sure that peopl like me CAN'T learn anything about mechanical stuff or  conspiracy to keep the local garages rolling in the money with HIGH labor and parts charges for doing a simple job that most should be able to do themselves but are now forced to have some else do as it's too difficult to do now 'cause specialty equipment such as the diagnostic machine is needed?

So now I have to pay someone to do this simple task as well as possibly replace the fuel pump as it's located in the fuel tank and as it could be a "hazardous" job, someone who knows what they're doing should be doing it instead of muggins here who just wants to get it done so he can drive the truck to work,

Give me a simple machine made 40 years ago that has one or two cylinders, parts don't for the most part cost an arm and a leg for, has a beautiful throaty roar to it when running, is British  and I'll be happy.

OK rant over, carry on!!!!!

Nowt to speak of lately

Not to much been happening here in cactus country of late. For a few days the weather has been really nice until today when it was wet and rainy. Luckily it's a day off for me so I don't have to deal with it....yea!!!! Also allergens are floating around making things slightly miserable :(

Did get another oil tank for Vicky as the hex head on the filter has been rounded off way to bad that I can't get it out without any damage. Damage to the pocket book was about $31 with shipping. Not to shabby.

The hunt for parts is still ongoing and will be for quite a while. Good thing that there are several places worldwide that are available to obtain the necessary pieces

I also went to a pawn shop in town through a tip from a co-worker and got a nice little air fed spray gun for when it comes time to give Vicky a nice new coat of paint. With the dreaded tax it came out to just over $21 or about a tenner in the UK.

I'll have to keep on eye on some of these pawn shopsin town as these seem to have some good deals in them.

Until the next time.....

BTW, congrats to GBC on her newish 4x4 that she got up in Scotland, will definitely make life easier when it snows hard and heavy.

Dems da brakes...and forks...and frame

After using loads of penetrating fluid, removing the front wheel and mudguard and applied mayhem in the form of a 3lb lump hammer, I managed to get the stanchions out the fork yokes/trees and it was not a pretty sight.

I ahd to turn the forks upsidedown and give the yoke several good wacks with the hammer in order for the tubes to break free. In doing so, about a half pint of water came pouring out of each tube along with a good amount of rust flakes from the external springs and the tube surfaces.

See for yerself:

From the looks of it, there appears to be some pitting at the top and most of the length of the tubes. I seriously think a regrind would be worth the trouble here, replacement seems to be the best option I'm thinking.

There's also a couple of shots of the front brakes and the bare frame:

The frame has bee stripped right down to the swing arm and just needs to be removed. The front brake shoes look like they still have some lining left but will know more after a good clean up. From the looks of the entire front hub, it will take some cleaning to get it looking good again.

Until the next time....

Lone Star Part II

Here's a few more piccies from the Lone Star Museum that I wrote about last.

Brough Superior SSS80 or SS100 (I forget which it was)

As I said, here's just a few of the piccies from there. There are more which could make this posting super loooooooooong so it's just a few for now. But you can see that there is a good variety of machines there, though the majority are British. There are a couple German, a few Italian and some American, to include the wee Whizzer  that looks vaguely like a moped.

Next will be more on the disassembly of Vicky and getting her prepped for new paint. That right there will be another story in itself I think.