ManDate
Nothing like a little roadside maintenance to make smoking a fine cuban cigar on the lake at sunset all that much better… Super roMANtic.
Country Roads; Take Me Home
I took the moto out to my folk’s place yesterday, trying desperately to beat the rain and succeeding for the most part. It’s not that far but it was the farthest I’ve gone so I was happy to have done it.
The other day while exploring an intermittent electrical problem with Yan we somehow caused the left turn signals to stop working all together. We’d opened up the headlamp assembly, disconnected and reconnected each cord using dielectric grease hoping to solve the small problem (and we did) but as with everything else in life – solving one problem opens the doors for any number of others to make their way in. We explored oxidized connections, flasher relays, etc., etc. but in the end…
Yep, the bulb magically blew at the exact same time so pops and I went and got a new one so now people know what I’m doing before I do it – I like it that way. My dad doesn’t really like me riding a motorcycle much, my grandfather was a motorcycle nut and had some pretty serious accidents, but I think secretly he digs it and would really enjoy tinkering with me.
Once the rain cleared I opted to take it out to a more appropriate setting for a bike like this where I can actually open ‘er up a bit and take in the scenery. The feeling of whipping along these roads at speed is really kind of indescribable and it’s exactly what I’d hoped for when I bought the bike… Perhaps even moreso.
As I got myself turned around and ready to head home I looked in my rear view mirrors and saw the blackest of skies rolling in behind me so I kicked it into gear and flew home. Being chased by the storm was a pretty amazing experience; clear blue skies in front of me, dark clouds behind and the rain nipping at my back, catching me only occasionally and opening up completely literally seconds after I parked the bike in my parent’s garage… I wish I’d stopped to take a pic.
Either way, this was exactly what I wanted and I can’t wait to put in some serious kilometers on this thing.
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My folks were leaving the next day for a European vacation and I’m going to miss both of their birthdays while they’re gone. Some of our oldest and dearest family friends were joining them for dinner aaaaaand another was in from Ohio. Incidentally, the last time I was on a motorcycle before this year was when I disappeared in Columbus on the back of some dude’s motorcycle, when I was 4, at some street party… sketchy. Anyway, everyone at this table has known me for my entire life and I never have the time (or make the time, I suppose) to spend with them so I really enjoyed the opportunity to catch up properly.
During dinner I asked my folks and friends if they remembered taking me to this place called The Mad Hatter when I was 8-10 for a birthday party… No one did, but I most definitely went and have carried with me the memories of that insanity for the rest of my days.
This place was a parent’s worst nightmare and a lawyer’s wet dream; hot dog fights, pizza fights, strobe light pillow fights and best of all strobe light shopping cart fights… It was mental! Like, you’d see someone coming at you and with the flashing lights you’d have no idea how fast they were coming or how close they were until you were bloodied and laying on the floor… Fucking incredible!
My folks said that I probably made the place up, that they never would have let me go there, so I googled it and this was the result…
“Males of a certain age who lived in Toronto during the eighties may remember this outfit. It worked like this: a Mad Hatter location would have a “parent-friendly” storefront in a plaza or strip-mall where the hosting family would get their credit card ka-chunged, then the kids would be led (sans parental escort) into the basement of the mall. There, “supervised” by a bored teenager, you would be invited to have food fights, whip-cream battles, and to careen around in the dark with shopping carts while assaulted by strobe lights, crashing into concrete walls covered in old mattresses. There were often strange objects on the floor, like moldy hot dogs or unidentifiable spills. If your parents were big spenders, you might even get picked up and dropped off in a ramshackle limousine with old condoms and garbage on the floor. So, I guess my question is, does anybody know WHICH lawsuit blew these guys out of the water once and for all?
And yes, before you ask, I HAVE confirmed these memories with other people. It’s not all a figment of my deranged imagination. SOMEBODY made money doing this…at least for a few years.”
I checked with my cousin Michael and his recollection was spot on as well… I’m not entirely sure what the point of this story is but if nothing else it is this; I have a surprisingly good memory and people don’t let kids have reckless and dangerous fun like they used to.
Happy Birthday Moms & Pops! Enjoy Europe!
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I got home to Gourmet Sunday: BBQ Edition hosted by myself but orchestrated by Sparkles; Professional Male Model and Joëlle.
Appies.
BBQ Roasted tomatoes and red peppers as a base for soups and sauces.
Roasted red pepper Gazpacho BBQ grilled pizza. Mmmmm.
Joëlle approved.
Round two; no Rennick participation permitted.
Purina Hall of Fame solo; required listening.
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Buds.
More buds.
ITB!
A buddy/co-worker of mine just shared with us the most magical video featuring a non-blackfaced Ted Danson and the longing looks of desire between siblings Jason & Justine Batemen. I was supposed to work through lunch but when I found out they were screening “How Can I Tell If I’m Really in Love” in the boardroom in its entirety, I just couldn’t pass it up.
IN THE BACK!
Oh You Would!
Old Rennick had to break out the Carbon & Lycra to let the boys know that he’s still got a little fuel left in this old tank. First Bluffs ride since the temperature started rising and amazingly I’ve improved since my last road ride without road riding at all… I guess heavy drinking is a pretty good substitute for heavy training, after all!
Now Shut Up!
Me like this gyal! Thanks to Mariachi El Wongx for the heads up!
Sunday Drivers
It’s a good life.
We Are 138!
Last Thursday I spent an hour on my lunch helping my boss, Andrea, pick out a bike up at BOW. While I was there I met this dude who was covered head to toe in the most amazing black-work… Lots of awesome Polynesian styled tattoos, bold patterns alongside some awesome, much more primitive small hand-poked tattoos… Looked awesome.
Anyway, we got to chatting and I commented on the castle / rook on his hand which looked a lot like one I’d seen recently and loved… A minute later it became clear that the reason it looked so familiar is that this guy, Adam Sage, had done the tattoo I loved and was in from Brighton (UK) as a part of Speakeasy‘s Summer Guest Tour which is awesome! Cool…
A minute later I commented on the 138 tattoo in his right ear and started to talk about that number being a bit of a thing for me (old punksters will get this) and being one of the reasons I bought my house (so I could live at 1-38 Afton), etc. etc. Wouldn’t you know it? I look over at the clock and what time is it? 1:38! Spooky!
It’s these kind of chance encounters and random meetings in life that I enjoy more than most things – someone, somewhere in the great unknown is telling me that I was meant to meet this fella and get tattooed by him so I called the shop and booked a session. I didn’t know at the time that Adam does hand-poked tattoos exclusively but I was excited at the prospect because all of my work has been done with modern machines.
The sensations of hand-poked tattooing are interesting to say the least; not particularly painful and it doesn’t seem to cause anywhere near the trauma to the skin that machine tattooing does. I’m only 1 day in and I can already tell that it is going to heal like a dream!
It turns out that Adam is an avid cyclist, vegan and an all around RAD dude that I get along with really well which only made me that much happier that I’d made the last minute decision to get tattooed by him – he’s only here for another day but if you’re lucky you might be able to sneak in a quick session and for your sake, I recommend that you do!
Thanks Adam, it was a great pleasure meeting you / getting to know you a bit and I will wear this piece proudly for the rest of my days. Safe travels, new friend, until we meet again…
Thanks to Lizzie, Hayden, Adrian & Lisa (Speakeasy) for bringing him here and giving him a venue to practice his craft…
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Friday Night, No Lights
Dan, Robin & Sean from Bikes On Wheels along with Robbie & I decided to do a little night riding in The Don this Friday night… My Rocky Mountain hasn’t seen the trails in at least a year and needed a little work so Sean lent me this Turner Demo which was absolutely incredible in every possible way. I felt a little ridiculous being the slowest guy on the fastest bike but what are you gonna do? Riding it was a real treat and I’m glad I didn’t pass up the opportunity.
We got to the trails a little later than we’d hope (mind you, not by much at all) so the light started to fade on us a little sooner than he’d hoped. This is what it looked like, more or less when we got there / were outside of the trails…
This is what it looked like on trails / under the canopy.
This video should give you a pretty good of idea of what riding in The Don is like. It’s not like some gnarly BC downhill mountain trail but there are some good climbs, good drops, bridges, logs, roots and some reasonably technical sections that could be quite dangerous for inexperienced riders.
Problem #1? Robbie and I haven’t been doing a ton of MTB riding in the last couple of years so our conditioning for that type of riding and familiarity with the trails themselves (which makes a huge difference) is lacking. No big deal, but you definitely notice it.
Problem #2? We didn’t bring lights! Robin was kind enough to lend me a helmet light which helped a great deal but Robbie was only able to just grab a Knog from the shop… Clearly inadequate so he was the hugest champ of the night for sticking it out and riding through it. I did my best to stay close and shine a light for him but apparently it didn’t help him out at all. Haha, poor fella!
Either way, we made it through fine in the end and lived to drink a couple of pops back at the shop and retire safely in our beds – completely exhausted in the best possible way.
Thanks for the ride, boys, I’ve missed that.
Conquerors of the Useless
My buddy Taylor sent me a link to this flick last night and it’s absolutely extraordinary. As if I don’t struggle with my useless life and all the useless things I fill it with enough as it is! Thanks buddy! Here are these guys and gals who travel in search big rocks and big swells, what they call “the useless”, who have ended up leading useful lives in ways most of us will never even begin to understand. True adventure – I want to go there.
Check out the site here | Watch the whole thing online here*
She’s Alive!!!
Round 4: Note the location of the bike.
Huge thanks to my buds who have, not only put up with my broken bike ramblings, but who have helped me immensely in sharing ideas and resources. Biggest thank you in the universe goes to Yan who took so much time out of his days to help me get her back on the road… I’m super excited! Timing could be adjusted, I forgot to put the mirrors back on and one of the signal lights is stuck on but those are all easy fixes… The only thing I wish I’d done is checked the forecast because it looks like rain for the ride home. C’est la vie!
2/4 Ain’t bad! Ain’t Good Either…
Round 3! I went out to Mississauga last week and picked up some parts from Honda, thanks Andrew for the recommendation! I don’t know why the dealer as a parts source never even crossed my mind… I guess I just assumed that they wouldn’t have parts for 36 year old bikes kickin’ around but alas, they do!
The tank woes appear to be finally over! I wish I’d taken care of this before I’d even started riding the bike because I’ll bet that running the engine as much as I did with that much gunk flowing through it could not have been good for the bike. Lesson learned.
New Petcock…
New Cap Gasket…
Old Petcock restored for spare parts…
New Gran Tourismo Grips…
Repaired bent rear signal tab…
Replaced damaged bushing & screw…
Replaced the blown main fuse and the light fuses for good measure…
I like that Honda has all these little compartments built into things to house spare parts…
I installed a new left coil which powers the two outside cylinders and made sure that all the connections are strong but the spark is still so weak which means that the coil probably isn’t getting enough power…
…which leads me back to the points which may not be timed correctly. I checked the gap using feeler gauges which appear to be fine so the ignition timing is probably off but it might be a little beyond my current mechanical abilities.
One thing that I do understand is the following excerpt from the Haynes Repair Manual I got last week…
I’m stoked to finally have the tank back on the bike; even if it’s not running properly at least it looks like a motorbike again so I can sit on it now and pose hard in the backyard!
2 of 4 cylinders firing beautifully – 2 of 4 not at all… it’s so close I can taste it! I can’t wait to get this beauty rolling again!
Mechanical? Ok. Electrical? Oi Vey!
Round 02: New ignition coil, new plugs… couple other little things…
I tried to install the new ignition coil tonight (which is tricky because replacement coils have a slightly different body shape than the stock coils and the coil mount is asymmetrical and most definitely fit for the stock coils) and thought I’d gotten them wired properly buuuuut…
I don’t think that’s what fuses are supposed to look like. Back to the drawing board tomorrow night… Well, after I pick up my new tank parts and get that sorted, anyway…
On the bright side; I survived the 45+ degree heat on Monday / Tuesday and completed the Rider Training Institute course which entitles me to my M2 Class license and with any luck lower insurance rates – the real benefit, though, is the experience and confidence in riding that I’ve gained in a relatively short amount of time. Huge shout out to the RTI instructors who were super awesome to deal with / learn from.
Yeah, that’s right, Donald.
A Chevrolet To Your Gold Rolls Royce
So I’m on day four of what is effectively a six day weekend and it’s awesome. I mean, technically speaking I’m busy all day for the next two but I’m at least not at work so that counts as a extra two days on my weekend where I’m from.
Plus side? I’ll spend the next two days riding motorcycles and honing my skills.
Down side? I’ll be spending the next two days in the oppressive heat wearing this.
Boots, heavy denim, leather jacket, gloves & helmet… 34 degrees, I don’t even want to think about what that’s going to feel like with the humidex (45?!) and in full gear. Fuck me.
The time away from work has been great, though; for the last week and a bit I’ve been looking after my favorite pup Shadow while her folks and little sister went on a little East Coast adventure.
I often forget how much work is actually involved in having a high energy pup around and how much time it adds to your day and how difficult that can be at times…
…then again, waking up next to this every day is as good as it gets for a fella like me.
But yeah, that was pretty much my long weekend… Dogs, drinking, parks, buds, BBQs, Fancy Boy BBQs™, more dogs, more parks, more buds and lastly, the fascinating but horribly, horribly frustrating world of vintage motorcycles…
So, Yan has been over at my place at least once a week trying to help ascertain what might be causing certain problems and like most things in life – this process has to get worse before it gets better.
So here’s where I’m at so far… The persistent problem seems to have been that the spark plugs get fouled out meaning that cylinders don’t fire and the bike doesn’t start. Ok, fine, so you clean the plugs, get some gunk out of the carbs and she starts up again… Not exactly ideal.
I knew that the tank was rusty on the inside and needed to be cleaned / treated badly but the guys at the shop insisted that, although it did need work, this wasn’t the problem. Now, I won’t claim to know more than guys that actually know something but I don’t think that this is how gasoline is supposed to look.
Every time I’d run the bike there was so much gunk from the tank flowing through the engine that a domino effect of epic failures would ensue. So, I took the tank off and ran a POR-15 tank treatment that seems to have gone wonderfully.
Step One: Marine Clean
Seal, Shake & Soak!
You wouldn’t believe the amount of garbage that came out of the tank after step one. Wow.
Step Two: Metal Ready
Starting to look better…
In between treatments I’d use degreaser and steel wool to clean up any outside surface rust / inside of the fuel cap / etc…
Because the tank has to be 100% before the final step and I’m wicked lazy – I devised a wicked plan for increased airflow with no effort.
I also reinstalled the original tank emblems with Gorilla Glue… Very nice!
Step Three: Fuel Tank Sealer
Much better!!!
While we had the tank off we also decided that the bike had relatively weak ignition so I placed an order with Vintage CB750 for, amongst other things, new ignition coils, new plug towers and boots, new points and condensers, new tach cable (old one was not awesome), etc., etc.
The order came, shipped free from Stratford, within 2 days which was awesome so back Yan came and we installed most of the new components while we waited for the tank treatment to be complete… Anything vital, anyway…
So in theory I slap the tank back on, reconnect the fuel lines and she’s a hummin’, right? Wrong.
The tank runs clean now but one of the new ignition coils seems to be dysfunctional and while we were cleaning the fuel petcock we forgot to remove a gasket before dumping it in carb cleaner so I need either a new petcock or a new gasket dial to go inside…
Which leads me to my next point; this process, thus far, has been very frustrating and it has a lot of my friends shaking their heads in what I’m sure is the biggest of “I Told You So”s but I can take it because a few weeks ago I didn’t know what a petcock even was or what points were or how timing works in firing an engine…
Sure, I could have spent a lot more money and bought a new bike that wouldn’t give me these kinds of problems or even an old bike that runs better (in my defense, the bike ran nicely when I bought it) but going through this is teaching me so much valuable information about how these machines work that it can’t possibly be a bad thing. I enjoy tinkering and love learning but I’m definitely a learn by necessity / action kind of guy and the fact is, if I didn’t have to, I wouldn’t learn any of this stuff so the silver lining in this dark cloud is readily apparent already.
Like my man Colohan said when I called him about the first problem I had with the bike… “Welcome to the world of vintage motorcycles… get used to it.” I’m just glad to have good buds like Chris, Aner and Yan around to help me out… Yan, especially, who has been such a trooper and a huge, huge source of information for me – can’t thank you boys enough. Can’t wait to go on a nice ride in the country with you all…
Other awesome things include but are not limited to;
Eamon McGrath – Cut Knife City Blues. This jam is huge.
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