What are you doing today? Thread

[ATC King]

I finally got around to dragging a parts quad out of the weeds. I think some of it is salvageable...



Can't upload the pictures. Oh well.

[ATC King]

The only 2 things I'm missing is the primary cover gasket and the desire/energy/time to get it done.

I hear you on that.

I've rode an XR1200. Nothing against your bike or choice, but I was comparing it to the XL1200S that I ordered new. It had been several years since I rode an XLS before the XR.

Stock, the XR makes more power, but it's also about 30 pounds heavier. The XR lean angle is better and it certainly has a more appealing look. The suspension wasn't up to what I remember the XLS having though. The XLS had 3-way adjustable suspension, front and rear. From what I remember, the XR had no adjustments other than preload on the shocks and it rode rough. Maybe it could be called a 'sporty' ride, but once the XLS suspension was dialed in it rode good and handled well.

I'm not trying to reminisce, but after riding the XR I though it was overpriced for the total performance. Stock, of course. When I ordered the XLS it was only $500 more than the base 1200 (where I got mine from) but had thousands of dollars of upgrades. It was a no-brainier purchase.

The XL1200S was the fastest bike HD had ever produced at the time. If you don't know about them, they had dual plug heads, higher compression, more aggressive cams (4 cams for anyone who doesn't know Sportsters), tach and speedo, dual front discs, single piece seat, soft compound rear tire, the first HD with single fire ignition, 3-way adjustable front and rear suspension, and I'm probably forgetting some things. I think it had a MAP sensor for the ignition control. Anyway, a steal versus the standard XL1200 price. The cams were aggressive enough that it didn't like to go slow in first gear, it'd buck around a good bit at parade speeds.

I would ride with a friend who had a 1200 Custom and once his bike was tapped out I could run off an leave him like the XLS wasn't even trying. Speed, in HD terms, the fastest snail.

I really put that bike through it's paces. Dragging parts and wondering if I'd make the curve and flogging it for hours straight, or until it needed fuel with the small tank it had.

The XR probably had much more potential with aftermarket parts, but stock I didn't find it living up to the looks.

Resale and collectors value on the XR is probably a good bit higher though. Many of the XL1200S's got butchered with lowering shocks, larger fuel tanks, cruiser handlebars, and a whole list of dumb stuff that neutered a performance bike. The Sportster line was THE HD performance bike before knuckle daggers with an inferiority complex started calling it a 'girls bike'. It's gotta be fat, slow, and loud to be a true HD...


You've got a nice bike and it's the last hurrah of the Sportsters. After that, HD destroyed any performance they had by lowering them and actually trying to make the a 'beginners' bike. I rode some of the later Sportsters and they drug parts sooner than the cruisers with floorboards, an absolute disgrace to the model. Low, super low, stupid low, whatever they called them. What they replaced the Sportster with isn't any better, it's still so low that parts drag when they shouldn't. They have the lean angle of a fork lift, an that's seriously dangerous.


HD has a German shoe salesman for a CEO now, and they financially support fudge packing. They also purposefully gave a middle finger to the working class and are now focused on higher end sales, hence the base bike price is completely ridiculous for what it is in the market. What a Softail Standard cost just ten years ago is now that starting price for the lowest bike, nothing under $10,000 for what $7,000 will buy in performance from other manufacturers. It's only a name anymore, a company without soul.

[knappyfeet]

HD has a German shoe salesman for a CEO now, and they financially support fudge packing. They also purposefully gave a middle finger to the working class and are now focused on higher end sales, hence the base bike price is completely ridiculous for what it is in the market. What a Softail Standard cost just ten years ago is now that starting price for the lowest bike, nothing under $10,000 for what $7,000 will buy in performance from other manufacturers. It's only a name anymore, a company without soul.

That's why I'm excited about these new Chinese branded motorcycles coming to the market because HD just didn't give the finger to the middle class ....they all did.

30K for a goldwing. 20K-30K for adventure rigs. Nearly 20K for any 1000cc sportbike. $10,000 + for anything 450 MX. The only thing they have different than HD is they have entry level motorcycles and low priced motorcycles that can be enjoyed and afforded by most.

CSC motorcycles and Benelli and Morini, etc... all offer Chinese made motorcycles that are a fraction of the cost of anything else.

I was looking at a Morini X-Cape after incentives for $7000. It's nearest competitor may be the T700 but dealers are adding their markup for the privilege of owning them going over MSRP.... a couple of thousand more.

Even Royal enfield kicks the $$ ass with fabulous models with a 3 year warranty for again a fraction of the cost. There's a whole new emerging market out there… kind of like what the Japanese did 60 years ago and nearly put everybody out of business. History repeating itself

[ATC King]

Dealer fees are also a problem, especially when they're bogus, like hundreds for 'filing' fees or an absurd amount for 'set-up'. Some even try to hide the final cost. More manufacturers are also offering direct shipping, which most of them are going to have to accept.

The Chinese bikes are made with essentially slave labor and lower cost because of loose environmental laws/regulations. They're also government run factories and I'd guess human rights enforcement is non-existent in reality.

I've worked in assembly line production and those workers deserve a living wage with good benefits, not to work their fingers to the bone for gruel and a short, work focused life. That's my issue with Chinese products and now all the multinational motorcycle marquees slapped on their exports...badge engineering.

It's probably nearsighted to compare mid century Japanese progress to current and future Chinese industrial growth. Two entirely different cultures and political views. Then the complication of our history with Japan and their crimes against China during WWII. Maybe something like how Russia was part of the allies and had to fight off invading Nazis, to current events. Italy had a dictator aligned with Nazi Germany, but modern German and Italian motorcycle and car brands aren't held to that history now.

Back to China and Japan, much of their industrial knowledge was imported from Europe and the US. China wasn't able to even manufacture ball bearings for a long time. That history doesn't reflect too well on what the US and Europe done to those countries. Sure, we 'modernized' them, but at a cost to their country, culture, and people.

Maybe the whole world has been dicking each other over and none of it matters to anyone but the plebs, the ones who actually shoulder the burden.

So, if none of it matters, for your consideration ...

A Chinese EVO Sportster, that's actually being produced and sold, just not in the US.


https://swm-motorcycles.it/stormbreaker/

[ATC King]

I dragged a derelict Timberwolf home a week ago and finally got around to breaking it down into parts.

It's a poster child for rode hard and put up wet.

The rear axle and swingarm are gone, used to support another hungry Timberwolf. The seat isn't there. One of the front CV joints is destroyed. The four wheel drive transfer case was broken off and the hole filled with epoxy, then driven in 2wd for a number of years. FYI, these have a separate transfer case, bolted to the output shaft. The epoxy job was done pretty well. It was rode like that with the front diff still in-situ. All the brake cables are frozen (has manual drum brakes), along with the steering. Front wheels/brake drums about to fall off, I guess because they were about to be donated to another quad but it didn't fully happen. Ignition switch wires cut and spliced because the switch failed.

I personally have some of the history of how it ended up abandoned and with trees growing through it. I've been meaning to grab it for several years, mainly for the rear rack, which is in pretty good shape. I want to modify it for my YTM200K. Yeah, the quad was a freebee, I just had to cut it out of the brush.


The saving grace was the missing axle and swingarm. That meant the quad was leaning back a good bit while sitting in the dirt. Although the air box was full of water and leaves, it didn't get into the car/intake. Water also couldn't seep in through the muffler.

The carb slide and cable wasn't stuck. Not that I was originally wanting any engine parts, but that was a nice start.

Something I'd like to point out is this quad wasn't owned by poor people. They just run stuff like this until it's no longer useful. They can buy ANY new quad, and pay cash for it. When something has a major break-down, they just park it. They also don't buy the latest and greatest, they like the older vehicles.


After stripping the fenders and tank off, I got to playing with the rest of it. The ignition coil was missing, but I had a spare. The wiring is jacked up, so I bolted a battery to the wires and jumped the starter with another battery. The quad runs!

Now I'm thinking of the engine parts that'll fit my 200. I have another 200 engine that's in terrible condition but the cases may still be good. Boring those and putting the Timberwolf cylinder on now becomes an idea.

Where I'm at now is trying to sell the Timberwolf parts that I can and putting the rest back for my 200K.

If I had a YTM that would accept the Timberwolf engine, that would be great, but I'm going to get what I can out of it.

[knappyfeet]

The quad runs!

It's amazing how forgiving these engines can be.

Another multi day camping trip.

I pack WAY too much stuff & I know it but I have been trying to lessen & lighten things up. Used the Polmoly Locomotive 20 tent for the first time. Packs about half the size of my other tent and only 1/3 of the weight. The biggest culprit is my sleeping bag. It's hard for me to justify spending nearly $400 for a zero degree lightweight sleeping bag & another $250 for a Therm-A-Rest pad..... but if I did I would only have one dry bag full of my stuff. At 265 lbs I need a good/comfortable collapsible chair...not some 1 lb REI backpack chair that may collapse after 1 sitting.

Another thing is it's hard to pack properly on the XR. It feels out of its element when I'm packing all this crap on it....but it handles it so well. If I had some adventure rig with proper panniers all of my packing wouldn't even be a discussion.

[ATC King]

It's always tough to pack a bike. Even if trying to pack what an ultralight backpacker would carry is still more than can be packed easily on a bike. Everything needs really thought out because no single space on a bike is all that large and some things need to be packed with easy access while others can be buried. The biggest obstacle on most motorcycles is no front storage, which means cramming everything in the rear, which can cause handling issues.

On a touring bicycle, the forks as well as a rear rack can both support panniers. With handlebar and frame bags available, it's even easier to load a touring bicycle than a motorcycle. For hiking, everything goes in one large bag, and sometimes a small front pack is included. Even on something like a Gold Wing, without a trailer, packing gets limited really quick.

Something I started doing years ago was building my own tent kit. After decades of camping and having tent parts, I started taking the best from each tent and building my own. That's taking aluminum poles from one and cutting them down/extending to fit another cheaper tent the came with fiberglass poles. Rain flys can be adapted and even packing bags. Then there's the sealing products to make a budget tent pass the rain test for at least one solid trip.

Ultralight backpacking tents don't last and long wearing tents can be heavy and bulky. There's all kinds of 'special' tents out there for special money. I found that combining what parts I had would get me close to the best tent possible without breaking the bank.

There's always the basic hiking rule that helps when there's two or more people. Split the tent up and each person carry's a bit. That lightens the load and makes it more compact. Everyone doesn't need their own tent and carrying two single tents versus on double tent take more space.

Besides all of that, I'm about done tent camping in places with large predators. I can deal with coyotes and raccoons, and me not loosing much sleep, but in bear or cat territory, I'm going to wake up tired. Never mind moose, elk, and bison. That may be a bit of overreacting though, because mosquitos, biting flys, ticks, fleas, and other insect critters carry enough diseases that a bear attack may not be the worst thing to happen, just the most traumatic (for a short time).

Packing a motorcycle for a trip takes some experience. Hiking, cycling, or motorcycling, the TP needs to be easy access. When there's a code brown, time isn't in excess.



Back to the Timberwolf I acquired, there was an interesting find in the carb.



The needle jet was installed backwards and from what I heard it may be one reason the quad was parked and used for parts. They couldn't ever get it to run right, and they never would have.

I noticed it when I took the carb apart to put in the ultrasonic cleaner. Something didn't look right with the needle jet so I removed it. I was just going to so a simple clean, loosely reassemble the carb then put it back for a spare.

The needle jet is actual Mikuni. Either it came that way or someone took it out for some reason and installed it backwards or put a new genuine one in backwards. Either way, the thin walled end got mushroomed and blocked air flow through the needle jet holder.

Maybe the quad got parked fifteen years ago for the last time. Just another example of why used parts need a thorough going over. Too many dick beaters have been on it and there's no telling what's really going on until a calculated eyeball is put on it. I was checking out OEM Timberwolf carb prices on Ebay and the overwhelming majority of them didn't even have pictures with the float bowl removed, the most important pictures. Totally forget about detailed pics, they're mostly hocking carbs with no real inspection, for full price.

[coolpool]

Been a while since I looked into this area...got to do better.
We're still enjoying warmer than normal weather with only a dusting of snow thus far.....loving it! Over the Christmas break, the Mrs and I went out ice fishing but unfortunately didn't get anything.....but a beautiful day just the same. As you can see the ice conditions are spectacular with ~12" of smooth crystal clear ice. There were a few families skating around unimpeded except for small hummocks of drifted snow for as far as you can see. Christmas Day found me and a friend roaming the bush checking trail cameras where I spied a saw blade sticking out of the leaves. Upon extracting it from beneath a few inches of forest litter, it turned out to be an old two man saw. God only knows when it was dropped as it wasn't near any trail....probably a trapper lost it in the snow at some point. I believe I found the make after a little googling and it's a Warranted Superior circa 1920. I went back with a metal detector but couldn't find the front handle or rear handle medallion.

[El Camexican]

Looking good Pete!

Over the years I found that the best way to catch ice is in a glass using rum, or rye whiskey as bait. You may want to try that the next time you go ice fishing.

[Scootertrash]

Looking good Pete!

Over the years I found that the best way to catch ice is in a glass using rum, or rye whiskey as bait. You may want to try that the next time you go ice fishing.

[knappyfeet]

I love it when you post your outdoor stuff....so cool.

Especially for a guy born & raised in social......it's all so alien to me. Like how do you all know when the ice is safe to walk on?.....until someone falls in?

[coolpool]

I love it when you post your outdoor stuff....so cool.

Especially for a guy born & raised in social......it's all so alien to me. Like how do you all know when the ice is safe to walk on?.....until someone falls in?

There's general rules of thumb (picture attached) but ultimately common dog will take you farther than anything. The quality of the ice is every amount as important as thickness. I won't venture on anything but 4" of clear ice or 6" of opaque ice. I do cheat and wait until I see tracks from someone braver ( or dumber) than me. That's the common sense kicking in

[El Camexican]

I love it when you post your outdoor stuff....so cool.

Especially for a guy born & raised in social......it's all so alien to me. Like how do you all know when the ice is safe to walk on?.....until someone falls in?

For me as a kid, it was walking and skating on the ditches and creeks. It’s a pretty safe way to learn how ice works. I was just talking to a childhood friend the other day, who still walks the same Creek as we did when we were kids. He goes through once in a while, usually in areas where it’s frozen over and then the water level beneath it drops down and leaves an air cavity. Another area to avoid is wherever there is grass and bulrushes along the edges of a body of water. The quality of ice is very poor around the edge of any body of water.

I’ve never gone through deeper than my neck, but my old man and his ice fishing buddy, once broke through and lost their sleds. My dad went down deep enough that he actually had to look up for the light to find his way back to the surface. Makes the hair on my neck stand up just thinking about how close to dead he was. They managed to break ice with their forearms while moving toward the shore until they were eventually able to pull themselves up.

My dad always insisted that we keep about 30 feet of nylon rope on the bumpers of our sleds so that if we did go down we could try to grab onto the rope and release a simple knot and pull it up with us. If I recall correctly, it was my dad who had to go back down and get the ropes released from both of the sleds because his fishing partner was wearing a flotation suit and couldn’t. They got both ropes up to the surface and tied to some thing and then walked as fast as they could about half a mile back to the cabin, where they strip down naked around the woodstove as hypothermia was setting in.

The next morning they went out with axes, found the ropes, broke up the ice and pulled the sleds to shore through the opening.

I don’t remember if they got both machines running, or just one. For some reason I think it was just my dad’s that they could get running and use to get back to the truck which was about 20 miles away.

In case you’re wondering, this happened because they were driving a couple hundred yards away from a waterfall and the currents of the warmer water had either eroded the ice in that area from the bottom, or had not fully allowed it to get as thick as the surrounding areas.

Another really interesting phenomenon about ice and lakes that I’m sure Pete has experienced, is that if you get really heavy snowfall, it forces the ice in the center of the lake down and water from the edges of the shore pour under the snow and into the center of the lake. I have seen as much as 12 inches of water above the ice, and below the snow at the same time. The snow isolates the water and prevents it from freezing even though there can be thick ice underneath it. The more water, the pores on top of the ice, the further down it pushes it, because (and don’t quote me on this) 12 inches of snow equals about 1 inch of water in terms of density.

I just had to post this after I read yours. I can’t imagine anybody who grew up in California has had much experience with this kind of thing.

Here’s another interesting ice property. I’ve got a buddy who does the ice road trucking thing that you see on TV once in a while. He’s quite often the one that goes to clean up those wrecks and at 59 years of age he’s probably the got more years than anybody else currently running those roads. Anyway when a loaded truck is driving across the lake the ice forms a wave in front of it just like you would expect from a boat. The truck driver hast to make sure he doesn’t drive fast enough to catch up to that wave because if he gets on top of it, the truck will go through. Pretty cool Eh? Now, imagine two trucks coming towards each other on a lake each one with a wave in front of it. they both have to slow right down to nothing in order to eliminate the waves, and pass each other very slowly or everybody is going swimming.

I’ll leave you with one last comment. Go to YouTube and search for an ice auger video. When I was a kid, we had to do it by hand, but most guys use gas powered units now. It could get pretty frustrating when you finally got your hole dug and realize the fish were not in that area. I dreaded my dad telling me we had to do another hole in a different area.

[knappyfeet]

I just had to post this after I read yours. I can’t imagine anybody who grew up in California has had much experience with this kind of thing.

I'm always amazed at those ice road truckers. I mean all that weight going across the lake....... I'm sure Canada's Department of Transportation ensures it's safe...however they do it. I guess ice is strong enough because it sank the Titanic but to me it would be weird to walk on.

[El Camexican]

I'm always amazed at those ice road truckers. I mean all that weight going across the lake....... I'm sure Canada's Department of Transportation ensures it's safe...however they do it. I guess ice is strong enough because it sank the Titanic but to me it would be weird to walk on.

There are very few regulations out on the ice. It’s pretty much every man for himself.

About 10 years ago, a bunch of drunken natives drove head on into my buddy coming around the curve. The driver was killed almost instantly. My friend said that the stench of alcohol coming off of his blood was incredibly strong. Now just imagine a white boy standing out there with nothing but natives coming and going for I don’t know how many hours until the law showed up. He’s a big boy and he can handle his own against just about anybody in a fair fight, but he was dropping bricks waiting for the RCMP to get there.

I wanted to make a run with him last winter, but it didn’t work out. I’m not sure if he’s got another year left in him, but if he does, I sure would like to make that trip. The photos he sends me of the northern lights and some of the wildlife are incredible.