Oh yes, they truly exist. While running the NEMGTR's marathons,
my brother and I have, replaced a broken head stud by removing
the head, two valve jobs, dynamo repair, a brake job, and towed
the car 100 miles. All with tools and parts in the car, except
for one valve job where we bought a new set. That was back in the
days when sometimes parts houses had T parts.
I know that this is an MGs listing, but I've enclosed the latest
adventure involving a 750 Honda motorcycle.
**********************************************************
8 April 2000, 10:13 pm
WAHOO! The weather person says that it will be almost perfect
riding weather tomorrow. Lows in the 40's and highs in the 60's.
No or little wind in the morning then coming out of the south
early afternoon and lasting for the rest of the day. Only bad
part is that
it will be about 30+ mph but that should not matter as I'll be
heading north on the super slab by then. Going to be a good day
to get
my first I've Been Everywhere Tour (IBET) pictures.
Time for some shuteye. Since I have my jammies on all I have to
do is clean my fangs and say my prayers..... "Now I lay me down
to sleep............"
29 April 2000, 5:00am
Buzzzzz. Whap. @#$%, it can't be time to get up yet. Ah, where
was I? Oh,....yeah,....I feel the physical warmth of Cindy
Crawford against my back as we blast through the sweepers.
Physical warmth? Where is that coming from? As the fog clears
from my brain I realize it is Angie my live in companion.
She is getting restless as she knows that I'm awake. It isn't
long before I feel hot breath and a moist tongue on my ear. I
know
what you want, you dirty dog you. So I rise to the occasion
and....... let her outside.
After a quick shower and breakfast I see dawn is fast
approaching. Time to get the bike loaded. As ususal I'm not
satisfied with the
way things are packed and spend considerable time re-packing. A
look at the temperature shows 43 degrees. The wind chill charts
show it will be about 3 degrees at road speed. Will need warm
clothes this morning.
Bike's loaded and I'm wrapped in suitable clothing. The dog is
back in the house and my brother will be by later to check up on
her.
Time to get this show on the road. First stop is the petrol
pump.
The road heads south out of Aberdeen, SD on US281. I love the
morning and the time is best enjoyed on seat of a 'cycle. A
quick
stop at Redfield just a short 40 miles south for a splash of fuel
which will take me on to Mitchell on I90.
Blast the wind is coming up sooner than forecast. Of course
this eats into the fuel economy and a fuel stop is necessary
before my
planned stop. Oh, well, who cares as this is just a short 600+
mile one day ride. A check of bike shows everything is in good
order. The journey continues east to Mitchell on I90 then south
on SD37 and on to my first photo opportunity at Springfield, SD.
As I continue on my way I remember I left my tour flag clamps at
home. I'll need to get something to replace them. The miles
roll
on, Ethan, Dimock, Parkston.. Hey! There's a Country General
store. The Wally World store for farmers. I'll zip in there;
I'm sure
to find something that will work. Since it is 11am I'll stop at
that cafe down the road for lunch after I get the clamps.
I pay my moneys for the nifty clamps I found and I'm back out to
the bike in no time. Clamps quickly stowed in tank bag and I'm
off. Out of the parking lot and onto the highway. BANG! What
the @#$%^&*. Grab the clutch and coast to a stop. Engine is
dead. Shift to neutral. Punch starter button. Fires right up.
So far so good. Shift into gear; ease clutch out, no go. This
is not
good. A quick check for traffic and off the bike for a look see
as to what happened. Uh, oh, seems to be missing a drive chain.
A
walk back locates all 102 links and what is left of the master
link. Not a problem! I've got spare master links.
Better get this thing to a safer place to work on. Super, there
is a paved approach that goes nowhere. Another check for traffic
and
across the highway we go. Up on the center stand and off comes
the counter shaft cover. What do my eyes see...... another case
vent and is it a big one. "My what big teeth you have." "All
the better to eat case pieces with, sport!" All that busted
aluminum has
got to come out before this thing goes anyplace under its own
power. Shit, shit, shit!
I sit down on the pavement in the lotus position facing my
dilemma and practice my motorcycle zen. Boy are you screwed!
What do
you do now? Let's see, what are the options here? 1. Leave the
bike here and thumb a ride home to get my pickup. 2. Call my
brother and have him come get me with my pickup. 3. Fix it.
Number one is out as all my stuff will be gone when I get back.
Number two is a possibility but it will probably be 6 hours
before
my brother gets here. Besides he's been in a grumpy mood lately
and another call to drag me back home again (all cage problems)
would float like the Titanic. That leaves number three.
Soooo.... what do I need to do this casectomy? Tools, check.
Some kind of sealer for case half, nope. JB Weld or some such to
fix
hole, nope. Oil, nope. Solvent/cleaner, nope. Oil drain pan
plus something to store used oil in, nope. File to make sure
flat surfaces
are flat after repair, nope. Rags, nope. Well, that stuff should
be available at the CG store. Time to go shopping. If they have
all the
stuff I need I'll give it the old one, two. Thirty four plus
dollars later I'm back to the bike.
Ok, to fix this I need to get the chunks out of the gearbox. Hm,
to do that I need to split the case. Hm, to split the case I
need to get
the engine out of the frame. So the work begins. Seat, tank,
pipes, carbs and air box come off. Oil tank, sumps drained, oil
filter
removed and oil cooler adapter next. Uh, oh, no tool to get that
big bolt for the adapter out. CG here I come! Next comes the
sump, pumps, side cases and case guards. Electrics
disconnected. Engine mounts removed. A few grunts, huffs and
puffs,
appropriate "expletives deleted" and I have the engine on the
ground.
Now that the circus is in town. Lots of locals are stopping to
see the show. Most don't believe what they are seeing. You
would
not think they have never seen anybody doing major engine work by
the side of the road before, odd. One fellow stops and asks if
there are any tools I need. I says a hammer would be nice. He
kindly donates a rusty claw hammer to the cause and tells me
where
I can leave it when done. Another kind soul gets me some water
as I've run out. It's hot in 60 degree weather with long johns
on.
One old timer stops by four times and keeps saying that he never
in his life seen anyone do major repair work along the road.
Guess
what, neither have I but that doesn't mean anything.
Groups of Harley riders go bye and wave. They know the score as
most have "been there, done that". Found out later that there
was a blessing of bikes in Mitchell that morning. I should have
stopped.
Time to split the case. All bolts come out except one. No way
to get that sucker without a socket. Another trip to CG. Asked
by
clerk if there is anything they can do to help. I mutter
something about staying open until I get it back together. I get
a helpful reply,
"We're open until 6."
Now that the case is open and all the case chunks are removed,
time to fill the hole. I found this nifty epoxy putty called
"Quickset
2000". Just cut off a chunk, kneed, and push into place. Sets
in 15 minutes. In a few minutes all the aluminum pieces have
been
stuck back in place and holes filled. A little file work at the
repair site and it is time to reverse the process.
7pm and the local LEO stops to see how things are going. Says
nothing about the mess I've made. Asks if there is anything he
can
do to help. "Nope, got it under control." Engine is back in and
the rest of the big pieces are almost back on.
By 8:30 pm the bike is back together and oiled up. Time to clean
up my mess. The old timer stops by and offers to cart my trash
away. "Thanks, sure will help me out."
9pm engine is running and no oil is leaking out. Looks like a
go. I think about continuing my photo quest to Springfield,
Sioux City
and Toronto but decide even the toughest need to rest. So a
short trip to drop off the hammer and I head north towards home
at
9:15pm.
1:30am puts me in my driveway and lots of noise from the house
tells me Angie is happy to have me home.
Since then I've put a additional 2k+ miles on the bike with no
problems. Guess it is a go for the rest of the summer.
Time to ride.
Mark
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