For all you readers thinking that I’ve given up because of the recent failure, I just want to say: Never! I have been occupied with washing the KTM which I’ll sell tomorrow. I never thought I would feel this way about a machine, but the thought of losing her forever almost brings me to tears… Fortsätt läsa No deus in this machina
månadsarkiv: april 2015
The rise and fall
Today was the big day. Game day. The endgame. Finals. Super Bowl of wrenching. I was about to start my bike. Exhaust system in place: check. Coolant in the cooling system: check. New engine oil: check. Battery connected: check. Carbs in place: check. Tank in place: check. Seat mounted: check. Everything was ready… Fortsätt läsa The rise and fall
Getting in shape
Finding time for these long wrenching sessions isn’t always easy, so I have reverted to wrench for an hour or two but more often instead. Like yesterday when I got the airbox back on, did some drilling in plastic due to fitment issues and worked on the tank. Fortsätt läsa Getting in shape
The final countdown
Things are happening quickly now, or rather, things are starting to show. Almost everything I do now is visual. Not like hooking up two connectors the right way or tweaking a setting of the carbs or polishing up an area just beneath the oil cooler. No, we’re talking major league now. It shows and it makes me proud. Fortsätt läsa The final countdown
Wiring success
At last! The wiring harness from hell has been transformed into a fully functional wiring complete with an Acewell speedometer and all. After many hours and then some, I finally managed to connect everything in a way that seems to work. I won’t know until the bike is up and running so I can see the speedometer and tachometer in action. But hey, for now I have clock power, everything lights up when I turn the key, the signals for oil pressure, neutral, turn signals and high beams work. It wasn’t easy though… Fortsätt läsa Wiring success
Current state
“This wiring stuff is pretty easy. I sure know what I’m doing.” Well, that one came right back to bite me in the ass. After having replaced my broken rear turn signal on the KTM yesterday (and the other one for a coherent look), I believed that I was the master of voltage, current and resistance. Not true… Fortsätt läsa Current state
The fountain of youth
One of the many things I enjoy with riding, except for the obvious freedom it gives you, is the cloak of invisibility it gives you. Now this might sound like a paradox; after all you do what you can to have a radical bike with great sound and ride to be looked at but you really can’t be seen, and that is a pretty cool feeling. Inside that helmet, you can be whoever you want to be. Fortsätt läsa The fountain of youth
Light from the side
What do you do when you buy things and later realize that you might, just might, have been a little bit off track in your thinking? I am not saying it was like that, I’m just saying that my fork mounted brackets intended for my headlight and turn signals only had one mounting hole each. This has been bothering me for some time, but I figured that I would just drill holes into the brackets when it was time. Today I got another idea when I found a set of turn signals I actually intended to use to repair my KTM. Fortsätt läsa Light from the side
Jack of all trades
Being interested in motorcycle to the point where you actually wrench and do stuff to your bike, other than just changing oil and riding around town looking cool (which is fine too), requires you to become somewhat of a Jack of all trades. Besides a basic understanding of mechanics, you have to know about wrenching, tools, preferably welding and metal fabrication, and, there is no escaping this, electrical work and soldering… Fortsätt läsa Jack of all trades
Shopping for dreams
I’ve written about the level of service given when shopping for gear before, or rather the lack of. Nothing is more sad than to see an eager shopper, maybe shopping his or her first gear after having passed the test, only to be greeted with a kind of non-enthusiastic behavior displayed by some of the clerks working in stores around Stockholm. It pisses me off, to be frank. Of course you can have a shitty day, but hey, if someone comes in to spend a lot of money and needs your help, you suck it up and help them out. If you don’t like it, get the fuck out of the business. Fortsätt läsa Shopping for dreams