Saturday, August 25, 2012

Howdy, Madtown Mob! Here's more on the Sturgis trip, and Reggie's battle with a nefarious noise!


I told ya I’d let ya know what happened to Reggie’s bike on the way to Sturgis. We’d gone for a 100 mile lunch ride out of Ketchum, Idaho, and when we got back to the hotel, she said it had spots of oil on the fender. I checked it, and it was out of the breather. I fired it u and it sounded like shaking loose change in a bean can, and it’d lost a lot of power. I would’ve bet my last 20 bucks that it’d lost a lifter wheel. Not having anyplace to work, or the tools to do the job, I put it back in the trailer and we headed for Missoula, Montana with the group. When we got into Wyoming a couple of days later, I stopped at a dealer and had them tear it down, still sure it was a lifter. They pulled the lifters, cams, oil pump, and emptied the cam chest, finding… NOTHING! There was wear, but nothing that would cause the kind of noise it had. They suggested the balance shaft, but to check that, the cases would have to be split, so back in the trailer it went.
          Later that day, we pulled into the hotel in Spearfish, and Reggie was so depressed she was almost in tears. Our friend, Harlan Schillinger, told us to take it to Dakota V-Twin, who are just 2 exits from the hotel. We asked them about just slapping it back together so she could ride it ‘til it blew, and they said they’d do it for about a third of the dealer’s quote. We dropped it off, and Nick told us they would have it ready the next day, which was Sunday. Not only did they fix the noise, but their tech, John Hudson, stayed until 9:30 on Sunday night to finish her trike so she could ride into Sturgis, and they didn’t even charge us overtime! (I think the rear cam jumped a tooth retarded, but once it was apart, it was impossible to tell.) That kind of customer service and honesty shouldn’t go unrecognized, so if you’re in the Black Hills and need repairs, service, or parts, Dakota V-Twin is the place to go! And get this!... They don’t raise their labor rates or prices for Rally Week, and they’re GREAT folks!  You can call ‘em at 605-717-0009.
          As soon as she heard her bike purrin’ like a kitten, Reggie was all smiles, and ready to ride. I’m tellin’ ya, the guys at Dakota V-Twin saved my ass!!
          We rode out to Deadwood, Mount Rushmore, The Full Throttle Saloon, the Buffalo Chip, and all over Hell and didn’t have any more trouble. I’m going to replace the cams with high performance bump-sticks, and throw in a new oil pump and hydraulic chain tensioners as soon as my wallet recovers from the trip, but until then, she’s still ridin’!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Good Sunday morning, Madtown Mob! WOW!! I've always thought of California as the most fascist, controling state in the union, but maybe not!

I just found out that in Oregon, it's illegal to pump your own gas! If you have an expensive custom paint job on your scoot, you have to depend on some snot-nosed kid to keep from spilling clear coat eating gasohol all over your tank and engine!

When I was a 6 year old kid, back in 1955, my dad had a garage and gas station in Kenwood, Cal., and I started pumping gas with one of the old pumps where you had to hand pump the gas into the glass top, then let it gravity feed into the car. I was kind of a local celebrity with dad's regular customers, and I would always check the oil and tires, and wash the windows. As the years passed, self-serve took over, and very few full service stations exist in California today. I think the full service option would be great, but required by law...? What is happening to this country, and why do we have to travel east from Nevada to the Mississippi river and beyond to find America?

I always take care when I fuel our bikes to not overflow the tank while still assuring that they are full. Reggie's pink trike is her baby, and slopped gas will not only damage the clear coat, but drip onto the hot engine as well. Trusting someone else to use as much care as I do is not something I'm comfortable with, so my trips to Oregon will be limited, if not curtailed.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Howdy, Madtown Mob! Here's the first of several stories on our Sturgis trip!





As most of ya know, after being invited for several years, Reggie and I headed for Sturgis with Arlen Ness and the West Coast Hamsters. Every year the route is different, and this year the ride took us through Yosemite to Mammoth Mountain for our first night on the road. Keith "Bandit" Ball, of Easyriders and Bikernet fame met us there, but had to leave in the morning to meet his deadlines at his infamous Bikernet.com and the other magazines he writes for. I haven't seen him in several years, but keep in contact almost daily through e-mail. We had a great visit, a few drinks, and caught up on chit-chat about the industry, our projects, and good whisky. He's looking for records at Bonneville this year, and time is tight for getting the effort together.

From Mammoth, we headed into Sun Valley, Idaho for a two day stop. There was a party at the home of a local Hamster, and a 100 mile lunch ride to a beautiful lake in the Sawtooth Mountains. I noticed an interesting bike called The Stewart Special, and after talking to Paul, the owner, I found out that it was painted to match his father's race car. His father is F-1 and Indy legend Jackie Stewart. Due to other obligations, he left the ride not long after, but it was a pleasure to meet him.

Some of you may wonder what the icons of the industry are like away from the "Biker Build-off" cameras and the autograph table. Like everyone else, I had some preconceived notions, but none were accurate, and I was very pleasantly surprised. I'd seen Jesse James talk trash and act like a thug, and though I've never met him, I don't believe he would be someone I could hang out with, or voluntarily be around for any length of time. Not knocking Jesse, just stating a fact. If I don't like someone's company, I won't be around them no matter who they are. Over the nearly three weeks we rode with, hung out with, and talked to Arlen, Donnie Smith, Dave Perewitz, Rick Fairless, Paul Yaffe, and other legendary builders, we were treated like part of the Hamster family, and felt right at home on their company. Not many organizations can claim to be an extended family, but that's what the Hamsters are, and every ride is a family reunion.

The fourth day found us on the road to Missoula, Montana, traveling through some of the most beautiful country anywhere. At every stop, the bikes were cleaned, and then it was time for drinks, dinner, and comradery. We ran into some rain, but not enough to cause a problem. We discovered a problem with the valve train in Reggie's engine, and for a while it looked like she wouldn't get to ride into Sturgis, but again, friends came to the rescue, and that's a story for another day.

Howdy, Madtown Mobbers! I thought I'd tell you a little about our trip to Sturgis.

As most of ya know, after being invited for several years, Reggie and I headed for Sturgis with Arlen Ness and the West Coast Hamsters. Every year the route is different, and this year the ride took us through Yosemite to Mammoth Mountain for our first night on the road. Keith "Bandit" Ball, of Easyriders and Bikernet fame met us there, but had to leave in the morning to meet his deadlines at his infamous Bikernet.com and the other magazines he writes for. I haven't seen him in several years, but keep in contact almost daily through e-mail. We had a great visit, a few drinks, and caught up on chit-chat about the industry, our projects, and good whisky. He's looking for records at Bonneville this year, and time is tight for getting the effort together.

From Mammoth, we headed into Sun Valley, Idaho for a two day stop. There was a party at the home of a local Hamster, and a 100 mile lunch ride to a beautiful lake in the Sawtooth Mountains. I noticed an interesting bike called The Stewart Special, and after talking to Paul, the owner, I found out that it was painted to match his father's race car. His father is F-1 and Indy legend Jackie Stewart. Due to other obligations, he left the ride not long after, but it was a pleasure to meet him.

Some of you may wonder what the icons of the industry are like away from the "Biker Build-off" cameras and the autograph table. Like everyone else, I had some preconceived notions, but none were accurate, and I was very pleasantly surprised. I'd seen Jesse James talk trash and act like a thug, and though I've never met him, I don't believe he would be someone I could hang out with, or voluntarily be around for any length of time. Not knocking Jesse, just stating a fact. If I don't like someone's company, I won't be around them no matter who they are. Over the nearly three weeks we rode with, hung out with, and talked to Arlen, Donnie Smith, Dave Perewitz, Rick Fairless, Paul Yafee, and other legendary builders, we were treated like part of the Hamster family, and felt right at home on their company. Not many organizations can claim to be an extended family, but that's what the Hamsters are, and every ride is a family reunion.




The fourth day found us on the road to Missoula, Montana, traveling through some of the most beautiful country anywhere. At every stop, the bikes were cleaned, and then it was time for drinks, dinner, and comradery. We ran into some rain, but not enough to cause a problem. We discovered a problem with the valve train in Reggie's engine, and for a while it looked like she wouldn't get to ride into Sturgis, but again, friends came to the rescue, and that's a story for another day.

Friday, August 17, 2012

The Dems can't wait to capitalize on tragedy!

Good morning, Madtown Mob! Well, as I figured, the Colorado shootings have re-invigorated our esteemed "Left Wing" to try disarming us again. Their efforts are like being nibbled to death by a duck; they have to be patient, but eventually they'll succeed if we allow them to. If anyone hasn't already, I suggest that the gun owners out there buy themselves an early Christmas (not winter holiday) present of a Seal-A-Meal vacuum food sealing machine. They work great for sealing ammunition, reloading components, and firearms to protect them from moisture. Vacuum sealed ammo will last virtually forever without the ravages of moisture to deteriorate them, and sometime in the future, you may desperately need what you've set aside. With the constitution and Congress being bypassed by "executive order", how long before elections will be bypassed, and a socialist dictatorship is installed in place of our representative republic? Not only that, but with our entire economy being outsourced to China, India and Mexico, it won't be long before people without income or hope will get desperate enough to take what they need to survive by force, which leaves the rest of us in imminent danger when the anarchy starts. Just thinking here, but it's always better to prepare for the worst while praying for the best.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Howdy, Madtown Mobbers!
Well, we're back from our trip to Sturgis, after wandering through Nevada, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Utah, and Nevada again before we had to leave America and re-enter the People's Republic of California. Remember when we didn't have to wear helmets? Yeah, I rode without one for many years before we lost that freedom to the nanny government in the P.R.of C. When you leave California, the gas is cheaper, the roads are better, the speed limits are higher, ( 75mph on most interstates with no lower limit for trucks or cars with trailers.) and NO damn helmets! They still trust you to pump gas first and then pay, and a couple of states had NO sales tax! What a refreshing change! We saw virtually NO graffiti, except some school team names sprayed on water towers, and the roadsides were clean, not because prisoners cleaned them, but because people have pride in their state. Then back to the good ol' P.R. of C., where our laughable excuse for a wanna-be interstate (Hwy 99) is like driving on a paint shaker. Even the secondary roads we traveled in other states were better maintained than Hwy. 99. Just goes to show ya what happens to a state that can't get it's priorities straight!