Wood Gas!

Check out this pimpin' ride from the seventies—a Wood Gas burning motorcycle!

Booya Bike Parts

As some of you may know, my day job is Your Computer Genius—we build websites and software, as well as doing network administration and computer consulting. An old friend of mine recently came to me with a need for a website, and we've launched the first version of it. You guys should check it out, they sell new oem motorcycle parts for a range of current imports and sport bikes. The website is:

Booya Bike Parts

http://www.booyabikeparts.com

Introducing: "Sparrow the Summer Wagon"

We had our first family dinner in Sparrow the Summer Wagon last night.

There is, ahem, a fair amount of work to do on her.

MY tasks include: finishing the caulking seal on the roof, sides and windows, making sure the coach 12V and 110V systems work, figuring out the propane and water systems, buying and installing a generator, changing all the automotive fluids and filters...

TSG's tasks include: assembling curtains and curtain rods, stripping the wallpaper, priming and painting, cleaning and painting the cabinets and washing the cushions and various other interior jobs...

Sparrow is a 1975 Roll-a-long 26-ft Motorhome. She was built on a 1974 Ford F-350 Custom 1-ton Dually chassis, with the 8-cylinder 460. (I now one a 2-wheeled vehicle, a 4-wheeled vehicle, and a 6-wheeled vehicle.)

We are looking forward to a very exciting Summer indeed.

Long-lived motorcycles

"Now it is time for my 150,000 mile writeup (Sept 2009). Once again there have been NO mechnicals and NO parts had to be purchased except those that I consider as 'routine maintenance'.

In the last 30,000 miles: (since the last writeup)

-a new chain at 124,436 mi.
-EBCHH front brake pads at 130,067mi (lasted 18725 mi)
-adjusted vales at 133,021 miles. 5 were a little tight. previous adjustment was at 66,804 mi. (all were within spec)
-replaced rear wheel/sprocket bearings at 135,736. first replacement.
-EBCHH front brake pads at 143,668 mi
-replaced fuel filter at 143,408 miles. first replacement. At this time I purchased a new fuel pump that I will use on my extended range tank. The original pump is still good.
-replaced battery at 147,336 miles. second replacement
-replaced chain/sprockets at 150,001 mi. previous chain lasted 25,000 mi and previous sprockets lasted 48,000 miles
-8 oil changes and 4 oil filter changes. all Castrol 10x40 syntech w/ Fram filters

tires: I prefer Tourances but I have used other tires. There were three rear changes and 2 fronts in the last 30,000 mi.
overall total average rear miles is 12,000 miles. average front mileage is 18,000 mi

Maybe its just luck but in 150,000 miles I've only has to spend a total of $20 for these three items: front brake light switch, exhaust gasket and clutch slave seal. Those might also be considered as wear items!!!

So get on that Strom and ride!!

Kith Burkingstock
Newnan GA"

* * * *

My V-Strom is the DL650 '07 model, not the DL1000 '03 described above - but I hold out high hopes, especially since the pre-2004 1000 has the most issues of any of the V-Strom models.

Not a week ago the blue V-Strom turned over 54,000 miles. Every time another ten-thousand goes by, which seems to happen with great rapidity, I have a chuckle reminding myself that some people own bikes for years and never put so much as five digits on the odometer. But then I stop chuckling because I know that piling that kind of mileage means sole-transpo, or at least commuting, use and I will never blame anyone for not using a motorcycle to substitute for a car. Piloting the Civic down the 101 freeway in torrential blinding rain last night, heater filling the glass bubble with peace and warmth, I thanked my lucky stars that I wouldn't have to thaw a shivering wet body under a hot shower for 20 minutes when I got home. On the other hand, I had to slightly crack open the driver side window so I could get at least SOME of the rain-smell into my nostrils. These are the things you lose with bodily comforts.

But yeah. 54k. And it's getting to be that time of year again. June. Road trip time. The V-Strom wasn't born to sit at home and chug back and forth every day to work and back. The very first time it came into my life, the very first three days I owned it from mile zero (or mile 2, since you can't register a new vehicle with no mileage) it carried me more than two thousand miles east for a wedding and then home. It wasn't a week old and it had more than two thousand miles on it. It was born for this very thing, to eat continents for lunch. And it's been moping about Ventura County for a whole year since last time I crossed the east California border, moping about, waiting for me to accrue enough vacation time to let it out again to play.

It'll be tough this year. My vacation time is going to be all used up honeymooning on Catalina Island in August. And that's okay. I'm looking forward to that, a different sort of adventure, of course. But it won't fix the wanderfoot, so I'll have to be creative. Another big thing is that the wifey-to-be has to be wandering with me or I'll feel selfish and unfulfilled. The V-Strom and I have a whole big world to show her, but we have to be careful not to overload her with too much adventure at the outset or she'll get sick and not want to do it ever again. She'll have to be eased into it somehow, the timing will have to be right, she'll have to have the right protective gear....it might not happen this year. But it sort of has to. A window in our lives is closing, and she absolutely HAS TO do a long, cold, hot, dry, starving, agonizing, gorgeous Purple Mountain Majesties and Fields of Waving Grain road trip before we can't anymore. She has to have that experience in common with me otherwise she'll never understand America properly. I wish I'd been able to do this earlier, but for health reasons it wasn't possible at all before this year and it may not be possible this year.

We'll see.

In the meantime, I watch episodes of the Long Way Round, I shake out my summer gear and polish the smoked visors for my helmets, I pinch my pennies for a full set of Givi side panniers, and I wait for my chance.

Do I really need to say anything?

Faye got some glamor shots!

(Click on the panorama to see it much bigger.)

http://world.honda.com/automobile-technology/VTEC/

I always wondered how VTEC worked. Here is a rather absorbing animation describing how Honda can generate big hp from a tiny motor without using turbos, high compression or other trickery.

My Civic has this; the technology has been around long enough now to be pretty standard-issue stuff on modern Japanese and German cars. While the storied kick in the pants above 4000 rpm is not present in my particular example, it does rev strongly and sharply to redline without running out of breath or feeling overworked.

OMG!!!!!

I was farting around on the interwebs looking at pictures of VW Rabbits and feeling all nostalgic about the one I drove all through college, (and subsequently sold), and I randomly found my old car on CarDomain.com...I wasn't even looking for it!!! Now that really hurts. Did you know that I quite literally teared up when the new owner took it away, and I have regretted selling it ever since? It's the only car I really wish I had never sold.

And how do I know for sure that it's mine? First of all, it's a red '77, if you look closely in the pictures you will see several things that are unmistakable:

-uncommon woodgrain dash with dual gauges, and rare under-dash package tray
-8 ball shift knob
-small hole on the corner of the gauge cluster where the tach used to be mounted
-Radio Shack speakers in the door panels and the defroster vents(!)
-missing interior panels in the rear hatch area
-annoying gap in the hatch weatherstripping
-dent in the corner of the driver's side front fender where I hit Emma's truck...

I know my car.

Of course the new owner has changed many things, but it's looking good!


Here's the link....

*Sniff*

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2316592

have computer, will travel

"Based on engine operating
conditions and accumulated engine
revolutions, the onboard computer in
your vehicle calculates the remaining
engine oil life." - Civic Owners Manual

With the emergence of fuel injection and consequently the Engine Control Unit as the standard method of "making it zoom", we have at our fingertips a heretofore untapped wealth of digital information that can be used to retire the mileage-based maintenance schedule along with those defunct carburetors. The raw data is available - drive-by-wire throttle inputs, engine temperature information, accumulated number of RPMs, even calendar time. (Shoot, instead of trying to hold it in your brain how long it's been, since your last oil change, why not let some computer do it?) And all of these inputs may be correlated to estimate how hard the car is being driven - patterns of hard acceleration, long periods of steady throttle, stop-and-go ... it's all there, being stored away in a memory chip. The car remembers how you drive. While it can't test its own oil any more than we can test our own blood, it gives us the best estimate yet of when the oil might be worn out. Honda's Maintenance Minder (not a very sexy name, but it is what it says) taps into this capability to simplify life. There are seven maintenance operations designated A, B, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. When the computer has counted enough RPMS and enough time has gone by, one or another of these lights up on the dashboard to say "hey, I need an air filter and spark plugs" or "oil change".

So yay. We don't need a computer to tell us when to change the oil, right? Well, remember that oil-change time is a guesstimate anyway. People say that oils these days last between 5,000 and 7,500 miles. But unless you pay to have an oil analysis done after three or four oil changes to determine the correlation between mileage and oil life, you won't know and you'll probably change the oil more often (and spend more money) than necessary. And even then, your estimate is based on mileage, inherently less useful in determining oil life than RPMS. The same mileage driven hard will wear out the oil faster than an identical mileage driven gently, given daily operation. In fact, if one has to choose a single criterion to base maintenance on, an RPM based maintenance schedule is probably the most accurate, even more so than hour-based maintenance.

The one factor, of course, that RPM based maintenance doesn't consider is how loaded or unloaded those RPMS are. A lot of hilly driving will put more stress on the oil for the same RPM than driving on level ground. However, a temperature data line (greater engine temps on hills) ought to weed out some of that variable. And of course there is to consider how dirty the air intake is.

In the end, service intervals are all estimates and must be treated as guesses. The question is, how can the most accurate guess be achieved for people who aren't into pulling plugs to look at the soot deposits, or analyzing their oil? Honda's answer seems to be pretty well thought out.

(p.s. Also, the Civic averaged 32 mpg on its fifth tank of gas in ordinary stop and go driving. That ought to improve as it breaks in)

just sneaking by, nobody notices the perfect finish, right...

Okay, okay. Don't hate me....

It was an experiment, really. Does making lease payments in exchange for a fridge that gets 35 mpg work out as a good idea in real life? I mean, what I already said about the Enabler, you know?

But now I have two, because the Suzuki hasn't started giving me any problems yet.

Well, if it keeps the fiancee happy, it's worth it. I took an honest look a the purchase cost of a 1967 Ford Falcon station wagon, the amount of garage space and wrenching facilities available to me, and the amount of sheer time I had available to me, and it added up to "no".

Don't get me wrong. The love of my life understands and entirely sympathizes with the fact that I have 30weight in my blood; and that I will always own and regularly use a motorcycle, at least for commuting.

But one just doesn't live as a normal member of society with grocery bags and driving friends to the Getty Center and going out for coffee on dark and stormy nights without a car. Sorry. I've tried it. It doesn't work. You have to be either single or weird - preferably both.

So given: car. Also given: reliable car. Well, old simple car or new (relatively simple) car? Old simple car: cheap. Requires time, tools and more time. Usually involves some frustration. Adventures, loving and hating. New car: expensive. None of the above stuff involved, if leasing. Set it and forget it. Honda pays for all oil changes for 3 years, warranty, etc etc etc. Not much of an adventure, not a whole lot of emotional attachment. Yet.

We'll see how this works out.

Also, part of the experiment is sheer geek-out curiosity. How do they MAKE cars these days? All this new stuff; drive by wire throttles (no more cables), oil life tracking (a computer tracks engine temperatures, load, and total revolutions to extrapolate oil life), five-speed automatic with overdrive (yes, I count six shifts) ...does all this shiny stuff do what they say it does? Does it really work? I'm kinda curious about this end of the vehicular spectrum, the bleeding edge of Honda's genius. What have they done to make my life simpler, easier and less expensive at the pump? Are new cars any good? If so, how?

Stay tuned.

Cheers

Guess that winter wasn't as bad as I'd expected. It's starting to warm up again, and I've already logged 450 miles on the Triumph during the past month. Upon filling the tires back up to 40psi she handles beautifully, still with more power than I deserve.

I've been using KBC's VR2 for about the past year now, and liked it fairly well. My only complaint was addressing the way it rubbed on my forehead towards the end of a day-long ride. So, while I was down at Jeff's place last week, I decided to put a new one on order. I chose Sparx' S-07 and it came in today. After spending just 12 miles in it, the old VR-2 has achieved strictly-loaner status. The Sparx is quiet and comfortable, yet still drafty enough to stay cool in the summer. The padding has cavities on either side that accept big ears comfortably, even with earbuds. There are little elastic straps at the back to route the wires, too. Keep it in mind if you're looking to buy a new bucket with a hundred bucks.

And keep Jeff in mind too, should you find yourself owning a Ducati one fine day; he's running one hell of a good business out here.

I can't believe how long it has been since I posted here. But to prove this blog is not dead, here's my latest project: a wood car for Charlie!

Everything except for the wheels was built from scratch. (BTW, it is only sitting on that stick so the paint on the wheels can dry---I just finished it a few minutes ago).

Triumph of human will over aluminum

Nearly two years and endless amounts of blood and money in the making, Suzi lives and breathes again. She weeps a tiny bit of oil from the revised and siliconed head gasket (gaah!) and she won't idle below 2000 rpm, and the rear brake doesn't work anymore - but she runs DAMN good and pulls like a freight train. I ran her down to the local gas station to fill her up with premium and relived the days of wind-in-my-chest muscle-bike glory with the added joy of vintage rat-bike style.

Now the question remains: can I really sell her? (My Discover card balance will probably answer that one for me)

It's been two years and change now since I rolled her out of the alleyway next to L.A. Honda/Triumph. Two amazingly uneventful years, from a maintenance standpoint, and two beautifully liberating and exploratory years from an operational standpoint.

She's done it all, gone everywhere I've gone. Oh, there was that one trip where I rented a car to drive up to Idaho, but that's because it was wintertime.

But everywhere else. Minnesota. Colorado.

And every day to work and back. Every dark morning in the dim carport lights, the ignition clicks on in a wash of headlights and LCD, always the same. Always starts on the second or third crank. Almost always hiccups once the first time past 2500 RPM; always clunks the forks on the way out over the drainage-curb; and always hmmmmmmmms up smoothly through the gears in its stiff morning oil. Nothing changes. And some things ought never to change. One's primary vehicle, the Enabler, the thing that makes it possible for you to live your life in a world of freeways....that ought to be one of those things. For my own sanity, I have always determined that I need one vehicle as reliable as a stone ax - anything over and above that is Fun and does not need to be reliable.

This Suzuki has been the most amazing stone ax ever. 48,900 miles now. One problem and one only: a bad start button, the day after the warranty expired.

After that, nothing. Before that, nothing. And, it has been dropped four times.

So, I'm thankful, and deeply respectful. This is a cheap motorcycle, after all. It was built very much to a price point, but such is the miracle of modern engineering that even cheap stuff these days is really, really good. And even now with all those miles on her budget shock and forks, she can still give BMW Z4's a run for their money in the twisties...but that's another story for another time.

Joining the two-wheels-with-motors club

Well, I've joined the two-wheels-with-motors club. Also the club of tons of accessories, like helmets and leather jackets, and the club of low annual insurance premiums.

I picked up a 1978 Yamaha XS 400 for a steal on CL. Only thing I've done to it is dump a bunch of oil in and put a fresh battery. It runs great, not bad for a 31 year old bike!

It has been dead around here, hasn't it?

Well, I can't speak for other members of the group, but sadly my life has taken a decided turn away from machinery. (But this does not prevent me from noticing a perfectly restored red Sunbeam Tiger at a car show in Redwood City, then going inside to examine it more closely, marveling at the audacity of the Shelby engineers who packed a Ford V-8 inside its diminutive bonnet.)

The 1969 Chevrolet has been given back to its rightful owner. After the thing was made to run, I discovered a massive transmission leak that I was not ready to deal with. So I was reimbursed for my parts, and I'm looking for something with a box that is newer, simpler and preferably with four cylinders.

The 1982 GS1100E is parked, in pieces again, in a garage in Camarillo. It and I are awaiting the delivery of a revised head gasket from Cometic, a revision that I feel personally responsible for putting into action. Cometic's Multi-Layer-Steel head gaskets were designed to be used in racing motors with high-strength studs and therefore designed for torque values in excess of 40 ft-lb.

The problem I had with leakage did not crop up until recently, since who puts an MLS gasket on a stock motor??? The stock studs can only handle 30-35 ft lb at MOST before they break, and that torque is insufficient to mash the little metal ridges around the oilways flat enough for good sealing.

The solutions to this problem are legion: use black silicone around the oilway holes; get high-strength studs ($$$) and torque it to 40 or 50 ft lb; or (free) get Cometic to redesign their gasket, restamp it, and send me one. This latter has been the most time consuming but the most morally satisfying.

I'm supposed to get the revised gasket next week. We'll see. I'll probably use black silicone with the new gasket too, because if I have to tear that motor down one more time I will be seriously tempted to push the whole assembly off a cliff into the Pacific.

Boston Moped Massacre

Wow, folks, it's been dead around here!

For your viewing pleasure:

2 cars for sale

Well, I finally put the Silver Bullet up for sale at IPD, and the Merc sedan up on Craig's List.

More IPD Goodness

Man, if I'd known about these a few years ago, I could have saved the 240 owners I know a good chunk of change.

Trick track bike

When addictedtowheels came to Ojai for a much-anticipated visit two weeks ago, he helped me to finally lace up the wheels for the new bike build I have been collecting parts for over the last 6-8 months. I got the frame yesterday in the mail, and this morning I put it all together. The biggest reason for this bike is to have something to do tricks on, and this one can do barspins and is geared down a little for easier wheelies and riding backward.

...We'll see if I can actually develop the talents for doing such things.

It's pretty much a full-on hipster machine however; much more so than I anticipated when buying parts one at a time...but I love it.

Volvo roof rack

It's all done except for spraying it with bedliner! I am amazed that I succeeded in getting it so straight and square...it dropped into the rain rails perfectly, first try. Had to modify the hold-down clamps slightly, but it came out alright. Now it's all set for an old tire, a vintage Coca-Cola cooler, and a bunch of battered suitcases.

Just kidding...

Today at the Ventura Motorsports car show Charlie got to be the first Cools or Hayden (that we know of) to sit in a real Ferrari---and not just any Ferrari---a 1963 250 GTL! When he is old enough to understand what it's all about, he's sure to be car guy for life, whether he likes it or not!

Volvo roof rack

I am building a steel roof rack for the 142, Hood Ride style!

2009 IPD Garage Sale

Slideshow here.

Imprfct'd's IPD Annual Garage Sale and Car Show photoset

Saab loving was needed

Hey, all-- crashbox tells me that some Saab loving was needed on the blog. I'm game. I look forward to posting this summer as I will be spending the dog days of summer tearing apart the 1987 Saab 900 (Devon) again to take care of a transmission pinion bearing and a leaking power steering rack. The 1990 900 Turbo-vert (Ulla) is being persnickety after a winter in the garage, but I guess it's my fault for putting it away with a few issues. Ball joints, driver's window regulator rebuild, and convertible top replacement are scheduled for the early weekends of June. I'm almost done re-upholstering the seats. Leather is stiff. The 1991 900s (my only naturally aspirated car, Seymour) has been a lucky find- $500 and no real issues. I am replacing the CV's to eliminate clicking and vibrations on sharp cornering, but that's all! New York's safety inspection is picky, and Devon failed (e-brake and power steering need rebuilding) just as Seymour became available. I left a note on the guy's windshield two years ago offering to buy his car if he ever wanted to sell. He saved my note and called me at the same moment, literally, as Devon failed NYS inspection. He told me to name my price. I low-balled at $500 because of the CV's and small amount of body rust. For a one-owner, well-maintained car, I think I got a steal. This takes a little bit of the pressure off the projects with Devon and Ulla. Anyhow, let me know if any hot Volvos need a date with a black Saab.

IPD Garage Sale

Well folks, tomorrow is the Annual IPD Garage Sale.

I'm hoping to take the camera and do an Imprfct'd exclusive scoop, with lots of pictures.

Stay tuned.

With all the parts I need to start building the wheels for my new bike assembled, I am finally ready to bust out the Sheldon Brown tutorial and get to work! Though I had good luck with my previous wheels using some clothespins and the frame of the bike for truing(!), I felt that this time I should really use a proper wheel truing stand. There were none on craigslist.org, and ebay was way too expensive and takes too long to ship anyway. I needed an alternative...

There just so happened to be some old aluminum door frame pieces hanging around the shop as scrap, and I started thinking...

Sometimes you've got to make your own tools.