Archive for October, 2005
Well, yes, it did sound cool when I thought the loudness was the increased power in the 2:1 pipes … then I learned that it was only running on one cylinder. Boy did I feel silly riding it home … the ride suddenly felt more like a limp.
The first time I rode it, it was speedy. The second time I took it out for a real ride and it just had no power. At full throttle on a relatively flat speedway, I couldn’t get it over 45mph. Now, I remember my ‘79 Special was a very speedy bike and the ’72s are no exception. The speedometer goes to 140mph. I know this one really wants to be speedy. So, I took it into the shop and the owner (who owns the same year/model) recognized the sound immediately.
I suspect that the guy I bought it from had left the bike outside all summer and fall and we had 2 really wet months during his ownership time. There are the beginnings of rust on it and the tank is really rusty. I think that the first time my brother and I rode it, we probably succeeded in running a bunch of rust into the carbs, plugging one up.
So, there I have it, I’ll be picking up my much speedier bike on Tuesday from him. I wanted a professional evaluation of the bike anyway so that all works out. I hadn’t yet examined the engine number, but it turns out the engine is a ‘74 TX-A 650 on my ‘72 xs650 frame, and the front end is something else and the starter switch is off a ‘74 as well.
anyway, so next up is creaming the tank so I don’t lose a cylinder again and then painting. then all the little things - center stand, fix the loose kickstand, etc.
October 30th, 2005
Passports that is…
Looks like all US passports are going to have an RFID tag in them by Oct 2006. If you renew your passport now, you’ll buy yourself 10 years to let other people “test” and “debug” the tagged passports. Think of the tag as a large american flag imprinted with your picture, name and address waving and viewable by a 50 foot radius now and probably a much greater distance in the near future.
Regardless of whether it’s a harmless convenience or a death warrant in anti-american zones or an attractant for identity theft feeding frenzies, I personally don’t want to be the test case. I’m definitely renewing my analog passport immediately!
Security Focus news brief
Washington Post
Security Focus article
Mahaffey’s presentation & demo
October 30th, 2005
The bike is mine! Waiting to be painted and maybe chopped a little! I saw an ad on Craig’s List for a ‘72 xs650. We borrowed a truck and drove up to Oak Harbor on a Friday afternoon around 5pm across the Narrows Bridge which is never a fun task during rush hour.
We got there just in the last rays of light. He had the bike out and warmed up (hmmm). Unfortunately, the clutch cable was so gunked up that I couldn’t really take the bike for a ride. It needs a little more work than the seller indicated on the phone and the seller didn’t seem to know much about bikes or riding. Looked like it had been left outside since beginning of last summer when he bought it. He felt the bike was too big.
As soon as I sat on it, I had to have it. It was just so … familiar. I spent so much time on my ‘79 650 that even 15 years later it felt completely natural. So, I bought it.
We loaded it into the truck and proceded down down the dark country road in the wind and rain, fantasizing about summers to come, colors to paint, shiny chrome and ceramic paint and speedy rides.
October 18th, 2005
I’m not really sure how I want to manage all this project information yet. I don’t think a blog will work since the information isn’t particularly time-line based. But I’ll dump it here until I figure something out
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project tool needs:
- a way to document workflow
- image gallery that’s easy to link to and make comments
- to do lists associated with benchmarks like in basecamp
- resource management
- lists of links
- off line references
- contacts
- parts sources
- How Tos/knowledgebase
- maintenance/repair log (example)
Budget management
- source cost comparison tool
- build vs. buy comparison tool
- comparison tool between projected valuation and total project cost
Nice to have:
- export to docbook?
- comments or wiki?
October 14th, 2005
The garage is almost cleaned out. I posted the MGB on Craig’s List and sold it to the guy who called within 30 seconds of my hitting the submit button. Wow!
Goodby Meg
Hello Willy Wilma
So onward and foward, the real point to unburdening the garage is to complete our existing incomplete projects, not new ones, the largest of which is the Willys. So, now begins the project plan.
October 13th, 2005