9 miles today: 12.8 miles this month 532 miles this year Well, the ice is broken. Don and I went for our first ride side-by-side in a very long time. We went to the post office and to get him some smokes. We carefully avoided doing any real u-turns. I rode fairly well, kept up [...]

2 miles today: 3.8 miles this month 523 miles this year Another parking lot session. Don tightened the area around the oil filter, and we hardly had any smoke. The gasket will be here soon. Very exciting stuff. I was doing just fine in the parking lot. I guess I’m ready to go on a [...]

1.8 miles today: 1.8 miles this month 521 miles this year Did a dry run in the carport. Seemed okay. Took the bike to the parking lot. There was a small amount of smoke. We are now leaking from the oil filter area. This is okay, because it just means the instant gasket isn’t good [...]

More work. Don discovered that the second leak had much to do with the second hold being pushed out of shape when we screwed it in last time. We did things in gradients over a couple of hours.

We did a test ride. One leak is gone and the other mostly done. We will need to take the cover off again and re-do it. I ordered a new gasket, too. This one is from Yamaha. I figure we’d have done better to pay $40 more and get proper gaskets, don’t you?

We took the case off again. Don started scoring around the two cracked hole bits to let the J-B Weld sink in better. The bits broke right off. He said that was okay, almost better, but it was quite a wrench when it first happened. Started thinking about getting a new side cover. They cost [...]

Got the cover and stuff back on again. The side cover looks like a five-year-old did it. Went for a test ride. We’re still leaking everywhere. Now, we have a cracked side cover… I had a “don’t wanna look at it” period. Don went out and JB-welded the cracks. We’ll see. He took some of [...]

We took the side cover off. Well, no darn wonder! The brand new gasket is torn around several of the hex nut holes. Out came the instant gasket, and we left it overnight to set. I painted the side cover with “chrome” paint. Don then tipped it upside down and rubbed it into weird configurations [...]

I took the lock off the Markeroni door today. I am looking forward to actually growing this site… A proud moment. The Mercury retrograde is over. I feel more of a lightness. I was able to do a bit of writing. It’s odd what a little bit of hope and happiness will do for you. [...]