Plausible excuse for lack of new posts?

My wife and I made a baby!

I do have lots of things on my mind and even some promising new leads.

Firstly a new conspirator that I met at Metro who is contemplating moving here from Elmira NY and has a background in both Machining and bike enthusiasm.

Secondly Parker let me in on a new moped racing group out of L'ville who want to race at an unnamed kart track that I've been meaning to ride at for a while. Check it out via Magnum Dash.

Christmas break is coming up, and I hope to get some projects further underway. Stephan will be along to wrench with me on his Moto Guzzi 850 T3, I hope to get the body finished on Daniel Matt's scooter, and maybe even mount the dash and talk with Rick about body work for his Kan-a-tuna!

The real gift to remember this season is our individual value, which overwhelms me. Curious? Write me seth.hershey-at-gmail for more.

Simple Carb

Exploded and identified view, and reassembly steps. For Elena, Matt, Brad, and Amanda.

Click for larger images.

Feed throttle cable (not shown) through goose neck adjuster, compress throttle spring, and attach throttle cable tip to throttle plate.

Screw down Carburetor top.

Detail of carb bowl, float, float pivot pin, needle jet, and main jet.

Slot needle jet into float.

Fit needle into the needle seat of the underside of the carb, fit pivot pin to hold float and check for freedom of motion.

Thread in main jet.

Install float bowl

Detail of carb side, fuel filter, banjo fitting, and screw with gasket.

Fit filter. It's probably directional, pay attention for best fit.

Fit banjo fitting and screw with gasket

Fit air filter into carb or into air filter cover/housing.

Fit air filter cover, and voila! Sometimes it's easier to install the carb onto the intake, and then install the air filter and cover, depends on available space.

Good luck!

Metro scenery: Symba and the girls.

Stella!

The Mint Mangle (Rusty Cowl) in it's not-so-natural environment. Fun.

Moto Parking in Cincinnati.

Way to go Cincinnati, good for you for using every nook and crannie that those cagers can't park their cars in. Keep up the good work. Now if only I could find some space to squeeze in.

OH, there's a space.

On the Road.

A few weekends ago I rode to Spring Valley for the Gem City Rollers' Roll in the Hay camping rally.

It was a bit dark leaving Metro, but we only got rained on for a bit while in town and it dried quick enough to be forgotten. I didn't even have time to think that my rain gear would be necessary. Dave and Kim probably didn't even have any, so I would've ridden along wet to commiserate.

The Rally was entertaining despite missing most of the active events like rides and shenanigans. We did still get to see the Gymkanna, which was kinda sad. And we saw people try to bite a hot dog from a moving scooter. The rest of the night was good for hanging out, and I had my yearly ride on Kevin C's rare Lambretta, in the dark, on winding corn field perimeter roads.


These cows have always been here. I think they are pets/scenery.


Beautiful bright morning on the farm.

Sleeping on the ground always makes me crave road trips and more camping, so the following Monday Bob and I rode out to Portsmouth to scout out more camping and to visit his parents on the Ohio side of the river.A visit to Augusta, parked by the Ferry, but that we stayed on the KY side, and visited a lonely Amtrak station in Maysville that is unmanned and always open.

Bob, his R100GSPD (Paris Dakar replica) and my CBR400 at Heritage Honda (boring) in the ugly modern part of Maysville, vs. the pretty old town part that had the cool train station.

After crossing the River just after Portsmouth we visited with Bob's folks and had some delicious pasta. We rode back via 125 through Shawnee State Park, they had just treated the road with a fine spread of small gravel and signs warning us to go 30mph, it was strange and made corners feel kinda funny.

Bob hit a Vulture outside of the park.

I don't mean to make it sound like a small deal, I hate to see any casualty of road sports, but Bob was so unfazed that I wanted to convey that with my delivery. This was the last buzzard to leave a banquet of deer at the guard rail; he should have just stayed put. Bob's Beemer suffered only some smear on the mirror and broken turn signal and brush guard.

Anyway, Shawnee State Park looks like a great destination for a scooter ride and camp. Who's in? We'll try to avoid the wild life.

Thinking a lot about the Peirspeed distributed Sachs MadAss 125 which is finally available

Original image

full faired for road courses

and bikini faired for short/kart road courses

I would do one with a number plate/head light holder for the street.

Sarcastic Encouragement Posters for the Moto Crowd

Originally posted by Paul Hood. Share the fun!

Tyga Aero Mockup.

It's due time I replace the bodywork on my CBR

Before

And after

Brought (back) home my Kinetic TFR. I consider this to be the first bike I got. It was a gift from my wife for Christmas. I finally got it started a couple years ago, but never had the time and interest in riding it. So I loaned it to Stephan for he and his room mate to enjoy. Stephan bought a few more jets and found this old 4" headlight to make it street legal. Thanks Stephan.

It started with the first kick, but died out from too much air. Jetting was right, but not for the lack of a filter in the air box. I replaced that and it was golden.

I swapped out the moped style high bars for a flat handlebar from a mountain bike donor and rode it to Kroger for some food items. I had no lock, so I wedged it into the bike rack and hoped no one would take it. It was still there.

So I took it off road. I explored the whole construction site at Colerain and Virginia in Northside. And it kept going. Less the headlight, which was a 6volt item. I replaced it with a 12v bulb, and it works gloriously.

Next up, a vanity windscreen. Cute huh?

Beast of Burden: Grocery Getters

Two pictures I've been unintentionally hanging onto.

Seen outside of the Hyde Park Kroger last Friday.  I love to see people really using their scooters.

I have no idea what the apparatus on the Chinese scooter is for, maybe golf clubs...  that would be some uneven loading, unless you were carrying your comrade's clubs as well.

Gear that Makes a Difference: Full Face Helmet

For the last month I've employed a Bell Star for helmet duties.  The Star is Bell's range topping full face helmet, a stark difference compared to the lower end HJC, and Bell Sprint helmets that I've been wearing for the last four years that I've been riding.  

I'm using the soft pads (it also comes with firm, which I'll try if the soft set breaks in to be too roomy) which have a luxurious feel.  I sized it from the extra small helmets that I wear from Bell, and that was accurate for me.

I decided to try a different helmet after a particularly quick trip on my 400 left me feeling a little rattled from my old helmet (a matte black Bell Sprint) lifting and pressing uncomfortably on my face in the wind.  

The solution?  This helmet has spoilers!  

Aside from looking a lot better, being much lighter and feeling like a  much more tailored fit on my head it has technical improvements to the venting system (that works) and aerodynamics, in fact in my Bell catalog they've got a helmet with strip taped all over it for demonstration purposes.  I don't know what it is actually demonstrating, but I can tell you that this lid is very stable, at least at scooter speeds.

I've planned a road trip on the CBR from Cincinnati to Athens for tomorrow, during which I'm sure I'll do plenty of thinking about my helmet.  I'll try to follow up on this post with those findings.

Already sporting an endorsement for my favorite British motorbike magazine, Performance Bikes.