imagineer

Ok folks; school me on Ohio Bike Week. I’ve always wanted to go, but this is the first year I’ll actually have the time. I’m not looking to party my ass off or see any of the shows/bands, just look at bikes and boobs and maybe buy a t-shirt or two. Sandusky is about a 2 hour ride from my home base, which will be the longest/furthest ride for me, so… Is it worth going? I’m only planning to go on one of the Saturdays. Is one day enough? Is it better at the beginning or end of the event? Seeing as I ride a cheap metric cruiser, can I expect any crap from the HD crowd? Safety…should I be carrying? Would a disk lock be a worthwhile investment? Any pointers for making the best of the event? Thanks in advance.

2005 Suzuki C90 (The spot on the fairing is actually the reflection of the sky.)

I'm making a custom rear fender for a VL1500 and plan to use a set of front turn signals, modified to bolt direct to the fender. Typically, rear turn signals have only one filament. Front turn signal lamps have two filaments, one for the turn signal, the other for the running light. I'm thinking it might be a good thing if I wired the running lights to either the tail light or the license plate light so they be illuminated when the bike is on. Does anyone know if Ohio has rules about using amber instead of red for rear running lights?

I keep a Stevens 18" 12ga on a set of clips under the edge of the bed. I keep the tube loaded, but do not have a shell in the chamber. For me, the 1/2 second to retrieve the gun when necessary is enough time to chamber the 1st round. I keep a small led flashlight with the gun, but not mounted to it.

Thanks, that's the answer I'm looking for. I'm set up w/ tooling to do 9mm, .40 s&w AND .45 acp, but will start with .45's because that is what the customer requested.

Yeah, I've got that part down. My concern is the primer remaining in the casing, it's still a live charge. Depending on the application & caliber, I'll be machining some of the brass casing away. None of that can be done with a live charge still in the casing.

I'm machining some motorycle accent pieces and am planning on using brass casings for some added bling. It would be plenty easy to go out back and fire off the number of rounds necessary, but I don't want to have the little dent from the firing pin on the accent pieces. I'm clear on how to safely remove the slug and powder charge, but am not sure how to open and empty the primer. Anyone know the correct way to do this? Would it be better to buy bags of new casings and primers, open and empty the primers 1st, them press them into the casings?

Air Cooled Condensers (giant open end heat exchangers). It's brain dead work, but he's somewhat qualified.

A while back, I hired a guy with a degree in "Multi-Jurisdictional Anthropology". He makes $10.50 an hour as a Q.A. inspector.

The Glory Stompers, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061714/ Even though it has Dennis Hopper, the acting is awful. Still, it's worth watching.

I'm 6'-2" @ 200lbs and ride a Suzuki C50. I chose the C50 over other small metric cruisers because dimensionally, it was the larger bike. I did have to install forward controls and switch to drag bars for comfort sake, but I'm happy with the engine size. The only times I've felt it was under powered was riding 2-up climbing hills. I also like the cheap insurance too (~$100/year).

The faster you go...the sooner the 'ride' is over - MSF Instructor, State 8 Motorcycles.

Just in case you're looking for another wheel clamp for your lift... http://www.ebay.com/itm/150747675763?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

It's what I do . . . spend most of everyday, either at work or at home, thinking up stuff to build.

This idea has been rolling around in my head for a while, and last week I finally found an open evening to make it happen…install a hands free Bluetooth speaker in my helmet. The idea is more about being able to answer calls than to make them. We have a new driver at home and I don't want to miss a call if there is an emergency. Years ago I got a Motorola Model T305 Hands Free speaker for use in my car, but only used it a few times. (I think I got it from Woot.com for $19). Anyhow, I opened it up and soldered extension wires for the speaker and microphone. There is already a sewn pocket in the helmet for a speaker so I just ran the wires between the shell and the foam panels, then looped the speaker into the pocket. The microphone was a bit of a challenge. There are removable foam sections to each side of the chin bar. I had to cut a small hole in the rigid plastic backer and stuff the microphone into the foam. I can feel it while wearing the helmet, but it’s not uncomfortable. The housing of the T305 is held to the left side if the helmet using 3M VHB tape. If you are not familiar with VHB tape, it’s the strongest foam tape on earth (or at least it seems to be). The 4 wires that are run into the helmet are inside of a section of heat shrink tubing to help protect the fragile wires. One note, the microphone from the T305 is tiny and just about impossible to re-solder, so I used a larger microphone from an old cordless phone instead. Bottom line, the darn thing works surprisingly well. If I receive a call, I just tap the main button (which is easy to hit even with gloves) to answer. To make a call while riding, I just tap the same button and speak the name of who I want to call. The T305 asks me to confirm the name (yes or no), then my Blackberry dials the number. Because the microphone is stuffed inside the foam, wind noise is not a problem. To hang up, I hit the same button again. To charge it, there's a mini-usb socket on the end facing backwards. Its meant to take 12v via a car cigarette lighter, but I'll use a generic 12v wall power supply wired to the contacts on the car charger plug for now. Having the pod hanging off the side of the helmet looks a little goofy, but $19 for a Bluetooth helmet isn’t bad.

Way too much work and $$. In college, we pulled off a similar 'perfect prank'. On a classmates 21st b-day, we took him out and got him passed out face down drunk at a party thrown for him. Part of our plan was to entice another invitee (a guy who no one liked) to get equally as hammered. We got them both back to the dorms, stripped them down and put them into the birthday boy's bed together. A stretched out condom & the torn package was left at the scene. They were left to wake up on their own. Neither guy said anything the next day, but they both acted weird. We let it go a whole week before letting them know it was a set up.

I keep two pieces of 2" long x 1/4" wall steel pipe (I think the ID is somewhere close to 1.41") with the HF lift. When I raise the HF lift to the max height. I slip a pieces of the pipe over the safety bar before lowering the lift. This extra material between the lift frame and safety bar holds the lift table about 6'-8" higher than just lowered onto the safety bar.

Be careful using a car jack to lift a bike. The scissor jacks used on cars are pivoted at the top. The top plate is only supported at the mid-point, allowing the top plate to tilt somewhat. If you do use one, be sure to have the bike strapped well. Bike scissor lifts are pivoted in the middle and the top plate is supported at both ends. I was too cheap to buy one, so I made one from stainless.

I got one a while ago. So far it's done well, but it leaks. I keep a pie tin under the pump to catch the drips. One of these days, I'll tear it apart and see whats causing it. My only gripe, other than the leak, is that it's so awkward to move around. The wheels as swivel casters don't work for crap. BTW, I got my lift for $130. It was the floor model, so the store manager cut the price in half, and I used on of those 25% off one item coupon.

I (with lots of help) did a similar project back in ’88. My goal was a “ski-van” to take my friends and me and our gear from the Boston area to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. We put a 78 Econoline extended van body on a 79 F250 4X4, V8, 4 speed drive train. I got the van for free from a high school, and paid $1200 for the pickup (which was already lifted but needed tires). The metal cutting was done with O/A and all welding was done with an AC stick welder. All total, it was about two weekends of work and an extra $1000 or so for misc, parts, a van interior and beer. It was loud as heck inside and the fabricated transmission tunnel let fumes in, but it got my friends and me back and forth to skiing many times. I gave it to a friend when I moved to Ohio in ‘90. I heard in ’96, it had an honorable death by fire in a grocery store parking lot.

I got fixed about 11 years ago. No complications, minimal pain. The most remembered discomfort was from the nut hair growing back. The technique used was called the "non-scalpel" method where they don't actually cut the skin open with a blade, but [those of you that might be a bit frail should hold on to something] poke a hole through the scrotum using the sharpened end of a set of surgical needle nose pliers. Of course I'd been given a happy pill and shot of local anesthetic, but I honestly felt nothing. Even when the doctor opened up the pliers to expand the hole (taking advantage of the stretchy nature of nut sack skin), I barely felt a thing. The cutting, tying and cauterizing of the vas deferens also went unnoticed. The only hint that i was getting worked on what the mild sting from the superglue used to seal the openings. I got to sit on the couch with an ice pack for the rest of the day and the next day woke up feeling like I'd taken a solid kick to the cubes, and two Tylenol cured that. The real fun started a week later...Per the doctor's instructions, I had to "run the pipes" at least once a day, then bring a sample back in a week to look for live swimmers. Because my wife was in the room with the doctor, nurse and me during the vasectomy, he told her she should "assist" in the "exercising of my plumbing so as to limit the potential physical trauma possible from "manual manipulation". Best week ever!

You could try Morrision Welding 1435 South Honeytown Road, Wooster, OH 44691-8914 (330) 264-0626 About 4 years ago, I bought a 42" x 80" piece of 1/2" steel from them for the same purpose.

What patch did Tig remove from his vest and had to Clay?

Scott Anti-Fog Cleaner. It's not 100% fog proof, but it's better than spit or shaving cream. FWIW, I tried a ProGrip No Fog Visor Sheild...it worked great until the foam tape let go and it stuck to my eyelid...while doing 50mph. Turns out they're known not to stick you my brand (GMAX) helmet visor.

I've got a Suzuki C50 (800cc). It's a bit underpowered (I have to down shift up some hills) and until I put on custom pipes, had no grunt. I hindsight, I wish I'd shopped longer and bought a bike with more cc's.