Back to work Tuesday, a computer lab was moving to another building and had to be ready by the next Monday for classes so I had to get busy. I measured the new room and made a scale drawing on the computer, and found that the 3 tables that were planned to go in there wouldn't fit. By Wednesday afternoon the powers that be had decided that 2 tables would have to do. I spent 17 hours pulling the fiber optic cable from the basement up to the room, installing 26 Cat5 lines and terminating. Thursday I installed the access control panel in the basement and tied into the existing system so the card swipes would work. Now I was waiting on the electricians for power to the computers, the carpenters to modify the door for electric locks and the locksmith for keying. Including the New Years holiday, I had 43 hours in for the week. That meant Friday off to see how the bike was doing, and temperatures were expected in the high 40s, and maybe even up in the 50s by Saturday.
When I got to A&A, the bike was sitting on its new legs. Andy was under the hood of his truck, his heater core had went out and there wasn't any firewall to mount a new one to. He was making a cardboard template to measure out a piece of aluminum sheet to fasten to the remaining firewall and hold a new core. He was in the mood to work on something else.
He showed me the hub cap that the new wheels used to cover the right side front in single disc applications like mine. Originally it wouldn't clear the lower leg but he had some of the outer end machined down so it would fit. It was still pretty close. We decided that a little more should be taken off, plus I had the rear tab missing from one of my saddlebag mounts, and he had a sheet of aluminum that needed to be cut and bent. We pulled the wheel and removd the hubcap, put the wheel back on. He closed shop and we got in my pickup to head to Blue Steel Tool and Die on 5th street. I looked down from the window and Peepers was looking up. I opened the door and he tried to get his little self up into the truck but just couldn't make it. I stepped outside, scooped him up and put him on the floor. Somewhere I've read something like, "if you want to know why I ride a motorcycle, ask a dog why he sticks his head out a window". Peepers enjoyed the wind from the safety of Andy's lap.
At Blue Steel, there was a Wide Glide and a Sportster parked in the lot. We went in and I met the boss's son, owner of the Wide Glide. As Andy put it, I could ride without the hubcap and the saddlebag mounts, but he needed the truck fixed now. The aluminum sheet was cut and bent on a brake while I walked the floor of the plant taking in the equipment: huge lathes, mills, presses, grinders. I love metal work. Andy got his firewall repair patch and he, Peepers and I were off, my parts would be delivered before 6:00 when A&A closed.
Back at the shop we got to working on the distributor. Andy moved the shaft back a couple of teeth so the wire exited in a better position. I tied the wire in place. Timing was reset. Three kicks and it started. It might have started on one if I had remembered to pull the enrichener up. I put my jacket and helmet on while it idled smoothly outside. Off into traffic I went. The sun was sitting orange on the horizon and the warmth of the day was fading.
I don't know what it is. The new wheels, the new tires or the new ignition, but the bike is smoother now than I have ever remembered. It could be a combination of all 3 things. The difference is simply amazing. It was money well spent. I saw places to turn around and go back but I kept passing them and going on. It was great to be riding. But I knew I had to return before closing, so after around 12 miles I found a wide spot in the road and did a U-turn back.
The Wide Glide from Blue Steel was there, as were my hubcap and bag mounts. I paid for the parts, went out back and shot some gray paint on the welds while the machinist and Andy put the front tire back on. Andy rolled the bike onto the air lift and I cranked the clamp onto the tire. I put the bag mounts back on, and entertained the idea of having them powder coated black along with some parts Andy would be having done soon. I had put the bolts through the fender from the outside and it seemed that they extended too far in and might cut into the tire.
I decided to put them through from the inside, use a nut as a spacer for the mounts and then use a locknut to secure the mount. That way, if I did decide to have them powder coated, I could remove them easier, and if I wanted to remove them altogether I could and not have the fender loose. But it was closing time and I didn't have time to change them out. I'd have my wife drop me off Saturday, I'd pay for everything redo the bolts, and then take a ride.