A few weeks ago I decided to finally get a motorcycle. I’ve wanted to upgrade from mopeds for many years.
This involved a long arduous process –some bureaucratic, some learning skills, and some mechanical work. Since I had no idea how to operate a motorcycle I elected to take a Motorcycle Safety Foundation course –these courses [...]
Bonecrusher
I’ve already described Bonecrusher so I won’t go into it again. In the last five weeks Bonecrusher has been running properly for about seven days. I prefer to imagine that it’s related to its age rather than my abilities as a mechanic, but I suppose that’s all relative.
Most recently Bonecrusher was stationary because its chain [...]
Gear
Stuff I Need To Buy:
Saddle Bags
Rain Gear
Ear plugs
Scarf
Bungie cords
Lip balm
Maps (my trusty Rand McNally road atlas doesn’t fit in the tank bag window)
Sunscreen (as I get further south I know I’m going to give in to the temptation to not wear a jacket)
Chain lube (I’ll need to lube the chain every day)
Stuff I Should Buy:
Waterproof [...]
I have chosen a killer route today: although I will drive about 590km of road, I will only go 339km as-the-crow-flies. On the map, the roads I’m taking curve so much they look like blurs.
I will start on US50 and follow it through Romney and Grafton where I’ll get on US119 which turns into Hwy [...]
Stopped to find out what was wrong with my chain at a local NAPA here. I needed to buy an adjustable wrench to do the operation. When I looked at the wheel I realized that the cotter pin that holds the wheel nut in place and the wheel nut was extremely loose –the only thing [...]
Just outside of Savanah, TN Bonecrusher stopped running. At the side of the road (N35.22650 W88.20554 E399ft) it was obvious that there was no electric power. No lights, no horn, certainly no starter, and obviously no spark. I visually inspected Bonecrusher’s four fuses and all looked intact.
After a few minutes a guy, Moore, on a [...]
I got about half a mile away when the fuse I had changed at Gillis Small Engine blew.
Luckily I’m across the street from an auto parts store.
The new fuse has fixed the problem, but I have no guarantee that it won’t blow in another mile. I bought 5 spare fuses…
The new fuse worked. The old fuse was in weird condition. At the side of the road when I first broke down it looked intact. When I was at Gillis Small Engine and I pulled it out of the clip one of the ends twisted off –not a good sign.
The second fuse blowing was just [...]
Bonecrusher has been leaking oil from the cylinder head recently. A small amount of oil leakage is tolerable, but the leak was getting bad enough that it was ruining my pants.
Old Honda CB motorcycles are known to be especially prone to leaking oil from the oil galleries on the left and right side of the [...]
Last Wednesday my parts came in and I was able to put Bonecrusher back together again. I trudged into my basement and retrieved the engine parts that I had removed a few days earlier. A few more trips to bring my tools out into the driveway and I was ready to begin.
The first order of [...]
With all of my recent mechanical ministrations, Bonecrusher has become a relatively trouble free ride. I’ve had time to focus my attention on fixing a particularly annoying design decision that Honda made with its CB motorcycles back in the 70s.
When you use a turn signal on a Honda CB, the turn signals blink and a [...]
