Rain, rain go away

Yeah, I know, SOCAL has been in a drought, but this is ridiculous.  We are getting five days of rain, and we've already had so much it's just running off.  It was raining pretty hard this morning so I didn't ride in, then was nice mid-day, and pouring again on the way home.

I did see a few bikes-guys must be "TWO" or harder than me!  I hope to get some riding in tomorrow, but then probably won't ride again until next Wednesday.  Haven't even put the 100 mile scrub in on the new rear tire yet.  Blegh.

Two Bike Projects Done, a somber ride, and the car saga ends (hopefully)

This morning right when it got over 50 degrees I started painting the mufflers off my 1986 Kawasaki Concours.  I applied five coats over nearly two hours with only one run-which for me is pretty good with rattle cans. I used Rust-O-Leum Engine Enamel, which covered well and is good up to 500 degrees, hopefully enough for exhaust "cans".  If not, I'll clean up any blisters when I have them off in two or three months to move the rear wheel and new tire over to the restoration project 1994.  My goal is to get "Miss Swail" 100,000 miles over "Belle" while finishing the restoration and then retire Miss Swail at 116,000 plus miles.  Maybe a new owner will keep her on the road instead of parting her out, but there are lots of seals and rubber parts that are showing their age.

I also rode Gospel Flyer, the Harley Street Glide I inherited from my "big brother" Glen to Miramar National Cemetary for a funeral.  A Marine Sergeant was laid to rest today, and there had been a slightly "hoaxy" post about him not having much family.  Well, this got refuted, but it also energized the veteran community and there was a huge turnout.  Lots of bikes besides a large group of family and friends.  I also paid respect to Glen, another Navy buddy and a fellow EOD tech who was KIA on Oct 20, 2016.  All are in the same general area of the cemetary-Glen and my co-worker are five columns apart in their columbarium.  It was a tough time but a good use of part of my day.

The car is finally out of the shop.  Radiator replaced, lots of hoses for multiple fluids replaced, and the motor mount installed.  Definitely can feel it respond better with a solid front engine mount and fresh, full transmission fluid.  All work that needed to be done, some of which should have been done a while ago.  Even for a "rainy or too cold day" car!

New Rear Tire For the Kawasaki Concours

The rear wheel and tire I put on the 86 Connie from the 94 had gotten smooth on the middle like most of my tires, so it was time for a new rear tire.  This will be the last one before this bike gets to be 100k more miles than the 94 and retired.

So Friday night I put the bike up on its centerstand, but this time I decided to pull the mufflers just to see how much easier that makes this process.  It's a big difference, and more on the second project that started .

I haven't used a 27mm socket for this project, which is the right one for the crown nut.  I got everything apart and dropped the wheel and new tire off at Poway Motorcycles, my usual shop for remounting tires.  They did their usual quick and effective work.  I picked up the wheel but I also ran by Harbor Freight and picked up a 27mm socket.  What's the point of doing a project if you don't get to buy a new tool?

Everything lined back up pretty well-easier than usual to get the axle back through.  Having the socket instead of improvising a way to hold the crown nut and tighten the axle was much easier, and getting the nut tightened up and a cotter pin through the axle.

With the muffler "cans" off I decided to sand them down and try repainting them.  Even though I plan on selling the 86 as a parts bike/first Connie for someone else, the cans will look better and I'll get the experience with high heat paint.  So last night I sanded them to prep for paint.  Today is a bit cool and overcast, so I'll paint them tomorrow.