The Motorcycle world and how I came to join it.

For the past 5 years I have worked for J&P Cycles, one of the worlds leading retailers for Motorcycle Parts and accessories. As an employee there (gotta watch my terminology) in the marketing and ecommerce departments I had the opportunity to create videos of products in the motorcycle industry. I had the great pleasure of becoming friends with innovators, marketers and creators in the motorcycle world and met some very interesting people. The passion that these people had for their two wheeled machines and how it directed but not dictated their lives was something that I couldn't keep from yearning for. I have been a bounce around my whole life with a new passion ever 6 months. I've been a hardcore prepper just waiting for doomsday, had the itch for the 4x4 and offroad, and even delved into the occasional non=profit group (for those that know me, this last one is an understatement.).
My buddy Kody Wisner, found an old KZ1100 in a ditch for $100 bucks from a guy and while I had been kinda helping around his shop sweeping up, lifting things, sand blasting or just helping to push bikes around, Kody thought it was time I had a motorcycle. I had been looking for something that I could afford in about the $0 dollar range for a few months already when Kody uncovered this little gem. He said, if I could make it run, that I could have it. He said he would help me so I took on the project and well, for another story, I finished it and made it run.
After some time of learning to ride it, getting my license, immersing myself into learning more about the bike and getting the right riding gear, I finally understood what these new friends in the motorcycle world were talking about.
It is exhilirationg to just hear the sound of the bike underneath of me, cruising down the highway, bugs splattering my faceshield (Helmet Wearer and proud of it.) And watching all of the people in their cars and trucks not paying attention to the road or what is around them.
In a car or truck, you are still allowed to be pre-occupied by the naggin wife (not mine of course) screaming kids, cell phone ringing, the latest text message that you just cannot live without reading and responding to, the news guy on the radio telling you that the government is only trying to help you and some advertisement telling you about a special on ribs at the local restaurant.
When I'm out there, I see the road, I see the cars around me, I see the scenery, I can pull over to look at the sunset and I don't have to get out of the car, I'm already there.
There is a comradery amongst those on 2 or sometimes 3 wheels that you don't get in a car.
When was the last time you were passing a group off cars going the other way on a 2 lane divided highway and everyone of them waved to you to say hello, be safe. Never. This happens on a motorcycle, ever see the guys dropping their left arm towards the ground with a few fingers extended as if to give a horizontal piece sign? Yeah, I had, but I never knew what it was. That is their way of saying Hello fellow rider, be safe and Keep 2 wheels down on the ground.
I really like that. I've now come to meet many more motorcycle riders and they are a group of people that you would never have expected to be such a loyal, caring and giving group of people. My kind of people. Not too worried about what others think of them, although they keep their bikes as shiny as can be, the outfit meets the requirement for the look of the weekend warrior and the depth of the voice drops a few octives as they get on their bike.
This is the primal man coming out in all of us. The Cowboy saddling up to head off into the sunset is about as romantic of a scene as you can get, and when you get on the seat of a motorcycle, that's exactly how you feel every time.
This is why I have joined that wonderful world of Motorcycle Rider, Enthusiest or AKA Biker.
If you ever consider jumping on the back of an Iron Stallion, make sure you do it the right way... Talk to some experienced friends, make some new friends, learn what not to do so as to avoid any embarrassment and don't get a doo rag with flames just cause you think it's cool.. They aren't.

Live life to it's fullest but don't be a dumb ass and ride like an idiot. Take your time and get several thousand miles under your belt before you do too much riding on your own. Besides, riding with a friend is always better than riding solo. Thanks for listening and there is sure to be more to come.

New Blogging

Begin following me as I beging to write about life, video, parenting and more. I hope to make this enjoyable and insightful so as you can learn lessons from my mistakes, or experiences as I like to call them.
Some things to see in the coming articles will be about motorcycles, rallies, Boy Scout events, how scouting has changed my life, being a parent and the fun that comes with that as well as some cool stuff with shooting and editing video.
It may not all be your cup of tea but I'll do my best to make sure everyone has something to read about.

Bulk Ammo

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More fixes

Last time on Ratchets Rantings I posted that I had fixed the petcock issues.. Well, I didn't. I thought I had, but 2 days later I ran the bike and it still leaked. So, I recently bought a K&N Petcock rebuild kit from J&P Cycles, and installed that tonight. NOW IT'S FIXED FOR SURE. Also, last week I was gonna run to town for lunch, got to the stop sign and the throttle cable broke right at the throttle. So, I had to pull the cable by hand to get back to work. Ordered the cable from Z1 Enterprises and got it in just a few days. Put that on tonight, rebuilt the petcock, Put the Stator in that I got last week also.. Yeah, it charges on it's own. So I took it out for a ride tonight.. Then the Headlight went out... On the highway nonetheless. Flashers were bright enough to get me back to the shop where I discovered a blown fuse. Replaced that so we'll see how long that lasts... I don't have a Multi Meter to use right now so I'll have to wait til I see my neighbor tomorrow to use his and see if I'm putting out too much juice or if it was just that old of a fuse. Thanks for reading and I'm gonna get some good riding time in tomorrow to help wash away some of this bad week that I've had. Don't want to get into that right now... I'm too pumped about riding again... More photos coming soon.

Petcock Troubles - FIXED

Ok, so I only got to ride the bike a little bit before it got cold and I am not a good enough rider for the rain and last fall was WET.
But it's been sitting in the garage all winter with the battery disconnected and in the house to keep from freezing, the tank couldn't keep fuel though.
So I got a wild hair up my arse the other night and decided to take apart the petcock to see what made it tick... Since it is a vaccum style, I didn't think it should keep running gas into the carbs and losing it all.
After taking it apart and explaining to my son how I thought it should work, something didn't seem quite right. When the diaphram has vaccum, it's supposed to let fuel through but it was letting it through all the time. Then while putting it back together, I realized that someone had already put a new diaphram and spring in it... BUT, they put the spring on the wrong side of the diaphram. It was continually holding it open. I changed this around and it works perfect now.
I am now realizing that when you buy a used bike that is in a few pieces, don't trust the guy that you got it from if he never put it together himself. The bike had belonged to a kid before he got it and the kid had done a bunch of the work himself so this would explain why things were soo messed up.
It really does pay to take something completely apart a few times to really get to know what makes it tick and to understand it... Now I just have to figure out the battery issue. I think its the Stator but I bought a used Rectifier just in case... Only 10 bucks so worth it if I ever need one. Now I am gonna start it up and try to get readings from the stator to see if it is even outputting any juice and the right amount at that. Got the book in hand and ready to tear into her again.
Also, one of my boy scouts had a sissy bar and luggage rack for a Yamaha about the same year and I made that work on it too. Next beyond that is to change out the rear shocks for some Progressive 412 series that I got for a good deal, BRAND NEW and in the box.. Never installed.
Wish me luck everyone.