July 2, 2008

I'll be working on some CJ projects during my upcoming vacation from work, and (of course) riding—every single day that it's not pouring. So far this year, neither bike has been down for service. The only concern is trying to decide which one to ride.

I just got a rear fender from Freddie and some high handlebars from Luke, all of which will be prepped, painted and installed very soon. (My summertime sandblasting cabinet is the back end of a brown Edsel wagon out behind the shop.)

June 21, 2008

Greetings from Trinidad and Tobago, my home for the next month. If you're planning to paint over aluminum, chrome or similar surface, you'll want to use zinc chromate primer. This stuff etches the metal and provides the adhesion that you won't get with other primers. Needless to say, the surface needs a bit of prep beforehand. ZC is getting hard to find and some vendors tack on a hefty surcharge for shipping since it's considered to be a hazardous material. One place that still doesn't is SkyGeek.

June 9, 2008

If you enjoy exploring roads that are off the beaten track, you owe it to yourself to have a gazetteer. Mine has topographical maps that show everything from seasonal access roads to fire trails. It also shows abandoned railway lines, mills, homesteads, cemeteries, school houses and other things that many people find interesting. You can probably find one for your area on the Internet.

June 5, 2008

On Monday I'll be heading for Trinidad and don't expect to be home again until the middle of July, so I guess the clock is ticking. Bummer. Two sets of high handlebars from Luke arrived today, but there just won't be enough time to get them prepped and installed due to all the other stuff we've got going on around here. (Click here to see what I'm talking about.) Not to worry, though, as it gives me a little project to look forward to when I get home. I plan to blast the chrome and then paint the handlebars black, just like they did in the old days. I'll need to get my hands on some zinc-chromate primer, essential for painting over chrome. Anyway, wait 'til you see these babies!

June 4, 2008

&%$# rain. I'm forced to get on with real life while it rains—taking care of the house, running errands, doing stuff with my wife, having people visit, that kind of thing. The forecast for the remainder of my vacation is pretty crappy, but the local weatherman isn't accurate beyond a day, so there's still hope of hitting the county roads while gas is still under $5.

I've never taken the time to figure it out so this is only guesswork, but I reckon a sidecar M1 gets around 50mpg. That's an educated guess, but I can ride all afternoon on $8 worth of fuel. Has anyone ever calculated mileage? Plus, a Chang is happy running on the cheap stuff, unlike some of the old cars we've got here. You can see where this is leading. This summer, when the price of fuel reaches its all-time high, riding a CJ will still be practical as well as all that other fun stuff. Even my wife's hybrid Honda doesn't do as well as a Chang, but obviously, there's a few trade-offs. Meanwhile, I wonder how easy it would be to get one of those CJ trikes with a cab. Wouldn't that be that ultimate winter ride?

June 2, 2008

Boy howdy, do I ever love my JCS M5 wheels! They're on the grey M1 now, and for the life of me, I don't know why I procrastinated on installing them for so long. (Probably the same reason I waited three years before doing the VW voltage regulators...) Yesterday, I rode all afternoon, what surely would have been a three spoker with the stock wheels. It was a nice change of pace to just park the bike when I got home instead of changing spokes. At my request, Jimbo had the wheels powder coated black, spokes and all, just like Indians and Harleys of yesteryear. To me, this is an excellent way to get a vintage look. What's more, these wheels are freakin' rugged. You'd have to run off a cliff to break spokes on an M5. Plus, the brake linings are 50% wider. More surface area means better braking, and that's exactly what I've got. These wheels are one of the very few CJ aftermarket items that I would recommend, especially to those who are tired of riding on egg-shaped rims.

May 31, 2008

The new generator was mounted on the grey bike this morning. Piece of cake. This time, instead of using cork gasket material, I used heavy, rubberized paper and gobs of high-temp sealer. I was out for a few hours today and she didn't leak a drop. (Plus the generator worked too, always a big plus in my book.)

But... I had two more busted spokes after today's ride, not necessarily a problem except the threads of my replacement spokes don't match up with the existing nipples, and two spokes twisted off! How's that for standardization of parts? It left me with no choice but to throw a little a hissy fit, pull off the wheel, dismount the tire and tube, and stick 'em on one of Jimbo's M5 wheels. No more broken spokes, at least on that wheel. The wider brake shoes required a little touching up on the bench grinder in order to get a perfect fit, but they went in just fine. Unfortunately, the rain came just as I was finishing up so I haven't ridden on the new wheel yet. But based on previous experience, I know it's going to be A-okay.

May 30, 2008

I haven't been doing as much bike stuff as I'd like since I've been sprucing up the body on one of our old cars, but that's finished, and since next week will be the last of my vacation, I intend to ride the heck out of my bikes (unless, of course, the weatherman has other plans.)

Yesterday, I rode the grey M1 to town to do some errands. I noticed she was running a bit irregularly. I also noticed a whole bunch of sparks arcing around the generator! Well, this is something I've seen before, and experience has shown it to be what happens when your brushes are gone. So I pulled off the generator and sure enough, nubs. No big deal, though, right? I've got brand new brushes that came straight from China. Unfortunately, they turned out to be completely different from what's on the generator! Ring a bell? It's not the first time I've had this experience with Chinese parts and I doubt it will be the last. Anyway, still no big deal since I've got a brand new generator as well. I'll just stick it on the bike, but first I need to buy some more gasket material and sealer. Actually, I needed a reason to pull the generator anyway since the oil was starting to leak around the seal again. Now I can kill two birds with one stone.

Here's a thing that might be of interest or possible use to somebody. Both generators are Guiyang MZF-12A 6.5V 10A, but the body of one is 145mm long while the other is 159mm. On my bikes, this doesn't matter due to the brackets I use, but on your bike, it could be an issue. Therefore, I recommend that if you ever need to order a generator, you might want to specify the body length, otherwise you might possibly end up with something you can't use.

May 29, 2008

I rode the tan bike down to Corning for a visit to the dentist yesterday. On the ride home I noticed that the insects hitting my face didn't hurt quite as much... thanks to novacaine.

May 27, 2008

We've been riding quite a bit these past few days, but yesterday we took the fancy red 1958 Edsel out for a drive instead. We watched the local Memorial Day parade which exemplifies small town America in a most perfect way. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

May 24, 2008

Friday was a beautiful day for a ride so I took the grey bike out for a few hours. After climbing our local Mt. Washington, I met up with a bumblebee who, after finding his way inside the collar of my jacket, decided he wanted out and let me know the best way he knew how. So I pulled over and did just that. Poor little guy.

After riding I stopped at Arby's and watched three people take cell phone pictures of the bike. That's a new record.

I just can't live without some of those high handlebars that Luke is using on his latest builds and have ordered a set for each bike. (Click here to see what I'm talking about.) I'll blast them and paint them black. Oh baby!

I'll also replace the rear fender on the tan bike as it can't be made to line up properly, no way, no how. It's canted to one side and no amount of loosening, tweaking or whacking can get it to line up, so I'll just replace the &%$#! thing. The new fender comes from CJ Sidecar by way of Freddie at the CJ Parts Depot. It's barely even summer and I'm already lining things up for next winter...

May 23, 2008

Thursday was another crappy weather day so I used the time to stick a VW regulator on the tan M1. The results were exactly the same as the grey bike—brighter lights all the way around. You'd think it was a 12V!

May 22, 2008

While running errands on the grey M1 yesterday, I did what I always do when riding in traffic, and that's keep an eye on the reflection of my headlight in the vehicle in front of me. It's just another way to keep tabs on the electrical system, and yesterday it paid off. My headlamp was so dim you could hardly see it. Turns out, the bike was running on the battery which was almost dead by the time I got home. (It took 8 amps from the charger which is a pretty good indication of how weak it was.) So today, I finally did something I've been putting off for ages. I have two aftermarket 6V Volkswagen regulators that I bought at Advance Auto Parts about three years ago... and never got around to trying. As of today, the grey bike has one and holy cow, the lights are brighter than they've ever been since I owned the bike. We'll have to see how well it keeps the battery topped off, but I suspect it'll be A-okay. (Click here for some information on the new regulator.) I think it was only $12. By the way, the regulator that it replaced was a Chinese FT622-7V7A, the same as what's on the tan bike. Looks like that one will be getting changed on the next rainy day.

May 18, 2008

Yesterday's ride started out okay, but the skies opened up before I got very far. As has happened so many times before, I got waterlogged, and those big fat raindrops felt like rubber bullets. (Thank goodness I was wearing a leather jacket and gloves.) Back home I poured water out of my boots. Anyway, since I was riding on dirt roads, the once-grey M1 now looks like a mud bogger. I foresee a rinse job at the car wash whenever the rain stops. Meanwhile, I'm thinking about donning rain gear and going for another spin. The bike can't get any dirtier than it is now.

May 17, 2008

I've been home for over a week now, and every day it hasn't been raining (and provided I've done all my chores), I'm out riding. I alternate bikes and find that there are things I prefer about both bikes. They grey M1 is faster and more powerful (and louder) but the tan M1 handles better and is much easier on the butt. The grey bike eats spokes, and one way to judge how good a ride was is by how many spokes need to be replaced when I get home. (One spoke broke off in the nipple, so until the the next tire change, it will stay like that.) The bikes get progressively dirtier as the season wears on, but all the dust and grime just gives them more character. For too many years, I was always anal about keeping my machinery as spotless as possible, not appreciating how much time was being spent on tasks that had to be repeated continuously. Riding is far more enjoyable than detailing any day.

April 17, 2008

I've been asked why CJU doesn't acknowledge the existence of certain vendors or CJ750-related web sites. Okay then, here are the answers.

Numer one—when a web site pirates material from other sites (and not just this one), they go on the blacklist. The practice is tantamount to stealing and suggests a lack of ethics that probably carries over into other aspects of their business. Second—a vendor with a reputation for lousy products, service or customer relations won't be recognized by CJU. If a particular dealer is the common denominator in piles of messages sent here by angry customers, they're not deemed an asset to the CJ community. And last—I just don't like people who promote themselves by slagging off others.

March 27, 2008

I had the grey M1 out for a few hours today, not perfect riding weather but good enough. The snowflakes were out, and so was I. The good news concerns the long-running battle I've been having with this bike's tendancy to meander. Over the winter I replaced the newish steering bearings with some Chinese tapered bearings that came from CJS by way of Miin Leong. I'm quite pleased to say that this cured the problem and the bike now rides like it's on rails. With the problem finally solved, I'm again able to ride it as a solo.

March 26, 2008

Finally, some decent riding weather! And not a moment too soon since I'm heading offshore on Monday for another five weeks of earning a living. The roads were dry today, the sun was out and the temperature was in the mid-forties—perfect! Both bikes needed a good shakedown after all the stuff I did to them over the winter, and both bikes ran like a dream. I was a liitle apprehensive about how the tan bike would behave with those fancy new carburetor spacers, but my apprehension was shortlived. The grey bike, with its new steering bearings, seems to handle better (although it's still kind of early to say for sure.) One thing I can say say for sure is this—these bikes are going to see some heavy use during my May-June break. I'll be riding the heck out of them every single day. I can hardly wait!

March 20, 2008

This winter refuses to end! Normally, the snow and the cold don't stop me from riding—but the road salt does. This year they seem to have used it in record amounts. The temperatures have been such that the roads are continuously soaked with brine, and that stuff is murder on a bike. Both M1s are tweaked and ready for action, but I've only managed one short spin on the tan bike so far this year. That's frustrating indeed, especially when I have to return to work offshore pretty soon. Blah.

On a happier note, my new car—a 1959 Edsel Corsair sedan—has given me much to do, and there's still plenty left.

March 19, 2008

The new distributor that went in the grey bike had a bum condensor. Luckily I saved the old 6V VW unit when I swapped out the distributor. A good meter makes troubleshooting problems like these a piece of cake, but you can't help but be a little irritated when brand new parts turn out to be crap.

March 7, 2008

I had a few small tasks I had hoped to perform on the tan bike today, but I soon discovered I was taking two steps back on a couple of them and gave up in exasperation. One was to better align the rear fender with the wheel as it's slightly canted to one side when viewed from behind. It's one of those little things that really bugs me. Well, I managed to get it aligned much better, but I also managed to chip a lot of the new paint in the process. Two steps back. Another thing I had intended to do was to spray the sidecar floor with rubberized undercoating so I could do away with the rubber mat. (The bare floor looks pretty bad. It definitely needs to be covered up with something.) Anyway, for reasons beyond my comprehension, masking tape wouldn't stick to the metal inside the bucket! I have three different brands of the stuff and none of them would adhere. Temperature? Humidity? Who knows...

Know what? I can live with the rubber mat in spite of the rust problems it might create.

And last, I bolted the duck board to the floor since it would be hopping all over the place with some of the riding I'll be doing. Even this simple task gave me a hard time. I broke four drill bits! So... it was one of those days where you're better off just staying out of the shop. The more frustrated I get, the more damage I do. Time to take a day off!

March 6, 2008

Both bikes received the deluxe annual maintenance package this winter, and I'm happy to say the real work is now complete. I'm looking forward to a trouble-free riding season with two excellent performing bikes. I finished up the grey bike today, and ended up doing a bit more than I intended. The eccentric screw for adjusting the points was fairly buggered and the best option was to simply replace the distributor. That meant brand new points and a brand new condenser in addition to everything else that got done this week. It was nice being able to pull another distributor off the shelf. I can't stress enough the value of keeping spare parts on hand.

I still have one little non-maintenance project left to do on the tan bike—and it'll get written up here just like everything else... whether it needs to or not.

March 4, 2008

I have to admit, I've been a little slack with some of the maintenance items I used to perform annually, but this habit is now broken. It's not always easy getting up the motivation to go out in the shop and get cracking, but once I get get started, everything just rolls along. Anyway, I hadn't decoked or done the valves on the grey bike in nearly two years, figuring she runs okay, she'll be fine. (I never neglected any of the other stuff, just these little tasks that seem like such a pain in the ass sometimes.) Anyway, the carbon build-up in the grey bike was pretty bad, but worse, there was virtually no clearance in any of the valves! That's all sorted now, but I think an annual valve adjustment schedule must be adhered to—maybe even twice a year.

This week I'll be changing the steering bearings on the grey bike and taking care of some details on the tan one. I'll take plenty of pictures so you'll have some step-by-step reference material should you ever need to service your steering bearings.

January 18, 2008

I picked up a new piece of information that I think is really cool—the Chinese word "Kuazi" which is used in reference to ex-PLA sidecar CJ750s. I'd love to learn the Chinese calligraphy for this word. Can anybody help?

January 14, 2008

Mama went to the mall today. Given the choice of going with her or staying home, the decision wasn't terribly hard to make. I puttered in the garage and then went riding on the grey bike (since the other one is in pieces.) It was only slightly chilly but the humidity was quite high, and that makes a big difference in how cold it seems when you're doing 50. Unlike my last ride, I managed to stay warm this time. You know it's really cold when it takes a few minutes just to climb off the bike because you legs won't bend!

January 10, 2008

I was ready for a break from the beauty makeover I've been working on all week. Since the formerly black bike isn't quite ready to be reassembled yet, I decided to haul the grey bike out of its winter hiding place, dust it off and go for a ride. I ended up spending all afternoon on my favorite mud roads, freezing my jalobies off in the process (but enjoying it regardless.) Actually, it was my fingers that froze. Whenever I stopped for a smoke I laid my gloves on the jugs which got them good and warm, and my fingers were soon thawed.

January 6, 2008

Whoa baby. Stainless carriage bolts are almost a buck each, but they'll stay new forever, a nice perk if they ever need to be undone. It seems a bit ironic that these stainless bolt heads are painted to match the sheet metal. (That's what I did this morning—sort and paint hardware.)

I've decided to tear the leaf springs apart to sandblast and paint them. That's really the only way to do them right, otherwise they end up looking like crap. (Really, it's only the top leaf that needs the most attention.) So tomorrow I'll be blasting the headers and leaf springs while Mama's at work. What a great way to spend one's time!

January 5, 2008

Since it's the weekend, I took it kind of easy out in the shop today, just long enough to have a good cigar and reassemble the taillights now that the paint is dry. I'm using car taillights from the 1930s which look right at home on a CJ (and infinitely better than that big plastic thing you see on so many Changs.) Unless the little lady has other plans for me, tomorrow I'll be purchasing hardware and starting on the next step—refinishing the header pipes. That involves sand blasting followed by a heavy spray of black 1200° stove paint. The beauty of that stuff is it's so easy to maintain. If it becomes discolored or worn, you just spray it again. I hope I can finish this project before returning to work in a couple weeks. During my next break the grey bike will get a good going through—all the annual maintenance I didn't do last year!

January 4, 2008

Another productive day in the shop. 99% of the paintwork is done. Only the carriage bolt heads remain. I'm really glad that job's mostly complete!

As the new paint was drying I started cleaning up the huge mess I've made, and then tinkered a bit on the motor. I'll start rewiring the taillights tomorrow and may start blasting the new header pipes as well. (It just depends on what the Mrs. has in mind.)

January 3, 2008

No pictures for you today, but that doesn't mean there hasn't been any activity out in the shop. On the contrary! Several hours were spent prepping and priming more parts for a big painting session tomorrow. The sand blaster was working overtime today and all the while, the mess in the garage keeps getting bigger. You have to tear one these machines apart to get an appreciation for the number of small parts that need to be prepped and painted along with all the big stuff. In my case there's even more due to the taillights and brackets that I use. I'll also paint the new brakelight switch to blend in better with the fender. And hardware too. I use carriage bolts for all the sheet metal applications, and they too are prepped and painted to match everything else. It's tedious at times, but it's really worth the extra effort. This is going to be one gorgeous bike.

January 2, 2008

I can't emphasize enough the value of limiting your CJ work sessions to just a few hours at a time. Believe me, it's far more enjoyable that way. Plus you have the luxury of really looking after the details that will make the results so nice.

January 1, 2008

Puttering in the shop this afternoon, I was impressed by how fast the time passed! I'm always intrigued by the level of detail you can go into while spiffing up a CJ, or, as my wife might say, how anal you can be. Today I worked on fender brackets, trunk hinges and front end components. (In order to use carriage bolts you need to square off all the holes, so I spent some time doing that with a hand file.) I also did some cleaning, priming and fabricating bits and pieces that will be needed later on. I've decided to route the taillight wiring externally along the fender, just like it is on the grey bike. It not only provides a more sensible location but also an opportunity to show off some really cool vintage wiring with fabric insulation. Besides, that's how it was done on M72s and early CJs. Oh baby, this is going to be a sweeeeeeet looking machine!

December 29, 2007

I hope everyone had some decent holidays this year!

Today I spent all morning out in the garage painting. Most of the front-end components are done and in a couple days they'll go back on the bike. I'm pretty happy with the results, but I won't be posting any more pictures until the bike is completely finished. Reason? The new color is TOP SECRET! I imagine it will be a couple weeks before everything's painted as the bucket and fenders need a lot of prep work. At some point I'll be blasting and refinishing the exhaust system and decoking both bikes. I'll take plenty of pictures when those two projects get underway.

December 21, 2007

Today I started making preparations for this winter's projects which will commence as soon as the holidays are over and my relatives have been sent packing. I blocked off a portion of "my wife's part of the garage" in order to keep it warm while I'm painting Chang parts. I also had to make a little blasting cabinet so I can spruce up the heads and some exhaust parts without turning the entire shop floor into a beach. And last, I purchased enough fuel for the heaters to last all winter. We're good to go!

November 9, 2007

Today I layered on the clothes and did around four hours on the black M1. I've got GoreTex overalls that I wore over flannel lined jeans. I wore a heavy Carhartt coat with four layers underneath, and some Thinsulate gloves. Cold wasn't really a problem, but my goggles kept icing up once I reached the top of "The Swale", south of Cameron where it was snowing and blowing like crazy. (Motorists cut you lots of slack if they think you're nuts.) Anyway, I retraced the route we took a few days ago where we followed a ridgeline along a ravine and into the valley. It's a sheer drop with no barriers, so you've got to limit your sightseeing on the way down. The view into the valley is just awesome.

November 5, 2007

I've managed to ride every single day since the last update on this page—anywhere from a couple hours to all day long. It's been chilly for sure, but dressed appropriately, that's not an issue.

You sure meet a lot of people riding a CJ, especially when you stop to tank up. Occasionally someone will surprise you with their knowledge of bikes—sometimes those you least expect.

Motorists and pedestrians frequently wave when they see the Chang roll by. It's our duty to respond in kind. Motorists are more forgiving when they're stuck behind a slow-moving vintage sidecar bike (as opposed to a slowpoke in a normal vehicle.) I haven't received the finger from anybody yet, and I always try to scoot over whenever possible to let traffic go around. Instead of middle fingers, I get the thumbs up or a wave. Nice people live around here.

For the last couple weeks I've been exploring the hundreds of miles of "seasonal highways" in our county, although the word "trail" is far more appropriate. These roads are officially closed from December to April as they aren't plowed in the winter. When the fall foliage is in its glory, there's no better place to be than in the saddle of a CJ, exploring these old pikes. Every now and then, just when you think you're as far from civilization as you can get, you'll come around a bend only to discover a magnificent log home with a huge barn, right in the middle of nowhere. Some of these places aren't even on the electric grid which makes it a pretty good bet that the occupants are Amish. I really wish you guys could see some of these places.

Today's ride was a keeper although it had a bad ending. A few hours into it the sky clouded up and the temperature dropped by maybe ten degrees, exactly as forecasted. I headed for home knowing the rain was on its way—and I nearly made it. About half a mile from our house, the rain came, normally not a big deal except this time I was behind a school bus that made half a dozen stops to drop off kids. The whole time, some of those adorable little monsters provided entertainment through the rear windows of the bus. I might have made it home just damp, but instead I got drenched. Ironically, the bus pulled over to let me around... about 25 yards from our driveway.

October 25, 2007

It was chilly but clear today, great weather for a ride. In fact, I had planned to spend most of the day doing just that, but a good chunk of the day slipped away before I even knew it. Where did it go? Well, l mowed two acres, changed the rear shocks on a 1959 Edsel and ran errands in town. It was 3:30 before I could hop on the bike—and it's dark by 7:00 this time of year. Even so, I managed to go for a ride, and every time I do, my enthusiasm for CJ750s is stoked once again. This season I've spent most of my time on the black bike instead of the grey one. It's the better of the two in every respect. Today I rode out to Knight Settlement and then through Stephen's Gulch into Adrian, West Cameron and then back home on the Oregon Road. There weren't any deer out, luckily, and I had a chance to pace the locomotives an eastbound Norfolk Southern freight train for about five miles where the railway closely follows the road. Now THAT was very cool!

October 23, 2007

It's raining today so I'm catching up on myriad chores, mostly maintenance on an Edsel wagon that I'll be driving this winter, but also some plumbing and electrical stuff in the house. I don't know what it is about being out in the garage on a rainy day, but for some reason I just enjoy the heck right out of it. But, of course, nothing beats riding during the peak of the fall foliage season here in New York State. That is indeed about as good as it gets!

October 22, 2007

I got the chance to test my claims that stock brakes will do the job if kept clean and adjusted. This afternoon while riding through town at about 35mph, the car in front of me spiked his brakes when a vehicle started to back out of a parking spot. I was maybe two car lengths behind when it happened. Anyway, I skidded the rear tire and squeezed the front brake so hard I thought the cable would snap, but it didn't and the bike stopped with room to spare. I rest my case.

October 2, 2007

Steve Christo's article on decoking a sidevalve arrives at a good time as this procedure should be a part of everyone's winter maintenance program. (Winter lurks just over the horizon!) I'll be doing both bikes this year and am curious about what I'm going to find since neither bike has been decoked for at least two years—and both have racked up several thousand kilometers in the meantime. Maybe I'll take some pictures...

September 30, 2007

Can someone help me get my hands on some unassembled or hollow fishtail mufflers? Perhaps from one of the little shops that makes them? A few months ago I built some straight pipes with gutted fishtails on them for the grey bike. The results were even better than I expected—an excellent sounding bike that preserves the vintage look of fishtail mufflers. Now I'd like to do the same with the other bike. I already have the extended headers but just need these other bits to put on them. I'd sure appreciate your help! edsel400@yahoo.com

September 22, 2007

I've been daydreaming about this year's winter projects—full maintenance regimens and possibly some new plug wires. Both bikes are past due for decoking so I'll do that as well. As long as the heads are off I'll run them through the bead blaster to restore their luster (if that's what you want to call it.) I'll hit the jugs with a fresh application of black stove paint, too. These two detail items make a huge difference in the overall appearance of the bikes. When it's again time for the big spring rollout, both bikes will be looking as spiffy as ever. If I'm lucky next year, they might even stay that way for a few weeks. I expect to be too busy riding to maintain the spiff.

September 11, 2007

I took a ride today in spite of threatening skies—and got soaked! Even so, it was a good ride following lightly used country roads that lead to an old railway line running along the Canisteo River—and then back again on a different route. I was in a misty rain most of the time with the odd shower now and then—and not really a care in the world. During the worst shower I stopped under a big tree and had a fine Azores cigar while waiting for it to let up. For me, that's heaven.

T-shirt customers: Please check with me on availability before placing orders. Certain styles and sizes may be sold out. The listings are generally pretty accurate however there's been a flurry of orders lately.

September 10, 2007

Ross Kowalski is contemplating having some fine leather patches made like the one on the back of my new leather jacket. I'll be the first to say that they're going to be awesome. I hope you will support his effort by ordering a set. I think you'll be mighty glad you did! Contact him at ross.kowalski@gmail.com

Jim Bryant sent a mail with some fairly urgent news. Here's an excerpt from it:

"Last weekend we had our third customer with a cracked wheel hub. I've taken the offending parts and sent them to the factory for an explanation and I'm sending one to Daimler Chrysler's facility here for an FEA. So far it is limited to the sidecar wheel only. It seems there is more lateral stress on that wheel than either of the bike wheels. Who would have thought? As we've sold over 250 wheels and we've had three crack/break I'm not sure I need to do a recall or not, but I want everyone who has them on a sidecar to check for cracks. We've since made adjustments to the mold to strengthen the areas where the cracks happened and we're looking into the quality and purity of the aluminum that is being used. Anyone reporting cracks can send the wheel back to me for a replacement."

Jim at jim@way2prc.com

I give Jim a lot of credit for being so up-front about this. Some vendors would take an entirely different approach, I'm sorry to say. I checked mine and it's A-okay. Let's hope these are isolated incidents.

September 9, 2007

It's time once again to pass along some favors. I still have a storage room full of leftover parts, mostly from when the grey bike got smashed. Each and every one of these parts is available for just the cost of shipping to anyone who needs them. I don't have a list but if there's something you need, just let me know and I'll see if I can help. Just send an e-mail to edsel400@yahoo.com

September 8, 2007

Spokes! If you find yourself replacing broken spokes as often as I do you'll appreciate a couple things I've learned that make the task pretty easy. For the nipples I use a 1/4" wrench which is a better fit than a 6mm. When pushing the nipple into the rim in order to get it started on the new spoke, you'll find that partially deflating the tire makes all the difference in the world as the resistance is greatly diminished. The nipple goes right in! And last but not least, one quick and dirty way to gauge the tightness of the new spoke is to simply tap it with the wrench and listen for a pitch similar to that of the other spokes.

Loctite! You just can't say enough about how great this stuff is if you ride a CJ. One application you may not have thought about is on that little screw that keeps the rotor snug on the shaft (6V bikes only) . A couple years ago I had one of these screws back out while riding. It would have been a quick and easy fix except I didn't have any tools. (14mm wrench and a flathead screwdriver.) Since then I've always used Loctite. Problem solved!

Oil seepage! (Again, for 6V machines.) My grey bike has quite a few kilometers on it. (Its third speedometer is approaching 8000km.) The front seal is starting to allow a little seepage into the front cover and some of it finds its way into the distributor cap. Every month or so I spray it all out with mineral spirits from a household squirt bottle made for misting plants. I also clean the rotor and contacts in the cap. I really should replace the seal...

September 7, 2007

During a long ride on some previously unexplored dirt roads today, my brain came up with a short list of suggestions for CJ newbies, most of which are already mentioned somewhere else on the site. The first thing is to extend your road tube so it vents well below your oil pan. It makes a big difference when it comes to keeping sludge from accumulating on the bottom of the bike. All you need is a short piece of automotive heater hose and a hose clamp. Second, carry a cheap, long plastic funnel in the trunk—the type used for adding ATF in cars. They cost about $3. If you ever need to add oil when you're on the road, the funnel comes in real handy. You won't end up with oil all over the engine and on the ground. Third, one major problem area as a source for oil leaks is the seal between the generator (or starter) and the engine casing. In addition to using loads of sealant, you can also make a simple little bracket that forces the unit hard against the gasket as the bolt behind the generator is torqued. It's so easy even a caveman could do it. And last, even if you don't carry anything else, three tools you should never be without are 10mm and 14mm wrenches and a flathead screwdriver that's appropriately sized for the rotor screw and carb adjustments. Among other things, the 14mm wrench is good for whacking a carburetor bowl if the float sticks (although a small hammer or a big rock is even better.)

September 6, 2007

Regarding the CJ Santa Claus project, I was remiss by overlooking the other items included in the package. What was I thinking? (I just updated the WOW! page accordingly.) Daniel Melo picked out a nice big assortment of fine cigars from his homeland in the Azores. In my opinion, Cuba has nothing on those guys. Wil Aygarn was instrumental in selecting a most excellent scarf bearing a WWII era AAF emblem, and finally, there was a gift certificate to a local eatery that may get used this weekend! Ross Kowalski was the ringleader of the whole thing. So one more time, my heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone who participated!

September 5, 2007

Ross Kowalski and Tim Lagonegro let me in on some of the details of the top secret super CJ Santa Claus project. It sure is nice to know one's efforts are appreciated! I've been pretty humble since the big package arrived, but I honestly don't know how much longer I can maintain it. What's the rule regarding humility?

I've been asked why CJU doesn't link to all the CJs advertised on eBay (like two that are listed there right now.) The answer is simply this - if a listing strikes me as being the least bit dodgy, I don't want to steer potential bidders to it. I'm especially leery of sellers who use multiple IDs. In a sense, these links are endorsements by CJU.

There's not much new today but pictures from Miin's recent visit to PRC will soon be posted. I can hardly wait! For now I'll just be blogging it. The grey bike was used to deliver some computer stuff to Hornell this afternoon, normally a 20 minute drive by car, but on the super-scenic CJ route, a three-hour tour! It was the bike's shakedown after the rewiring job and holy cow, the headlight is now brighter than ever! I should duplicate the new harness on the black bike, funky ignition switch and all.

September 3, 2007

The 20A battery cut-out switch on the grey bike did a meltdown and the repair job escalated into a complete rewiring of the bike. The fabric wiring harness I made a few years ago was kinda falling apart so I decided to replace it. (Most of the fabric wire was never meant for automotive puproses and just couldn't take being exposed to the elements, but boy was it ever pretty.) While I was at it I installed a new regulator as the existing one was on its last legs. (I found two brand new ones I'd forgotten about.) Now I've got a nicely color coded, heavy gauge harness with proper solder connectors and the whole nine yards. Don't ask why, but I opted to use the ignition switch from our old garden tractor in place of the battery cut-out switch. It really looks like it belongs as you'll see when I post the next batch of pictures.

And last, just when it seemed like I was having a fairly crappy day, a big package from Ross Kowalski came in the mail. Turns out it was actually from a bunch of you guys and I sure was tickled to see what was inside! (Pictures will be posted, probably tomorrow.) On the odd occasion I wonder why I spend time messing with this web site and then something really nice happens which serves as a reminder. It's not just because the bikes are so cool, but it's also because of all the most excellent people who ride them! Thanks a million, fellas! There will be more on this tomorrow (I hope...)