Modern Vespa

Rode to the gym this morning, all is well! No vibrations, no wobbles, just a happy lil bonneville.

Found batteries for the heated gloves and wool balaclava so Friday I'm poppin up that lil hill in the background.

Aaaaaand MD realtor called.

House went on the market today. There was a showing. They loved it. Full price offer in our realtor's inbox by 7pm EST.

Less than one full day on the market.

That's great! Must be a big load off your mind

be a bigger one when we close.

Yeah, "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings."
Ralph Carpenter

Is that a Lizzo reference?

No, Ralph Carpenter is credited with creating the phrase.

Lizzo ain't so big any more.

Okay, now I get it

Oh, did she go the Buccal/Ozempic route like Meghan Trainor? The one who sang about not being a stick figure silicone barbie doll, then became exactly that?

Na, she's still pretty big.

I just got back from my appointment with the surgeon that did the spinal surgery on me one year ago yesterday. He said the spine fusion looks real good and gave me the green light to ride again. He did warm me again about kick starting, so only a stock scoot would probably be advisable - nothing with a kit. Or something with an e-start. It's been at least 15 months since I rode last, so it may be like starting all over again. Happy days.

Couldn't have asked for a better day for it.

I spent some time in CO, but I don't know where that is. You should put it on the Where am I today thread.

Pikes peak, right?

That in this day and age of Hybrids and totally Electric vehicles... I can still not only find fossil fuel for my Piaggio Liberty ... but also occasionally find a larger-than-life Fossil as well.

This equally qualifies for the "what's pissing you off" thread. But since I enjoy a project, I'll try and look at the upside.

Last week I finished rebuilding the top end on my 1949 Harley-Davidson. That all went smoothly and the engine has great compression again. I started it up and let it warm up to full temperature. Unfortunately the bottom end (crank case and cam chest) are making some bad noises. Sounds like the crank bearings might be gone. Spinning the flywheels by hand, it feels good, but under power the noise is just not right. So I'm going to have to split the cases and inspect everything carefully. This is a lot of work. I'll miss the remainder of the riding season, but I'll have all winter to get it sorted.

Having a good winter garage project cheers me up.

No rest for the wicked.

Got a dialogue rolling with a guy who makes some very special things one of which will make Carnevale di Venezia 2026 very memorable indeed. (Costume stuff, he makes niche masks)

I think this is the most cooked set of roller bearings I've ever pulled out of a Harley engine. These are very close to a failure so catastrophic that it might have totaled the engine cases. I've never seen this level of destruction in a motor that was still running.

Deciding to tear down the motor rather than running it was the right choice. This cheers me up!

Yikes! Glad you went with your gut on that and glad that those cases didn't meet an untimely demise!

Guessing you'll have the crank refurbished? Do you use an H-D specialist, or a place like Crankworx in Phoenix?

Good man. That was a ticking time bomb ready to explode. I haven't seen anything that bad since doing a lower end rebuild on my '69 Triumph Bonneville 50 years ago.

Yes, I'll install a new motor sprocket shaft on the flywheels. It's definitely a job for someone with the right tooling. I can install the new shaft, but after installation, the flywheels need to be trued and I can't do that (I don't have the equipment/tools). I'm not in Phoenix anymore so I'll take it to a local shop for that work. Shoeman's Custom Cycle in downtown Reno should be able to help me. I'll also need to line lap the cases before reassembly. Shoeman's should be able to do that too.

I feel like I dodged a bullet. After doing the top end, it started right up and ran fine but after running this motor for 22+ years it just had an odd sound. Deciding to tear the engine apart again wasn't easy but it sure was the right call. Glad I went with my gut.

^^^ This is probably one of the great advantages of having owned and worked on your scoot for so long. That is, you know it inside and out so you can feel when something is wrong.

This.

Risky link of the day.

Only 5 days waiting for Christm... eh travel to Rome.

I'll be there in Feb after we hit Venice again.

We are only 3 months so on New Year back home.

Buyer of our old house wanted NEW hvac and water heater. We countered with a 1yr warranty (bout 500 bucks instead of 10,000) and he accepted.

Cromulent

Today I am 3 weeks AFib free! Groin is cromulent.

Damn! In spite of my best efforts, I learned something today.

That's ok, if you are anything like me, you'll forget it soon enough.

"Forget what?" said Captain Obvious

Europes start in the Ryder Cup.

Long way to go and Sundays matchplay singles will decide the winner but It was a good day for my fellow Europeans yesterday.

Talking of sport, I'm very much looking forward to the Womens Rugby World Cup final this afternoon where the Worlds number 1 and 2 ranked teams England and Canada battle it out infront of 82,000 people in London.

Well carrying on from above, I'm cheered up due to England won the Rugby World Cup and Europe won the Ryder Cup (just).

Happy Days!

I don't think the behavior of the American fans at that golf match was very nice