Blood, sweat, tears & beers . . .

My engineer boots make up for weight I don't have! I've kicked it about 30 times already (without ignition) to try and get some oil circulating, especially up in the rocker boxes.

The deck is coming right along. Now I usually use 3/8ths" lags when building a deck, but this one is small - only 8' x 12'. My neighbor will probably never use it; nobody ever comes over. I think 7 3" deck screws will hold even better than 2 lags. There's 12 screws in each corner.
QUESTION TIME: I got my rear chain on today and am not sure how much "play" it should have.

Was looking for some info on the rear chain in my manual but couldn't find anything. Is there a certain amount of slack in the upper section? Common sense tells me about 1/2" to 3/4". I know they aren't supposed to be too tight. Wears everything out faster.

You need to find the tight spot between the spokets. Lift the bike, slowly turn the rear wheel (tranny in neutral) constantly checking the chain tension. There will be one position of the wheel where the chain will be the tightest. Stop there. Adjust for about 3/8". Now the important part: drop bike to ground. Sit on it to get swing arm loaded from your weight. Check for slack again. No slack? Loosen chain until yoy get the 3/8"

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Thanks everybody! Just ordered a set of axle adjusters from Fab Kevin. 3 1/2" long and stainless wingnut style. The ones I have are just about adjusted all the way in and I still have about 1 1/2" left in the slots. No progress today on The Beast as it was 102 inside the shop - WHEW . . . heat index was 110. Feels like I'm living out in the Texas Pecos!

You know, boys, this thread has had a little bit of everything: bike stuff, friendly banter, (and some not so friendly!) Heavy Human Drama, anecdotes and carpentry. Speaking of which, I finished the deck this morning. Now I get to spend some of that hard earned green finishing up my scooter. Oh yeah!

Two friends are coming over later this afternoon to help me roll the bike onto the truck. Made a special ramp out of a 2x12x9 feet long - it was a little springy so I added a 2x4 on the bottom to stiffen it up some - should hold me & the bike. When we load it, I'll be walking backwards in front of it to steer . . .
All this for a couple welds - shoulda learned to weld when I was in school!

Aarrgghhh! Too narrow for me.

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I'd go at least 1 more 2x12, 2 more would make it a lot easier, then you could walk up the ramp beside the bike with a guy in back pushing....

We pushed it up and into the truck, but not before the rear wheel almost went off the ramp just at the top! Exciting to say the least. Well, this morning I took the bike into Tarboro and got the welding done. The guy did a super job and all the guys there were digging on the bike. Then I drove another 40 miles to The Biker Barn which I was told would have the brake stuff I needed. Only problem was, when I got there the place was closed! As a last resort, I drove to the Harley dealership in Rocky Mount to get the needed brake fittings and tubing, not thinking they'd be willing to help me. The parts guy was really helpful and courteous - came out and looked it over and said, "That's a sweet ride - let's get you on the road!" Those banjo bolts & the other stuff weren't cheap, but I was glad to get the right goods, my friends!
Got home exhausted and took a long nap - my truck doesn't have AC. Now it's evening and it's raining so I'm gonna wait until tomorrow and build the ramp WIDER and hopefully get my buddies to help me offload it . . .
Once the pipes and the brake parts are on, and I time it, I should be ready to kick The Beast to life. Sorry, pics will not come thru. Sucks.

Yesterday when Tattoo Tony was looking at my bike up on the truck, he found three problem areas.
1.) Brake bracket too close to hitting bolt heads on the rotor.
2.) 3/8" hole drilled through frame to hold the brake switch.
3.) 3/8" hole drilled through the frame to hold kickstand bumper.
His advise was to weld all the holes shut and relocate switch to a tranny bolt & use a different rubber bumper for the kickstand. He says the frame could crack where the holes are. On the brake bracket, he says to get a 1/16" to a 3/32" washer in between the rotor & brake bracket. What do you guys think? Do I need to weld the holes shut? My idea would be to leave the bolts where they are and weld them to the frame on both sides & paint. Or just leave as is?
Pics still won't load - I'm charging the camera battery . . .

If you look at holes that are in frames they nearly always put a sleeve in the hole and through the frame and weld around it to keep it solid.
I think it is sound advise.