Blood, sweat, tears & beers . . .

Head elf, eh? Well, they better get busy loading presents in the sleigh - because Santa has a major distraction on his hands, plus that cigar sized spliv ain't exactly helping things along either! On Donner! On Blitzen!

Oh, I just got an answer from CVP about the cv carb kit I ordered - Ken says he didn't get my m.o. Must have got lost in the mail - has happened before. So, next payday I'm gonna order the kit again only this time send it certified mail. Gotta have those carb parts!

There is no doubt now that by the time I get the bike together for the maiden voyage, it will be COLD outside!

An update on the crankshaft seal: The boys over on the ShovelheadUS forum have been very helpful. I did put the seal in backwards and so did the tech who rebuilt my bike. But there was a reason he put it in backwards - they also did this at the factory on some models for a while to prevent the primary oil from backing into the motor - so my rebuilder, thinking I was going to use an enclosed primary, did the same thing. I'm going to put the seal in the "right" way when it comes in (that is, spring side facing in) and I hope that will be the end of the oil leak. If not, there'll be other, darker issues I don't even want to contemplate right now.

Awesome!!! Glad to hear that you are close to getting this all figured out. How long do you think before you will have it out on the road??

I have a feeling that you will not care if it is cold out or not, just to get it out on the road???

I am excited to hear the good news Josh.

You are getting close ... hope it is warmer your end of state Josh, finally getting cold here. High 41 tomorrow and light snow tomorrow night into Wednesday But, better weather by weekend...

It's raining right now and it will get cooler, somewhere in the upper 50s daytime, mid 30s night. The cold weather is fast approaching. And I won't care too much how cold it is when the scooter is finally ready to ride. I'll just ride around town and maybe a couple country roads around here to break it in.
Guess it's going to be around Christmas when The Beast will be operational . . .

Why can't you keep that rain and cold down there? Now we're getting it. Jeez josh!!!
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Just thought I'd like to share the misery - it loves company, you know!

Weird thing today. I checked my online order with John's Cycle Parts (ordered Nov. 2nd) and records show it was delivered to me on the 19th. Never got it, boys. So, that, along with Ken's missing order is gonna cost me close to a $100. I'm going to have to reorder all that stuff - burns my ass.

But today I DID get my order from J&P: 2 sets of plugs, 2 crankshaft oil seals, a #50 slow jet & a chrome CV carb cover. But I'm in no mood to do any bike work today - it can wait . . .

I'm not understanding why these things are happening right now - I mean, two orders for carb parts a day apart 4 weeks ago and . . . nothing but lost time & money to show. Like I said, it's weird.

Hate to hear that, real bummer to loose parts. Hang it there... When you finally get to ride all this will just be vague memory!

I did all that yesterday at the P.O. No one knows what happened to the package. Paperwork says it was sent from John's Cycle Parts and then later delivered to my mail box. Somebody messed up somewhere. I suppose it's possible somebody stole it from my mailbox - but highly unlikely - that just doesn't happen around here. It's also possible it got delivered to the wrong box and that person just kept it or threw it out.
On the M.O., I have to pay $5 to have them do what it is they do. It'll take at least an additional month to get my money back.

Boys, it's been uphill all the way with this project - it's like this motorcycle is fighting me every inch of the way. I'm wondering what else is going to happen . . . .

This morning the big chill arrived as promised: the rest of the week will be 30s to 50s, but clear. Should be some bikers out. Today I'm going to Harley in Rocky Mount to pick up the enricher parts for my carb.

I will, but I'm going to wait a bit longer - maybe a week. The letter might still show up. In the meantime, I'm going to reorder all the parts I need from CVP. I've kissed off the package from John's Cycle Parts as a loss.
Today going into town I was in a minor car accident - switched lanes at 65 MPH and made the acquaintance of an SUV - no one hurt but cop was there and insurance companies are involved. I'm staying home tomorrow.

That sucks really bad dude. Sounds like you need to go out and get just DRUNK OUT OF YOUR MIND!! You can fly here to Minnesota and I will get drunk with ya!! What do you say??

Wow, bad run of luck, always means something good is coming. Always evens out, so you due for several good deals... gotta believe!

Very true. Well, I been rollin' wit da punches pretty good, I think. I just hope I don't sound like a whiner - everybody hates a whiner, me included. Just reporting the facts and it keeps things interesting on this thread. Never thought it would last this long!

Going to deal with insurance companies this morning, then go to work. I don't have to drive to work - the academy is just down the street - how cool is that?

Johnny, I would except I can't handle too much alcohol anymore - turning into a lightweight in my old age, I guess!

Yep, alchohl tolerance dropped in me also. Charlie46 used to call me "Two Shot" now I'm a "One Shot on a good day". (Ps. Don't tell Charlie46)

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Yer secret's safe with me - now where have I heard that before?
I never could tolerate hard liquor. Once when I found out an old girl friend was cheating on me (this is a classic, boys), I drank a pint of Jack Daniels, several beers, smoked a coupla reefers, and snorted several lines of an illegal substance. Smashed my guitar on the barroom floor (because her head wasn't available), somehow broke my glasses and generally acted like a fool. I was a musician in those days and she was banging some of the boys in the band. I wrote several songs about her . . . . quit the band and swore I was NEVER gonna fall for a woman like I fell for that one. About 6 months later I met Mac and that was the end of my vow. See, good things do sometimes come out of bad things.

That was the last time I ever touched any hard liquor.

Well, most of us can't drink like we could once. Hate to think what I used to could tolerate. Now just stick mostly to Red Neck Buds (would make CB proud) and vow never to drink one except while awake...

Red Neck Buds are good. I like a wide variety of beer, but can't drink too many of those anymore, either.
This morning, I'm going into town to pick up the police report on Wednesday's accident. Then on to Harley to pick up my carb parts, then to the health food store for a few items. I'll be travelling the same road in the same car into Rocky Mount - hope I don't get in a wreck today.
My truck is still in the tranny shop . . .

Here is a pic of my CV carb mocked up (it still needs a new vacuum piston spring and a high flow elbow). I think it looks pretty spiffy with the chrome top and the cool CVP set up for the choke cable.