A cruise of a different kind.

So I did something I've wanted to do since I was a kid this past weekend. When I left Albuquerque I knew I'd be coming back every other weekend for almost three months and I'd need transportation. So I left my old motorcycle there. Well, now that school is out I decided to ride the old girl from Albuquerque to Houston. That was one hell of a trip.

I left on Friday afternoon thinking I'd take three days, but as soon as I dropped down in elevation about 1000 feet the bike started running really bad. Angrily, I turned the bike around and headed back for Albuquerque. The whole time I am running through possible solutions and wondering what could be wrong. What really surprised me was that the bike started purring again as soon as I got back into the mountains. That was the last clue I needed.

I've torn into the carbs on this old bike enough to know them inside out. There are four carbs and four pilot screws that controlled the fuel flow in the cylinders for combustion. It was set way to lean so once I opened the screws allowing more fuel in she ran great. In fact she outlasted me by a long shot.

I forgot sunscreen the first day and have some pretty good blisters on my right arm, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Riding through the high desert of eastern New Mexico and the Texas plains was a great way to spend the weekend. I also learned that there is a big difference between hitting hard shell and soft shell bugs at 80 mph. One feels like rain and the other hurts like hell.

Anyways, the bike and I made it back and boat projects await. I got the anchors and chain back from being hot dip galvanized and they look great. That saved me over $2000 in replacement cost and only cost $200. I am going to try and get my autopilot installed this weekend. My trans is en route to Kemah and I have tentatively scheduled the install on the 20th. My radar isn't working for some reason so I may need to fix/replace it. My goal is to take a couple of days off over Labor Day and go sailing in my own boat. Won't that be nice for a change?