The life and times of CWPG

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T06:37:00.000-05:00

Wishing my friends, family and visitors to this page a very Merry Christmas!

ALFA Romeo Spider oil change

2011-12-10T12:12:00.000-05:00

Well it was high time I changed the engine oil and filter in my 1986 ALFA Romeo Spider Graduate so this morning I set about the task.

Really it is relatively simple, with all the bits within easy reach and access. Amazing the little 1962cc 4 cylinder engine takes 7.1 quarts of oil! The oil filter is very large as well, as you will see in the photos below which compare it to the filter my Moto Guzzis take, which are the same size as a normal car filter.

Below you will see the airbox, which contains the air filter and atop which sits the air flow metering device, which senses and controls the volume of air entering the engine. The airbox is removed (3 bolts) to gain easier access to the oil filter.

So now she's all filled with fresh clean 20w50 weight oil and a new filter. Happy Spider :)

Turkey Rod Run

2011-12-10T11:21:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago I went to a HUGE car show at the Daytona International Speedway called the Turkey Rod Run.

Below is a link to all the pics I took.

TURKEY ROD RUN PICS CLICK ME!!

Guzzi cruise

2011-11-05T08:37:00.000-04:00

I added a little cruise control device to my Moto Guzzi Stelvio this a.m. It is a simple device which grips the throttle and then rests against the brake lever to hold the throttle open. Really simple and neat.

SEE HOW IT WORKS!

DeLand to Savannah

2011-10-20T09:00:00.004-04:00

I will be leaving Friday for the motorcycle ride on my Guzzi Stelvio to Savannah, GA.

I will be posting pics and comments along the way at the following link in case anyone wants to come along for the ride virtually. You can click on the pics at that link to read comments...

DeLand to Savannah on a Guzzi Stelvio

Changing brake pads with Kid Guzzi

2011-10-15T10:03:00.000-04:00

Today kids were are going to swap out the rear brake pads on the Moto Guzzi Stelvio.

This is a simple affair and should take no more than 20 minutes.

First remove the two bolts holding the rear brake caliper in place.

Then slide the caliper to the rear and off of the brake rotor(disc).

Next remove the small circlip off the end of the brake pad retention pin. Using a punch or similar and a hammer tap the pin out.

The old brake pads can now be removed and inspected. At this time you might also delight in their inherent goodness and praise them for keeping you safe lo these many miles. Put them in your scrapbook of life as I always do.

Now depress the brake pistons so that the new brake pads, which are thicker than the worn old ones, will fit around the brake rotor when you reinstall the caliper.

Slide the two new brake pads into place. Reinsert the retention pin. I put a bit of anti-seize on the pin to make reinsertion a bit easier.

Make certain once you have driven the retention pin in place that you replace the circlip so that it stays in place.

Slide the caliper over the rotor. Replace and tighten the two bolts affixing the caliper to the motorcycle.

Depress the rear brake pedal several times until it is form. This pushes the previosuly depressed pistons back up against the brake pad backing and up near the brake rotor.

Road test and delight in your new braking power.

Click the pics to ENLARGE

Savannah bound

2011-10-03T10:39:00.001-04:00

In 2-3 weeks I will be heading north to Savannah, GA on the Moto Guzzi Stelvio with a couple pals to meet up with several more pals.

We'll be taking all backroads/state highways up in lieu of the interstate highways. Looks like we will primarily be on SR 17 almost all the way (~260 miles), so it will be an easy and enjoyable ride.

We'll be staying at a neat retro motel called the Thunderbird Inn in downtown Savannah. This will allow us to set out on foot in the evenings to explore Savannah, widely regarded as America's most haunted city. Of particular interest to me will be the haunted Moon River Brewing Co.

In preparation for the trip I purchased a new, larger "touring" windscreen for the Stelvio. This should give me a little more coverage than the stock windscreen (pics of both below).

Anyway am looking forward to getting out for a long-ish ride, exploring the Southeast USA by bike and hanging out with my motorcycling chums again.

Teutonic Terror and Italian Stallion Ride Again

2011-09-17T18:16:00.003-04:00

This fine Saturday in Florida I took advantage of the nice mid 80 degree day to get out for a motorcycle ride with my friend Andrew. Andrew recently got a new (to him) BMW K1300GT. I call it the Teutonic Terror as it is from Germany and it is FAST. I rode my Moto Guzzi Stelvio, aka the Italian Stallion, which is no slouch either.

We started off by taking the back route to PCS Daytona, a motorcycle shop that is doing some engine work on my 2002 Moto Guzzi LeMans. They are installing new piston rings and valve seals as the left cylinder has lost some compression due to a faulty fuel pump, which caused overly lean running and overheated the cylinder, At least that's the theory.

After that we stopped by the Helmet Shop in Daytona, where I bought a new motorcycle jacket. My old jacket had seen many tens of thousands of miles of use and it was just time for a new one. The new one includes both a removable rain liner and quilted liner for warmth so it will be good for year round use here in Florida.

Next we headed to coastal highway A1A and rode it up to St. Augustine, where we stopped for lunch at A1A Ale Works. Anyone who has been to St. Augustine knows the challenge of finding a parking space. It is usually a nightmare. Not so on the motorcycle! As we entered town Andrew spied a pedestrian walkway/alley with a bunch of mopeds parked in it. So naturally, we pulled in and joined the mopeds! No more than 30 yards or so from A1A Ale Works...awesome!

Speaking of A1A Ale Works, they have awesome beer brewed on site and their food is great too.

After a great lunch we took State Road 11 back down towards DeLand. It is a very lightly trafficked 2 lane highway and you can really open it up on the bikes. Really a load of fun!

CLICK THE PICS TO ENLARGE

Ocean smackdown

2011-09-07T07:56:00.000-04:00

Sunday I took a trip to Port Orange, FL to meet up with my friends Andrew, Jayne, Carl, Teener and their kids. With Hurricane Katia churning away several hundred miles off the coast we were feeling its effects in increased wave intensity/activity.

Andrew had his new underwater camera case and was taking some snapshots. He caught several of me having my butt handed to me by the power of the mighty Atlantic Ocean.

A tale of two horns

2011-08-28T10:11:00.000-04:00

As a motorcyclist, I am vigilant about the hazards around, which could easily do me harm or worse yet accelerate my voyage to being buried under 6 feet of terra firma.

I speak mostly about other vehicles...cars, trucks, etc. that may not see me as readily because a motorcycle is comparatively small.

With that in mind I was lucky enough to be given something by my pal Andrew which will help to make my presence known...a FIAMM horn!

The horn which was delivered on my Guzzi Stelvio is a rather anemic sounding little chirper. I'd be surprised if another vehicle could even hear it.

The FIAMM on the other hand is much more bold and brash.

So this morning I swapped the horns and here are little vid clips displaying the difference in their tooting power :)

Stock horn

FIAMM horn

1986 ALFA Romeo Spider Graduate - 25 years old

2011-08-14T17:22:00.000-04:00

Well just a few pics of my little Spider after I gave her a washing today. She still looks pretty good. One of these days I need to give her a new paint job, back to the original ALFA Romeo red.

Here's a link to all the pics on Facebook

2011 Guzzi Beach Bash pictures

2011-08-13T15:56:00.003-04:00

I rode down to Melbourne Beach on my Moto Guzzi Stelvio today to attend the Annual Moto Guzzi Beach Bash. A pretty good turnout with about 25 bikes or so I guess.

Here are a few pics. Click the pics to enlarge them.

Guzzi Beach Bash

2011-08-13T07:42:00.003-04:00

I think I will fire up my Moto Guzzi Stelvio today and head south about 100 miles to Melbourne Beach, FL.

It's the annual Moto Guzzi August Beach Bash at the historic Sebastian Beach Inn. Looking forward to a nice ride down historic Hwy 1 and coastal highway A1A.

Fizzled

2011-08-08T10:01:00.000-04:00

Well Tropical Storm Emily faded away well before reaching Florida. The most we got out of it was some decent waves on the east coast beaches, which I took advantage of over the weekend with some great body surfing.

So now time to wait for the next one to appear. Hurricane season is always interesting here in the Sunshine State.

TS Emily

2011-08-03T14:42:00.000-04:00

Florida's first tropical storm threat of the season looks like it might arrive this upcoming weekend.

Tropical storm Emily is on a northwest path and may make a little noise in Florida if things pan out.

Always exciting to go to the beach when these storms approach as the surf gets really crazy.

Magnetbra!

2011-07-31T16:07:00.001-04:00

In an attempt to mitigate paint damage on the hood of my 2007 Suzuki SX4 I have purchased/installed a nifty, thrifty little item called the Magnetbra.

It's a relatively thin and flexible sheet of magnetic material, precut to match the shape of a variety of automotive hoods.

Installation was a relative snap. Just get it lined up on the hood, smooth it out and put the little edging piece in place. 10 minutes tops, unless you've been drinking, then give 15 for the job.

Below are a few pics. Click to enlarge :-)

Florida excursions

2011-07-23T09:48:00.004-04:00

Hi :)

I have not posted lately to the blog. I've been very busy and engaged with visitors and work so not much time for posting.

Here's a little update though. I spent parts of the last couple weeks driving around Florida with friends and seeing places I had not seen.

I went to West Palm Beach (south east on the Atlantic Ocean), St. Augustine (north central on the Atlantic), Marineland where the dolphins live not far from St. Augustine, Universal Studios theme park in Orlando and also to Sanibel/Captiva islands in Southwest Florida on the Gulf of Mexico.

I had a blast seeing and experiencing these places and hanging out with my friends. Below are just a few pics.

CLICK the pics to ENLARGE!

Vilano Beach, St. Augustine, FL

2011-07-03T19:06:00.006-04:00

I headed to Vilano Beach today with my pal Andrew to catch a few rays, bust some waves and then have a few ales at A1A Aleworks in St. Augustine.

This beach is really great. The waves were much bigger than others I have experienced in FL. Plus we spotted dolphins numerous times. I was out swimming and saw one pert near 50 yards from me! COOL!

After the beach we hit the A1A Aleworks. This is a brewery/restaurant in downtown St. Augustine with the BEST BEER in Florida! Porpoise Point IPA. Oh yes it is heaven sent.

On the way home we stopped by FIAT of Daytona to check out the new FIAT 500. I test drove one. Really neat little car. I liked it alot!

Below are a few pics from the day.

CLICK THE PICS TO ENLARGE!

Saturdee jaunt

2011-07-02T17:04:00.001-04:00

I got out this morning on the Guzzi Stelvio with my pals Bob and Andrew. Bob had his Harley Davidson and Andrew had his Triumph.

We took a nice ride up to Daytona Beach via the back roads. Stopped at a few places whilst there, including Waffle House, the Helmet Shop, BMW Motorcycles of Daytona, Cycle Gear and a nice little homemade ice cream shop called Flamingo.

Great to get out for a while with the fellas and back aboard the Stelvio.

Stelvy fetch update

2011-06-30T04:55:00.001-04:00

Just a brief update....I did go fetch my Stelvio last weekend. Rode around north Georgia on some awesome roads Sundee afternoon with my pal Rob.

Left 4:00 a.m. Mondee from Rob's place about 30 minutes north of Atlanta. I think it was about 500 miles home. Got home 11:45 a.m. Turn n burn down I-75 to I-10 to I-95 to I-4. Even time for a Waffle House breakfast stop. Bike ran perfectly. Great to have her back :-)

Operation Stelvy-Fetch

2011-06-25T17:56:00.001-04:00

Well I leave Sunday a.m. bright and early on a metal bird from Daytona Beach to Atlanta (via Charlotte) on my way to fetch my 2009 Moto Guzzi Stelvio.

Stelvy has been in a shop in north Georgia for a number of weeks having a warranty issue attended to. Why north Georgia you ask? Well, Rider's Hill is the only shop anywhere remotely near me that I would trust the bike with. The head mechanic's nickname is GuzziSteve if that gives you any clue.

So I should arrive in Atlanta around 11 a.m. where my good pal Rob will pick me up at the airport and drive me up to Rider's Hill, maybe an hour north?

The plan is then for Rob and I to ride around Sunday afternoon in the north Georgia mountains.

Monday I plan to hit the road early and cover the ~510 miles home to Deland aboard the Stelvio.

I don't want to just turn n burn on the interstate highways the whole way so I am hoping to take some more scenic state highways home.

Here's to everything working out as planned :)

Not your ordinary dinner

2011-06-23T21:21:00.001-04:00

At least not for me. Tonight I had dinner with a friend at a place called the Ravenous Pig. This place is owned by the pair of chefs that prepare the meals.

The menu is rather small but everything on it looks fantastic! Here's a link to the dinner MENU

We ended up getting two items and sampling from each of them.

The first was Shrimp and Grits. Local royal red shrimp, c & d mill grits, green tomato chutney and chorizo oil. Absolutely FANTASTIC!

The second item was Colorado Lamb Leg. Served with a vidalia onion purée, potato gratin, baby artichoke & roasted tomato ragú. This was quite good, though my piece of lamb was kind of sinewy and tough to cut. But all was very flavorful.

For dessert was a bing cherry-brown butter tart, crème fraiche ice cream and pecan brittle.

Great evening out. Beats the heck out of the bowl of cereal I was going to have :-)

Casa G

2011-06-21T15:34:00.000-04:00

Just a few pics of Casa G. Note the lack of wall hangings :) Less for me to repair when I move :)

This shows most of the house, incl. guest room, office, living and dining rooms and kitchen. Not my master bedroom as I had a massive pile of unfolded laundry and it was just not picture-worthy :)

Where I spend a big portion of my life

2011-06-20T19:22:00.001-04:00

In a high-walled cubicle in Lake Mary, FL. This is where I live over 1/3 of my day.

Stelvio update

2011-06-19T18:28:00.001-04:00

I heard today from the mechanic working on my 2009 Moto Guzzi Stelvio that it SHOULD be ready by this upcoming weekend.

He told me almost everything is back together and he is just waiting for a couple manifold gaskets and a bolt to finish the job.

So my challenge is how do I get up there to get the bike and get it back home.

My preference is to just buy an airline ticket to Atlanta airport and then somehow make my way to the motorcycle shop, which is about 75 miles north of Atlanta airport. Then I could just ride the bike back home.

I may just have to rent a truck to get the bike and haul it home. Still up in the air, but no matter what I will be really glad when it is home.

Bumming about at Matanzas Inlet

2011-06-18T17:25:00.001-04:00

I spent several hours Saturday at Matanzas Inlet, a location on Florida's east coast where the ocean meets the inter-coastal waterway.

The beach is really neat there, with large portions of it made up of coarsely crush shells. A really great beach!

Stelvio in bits

2011-06-15T23:31:00.000-04:00

My 2009 Guzzi Stelvio is up on the lift in north Georgia now, undergoing a warranty repair for a severe oil leak.

The fella working on my bike, nicknamed GuzziSteve, sent me a few pics as he was tearing the bike down today. The entire engine/trnsmission needed to be removed from the frame to fix the problem. Below are a few pics. More pics tomorrow when Steve sends me some.

Helluva deal

2011-06-14T20:19:00.001-04:00

So I am sitting at Liam's Pub on a Tuesday late afternoon, sipping on a pint of Hazed with my pals Jim n Andrew, listening to some pearls of wisdom from barkeep Brad.

The Droid phone rings. It's the folks who own the house I am renting. Fires from the other side of the street that have been burning for weeks have crossed to my side of the street. About a block away from you she says. "Thanks for the info" and back to my wonderful pint of Hazed.

I mean, what am I gonna do, run with my hose and put it out? Firemen are there for that. Thanks a lot firemen by the way. Great work you do.

So a coupla pints later, off to the ALFA Spider and the top down 20 mile cruise home to Deland. Hmmm, skies look ominous up north. We might get a bit moist.

Yup, sure enuf, about 5 miles from Casa Galardi, the skies open with a Freakin' Florida Fury! In about 20 seconds, the Spider and I are drenched. Ah yes, there's a bridge to hide under and flip the rather leaky top up.

Onward little Spider. Rain is pelting us and finding every seam in this 25 year old Italian. What the heck, I am already soaked. A little more will keep the skin supple.

A few miles later I approach my hard sand road. Hmmm, looks like a police car at the entrance. Citizen's Patrol actually. A lovely lass hops out and stops me. What's your house #? 2714 I tell her...and she says "your ok...go ahead". Thanks dear...sorry you had to hop out of the Citizen cruiser and get soaked though.

Finally home...time to mop the water out of Spidey :-). Thanks for the rain dear Lord. Maybe keep the house from burnin' tonight :-)

No joy

2011-06-13T19:56:00.000-04:00

The lack of having a motorcycle to ride for about 5 weeks now is becoming a real drag. One of my favorite downtime activities is/was jumping on one of my Guzzis and going for a ride.

My Stelvio has been up in north Georgia for warranty repairs for a few weeks now...though it looks like it might get worked on and maybe even completed this week (?)

My other bike, the LeMans, has just been giving me fits lately as it has been running very poorly. Off and on as I have time I have been trying to correct it but the usual remedies thus far have not yielded anything positive. Tonight I added a couple of new intake runners to the throttle bodies in case there might have been an air leak coming from the old runners. We'll see if that makes any difference.

So I just have to satisfy myself with driving my ALFA Romeo Spider, which is fun but not even close to as fun as my Guzzis.

Lotsa happenings

2011-06-11T12:17:00.004-04:00

Hi friends,

It's been a while since my last post. I have been keeping very busy in the meantime though, so certainly no time wasted in between.

After my brother and his wife and kids left last Friday, my friend Double M (The Enforcer) from Omaha flew in Friday night (and boy are his arms tired..ba dum dum). The nickname Double M (MM) harkens back to my days as a boy when I watched pro rassling (AWA). I was a big fan of Arn Anderson (AA) of the Four Horsemen rasslin group. His nickname was "The Enforcer".

Anyway, enough with my delightful anecdotes. So I got MM at the airport Friday night and we headed directly to Liam's for an ale or two.

As the rest of the weekend progressed, it was basically at the beach all day, beach bar breaks occasionally then off to have an ale or two in the evening. Awesome amount of fun as we busted the waves and body-surfed in the mighty Atlantic all weekend long.

MM left Monday morning and it was back to business as usual at work. During the workweek I stopped into Liam's to see my pal Bradford, bartender extraordinaire, as well as my normal posse of pals on the customer side of the bar. Great times @ Liam's. It's just a really cool place to hang out with friends.

Friday night my friends Andrew and Jayne invited me and some others over for dinner. Boy oh boy was that GREAT! Indian inspired food was on the menu. Chicken, potatoes with chickpeas, coconut rice...all with Indian spices and flavors. Dang it was GREAT!

So all in all a great lotta good times that last two weeks. Here are some pics to prove it all :-)

A visit from the familia

2011-06-01T19:49:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday my brother Luke, his wife Marcia and their 4 kids Sophia, Andrew, Jonah and Cecilia came down for a visit. They have been staying here at Casa Galardi and heading out each day on varied adventures.

Last Saturday, Sunday and Monday we went to different beaches, including New Smyrna Beach and Flagler beach. The ocean waves were awesome and we got knocked around quite a bit fighting them. The kids have never been to an ocean and just have been loving it.

The whole clan have also traveled to Marineland to touch and feed dolphins, to historic St Augustine and to Daytona beach. They've been having a great time.

Walk a little

2011-05-28T06:26:00.000-04:00

April 11th I decided to get back into my routine of walking on a daily basis. A lot of walking. Thanks to the lil Jogtracker app my brother Luke told me about for my DROID, I can easily track my walks now. 9-11 miles a day now are fairly common.

Don't ever let anyone tell you walking is not real exercise. Mix in a little bit of eating better/less and limiting excursions to my beloved Liam's to once per week (generally) and as I sit here today, I have lost 24 lbs.

Try to get out and walk a little bit every day. Take your kids or your dog or your loved one. You might be surprised at how much better you feel after a while.

Stelvy update

2011-05-23T13:26:00.001-04:00

My 2009 Moto Guzzi Stelvio lives in north Georgia for the time being. It is there due to an oil leak it developed recently, from near where the engine mates to the transmission.

The mechanic at Rider's Hill, where the Stelvio resides, cleaned up all of the leaking oil and took it for a test ride to document the leak for warranty purposes.

Pics are shown below. Severe oil leak as you can see. Fixitup Parts are on order :-)

What's the buzz?

2011-05-20T22:07:00.000-04:00

Well I haven't made the time to update the blog lately, so Friday night at 10 p.m. is as good a time as any.

I have been quite busy of late, with work keeping me busy during the day. My lunch hours at work and about 90 minutes after work most every day I spend doing some spirited walking to get exercise. I found a nice route around part of Lake Winnemissett. I generally walk between 8-11 miles a day.

I am currently bike-less as my Guzzi Stelvio is up at a dealer in north Georgia getting warranty work done on a bad oil leak. As (my) luck would have it my Guzzi LeMans is running like a pile right now. I think I have some sort of air and fuel leak at the left throttle body (like a carburetor). Anyway I am having one heck of a time resolving it. The bike backfires fairly frequently through that left throttle body. So I have spent many hours in the garage fiddling with that.

The only upside to this is the ALFA Spider is getting more drive time and I love driving that car.

In just about a week my brother Luke, his wife Marcia and their four kids Sophia, Andrew, Jonah and Cecilia will arrive for a visit. They will be here for about a week, visiting the beaches, Disney, etc. That will be a lot of fun.

Right on the heels of that my pal Double M the Enforcer will be coming down for a long weekend. We plan to do some snorkeling and hopefully see the manatees.

So I am busy getting the house ready for my visitors. Still have some boxes of junk I have never unpacked. Unbelievable pack rat I am.

Until next time, thanks for reading...

Mahi mahi

2011-05-08T18:48:00.001-04:00

Well it was a good Sunday. Out of the sack at 6 a.m. and I got two vehicles washed early on. Then I went on a nice 5.5 miles walk followed by mowing the "lawn" if you can call it a lawn.

Next I did some shopping for new running shoes and a few other items. I tested out the new shoes with another 5.5 miles walk.

Finally for dinner I grilled a mahi mahi filet along with some whole wheat flour tortillas. I added a bit of peach and pineapple salsa and lettuce to make some mahi tacos.

Chumps in a Champ

2011-05-07T13:35:00.000-04:00

This morning I had the pleasure of taking a nice 2 hour flight in my pal Capn Jim's 1946 Aeronca Champion aeroplane. We flew from Zellwood, FL to New Smyrna Beach and back. What a great flight it was. Below is a link to all the pics on Photbucket as well as few pics here on blogspot.

LINK TO PHOTOBUCKET PICS CLICK ME!

Just some stuff

2011-05-01T19:14:00.001-04:00

Just wanted to a post about a few things today.

My 2009 Guzzi Stelvio has developed a pretty bad oil leak from the back side of the engine. I am guessing the rear main seal. After a good run it drips a lot :(

This sucks because there are no dealers near me anymore as the Scooter Superstore chain that sold/serviced Guzzis went bankrupt a while back. So now I am faced with taking it somewhere for warranty service. I am looking at prolly Dahlonega, Georgia...up near Atlanta. They have a really good Guzzi mechanic there. Will keep you abreast of this as it develops.

I have been walking a lot more lately. Got back into my old pattern of walking pretty much daily...anywhere from 4.5 - 8 miles/day. It's been making me feel better...well that in combination with eating better and moderating ale intake. I have lost I guess about 12 lbs lately. Now just another 20 or 30 to go :) and I could get back to my high school weight maybe. Ha!

I took my ALFA Spider to the beach today and hung out there for a while. Got sunburned as USUAL! Not very comfortable :( Anyway it should fade away in a few days.

I am happy to say I have family and friends coming to visit me in the late May through July timeframe! Yay! I am looking forward to seeing everyone!

Tonight I made nice dinner of a grilled salmon pinwheel stuffed with crab meat, served over a bed of romain lettuce and sugar snap peas (love those) and then drizzled with some vidalia onion vinagrette dressing. It was good and I think pretty healthy.

'Til next time...thanks for reading!

For the Heart

2011-04-30T17:15:00.003-04:00

Good Elvis tune from 1976. Recorded at Graceland in his living room...he called it the Jungle Room. It is decorated with some interesting art from Africa I guess and had green shag carpet on ceiling and floor if I recall correctly from my visit there. Interesting 70's decor :)

Here are a couple pics I took of the Jungle Room when I visited Graceland.

CLICK THE PIC TO ENLARGE

LeMans maintenance

2011-04-28T20:41:00.000-04:00

Spent a while in the garage tonight pulling the tank off the Guzzi Lemans so I could replace the fuel filter and the spark plug wires.

Pretty straightforward procedure. As seen in the picture below the fuel filter is clamped to the frame. The plug wires I think were original ones so I figured might as well replace them while the tank was off.

Everything went back together ok and it actually started right up afterwards so I guess I didn't screw anything up too badly.

Easter visit to the beach

2011-04-25T06:47:00.000-04:00

My Easter morning consisted of a nice visit to New Smyrna Beach for a good long walk. The ocean was rather agitated with a good amount of surf breaking on the beach. I ended up walking about 5.25 miles at a good clip whilst listening to Elvis gospel tunes on my headset.

Click the link below to see some pics :)

New Smyrna Walk Easter Morning 2011

The story of a giddy boy and his Guzzi

2011-04-22T20:05:00.000-04:00

Today at work was a Friday like many others I have experienced in the past. A glorious Florida morning, clear and in the low 60's. Perfect for the ride in on my 2002 Moto Guzzi LeMans.

As I arrived early the parking lot was mostly empty, so I procured the parking spot right near the doors. I parked the Guzzi in the far right of the space as is my wont, to allow for another bike or two to share the space.

As I climbed the four stories to my cubicle, I hurriedly set my stuff down and scurried to the window to look at my bike, something I do every time. Just to make she she is alright, you know. Sure enough she was just fine.

A while later, after I slaved away furiously in my cubicle on the work of the day, I sprinted back to the window to check on my Guzzi. Sweet heavenly Christ what is this I see?! Another Moto Guzzi parked in the space next to mine?! This can't be. It never has been! But it WAS!

After a quick photo from above, I ran like a frightened schoolboy down the stairs to photographically document this historic event. There in all it's glory was a red Moto Guzzi Breva parked next to my red/grey LeMans.

A tear trickled down my cheek and as I fought to stave off further tears, my quivering hand took a couple more photos as proof.

There is certainly a God I thought to myself, to make this come to pass. Thank you sweet Lord for this day. It is one i sha'n't soon forget.

CLICK PIC TO ENLARGE!

Retirement talk...

2011-04-22T13:35:00.001-04:00

I have been riding motorcycles since 2002. Since then I have surpassed 115,000+ miles on bikes.

From Florida to California on my coast to coast ride a few years ago. All along Route 66 on that great ride. To the Southernmost point of the USA in Key West. For many thousands of miles in numerous states covering this great country of ours.

During all that time one thing has been consistent.....one pair of gloves that have accompanied me on every trip. My Olympia gloves have been with me each time. Sure once in a while they had to share duty with another pair if the weather turned colder, but they were always there, ready for duty.

I think the time has come though to let them finally rest. The left hand glove has holes completely worn through the leather, in the heel of the hand and the thumb. But I still go back to them every day. Familiar as an old friend.

Now I will try to find something suitable to replace them. Thank you for your service Olympias...a job very well done.

The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous

2011-04-20T17:10:00.000-04:00

Just the kiss of the hops. Schlitz beer.

The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was once the largest producer of beer in the world. Its namesake beer, Schlitz, was known as "The beer that made Milwaukee famous" and was famously advertised with the slogan "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer".

Schlitz first became the world's top beer producer in 1902 and enjoyed that status at several points during the first half of the twentieth century, exchanging the claim with Anheuser-Busch multiple times during the 1950s.

The company was founded by August Krug in 1849 but acquired by Joseph Schlitz in 1858. Schlitz would eventually be bought by Stroh Brewery Company in 1982, and subsequently be sold again along with the rest of Stroh's assets to the Pabst Brewing Company in 1999.

After a several decade period of decline Pabst reintroduced the original Schlitz beer in 2008, back-formulated to recapture the brew's taste before over-competitive zeal caused the original to be changed.

Guzzi Stelvio erl change

2011-04-17T13:44:00.000-04:00

A busy Sunday so far here at Casa Galardi, Deland. Yard work galore has been completed and so the time came to change the engine oil and filter on the Moto Guzzi Stelvio.

Now generally with the new line of Moto Guzzis it is no longer necessary to remove the oil sump from the bike, as the oil filter is now accessible externally.

But what the heck, I thought I would remove the sump for old times sake and plus it is a good bonding experience with the motorbike. One never knows what might lurk in the sump full of oil!

So anyway here are a few pics. Unusually I did not have a sump gasket in my inventory so I have ordered a couple which should get here in a few days.

The casa

2011-04-17T11:49:00.000-04:00

Just a few pics of where I live.

Ribbit Ribbit

2011-04-16T22:35:00.000-04:00

Lil friends on my front door

ALFA Romeo Spider "gearing" up

2011-04-16T10:25:00.001-04:00

This morning I had the pleasure to work in the garage on my 1986 ALFA Romeo Spider. Pretty simple maintenance really, just checking and adding gear oil if needed to the gearbox and differential.

The gearbox fill/level plug location requires me to jack the car up a bit. Then I snake a clear tube from the engine compartment and slot it into the gearbox. You can see all this exciting stuff in the pics below. Next I lower the car and then add gear oil a bit at a time and let it drain into the gearbox, until a bit spills out. That's it...I replace the bolt and am done adding gear oil. The gearbox took somewhere around 300-400 ml. Not a whole lot which is good as I know it does drip a little bit so it's not losing too awful much.

The differential is a lot more accessible. I can just lay under the rear of the car and get at the level/fill plug. The diff didn't need any oil. This is good news!

Anyway that concludes this exceedingly exciting blog post. Thanks for reading and have a happy day, wherever you are!

They don't make 'em like this anymore

2011-04-16T07:26:00.002-04:00

A peaceful coexistence...

2011-04-11T20:13:00.002-04:00

Guzzi and Honda sharing a parking space

Givin' Stelvy the once over

2011-04-10T14:21:00.000-04:00

This morning I took a little time in the garage to perform a little maintenance on my 2009 Moto Guzzi Stelvio aka Stelvy.

It was about time for the 6000 mile valve clearance check/adjustment. As well I needed to change the air filter and check to make sure the throttle position sensor (tps)voltage was within spec.

Good news the valve clearances were all still where I set them 6000 miles ago! The spark plug gaps were within spec as well. The air filter on the other hand was a filthy mess so that was changed. The tps reading was spot on.

Next up is engine oil, gearbox oil and shaft drive oil change. Maybe next weekend. I gotta source some 10w60 engine oil from the web! Until next time, make sure your Eagles are flying forward!

Florida's Gulf Coast....a few pics

2011-04-09T04:19:00.003-04:00

Below is a link to a few pics from my Gulf coast visit

CLICK HERE for the PICS!

Kid Guzzi going Coastal

2011-04-07T15:29:00.004-04:00

Friday a.m. I am hopping aboard the Guzzi Stelvio for a trip over to the Tampa/Clearwater area on the Gulf coast. I am going to visit my Omaha friends Dennis and Ann who are down for a visit. Looking forward to a fun ride and visit!

A Sunday of cycling with pals

2011-04-03T18:56:00.000-04:00

This sunny Sunday I met up with a group of my motorcycling pals for a great ride. The main reason for the ride was to get together with our great pal Rob who moved to Georgia a couple years ago. Rob has a sweet Kawasaki KLR 650 which he rode down from the Atlanta area this weekend so he could ride with us :-)

I ended up covering just shy of 290 miles in central Florida. The group of bikes was diverse. We had 2 Harley Davidsons, 2 Ducatis, 1 Kawasaki, 1 Triumph and 1 Moto Guzzi.

We headed out about 8:30 a.m. and took a scenic route through the Ocala National Forest north toward our lunch destination, the Outback Crab Shack. This place is out in the boonies with nothing much else around it. The food is great and the ride there is well worth it.

The route up was a lot of fun with lots of interesting roads. On the way back we headed to the coast and road the A1A coastal hwy for several miles before darting back toward I-95 for a final 60 mile power blast back home.

Here are a few pics....click them to ENLARGE!

Vaporized

2011-03-29T21:19:00.001-04:00

On a recent ride on my 2002 Guzzi LeMans, I experienced firsthand an issue that has affected some of these bikes...namely, vapor lock.

What happens is that due to the design of one of the fuel lines running too close to an engine cylinder, in HOT conditions it is possible that the excessive heat from the cylinder actually vaporizes the liquid fuel before it can reach the fuel injector. This condition is known as vapor lock. Basically the bike stumbles and won't run properly until things cool down.

So my project was to dig into the LeMans and try to shield these fuel lines from excessive heat and hopefully stave off vapor lock.

With able assistance from my pal Cap'n Jim we went about working on the LeMans. The fuel hoses were removed and wrapped in a heat resistant/deflective tape.

We'll see how this works out. Hopefully the vapor lock condition will be mitigated.

Also hopefully someone from the Midwest will come visit me and bring lots of Boulevard Ale with them as Cap'n Jim drank all of mine.

CG & LeMans ride the A1A

2011-03-27T16:36:00.001-04:00

Today was a glorious weather day here in Florida. It's one of those days (and there are many of them) which define why we love it here in the Sunshine State.

Skies were blue with a few clouds about, sun was abundant and temps were in the mid 80's.

So after my lawn mowing chores were done, I saddled up on my 2002 Moto Guzzi LeMans and headed for the coast to see my old friend...the Atlantic ocean. Being born in New Jersey I can remember as a little boy going to the Atlantic ocean and I love going there more than ever now.

I took some backroads to pick up coastal hwy A1A just north of Daytona in Ormond Beach. Once on A1A I continued north up past Marineland, the Dolphin Encounter place south of St Augustine.

At this point I felt it was time to scout for a nice location to take a few pics of the LeMans on the beach, which I found on OLD hwy A1A, a road which is now mostly closed to traffic due to sand having blown much of it shut.

But the LeMans and I crept along and found a perfect spot with no traffic for the photo op. Below are a few pics and a lil map (the red "X" marks the spot where I took the pics). All in all a wonderful 120 mile jaunt along the coast.

Click on any pic to ENLARGE it

Sunshine state is delivering

2011-03-26T20:17:00.001-04:00

The weather here in Florida lately has been absolutely gorgeous. WARM days in the 80's and clear, sunny skies. Darned near perfect.

Days like these my 1986 ALFA Romeo Spider yearns to fire up and run about on the sun-drenched Florida back roads.

Today I took the Spider up to south Daytona, traveling along the historic highway 92 which leads into the heart of Daytona beach. I stopped for a quick photo opp in south Daytona along the inter-coastal waterway.

Later in the day Spidery and I headed south to Scott the Canucks house. Scott and I replaced the pool pump motor for his neato pool.

I did get a bit of a sunburn. I need to remember my dog-goned sunscreen.

All in all a very good day in the Sunshine state.

CLICK the PICS to ENLARGE

Some more Pittsburgh pics

2011-03-22T19:50:00.001-04:00

Day 2 of training here in Pittsburgh is complete. It turned slightly cooler here today...with highs in the 50's and cloudy.

After work Lew and Tom and I went for dinner at a nice place called Atria's which is attached to the PNC baseball park. I had an excellent soy ginger steamed tilapia filet with a soy ginger sauce, white rice and stir fried vegetables. Deeeeelicious.

I took a few more pics of some bridges and downtown etc. Neat downtown Pittsburgh is!

Pix from Pixburg

2011-03-21T19:27:00.003-04:00

I am in Pittsburgh, PA for a few days for some work-related training.

While here I am enjoying seeing the sights. Pittsburgh is a neat town. Lots of old buildings, a really cool downtown area and those three rivers that run along the city.

I have been enjoying going to some of the really great little downtown storefront restaurants. The famous Primanti's pastrami sandwich, topped with cole slaw and french fries(!) was fantastic with my pals Paul and Lew on Sunday. We also stopped into an old Catholic church built in 1903 that was decomissioned and turned into a brewery in 1996.

My friend Paul and I walked across the river and stopped in a Jerome Bettis' #36 Bar/Grille (Bettis is a famous running back formerly of Pittsburgh Steelers and Notre Dame).

Today I went with Lew at lunch to a great little local pizza place in downtown and had a slice of tasty pie.

After work I went in search of Weiner World, home of awesome weiners, but they were closed for the evening by the time I found it, walking around downtown following the instructions of my DROID.

So I kept wandering and found Sammy's World Famous Corned Beef and had an absolutely tremendous sandwich for dinner.

Anyway, here are a few pics from my trip thus far.

Steel city

2011-03-19T19:55:00.000-04:00

I am heading to Pittsburgh soon for a few days of training. My company has a big office in Pittsburgh, so I am looking forward to seeing some folks from there.

Ride

2011-03-19T15:12:00.002-04:00

The Promised Land

2011-03-13T07:43:00.003-04:00

One of my current favorite Elvis tunes, The Promised Land, with some neat old video clips.

Pics from the ol' ballgame

2011-03-12T18:44:00.000-05:00

Below are some pics from the ball game today in Lakeland, FL. Could not have been better weather. Sunny, not a cloud in sight, light breeze and around 70 degrees. Perfect.

CLICK THE PICS TO ENLARGE

MLB Spring training

2011-03-12T07:35:00.001-05:00

On this sunny Saturday I am planning to head to one of the many Major League Baseball Spring training games taking place.

Florida is home to Spring training for 15 MLB teams. Today in central Florida calls for a high in the low to mid 70's with clear skies so it should be perfect weather for a day at the ol' ballgame.

At this point I am thinking I will be heading to Lakeland to see the Tigers and Bluejays.

Spidey's turn

2011-03-09T20:14:00.000-05:00

Having 4 vehicles and just one me can be a lot of fun but it also has its challenges.

You see I have to keep them all limber so they must each be "exercised" regularly. Today it was Spidey's turn...my 1986 ALFA Romeo Graduate convertible. She got to take a spirited run to work and back today plus a couple errands as well. Sure not a lot of miles but prolly 50+ and she likes every little run she gets.

She's a heckuva lot of fun to drive. Back to one of the Guzzis tomorrow I think but Spidey will prolly get her turn again this weekend :)

Daytona Beach Bike Week...in Deland!

2011-03-05T13:48:00.002-05:00

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE PICS!

I met up with my friends Bob and Andrew and we checked out the happenings at the Deland BikeFest today....part of Daytona Bike Week. Click the link above to see all the keen pics!

Daytona Beach Bike Week Begins

2011-03-05T07:07:00.003-05:00

Friday (3/4) marked the start of Daytona Beach Bike Week, the biggest motorcycle event in the world.

I'll try to get out and enjoy a bit of it as time permits. In all honesty it's not really my bag but there are some "interesting" sights to see and it's just such a spectacle that's it is hard to look away or ignore it.

It will be interesting to see how the crowds are with the economy and fuel prices as they are. But the weather sure looks pretty fine.

A few misc pics

2011-03-02T18:57:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to share a few miscellaneous pics.

The other day I acquired two "Turbulator" beer glasses. These are special glasses made by Sam Adams. I drink my Hazed and Infused Ale exclusively from Turbulators!

My Guzzi LeMans developed a crack along one of the welds on the crossover pipe. I need to gt that re-welded. Stunningly interesting photo below.

Finally I took a few more pics of the house, including my bear-proof trash cage.
As you can see I have some trimming and yard work, etc. to do but I like it here. It's plenty nice enough for me.

As always, click any pic to ENLARGE it!

Sunrise on the Atlantic

2011-02-27T09:47:00.001-05:00

I awoke early this Sunday morning, intent on getting to New Smyrna Beach, ~20 miles due east, to see the sunrise on the ocean.

My timing was just right as the sun was showing itself just as I arrived. Next a quick breakfast stop at the Beacon Diner, a neat lil place a block away from the water.

I topped it off with a 2.5 mile walk on the beach, catching the sights and sounds of the ocean.

Here are some pics. CLICK THE PICS TO ENLARGE THEM.

Good Saturdee

2011-02-26T18:35:00.001-05:00

Well a productive start to the weekend today. I was able to do some work on the Guzzi LeMans. recently it has been exhibiting an intermittent "miss" or sputter. I had been chalking it up to old fuel which may have had some water in it but the situation wasn't changing with a few tanks full of fresh fuel.

So I decided to check the valve clearance and spark plug gaps this a.m. I did find the valve clearances to be slightly out of spec but nothing major. The big "find" was when I was removing the left cylinder spark plug boot(cap). While removing the boot from the plug the boot came completely apart from the plug wire. Examining it and the wire saw a good bit of corrosion to the plug wire inside the insulation. Over time it looks as though some water had infiltrated and slowly the connection between boot and wire became compromised. I snipped off about a half inch of the wire to expose some clean wire, applied some dielectric grease and screwed the boot back into the wire.

When all was said and done and I fired the bike up I did not detect any trace of the previous sputtering, so let's hope all is well.

Additionally I was able to mow the lawn for the first time today. If you want to call it a lawn. More a patch of clover and various other weeds at this point. Anyway I mowed it, over the objections of several hornets which did not like the idea, and put down some weed and feed. I have a feeling another application or two of weed n feed will be in order.

I also was able to get into the ALFA Romeo Spider fuse box, removed each fuse and apply dielectric grease on the fuse ends. The fuses in the ALFA are the old exposed metal/ceramic type so there is a tendency for some corrosion to occur. Hopefully this will hold it at bay for a while. A quick spin in the ALFA was then in order, her first time roaming Florida roads since I have been back.

This a.m I also met one of my neighbors, a fella named Martin. He is a retired paramedic I think he said, having worked for the fire dept. Lucky fellow to be retired as I would place him in his 40's.

So I will leave you with a link to some pictures my friend Andrew took last weekend from a quick motorcycle ride he and I took. Him on his Ducati Monster, me on the Guzzi LeMans. Good pics and good fun.

PICS HERE...click me!

Adios til next time!

Enjoying the sunshine state

2011-02-23T20:06:00.000-05:00

I am having a good time here in Florida, riding my bikes everywhere and leaving the cars in the garage. It's great to ride to and from work on the bikes.

Also a lot of fun is meeting up with and seeing my Florida friends and coworkers.

Most of my boxes are unpacked...at least the ones that need to be. Stal and Enforcer set up my tv and surround sound while they were here so it sounds really cool watching some shows on tv.

Daytona Bike Week is coming soon....bikes should start rolling on this weekend.

Out for a bumble

2011-02-21T15:41:00.001-05:00

I spent a couple hours today exercising my 2002 Moto Guzzi LeMans with my friend Andrew (on his Ducati S4rs Monster). Some fun twisty roads and 80 degress with sunshine were just the ticket for a good time.

CLICK PICs to ENLARGE

A tight fit...

2011-02-20T13:14:00.000-05:00

Stal takes flight

2011-02-19T13:26:00.001-05:00

stal and I went out to Capn Jims airport this a.m. to retrieve the Guzzi Stelvio and for Stal to get a flight in Jim's 1946 Aeronca Champ airplane. Pics below!

Visiting the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse

2011-02-17T15:57:00.000-05:00

' Twas a good day in Florida today as Stallion, Enforcer and I did some sightseeing of the Florida coast. We checked out the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse...the tallest in Florida and the scond tallest in the U.S.A.

Exploring Florida with M&M

2011-02-16T20:25:00.002-05:00

Today we slept in a bit and then headed to the east coast of Florida. After breakfast in New Smyrna Beach we drove up the coast, stopping in Daytona Beach for some Zeno's salt water taffy, then onto Marineland where the dolphins live and finally to St Augustine, where we had a couple beers at A1A Aleworks. Finally dinner in Daytona Beach at the Ocean Deck.

Monday....arrival in the Florida panhandle

2011-02-14T21:13:00.000-05:00

Another day of driving today...about 11.5 hours on the road. We left Sikeston, MO this a.m.at 6:00 and arrived in Tallhassee, FL around 5:30 (6:30 ET).

Along the way we passed through the birthplace of Elvis in Tupelo, Mississippi, Birmingham, AL and Montgomery, AL.

Pretty much an uneventful day. The Uhaul worked great and the little Suzuki SX4 did as well.

Tomorrow we will leave between 6:30 and 7 and expect to arrive at the new house in Deland, FL around noon.

Sunday on the road southbound

2011-02-13T20:45:00.002-05:00

A good day on the road today. We covered about 575 miles from Omaha to Sikeston, MO where we now are hunkered down in a Drury Inn.

For dinner we went to Lambert's Cafe, which is sort of renowned for an odd tradition...they have a few people on staff who wander around the restaurant yelling out "hot rolls!" and if you raise your hand they fire a roll across the restaurant to you. Pretty entertaining!

The food was really good and the environment entertaining. Tomorrow a.m. we are off to an early start and bound for Tallahassee, FL.

Busy Saturday

2011-02-12T20:12:00.003-05:00

Well the truck is FINALLY loaded. The Spider is in tow behind it. The house is all cleaned and I have checked out of it. I am exhausted.

Tonight I am staying at my brother Luke's house in Papillion. Tomorrow a.m. around 630 Stallion, Enforcer and I head south. We will make it to Sikeston, MO...the good Lord willing.

I am going to bed now....zzzzzzzzz

I can see the sun rising on the Atlantic now...

2011-02-11T08:13:00.005-05:00

Today I will pickup the truck and start loading it for the trip south to sunny Deland, Florida.

The plan is to leave Sunday around 8 a.m. Accompanying me will be two of my great pals, Mike "Stallion" Caniglia and Mike "Enforcer" Morhardt. Both came by their nicknames honestly but I will save that story for another post.

Two of us will be in the truck and the other will be in the Suzuki SX4. Behind the truck we'll be towing my 1986 Alfa Romeo Spider and in the truck will be my 2002 Moto Guzzi V11 Lemans.

Florida is such a much, much better environment for motorcycling and convertible classic autos.

My friends in the Great Plains, I bid you adieu. I'll return to visit on occasion and I hope you will reciprocate by visiting me in Florida. The doors to Casa Galardi will be open to you.

Mi casa es su casa....ciao for now :)

A package from Italia

2011-02-08T20:24:00.002-05:00

I received a package today, something I ordered from Italy nearly two months ago has finally arrived.

Just a little something to allow me to work on my 2002 Moto Guzzi V11 Lemans when needed, such as tire changes and the like. It's a shop stand from Italy. It rolls underneath the frame of the bike and using a lever the bike is raised, moving the rear tire off the ground. Works brilliantly!

Trip planning

2011-02-06T09:47:00.004-05:00

I have mapped out a trip route for the drive south to FL. Trip total ~1575 miles.

CLICK MAPS TO ENLARGE

Sunday 2/13
Depart Omaha ~11:00 a.m.
Arrive Cape Girardeau, MO ~ 8:00 p.m.
~550 miles

Monday 2/14
Depart Cape Girardeau, MO ~7:00 a.m.
Arrive Tallahassee, FL ~ 8:30 p.m.
~775 miles

Tuesday 2/15
Depart Tallahassee, FL ~7:00 a.m.
Arrive Deland, FL ~11:00 a.m.
~270 miles

Breathe!

2011-02-05T12:20:00.001-05:00

Guzzi V11 Lemans - rear drive bearing and seal replacement COMPLETE!

2011-02-01T18:57:00.006-05:00

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that about 2 months ago my 2002 Guzzi V11 Lemans developed an issue wherein a seal, bearing and inner race went kaput in the rear drive unit of the drive train. If you want to catch up you can read the previous 3 blog entries at the links below:
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3

So I finally received all the needed parts today and therefore called my excellent friend Super Cub Pilot Bob (SCPB) who also happens to be a Guzzi guru. I headed over to his shop this afternoon for his assistance and guidance in reassembling the rear drive unit.

Everything went back together like a supple leather glove over a rugged yet gentle hand. In fact it went back together better than it was as SCPB had noticed previously during dis-assembly that one of the bearings inside the unit was not properly seated all the way.

I got home and in about 90 minutes or so I had the rear drive back on the bike, the rear rim/tire back in place along with the rear brake caliper.

Then I added the required ~370cc of gear oil and voila, it's all back together!

If it wasn't for all this gd snow I'd take her out for a proving grounds spin!

Thanks again SCPB! I owe you big!

Two new Guzzi prototypes

2011-01-31T18:24:00.003-05:00

Below are two new Guzzi prototypes. One is the new California 1400. It is said to have Guzzi's first water-cooled engine, a 1400cc 3 valve head.

The other is the 750 Scrambler. Air-cooled 750cc. What do you thnk of these?

CLICK THE PICS TO MAKE THEM MUCH LARGER!

In the garage

2011-01-29T16:15:00.002-05:00

I spent about 5 hours in the garage today, organizing, arranging and boxing stuff up for the move south.

It was a nice 30 degree day here in Nebraska and so very accommodating weather for working outside.

I got a chance to fire up and move the Alfa Romeo Spider for the first time in about 6 weeks. After about 15 seconds of cranking she rumbled to life.

The garage is now in a lot better shape and about 85% done.

Guzzi V11 Lemans rear drive....digging deeper

2011-01-24T07:17:00.003-05:00

I headed over to Guzzi guru Bob's house Sunday, rear drive assembly in hand. Bob was kind enough to help me with disassembling the unit.

Well I guess I should say I was there to just lend a couple helping hands, as Bob did most of the work and came up with ways to remove the bad bearing and seal through sheer ingenuity.

Once we got into the guts of the rear drive, which required a bit of heat via a torch to help soften some assembly adhesive/sealant, we quickly found that there was evidence of a substantial amount of water infiltration inside the unit.

The outside bearing and inner race were completely shot, rusted, corroded. Moisture had also left behind a trail of corrosion inside parts of the unit.

Without having a small enough bearing puller Bob concocted a method of using a couple hex head bolts to remove the bearing. Only from the mind of Bob :) Worked like a charm!

After removing some other corroded internal bits Bob cleaned them up in his parts blaster and they look like new now.

Now I have a few parts to order....the bearing, it's inner race, a seal and an o-ring. Here are some pics.

Click the pics to ENLARGE

Breathing new life into a Brit

2011-01-23T10:14:00.004-05:00

My friend Bob is a multi-faceted and multi-talented fellow. He's a toolmaker, metal worker, machinist, I'd say an engineer as well. He's also an airplane pilot, owning a really cooler Piper Super Cub from the 1940's.

On top of this he has a great love for motorcycles. He has or has had various models of British, Italian, Spanish, American and I am sure more bikes in his life. A wealth of knowledge for certain.

One of Bob's current projects is re-building and restoring a great British bike...a 1968 Matchless G80CS (I think that's the model). It's a scrambler type bike, made for trail riding.

This is a basic of which Bob is the second owner. He bought it from a friend in 1978, after the bike had broken down somewhere in Utah I think and had been basically abandoned.

So Bob rescued it and for the past 30 or so years it has been awaiting it's chance to once again do what it was born to do...roar down road and trail, kick up trauils of dirt and bring a smile to it's owner's face.

The bike is powered by a Matchless 500 cc single and has a Matchless frame. "It's all Matchless", as Bob says. Bob hopes to have the bike done by the end of February, in time for an antique motorcycle meet in nearby Fremont, Nebraska.

I had a chance to take just a few pics of this project. Below are three pics of the bike as it is now and how it will look when it is done. Believe me it will be PERFECT because that's just how Bob does things. Hopefully more pics as it comes to fruition.

Man 'n' trusty shovel vs. snow

2011-01-23T10:04:00.003-05:00

We had a fairly significant "snow event" here in Omaha last night. My area got ~6-7" of the white stuff. Thank God (I mean really thanks a lot God) it was fairly light/fluffy stuff.

But 6-7" of snow is still a fair amount when only armed with a plastic shovel. So off I went to clear the drive and sidewalks. About 90 minutes later, job done. Pretty good exercise actually, so it wasn't necessarily time wasted.

click the pics to make 'em BIG!

Guzzi V11 Lemans rear drive removal

2011-01-22T19:44:00.005-05:00

This evening I spent a couple hours in the COLD garage working on my V11 Lemans. You can read part 1 of this story HERE.

So anyway with the bike up on the lift I started the dis-assembly process, removing the rear axle, rear brake caliper and then the rear wheel/tire.

With this done the rear drive assembly was fully visible and accessible. To remove the unit required removing some very stubborn bolts. One connected the rear drive assembly to a torque arm, a metal bar which ties back into the frame, reducing the "shaft-jacking" effect which used to be common on shaft-drive bikes. The other two stubborn bolts connect the rear drive assembly to the shaft drive via a u-joint.

With a fair amount of torque and some PB Blaster penetrating spray I was amazingly able to get those bolts out! Generally these things don't go my way but it all really went relatively smoothly. Cursing was minimal :)

So next comes the task of disassembling the guts of the rear drive itself, which requires removal of the crownwheel carrier plate (#23 in diagram below) and then working down to the parts that likely failed, the seal (#10) and the bearing and inner race (#'s 30 and 31).

I am hoping my friend Bob can help me with this, as he has a lot more talent, experience, patience and tools than I have :-)

CLICK THE PICS TO ENLARGE

Giving the Goose a lift

2011-01-22T17:16:00.005-05:00

About 6-7 weeks ago, before the snows arrived, I took the Guzzi V11 Lemans out for a ride. Upon arriving home that day I noticed the rear rim and outside of the rear tire coated with gear oil. It appears a bearing and seal in the rear drive unit went south on me.

So about that time, early December, I ordered a shop stand for the Lemans so I could get the rear wheel off the ground in order to remove it and the rear drive assembly.

I waited and waited and waited for the order to come over from Italy but alas it still has not arrived.

So I called my friend Super Cup Pilot and Guzzi guru Bob. Bob happens to have a V11 Sport, similar to the Lemans. I thought maybe he might have a stand I could borrow. Well he didn't but then all of the sudden he DID!

You see Bob is a toolmaker and metal worker extraordinaire, among his many other talents. He went about measuring, cutting, welding and fabricating a bolt on assembly which mates PERFECTLY to the Guzzi "spine" frame, which our bikes have.

So long story even longer, Bob graciously let me borrow this beautiful shop jack and the Lemans now sits in my garage nicely perched upon it awaiting dis-assembly.

So here are a few pics in what will surely be a series of blog posts related to this activity. THANKS BOB!!!

CLICK THE PICS TO ENLARGE

A lover, not a fighter

2011-01-21T08:50:00.001-05:00

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Signed, sealed, awaiting delivery

2011-01-19T17:59:00.002-05:00

I signed my lease yesterday for the house in Deland, FL. The good Lord willing I will be departing Omaha 2/14 and arriving in Florida 2/15. Then a few days off for unpacking and getting settled and back to work, in the Lake Mary office, on 2/22.

Into the Sun

2011-01-16T08:25:00.000-05:00

It's where I am headed soon. Back to Florida. I found a nice rental home with enough room for me and my bikes and cars....and a beeline shot 20 miles straight down Hwy 44 to New Smyrna Beach.

I have had a lot of good times catching up with family and friends these last 15 months here and I hope they will come to Florida for a visit. My casa will always be open to you.

Grand Funk Railroad Tune o' the Day

2011-01-12T18:02:00.001-05:00

Pay Attention To Me

Find more artists like Grand Funk Railroad at Myspace Music

Sunday a.m. in Florida - CWPG meets dolphins :-)

2011-01-09T12:38:00.006-05:00

I awoke early today and left my hotel in Lake Mary, FL bound for the coast and headed north. My ultimate destination was Marineland, a dolphin conservatory south of St Augustine, FL.

Along the way there, I drove up coastal highway A1A, which is a beautiful drive and holds a lot of good memories for me.

The conservatory was established in 1938. The oldest dolphin there is 57 years old! Human years...wow! She has some of her offspring there too. The youngest dolphins there are about 3 years old. The little ones (about 4 feet long) are very spirited and constantly playing. I think the biggest one was about 8-9 feet long and 600 lbs. WOW!

Below are a few pics from this morning. Also below is a link to all the other pics (50+).

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE PICS!

CLICK THE PICS BELOW TO ENLARGE!

Sea of Tranquility

2011-01-08T17:54:00.004-05:00

I spent some time today walking on New Smyrna Beach in Florida. It was a fairly breezy day, temps in the low 70's and a crystal clear sunny sky of blue.

The ocean was quite placid even with the breeze, I guess because the wind was out of the west.

Click the link below to see all the pics from today:

PICS PICS PICS!

Working on the Champ

2011-01-08T12:25:00.002-05:00

I spent a couple hours this a.m. at Bob White field in Zellwood, FL with my pal Capn Jim, working on his 1946 Aeronca Champion aeroplane.

The wheel struts were in need of service so Jim had them rebuilt. So we went about removing a set of old placeholder struts and installing the new rebuilt struts.

We used an engine lift/hoist to lift the Champ enough to remove weight from each wheel. All in all it was an easy job. The final tightening and inspection need to be done by a certified airplane mechanic so after that is done the Champ will be airborne again on supple new struts!

Stuart, FL sunset

2011-01-06T21:03:00.000-05:00

Pics from FL trip

2011-01-02T14:35:00.002-05:00

During my training trip to FL I have been taking pics and posting them to Facebook. You can see the pics by clicking the links below:

Sunday

Saturday

More Saturday/Sunday

Sunny days

2011-01-01T07:09:00.002-05:00

I'll take the one on the bottom...