http://vimeo.com/26094141Finally got a new battery today. I was dying to get the bike running because it's been in storage for a year and all I could think about was riding. Unfortunately, there was a series of missteps like in a TV show when two people want to have sex but all this weird stuff gets in the way, like a kid pushed all the buttons in the elevator or something.
First, the nuts they gave me for the terminal screws were just a hair too big to fit in the terminal. Not wanting to waste time going to the store, I got out some sandpaper and tried to grind them down. I could get it most of the way in but not all the way. So I went to Home Depot anyway and my wife asked me to bring home ice cream. The person behind the register at Walmart was mind-blowingly slow. Got home and tried to fit the new screws in the dark. Dropped one and never heard it hit the ground. Figured it got caught in the chain, which was confirmed when I tried to roll it forward and it snagged on something invisible. Eventually got the battery installed and turned the key -- LIGHTS!
Then I noticed the screw poking out of the chain and I snared it with the needle nose pliers.
Then it took me like ten minutes to get the damned battery cover latch in and secured.
A quick check of the push rods -- perfect.
Kicked her over eight times to prime the motor. Then three live kicks and no dice. Opened the choke, gave a healthy kick, and -- BASTA! She roared to life like she'd never been asleep.
Ticks over just as evenly and pulls just as hard as the day I garaged her a year ago.
Had a beautiful ride through town and then out to the country. Man I missed her.
Oh, and TWO. BIG. THUMBS. UP. on the 7" preassembled headlight sold by our host. It floods the road and the sides with light and I don't need to adjust the beam at all (which is good because you can't!). The dimming with low revs and brightening with higher revs is more pronounced than with the stock 5" light.
Jeff
Topic: She Lives! (Read 1726 times)