Tag: motorcycle

Latest risks?

Taylor BurianLeave a comment

When is the last time you took a risk? How did it work out?

I’m seeing a trend in the prompts lately, and you might think it would have gotten easier to answer them after being introspective of my life to cover the variations on risks and regrets. Well, it’s not any easier today than it was the last couple of times.

On the subject of “risks” I would hazard to guess most people will have a similar understanding or underlying assumption, and that is risks can have consequences. Sure, there are usually positive outcomes in the form of rewards, too, but we don’t think of the consequential outcomes as being a simple negative with zero detrimental impact toward ourselves. More often it is that consequences are hurtful and/or scary.

With all that in mind, I honestly can’t recall the last or most recent time I took a risk that held a potential consequence that could be detrimental to my life or livelihood. So, the latest risk? It was probably last year when I finally took my motorcycle out after getting it running again. Every time I go out on my bike I have to remain vigilant because I’m just a squishy sack of meat, blood, and bone that would lose in a fight against a four-wheeled vehicle. I don’t want to be a meat crayon, so I try to minimize the risks there by wearing protective gear.

Anyways, it worked out fine, no accidents or hospital visits, and I’ll very likely be taking my bike out again when the weather finishes warming up around here.

DIY ambitions

Taylor BurianLeave a comment

Describe the most ambitious DIY project you’ve ever taken on.

I’m no stranger to getting my hands dirty and doing work myself rather than hiring someone. I do respect professionals and the work they do, and I’ll ask for their help in areas I know nothing about or am too scared to take on. Sometimes, though, you just have to Do It Yourself.

The most ambitious of these projects was working on my motorcycle last summer. I had been needing to get new tires for it for a number of years but I kept putting it off. In the process of putting it off, I let the bike sit. And sit. And sit. For a good few years. Because of this choice I ultimately had to replace more than just the tires.

Last summer in July I finally got off my ass and scheduled some time to get those tires. I knew I had to do some work on the bike to get it running, and I had a couple weeks to figure that out. I forgot to disconnect the battery when not in use, so I knew that was shot. It was also the starting place for the rabbit hole.

So, I replaced the battery and tried to start it. Nothing. It wanted to crank and turn over but nothing happened. Off to Google and YouTube I went to figure out what to do next. Everything I checked seemed to indicate that it was the carburetor that had a problem.

I spent quite a lot of time trying to get the carburetor off. So much time that I couldn’t get the tires replaced when I wanted. I ended up going through the effort to remove the wheels in their entirety just to take those to the dealership rather than find a way to get the whole motorcycle there.

At this point the bike was on stands, no wheels, no carburetor.

With the wheels in the hands of the dealership to get the tires replaced, I still had time to work on the carburetor. That took quite a lot of work. I had taken the carburetor apart, soaked it in chemicals, sprayed it clean, and reassembled. Nothing. It still didn’t work. So I checked Google and YouTube again. This led me to the carburetor rebuild kit.

This whole project took me weeks to do. Several trips to the auto part store. So many tools and parts purchased and ordered. But in the end, I did it. I got the carburetor rebuilt and reinstalled. The battery was replaced. I even replaced the spark plugs. And it finally turned over! I got it running. Eventually I got the wheels back, complete with new tires, and put those back on.

I think it took about six weeks, beginning to end. So much wait time. Sadly, the Summer was mostly over. I did get to ride a few times to and from work to make sure it ran fine before I put it up for the Winter. This time, though, I properly winterized it and put it up. Fingers crossed it runs again in the Spring without much effort!