Below 265 SQ/FT Temporary satisfaction - AKA the Dog House

Gurp · May 4, 2022

Idk it it's still possible but if you can jack up your shed about 2 blocks high then use corrugated metal as underpinning. Paint it inside and out with barn red paint.

Love your mini shop! Lots of good organization inspiration there.

captain14 · May 4, 2022

When I built my shed I used these blocks to keep it off the ground. We built the deck on the blocks and then the shed on the platform. Almost 30 years and there is not any of the siding rot like yours.

BSAschields · May 4, 2022

Thanks Gurp. Trying to keep it organized ... Staying focused on the shed's purpose.

Great info Captain14 . This shed came to me free and was already rotted at the bottom. The dirt was right up against the wood at its original location . I replaced the really bad panels but was trying to salvage as much as I can and just stop the decay. My free shed has already cost me over a grand ... Moving it and fixing it and insulation and drywall ect. .... But thats still a good deal if I dont go crazy...

I could raise this one but for sure the next one will be built higher off the ground

nadogail · May 4, 2022

BSAschields said:
Andy, If you like flat track bikes then you might like my 1956 BSA factory built flat tracker . They only made 200 of them and this one came out of the original owners attic about 12 years ago... Ive restored it to what it looked like in the photos that came with the bike... I added some dead loss lighting so it would be legal to ride on the street as well, but it just comes straight off to be ready for racing again... Not only did he race flat track but also Laconia and Daytona as well... For Laconia it had a front brake so that made it easier to make it streetable for me... Again easy to swap out for a brakeless front wheel.

Original owner is listed in the National Champions book 4 times which coincide with the photos I have of this bike. With these number plates too. Ive been able to reconstruct and document this bike's history back to when it was purchased at John's Cycle in Queens in 1956

------------------------------------

Two photos popped up on my facebook memories page reminding me that this where we were 6 years ago... The windows were already added at this point as well as having gutted the walls and ceiling for insulation and new wiring . So that really tells me that this project has been about 7 or 8 years in the process... We've come a long way baby

A little snow last week made for a perfect time to be indoors working on the kitchen and testing out my wood cutting skills... It needed to be pretty....

Latest progress was finishing the oven install. Had to custom cut the opening in the cabinet with my dad's old Black and Decker jigsaw..

Even with new blades it was not up to the task.... I will need a new jigsaw in the near future!!! Any recommendations?

Oven tested and working and the wife teasing me with thoughts of a proper Sunday Roast , I set my sights on the sink cabinet. It also needed to be customized, to fit the apron sink... A friend came by with his Bosch jigsaw which did a much better job cutting the hardwood cabinet face.
The sink is going to be extremely heavy . Especially with water in it so I added supports under the cabinet floor where the sink base supports are , so that the weight goes all the way to the kitchen floor ... I feel good about the vertical weight support but now looking at these photos, I wonder if I should add some horizontal framing to keep the upper supports from moving sideways too????

This coming weekend I will rip out the existing working sink ... (The 4 year temporary sink ) install the remaining 4 cabinets and hook up the dishwasher and sink... That will end this long project finally and I can get back to working on bikes and cars and other garage projects!!

Question - Is there any benefit to using copper under the sink? Probably not since the pipes leading up to the floor underneath are PVC... I think I have answered my own question...

Bosch is very well respected and does not seem to be overpriced.

BSAschields · May 5, 2022

nadogail said:
Bosch is very well respected and does not seem to be overpriced.

I wound up getting another Miele dishwasher. Bosch is indeed a good dishwasher. But Ive had a Miele in my apartment in the city that is still going strong after 18 years (knock on wood) so I stuck with the brand I know .... the new model even pops open after a bit of drying time to air dry and that is handy, so I can leave for week at a time without the freshly washed dishes going musty smelling in the damp closed unit ... Maybe they all do that now... Technology seems to change every 5 minutes ....

BSAschields · May 8, 2022

I am so excited !! I have been looking for original GP carbs for my 1966 BSA Spitfire at a reasonable price for over a decade.. Shockingly this pair was on Ebay and promoted on facebook Spitfire group page so I was sure they would go for the normal grand + but I won the auction at half price so now my search it complete. 1966 was the only year that BSA's production racer had the GP carbs because they were not practical for street use since they do not have an idle circuit per se. So everyone took them off from new. Replacing them with the run of the mill Amal carbs.

Aren't they pretty.

BSAschields · Oct 25, 2023

A Norton followed me home last spring.... I was picking up two press bikes in Atlanta and Birmingham AL and I was able to arrange the timing to coincide with the annual three state mountain ride. On one of my gas stops I reached out to a guy who posted a Norton for sale in Virginia.... I was driving through VA anyway so why not look at it... It seemed like a really good price if what he was telling was all true... It wasn't running , hence the cheaper price... But he said it ran until he put new Amal Premiers on it ... He said he tried and tried and even took it to a friend who had a triumph shop but neither of them could get it to run... Now in hindsight , Im not sure if he meant started at all or just not running enough to ride it... BUT.... Being that VA is a big state and I didnt look at a map before committing to go look at it nor account for absolutely insane traffic jams . It was really out of my way... He was cool about me getting there at 10 o'clock at night and we chatted for quite awhile... He showed me receipts for all the work had done to the bike and what the previous owner had supposedly done before he got it... And it sure looked pretty sitting there in the garage light... So I loaded it up. Then set off for Windy's Campground in tennessee to meet up with friends.

Next morning I arrive and I show everyone my new 1970 Commando. Tell them all that I was told and unloaded everything... Immediately everyone pointed out all the things that I should change right away

Like the anti sump valve

I agreed and continued to worry that I had bought a bike that didnt run and maybe had more wrong with it then I was led to believe.... Eventually Windy says to roll it down to his shop and we'll have a look at it. Battery was dead as a doornail so I swapped the battery out of my BSA for testing ... Then after checking tappet clearances and oil levels ect. we turn the choke on , forced some gas into the cylinders and it started on the first kick !! But as soon as we turned of the choke it died... But now I at least knew that it would run. I felt much better.

Off with the carbs to see if they were the problem . The idle jets had swarf and were completely clogged shut.... OK maybe this guy told me the truth and it was a carb problem...

Bikes back home

Windy suggested I order new jets and to go up a size . So that was that . bike back together and rolled back up onto the truck but at least I could stop worrying that I had made a bad bad deal.

With the new jets it would start and idle but sounded awful so I checked the float level and changed plugs and did all the stuff I could think of. I was about to ride it down the street once but it fouled the new plugs right away and then wouldnt start again. Tried it all again on the next weekend and it was worse so I through a blanket over it and let it sit for two months will I dealt with work stuff.

It has an electronic ignition and I started thinking that could be the problem but I dont know much about them so I took it to 6th Street so that could look at it in
person.

I was still expecting carb problems and I was ready to pull the carbs off when I got there but when we tried to start it , I had no spark... And my new battery was dead. When we installed another new battery , I still had no spark and we realized that my coils were burning up hot !! Within a few minutes and the years of experience of the mechanics at that shop , the electrical issues became obvious. The switch was wired wrong . It turn off the headlight but not the ignition. And on top of that , the steal braided oil line was touching the coil leads . So the bike had been sitting in my barn for two months frying my coils and battery and the pazon brain as it turned out... So up on the bench and off with its bits.

New brain (for the pazon not me) Although that made for a repeat joke over the next two weeks ... New coils and a new battery.

BSAschields · Oct 25, 2023

New parts installed on the bike and I had a nice fat spark again. Bike fired right up on the first kick and once I turned the idle down it purred like a kitten ... Up and down and a round the block I went. Felt good ... So good that I decided to ride it out to queens to meet up with the Britbike gang from the bachelor party ride a few month back . Limey Lucas's brother has a hotdog stand out there and is trying to get a thursday night bike night thing started . Everyone was there. My Norton did great but I had a bit of an oil leak and It was hard to find neutral when it was hot.

So back up on the bench the next day. Lucky for me the lift was available

Found the oil leak right away and took the clutch apart and cleaned it but didn't see anything that would cause the shifting problem. Checked the cables and decided that the routing was OK and adjusted the clutch ... Nortons aren't so bad to work on when you have the right tools.

Ordered the new grommet for the oil leak and a new clutch cable to see if that would make a difference. Turned out the gearbox was a bit low on oil . Topped that up and problem solved ... Shifts great even in NYC traffic jams now... But thats not where I will be riding it from now on... Nortons are long legged and need open PA roads

Friend of mine was in town for a few days and the weather was great so we went for a ride up to the Army Navy Surplus store on 42nd street... Thats where the traffic was. The Norton did great but the Triumph kept overheating on him. It was only in the 70's weather wise and I had never had that problem so not sure what the deal was with that . Maybe him , maybe the bike?? But the norton didn't miss a beat.

BSAschields · Oct 26, 2023

You may have noticed the change in seat from the first photo to the last. The bike came with an aftermarket seat that I didnt love. It had a plastic pan as well .

I love Tom's Corbin seat on his Norton so I tried one on for size.

Didnt like it as much on my bike... Maybe the black paint against the Corbin color ... Not sure why I didnt like it.

So Hugh had this seat that he thought I would like and he offered it in trade so I gave it a try and I think I like it best of all

Now if only I can get on those PA roads while the weather is nice.

While my shop has not seen as much action as I would like , I sure am lucky to have access to friends and their shops and helpful knowledge. Another bike on the road...

BSAschields · Oct 26, 2023

While I didnt get to work on my bike projects this past summer nor did I get the barn cleaned out . I did move one tiny step in that direction... I had about 2 hours one sunday to finally hang those cabinets in the garage . I was going to paint them first but in the end it would have just delayed getting it done longer than I thought justified . Now I just need to put stuff in them to make progress on the barn clean and organize

I hung them using the cleat method . Cut down 1x4s and ran them the whole length of the wall. Now I'll be able to move them around and add to them super easy...

BSAschields · Mar 16, 2024

Well I jinxed myself . The 66 BSA Victor that I road up and down the block just before christmas lost compression right after the ride.

Pulled the engine again .... Seized rings . What causes that on a new top end ????

Annealed the NOS Head gasket that I got from Peter Quick at BSAUNITSINGLES. Made a better tool for the hard to get to head bolts by grinding a Harbour Freight wrench 9/16 SAE into 5/16th W.

Barrel on and by Friday morning I was putting the rocker cover back on. By the end of the day I had the whole bike together and ready to start... But decided to wait till I had the time to do it right...

Yesterday was that day and it was a disaster..... Still very little compression and was not going to start no matter what... Today the motor was back out and on the bench...

3rd times the charm hopefully...

Did some measurements all around and turns out the valves were 1/8 inch too long... My 66 is a round barrel and the same model by 68 was a square barrel . My valves were from the later version.

New valves sourced , installed . leak tested and the motor was back in the bike the same day... Im getting good at this task...

Really hard to start but once running dial in the carb and figured out the technique for getting in going... It needs , no throttle , tickle the carb then 5 priming kicks with the decompression lever pulled . Release the lever , find top dead center and give it a forceful swing on the kicker.... By the 2nd or 3 kick she lights up ...

BSAschields · Mar 16, 2024

Turns out the gas cap vent was blocked and not allowing gas to flow to the carb .. But it wasnt the only problem... It does explain why the carb took forever to tickle as well ... As soon as I open the cap it started flowing gas right away when tickled ...

There is no hole on the top of the cap . Where does the hole inside vent to?

Next day I went to start it though I had no spark... After going through the wiring and a lot of head scratching I found a burnt/melted wire from the boyer ignition that got too close to the exhaust pipe... Grounding out and killing the spark.

After those two things were sorted out and using the technic from my previous post I got the thing fired up and road it about 30 blocks several times without stalling or any other running problems...

Now I need to dial in the clutch ... My clutch springs might be too tight but Im going to mess with the old cable first before diving into removing the primary cover ..... and now my lights arnt working ... Once that is sorted I'll be taking her home...

BSAschields · Apr 17, 2024

Some of you know that I run the east coast press fleet for Zero.... Most of the time I dont read the articles that the journalist ,that I deliver these bikes to , write .

But this time apparently Im actually part of the story ...

New Motorcycle Tests – Rolling Physics Problem

Posts about New Motorcycle Tests written by shamiehg

rollingphysicsproblem.wordpress.com

BSAschields · Apr 17, 2024

My own little experience this week

There is no comparison really between the Zero and my old Brits.... I had to deliver one up to the Catskills on Monday to replace one that the bluetooth wasnt working ... It'll go back to the factory ... New models should be arriving soon..

I digress. Comparison ... British vintage motorcycles are my passion and fantastic to ride and wrench on, but I dont ever ride modern bikes so I dont know what a gas powered modern bike feels like... But these Zero Electric motorcylces are crazy.. We rode around the Livingston Manor area for 2 hours or so and there are some nice twisties up there in the Catskills... plenty of interesting little towns with 25 or 35 mile an hour speed limits but 55 in between towns ... leaving town we would hit the throttle and within seconds we were over hundred miles an hour... the weather was in the 70's F and the cops were pulling people over left and right so we had to watch ourselves.. But we took some chances... The bikes handle really well , quick as hell and we had enough battery left to ride a couple more hours.....

The only complaint that I had was ... the bike in front of me would not stop at any of the interesting looking (and plentiful) pubs , breweries or distilleries ....! No self respecting british motorcycle would have a problem making such detours

BSAschields · Apr 17, 2024

Some real Satisfaction....

So last year I was kinda in the area of Ohio on my way back from a Zero delivery in Alabama ... Yes Ohio was out of my way but let me justify things any way I need to please !! I had seen a FB ad for a Firebird Scrambler project for about the same price as I was willing to pay ... (arnt they all) so out of my way I went ... And suddenly I had one more project that I might not ever get too. ... But It was pretty much just a matching frame and motor and I have an addiction

Fast forward to a few weeks ago and Im hanging out at the shop in NYC.. Simultaneously a friend of mine makes an even trade at the shop for a Triumph Bonnie in exchange for his 68 FS. Which he had rebuilt the front forks , electronic ignition , new Amal carbs , new tires recovered seat , and a title, ect. ect. ... Needless to say .. I started looking this pretty darn original looking bike over and over ... Getting kinda excited that I have one too... And depressed that I have too many projects ... Then I learn about a special one model / year only Firebird Scrambler exhaust pipe mounting brackets and I become obsessed about these brackets... Searching the internet and looking for someone to make them and and and... The shop was probably getting tired of me talking about these damn brackets... But they wouldn't let me take theirs off to make a detailed drawing of them for someone to duplicate them either... And I didn't really want to get into all of that anyway...

And then an unexpected turn of events and a very unusual offer came to me .... The offer to buy the bike as I sell off my project and whatever else is needed to come up with the money... So I now have a sweet running 68 Firebird Scrambler and one less project to do in the future... And that said project , for sale... Ive never sold anything at a swap meet before but I guess its time...

Here is my new bike... Although its a runner , its not perfect... Front fender has a little ding and peeling chrome.. Headlight ring needs replacing .. Ive already changed the ignition switch ... I didn't like the damaged , broken key that came with the bike and I couldn't get a blank anywhere so I put in a new Lucas one so it would have the right style keys ... (what a ***** that was to change) and the clutch would start slipping when I really goosed it in the 5000 RPM range so new plates took care of that... It has that survivor look that I really like and it will stay that way ... With a little extra clean up .. I don't like rusty nuts and bolts and stuff...

The day of my first test ride , up and down the FDR highway, down to Governors Island ferry and back.
Super smooth sounding engine and handled like a dream..

Its been a good year so far for upgrading my project bikes to runners ... and I feel like Im saving money in the long run..

BSAschields · Apr 18, 2024

Looking at my pictures in the previous post I noticed that the front fender looked a little wonky ... Things should be parallel to each other and line up better .... Right or wrong parts , Im not sure but upon a closer look , I see that this front fender was in a mishap ... Looks like the front of it was damaged and the whole thing bent backwards... That explains the missing chrome on the front as well...

You can see here that it was hit hard enough that the center stay is bent at the bottom were the 2 bolts are...

Maybe the damaged part was cut off?? The rolled edge looks odd since it doesnt go all the way to the edges/corners

So Ill be on the hunt for another fender and center stays..

Pulled the bike out of the basement yesterday to test ride the new clutch .. Started halfway through the first kick and immediately fell into a slow idle while I put my helmet on. Rode it up and down the block .. Felt great... Hugh (shop owner) pointed out that when I put the footpeg back on I positioned it a little low and the brake light was on all the time.. So I repositioned that before a longer test ride. Then it didn't start so easy and it wouldnt idle. Thought maybe I got some dirt in the idle circuit or something?? Took a 2 mile jaunt down to the ferry again and back... Ran great at speed but still stalled at idle... Humm ... Was fine earlier ... Pulled the plugs and thought they looked a little lean... Shop said that they had spent a lot of time dialing this bike in and it shouldn't be lean... Josh (shop manager) took one look under the tank and saw that the balance tube between the dual carbs had come off so it was sucking air... Fixed that and there was that easy starting slow tick over bike again .. When I get a chance I will replace that hose with a new soft 1/4 inch piece so its nice and tight...

I forgot to mention in my first post that both clocks had been rebuilt as well... so thats another plus... Sort the front fender and this bike is done as far as Im concerned ..

BSAschields · Jun 3, 2024

On the BIG ride I posted on my other thread we needed to fill up with gas every 100 miles or so so the prospect of getting ethanol free gas each time was nil . So last weekend I focused on my bikes with fiberglass tanks and sucked out the ethanol before it could eat the fiberglass and turn it to mush... They are coated inside by why take chances... Put the ethanol into the Ex Mark mower and filled the bikes with Ethanol free fuel then took them for a nice little ride to clean out the carbs as well... That and just to have an excuse to go for another ride...

When I got back the wife had been mowing and found this little guy roaming around the property ... We had fun watching him for a little while then put him back near the pond .. We see a lot of nature at the farm , which is very nice ...

slim_grim · Jun 7, 2024

Bravo! Neat workshop you've put together there! Not sure how I missed this when I first started looking for small shop inspiration.

BSAschields · Jun 11, 2024

Met up with one on my friends Saturday morning at a swap meet up near Bear Mountain in the Hudson Valley... I was supposed to ride my gold 72 Triumph to meet them but the night before i believed my battery was completely dead as I had no headlight unless I hooked the charger up to it .. Then the lights came on... EI Boyer requires Voltage so I figured it wasn't going to start.. Loaded it up with the intension of meeting at their house and figuring it out from there... In the end I went straight to the swap .. It worked out for the best since I walked out with three sets of incomplete front forks for the price of the one part that I wanted out of the lot plus some other BSA chrome bits that I couldn't pass up..

We tested my bike again and it actually had 10.5 volts and the bike did fire up.. Had one fouled spark plug and after we found plugs in the swap meet I was running and sounded great.. We made it about 10 miles towards our lunch destination when my bike started shooting flames and sounded like a machine gun.. Shut it off and looked over wiring ... Didn't change anything but it fired right up and sounded great again. Didn't trust it though so had a great ride back to the swap meet again and loaded the bike back up .. I drove behind them thinking that I got to ride the best roads on the ride so I didn't miss much.. Tacos and a beer in Beacon NY and a couple Brooklyn esk shops for olive oil and vinaigrettes ect. and then we crossed the Hudson river to get to Joe's house.. He had three Triumph ready to ride so off we went . First I was on the TR6C . Same bike I was on when he brought it to our Memorial day party . Then I switched to the Cub which was also at the party... Then we went off road in a state owned piece of gorgeous property with the train trestle that takes the Beaconites back to The City... Fantastic except for us both finding a tick each from riding through the tall grass... Lucky we found them right away... But I was paranoid the rest of the day looking for more crawling on me

After that we switched to the Pre Unit with original paint and runs like a top.. He got married on that bike so he will never sell it he says... Although before the wedding he was trying to sell it to me.. I should have jumped at the opportunity.. A fantastic day of riding and we still had the evening to enjoy ..

I wish I had the empty space that Joe has in his garage.. But he just moved there from Brooklyn so I imagine that he will get the bug and fill it like most people do

slim_grim · Jun 13, 2024

BSAschields said:
Bikes back home

The jusxtoposition of the bikes on the trailer vs the bikes in the truck is magnificent.

BSAschields · Jun 14, 2024

Thanks slim_grim . Two totally different rides as well... Both fun !!

BSAschields · Nov 13, 2024

On Saturday morning, my friend Tom and I headed to my Brooklyn garage to pick up the bikes for the day’s ride. I gave Tom the Norton Commando to ride since he’s already familiar with that model, and I chose to ride the BSA Victor. I’d spent two years getting it running over at 6th Street Specials , so I thought it’d be nice to finally show it off on a ride, especially since no one else would have one. The ride from Brooklyn into Manhattan went smoothly for the most part, though my clutch was dragging in heavy traffic, nudging me forward. To manage, I just kept lane-splitting straight between the cars until we reached the Brooklyn Bridge. That gave me a little breathing room to adjust the knurled screw on the clutch cable and tighten up the clutch lever. It worked well enough to get me through the rest of the day.

With all the stop-and-go, I rarely got out of second or third gear—and even when I managed third, I’d have to drop right back down again. The gearing is definitely too high for the city. Once I get the Victor back to the country, I’ll see how it rides there before deciding if a bigger rear sprocket is in order.

I think I managed to get some solid GoPro footage of the ride and our arrival at 6th Street Specials. We’d guessed about 30 people might show up, but as we rounded the corner, it was clear there were way more. Bikes continued rolling in for the next hour and a half, and the final count came to around 60.

Later, we all rode out to a spot in Brooklyn with a shop and bike storage for customers. They were serving up beer and hot dogs, and by evening, they’d started a fire in the outdoor courtyard/parking lot. At one point, my friend Craig’s beautiful blue OIF (oil in frame) BSA broke down right there in the parking lot. A few of the younger riders had taken it out earlier, while Craig and I held down the beer table. Turned out to be an electrical issue, maybe a grounding problem; hard to tell exactly with two or three people working on it, but which ever was the final fix, he got spark and was back in business.

A small group decided to grab a bite nearby, so we fired up the bikes. I strated the Victor, but as soon as I switched on the headlight, it died. Not even a flicker from the light before it killed the bike. I’m thinking it might be a short since the light worked last time I rode it in Ohio. Still, the bike did break down during that ride—with the lights on. Looks like I have some more work ahead of me to sort it out.

Anyway, here are a few photos from the day, and I’ll get to editing the video footage when I have a chance.

BSAschields · Nov 13, 2024

BSAschields · Nov 19, 2024

Here’s to more ride-outs, wrenching sessions, and unforgettable adventures! May the sound of those engines echo through the boroughs for years to come.

BSAschields · Jan 18, 2025

So having the shed professionally insulated didn't turn out to be the best choice I guess... Too air tight... I started seeing condensation on the paper side of the insulation last summer... Probably happening much longer but I didnt see it. Now there is patchy mold on the paper near the eves... So I put 6 - 3 inch vents in the eves and removed the drywall and insulation there in the eves. So I should have air flow now. I sprayed all of the mold areas with bleach.... I hope I can stop here and not have to gut the whole thing ... That was a lot of work getting it where I wanted it but I also dont want to get sick from mold. Thoughts?

BSAschields · Jan 18, 2025

Aside from the mold issue above . I did have a nice weekend with friends at a swap meet . Its really a dirt bike swap meet but there are usually some cool British bikes and parts for sale... This year was better then usual ..

Saturday afternoon a group of us met up at Liquid Hero's new location .. Same block but not on the corner ... Nice clean atmosphere but the old location had more character. Still a good time , a few beers (same beer list for the most part) but now they have food... some chicken wings and other snacks to hold us over till our 7:30 reservations at a (new to me ) restaurant a few blocks away... Fig and Barrel... Very good meal and great atmosphere

Tom took this great photo of me on the new BSA ... first one Ive seen in person let alone sat on... It felt good ... Cant wait to ride one for real.

Some of these photos are the same as the video above but worth another look ....

BSAschields · Jan 18, 2025

BSAschields · Jan 19, 2025

A late start this winter getting the bikes and cars in winter storage mode. Charging batteries and draining the Amal carbs on the bikes.. Ethanol free gas in everything. Roads have already been salted so I won't ride or drive anything until that's all washed away in the spring. 4 - 6 inches of snow coming this weekend on top of what is already on the ground..

BSAschields · Jan 19, 2025

Im thinking about making a base for a grinder or something by filling this old tire with concrete and a post. I found four reproduction tires after one of these lost a chunk of tread while exiting the highway...

Still loving this cabinet that I picked up at the closing of Deer Park Cycle auction...

gatewaysysop · Jan 19, 2025

BSAschields said:

Love the cabinet! :bowdown:

BSAschields · Feb 3, 2025

Finally tested out the oil heater in the shed. someone gave it to me a while back but I hadn't used it until now. It ran on the 900 Watt setting for about 12 hours overnight (20 degrees outside) and got the shed up to about 55 degrees... I could work in that .. And hopefully even better if I turn it up to 1500 W... I haven't figured out what the difference is between the 1500, 900 and 600 W setting on top side vs the bottom side of the dial... Guess I will need to figure out the brand of the heater and search for a manual...

I was also happy to see that the mold mentioned previously is completely gone where I sprayed it with bleach... I think it maybe alright now if I can keep the condensation to a minimum ...

BSAschields · Sep 2, 2025

My two John Deere riding mowers were not running and more importantly not being able to move them out of the way for cleaning/organizing purposes, I finally had time to clean the carbs and points and now I can use them again. But part of that organizing problem (as is always it seems) is just having too much stuff and no matter how much space you have , its never enough. So a temporary solution I figured was a redneck canvas garage. 150 bucks later and a bit of repurposing and now I have something to keep the rain off of my stuff.
Two of the 8 legs are over the roof so I had to think outside of the box. didnt want the metal frame sitting right on top of the shingle roof . A pile of motorcycle tires seemed to be a good solution. My bandsaw wasnt happy cutting through the metal cords inside the rubber but I got there in the end.

Play the Banjo music....

captain14 · Sep 2, 2025

BSA,

If it works, but in the long run you may cause some damage to the shingle.

A couple of years ago you posted a question about the bottom of your T1-11 rotting away. I see you did some sort of repair. Is that just a piece of vinyl siding attached?

BSAschields · Sep 2, 2025

captain14 said:
BSA,

If it works, but in the long run you may cause some damage to the shingle.

A couple of years ago you posted a question about the bottom of your T1-11 rotting away. I see you did some sort of repair. Is that just a piece of vinyl siding attached?

It was a dedicated piece from Lowes . Not just a piece of siding. Although its not that different other than having more of a "cup" on the bottom. .
Im hoping this makeshift garage is temporary . Selling up in NYC and moving to PA full time so I will have time and hopefully, funds to do thing properly. I always seem to be doing everything in a hurry now but I plan on that changing for the better.

BSAschields · Sep 15, 2025

So my first time actually on a gnarly course like this. The Victor performed great considering that it is geared too high. I really needed lower gearing. I never got out of 1st gear except for once when I came out into a field portion of the course. I was running on K70 street tires which killed my confidence although Id say they did much better than I expected.

The Course: So dude in Warwick NY has a 300 acre farm and he is really into dirt bikes. He supposedly has modern dirt bike meets quite often but two weekends ago was an annual "air cooled / drum brake " event. My friends from 6th Street Specials went last year but I missed that portion of the weekend. But I had to spend the evening BBQ sitting around a fire at my friend Joey's new house near Warwick listening to what a fantastic time they had riding their 650 Triumphs around this guys property. John Penton was a special guest apparently too.

This year did not disappoint but it was more gnarly than I thought it would be... All I had with me was a helmet. The 2 stroke guys had all the gear. Boots and braces and pads and the whole kit... Undeterred, I gave it my all ... within my comfort zone of course.

The ride went well and I was huffing and puffing my way around the grass, dirt, trees, creeks , rocks and roots when my headlight came apart. I knew I was in trouble since I had already been putting off fixing a short in my head light. Sure enough , a few minutes later the fire went out and I was stuck on the far end of the trails . My ride was over and no one knew of a short cut out. The last guy that went by me said to wait there , he would be back to tow me out...

He came back as promised but when he told me that he would go slow... That was not the case... I was freaked out more being towed out than actually riding the course... That video would have been interesting but I wasn't recording.

Here is 20 minutes of what was maybe an hour in the woods. Felt like three house but it wasnt.

BSAschields · Oct 21, 2025

Another motorcycle shop closes in NYC... This one was new to me ... Cool guy and a great shop space in Red Hook.. He seemed to specialize in American bikes so that's probably why I didn't know about the shop... I also learned about another shop in PA that I didnt know about until they auctioned off a sheet load of British bikes and parts last weekend.... How do I not know about these shops until they are closing !!!

Any way ... The one in Red Hook had me moving some Harleys and while I was there I made a unbelievable deal for his enormous Champion metal sign... Turns out it use to hang in one of my favorite bars in Brooklyn where I met some of my long time friends. Bar Matchless , they had MotoGP on the screen on Monday nights. Used equipment trade and sell events and great bike shows too.

Here is the sign . It barely fit in my jeep. but it will look great in the barn