The Overland front brake plate.

Here is a shot of the brake plate from the Honda I’m working with for the Overland.  I have gotten the two air holes cut and framed with screens.  Still not sure how much I will do with the cross-over link.  I’m waiting to get some help from my son to get the operating arm set up on the drill press for some holy work.  Still slowly re-profiling both brake operating arms to suit my eye.  I have pretty well convinced myself that I will also drill the brake drum hub for some air out-let holes.  Just not sure when it will get done or even how.

The Final Cast

I got my final cast the other day.  To my great relief it is below the elbow.  However that doesn’t really do much to make it possible to get back in the garage.  Have more movement with my fingers but not enough to use tools, weld or do any of the things I had planned for these six weeks of spring.

Interesting process the new generation of casts.  I have never broken anything that required a cast so I’m new to all of this.  They used a 3M fiberglass fabric that was water activated.  Very interesting process; just wish I had observed it being done to someone else.  It is a decent French racing blue.

So in four more weeks I get this off and can get back to some serious catch-up in the garage.

What’s the frame from?

Since I’m disabled for six weeks I thought a good use of time might be data gathering to finalize the Overland frame design.  I don’t remember where I snagged this image from.  My only excuse for failing to remember is my broken wing.  So any ideas as to what year and type of Triumph it’s from.  More importantly anybody have an idea of what the head tube rake would be?

Enforced Timeout by Stupid!!!!

Spring in Montana is an odd mix of warm and clear days mixed with cool and wet days.  Seems this spring is going to be a mix of Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast weather patterns. No sooner did I get the grocery trailer finished and the weather changed.  And then the DIY projects got listed; none of which had to do with the Overland project.  But they had to get done.

                                         Spring in the Big Sky Country!

While working on the DIY list I was on the roof doing a small bit with the gutters.  One thing not planned but completed was a test of gravity in a very unscientific manner.  I fell of the roof and of course proved again that I can’t fly.  The pay off on this impromptu test was a broken wrist. 

Now you may think this was not so bad considering.  Well actually it really sucks.  Because the ortho doc is saying six weeks for the splint cast combination. But on the up side I’m in the middle of a trade/sale deal on some JAP spares which will take sometime to complete.  So a timeout isn’t too bad.  Well yes it does suck, it all sucks.  In all reality everything in the garage is shut down till the cast comes off.

In the big picture of things considering the distance over which I conducted my test and the obstacles I missed, it all could have caused much greater damage and things could have turned out much worse.  So all in all I think six weeks is not really too bad.  But it still sucks!

                                          The splint, a cast in two weeks.

Spring in Montana!

Just two days ago we had snow on the ground and temperatures in the 30s and 20s.  The continued cold spells have been in-between warmer days and nights.  Each time we get a brief return of winter it melts away with the subsequent warmer air from the coast.

So everybody around here is thinking spring despite the sporadic snow and cold.  Seed plants are growing in the basement.  The grow boxes in the garden are all ready to go.  The non-motorcycle list of things to do is growing. 

After building a new deck last summer the good idea fairy appeared and my son thought it would be great if we put a hand built wrought iron railing on the deck.  Well as you might expect dad got conscripted as the gopher on the railing project.  Of course each and every bit of the railing has to be considered and evaluated before things get welded up.  Of course that takes time; time away from my projects.  In the big picture of things the CEO around here will be happy and son and dad will have gained favor to be spent at a later date.

Another of those things to do was to get the bicycle trailer finished and up and rolling on tires.  Completed the hitch today and now I have a bicycle trailer all ready to go and get groceries with.   It’s hard to see in the photo but everything but the hitch is recycled from a bike or other sources.  Even the wheels and tires are from old bike projects left in my garage by my ever considerate son.

In a positive way all of this gets some little ankle biters behind me so as the weather gets more stable I can get more things done for the Overland.

As my oldest daughter has said, “It’s all good Dad!”

                                              

                                         The grocery trailer ready to roll out!