Two wheels again YAY!

[IainH]

One marathon session Saturday got her did. I went for a short test run and made some adjustments then, a little longer one and came back to check for oil leaks, none. Go further Sunday. It feels good not having to listen to Motorcycles growlin' up the mountain knowing I can scoot if I want to. It was hard not being able to and having to hear that. "Dadgummit, it orter be me!"

[Ed Hurst]

We celebrate with you, Bro. Nothing replaces the sanity of having what ought to be.

[forrealone]

We celebrate with you, Bro. Nothing replaces the sanity of having what ought to be.

"Nothing replaces the sanity of having what ought to be."  Amen to that, Brother!  

I have been the "cheering squad" for decades watching hubby fix stuff while he curses, scratches his head, comes running in bleeding from something or another "I don't know what happened, I just started bleeding" and so on.  And, THEN, TADA, it is fixed.  Until the next thing breaks or won't start or.......   Never ending story, ain't it Iain?   (:^)

[jaybreak]

Today I (successfully) switched the hinges on our new refrigerator-freezer, from the right to the left, without looking at the directions. I had some help from the wife to hold things steady.

Please pray I don't wake up tomorrow morning with everything fallen apart.

[IainH]

My consistent advice is to the "instructions? I don't need no steeking instructions" stereotypes is go by the book. If there are no instructions take time to label, bag and photograph each piece, no matter how simple, no matter how many times you've worked on something similar, take that extra time. Do not look at an old Harley and say "man; I've worked on V8's for years, it's got 2 cylinders how hard can it be?" only to look in plastic tub full of nuts n bolts and say "shit". It would have saved a lot of time putting it back together. I thought about it, I knew better but, the ache of getting on the ground is less than getting up and hobbling into the house for baggies that I will get fussed at for using. They're for sandwiches not parts. Normally, I would have had some el cheapo $ store baggies but, not this time besides it's a bike not a car. I only made one grevious error; two nuts, same size and appearance but, crucially, a different thread, the fine thread will attach to a coarse thread and being locknuts, I expected resistance and not wearing my up close 3.25 readers they look the same. The very last nut was a coarse thread that will not go on a fine thread without slipping so I found a metric that was close enough and forced it on. The next time I install shocks, which being Progressive Suspension shocks means, probably never so, I can live with it. I don't hang with people who would look at it and say "oh, that nut is not factory correct" you know, Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Nothing wrong with that "the Judge" owns a spectacular 1934 Packard and if you know a little about Packard's he'll open the hood and show you it's awesome V12.  Yeah, the old classy southern gentleman and his lady with impeccable manners are dying to off and being replaced by a different sort. Anyway I drift into a cultural context that you either get or don't. The intricacies of Southern manners would take a series.

[Ed Hurst]

I used to poke bolts and stuff into the cardboard trays from cases of soda pop. I used sticks to hold the nuts in place. I could label the parts and draw boundaries to separate them in those trays.

[IainH]

I used to poke bolts and stuff into the cardboard trays from cases of soda pop. I used sticks to hold the nuts in place. I could label the parts and draw boundaries to separate them in those trays.

  
That's what I do with cylinder head bolts, labeled L & R, front and rear. If I had been working on engine or tranny, I would have creaked into the house and used the Glad baggies but, " aw, it just body parts and suspension". Hubris is what it was,  I'm such a great mechanic I'll remember where everything goes. The really stupid part was putting everything in the back of my Honda, remember the theme song to the Dukes of Hazzard? Well, we straighten curves and flatten hills, if your tires don't squall on curves, you're going to slow. Gravity mixed up tools, nuts and bolts pretty much everything I took off. That left the minimal organization I had scattered but, none of that matters now because I'm fixing to go ride, bye y'all!

[jaybreak]

I used to poke bolts and stuff into the cardboard trays from cases of soda pop. I used sticks to hold the nuts in place. I could label the parts and draw boundaries to separate them in those trays.

  
That's what I do with cylinder head bolts, labeled L & R, front and rear. If I had been working on engine or tranny, I would have creaked into the house and used the Glad baggies but, " aw, it just body parts and suspension". Hubris is what it was,  I'm such a great mechanic I'll remember where everything goes. The really stupid part was putting everything in the back of my Honda, remember the theme song to the Dukes of Hazzard? Well, we straighten curves and flatten hills, if your tires don't squall on curves, you're going to slow. Gravity mixed up tools, nuts and bolts pretty much everything I took off. That left the minimal organization I had scattered but, none of that matters now because I'm fixing to go ride, bye y'all!

You two have better mechanical sense than I do.

Fridge and freezer doors are still going strong. However, I just realized that, in switching the hinges to the other side, I left two pieces out: the little plastic retainer type things, that look like large screw anchors, sort of, that go into the hole where the hinge posts go. The hinge posts still fit, but I assume the plastic retainers help it from giving the post too much play when you open the doors. Or keep it all from rusting out. They were inserted in the holes on the original side, from the factory, I just didn't bother to put them into the other side. I'd have have to take the doors and the hinge assemblies off completely to put the retainers back in. Maybe I will do it someday. The holes will probably rust out or bend out of shape too much the night before I decide to do it. Can't wait.

[IainH]

I used to poke bolts and stuff into the cardboard trays from cases of soda pop. I used sticks to hold the nuts in place. I could label the parts and draw boundaries to separate them in those trays.

  
That's what I do with cylinder head bolts, labeled L & R, front and rear. If I had been working on engine or tranny, I would have creaked into the house and used the Glad baggies but, " aw, it just body parts and suspension". Hubris is what it was,  I'm such a great mechanic I'll remember where everything goes. The really stupid part was putting everything in the back of my Honda, remember the theme song to the Dukes of Hazzard? Well, we straighten curves and flatten hills, if your tires don't squall on curves, you're going to slow. Gravity mixed up tools, nuts and bolts pretty much everything I took off. That left the minimal organization I had scattered but, none of that matters now because I'm fixing to go ride, bye y'all!

You two have better mechanical sense than I do.

Fridge and freezer doors are still going strong. However, I just realized that, in switching the hinges to the other side, I left two pieces out: the little plastic retainer type things, that look like large screw anchors, sort of, that go into the hole where the hinge posts go. The hinge posts still fit, but I assume the plastic retainers help it from giving the post too much play when you open the doors. Or keep it all from rusting out. They were inserted in the holes on the original side, from the factory, I just didn't bother to put them into the other side. I'd have have to take the doors and the hinge assemblies off completely to put the retainers back in. Maybe I will do it someday. The holes will probably rust out or bend out of shape too much the night before I decide to do it. Can't wait.

If they are anchors that means only the thickness of the metal is holding your door. The foam insulation will deflect each time you open the door. Eventually well pretty soon your hinges will become loose, not good.
  Here's what to do that will last. Okay first of all buy screws with matching anchors, the recommended drill bit and epoxy glue. Drill the holes coat the anchors with epoxy and re-install your hinges. If you intend to use it within 24hrs then buy quick set epoxy. That should hold. Place some tape around your drill bit as a guide to prevent drilling to deep.

[jaybreak]

I used to poke bolts and stuff into the cardboard trays from cases of soda pop. I used sticks to hold the nuts in place. I could label the parts and draw boundaries to separate them in those trays.

  
That's what I do with cylinder head bolts, labeled L & R, front and rear. If I had been working on engine or tranny, I would have creaked into the house and used the Glad baggies but, " aw, it just body parts and suspension". Hubris is what it was,  I'm such a great mechanic I'll remember where everything goes. The really stupid part was putting everything in the back of my Honda, remember the theme song to the Dukes of Hazzard? Well, we straighten curves and flatten hills, if your tires don't squall on curves, you're going to slow. Gravity mixed up tools, nuts and bolts pretty much everything I took off. That left the minimal organization I had scattered but, none of that matters now because I'm fixing to go ride, bye y'all!

You two have better mechanical sense than I do.

Fridge and freezer doors are still going strong. However, I just realized that, in switching the hinges to the other side, I left two pieces out: the little plastic retainer type things, that look like large screw anchors, sort of, that go into the hole where the hinge posts go. The hinge posts still fit, but I assume the plastic retainers help it from giving the post too much play when you open the doors. Or keep it all from rusting out. They were inserted in the holes on the original side, from the factory, I just didn't bother to put them into the other side. I'd have have to take the doors and the hinge assemblies off completely to put the retainers back in. Maybe I will do it someday. The holes will probably rust out or bend out of shape too much the night before I decide to do it. Can't wait.

If they are anchors that means only the thickness of the metal is holding your door. The foam insulation will deflect each time you open the door. Eventually well pretty soon your hinges will become loose, not good.
  Here's what to do that will last. Okay first of all buy screws with matching anchors, the recommended drill bit and epoxy glue. Drill the holes coat the anchors with epoxy and re-install your hinges. If you intend to use it within 24hrs then buy quick set epoxy. That should hold. Place some tape around your drill bit as a guide to prevent drilling to deep.

I still have the anchors, though. I wasn't dumb enough to throw them away. Couldn't I just put them back in?