Evening visitor.
He drops by every evening between five and six, announcing the all clear for his clan which then descends on the pool for an evening libation. I keep the little waterfall on for them to make things friendlier.
Then there will be a sudden panic and the lot takes off after several minutes of hanging out.
This is Gambel’s Quail, native to Arizona and you can read more and hear his lovely call here.
My son’s dorm.
iPhone6 snap.
The country I love.
I implore you, do the right thing tomorrow.
This is the alternative:
As a rational human being who does not subscribe to bigotry, racism, anti-Semitism, misogyny, sexual predation, serial fraud, bullying, support of our enemies, a complete lack of empathy, mocking of the disabled, nuclear proliferation, complete ignorance of basic economics, denigration of our military and a host of other evils, there really is no choice, making things rather easy tomorrow. Vote.
Note: The images of beautiful America, a nation which has been my home since 1977, are from the very region which gave us independence and universal suffrage. They were snapped at my son’s school in western Massachusetts, Northfield Mount Hermon, and nearby Brattleboro, Vermont where I stayed the night during his recent Parents’ Weekend. There are 48 more states, each as special in its own way.
A master craftsman at work.
One of the perils of moving is breakage and it’s something which invariably seems to find my 1975 BMW motorcycle the victim. This time it was the center stand tang, which is a small steel protrusion used to deploy and stow the centerstand.
Given a choice between using the side stand, easily deployed, and the center stand, almost as easy with these light, well balanced machines, most riders will opt for the latter as it’s more stable and prevents oil dribbling down past the piston rings into the head, avoiding a smoky, polluting start. On hot asphalt the center stand distributes the load over a far larger area, and once you have seen your machine gently tip over as the asphalt gives way, you will understand. Don’t ask, the pain – now 20 years old – remains.
The protruding tang, then, makes it easy for the seated rider to deploy the center stand to its down position, whereupon he dismounts, puts his foot on the big plate you see below, and gently rocks the 500 lbs. of German alloys and steels onto the center stand. While I was away when my machine was delivered to Scottsdale, evidently the mover used the tang as a load bearing point, placing a foot on it while rocking the machine back. Snap!
A call to the mobile welding shop saw Jeff the owner and Donny the welder turn up with their beautiful Miller MIG portable welding rig. We take welds for granted yet our world could not exist without them. Every vehicle, fence, gate, door – you name it – is replete with them. The process used here, MIG or Metal Inert Gas welding, is exactly what it says. The welding torch feeds a line of steel through its tip whose burning gases expel oxygen at the point of contact making for a properly melted junction, free of impurities which would threaten integrity.
While Jeff is a Harley man, which is the default for most riders here in AZ where helmets are not mandated (testimony to the contents between most Harley riders’ ears) Donny the welder turned out be a BMW man himself, which makes for a better weld!
I learned a lot from Donny about tuning motors and shared with him my passion for the old BMW airhead twins. A good time was had by all and now I can again easily deploy and retract my center stand from the seat.
iPhone6 snaps.
With the Airheads..
I have long been an Airhead, meaning a devotee of air cooled BMW motorcycles, a design last manufactured in 1995 but dating from 1923. Derived from an aircraft engine, air cooling was a natural and the longevity of the design is reflected in the unusually long life expectancy of the motor. Indeed, the BMW blue and white quadrant logo is an abstract representation of an aircraft propeller turning against an azure sky.
I have owned mine since 1990, the second owner, and you can read more of that experience here.
Most major US cities have at least one expert mechanic devoted to airheads and in Phoenix that man is named Dave Alquist. (The factory, criminally, wants nothing to do with its heritage. How many of the pigs cutting you off in traffic in their BMW cars even know of that heritage?). After getting his contact information from the Airheads club I dropped by with my carburetors, sorely in need of an overhaul after 60,000 miles untouched. Dave, who has been working on airheads some three decades, immediately puts one at ease with his gentle charm and boyish enthusiasm for the marque. It did not take much time to know that that this was the right man to entrust with my work.
As luck would have it Dave was holding a tech day this past weekend, a free session during which machines are brought in by their owners for free surgery and advice, overseen by Dave and others like minded. Use of the several motorcycle lifts is free, tools are generally provided by the owners as the kit which came with the machine is sufficient for almost any task, and the abundant coffee and snacks on hand are happily paid for by an unsolicited donation in the adjacent jar. The day started at 8am but much exchange of war stories was called for first, so much so that the first wrench was not wielded with intent until mid-morning! Here are some snaps from the day, one of quite extraordinary friendship and satisfaction from watching experts at work:
A small part of Dave’s very large shop.
Alloy wheel on the truing stand. Welding gear below. Extensive use of alloys keeps these machines delightfully light and easy handling.
A 1951 R25 single. Pretty as a picture, but the modest 12 horsepower won’t take you anywhere fast.
Crankshafts galore.
Earles forks on a 1960s R60/2, an early anti-dive technology.
Dave Alquist checks the owner’s work on replacing the cam chain in this R100GS off-road machine.
Inserting the linking circlip for the cam chain is a tricky job, owing to the narrow clearances.
Rick (at right) contemplates gas tank removal on his 1968 R69US. The top end valve job will be the first since this machine left the factory almost a half-century ago. The number of computer components in these machines is precisely zero.
Chet Gandy, a former aircraft technician, rebuilt this R100RT from a basket case.
Chet (right) checks on the rear drive shaft boot. He has restyled the bike as a café racer.
Roy helps Rick get that gas tank off. A two minute procedure on later machines, this took 30 minutes ….
A beater to your eyes, but this R80/7 has been a reliable daily companion for 325,000 miles.
All snaps on the Panny GX7 with the kit zoom, mostly at ISO1600.