On the right a Shinko 705 with 10k on it. On the left, a Shinko 705 that has only rolled across my garage floor. The Versys has new shoes. 😀
2024-07-21
2024-05-09
2023 Vacation!!!
Yep, I was going to take two weeks off for vacation this year, but my work decided that I started the year with -5 days, so my two weeks are gone and I'm down to three days paid out of five. Gotta love it. They are going to pay for it in morale, and employee turnover no doubt.
But, I'd had some charging problems with my bike that seemed like I just couldn't trust it for longer than to work and back, which is only about 7 kilometers or 11 minutes away (if you don't get caught behind a slow islander or his cousin).
The Fundy Trail Parkway |
I got a text from my friend Wobbly Cat warning that at long last he was going to take me up on my offer of a couch and a meal or two, and that he would be arriving sometime on the Friday before my vacation, so I started to clean up couch so I could see it again, then found out from my sister that my brother Rich and his wife Kay had hit the island and did I want to head out to Stanchel to join them for supper? Lol. Time was running out, my motorcycle parts weren't here yet, as I'd put a new battery in the bike only to find that it still wasn't charging, and I'd only been able to get to and from work by charging the battery over night, then running straight to work, and back again with perhaps a single stop if the fan had NOT been running while stuck in traffic. Yeah, it was bad. My car was down as well, with a seized windshield wiper transmission linkage. The left side was just impossible to free up and even my Red Seal certified mechanic of a nephew gave up on it. I was not a happy camper, and on the weekend I was not looking forward to the of the month, and the start of my vacation which my girlfriend no longer had off, so I was going to be playing host to a good friend motorcycling his way about my favourite province, and here I was with a dead bike, car, and no parts for either. **sigh
Enter English J to the rescue. He used his parts look up super powers to locate a wiper transmission in a local salvage yard. Rich and Kirk visited it on the Monday and bought the one they had in stock, of which Rich & Kay made me a gift. I used Monday night to install it.
test
I called the local Kawasaki dealer, Bolger Motorsports, to obtain a quote on parts, and they informed me that both the stator and regulator/rectifier I wanted was on backorder from their parts supplier, so I opted to order them in from Fort Nine as the Kimpex heavy duty Stator and their Regulator/Rectifier with Mosfet were both in stock and ready to ship! Whoot! I ordered a stator cover gasket and some fork bushings from Bolger Motorsports. Things were looking up.
I spent some quality time with my Island family, Rich & Kay, in spite of the sickness rolling around through them, and managed not to catch the summer cold, but I'd shot my cleaning plans and did what I could on the Thursday night before Wobbly Cat showed up, And again on Friday, as he was a bit later than I had been expecting, but that was fine as I needed the time to get things sorted.
Wobbly Cat arrives a chez moi! |
Cows Creamery's finest Photo Credit: Wobbly Cat Photography |
Ride Prince Edward Island
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?mid=1STTrTlknWPlzrp5Mg36sEAZsNRD9Urf6&usp=sharing
The Island is like a Lobster trap… It's free to get in, but you have to pay to get out.
Ferry and bridge are free going to the island, so a common theme is to come from Pictou Nova Scotia and leave via the Bridge.
Yeah, it's a bit busy, but you need to zoom in, as it is only a small island after all.
Sunday was the big day for me, I'd arranged to use by Brother-in-law Kirk's garage to do the repairs, and riding with Wobbly Cat out there was just like a blast from the past of my former life in Onterrible (Ontario) with my fellow moto junkies. Except I had to do a U-turn for this lemonade stand that had popped up just around the corner across from Queen Charlotte Intermediate School. Two girls were accepting donations in support of Ovarian cancer, and were selling Croc stick on thingies as well, so I did my bit, donated some money and enjoyed a cool lemonade while Wobbly Cat chatted and got his photos. I used to run a lemonade stand myself, so appreciate the need for good patronage. :)
We got my Versys into the garage just after noon, got it up on a borrowed rear stand, dropped the oil into a cut away oil jug, and promptly had the side cover off the bike using my Bikemaster 1/4 inch drive T-Handle that I was learning to love.
This thing was awesome! Loads of torque yet easy to use. |
The side cover came off for the second time for this bike, and I was able to quickly remove the old RM Stator I'd installed in 2018 and swapped in the Kimpex one, but it didn't look all that great. In fact, I didn't like the position of the screw holes as they try to be multi purpose for many types of bikes and it seemed like the cable that goes under the spinning mass of the flywheel was not going to clear and get rooked soon after I started the bike. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach, then I tried a radical rotation and the screw holes lined up, the cables worked, and it was time to pull out the blue loctite and smear it on everything I was touching.
The old stator tested well, and I can't see any visual faults But I'm tired of towing my dead bike so out it comes |
Under Construction
2023 The Turkeys ride to Alaska!
Or three turkeys visit West Point and Cedar Dunes, then blast home for a lovely Thanksgiving feast with the Kelly family.
It was Wobbly Cat's last day on PEI and I wanted to do a Monday ride, but we were both slug-a-bed, and it took us an age to get moving, and by the time the gears stopped squeaking and began to turn, it was around noon, and time to invite others to join in on the fun, so I asked Seeline if she wanted to join the ride that was heading out to West Point Cedar Dunes for some photos.
West Point Lighthouse PE |
It took a while as Wobbly Cat was booking some airline tickets that day to take advantage of a drop in price, so we didn't clear my apartment until later in the afternoon... and this time there were no side cuts, it was straight down the Trans Canada to make time and collect Seeline from Crapaud on our way through, where we collected her at the South Shore Pharmacy, then the three of us rode straight down the TCH.
As it was lunch time, I hoped that the PEI Handpie Company would be open but no such luck on a Holiday Monday, but Wobbly opted to take some photos and it gave me a great idea for a wee parting gift... More on that later.
Day Tripping - Charlottetown PE to West Point PE and Return - Drive 310 km, 4 hours
![]() |
Charlottetown PE to West Point PE and Return |
![]() |
The Handpie Company Photo Credit: WobblyCat |
![]() |
I think the tractor is winning this race! Photo Credit: WobblyCat |
The harvester is in the distance |
It seems a bit strange... They spray the tops of the potato plant with a herbicide that kills the tops, stops the growth of the potatoes, and allow the greens to wither away so that there is minimal vegetation left during the harvesting process. The machine then lifts the mounded dirt including the potatoes and brings them up, stripping away the loose dirt and vegetation, and tumbles them into a potato truck that will take them back for washing, sorting and storage. For a short time frame, potato trucks are allowed to be driven by just about anyone, and if the driver is in a hurry, chances are you may get a few pounds of potatoes tossed in your general direction at stops or turns. :)
Once upon a time this represented wealth and hard work. Now it wants to be firewood |
Under Construction