naked Goldwing modification

I can finally justify my Dremel. A year or so ago I was doing some work on the front end of my 75 naked Goldwing. I was having trouble getting all the bolts out, which is a common occurrence from what I've read. I thought I was going to have to cut one of the bolts off so I bought a Dremel, a tool for which I had often longed. For years I admired Dremels, and I thought I could use one in a myriad of ways.

Unfortunately, I couldn't even get near the bolt with the Dremel because of where the bolt was located. So my Dremel sat in my workshop for a year, silently mocking me for being so unimaginative as to not know how it could be used.

Until last week. I put a Dynatek DS1-3 electronic ignition in my beloved GL1000 and the Dremel was exactly what I needed. The DS1-3 is appropriate for the GL1000 except for the fact that the slots or notches in the modules aren't long enough to achieve proper timing. If I had a 78 I would have been fine but the 75-77 need a longer slot.

Enter the Dremel. Truthfully I'll have to say I started out with a regular old hacksaw because by extending the notch I was probably "modifying" and thus voiding the warranty on a $133 component. Yikes. I also got out my old defunct DS1-3 to look at the notch in it and to practice cutting on it since it was already shot and I couldn't ruin it any more than it was already ruined.

The manufacturer's instructions seemed fine but they don't show you a picture of how you have to modify their product, so I'm supplying that here.

Also, take a look at the pretty chrome plate behind which you install the thing. I had installed the plate before I noticed a slip of paper, almost as an afterthought from the manufacturer, saying to make sure the little wires (my choice of words) weren't touching the rotor. I removed the plate and sure enough mine were. Good thing I checked.

The tech guy at the place where I bought the Dynatech was good. I called and mentioned that I was wondering whether I should change my stock coils to get better performance. The guy said that if the stock coils were still good I ought to get my money's worth out of them before replacing them. He said new coils wouldn't improve things that much. He also said to clip off the ends of the spark plug wires for better performance because they can erode. I thought that was pretty cool of the guy who could have just said, "Yes, spend lots of money on more of our products."

Now I'm wondering if my shop could use a motorcycle lift. Yes, I think it could. Can I justify a tool like that? Well my old knees are getting pretty bad....

going to church by walking through the churchyard

I've been pondering a sentence by N.T. Wright in his book, "Surprised by Hope." He said, "...there is something wonderful and profound about entering church through the churchyard, where are buried those who worshipped there in centuries past."

That is an experience which few of us in most of America can relate. If you Google "churchyard" you will come up with images like mine here in this blog. We know the look. We've seen "the churchyard" in movies, mostly Westerns and horror flicks. But, what would it be like to to to church by walking through the churchyard?

A few years ago my wife and I traveled to Wales with my sister and brother-in-law. We were fortunate enough to meet up with a distant relative in Wales and he took us around to some of the places where our family had lived, farmed, were baptized, married and buried. It was a wonderful visit and it was those churchyards that had for me a great "sense of place" to them.

Oh sure, the great cathedrals were wonderful. Famous kings and queens were buried right inside the walls and under the floors of the cathedrals. The stained glass windows, especially at Notre Dame were fabulous.

The cathedrals often were just tourist attractions, but these village churches, with real worshippers attending each week had a special attraction for me. My ancestors made their wedding vows there; promising to love, honor and cherish, till death do we part. In death they parted and left the loved one in the churchyard, ashes to ashes, and dust to dust.

They confessed their faith in those churches and chapels, they were baptized in those churches. As children they probably also played hide and seek behind those stones.

Each Sunday we walk across acres of concrete and asphalt. We hurry past hundreds of cars in parking lots and then enter spacious lobbies. We talk, we drink coffee, we sign up for missions trips. Along with these other good things I believe it would be encouraging and inspiring to us to walk past the graves of our saintly ancestors of old and remember their faithfulness. Maybe we wouldn't be so afraid of death if we walked through churchyards each week. Maybe we would have a greater sense of family if we had more churchyards in our lives. Maybe we would want to stay closer to the Lord and the church in life if we knew our bones would find their resting place in the churchyard at death. I think I'll try to find a place where I can attend church by entering through the churchyard so I can get a tiny taste of what that might be like.

Naked Goldwing glamour pics

I decided to take some nice pictures of my naked Goldwing motorcycle. I was dissatisfied with all the others I had taken for various reasons, namely:

1. I can see me in the reflection off the chrome or paint. If you look at photos by amateur photographers you often see the photographer, their reflection, or their shadow, or maybe even their finger or feet in the photo. I wanted to do better than that.

2. Extraneous material. I don't like seeing other objects in the photo besides my subject matter. Often when taking snapshots you end up with other motorcycles, other riders, signs, ugly pavement, etc. in the photo. I only want what I choose to be in the frame.

For months now I have been on the lookout for a suitable backdrop for the glamour pictures. I saw an old barn with peeling paint that I thought would work well. This was just a part of good planning, I told myself. Yes it was. The only problem was, I didn't plan other aspects of the shoot so well.

I finished up my repairs and polishing on my motorcycle and out the garage door I went with my camera in my pocket, and my destination in mind. I asked for permission to take my pictures by the barn, and rode out to the exact spot I had spotted. Here is where my lack of planning revealed itself.

The ground was so soft that neither the kickstand, nor the center stand would hold the bike up for more than a second before starting to sink into the ground. I have little plastic plates to rest the kickstand on to remedy this situation, but I didn't think to pack one. So I used my billfold. My credit cards may have been bent a little but they still work, so all is well.

My next blunder was when I tried to start my bike. It wouldn't start. Over the winter I had forgotten that my bike has "tired starter syndrome." There are some things that are good to forget over the winter. It is good to forget all your bad golf swing habits. I am a great golfer the first two or three times I golf each year because I have forgotten my bad habits. After that I begin to think too much, try to compensate, and correct, and then my golf game goes belly up. But I digress.

I have read that "tired starter syndrome" is when your bike will start fine in the garage at home. But after you've ridden for awhile you decide to stop and have an ice cream cone. The bike is hot now and when you go to start the bike the starter has no umph.

More lack of planning.

I however am in the proud possession of a 75 Goldwing which had both an electric start and a kick starter. I thought to myself, "I will just use the kick starter," which I had done successfully in the past. The only problem was, I had removed the kickstarter to make some other repairs and I hadn't put it back in it's little home in the bike. More lack of planning.

I thought, "I'll just call my wife on my cell phone. I'm only a couple of miles from home, she can bring me my kickstarter." The only problem was, my cell phone was on the charger in the kitchen. I hate cell phones and use them as little as possible, but sometimes they are a good thing to have.

Fortunately, when I tried my starter again, it fired up and I made it home without further difficulty. So here are my glamour pictures. Except I think they could be better, so I'll be taking more. Next time I will plan better.

Love Wins by Rob Bell....my comments

I like Rob Bell. I don't know him and I don't listen to his sermons or read all his books, but what I have read and heard I like. Some of his short films have been electrifying in their insights on Christian living.

I read his new book this week. Tuesday night I read the first 101 pages and it was unsettling. Still, I didn't try to draw conclusions until I finished the book, which I did tonight, reading the last 101 pages.

Comment 1. The book wasn't electrifying like some of his other stuff, save for parts of Chapter 7, "The Good News Is Better Than That." The part of that chapter that I thought was the best was his retelling of the story of the Prodigal Son. That was excellent. For me, that was worth the price of the book and the time it took to read it.

Comment 2. Rob Bell wants to reach people whom the Church has been unable to reach because of a view of God and hell that people don't believe, or can't accept, or think is cruel. He's trying to communicate that the Church is a "big tent" if I can borrow a political term, or "a wide stream we're swimming in" to use his terms.

Comment 3. The book is frustratingly vague and often seems like double talk. He talks about people turning to God after death, and everyone coming to God eventually because "love wins" but he also says, "God extends an invitation to us and we are free to do with it as we please. Saying yes will take us in one direction; saying no will take us in another."

Comment 4. Rob Bell doesn't believe in the most common view of hell, what I would consider the traditional view of hell. If I understand him, hell, in life and in death, is of our own making. Hell is not eternal. Some people will have to go to hell before they can get to heaven. Rob Bell doesn't like the phrase "Turn or Burn" but his view of hell seems to be, "Burn Until You Finally Turn" because "love wins."

Comment 5. There is wheat and chaff here. In my opinion it is mostly chaff, but I still like Rob Bell. I worry about what he has written though, because people could read this and conclude, "Well, okay, I'll live however I want, then I'll go to hell maybe for a few days and then turn to God so I can end up in heaven." I'll get to heaven eventually so it doesn't matter really what I do now."

Comment 6. He seems to be saying that no matter what religion or faith you believe you will be saved by Christ whether you realize it or not. So if you believe Muhammad, you'll be saved, but you'll be saved by Jesus. If that's not what he's saying, he should have written with more clarity, because that is sure what it seems like.

Comment 7. My copy seems to have some bad typing errors in it. The last one is the worst because it's the very last line of the book. "And may you know, deep in your bones, that loves wins." Shouldn't that be "love wins" the title of the book?

Comment 8. There is a lot more that I could write. I may add more on another day. It's getting late and I want to go to bed. Nobody will probably won't read this far anyway.:-)

My naked goldwing vocabulary

Nine years ago when I began my venture into learning about motorcycles I had no idea how much my vocabulary would expand. I knew there would be the obviously familiar terms like tires and engines, and unfamiliar words like "tappet" but I wasn't prepared for all the specialized terminology I would encounter in just the world of naked Goldwings. In some ways this reminds me of learning another language. I don't suppose it's as bad as what beginner bass fishermen go through but it probably comes close.

Naked Goldwings: I didn't know there was such a thing a motorcycles described as "naked"; motorcycles without fairings and bags and such. I just knew I didn't like the looks of all that luggage, plastic and bling. So I set about the task of removing and throwing away everything that I could from my 1975 Goldwing, within reason. See picture of naked Goldwing and not-naked rider.

Tupperware: All the plastic that you see on "full dressed" (not naked) Goldwings.

Snotter: I'm still not sure I know what this means. I know it's not a good thing.

Jiggle pin: When you change the thermostat there is a little pin that is loosely attached to the outer rim on the thermostat. I've seen it most often called the jiggle pin. it's also called a bleed orifice but I think Jiggle pin is more fun. The thermostat is installed so that the jiggle pin is located on the top, not the bottom.

Wiggle test: When you suspect a bad water pump you remove the pump cover and see if you can wiggle the pump. If you can wiggle the water pump, you should change it.

Bobber: The idea here is that the motorcycle has been shortened in some way. Just like a Bobcat has a short tail, a Bobber is a shortened motorcycle. Some motorcycles have had the rear fender and everything on it removed, shortened or bobbed. The license plate is often then positioned vertically, near a rear shock. The tail lights are minimal. The bobbers preceeded the choppers. Bobbers were sometimes, often times, chopped. I won't define choppers, since everyone knows what a chopper is.

Cafe style: The emphasis here seems to be fast and minimalist. Everything that you don't really need is taken off the bike, even things like the front fender. Wikipedia has a great article on the origins and culture around this.

Rat: This seems to me to be a motorcycle that has gone Goth. Everything chrome is blackened out and the look is reminiscent of the motorcycles in Mad Max.

Castellated nut: Yes, that sounds painful. It's a big nut with one one side that is a normal smooth nut but the other side looks like the top of a castle wall with the indentations. See picture above.

Prise, tyre, boot: Reading a repair manual that is written by a British subject you will come across many terms like these. I suppose this is the Queen's English but it translates into: pry, tire, trunk.

Happy trails. That's nothing, except just me saying goodbye.