yuck.
Not mine, this time. Not the first two, anyway. Friends needed help with their garage(and his shop) so I spent pretty much all day yesterday at that(no, I do NOT travel, go away). Carry everything out of the garage to the driveway, and there was a LOT of everything, scrub the floor to get rid of the oil spills and other crud, then move some of it back in. Same in the shop, though didn't get as much done there. And if I hadn't kept watch, she would've had the kids piling crap in the back of my truck when I wasn't looking, and I do not need any more crap in my garage or house either one, thank you kindly. Sunburned my face and neck, too.
Then today spent part of it weedeating, a little in the garden and a bunch cleaning out the drain gutters in the carport. Sparrows keep building nests in them, and I have to keep cleaning them out. I've got to figure a way to block every damn hole they'll fit into, and that included some pretty small holes. I had to use a hole saw to cut cleaning holes in several of the ends(two years ago), covered with some vinyl pieces screwed on with a little caulk in between: pull a cover, use a hook-ended stiff wire to fish out all the nests, etc., then flush it out and reseal. I'm thinking, after I'm sure all the little buggers are done nesting, get some hardware cloth and adhesive, cut pieces to fit and stick them over all the channels where they're getting in.
All all that up, and I think I overdid it. This getting old sucks: I just can't take as much in the way of heat as I used to. And yes, I'm drinking a lot. No, I do mean water.
I also made sure the (re)fix of the leaky fork seal on the bike took this time. I'd bought new seal and wiper, found directions to make sure I did it right, and it all came apart and went back together just fine. Except the new seal leaked. I rechecked everything, all had been done as directed, the seal didn't get nicked in installation, so I finally decided the seal had to be in upside-down. So take the damn thing apart again, pop the seal out, flip it over(yes, I had installed it as the directions said to), reassemble and fill, and shazam! No leak! Digging through things, it appears that the new seals are made a bit different from the originals- the bike is fifteen years old- and 'right side up' in the directions is wrong side up with the new ones.
If you've never messed with this, you have to- in the case of this design- loosed a bolt in the bottom of the slider(bottom section), then pop the seal at the top off(something of a pain), loosen the triple-clamp bolts, take the fork leg out, drain the oil, pry the wiper(keeps dirt away from the seal) off, remove a spring clip, remove that first bolt(if you don't loosen it before you do anything else, it takes a special tool to hold the stuff inside so you can get it out) and then you can pop to tube out of the slider. Which removes the seal and the tube bushing that keeps things straight. Then push the parts back in (big spring, fork tube, etc.), reseat the bushing, then the seal(preferably right-side-up), put in the spring clip, slide the wiper down into place, install that bottom bolt(which is a pain in the ass to tighten unless you're lucky or have that tool), put the leg back in the triple clamps, fill with oil, then put the top seal back on. You may notice that most steps of this are ripe with opportunity to get fork oil all over you. And you will. And this stuff is slippery, which means keep stuff handy to wipe it off or damn near everything will slip in your fingers.
Shut up, Fire, not that.
Anyway, the point of all this is that the first time I did this, years ago on another bike, I needed something to drive the bushing and seal into place. I got a piece of PVC pipe that would fit over the upper tube, made sure the ends were square, and it worked perfectly. Pushed things back into place with no canting or other badness. And a hell of a lot cheaper than the proper tool.
I'm going to make another try at the postal match before the month is out, but I'm going to try to make it to the outdoor range. Part of the trouble I had was the light at H&H, my eyes and iron sights and tiny targets didn't go well together. Another 'getting old sucks' point.
Enough, I need a shower and bed. 'Night, all.
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