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Fifty years ago, yesterday, The Good Ship USS Thresher SSN-593 was lost with all hands. The following is copied from the NECN website. KITTERY, Maine (AP) — A bell has tolled 129 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, once for each of the men who died aboard the USS Thresher submarine 50 years ago. Hundreds of workers at the shipyard in Kittery, Maine, gathered Wednesday morning for a ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the tragedy. The submarine began its final mission from the shipyard on the morning of of April 10, 1963. It was approximately 200 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, conducting sea trials. The Thresher sank toward the ocean floor after losing power, until it imploded below crush depth into thousands of pieces.
They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.  I built some box planters this past weekend. The materials are 7&5/8″ by 6′ fence planks, 2 by 2s and wood screws. The Frog is back out from the back yard. Yesterday was rough with the wind and blowing sand/dust. The 14 Freeway was closed from just south of Rosamond at Avenue A to Avenue D. There was a multi car pile up as a result. The parallel Sierra Highway was also closed in that same limit along with other roads in that vicinity. There was snow falling up the hill in Tehachapi
The Desert. Awesome place. So, as I posted before, my new scooter mirrors showed up in the mail on Friday along with the mounting hardware. Well, I’d intended to get them mounted sometime during the weekend but I changed my mind when I got home. I grabbed a couple of tools and…  5 April 2013 – All forward lights on! THEY WORK!!!!! Here’s a head-on shot of my scooter to show what it looks like at night. Actually, there’s been a minor change. See where that marker light should be right next to the starboard headlamp? See where there’s a noticeable glow from within the bodywork a little ways below and to the side of that? It’s just to the left (photo left – scooter starboard) of the wheel and fender. I took a few minutes and got that marker light back where it’s supposed to be. Again :censored: Getting back to talking about the new mirrors, let’s refer to the next two pictures for a couple of moments.  5 April 2013 – Marker light shining in the front of the mirror assembly I think the way the running lights and turn signals work on these mirrors is pretty strange. The amber/yellow light you see above is actually a running light. It’s on anytime the engine is running.  5 April 2013 – Turn signal lit up in the front of the mirror assembly Now, do you see that little red LED that’s lit up just to the right of the running light that’s not lit up? Yeah, that tiny little red thing is the turn signal. If you just went :wtf2: then you had the same reaction I did. I figured that either what’s actually the running light would just flash as a signal or that it would be the running light and the LED would be the running light. This seems just a little :crazy: to me. Oh well, at least I have TWO mirrors and the lights in them actually work even if they provide a better view of my elbows than they do most of the road behind me Well, that’s all for now, but I’ll be back soon. Have a great day I knew when I got my scooter that it only had one mirror. That was no big deal as it would be a while until I got everything together enough to be able to ride it and there were plenty of them online. Here’s a picture of what it still looks like right now:  17 March 2013 – My 2007 Roketa 150 scooter!!! I found out it’s legal to ride with only a left side mirror, so that’s what I’ve been doing for quite a while now and it’s really been no problem at all. I really want to have two mirrors and it would be really nice if the running lights / turn signals in them worked, too  05 April 2013 – Front facing side of a new scooter mirror I ordered a set of mirrors off of eBay and while there was a bit of a snag in shipping, they finally got here!!! You’ll notice that they’re not red like the original mirrors. I figured there was enough silver on the scooter that these wouldn’t look out of place and I could only find these in the correct red color in one place. These silver mirrors were $30 for the pair. The other place that had the correct red ones wanted $50 each  05 April 2013 – Rear facing side of a new scooter mirror So, this is going to be my weekend project. I’m going to have to figure out how the wires and hardware all connect because both of the mirrors were messed up when I got it. At least the new mirrors include all the hardware Oh yeah, I have just a little bit of other news. I burned a decent amount of gas in this scooter without it going anywhere. It needed to be run and warmed up for a few of the things I did while fixing it and I also spilled a decent amount. Even with all that not going into traveling, I managed to get about 55 MPG between when I got it and when I filled it up this week! I figure I should get about 65 to 70 MPG on the next tank Well, that’s about all for right now. Have a great weekend  01 April 2013 – A thunderstorm is always a nice start to the day Sorry for the posting delays again – it’s been busy out here for a few reasons I’ve been riding my scooter nearly everywhere and I’ve put somewhere around 70 miles on it, but the fuel gauge still hasn’t reached the 1/4 tank mark yet. It holds about 1.5 gallons, but I’ve also had it running for quite a bit while I’ve been working on it etc., so we’ll have to wait a bit for a fuel economy report. That said, it’s running great and yes, I did remember to take the V-Star out for a ride so it doesn’t feel too neglected Ember’s been spiking a fever a few times, so we’ve been out to the hospital a couple times. She’s got some sort of respiratory infection which combined with her teething to take her temperature up quite a ways a couple of times. She’s on antibiotics and we’re using acetaminophen and ibuprofen to keep the fever down. She should be just fine Easter was a pretty good day, but a bit tiring. Cindy, her mom, niece, nephew, cousins, Ember, and myself all went out to the desert for a picnic and some pictures. I’ll see if I can post one or two pics soon Last, but not least, is from this morning. I had to be in to work at 0800 which is two hours earlier than normal. I still took Ember to daycare and I’m glad I did when I did because I got a pretty cool picture That’s all for now, but have a great day everyone  26 March 2013 – It’s road legal!!! I promise I’ll have more information soon, but I just had to post this now Yes, I have a pair of new mirrors on order. Yes, I still intend to change out the crazy fuzes on the battery leads, and yes, I still intend to do a valve check and adjustment. It’ll get done evenutally… I went down to the DMV today to get a temporary registration so that I could get the scooter to the inspection station. They said I didn’t need an inspection this year for the year my scooter was made and I was able to just go ahead and register the scooter! It turns out you only need a left side mirror (the one that’s still on my scoot), so I think I’ll see if I can get it together enough during lunch to ride it on my way back to work Wish me luck And we’re back The first things I managed to get done today were the engine and final drive oil changes. Sorry, I don’t have any pics of that as my hands were really disgustingly filthy. That said, I did find a really good video on YouTube which explains and shows exactly how and what do do – just click here There was plenty of oil in the engine and it didn’t look too bad. Between that, the newer U.S. made vacuum lines, and the good tires, it looks like someone really actually tried to take care of this machine. The dry rotting valve stems, questionable electrical maintenance, and the stuff that came out of the final drive when I pulled the oil drain plug there (the “gear oil” that came out was pretty disgusting and there wasn’t much of it) makes me think they didn’t really quite know what they were doing. Thanks to some good internet reference sites, I’m pretty sure I have a good idea of what I’m doing though  24 March 2013 – Important markings on the drive belt Once I was done with changing all that oil, I decided to take the cover off of the drive train. There’s a clutch, a variator, the kick start system, and the drive belt hidden in there. Aside from wanting to do a quick visual check of the clutch and variator, I also wanted to check the condition of the drive belt and get the numbers off it in case I need to order another one in the future. The belt looks to be in good condition and should only be about $20 to replace when the time comes. By the way, see that silver metal shaft sticking out in that last pic? That’s the kick start shaft. We’ll get back to that later…  24 March 2013 – Drivetrain including the clutch, variator, and drive belt with the cover off So, here’s where the power gets transmitted from the engine to the rear wheel. You’re looking at a CVT which stands for Continuously Variable Transmission. The round thing on the left is the variator, the round thing on the right is the clutch, and you can see the belt that connects the two. The engine crankshaft is directly connected to the variator which turns the belt. That belt turns the clutch, but it’s a centrifugal clutch which only engages past a certain speed which is why the bike can idle while stopped with the rear wheel down. It’s difficult and takes quite a bit of space to explain just how this all works together, but you can click here for a short video that explains everything better and quicker than I can Can you see where that kick start would’ve been in the middle of everything? We’ll get back to that in just a bit…  24 March 2013 – I think I might just need some better tools Well, this is a first! I know I buy cheap tools and sometimes a ratchet mechanism will break or a screw driver will get tweaked. They’re cheap, I don’t use them all that often, and it’s no big deal to replace something. This was the first time I’ve ever had a socket flat out break on me like this. And this happened while I was trying to break a fastener loose  24 March 2013 – I’m gonna need a new kickstart Last, but not least, we have that kick starter I talked about earlier. It turns out the teeth are supposed to be welded/filled like you see. The problem in this pic is the bushing on the left end of the shaft. See how it’s all cracked and broken into pieces? I wondered why it felt like there was extra play in the system and why the shaft felt too loose when I pulled the cover off the drive train. I couldn’t actually get it to fit back in where it was supposed to go (it kept falling out), so I left it off for the time being. It’s a $20 part new, so I’ll probably swap it out before too long. All that’s left now is to check and adjust the valves, replace the spark plug, replace the mirrors, get insurance, and get this machine registered It’s time for me to go get some rest, but I promise I’ll have another update soon So, where was I? Let’s see… Ah, yes – I was recovering from food poisoning I can’t actually think of anything I despise more than food poisoning. It’s worse than a concussion and road rash. It’s worse than any hangover I can recall and there’s been a few doozies in my past. Yeah, I’d rather have an abscess and a root canal than food poisoning. I’m doing pretty much 100% better & back to normal now. All that’s left is some muscle pain around my ribs and abs. But anyway, how about that bike? I’d just confirmed that the trouble with the electrical system was due to a clip having come off of one of the glass fuses. I’m glad to report that I’ve made quite a bit of progress since then  23 March 2013 – Gauge cluster at night – IT WORKS!!! I went through the vacuum and fuel lines today and found something surprising. They really weren’t all that bad! Actually, they looked quite good Oh yeah, I also filled the fuel tank up to about what looked like full and I noticed something about the fuel gauge – IT WORKS  23 March 2013 – All the lights on the front work except that $&#@ marker light Something that really needed to be replaced were the valve stems on the wheels. The rubber was clearly disintegrating and would soon be an issue. It could very possibly fail and cause a flat tire while riding. Thanks to one of the people on a forum I frequent, I was directed to a video (click here) which shows how to replace the valve stems without removing the wheels from the scooter or the tires from the wheels This method worked for me, but it wasn’t nearly as easy as it looked in the video in my ever so humble opinion. Then I had to get the tire bead back on the rim without a massive air blast, cargo strap, or rope. I ended up pushing the scooter around a bit on the flat tires which worked the tires back onto the right parts of the wheel. It was a bunch of effort, but I’m OK with that because I saved quite a bit of money and because IT WORKED  23 March 2013 – All the rear end lights work! The owner’s manual (yes, I actually have the owner’s manual) specifies the front tire pressure as 200 kpa (kilopascals) and the rear as 225 kpa. That converts over to 29 PSI front and 32 PSI rear. I’d spent $10 on a 12 volt air compressor earlier today (my last one was in my right side saddlebag from the V-Star when it decided to fly off into the unknown last year) and that little, noisy compressor was up to the task! With air in the tires and gas in the tank, I just couldn’t help myself… I took my scooter out for a quick test ride and IT WORKS!!!!! No, I didn’t go very fast, turn very tight, or push any part of the machine’s performance envelope. I just took it up and down the way a bit. All the lights work correctly, both brakes work correctly, and the continuously variable transmission and centrifugal clutch work correctly as well. It’s all there and working I’m still not quite done. I still have to change the engine and final drive oil, check and adjust the valves, replace the mirrors, tweak the carburetor a bit, and put all the body panels back on the beast. Oh yeah, there’s one marker light that’s out right now. You can probably guess which one it is, right? Well, I haven’t decided if I’m going to try to replace it or just leave it for a while In any case, there’s really not that much left to do before I take this fine machine down to have the safety inspection done on it before heading to the DMV for its registration. The end of preparation and the beginning of fun are getting closer That’s all for now, but I’ll be back soon! Have a great day, everyone Kath will get to see my new haircut………………………………shaved head…………………………….  Falcon Maintainers and Support at Red Flag 12-2  I am in the wheel well of the jet on the right  Bring the jet into spot. This pic went world wide………………with help from yours truly!  22 March 2013 – The main fuses on the battery terminals spared every expense. So, the last time I posted there was a problem with the scooter. It wouldn’t power up. At all. I’d pulled off some bodywork, but other than that nothing had really changed since the night before. I had suspicions about what was causing it. Those suspicions proved correct. It wasn’t a blown or damaged fuse, but a method of incorporating a fuse into a circuit which should never have been used on a vehicle in my ever so humble opinion. Look at the picture above. You’ll note that there are clips which attach to the glass fuses. They are then supposed to be held in place by that white plastic thing when it’s snapped over the whole assembly. Trouble is that a slight tug is all that’s needed to pull the clip off the fuse and suddenly you have no power whatsoever. And yes, this can happen even while the assembly is clipped into its white plastic casing. There had been a slight tug and the fuse had been disconnected. I reconnected the clips to the fuses and… IT WORKED I’m left to question if Lucas Electric has a Chinese division? In any case, I’m glad it was a cheap, quick, and easy fix The other part of the title? Well, that refers to the horrific case of food poisoning I had last night Here’s hoping everyone has a great day |
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I’m still good to go and I’ll keep on riding 
I was about 50% better from my illness on Friday, 75% Saturday, and I’m about 95% back to normal today. And yep, I managed to get even more stuff done on the scooter today 
I’m not sure, but I think I got it from the leftover Chinese food I had for lunch yesterday. I’m actually at work and going on about two hours of sleep, but whatchagonnado? I am doing quite a lot better, but it’s going to be a while until I’m fully recovered.