Almost headed for Wahington.......

[Justin B.]

Yeah, better to start them out engine and transmission building early!

[wilcom]

Smart move.  At the top of the "Undeniable Truths of Life" list is, "If Mama ain't happy nobody will be happy!"  I hung up a sign in our kitchen that reads, "Thou shall not poke the bear..."

On it's way home from the soggy NW, in Eugene,  Oregon

Good news Tank and pipes are perfect and it runs and shifts like a lil champ. by far not perfect, but No surprises.

I got a thumbs up from a Harley guy?..... musta been the ape hangers , huh,,,,LOLOL

 A guy there at the coffee shop said there has been 4 days this year so far when it didn't rain. I'll take the desert

[Justin B.]

Lookin' good.  Be safe driving...

[Billmc]

How did the U-Haul trailer work for you and how far did you tow it?
I'm asking because I used one a couple of weeks ago to tow mine up past San Antonio and back, a little over 350 miles. It's a heavy trailer, a little over 800 lb. and with my little 2L Nissan Rogue my mileage dropped about 10 mpg from 28 to 17.5! I thought that was a bit excessive but it towed smoothly and the bike arrived safely.

[wilcom]

How did the U-Haul trailer work for you and how far did you tow it?

I went a total of 2300 miles. I towed it with my 07 Dodge Caravan with a 3.8 V-6. I use it for service calls all over the greater Los Angeles basin and put on 30K miles a year in that capacity. Normally it's Freeway miles with lots of traffic and I get 18.5 miles normally.

I took the ladders off the roof for aerodynamics which I know is a drag in every day use. The speed limit in Ca, when towing and trucks is 55. I ran with the trucks at about 63-66 mph. Normally I am running 70-80 in normal operation and dogging it without regard to mileage.

My trip up I was seeing 20.5 mpg until I hit some head winds and it dropped to a composite 19mpg for the trip up. On the way back with the bike it was raining the first 500 miles and I was running 55 mph and the rest of the trip home was 63-68 mph( with the trucks) and I made 21. 9 mpg composite on the way home.

I figure the good mileage could be attributed to the lack of the ladders and running slower than usual. The van is big enough that the trailer probably does not give me any wind loss factor. It pulled it fine but I did know it was there when I came to the grades


PS: I'm turning about 2000RPM at 67mph

[wilcom]

I remember pulling 15' vacation trailers all over the Western US with my early 60's Ramblers, "back in the day".

They all had 195 cu. in. cast iron 6's and would make 20mpg's.... that is until you hung that trailer on it!!!! It would make 10-12 towing. Those trailers were like towing a billboard LOL. Full throttle would get you about 60 mph, not a penny more.

If I got lucky and could suck in close following a truck, I could run 70mph at 1/2 throttle.

[marcmax]

You brought a smile to my face mentioning Rambler. My first car was a 62 Rambler station wagon. Yes the mileage was awful but you could fill it, in those days, with the change from the center console. :-)

[wilcom]

62 Rambler station wagon. Yes the mileage was awful

You must of had a Ambassador, you could get a 270HP 327 in those, and yes, they were a bit thirsty  They would go like the dickens though. Ah the days of sub $0.50 fuel.

I was thinking the other day as I told the gas clerk to put "$40 on pump #3"....... back in the day that would have been 160 gallons

[Billmc]

was thinking the other day as I told the gas clerk to put "$40 on pump #3"....... back in the day that would have been 160 gallons

I would put $1 in my year old '66 Dodge Charger with the 383 and a Torqueflite transmission and 'drive-the-drag' for hours when I was in High School. The problem was it would get 10mpg and I didn't have a dollar to even afford the $.14 gas available on the Marine base where my dad was stationed, so that's why we had friends to ride along-to 'chip in' for the gas.
That's the cheapest gas I can remember...

[Tony Smith]

I was thinking the other day as I told the gas clerk to put "$40 on pump #3"....... back in the day that would have been 160 gallons

I filled the GSA a few minutes ago in readiness for an early start tomorrow morning - it was nearly empty, the low fuel light came on 40km from home the other day. It took $44.95 to fill.

Admittedly it does have a 33lt tank, but I still baulk at that much fuel going into a motorcycle.

In the 1970s when I was a poor university student i owned a Honda 90cc step-thru as a means of reducing my transport costs.

One day on the way home from uni I ran out of fuel near a major petrol station that primarily serviced trucks and bus type vehicles.

I found the petrol pump and filled up - 52 cents and went inside to pay. The cash register attendant looked at me with a snear and said "would Sir perhaps like a teaspoon of oil to go with that? Or would Sir prefer if I fart in the tyres?".

[marcmax]

I bought a Toyota Yaris to drive for work since it was the highest mileage car I could find without going to a hybrid, gets better than 40 mpg. Then I got laid off and hired at the Sheriff's Office and was assigned a car for my use, Chevy Tahoe with a monster V-8, complete police interceptor package and I told them ,"I can't drive that, I can't afford to put gas in it. Christ, it has a 38 gallon tank!" They just smiled and said, "We have our own gas pumps, fill up there." My poor Yaris feels very neglected.

[wilcom]

I can't afford to put gas in it. Christ, it has a 38 gallon tank!" They just smiled and said, "We have our own gas pumps, fill up there.

The perk of all perks, a "free gas pump"

[jp9094]

My dodge, back in the day (I am 66), was to pull into a closed gas (petrol) station. In those days there  were no "anti retraction" valves fitted to the pump hoses.

By carefully manipulating the gas pump hoses, I usually managed to get at least a half tank of gas, for free, into my bike! Saved  a lot of dough ( of which I had Little) in those days

FWIW!