Scratching the Itch

Winne is home now. That big chip in her fiberglass front cap is all repaired along with a few hundred other road debris chips. As long as she was getting a face lift I figured we might as well get all the blue up front redone since I had some paint left over from repairing that wet bay door we fixed a few years ago. 

Since I had to reinstate the liability insurance on Winne in order to get her out of storage ... and since she is full of fuel and propane ... and since we need to complete a test pull on the Fusion before heading out on a long trip this winter ... and since it is Peggy and my Anniversary next Saturday ... and since it is beautiful up around Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park this time of year ... and since I have a nagging case of "hitch itch" ... I suppose we had no choice but to plan a short excursion "downeast" for later this week.

So we did.

We plan on heading north to Bar Harbor on Wednesday afternoon and spending a few days just relaxing and playing tourist before heading home on Saturday. 

Then I can get Winne winterized and put back in her storage spot for a few more months before waking her up again to head south for the winter. As of this moment ... our winter plans are to head south shortly after Christmas - spend a few days seeing the NJ Gang - head to Florida for a short visit with some friends - then over to "The Plantation" in Alabama for some more visiting with more friends - then take a few weeks to travel to Arizona. Sometime shortly after Groundhog Day I figure we will head north to Minden, NV to visit with Nan and the West Coast Gang for a few weeks before heading back to Arizona around the first of March. At the moment we plan on attending the Escapees RV Club "Escapade" again in Tucson in early March before setting sail back home with an ETA around April Fools Day.

Yup ... you can tell I have a bad case of hitch itch.

Fall Chores

Fall has arrived in Maine. The highs are barely getting into the 70s and the lows are dipping into the low 40s and even into the high 30s once in awhile. With Fall comes crisp mornings, comfortable afternoons, bright colorful leaves, apples, acorns, and leaf raking.

Last Thursday we celebrated Peggy's birthday with a late morning breakfast at the Fairground Cafe here in Topsham and then hit the road for day-trip through northwestern Maine. We took the "backroads" up through Turner, Rumford, and Mexico - through the Rangeley Lakes Region - visiting Mooselookmeguntic Lake and Rangeley Lake before heading back through Farmington and then around Cobbosseecontee Lake. Don't you just love those names? We have been on most of these roads at sometime in the past - but a few stretches were new to us - like this stop at Coos Canyon in Byron, Maine.

Our travel day was mostly bright and sunny but the wind was pretty blustery and the temps downright chilly when we stopped for some photo ops near Mooselookmeguntic Lake.

And Rangeley Lake ...

When we left Topsham we saw just a bit of color in the trees but there was lots of color up around the lakes. Today - a week later - the color has really started to blossom even down here.

We spent a few hours in Richmond on Saturday visiting with Taylor, Stacy, Kaj, and Bailey - along with Grandpa Carl who was visiting from Washington state. We participated in Miss Taylor's birthday party (actually her second birthday party this year since they waited for Grandpa Carl's arrival for the BIG party). I now know lots about Doc McStuffins!

As I mentioned in my last post - now that it has turned Fall - it is time to get Winne ready for Winter travel. I know, I know ... I typed the "Winter" word - but it had to be done. While I really do enjoy these Fall days - we all know they won't last too long and that Winter is not far away. Soooo ... Winne was retrieved from storage a couple of days ago. Instead of bringing her directly home I took her over to visit Glenn -- my "Body Shop" friend. Glenn is going to take care of that big rock chip I got in Winne's front cap a couple of trips ago and do a few other "touch ups" here and there. 

Prior to Winne entering the body shop I took the opportunity to get up on the roof and get that scrubbed down and then washed the sides. Winne may not have done any traveling these past few months but she managed to get pretty filthy just "resting."

I also completed the wiring I needed to accomplish to make Winne ready to tow the new Fusion. The new Invisibrake system installed in the Fusion includes a "monitor" light - which is installed in the motorhome to let you know when the towed car brakes have been applied. Installation is pretty straightforward as you simply need to run one wire from the trailer connector on the back of the motorhome - along the frame - and then up inside to wherever you are going to mount the light/beeper. I chose a spot in the dash where a light had already been installed by Winnebago to remind us to lower the outside TV antenna. I always found that light kind of useless since it really didn't monitor the position of the antenna and came on every time you started the engine - regardless of antenna position - and therefore I tended to ignore it anyway! So now Winne has a new light in the same spot that comes on when the car's brakes are applied. The monitor system also includes a "beeper" that sounds if the brakes have been applied for more that 20 seconds. The Invisibrake System limits any single brake application to 15 seconds - except when the "breakaway" system actuates - so the audible warning alerts you that something is wrong back there!

I also installed a "Charge Wire" to Winne's trailer connector. Per the Ford instructions for towing the Fusion - the transmission gear selector needs to be in "Neutral" and the key needs to be in the "Accessory" position. Since the key is in "Accessory" there are several items that could be using DC battery power while the car is being towed and if you tow the car for several hours the battery might get discharged to the point where the car won't start. Now I'm not 100% sure why Ford wants the key in Accessory instead of "Off" ... and the key will physically go to Off even with the transmission in Neutral ... but I'm going to trust Ford that there is a good reason for doing so. SO -- to prevent the Fusion's battery from discharging - the new Charge Wire allows Winne's 12 Volt system to keep the Fusion's battery charged up while being towed.

Once all those wiring modifications were complete I hooked up the Fusion and tested it all out - with Success!!

Now on to the Winterization Process!

Shifting Gears

Grandma, Taylor, and I all survived our 3 days together. In truth - we had a fun time. We had little time to wonder what to do next in between the "Frozen" showings, doing puzzles, going to different playgrounds, helping Papa pick up sticks in the yard, riding bikes ... you name it! She sure was glad to see her Dad pick her up on Monday and I'm really sure she will be glad to see Mom tomorrow ... but we all survived ... until next time!

I'm also happy to announce that the Yamaha is officially a "Survivor." After more effort than I originally anticipated - I got the shifter mechanism working correctly a few days ago and I just finished tightening up the wheel spokes and "truing" the rear wheel so it now rolls without the really bad wobble it had before. So in review ... it starts, it runs, it shifts, it rolls, it stops, the lights and horn works .... if it only had a seat I might even think about registering it and riding it around the neighborhood! 

Now that it works I have to get more serious about deciding how far to take the restoration. My thoughts right now are to disassemble it - get all the blue painted parts cleaned and painted to look like new - clean and paint the engine - find replacements for the rubber parts that are deteriorated - and then re-assemble it in the spring - play with it next Summer - and then get the chrome plated parts re-plated next Winter. That ought to fill in those few times I wonder what to do next!

But since Summer is rapidly waving goodbye it is time to move on to my Fall projects. In addition to the normal leaf and acorn removal efforts that will haunt me for the next month or so ... I need to get Winne back home to take care of a few maintenance items that ought to get done before we use her again - as well as another exterior cleaning and "winterizing." Although we plan on heading south shortly after Christmas - I suspect there will be more that a couple of below freezing days before that happens! I was hoping to have new tires on Winne by now but the local Michelin dealership has been unable to get the ones I need for over 2 months now! I understand this "backorder" issue is a nationwide problem -- but come on Michelin ... get busy and make some tires  .... Winne needs new shoes!

Yup -- time to shift gears -- Winter has a way of sneaking up on you around these parts!

"Frozen" - In more ways than one

What the heck happened to summer? About two days ago somebody left the door open and that polar vortex moved on in again from Canada! The high today was in the 60s and the 10 day forecast doesn't show any highs in the 70s for the near future! Oh well -- I recon it's time to put away the short pants for a while.

Today was grandkid day here at the Evringham Toddler Camp and Motorcycle Repair Shop. Stacy and Kaj are taking advantage of an opportunity to have a "getaway" and are spending a few days together in Orlando, FL so we get to have a few days of Taylor Time. Just to make things even better - Eric, Jen, and Miss Sophie also came by today to say Hi - so Taylor and Sophie got to share some cousin time as well.

So our day has been full of watching "Frozen," learning to ride Taylor's new bike, walking to the playground, and visiting with Sophie and her family. Whew - pretty busy for us old folks!

Before all the grandkid excitement hit here I did manage to spend some time on the Yamaha project this week. I replaced that badly bent up chrome ring on the speedometer with a better one from a used and broken speedo I found on ebay. The ebay unit was pretty useless but had a good chrome ring so I made one good unit out of the two of them. I also replaced the scratched up chrome ring around the headlight with a new one - also found on ebay.

And then there was the shifter issue to deal with. Sometimes it would shift correctly and sometimes it wouldn't ... so I disassembled the engine/transmission a bit further to get at the shifting mechanism and clutch. Once I had the clutch removed I found what looks like a "smoking gun" when this Shifter Axle Bracket came out in 4 pieces instead of one! 

So it was back to ebay to find a replacement. Believe it or not -- I found a new one and got it ordered from Washington State.

Now all I have to do is put it all back together again.

I'll tackle that job tomorrow - right now I see that the third showing of "Frozen" is just about over --- so it's time to see what's next on Papa's agenda.

Restoration Days

When it comes to restoring old vehicles there isn't too much I'm hesitant to try. I don't do bodywork, not because I can't, because I'm no good at it ... and I don't do handmade upholstery. I did rebuild the seats on my Chevelle, installing new foam padding and pre-made replacement seat covers -- but that was pretty straightforward -- not requiring any special skills. 

You may have noticed that the seat on my new motorcycle project was in pretty sad shape when I got it. The vinyl cover was ripped in several places and the foam padding was mostly disintegrated in the middle section.

Although you can find replacement seats for some "vintage" motorcycles - this one is not one of those. I did find an internet listing for a seat made in Thailand that may have fit but certainly would not have been "correct." And then I found a seat cover in Canada that once again, wasn't "correct" but may have worked if I hand built the foam padding to go underneath. Since I really wasn't happy with either of those potential solutions, and since riding on that folded up towel isn't all that comfortable - a new solution was needed.

After disassembling the seat I found that the metal seat pan was pretty rusted but still salvageable if I took steps to stop the rusting. I spent one afternoon getting the major rust scales removed and then the next morning prepping and painting the seat pan with POR15 paint. I've used this stuff on several motorhome projects in the past and really like the way it stops rust and keeps it from returning. 

Now that I had the seat pan restored and armed with the old seat cover as a pattern I drove over to a local upholstery shop that says they specialize in motorcycle and snowmobile seat upholstery. The lady there appeared to be up to the challenge of building a replacement foam seat and then recovering it using the old cover as a guide -- so I left it in her hands. She said it would take a about three weeks to build the foam piece for a trial fit - since she was having heart surgery the next day! I sure hope all goes well ... on all accounts!

So that part of the restoration is now out of my hands. Now to see what I can do about the bent up chrome ring around that speedometer and the scratched up chrome headlight rim!

Staying In Motion

Sometimes you just need to take a break from the "normal" routine and go smell the saltwater. So that's what Peggy and I did last Thursday. After taking care of some morning chores we jumped in the Fusion and motored down towards Portland to see what we could see. We started by driving down to Commercial Street near the harbor and checked out all the tourists doing touristy stuff as we made our way over to the Casco Bay Bridge and then into South Portland. Since it was right about time for lunch we started looking for a mom 'n pop diner kinda place for lunch. We had good old "Lola," our GPS gadget along for the ride and asked her to find us a place ... and she did ... "The "Q" Street Diner - a small little place off a side street that I'm sure only the locals know about. Except for waay too much air conditioning - the experience was pretty good. Peggy had the giant hamburger and I opted for the crabmeat and cheese sandwich on rye. 

With our bellies full we continued on our adventure and drove into Cape Elizabeth and on towards Fort Williams Park - home of the often photographed Portland Head Light. We hadn't been here since we visited with our RVing friends Darrell & Judy, Mark & Dortha, and Glenn & Sylvia -- way back in 2010 during "The Maine Event." The weather was quite comfortable as long as you were not out in the wind at the Lighthouse itself and we simply enjoyed the views and some short walks.

All that -- and the saltwater smelled great too!

The Yamaha project has continued on as well. The new tires and tubes arrived Friday so I got those installed this last weekend ... after spending several hours cleaning more dirt and debris off of every part I touched throughout the process. I'm considering this work as pre- restoration work as the real detailing will happen later. But maybe I should just get the bike running and driving well and leave the 50 year old "patina" for others to enjoy. Whaddaya think?

Since the bike's engine runs, and since the tires now held air, what was keeping me from taking a short drive? Lack of vehicle registration? Nah .... Lack of a seat on the bike? Nah.  So I folded up an old towel - put it where the seat is supposed to go - started her up - and took my first ride. I only made it up the street a-ways and back ... but far enough to make it into fourth gear and far enough to see that the speedometer works. Not too shabby eh? From a hulk of a motorcycle with "potential" to a running/driving machine in less than three weeks. 

Not bad for a "Maineiac" finding another way to get in "Motion."