So my bike was finally ready (I hoped) for a ride across Route 66, and I had arranged for my friend Jennie to keep Maizie for me whilst I was tramping across the United States. Jennie lives in SC, however, and I live in NY, so it’s a 13-hour drive to get to her. My plan was to drive there, drop Maizie off, and fly out of the Charleston airport the next day. Returning home from Santa Monica, I would fly back to Charleston, pick up Maizie and drive home. And that’s what happened… sort of…. Here’s the real deal:

June 8

1st Post: Milwaukee bound from Charleston, SC. Dropped Maizie off with Jennie L Cannady and her Boykin crew yesterday and hopping on a mid-morning flight. Be in Milwaukee by 4 p.m. Hate leaving my girl.

2nd post: So I had kind of a weird “other shoe dropping” feeling when I boarded my first flight, and sure enough… it was late pushing back, then we sat on the tarmac with the engines at high rpm for way longer than normal.

Now we are deplaning, which means I will miss my connection in JFK, so God knows when I will actually get to MKE.

Apparently they don’t really have a plan other than let us know what’s going on. Fabulous.

3rd post: Chix on 66 travel update: what a shitshow of a day. Arrived at the Charleston Airport at 9:30 a.m. for an 11:00 flight to connect in JFK to my MKE flight. Supposed to arrive this afternoon around 4 p.m.

After they found a fuel leak, they took us all off the plane with no further information. Eventually they said we would know something in a 1/2 hour. At that point they still had nothing, so they said another hour. At which point they said they would rebook everyone. This was maybe 2 p.m.

The line to rebook was super long, and they were taking about 1/2 hour per passenger. I didn’t even get to the desk till after 4 p.m.

It was after 5 p.m. when I got my new flights.

Now I’m booked on a flight to JFK to connect to Boston Logan tonight. Land about midnight. Then I pick up a 7 a.m. flight tomorrow to Milwaukee. Supposedly they will comp my hotel. Big deal. Can they comp me for the second night of not enough sleep for me to function? Didn’t think so.

None of this would bother me except that I have to be 1000% on for the next 2-1/2 weeks. Guess I will sleep when I get home in late June.

So basically I have been in this airport for over 8 hours and I still haven’t gone anywhere.

4th post: This day just keeps getting better and better. Jammed into the very last row of a full jet. I am extremely claustrophobic and when people stand up to get off the flight it freaks me out because they take up ALL the space. Jesus take the wheel. I have handled all I can handle today.

And I just looked for a hotel. Everything around the airport is either sold out or $400+ for the 4 hours I will be in it. So I shall be sleeping in the airport. Fucking fabulous.

I finally got myself and my luggage to Boston Logan Airport about 1 a.m., and “slept” with one eye open till about 5 a.m. when it was time to go through security again and board my flight to Milwaukee.

June 9: I watched my bag get loaded on the plane, in the rain, then promptly passed out from exhaustion. Awoke to beautiful skies and fluffy clouds. Think I’ll groove on this mood for a bit before I nap again.

I touched down in Milwaukee about 8:30 a.m., and Kathy Strobele was landing a little after 9, so I waited for her and a friend of mine, Tom Hinderholz, who lives in Milwaukee was kind enough to pick up both up, take us to our hotel, where we dropped off our luggage, and then took us to a shop called Create Milwaukee where we had stashed our bikes the weekend previous.

Turn & burn weekend… Tom Banks style… LOL! Kathy Strobele and I had a mission from dog… get our bikes to Milwaukee for Chix on 66.

Mission accomplished. Kathy CRUSHED IT driving 1300 miles in 2 days to make this happen. SO many (p)assholes on the road…

In 4 days we will start bike tech and registration for Chix on 66 presented by Harley-Davidson.

The Atomic Shovel update I have been waiting so long to post: I rode the bike tonight! Actually RODE the damn thing! Today I finished up a bunch of little stuff while I was waiting for my new solenoid to come in.

Tightened up the brake caliper stabilizer. Rechecked the brakes. Checked the oil and it looked pretty clean – can’t remember when I changed oil last. I should have notes but I didn’t look for them.

Cleaned off the old primary inspection cover gasket, replaced it and reinstalled the cover. Lubed the spanky new chain. Removed the old solenoid, and cleaned all that area.

Once I got the new solenoid, I popped it on – it’s a little bit of a pain in the butt with that spring pushing it cockeyed, but by some miracle, I got it installed without much struggle.

At this point, Coach Don popped in to walk me through the rest of the things… Checked front and rear brake fluid and topped both. Fine tuned the throttle cables.

And then the moment of truth. Put gas in the tanks. Petcock held. No leaks. No fuel line leaks at the carb or crossover.

A few squirts of fuel in the carb and the bike started up so easy that if I didn’t know better, I’d have thought it was my Road King!

Popped on my jacket and helmet and around the block I went! That was THE BEST RIDE EVER!

EVER EVER EVER!

Don had me adjust the accelerator pump and I took it out again. I wish it had been earlier so I could have put some miles on, but tomorrow is another day. I have to put my lift back and clean up a few things in the garage. Figure out why my rear brake light isn’t working. Likely the switch. Check my plugs. Then if I can get doggie daycare, I’ll be on the road shaking it down.

But right now, I’m feeling good. The bike is happy. It feels good. Runs good. It actually feels like a different bike.

Atomic Shovel update: First shakedown miles today. We did about 70 miles around the back roads between Akron, Clarence and Lockport. The bike ran really nice. Still room to tweak the carb, and I haven’t pulled the plugs yet to see what they look like. But overall, the bike ran great!

Kathy was my brake light today (and sometimes my turn signals as I was being very uncoordinated with mine!), but I will figure out the brake switch asap. I don’t like not having proper lights and indicators on my bikes. That’s just an invitation for someone to plow into you from behind.

Kathy was testing her gopro and caught a few seconds of me riding ahead of her.

It felt really great to be on the road today. It was cloudy and a little cool, but eventually the clouds burned off and it turned into a gorgeous afternoon! Perfect carb weather. Nice cool air.

Tomorrow morning I will tinker with the bike, and then hopefully get some more miles on it.

Atomic Shovel update: steady progress while the bike continues to throw me curves. More and more, the issues I’m finding reveal the work ethic of the people who have laid hands on the bike. While I was checking things over end of the week last week, I noticed my chain was ground down pretty good on the top edge. It was also pretty well shot from the miles. Truth be told, I have no idea how old that chain even is. So…. New chain.

Checking the rear brake pads, they were thinner than they should be for a ride like this, so those needed replacing.

Since I was already working on the rear of the bike, we took a look at the shocks. I will likely replace them over the winter, but for now, I clearanced the top covers and the frame block on the left side.

Tonight we finished up the rear brakes. Another thing I had to fix because no one else ever did… the rotor was dragging on the caliper. It was slightly out of round, so when the high spot came around, it would drag on the caliper. I ended up clearancing the inside of the caliper just a bit with my Dremel, and eliminated the drag. Then I could finish the brakes and the rear wheel spins free.

After the brakes, I was doing a walk-around. Don asked me to pop the chrome cover off the solenoid, then the rubber boot. When I did, some plastic pieces crumbled out. So that, I hope, cleans up the bucking and stalling bullshit.

Tomorrow we finish the chain, which I’m glad we did brakes, then chain – the drag on the caliper would have been tougher to figure out. So chain tomorrow, and solenoid Friday. Meanwhile, I’ll get some fresh gas and get ready to test ride over the weekend.

Atomic Shovel update: Yesterday we finished up the chain. Sounds simple. How hard could it be, right? It’s. A. Chain. Oh but no. Little miss shovelhead had a different idea.

I needed to loosen the brake caliper stabilizer, the axle and the adjusters, so I planned to get that all done and then do the chain with Coach Don later in the day. So out I went. Started with the bolt on the caliper bracket. Got it cracked and then when I started loosening it, I noticed the bolt was also turning, so I thought well damn, that comes in from behind the bracket, let me see what I can grab back there. Initially I thought that since the bolt was flush in the back side of the bracket, that the pocket must have been milled to hold a hex head. Apparently not. So the only way I can see to get this bolt loose and then tightened up again is to take the damn wheel off. Seriously. WTF.

I looked at the other end of the stabilizer and whoever put that on, put the castle nut toward the back. So that was extra fun getting that sucker apart. But I did.

Back to the caliper bracket. I got nothing.

I took a bit of a break, and went back at it feeling pretty defeated. How quickly my faith in myself and this bike had evaporated. OK. So I pulled my shit together and went after it. There HAD to be a way.

Everything was caked – I mean caked – in grease and grime, so I just started hitting it all with brake cleaner. I popped the castle nut and its bolt into some evaporust to soak. Went back to de-griming and noticed a black “dot” at the end of this stupid bolt that I can’t figure out… a flash of hope. More brake cleaner and there was my answer. The bolt had a 1/4″ Allen in the end of it. Thank dog!

I could barely see it because the muffler is in the way, so I’m working in this tiny gap between the muffler and this stabilizer. I couldn’t get an Allen in there to see what size I needed, so I cleaned it out really well and took a guess. My 1/4″ appeared it would fit, but even the short side of the right angle was way too long, so into the vice with a zip wheel it went. Post surgery, it worked like a charm. Still clumsy, but with the Allen holding the bolt, and another wrench on the nut, it was apart in a minute or two. Hallelujah!

Everything got a good cleaning and a nice soak in evaporust.

Cue Coach Don… he had me pull the adjusters out and clean the swing arm ends, etc. More parts dunked into evaporust. Had to file clearance in the right side of the swingarm. A previous someone crushed the swing arm so the adjuster wouldn’t slide easily. It still isn’t perfect, but it’s a lot better. More cleaning, but finally we were ready to do the chain.

By this time I was tired and it was one of those days when tools just felt clumsy in my hands. So I feel bad because it took me forfuckingever to get that stupid chain on the bike. But I got it on, got it adjusted, and that did me in for the day.

Today I have a punch list of stuff to finish, check, button up while I’m waiting for the new solenoid to come in.

Atomic Shovel update: I had really high hopes for today. I had a list of stuff to button up, and then we were going to move to the rear wheel and drive chain. But no. Instead I slid backward a bit. Before shit went sideways, I did get a few little things done. Anti-sieze on the plugs and got those in. Then the fuel line from the carb to the petcock – not finished yet, but I got it on the carb side.

I put the tanks on and worked on the fuel lines. And that’s when the bullshit started. The nipples for the crossover point directly at the frame which is a pain in the ass. I ended up with a cheesedick route in front of the frame. Oh well. It works.

The vent on top, however, was a different kind of bullshit completely. The left tank was fine. The right tank – nope. The vent nipple is so close to the breaker that the line won’t go on. Fuck. Fuckety fuck fuck fuck. At that point I just had to stop. I was so tired of wrestling those tanks on and off by myself that I didn’t have it in me to do it again. But that’s what I have to do.

After the fuel line struggle, I did get the petcock on, but I stopped there.

So I’ll just have to hit it harder and keep pushing till I get it done.

Tomorrow.

Atomic Shovel update: MUCH better mood tonight. Earlier today I reinstalled the air cleaner backing plate. Seemingly simple job – 5 bolts. Coach Don gave me the order of operations to the whole deal so there is no pressure on the support bracket. Groovy. Got it.

Once I fit it up though, the enrichener was a really tough pull. Like two hands tough. Whatttt? First I cleaned around the lever and oiled it. Worked it a few times. Reinstalled. Nope.

Time to call the coach. Turns out I just had to take the plunger, spring and nut off, clean the cylinder and the pieces parts, a little oil – good to go. Finally, backplate installed.

That’s all I could do till later tonight, but I got after it again. Ran the fuel line to the petcock. Then I swapped out my coil. I had ordered a new one, thinking that was the issue, but hadn’t made the swap. For a potential shitshow, that job went quite smoothly. (Thank dog…)

In a moment of humor, I found some rocket decals for my ugly-ass tanks, and those came today, so I put those on.

Then I made a couple setting changes to my ignition module under heavy supervision from coach Don.

Finally, I bit the bullet and removed the right tank. I forgot I still have some wiring to clean up – not that it is wrong, but because it is not being used since I relocated my start switch. Don feels like leaving the extra circuits on the bike could interfere with efficient starting and running. Seeing as those have been my issues, I’m down with that suggestion.

So tomorrow, clean up that wiring and button up the headlight. If my gas line arrives, I can get the vent line finished and button up the tanks Finally.

Getting closer…

Atomic Shovel update: Super productive day today. Got the unnecessary electrical wiring cleaned up and scoped out the brake situation. Front brakes are good. Rear brakes are near about shot, so new pads on order.

Fuel line came in today so that will be tomorrow’s work. I hope to get the tanks buttoned up for good. Won’t that be nice…

Ran into issues getting the beauty ring installed on the headlight, so I need to find a doodad to get that working. I can put the air cleaner on and call the carb done.

Took some time to reset, put tools away, and clean up somewhat.

Still more work, less time… we will see which runs out first – the work or the time…

And the following day…

Atomic Shovel update: Another “quick” one. Only did like two actual things but they took hours…. as per….

My fancy pants fuel line came in late yesterday, so first order of business was to get that vent line installed so I could get the tanks and dash cover done.

It took a few “let’s see how this is gonna work” tries to figure it out, but I got the vent line on. I had to leave it long and sneak it up around the speedo cable to get a clean path. Then I put the speedo back on, and the dash cover. Finally.

Then I turned my attention to buttoning up the headlight, which I started yesterday, but couldn’t finish because the little tab at the bottom that the set screw goes into was cracked, so the set screw wouldn’t stay. Coach Don suggested a speed nut. Off I went to Auto Zone or whatever, to get a speed nut. Showed the kid at the counter what I needed. No clue. He asked his boss who comes out, sees me, and looks down his nose at me and asked what I needed it for. I said it would take too long to explain – I just need this – and I showed him the photo Don had sent me yesterday. Oh boy. You’d think I just kicked him in the jewels. He got super shitty with me, talked down to me, accused me of being angry, blah blah blah blah. I’m thinking dude, if you reaaaallly want to see angry, I can do that, but I just want the fuckin speed nut so I can get the beauty ring on my headlight.

He stalks over to a display and practically throws a package at me. I specifically said for a #10 screw. This was I don’t even know… but not for a #10. So I put it back, found what I needed, and some other dude cashed me out. Super fun day at the car parts place.

But I got my speed nut. Within about 10 minutes I had the beauty ring installed. Yay.

I poked around at a few other things, but I needed to cut the grass, so that’s about it for the day.

One month from today Chix on 66 meets at the Harley-Davidson Museum before we embark from Milwaukee to Chicago to begin our epic ride on 66.

Hoping I get this bike together in time for more than 10 shakedown miles! I spent quite some time on the phone/zoom with Athena Ransom ‘s hubs reviewing, inspecting and discussing where I am with the bike. He taught me a nifty cool way to check my pushrods, so that was fun. And I have the world’s lightest tool to add to my kit! Ha!

I have a few little wiring things to clean up, and a few other punch list items. Next time we chat, I will get the carb finished – he wants me to use an S&S rebuild kit instead of the one I used. Valid. The o-rings in the one I have are a different compound, which means they are going to behave differently. And I didn’t like the needle. So I get to do the carb again! Yay. Although it wasn’t near as bad to do as I thought. (Thank you Kiersten Miller!) Of course the proof only comes when I fire the bike.

Meanwhile the tanks are drying. I pulled the tape on them today. Gonna try the Jason Sims oven cure tomorrow.

Very hopeful that I get this bike back together this week. (This statement became a theme, and grew less hopeful every day I couldn’t fire the bike…)

A few days later:

Buttoned up some punch list items on the Atomic Shovel this afternoon… rerouted the ground wire for the VOES on my ignition, replaced a wire on my dash that looked a little grouchy, moved a wire that (not sure why) was routed to the ignition key switch rather than the breaker beneath the dash, buttoned up my pushrods, and replaced my speedo. I’m still going to have to notch my dash to accommodate the trip odometer stem on the new speedo because of course it is a different style than my old one, and I still won’t be able to get the dash on and off without doing something there. But that’s ok. Easy fix with a zip wheel.

Waiting on stuffs and things to do the bigger fixes, but closing in. Fingers crossed I can fire the bike this weekend and take it for a test ride.

The following day:

Atomic Shovel update: Another productive day cleaning up issues on the bike. Athena Ransom ‘s husband has been directing me on tons of little fixes. When I initially rewired this bike I had zero experience wiring except for house wiring, and the direction (as it were) that I received was less than stellar. So looking back at this job, it looks like a shitshow. But it was the best I could do then. I’ve learned a lot since, and this winter I want to clean this up and make it nice and tidy.

Anyway, today I dug through the wiring in the nacelle and found a ring terminal that lost its plastic insulation. I don’t even use those now.

I also found a loose terminal. After a little panic moment, I ended up tightening it up, and I think it will hold until I do the rewire over the winter.

Don – my coach – noticed a wire on the key switch that didn’t belong, so I traced that little guy and found it spliced to my neutral light on its way to the front block. NOT my work. Did I mention some misdirection on the initial rewire?! So I cut the splice, directed the neutral light wire to the correct breaker under the dash, and did the same with the other wire since it was feeding power to my turn signals.

I also sliced my dash so I can slip it over the odometer stem. That is a temporary fix. I will figure something else out later, but right now I need to be able to get the dash reinstalled when I’m ready.

Removed the carb bowl again so I can rebuild it with S&S parts instead – that’s tomorrow’s job.

Gapped a bunch of plugs and labeled the boxes so I know which ones are gapped and to what gap.

Checked all my spokes – all good there. No surprises.

Tried again to hang the tanks. OMG these tanks. I finally got them both on, but they pinch the throttle cables so bad, I have no snap back at all. So those cables will end up being rerouted most likely. The throttle itself was loose on the bar, so I tightened it and then I had a hitch on the handlebar too. Adding that to the list of shit to sort out.

Up side, the tanks look to fit nicely, and take the same shims as the old tanks, so once I get the cables out of the way, those should go on just fine.

And the day after that:

Atomic Shovel update: more progress today – most in the forward direction… I learned some little tidbits about assembling the Super E from “coach Don.”

1. It’s pretty easy (but a bit messy) to test the accelerator pump once the bowl is assembled. And my little way of assembling the pump kept me from pinching the diaphragm. Yay me!

2. The float is way less rocket science than I ever thought.

3. When I replaced the bowl gasket, he had me put it on the bowl instead of the way I did it before because it has to slip thru that one little brass piece on the bowl, and you kinda have to press and push to get the gasket over that and laying flat.

But it was cool because I knew all the parts and what they were called and where they went because KA Miller walked me through it once already.

After reinstalling the bowl, we started looking at my throttle cables. I never liked the way they were routed, and Don certainly didn’t, particularly because they are interfering with proper installation of the right tank.

They come from the right, cross through the handlebar cover, then turn back and come through the frame from the left, crossing back to the right and down to the carb. The fact that the cables cross through the frame is what is creating interference with the right tank. How the old tank was on and wasn’t pinching the cables – I have no idea.

So after some back and forth, it seems the best move is to replace these long-ass cables with a shorter set, and route them properly. Further, when I was inspecting the cables for wear, one had a good sized slice in the sheathing, so that made the answer pretty clear.

Tomorrow I will mess with the existing cables and figure out the best length and path for them, then get them on order.

Meanwhile, we can check and inspect the rear wheel, rotor and chain.

So I’m bummed that my first test ride keeps getting pushed closer and closer to the end of the month, but it just makes sense to straighten out as much of this little bullshit as possible before I’m on the road. And here I thought this bike was ready. Ha. Yeah…. no.

And finally….

Atomic Shovel update: A short one tonight… I messed around with the throttle cables this morning and found a way to route the cables I have, even though they are stupid long. I basically mimicked the clutch cable routing, and that seemed to work. I was able to lay the tank right up with no resistance at all. Win.

Just need to lube the cables, double check everything, and adjust them. Right now my throttle isn’t snapping back like it should, so the job isn’t done yet, but I’m close.

In other news, I finally got time today to get my trailer prepped for bike hauling. Yes… I finally gave in. Got a little trailer that holds 2 bikes. My friend Curtis Berghorn stopped by during the week to lay out the best locations of the wheel chocks and d-rings. Everything was marked – all I had to do was pick up some extra hardware and find the time to get everything installed. Today was the day. All it needs is the license plate now.

Whew! Super long day on the bike. Unwrapped and inspected my new tanks first. Then I got right on the carb. Another huge-ass debt of gratitude to Kiersten who did a marathon Zoom carb rebuild with me. Love you, woman!!

We disassembled the carb – found all sorts of gunk in the accelerator pump – I cleaned everything – and we reassembled it and got it back on the bike. There were some finicky bits, like the float wouldn’t move free till we figured out that the needle had to go in a certain way. And the drain plug leaked till I changed the o-ring back to the old one.

Lots of nervous on my end. Lots of patience on hers. And the carb found its way back on the bike.

Lowbrow Customs has these super cool extended float bowl screws that make those back screws SO easy to get to, so I was really excited to install those. The left rear one was fine – the tougher of the two to reach. The right rear one didn’t fit. The shaft was too large, so I just reused the one I had. So that was almost cool.

We also took a look at my pushrods, but it was getting late, so that’s something for another day.

Atomic Shovel update: I wasn’t sure how much I was going to get done on the tanks today, but I did OK. Not stellar, but OK. It took me a bit to get going this morning – I was so tired from yesterday and my body hurt pretty bad – but I had to get in gear.

Tried fitting the tanks up on the bike, but I couldn’t do it by myself. The left tank went on pretty easily, and before I started, I checked the depth on the inserts at the smaller ends of the tanks – near the seat – so that I wouldn’t use a bolt that was too long and punch a hole in my new tanks. Check that off the list of possible fuck ups.

Once it became obvious that I wasn’t going to fit these up, I moved right to cleaning and painting.

Jason Sims gave me a sensible procedure which I followed. It was pretty easy. I filled the tanks with citrus degreaser and water, and let them sit a couple hours. That cleaned the tanks and gave me a way to check for leaks.

Thank dog there were no leaks. I seriously don’t think I could handle one more “oh fuck what now.”

Then I rinsed the tanks well and ran acetone through them to flash dry the insides. I moved right to primer and paint, and before the folks who paint feel the need to tell me what a shit job I did and how I shoulda this and I shoulda that – don’t. I need these tanks to be black. That’s it. They don’t have to be pretty. I don’t have time. The primer and paint are simply to keep them from rusting, and to allow me to do Chix on 66 in oh… a month. Later on, I will pull the tanks and have them painted properly. But for now, it’s a jackass job and I’m ok with it. I mean, check out my redneck “paint booth.”

Anyway, defensive caveat aside, once I cleaned the insides, I cleaned and taped the tanks, hung them in the back yard – thankful that it was a beautiful day – primed and painted them.

Once they were dry enough to move, I hung them in the garage for them to finish drying.

And now it is bourbon o’clock.

I unwrapped my lawn chairs, made a drink and some cheese and crackers, and Maizie and I are enjoying a late afternoon rest.

Back at it tomorrow, but right now, I need to do nothing.

Since my new tanks should be here tomorrow, I went out today to yank the cruddy old ones off the bike. First thing I did – I had drained the tanks the other day – was remove the fuel crossover line. Holy WTF is THAT Batman… I was using a small glass dish to catch the little bit of fuel in the line, and the gas that came out was full of black schmutz and a pretty sizable piece of tank liner. Sumbitch.

A closer look at the schmutz revealed it was full of tiny shiny bits. Hoping that it found its way into my tanks via a dirty fuel tank at a random gas station. Otherwise, not even sure how that happens.

Moving on to operation yank the tanks…

Generally, this is a simple process: unscrew the trip odometer stem, remove the acorn nut that holds the dash on, pop the dash off, and then unbolt the tanks. Maybe an hour’s work by myself because it’s a bit tougher to manage both tanks when they are loose, right? Oh. But. No.

No. No. No. No.

It took me all day. ALL DAY.

The trip odometer stem would not unscrew. Well – it turned just fine, but whatever it connects to in the speedo clearly had broken, so all it did was spin. It caught in the other direction just fine, but unscrew? Nope.

I felt like a complete idiot. I tried everything I could think of, but this tiny little aluminum stem was holding up progress. I called the master of all things Harley, Chris Tribbey, to see if maybe there was some sneaky trick that would magically back that stem out. He suggested a couple things – neither of which paid off – maybe because I was already impatient, maybe because I didn’t have quite the right tool. Regardless, I ended up zip wheeling the stem off so I could remove the dash. I was careful but still nicked the dash with the zip wheel. Sumbitch. The dash was still tough to remove, and in so doing, I snapped the male part of the trip odometer. So the speedo is now completely useless to me.

FINALLY removed the damn dash, ordered a new speedo and odometer stem. Then I got busy pulling the tanks. At this point, it was near about 3:00 p.m. I think.

Meanwhile, in the middle of this shit show, my IT guy got back to me about my computer, which crashed yesterday. So I had to put the tanks on hold to give him remote access to my PC, only to say that he couldn’t find anything, so I should plug it directly into the wall to see if that fixes it. Guess I will crawl around under my desk tomorrow and do that.

Regardless, operation Yank the Tanks is complete, and operation Battle Rattle will commence once the new tanks arrive. I have a very busy weekend ahead. Goal is to have the bike running by Monday. We will see how that goes….

Atomic Shovel update: Yesterday was a really tough day in the world of Atomic Shovels. After all the diagnostics, KA Miller concluded, and I have to agree (as much because the evidence proves it out, as because I’m not smart enough to disagree and offer another scenario!!), that now the issue is fuel. Yes, the carb is gunked up, and that could be attributed to the new gasoline blends, but my other Shovel ISN’T having this same issue. So the glaring difference is that some previous owner of the Atomic Shovel thought it would be a fabulous idea to line the gas tanks. (Gee, thanks for that, dude…)

So there I was in a total panic. How am I gonna get my tanks cleaned and back on the bike in time for this ride coming up?

And then I thought, OK. I got this. Order new tanks and petcock, yank the old ones off and set them aside for later IF they can be salvaged, clean the carb, replace all the fuel lines. THAT is doable in the time I have left.

Fortunately, Atomic is black. I can probably manage a rattle can paint job on them so the bike will, from a galloping horse, look reasonably acceptable.

Once I found a solution that I can implement in the time remaining, my panic and mental paralysis vanished. Now I’m all about forward motion.

That said, my pal and all around cool guy Chris Tribbey sold me a set of quick release hardware for my tourpack, and it showed up today – dang, that’s SERVICE! He also gave me some guidance on which tanks to get today, and I have those on order, along with a petcock.

Tonight I drained the gas from the old nasty tanks, and while that was happening, I pulled the tourpack and mounted the new hardware. Woo-hoo! Operation Yank the Tanks is being deployed!

Feeling much more like my positive, let’s-get-it-done self today.

Another long day with the bike… I put the frame and battery covers back on this morning – that seems like such a long time ago now. Kathy Strobele popped by to throw a leg over the ’73, and I had just put my ’74 together so it was ready for a test spin. Off we went.

The ’73 stumbled first. It was fine yesterday and today it was acting a damn fool. Of course. Anyway, we weren’t far from my house, so we turned back. Kathy grabbed her bike and we went back out to see how mine would behave.

The new battery made a huge difference, but it was still stumbling and stalling. I decided to turn back, so Kathy followed me home to make sure I actually got there, but not before I almost dumped the bike turning right. It stalled on me mid-turn, and it’s only because I’ve been dealing with this bullshit so long that I stayed in the throttle and hung on till she came around and stayed up.

Back to the garage.

About that time, KA Miller touched base, and I went through all the things. Pretty soon she had me checking for intake leaks (nope), then fuel flow through the petcock, which was not overwhelming, so that may be a thing.

Looked at the plugs – they were fine given how the bike was running.

Then we poked around the pushrods – need to come back to that because the engine was still warm. I had done another neighborhood test loop after the petcock check.

After that, we dropped the bowl on the carb. The bowl looked good, but I could feel some very fine grit. The accelerator pump, however, was pretty gackked up with a fine white powder residue. So I get to clean it out and see how it runs after that.

I ordered a rebuild kit from Lowbrow Customs, so once that comes in, I’ll get after it again.

Although I still feel like I’m a million miles from getting this bike running the way it should, Kiersten reminded me that I am at least chipping away at what it is NOT. Which IS progress. Hopefully I find what it is in time. Since the ’73 now needs work, and I’m not sure what is involved with that either, and no time to work on two bikes to see which one will be ready first, I have no backup bike for Route 66.

So I have to view this as progress, or I will be headed for a spectacular meltdown.