Garage Mechanic Extraordinaire

We all know professional mechanics that make a living working on bikes at the local shop. But what about the guys that do it in their garage for the love of wrenching?  They spend hours tearing things apart and rebuilding things, usually on friends’ bikes.

With the current swing toward 4-stroke engines a lot of people are left out in the dark when it comes time to rebuild a blown motor or just freshen up a tired one. This is when the local wrench that does it for the love of wrenching can end up being your savior. He more often than not does it for dinner, a pass to the local track or a new tire or two. When you compare this to the shop rates being charged these days it makes the garage mechanic look like a bargain. Another bonus is that you don’t usually have to drop your bike off and wait a week or two until they can “get to it” since he usually only works on things for people he knows.

There is just such a guy named “Alex” in the Sacramento area that likes to work on bikes I believe as much as he likes to ride them. Whenever I stop by his place he always has a couple of things he is working on. Unlike a Honda or Yamaha shop that only works on that brand Alex seems to tackle almost anything that is ridden off road. I have seen Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki’s in his garage. Alex has done top end rebuilds on a couple of bikes for me on different brands of bikes. He has done steering heads, linkages and fork seals on many of my friends’ bikes.  But I am always impressed at how well he does on graphics installing. That is something you either have the knack for or don’t. Unfortunately I don’t!  Alex usually gets the graphics on very nicely and rarely has any bulges or bubbles.  He seems to have that graphic install gene!

So if you have been around long enough to have wrenched on 2-strokes and find yourself a bit intimidated by the current onslaught of thumpers you may want to start searching for a local guy with a bit of experience that just loves to work on bikes. If you can’t find one then give me a holler and I will set you up with Alex/Garage Mechanic Extraordinaire.

Catch you later, I am off to change………….my spark plug,

#33

“Remember, fast is relative”

Injury Leads to Boredom!

4 Wheel Weed Whacker

Ok, sometimes when you can’t ride for a while you probably get a bit crazy right? It seems maybe I have gotten to that point while wearing this cast on my broken thumb. I needed something to do so badly that was “off road” that I went out and bought a 4x4 Geo Tracker!

You have probably seen them but never paid any attention to them, I didn’t. But now I own one just so I can get out exploring off road in a small economical little 4x4. It is quite capable of covering most areas of off road as long as you don’t get too crazy or try to go too fast. Short wheel travel and a small motor limit your speed. But with a cast on my arm how fast should I really be going anyway and it is keeping me from getting on the bike when I know I shouldn’t. Besides that, I can carry an ice chest with a cold beverage while I am exploring and that may not be all bad. 

My buddy Mikey (Mike Harper) called to see if my “Weed Whacker” made the trip home without any problems. I almost fell out of my chair laughing!  So from this day forward the Geo will be called the Weed Whacker!

So off I go to see what kind of trouble…..I mean what I can find in my little Weed Whacker.  Only a couple more weeks and I will be able to climb back on the 2 wheeler and as we all know THAT is when the REAL FUN begins!

Talk to ya soon,

#33   aka Lefty

Let’s Go .....Shopping?

Yeah let’s Go Shopping!

Week 3 of any injury is about the time a guy starts losing his mind because he can’t ride. I have been out to the races and practice tracks to help some of my riding buddies but have time to kill when I can’t do that. So I take a trip to see a nephew’s (Rob) store that I haven’t seen yet. It is a Consignment store in Chico, Calif. It is called “Home Consignment Plus”.

Wow! What an eye opener, I know where I will be doing my Christmas shopping this year. I think he had every category you could think of in home furnishings, toys, jewelry and sports related items.

I was impressed with some of the things people consign to sell. If I were furnishing a house I would definitely shop there. Best of all we spent the majority of the time talking about motorcycles since Rob and his son Shane are Moto/gearheads. They were about to load up and drive down to watch Hangtown the first outdoor National. 

While I was there I tried out a few of his recliners on the floor and found several to my liking. One in particular that I lingered a bit too long on and got caught napping, kinda like some of my starts. I never thought I would enjoy “shopping” so much.

Next time I am out of action I think I will stop by and see what new recliners he has on the floor.

#33     aka “Lefty” for 3 more weeks

How Do You Handle Injury?

This is what happens when #33 hasn't ridden for two weeks! 

Pray for him....

#33 Injury Report

Runs with Scissors

A while back I wrote about coming back and doing rehab after an injury. Well it is sort of looking like here we go again. Having just taken a tumble at an OTHG race it seems I may be in for some repair on my thumb. The crash was nothing spectacular so I don’t have a big story to tell you about how I was going over 100 mph when I suddenly had to avoid a couple of Nuns praying or even a group of children on their way to church. No such luck. I was simply racing on a motocross track when I exceeded my limits of traction entering a muddy, slippery turn and lost the front end. Of course instinct took over and I must have stuck my hand out instinctively to break my fall. It didn’t work too well as my hand/thumb hit the ground and stopped while my body/bike with all that forward momentum continued right along their merry way. My thumb was folded back until I am fairly certain it touched my elbow! So in the ER the attending physician informed me it was REALLY broken and I would need to see a specialist.

About now I am wondering what exactly does “REALLY broken” mean and I start catching on when he uses the words pins and screws……………..Doh!!!!!!

So now here I am typing with one hand while I wait for the phone call from the specialist I am being referred to. All the while keeping my fingers (on the good hand) crossed that he will give me a pat on the head and sends me on my way. 

I just had a great idea!  Since my ATLAS neck brace works so well maybe they have an ATLAS thumb brace.  Ok, gotta go make some calls to see.

Ride Safe,

#33