the two rules of HT bikes

crassius

crassius

Well-Known Member
the two rules are:

1) don't get in a hurry

2) don't get lazy

This week I failed at those and left a poor kid stuck 20 miles out.

He came in with no spark, broken clutch lever, and 4 or 5 other issues with clutch, chain & carb. He had about a 30 mile ride to get home and rain was coming in an hour or so. I fixed all and decided to solder up his mag where the ground wire that hooks coil to armature had come loose, and do a quick test ride and get him on the road before the rain.

He got 20 miles out before my solder work failed. Picked up him & bike, and gave him free, new mag and sent him out in slight drizzle, but he made it home OK.

Later looked and saw I had failed to clean some of the varnish from the under side of wire, so solder wasn't solid. I had scraped it with a knife blade to save time instead of looking for my jeweler's files to clean it right - never forget the two rules.
 
Ohhh.......that sounds embarrassing.

But you did the right thing and it all worked out in the end.

It was a mistake, yes. But not a critical mistake when you consider that you were under time constraints. I could easily make an error like that. So I won't be casting the first stone. Not me.
 
Only two? Wow, I can think of a few to add.

Secure those fenders:

Worry about brakes before horsepower:

Ride like you're invisible:

Check the important stuff before you ride: Tires, brakes, chain tension, steering gear.

Don't ride drunk :)

Tom
 
If nobody minds I would like to add a couple things :

1) Murphy's Law will be in effect while building these, Be patient.

2) Read thru this Forum TWICE, buy ONCE.
 
One of my rules of thumb, is if you can't fix it yourself, don't ride it. Unless you can afford to have someone else fix it for you, or save yourass on the road. Or you like pushing.

The only time I couldn't get home myself, either by rigging something, pedaling, or pushing, I was in the hospital with a busted shoulder. Amongst other things.

Now my new rule of thumb, is buy a car for transportation, and ride the bike for fun.

And pedal when you're drunk.
 
One other thing I can think of. As I ride my little bike in the State ,o Maine. I have found some toilet paper would be nice to have. The nearest town is about 9 miles or so.

And I have broke down with a bike I was working on, I was about 5 miles from the nearest men's room. Yup toilet paper would sure be nice to have.
 
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