It's been a productive spring break. Scooters, and truck work, and house work, oh my!

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
03/29/2019 at 11:29 • Filed to: Two Wheels Good, Rust monster

Did you know you can fit an entire oil change and then some for a GMT-800 truck under the seat of a Yamaha Zuma 125? Well, now you do. Yeah, you have to buy quarts, but the quarts were on sale, so it was actually cheaper . Oh yeah, apparently I have to name my scooter !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! now ... I have mixed feelings about this.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, sunny and in the high 50's (or for you Californians, the dead of winter ;) ), so the whole family spent the day outside. My daughters were playing with the neighborhood kids, and my wife and I were getting stuff done.

I started with an oil change for the truck. That part went fine, but man this winter has been very unkind to my poor truck.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Changing a brake light bulb proved to be a challenge. One of the amazing things about this truck, is that’s only the second light bulb to burn out since new. The problem is, one of the two screws rusted solid, so I broke one of the mounting tabs for the taillight assembly getting it off. And I found more rust too ... greeeeeeaat!

Other things done yesterday were cleaning out the garage some, transitioning the shed from winter storage to spring usage, taking the snow tires off of the truck, mailed a couple packages, took a couple scooter rides. I t was a damn fine day.

As for the first few days of break, I spent Monday-Wednesday at my father-in-law’s house. My wife and I cleaned out the back room of his basement (We want him to move out of that house and near us, so we decided to get the ball rolling). I redid some plumbing so the washing machine didn’t have to be located directly in front of a door. Yeah, for reasons nobody has been able to explain to me, when they redid this room some 25-30 years ago, the plumbing was done in such a way that the location of the washing machine was put IN FRONT OF AN EXTERIOR DOOR!!!!!

I ran new supply lines and a drain hose up and over the door. When I finally moved the washer from it’s place, this is what I found. Side note: my f-i-l has been complaining of seepage in the basement. When I suggested that maybe the water was coming in through that door, we was completely dismissive of that idea. Yeah ... about that.

By the way, there is no curb at the bottom of this stairwell. The only thing keeping water out of the basement, is the door/threshold. Or in this case, letting the water and every rodent in town in.

This was the most rotten excuse of a door that I’ve ever laid eyes on, and I’ve seen some shit man. It was more of a door-shaped lump of rot at this point. Enjoy this montage of the door literally crumbling in my hands as I opened it.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

I’m surprised the glass didn’t fall out ... well, it almost did. At this point I stopped taking pictures, because I had to get this done before sundown. I had to patch a whole bunch of rot in the frame around the door. Luckily it was a standard size opening, and I was able to pop a pre-hung fiberglass door into place with minimal hassle. I had to make a slight modification to the trim around it, but all things considered that’s not bad at all.

A can of spray insulation and a shitload of caulk later, and I got it water tight ... for now. Will it be water tight in a year? Yeah, probably. Two years? Honestly, who knows, this house was built in such an asinine fashion, that the only thing really keeping out the water, is the sealant around the door. That doesn’t last forever, t o say the least.

Oh, and there’s a special place in hell for all those responsible for this utility room.

I got it done, his house is in much better shape now. Credit where credit is due, my f-i-l was really great about getting rid of stuff. We threw away tons of stuff, and donated hund reds of items. I think in all that he decided to keep maybe half a dozen things.

Today is another beautiful day. I’m scheduled to do a bit of handyman work at a friends house after lunch. My girls are coming with me, so Mommy can have some adult time with her friend. I think after that we’ll go bike shopping for my oldest. She’s growing like crazy, and her bike looks like a clown bike now.

All in all, it’s been a good break. The first rallycross of the year is on Sunday. I don’t have anything to run, but I’m still planning to go hang out and see some friends. I’m bringing my helmet in hopes of catching a ride or two.

DISCUSSION (16)

OPPOsaurus WRX > shop-teacher
03/29/2019 at 11:39

my bulkhead floor is flush with the basement floor so I get water in there. My plan is to saw off a few inches off the bottom of the door and pour a 3" concrete dam between the bulkhead and base me nt

TheRealBicycleBuck > shop-teacher
03/29/2019 at 11:44

“Oh yeah, apparently I have to name my scooter Zuma Joe now ... I have mixed feelings about this.”

I read through that exchange. I believe they meant creaky old guy, not creepy old guy. You know, old joints and such. Yeah, let’s choose to believe that. It’s much better.

Mercedes Streeter > shop-teacher
03/29/2019 at 11:44

Gosh darn that storage compartment is cavernous. You can actually hold more in your Zuma than I could in my Goldwing!

shop-teacher > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/29/2019 at 11:46

Good idea. Anybody who builds below ground level stair w ells in this manner, should be kneecapped.

shop-teacher > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/29/2019 at 11:47

Well, me knee is sore, so yeah, let's go with that!

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter
03/29/2019 at 11:47

Yeah, it's pretty great! I love that thing. I finally registered it in my name this week :)

Mercedes Streeter > shop-teacher
03/29/2019 at 11:50

Wait, what? lol Glad I’m not the only one running on other regs for as long as I can.

That reminds me, I need to get a VT registration for the Chelix in time for the Gambler.

OPPOsaurus WRX > shop-teacher
03/29/2019 at 11:50

eventually i want to dig another sump pit but I need to finish the other one first. The damn thing is always full of water so I can;t dig it any deeper until the water table drops a bit.

oh and when I say “want” to dig another pit what I really mea n is that I ‘ should’ dig another one.

shop-teacher > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/29/2019 at 11:55

Yeah, I gotcha. Nobody wants to do that crap. Miserable work.

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter
03/29/2019 at 11:57

I bought it from Bill, he told me to use up the registration. That was good though September last year, so by the time October was over and I could get pulled over, it was already in storage for the winter. No need to start paying the state until it was time to ride again.

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter
03/29/2019 at 11:58

Oh, I talked to my buddy who has that Helix. He's almost done with the valve job on his '48 Packard, so the Helix is next in line to be worked on. Fingers crossed!

TheRealBicycleBuck > shop-teacher
03/29/2019 at 12:10

Are you channeling your inner farscythe?

shop-teacher > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/29/2019 at 12:18

Sure!

Mercedes Streeter > shop-teacher
03/29/2019 at 12:38

Yay! What if it gets fixed? Keep or sell?

Meanwhile, I discovered the master cylinder sight glass is broken on the CF Moto. It’s pretty dirty so I have a feeling it’s been that way for a while. Thankfully the inner layer is still intact so no brake fluid has leaked out...at least not until I poked it out myself like a child holding a nail and looking at an electrical socket. lol

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/29/2019 at 14:31

IF I HAVE TO KNOW OF ZUMA JOE THEN YOU ALL MUST SUFFER WITH MEEEEE!!!!!!

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter
03/29/2019 at 20:18

Sell, without a doubt.

D'oh!