– Moon River fender fix. The fine dust kicks up under spirited acceleration as the Apollo 17 astronauts venture up the slope of Taurus-Littrow valley in search of geological samples. Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmidt were the last people to venture past low earth orbit nearly 48 years ago. A damaged fender was repaired by taping moon maps together and clamping them across the mesh tires.
– the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. This publication has been in circulation for nearly 150 years so undoubtedly there has been various suggestions for the improvement of motorcycles. The tracked adventure bike looks particularly intriguing.
– on this day in 1979 a NASA probe became the first to encounter Saturn and its impressive rings. A gold anodized aluminum plaque designed by Carl Sagan, was attached to the robots body in case in some distant future should it be intercepted by some alien intelligence its graphics may explain its origins. We’ll be long gone by then… but at least in some far flung corner a little hint of our existence will be drifting about.
– late summer weather is spot-on today. So a new loop added to the local repertoire. Out along Ogden Ave to Oswego then north along art 25 which follows the Fox River through the historic towns of Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, St Charles, Elgin and Algonquin. Finally turning for home back down the leafy swoops of Gilmer Road from McHenry. This building is a hint of the various levels of decrepit industry that supported the River corridor in the past.
– standing proudly on the east bank of the Fox River near Geneva IL a mid Nineteenth Century Dutch mill offers an historic backdrop to my early morning ride along the Tri-City region between Elgin and Aurora. The all wood structure is fully functional driven from its fabric covered sails. This pre-industrial age technology was a stark contrast to the particle accelerator at nearby Fermilab with its circular Tevatron which runs its circular path around a prairie grassland.
– someone took it upon themselves to wedge a Triumph twin cylindered engine into a small Honda Monkey pit bike. sure looks like a lot of fun!
– long gone is the day when I wanted my handlebars low in racing pose with clip-one. An agéd back and stiffening hips means I need to have the steering fettled to achieve a straighter searing position. The Tigers bars, though tall, still have me in a slight crouch. So I have fitted these Rox Risers which add 2” to the bar height. Huge difference. I sit tall with a commanding stature on the bike. Easy upgrade for me.
– Major Tom Foale spent 6 months on the International Space Station. Army Air Corps Officer, Astronaut, Britain. His choice of ride is appropriate: 1200 Triumph Scramble. Boxed adventure.
– some nice old engineering elevations and plans of a few of the cars built by Triumph in the seventies. I can envision the rows of draughting tables with sheets of vellum and tall stools.
Early memories are being shown by my father how to accomplish dexterous tasks such as repairing a flat, wiring a plug, hammering a nail or drilling a hole. It gave me the confident enthusiasm to take on tasks needing a mechanical ken or practical gumption.
Portable Forge
The blacksmith was history’s mechanic and tire shop. They shod horses, fabricated machinery and repaired tools. With the advent of the internal combustion engine they had to adapt to newer technologies. This blackie has utilized a motorcycle combination to haul around a portable forge with anvil. You can hear the ring of the heavy ball peen hammer.
It means buying books and letting them pile up unread. The word dates back to the very beginning of modern Japan, the Meiji era (1868-1912) and has its origins in a pun. Tsundoku, which literally means reading pile, is written in Japanese as 積ん読.
– I installed a component that should have been factory standard. But I got it for a deal and bolted it on mysen. Easier said than done that’s for sure… the access to some of the fasteners was colored by choice cursing.
The new Triumph Rocket Three is a behemoth in person. And, it looks the part if escape velocity is your goal. 2 1/2 liters of beastly engine will propel this speed demon through the stratosphere. Chuck Yeager would be proud!
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