Curse the COLD!

[GearJammer]

This cold snap is effecting many parts of the country. Sure don't envy the folks in the cold weather states. (Hang in there, Brothers & Sisters!)

We're about 5 degrees colder than average, but still able to ride as long as we dress for it. Dressing in layers, riding leathers & chaps, wrap-a-round scarves (for the lidless :wink: ), gloves, wool caps....dang, I feel like a friggin' penquin out there! LMAO!

[GearJammer]

I run straight 50W in the chopped Trumpet during the warmer/hotter months & didn't get a chance to change it out to 20/50W for the winter. Fired her up last week for a ride (only took about 100 kicks! LOL!) That 50W & cold = trying to kick thru molasses! Soon as it warms up just a tad, definitely going to do the oil change on that one...

[cTc]

I wish it would either snow, or let the sun shine, this half between is no good, I want one or the other. I hope to get to ride in the lovely 40 degree weather this weekend.

[GearJammer]

Right on, CTC! It's about RIDING & you're one of the die-hards. Unless it's raining, snowing or the wind is howling like crazy, I'm more likely on 2 wheels than 4.

Remember a couple guys from cold weather states that rode year-round, even in the snow! I'll tip my hat to 'em in a heartbeat, that's just plain hardcore, no gettin' around it.

Ride Safe & Enjoy! :D

[cTc]

All I need is a dry road, although I do at times break that rule. But not usually in winter. You can pile on enough to help cut the cold. it all comes down to just how bad you are wanting to ride.

[GearJammer]

Very well said & I absolutely agree. Will be the 1st to admit that I'd pass on riding in the snow, but the cold in & of itself can't stop us.

There's 2 guys that I was referring to in the previous post. One from Michigan who doesn't even own a cage. The other from upstate New York, owns cars & trucks, but chooses to ride to work, even in the snow. More power to them both, I couldn't/wouldn't do it. Heck, if it were snowing outside, I'd be more inclined to not even go outside, let alone go riding! LOL!

[screamineagle]

Hey guys,

In my case the bike is sitting for the winter. Being a "first year" rider I thought it better to play it safe this time. Besides, I don't have a full faced helmet as of yet. Nor do I have a face mask. So at 14 degrees, and going 55 to get to work, I'd be frozen before I got there....LOL.

And we just got dumped on lastnight by about 10" of the COLD white stuff. By the time I got my lazy backside out of bed ( hey wouldn't you sleep in too?) my brother-in-law had been kind enough to shovel the walks and started shoveling out one of our parking spots. Guess where he put the snow?


http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b398/screamineagle_rc/Honeywheresmybike.jpg :shock: :o


My wife had gotton out the door before me and was cleaning off the car.
I asked her " Honey, where's my bike?"

Looks like I won't be doing anything to it till spring ...LOL.

Hope everyone is having fun.

[GearJammer]

ROTFLMAO!!! Good one!!!! :lol:

[GearJammer]

Yo, "screamineagle"...

You WERE just joking about your bike being buried under that snowpile, weren't ya ? (I sure hope so) :shock:

[screamineagle]

Hows it going GJ,

No I'm not kidding. The poor bike was baried. He had no other place to put all the snow. But hey, I won't just make you go by my word alone.
Here's a pic of the other side of the bike.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b398/screamineagle_rc/DSCF1222-1.jpg

As you can see, we have darn near no front lawn.

Now if I uncover it, and there is anything wrong with it, THEN I'm going to get PISSED!

[GearJammer]

HOLY SCHNIKIES! He actually covered the bike like that ? Couldn't he have moved it to even that strip of lawn ? Dang, I'd better not say what my reaction would have been, LMAO!

Just a thought here, but have you looked into the possibility of renting a storage bay to put the bike in until Spring ? I know they usually have rules about no flammables, no oil, etc., but there must be SOME safe place to store it.

Man, that's a bummer...

[screamineagle]

Well, for now I realy can't do anything as you can see...LOL.

Storage? Not likely. This is hicksville. The biggest storage place we have around here is a place where someone put up about 10 10x10 sheds. You know, the ones you can get at Lowes. So at least for this season I'm going to have to bite it and hope nothing happends to the bike. I'm just glad I got the cover on her before it snowed.
I think next season I'm going to have to look into getting one of those 10x10 sheds and put it in my backyard. I have about 10x more backyard then I do front yard. Besides, I'm going to be adding another bike to the collection and won't have much room to just have both of them parked out front.

Anyway, it got up above 40 today so I'm hopeing the snow will melt quick. I just keep thinking.......two more months untill I can start taking her out again. I think this is going to be a LONG winter :cry: .

[GearJammer]

I see...

Do you think it might be a good idea to mark that snowpile somehow to prevent a town snowplow from pushing into it ?

Definitely agree about getting a shed for next season. It'll offer you many advantages. My first "shop" was a 10'x10' metal shed with enough head clearance to stand inside. At one point, had 3 choppers in there, LOL! My landlord provided me with a 12'x16' shed that's perfect for my needs (cool landlord that also rides :wink: ) With workbench & tools, can easily store 3 bikes... with one bike & one project inside, there's still plenty of room to work without having to move sideways, LMAO!

[screamineagle]

Hey there GJ, and thanks for thinking about me.

I doubt the plows will get to the bike unless they aim for her. In which case this Eagle WILL be Screamin'. I live on a one way side street, and the cars are parked on both sides. I strategically ( got to love my pocket speller...LOL) parked the bike between my car and my van. Besides, how can they miss the blue cover sticking out of the snow.
I just wish he hadn't done it because I wanted to get the tank off, drain it and get it lined this winter wile it was sitting, and pull the seats off and get them recovered. That and I didn't get a chance to get the battery out of it. It died just before the end of last season so I'm not too worried about it right now. I have a new one sitting on my shelf waiting for me to put the acid in it and give it a charge.

Hummm, a 12x16 shed huh? Well I've been reading that a bigger shed is better. I may have to just skip the 10x10 and go stright for the 12x16. That way I won't be going " MAN I wish I had a bigger shed" in a few years....LOL.

[GearJammer]

No problem, Brother, am concerned about your bike. If I'm remembering this correctly, it's an '05, yes ? My OL's ex lived in a cold weather state & had parked his car on the street. The snowplows pushed snow up over one side, they got more snowfall, more pushing of snow from the snowplows, more snowfall, etc. Eventually, the car was completely buried & one night a snowplow came by to push the edge of the snow back & just about ripped the left side of his car off.

If I lived closer, I'd help you dig the bike out, get it safely placed in the back yard where you could cover it up again & then we could go have a chat with your brother-in-law :twisted: Can't help but think that he could have either moved the bike to that narrow grass strip or piled the snow on the grass strip, one or the other, but NOT bury the bike!

The 10'x10' was metal & I had to build a solid wooden foundation & then assemble the shed. If there's enough head clearance (very important), it's actually not a bad size. Enough room to store 2 bikes w/workbench. If one bike was rolled out temporarily, plenty of room to work on one w/workbench inside. Without a workbench, storage of 3 bikes is possible.

This 12'x16' is considered a "shed", but it's actually a small shop. Total walk-in, haven't measured the ceiling to floor heigth, but it's got to be 10' tall on the sides & probably 12' tall at the peak & also has a vent on top. Plenty of room for a home builder. I lucked out due to the generosity of the landlord. It's well-constructed of wood & was delivered already assembled, complete with wood floor. Helped him level the ground & then spread trap rock as a foundation. The flat-bed arrived & hoisted it down & bingo! Instant shop!

Sounds like it might be difficult if not impossible to have a ready-made delivered due to possible lack of access for the hoist, etc. But, yes, a shed of at least 10'x10' would be adequate tho' bigger would be better, even if you have to assemble it yourself.

[Chopper Rick]

Hey there GJ, and thanks for thinking about me.

I doubt the plows will get to the bike unless they aim for her. In which case this Eagle WILL be Screamin'. I live on a one way side street, and the cars are parked on both sides. I strategically ( got to love my pocket speller...LOL) parked the bike between my car and my van. Besides, how can they miss the blue cover sticking out of the snow.
I just wish he hadn't done it because I wanted to get the tank off, drain it and get it lined this winter wile it was sitting, and pull the seats off and get them recovered. That and I didn't get a chance to get the battery out of it. It died just before the end of last season so I'm not too worried about it right now. I have a new one sitting on my shelf waiting for me to put the acid in it and give it a charge.

Hummm, a 12x16 shed huh? Well I've been reading that a bigger shed is better. I may have to just skip the 10x10 and go stright for the 12x16. That way I won't be going " MAN I wish I had a bigger shed" in a few years....LOL.

Man sorry to here about that. If i lived in or near your area i'd help you dig that bike out. If there's anybody who visits this fourm or are members of it and happen to live near or in the Cumberland, MD area maybe you can lend a brother a hand.

[screamineagle]

Hey guys, and again thanks for your concern, even if it is just for the bike....LOL.

As for parking it on that small strip of grass in front of the house. Have you ever parked you bike on grass? I wouldn't trust it to hold even the light weight of the Rebel. Besides that, it's about as level as the side of one of these mountins around here. The back yard is soft as well.
What I should have done was got a 4x8 sheet of plywood and parked it on it back there just for now. But then again the kids around this area are a--holes so I wouldn't want them to mess with it back there.

I think my best bet is to go with a shed to store her in for winter. Anyone know of a place I can get plans to build one? I think I like the idea of being able to park two bikes in there and still be able to work on them so it's going to be the 12x16 is I can swing it.
I might just make the walls 8ft high so I don't have to do alot of cutting. Just slap 4 sheets of plywood per side and 3 for the front and back. Then I can work it so the roof only needs to have the plywood nailed to it as well. Humm, may have to see if I can work this out on my Home Suite program. I'm just going to have to figgure out how much concreet I'm going to need for the floor. If I do it, I want to do it right.

Hey Rick, thanks for the rally attempt. But if I wanted to get the bike out that bad I'd just tell my Bro-in-law to grab a shovel. After all, he's the one that barried it. I wouldn't mind a little help with the "barn raising" though, come summer.

[Chopper Rick]

"Hey Rick, thanks for the rally attempt. But if I wanted to get the bike out that bad I'd just tell my Bro-in-law to grab a shovel. After all, he's the one that barried it. I wouldn't mind a little help with the "barn raising" though, come summer."

Good idea about the Bro-in-law helping out since he's the one who put you in this mess.

[GearJammer]

"Hey guys, and again thanks for your concern, even if it is just for the bike....LOL."...hehehe, didn't mean for it to sound like that, "screamineagle". If you were buried under that snowpile then we'd be concerned for the bike, then you, LMAO! ONLY TEASING! :lol:

Building the shed yourself would definitely save ya some bucks & a concrete slab for a foundation would be excellent. Your initial plans sound pretty workable to me.

Level the ground
Tie in some 2"x4"'s as the form for pouring your concrete
Build framework with 2"x4"'s so's the plywood sheets can be nailed into the framework.
Run some wooden braces across the top for the roof
Hang plywood sheets on the sides
Install your roof
Tar paper roof
Shingle roof
You'll have to figure out the door as I'm no carpenter, LOL! :wink:

[screamineagle]

Hey GJ,

No I know what you'd do if I were in the snow bank as well. You'd dig me out first, hand me a shovel and say " Ok, your out. Now help us get that poor bike uncovered." ....LOL.

As far as the shed goes I just need to know how much concrete I'm going to need. That and if I'm going to need to reenforce it with rebarb. I need the formula to see how many cubic feet of concrete I'll need. The 12 x 16 part is easy. How do you multiply it by 4 inches?
I guess if I call the place around here that does the concrete I can get them to tell me. After that, the rest is easy. Just have to get some 2 x 4's and some plywood every now and then then put everything together.
As for a door. Since I'm going to be using 3 sheets of plywood on the front I can make the center sheet a door.

Well at least I have all winter do think about, and plan it. Guess I know what I'm going to be doing for the next few weeks...LOL.

Y'all Take Care.

[GearJammer]

Yep...you're right, "screamineagle", I'm just an ol' softy, LOL! We'd get you out of there ASAP & then extract your bike.

Pretty sure you can convert the 12'x16' to inches & then multiply the 3 "inch" figures, right ? Then, if you need to know the cubic footage, just divide the end result by 12 ? I KNEW I should have paid more attention in math class, LOL!

I think your shop will come together just fine, Brother & aside from materials, won't cost much more than time & energy. It's also motivating knowing that you're doing it in the name of "motorcycles" :D