Sorry, missed the call for an update.
The update is, there's little progress on the bike. Son is staying in Detroit working all summer, so his contribution to the bike is little to nil. I may proceed onwards and get the swing arm built anyway as it happens that I'm helping Jaguar out with some very similar parts for his Seeley swing arm.
My garage/shop is structured, now I'm just waiting on our ever-vigilant power company to decide to call me back so I can proceed with an Electrical Service permit and have new 200A service run underground to the fracking thing. Its nice to have open, clean space, but it would sure be nicer to have lights, service, and AC to work with when working on a bike. Can't move any machines back until I get the electrical done, and can't run wiring until I have a permit. So I'll sit around with my thumb up my arse waiting. Again. Still. WTF
And to make matters even worse, my 17yo (who I love dearly) almost left this world Friday. He decided apparently to give me an earlier Father's Day present. I bought him a truck and it needed brake work. So, I told him to arrange everything in the garage Friday so we could get the truck in, up on stands, and prepped for all new stainless lines, master cylinder, and calipers/rotors. He took it upon himself to try to move my daily rider (K1300s) by himself and put it back onto the rear wheel chock. He's a strapping young man, but his unfamiliarity with a 450lb low CG modern bike got the best of him as he lunged rearward and didn't quite get the wheel up/over. So down it went.
I came home Friday AM about an hour "after" to find him sitting on the front porch, in the rain as though he were locked out. Odd, we don't even own keys to our house because we don't lock anything. I asked, "What the Eff are you doing?"
His reply, "Awaiting my execution."
"Come again?" I say.
"You're going to kill me. So I though it would be easier and less messy to be outside."
"Okay, what brand of crack are you on today, Boy?"
"I dropped your bike. I broke the rightsize mirror, the Master Cylinder, and damaged the tank."
Without a word, I walk into the house. He doesn't move. He's probably thinking, "Okay, this won't be so bad, Dad has gone inside to grab a gun, is going to step out, and put 2 in my skull. Phew, that will be merciful."
Instead, I just defuse, collect my thoughts, and then emerge about 15 minutes later. "Okay, let's go see whats up."
I gotta hand it to him, he was honest, and accurate. No hiding from his mistake. My bike looks like a drunken sailor that lost a fight on shore leave in Singapore. Worst part is, replacement parts/pieces are $1,200 from BMW, and the Master Cylinder takes 3-4 weeks to get from Germany. Even expedited. Have these people never heard of
Express Shipping and Processing
So, with the schedule I've had for the past 6 months, all the delays, the rain we've had here, I finally had a fantastic window to ride for 5 days straight with stellar, perfect weather. Wife had even asked me a hours earlier, "What are your plans for Father's Day?" "Fill my tank with fuel, take $200 of cash, plug in my earbuds, and ride my bike until I'm broke. See you Tuesday".
Well, not to be. 7 years and 35,000 miles and not a scratch on my bike. Not one. My 17yo puts his hands on it, and 15 seconds later, well, you get it. I spent the weekend in mourning feeling sorry for myself and working upside on his new truck. Sometimes, its no picnic being a Dad.
