Paul LeClair newest project July 2023

Steve G. said:
It’s a smart move bringing your pressure washer in, away from the cold, potentially freezing up errant water in the pump.
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Hi Steve

son Marc, (now 31 believe it or not), had the dubious pleasure of buying and fitting a new pressure pump to my pressure washer a couple of years ago after he borrowed it for his high end car detailing sideline, then left it out in the cold where it froze and split...... Good life lesson I suppose, but I was peeved at the time. The 370 cc V twin engine in my pressure washer is way bigger and more powerful than the engine in my 1957 Gilera 150 Sport, maybe I should look at an engine transplant into the Gilera if the pressure pump in the washer ever goes again.....

yeah, I properly look after my stuff too, my faithful Honda gas mower is from around the same vintage as yours, and still going strong. Oil change and air filter change every year, blades sharpened regularly. I spray all the outdoorish stuff with ACF 50 every year. Highly recomended, works really well. I buy it by the 32 oz bottle. https://www.learchem.com/products/acf-50.html Always burnt off the exhaust muffler though, did have to replace mower exhaust muffler once after it rusted away.....

EDIT - just went and ordered 4 liters of ACF 50 on Amazon while I was thinking about it, I was almost out. The stuff really is amazing.
 
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I think she will really enjoy Spyder. One of my riding pals has several bikes, and a Spyder which he uses to tour with his wife. He was finding holding up a big two wheeler with all the luggage and a passenger was not so easy anymore. It's also very nice for the passenger. You may find you also enjoy it for a a weeks tour of the Rockies.
 
henrywillms said:
I think she will really enjoy Spyder. One of my riding pals has several bikes, and a Spyder which he uses to tour with his wife. He was finding holding up a big two wheeler with all the luggage and a passenger was not so easy anymore. It's also very nice for the passenger. You may find you also enjoy it for a a weeks tour of the Rockies.
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Hi Henry

we will see. I couldn't resist tossing the Spyder "hard" onto a couple of on/off ramps on the way home from the dealership. Opposite of counter steering, takes significant muscle into the bars the "wrong way" to turn it sharpish, is a bit disconcerting as it leans onto the suspension the wrong way in a corner, and I kept grabbing frantically for a non existent front brake lever............

Started snowing heavily here again shortly after I got it home, have had about 15 cms of wet heavy snow in the past 24 hours and still snowing, so it may be a bit before the Spyder goes out again. Diane was out in the garage tonight sitting on it and making vroom vroom noises....... (y):cool:

I will be 70 in July. My long term Harley Electra Glide Ultra that I bought new, heavily modified, and owned for over 25 years was sold relatively recently as it was becoming a bit of a handful for me, especially loaded for a trip with a passenger. Significantly over one thousand pounds loaded up. I thought the Moto Guzzi California Vintage that I bought last year but i just sold might have been a decent replacement for the Harley tourer at a couple of hundred pounds lighter than the Harley. I figured out fairly quickly that I just did not like the California and it wasn't fast enough. With Diane riding again now, my current version of a touring bike is my 2022 Kawasaki H2 SX SE supercharged, I just took delivery of a set of factory saddlebags and mounts for the Kawasaki, which will provide significant luggage carrying capacity at stupid fast speeds, and for longer trips I figure I maybe can sneak some of my overage into/onto the Spyder....🤣
 
Paul LeClair said:
is a bit disconcerting as it leans onto the suspension the wrong way in a corner🤣
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That comment made me chuckle and recall my own introduction to 3-wheelers. It's not unusual for motorcyclists un-used to 3-wheelers to put a foot down when it feels like it's leaning the wrong way and you're going to crash. I did that myself the first time I rode a three-wheeler. Putting the foot down was actually my second cock-up within a few seconds of getting on the thing. The first one was trying to lean into a corner and going straight off the road! It was one of those comical Honda ATV trike contraptions with the balloon tyres. The problem with those things is that it's easy to end up with the rear wheel running over your foot. I reckon that probably caused more than a few crashes and leg injuries. They were notorious for being dangerous contraptions. You have to re-program your brain to forget motorcycle riding and accept something completely different. Once I got used to that Honda trike, it was a hoot to ride. It's what inspired me to get a sidecar outfit.

Incidentally, for anyone about to have their first ride on a 3 or 4-wheeler, a tip that an old sidecar bloke gave me many years ago was to just use one hand on the bars to start with. For some reason your brain finds it easier to forget counter-steer and adapt to the "tiller" mode of steering if you only have one hand on the bars.
 
Dellortoman said:
That comment made me chuckle and recall my own introduction to 3-wheelers. It's not unusual for motorcyclists un-used to 3-wheelers to put a foot down when it feels like it's leaning the wrong way and you're going to crash. I did that myself the first time I rode a three-wheeler. Putting the foot down was actually my second cock-up within a few seconds of getting on the thing. The first one was trying to lean into a corner and going straight off the road! It was one of those comical Honda ATV trike contraptions with the balloon tyres. The problem with those things is that it's easy to end up with the rear wheel running over your foot. I reckon that probably caused more than a few crashes and leg injuries. They were notorious for being dangerous contraptions. You have to re-program your brain to forget motorcycle riding and accept something completely different. Once I got used to that Honda trike, it was a hoot to ride. It's what inspired me to get a sidecar outfit.

Incidentally, for anyone about to have their first ride on a 3 or 4-wheeler, a tip that an old sidecar bloke gave me many years ago was to just use one hand on the bars to start with. For some reason your brain finds it easier to forget counter-steer and adapt to the "tiller" mode of steering if you only have one hand on the bars.
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Funny, I guess I’ve been riding quads so long I can’t actually remember having to relearn anything. It feels too different so my brain just sorta switches over.
I suppose it’s a bit like you blokes who switch between left and right-foot shift, or standard and race shift.
 
Andy said:
Funny, I guess I’ve been riding quads so long I can’t actually remember having to relearn anything. It feels too different so my brain just sorta switches over.
I suppose it’s a bit like you blokes who switch between left and right-foot shift, or standard and race shift.
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I’ve got a ‘74 Norton 850 Interstate, with right side shift. A quick glance at the old Smiths gauges clicks my brain to essentially opposite all my other bikes (except the totally unique clutch/shift system of my ‘74 Honda CT70 (Dax).

Any 3 wheeled or 4 wheeled vehicle is not a motorcycle, any 3 wheelers are unique to themselves with regard to steering, with 2 wheeled front having a stability advantage over single front steer 3 wheelers. Side car setups are even more unique in this group. I grew up on 20 acres, many bikes on the farm, including a couple Honda 250 Elsinore powered 3 wheelers. I’ve ridden over my feet many times!
My seat time on a Can-Am, I understand the need for upper body input to “tiller” those things into a corner, even with all of its electronic counter measures on hand to help. It’s quite nice on highway and long sweepers but a total workout in the twisty bits.
 
The big difference in cornering between the Spyder and a snowmobile (which have similar chassis configurations with a wide front and narrow rear footprint, along with a somewhat centralized mass of engine and rider), is that you can relatively easily slide/drift a snowmobile around a corner. Also much easier to lean to,the inside of the corner on a snowmobile vs a Spyder due to the higher seat and feet under arse seating position. Lastly, one can stand up,on a snowmobile and lower center of gravity to the running boards...just like a MX bike.

Bottom line Paul, you will need all that supercharged horsepower and fancy suspension etc on your Kawi H2 to catch up with Diane on the Spyder by the end of the riding day......sort of like the hare and the tortoise.
 
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