This week, I have been working with my son on the little Kawi.
While I was vacationing in The Gorge, this past week, a pile of parts arrived for the Kawi. Along with starting some bodywork on the gas tank, I also performed the first test fitting of a number of new parts:
rear turn signals
aftermarket rubber grips
new stainless headlamp bucket mounting hardware
new stainless handlebar mounting hardware
bar end mirrors
clubman drop-bars (powders coated black, which is turning out to be a problem)
Here are 4 photos of where I left it last night, when it was bedtime for my helper.
Kawi 400 with clubmans and headlamp test fittedCloseup of clubman drop handlebar and updated headlamp bucket hardwareside view of parts installed and tank under heavy re-workRear views shows more tank detail, clubman and bar end mirror.
Wow.. I really did not see this one coming. Sure.. Schuey has been in the Ferrari pits just about every race since his retirement.. but I did not see the team putting him back in the car, after Masa’s horrendous injury. But… I guess, if you want to ‘keep the car’ for Masa, and you have the talent still in house, there is a certain logic to this!
I know many totally detest Micheal Schumacher, but.. I think this will make for a VERY interesting rest of the season!
The company I work for, traditionally enjoys an all-hands lunch every Friday. During the nice weather month in the Puget Sound, we’ll often be found along the Tacoma waterfront, dining on the deck of a few local establishments.
M.V. North Star
Not long after joining the company, I noticed a ship that would arrive, during lunch, on any day we were able to take in the good weather. What is striking about the ship, was the consistency of it’s arrival within an hour or so, as well as the polished look of the bow, while the rest of the ship seems rather, worn.
Last Friday I took a photo of the ship, so that I could zoom in on the ship’s name and learn more about her. Here is what I found:
M.V. North Star – Totem Ocean Container Express, Inc.
The ship is an Orca class Ro-Ro named the ‘M.V. North Star’
Totem Ocean Trailer Express’ $155 million North Star is one of two new TOTE ships. Each can carry 600 40-foot trailers and 220 automobiles, almost double the capacity of TOTE’s older vessels.
http://www.nassco.com/cdc/tote_galleryNS.html
‘Ro-Ro’, meaning Roll-On, Roll-Off ship:
M.V. North Star
The ship is not a car carrier, but a trailer carrier. Container Trailers are rolled onto and off the ship, so loading does not require cranes, instead using multiple ramps to extract trailer cargo.
Here is a photo of the M.V. North Star’s sister ship ‘Midnight Sun’
TACOMA, WASHINGTON — Totem Ocean Trailer Express greeted the newest vessel to enter the Alaska trade, the M. V. North Star, the morning of August 28, 2003. Her arrival in the Port of Tacoma marks the conclusion of a many-year new ship building and reinvestment program that will benefit the Puget Sound and Alaska for decades to come.
Her sister ship, the M. V. Midnight Sun, entered Alaska service in April this year. Both ships are the first two members of the Orca Class, specifically designed for the rigors of the Alaska trade and built to protect the pristine environments of Washington and Alaska waters.
Studying the shipping schedule, the North Star arrives in Tacoma every Friday afternoon, unloads, realoads then heads back to Anchorage early the following morning. Here is the July 2009 schedule:
Voyage No
*Ship
**Tacoma
Cutoff
ETD
Tacoma
Unload
Anchorage
Voyage No 2
***ETD
Anchorage
Unload
Tacoma
9099
MS
6/24 11:00PM WEDNESDAY
6/25 3:00AM THURSDAY
6/28 7:00AM SUNDAY
9100
6/28 5:00PM SUNDAY
7/1 6:00PM WEDNESDAY
9101
NS
6/26 11:00PM FRIDAY
6/27 3:00AM SATURDAY
6/30 7:00AM TUESDAY
9102
6/30 5:00PM TUESDAY
7/3 6:00PM FRIDAY
9103
MS
7/1 11:00PM WEDNESDAY
7/2 3:00AM THURSDAY
7/5 7:00AM SUNDAY
9104
7/5 5:00PM SUNDAY
7/8 6:00PM SUNDAY
9105
NS
7/3 11:00PM FRIDAY
7/4 3:00AM SATURDAY
7/7 7:00AM TUESDAY
9106
7/7 5:00PM TUESDAY
7/10 6:00PM FRIDAY
9107
MS
7/8 11:00PM WEDNESDAY
7/9 3:00AM THURSDAY
7/12 7:00AM SUNDAY
9108
7/12 5:00PM SUNDAY
7/15 6:00PM WEDNESDAY
9109
NS
7/10 11:00PM FRIDAY
7/11 3:00AM SATURDAY
7/14 7:00AM TUESDAY
9110
7/14 5:00PM TUESDAY
7/17 6:00PM FRIDAY
9111
MS
7/15 11:00PM WEDESDAY
7/16 3:00AM THURSDAY
7/19 7:00AM SUNDAY
9112
7/19 5:00PM SUNDAY
7/22 6:00PM WEDNESDAY
9113
NS
7/17 11:00PM FRIDAY
7/18 3:00AM SATURDAY
7/21 7:00 AM TUESDAY
9114
7/21 5:00PM TUESDAY
7/24 6:00PM FRIDAY
9115
MS
7/22 11:00PM WEDNESDAY
7/23 3:00AM THURSDAY
7/26 8:30AM SUNDAY
9116
7/26 5:00PM SUNDAY
7/29 6:00PM WEDNESDAY
9117
NS
7/24 11:00PM FRIDAY
7/25 3:00AM SATURDAY
7/28 7:00AM TUESDAY
9118
7/28 5:00PM TUESDAY
7/31 6:00PM FRIDAY
*NS — North Star
*MS — Midnight Sun
**Vehicle hours: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. M-F
***To be determined by Anchorage Operations
While filling dings and dents in the gas tank, I applied a few guide coats (primer applied with the intent of sanding all of it all to surface level, which will leave any high or low spots easy to identify) and was relocating the tank on the painting table, at which point the worn out (unknown to me until this point) seal on the gas cap let fuel leak out onto me, my clothes and the tank.
The raw primer was immediately bubbled and lifted off the paint underneath.
Gas and paint not playing nice with each other. Not a big deal, not totally shocking but.. wow.. if I spend all this time painting a tank, only to have my first fueling mishap (and it will happen) bubble up all the paint.. I’ll be sad.
Here is the good news (I think). What happened is perfectly normal. I don’t have the ‘wrong’ primer, I just need to be careful with raw unsealed primer around fuel. The paint shop where I’m buying supplies indicated that the rest of the guide coat would likely have been damaged by the spill and I should be sure to sand ALL of it off, then re-prime when ready.
I purchased these LEGO Formula 1 cars (2009 team) for my son’s birthday this year. We enjoyed building them. He continues to play with them months later. He’s also the most careful I’ve ever seen him with a constructed LEGO vehicle (he has many!) and to date has not accidentally, or on purpose, broken part off.
To me, they are pretty cool, so I took a couple of pictures of them this morning, while he was busy building another LEGO vehicle.
Sorry about the image quality, I was pretty close to them and decided to cheat and use the flash. I’ll take some better quality pics at a later date. I was just inspired to post about the cars this morning, since he took them down from the shelf where he keeps then and had lined them up with some of his other cool LEGO vehicles.
Custom, such an over-used word. What I’m looking for is a non-stock off-the-shelf tail light assembly I can use for the bike.
Saw this one on Amazon.. solves a couple of problems. Tail light and license plate mount. Leaning PRETTY hard towards this one: Custom Motorcycle LED Rear Tail Light.
It’s $30.00 which beats the previous front runner seen at a local bike shop for $80.00
With my parents in town, and having the need to pick up some parts at Ducati Seattle, I hatched a masterful plan for all of us to have fun, while allowing myself to take care of the essential needs of my beloved Ducati.
We caught a lucky break and boarded the 11:35 AM boat out of Bremerton for the big city. Once on the mainland, we had to contend with a TON of traffic from the combined Sounders F.C. game and the weekend long ‘Bit of Seattle’. As it turns out both ends of the city we needed access too were choked with humans. Why do I ever venture into cities? I always ask myself this, while I’m there.
Regardless, headlong into the breach went we.
Having taken almost 30 minutes to traverse the 4 miles from the ferry terminal to Ducati Seattle, I had to make fast work of my parts acquisition mission. While there Dave R. (owner) made the point of saying hello to me. He always makes a point of saying hello to his customers, even when just dropping by for a quick part, or no part at all. This is why I only do business with David and Ducati Seattle. Personalized, customer service. A lot of businesses could learn something from this award winning dealer.
Having acquired the tank protector I needed, and one more set of tasty blingy bits (yet to be announced), I met the family next door at Boca di Beppos, where we at a late lunch. YUM! We shared a large bowl of stuffed shells, a large mixed green salad and some Peroni Nastro Azzurro. YUMx2. It was more than enough for 6 people.
Lunch took just the perfect amount of time, for I had pre-ordered tickets for the 3:30PM ‘Ride the Ducks Tour‘. The youngest of my clan has been dying to do this, so today I surprised him with this little treat ($155 for the 6 of us later…). He was suitably shocked and thrilled. Few things warm the heart like a genuinely happy child.
Following a very amusing and educational tour of the city, we entered the water of Lake Union and enjoyed one of the great features of these old WWII workhorses… it’s amphibious qualities. It’s not a fast ride (top speed about 7 kts) but also full of good Seattle / Northwest history. Even enjoyed watching a few sea planes takeoff over us on the lake. It was quite a treat, one that I found well worth the price paid. Much merriment was made, often at the expense of the local PWN culture. What’s not to joke about, we’re a bunch of nuts that live here.
Completing our fun, games and a little business in Seattle, it was back to the Washington State Ferry dock on the Seattle waterfront. This time we took the shorter (thus faster) run to Bainbridge Island to execute the last piece of my master plan. A visit to Mora Iced Creamery (review updated on my blog post of 16-Jul).
The ferry system was running a little late on the run, no matter, we had time to spare (well.. I we hoped we did, since it turns out we locked ourselves out of my house when we left – $100 visit from a locksmith at 11:00PM solved that little problem). On the way out, the passengers were treated to quite a display of water cannons from one of the City’s fire fighting boats. Many photos were taken ( by myself at least). I’ll select the best of them an upload at a later date. For now, here is one I just pulled off the pile:
Ferry boat practices washing bird poo off Space Needle
Despite some whining from a certain, rather tired and perhaps over-excited 7 year old, we did enjoy some very fine island ice cream. A wonderful treat, indeed.
It was quite a day, and I think it was enjoyed by all. It’s always good to spend time with my parents, and also to be able to have my kids spend time with their California grandparents. And it’s also a treat to have such wonderful weather, all at the same time!
I had some help Thursday taking off all the big old 70’s chromy bits and bodywork. It took a few hours but I ended up with a big box of parts that I probably won’t use again on the final product.
This how the day started:
Of the three gas tanks that I have, only one of them is serviceable. The other two are full of rust and are useful only as aesthetic ornamentation for the shop.
Here is my helper, diligently working on the rear fender and signals.
Another photo of what the rear end before most of the parts were removed. Awesome for the 70’s but oh so heavy and chromey. Must go.
After a couple of hours of work, this is what we have. The tank is mounted (this is the only one that is usable). Not visible in the photo is the spot rust on the top of the tank. That will all needed to be sanded down to bare metal before I can even think about painting.
It’s a little difficult to see how much fat was removed from this last shot. More photos will follow. At least progress is being made.
The question is, will this be ready to go before summer ends? Time will tell.
Also on Bainbridge Island is the Mora Iced Creamery.
All ice cream is made locally on the island. It is said that they have over 40 flavors! Located at: 139 Madrone Lane, Bainbridge Island. Ph#: 206.855.8822.
This is another location that I plan to check out in the very near future.
UPDATE: (18-Jul-2009) More Iced Creamery: Returning from a nice trip to Seattle today, I made the point of visiting Mora Iced Creamery. It’s on the main street of downtown Winslow, but it’s in the back of the little ‘Madrona’ business area. The place is well lit and had a very nice vibe. The clientel was a mix of the well-healed, from students to retiries. Everyone had a smile and I quickly found out why. WOW! The ice cream is amazing. I would have to say it’s the best I’ve ever tasted. Coldstone and the famous ice cream shop in Port Townsend have N*O*T*H*I*N*G on this place. In sort, well worth the visit! I’ll be returning often! VIEW LOCATION ON GOOGLE MAPS
Adding one more to try, by personal recommendation of many that have visited there, Madoka. Located at 421 Winslow Way West, Bainbridge Island. Ph#: 206-284-2448. This is also on my list of places to try.
Progress continues on the KZ400 project. Today’s work was focused around using my new plastic welder to fill in holes on the side panel.
The plastic welder came with a number of welding sticks, to use with a variety of plastics. After quite a bit of melting, and trying the PVC, ABS and PP welding sticks, the results looked less than ideal. None of the plastics seemed to flow well, but they eventually did bind with the stock plastic (type unknown).
The back side of the panel, having used the green ABS welding sticks
I later discovered that the plastic I have for model building (a poly styrene blend) seemed to weld a lot easier than any of the supplied welding sticks. I’ll be trying them again in the future.
Once the plastic welding was complete, I used a sharp exacto blade to trim off most of the plastic above the surface of original panel. That was followed by wet sanding with 400 grit sandpaper until the welding ‘slag’ was level with the surrounding plastic.
The last step was several rounds of glazing putty application, followed by more wet sanding with the 400 grit. I later found that switching to the 220 grit dry paper did not produce significant scratches and, obviously, let me complete the rough sanding quicker.
Finally, another ‘current state’ photo of the bike. It’s slow going but that’s OK, it’s all part of the plan.
Saw this one on Amazon.. solves a couple of problems. Tail light and license plate mount. Leaning PRETTY hard towards this one:
First, is the 
Also on Bainbridge Island is the 
