I sometimes question my own sanity.

Downeaster

Downeaster

Everything in XS
Top Contributor
Messages
3,013
Reaction score
18,875
Points
513
Location
Downeast Maine
sanity.jpg


This is the view out my kitchen window. That's my garage/shop on the right. Temperature in the teens, and a brisk breeze.

So what am I doing?

Why, the Spring tuneup on my XS of course. :eek:

Oil screens pulled, checked and cleaned. No debris, JBWeld fix on main screen holding up nicely, thanks. Fresh oil dumped in.

Fresh baddry sitting in the basement waiting on a bit warmer weather.

Cam chain tension checked (just fine, no adjustment required).

Came in to get a cuppa cawfee and remind myself of the spec for cold (and I do mean COLD) valve lash.

Maine, in it's infinite(tesimal) wisdom has decreed that all motorcycles will be inspected and tagged in March. I do believe I'll wait a couple of weeks in hopes of warmer weather...
 
Man that looks cold enough for thick mittens.
WHO makes those decisions. Ours is in April when it is cold and rainy.
 
Not quite as bad as it looks, I have a propane heater in one sorta-insulated bay in my garage. It's about 50° in there at belt level.

Bit colder when laying on the concrete floor tho...
 
Manditory bike inspections in March? In Maine???

That'd be like manditory snowmobile inspections down here in August!

Wisdom is indeed infinite.

I can imagine your first mild day, the entire state rumbling with bikes exploding out of their stalls...
 
Is the March inspection done annually, and how much does it cost for the inspection?

When I bought my bike 7 years ago, there was no inspection required. I simply went to the licence office and changed over the ownership from the PO to me. No inspections required at all in the 7 years I've owned the bike. In Alberta, the belief is less government interference in our lives is the best government.

That sounds like a money maker for the motorcycle shops and garages.
 
Yup, annual, $12.50 IIRC. About another $35 for plates. Actually, year stickers for the plates.

I COULD register it as an antique and avoid all that, but that opens up issues with annual mileage limits and insurance.

Maine actually has what I feel is a beneficial inspection program. It's pretty much a check-your-insurance-card-and-gimme-your-money deal on new cars up to about the 5 year mark, but after that they put them up on the lift and do a pretty thorough check for wear and corrosion which is a huge issue here with the crap they put on the roads in the winter. Lotta shops making a pretty good living replacing rusted out brake and exhaust systems. Body shops do a pretty brisk business too as rust-through of body panels is a big no-no.
 
TwoManyXS1Bs said:
Manditory bike inspections in March? In Maine???

That'd be like manditory snowmobile inspections down here in August!

Wisdom is indeed infinite.

I can imagine your first mild day, the entire state rumbling with bikes exploding out of their stalls...
Click to expand...

I suspect the thinking is that if they require it in March, most of us will go ahead and get it done BEFORE riding season rather than pushing the envelope and riding an uninspected/unregistered bike just cuz it's such a nice day.

I also suspect that most riders do what I do: Tune it up, ride it up onto the trailer and haul it to the inspection station in a nice, warm pickup...
 
I have the same cold concrete in my barn/shop. Coming up in the next few weeks it will be warmer outside than in the shop because of that cold block under foot. Those poor folks down south that get third degree burns from laying on the concrete floors!
 
pffft, Me and RG have to live with that crap for 6 months of the year....and waay more of it. We have no bike inspections either...problem with that though....everyone wants $$$$ for junk
 
Downeaster that is perfectly normal. I'm always farting around in the garage waiting for the first bike rain to wash all of the crap off of the road. I often question my sanity when I'm around my family and my some of my wife's.
 
I'm damn near 70 years old and finally learned not to question my own sanity because (1) I don't like the answer I get back, and (2) plenty of folks around do it for me.
 
"They are all crazy save thee and me, and I'm not too sure about thee."

Also, I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute!
 
Well, I trailered the bike to the inspection station today (March 31) and got a sticker on it.

It was ~32° and during the 30-odd mile round trip I saw rain, sleet, snow and hail. At the moment it's snowing hard enough that I can't see the barn from the house.

Sigh.

Good news is, I put the new baddry in, kicked it through three or four times, turned on the ignition and bumped the electric leg and it cranked right up. Topped it off with fresh gas and a dash of Stabil when I stored it last fall.
 
Downeaster, they say "They are all crazy save thee and me, and I'm not too sure about thee" in my part of the world. I wonder how that got to Maine - or did it come from your part of the world?

ANLAF
 
That's interesting, Downeaster. I spent a year in Germany, and now I'm wondering if I heard it there, too. It'll come to me, give me time.

Do you know which part of Germany you have blood ties to?

ANLAF
 
Mecklenburg, Pomerania. Northern Germany on the Baltic, next to Poland.

12 out of 16 of my Great-great-grandparents came from that city or the general area.
 
Downeaster said:
I think it's a German/Dutch thing, I'm 3/4 German.
Click to expand...
And the Dutch part is REALLY stubborn!

Guess yah gotta be to live in Maine.

Car body rust holes? Half of Wisconsin would be walking if they enforced that one!

When the chassis lets go, the car just kinda sags to the pavement and stops. Happens all the time around here. Besides who needs inspections, the potholes weed out the weak.

We have antique bike plates. Pay for two years rego and that's it, no more annual fees. No restrictions except you can't ride in January, DUH..... I have two so far, all my XS's qualify.
 
Back
Top