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Our reservations have been made and confirmed. I'm looking forward to seeing all of you gentlemen again in a few weeks!

The repair kit from Dime City / Mike's XS is part # 20-0014. New filters for the stand tubes are part # 20-6419 (set of two filters). The petcock is super easy to rebuild. I used a soft bristle wire brush to clean up any oxidation / deposits from behind the rubber valve disc, then made sure...

Of course it'll get dirty! And then...I'll clean it. :) Just like I always do.

Barring any unforeseen catastrophic event, I plan to be there. This year will be the Special 2's turn at the Ozarks - the black Special will get a turn at the Smokies this fall. That's the plan, anyway. I'm looking forward to meeting up with you folks again for another great time!

Sorry we couldn't make it this year with Mike being in the middle of reconstructing a house. We ARE planning on making the trip next year. We'll definitely see you gentlemen next spring in Arkansas!

I found the fairing that's on my black '81 on ebay - NOS! The fairing mount was also an ebay find, was in less than good condition, but was complete. All the attaching fasteners were rusted away, so they were replaced with new hardware. The mounting arms were bent a bit, and a couple of welds...

Well, this will make for great material to add to any future "story hours". I'm looking forward to your account of it at next year's get together. ;)

Ok, folks - here are a few photos of the rally for your enjoyment and / or amusement. I had a fantastic time with some really great people. I had the honor and privilege of leading the Thursday morning ride on a loop route featuring AR 341 - AKA Push Mountain Road - with our lunch...

I just booked a room for Mike and me - so I guess it's official that I'll be there again. I've been working on the '81 SH this winter to address a few little issues that presented themselves last year - tiny oil seep from one of the passage blanking plugs on the front of the upper case (had to...

Well, this event is the one annual "gotta be there" for me, so I'm definitely planning to attend. I'm very much looking forward to seeing old friends once again and meeting some new ones! My son will also be there - with his own bike this year instead or riding one of mine. See you guys...

Several years ago, I constructed a very simple and re-useable device for lubricating control cables. I've tried the "pressure lube" devices that clamp onto the cable and are fed by a straw from an aerosol can of lubricant - and have been somewhat disappointed in the results. So, here's my...

Very sad news. I consider myself privileged to have made his acquaintance, and to have had numerous conversations with him - not to mention the honor to have shared a number of miles with him riding at the Ozarks rallies in recent years. The knowledge of this machine that he carried with him...

I was out and about yesterday on the Special 2 (1981), and it occurred to me to take a few current photos of this machine and post them here, as it had been many years since the last ones. I bought this bike brand new in December of 1981 - picked it up from the local dealer on a very, very cold...

I was revisiting some past photo folders on the PC today and ran across the photos from the last road trip my son and I took to Arkansas a couple of years ago. There were some pretty decent pics in there, so I decided to share a few. We took a long weekend in mid-September and loaded up our...

That is correct! City / county airport is a couple of miles east of town. I grew up on a farm just southwest of town - vaguely remember seeing a BD5 in the air back in the day.

Newton - small town north of Wichita.

Thank you! I set this one up pretty much like I have my original 81 set up, which has worn its Quicksilver fairing since the spring of 1982. The saddle mods came years later. I modify the seat pan to give a flat seating surface to start - then build up three different densities of foam from...

Yes, I took this bike to the Ozarks rally last spring - my son rode it, and I rode my other 81.

Those are inexpensive throw-over small slant bags from Cycle Gear. I fabricated hard mounts for them and trimmed off all the throw-over bits. They attach to the hard mounts with three 1/4-20 screws.

It occurred to me that I have yet to post any photos of my 1981 XS650SH that I acquired five years ago. It's been a bit of an ongoing project to bring back to being a reliable mount that performs as I need it to; and to make the modifications to it that suit the kind of riding that I do. I...