Putt

[tx2sturgis]

The other bike is the 2013 Ural Solo sT. If you've never heard of one, thats OK...they only made 18 of these that year. They are VERY limited production. Hand built when ordered. 


Its the Ural without the sidecar, still a 750cc,  and geared a bit taller so it will run all day at 70-75 mph if needed.

They are simple to maintain, reliable, and weigh about 450 pounds.

They are capable of some trail rides, but its not a dirt bike by any means.

Here I am on the Ural when I got it last year alongside a good friend on his KLR 650:





And here it is, parked next to a T-Dub, after I added fork-gaitors, bags, and a windshield:





Its a lot of fun to ride and kick-starting it in front of a bunch of hard-core bikers is half the fun of ownership!

 

[Queen]

Putts, I've ridden the Ruckus a bit, underpowered is right, it couldn't get out of it's own way. But the Ruckus forums will tell by doing a little work they can be really speedy.

*bonus points for the use of "boinking", well done*

 

[Putts]

Practically speaking, I think the TW is a way more suited bumper thumper. 

There is, however, no earthly accounting for the draw your heart may have for the soul of a bike. 

Take, for example, my ex-mistress Daisy.

Ahh...memories of Daisy out in a field serving coffee on a crisp Rocky Mountain morning. 

Loved that girl. Had to sell her to my best friend because Tax Man. Ah well.

A Ural is a deep, old soul from Mother Russia. I hear you, bro. 

Still a ridiculous toad bike. You ain't right. All is right in the world.


Say, I been working my way through the on-line ARRL HAM test trainer. Well worth the $25 bucks, great tool. I think I'll stick with the technician class and VHF stuff...I don't feel the HF thing in my blood, I want to get away from long distance virtual experiences. It's cool and all, just not for me and not worth the extra study, hardware, and installation needs.

Receiving the emergency bands and scanner stuff to have a solid local awareness I am interested in though. Would you drop me a link for a nice, versatile, multi-band scanner that might work in Central America as well? Or is there such a thing?

 

[tx2sturgis]

Receiving the emergency bands and scanner stuff to have a solid local awareness I am interested in though. Would you drop me a link for a nice, versatile, multi-band scanner that might work in Central America as well? Or is there such a thing?

 

 ____<<<< insert scratching chin emoji right here.


Hmmm....I assume the various countries in Central America are mostly on analog FM so just about any common handheld or mobile scanner should work.

Now, I have no idea about the legalities...lots of countries restrict scanner use.

In fact just having a ham license is no guarantee, in some other countries, that you can own or operate any type of radio other than an AM/FM car radio.

You will of course need to dig into the laws of each country you plan to visit.

 

[Putts]

^^^Hm. I figured. Thanks.

 

[Bud Smiley]

Legalities not withstanding, I have a couple of Baofeng uv-5r v2+ that I use to monitor police and fire channels. I recommend them.

 

[Putts]

Thanks, Bud, I'll give then a look see.

 

[Putts]

Put the panels and combiner box on today. 

Sanded the paint down to bare metal and cleaned with alcohol, then just stuck 'em on with some added pressure from me for a few minutes each. The instructions for the tape say you should put some significant pressure on the join when first made to have the adhesive flow into all the micro grooves in the surface.

Gooped up the combiner box with Sikaflex and installed.

Here it is underneath.

Here you can see it at the top of the front right cabin wall.

This wall will be one long cabinet about 9" deep and all the solar/electricity stuff will be mounted on this wall. At the bottom will be the battery box that the forward dinette seat will be mounted to. The vehicle batteries are under the stairs just in front of the wall, which will make it easy-peasy to hook up the switching and connections for alternator charging on the road, and to top of the vehicle batteries from solar while sitting in the desert. At the top there will be a larger cabinet against the right wall dedicated to computers, radios, and other electronics.

The top now looks like this.

One foot in front of the other.



Dart socialization update:

Took Dart down the Crystal Bar (my watering hole) to play some dominos with my good buddy Paul. He sat very quietly on top of his backpack and watched us play for a little bit before konking out. 

Silly little boy, at a bar and didn't even want a beer.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Lookin good!

 

[rvpopeye]

One foot at a time ...... !
I noticed you painted the back side of the wall ply too

 

[Putts]

One foot at a time ...... !
I noticed you painted the back side of the wall ply too  

Yup, the back sides were all two coats of latex primered before install. Have to wait 'til all the stuff is built and glued to the front side of the walls before painting them. I'll be using epoxy paint for all the visible stuff but latex inside the cabinets. 

Also just a note, the battery box, wall of electrical stuff, and electronics cabinets will be all vented up into the ceiling and out the front Fantastic vent.

 

[tx2sturgis]

You might want to paint that junction box...or just cover it with foil tape...the UV exposure will eventually make that plastic brittle...

 

[Putts]

It's metal.

 

[tx2sturgis]

It's metal.

OH!

Blame it on my glasses....

 

[Putts]

Okie dokie, still staring at my empty electrical wall, but did get about 2/3rds of the stuff needed to fill it up.

Battery temp sensor, PV down wire, bus bars, and fuses.

Couple of six volt juice boxes.

Aaaaand....the magic box.

Didn't do any work on Putt this week though...because we're prepping to hit the road for a little camping!

Putt V0.02
I've already camped in Putt with bare walls and a window---V0.01---so this will be the first trip with any of the amenities. 'Course, no volts for the Fantastic and toilet fans or fridge, the only thing that will get use is the water and sink, but I'll take it. Did a little rearranging to ready Putt for the weekend.

Put a temporary bed platform in back.

Threw in a quickie shelf with garbage can underneath. Room for two and a half milk crates---I put some eye bolts in the wall and will ratchet strap the milk crates into place. Took the fridge out and strapped in a cooler. 

Strapped a table against the wall, chairs and such to come. Bought a one-burner propane stove and a couple green bottles.

I think it's going to work just fine.

Dart? He's tired of watching me surf the web and has taken to reading the paper.

Pix of Putt and Dart in the wild next week! Woot!

 

[highdesertranger]

I love to look at quality parts porn. looking good. highdesertranger

 

[Putts]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, HDR. The trick now is to wire it up all sweet and tidy. Only thing better than just-bought parts porn is well installed parts porn. I'll be working on it next week. Pretty much on schedule for the electrical to be done well enough for the commercial-->RV inspection in August in time to reregister before the current tags run out.

I'll get there.

 

[AbuelaLoca]

Really lookin' good! Enjoy your trip!

 

[Putts]

Lovely!

Had a great time in Putt this weekend. Camped at Clover Meadows campground (no fee, just a crapper) and Black Butte Cabin (reservations required) in the Gravely Mountains. 8-9000 feet sure took the edge of the temps. Avbout 75 in the day and 40 at night.

Dart loved his travel perch.

It shook a fair bit on the dirt roads, be he seemed to enjoy it none the less.

He's pretty hard to see up there, but his view is great.  Loved sticking his nose out the window.

I reckon we did about 45 miles of dirt road. Despite the rough ride, dust, and 12 mph avg. traveling speed, the scenery made it feel like a walk in the park.

First meal made in Putt.

First T-bone for Dart. 

an hour later the thing looked like it had been set on an ant hill for a week. Now he knows why he gnaws on stuff.

At Clover Meadow.

My buddy Paul.

The logs slowed him down....a bit.

Black Butte Cabin

Gotta say it was a rather risky affair: No spare tire, no tools, no cell reception...just the desire to get out there.

Putt ran like a champ and brought me home.  Thanks, Putt!

 

[Putts]

Oh!!!

I should mention, even though I haven't installed the fan yet, I did use my composting toilet.  I wasn't planning on it, but the bucket was in there and I like a comfy poop in the morning. So I lined the bucket with a trash bag and gathered some pine needles and sawdust in another garbage bag and went for it. Didn't smell a bit.

No pix.