Kevin

I looked at a 2017 Kawasaki Versys-x 300 this morning. He is asking $4500 and dropped it to $4250 before I left. It only has 2600 + miles on it. It looks to be well taken care of and sounded great. The guy added hand guards, heated grips, power port/clock/USB charger, center stand, luggage case, and a taller windshield. He also used some spray on Plastidip to paint the fairng panels green. The original color is red. I really liked the look of the bike. I could flat foot it sitting on the bike. I didn't ride it since he said I could only if I had cash in hand. From all things I read and watch, these bikes are super reliable and don't have any issues. I think it would be a great bike for the dirt/gravel/chert roads I plan to ride with the occasional easy trail. It will do 80 mph if I were to need to get on the interstate. I'm not looking to do hard core trail riding or fast highway riding. I looked at a brand new leftover 2022 Kawasaki KLR 650. It is marked down $1800 to $4899. After freight, assembly, doc fees, etc. it runs up to over $7300 plus tax. It seemed very top heavy and I couldn't flat floot it. It just seemed huge. They have a couple common issues, but are known to be reliable. They aren't very powerful and struggle on the highway. I didn't realize how many fees they tack onto the price. I don't think I'll be buying brand new. I have ruled out the Kawasaki KLX300 and the Honda CRF300L. They aren't very good road bikes and are overkill for what I need off road. I would never use either to their potential. They are also kinda hard to find. They will also run $5500 plus fees new and people ask new prices for them used. I'd still consider the Royal Enfield Himalayan for the right price.

I'm thinking about a Kawasaki Versys- 300. They are better road bikes than the dual sports and can still do gravel/dirt with light trails. They retail for around $6000 new and seem like much more bike than the dual sports. They have a twin (old Ninja 300 engine) that makes more power. The range is really good with a 4.5 gal fuel tank. They can get 70+ mpg. https://www.kawasaki.com/en-us/motorcycle/versys/adventure-touring/versys-x-300

You can get older bikes for less, but I really don't want a 250 cc bike. The 300 cc bikes Honda and Kawasaki make have only been out a few years. The 300 cc bikes have the power to do highway speeds where the 250 cc bikes don't. Even decade old bikes are holding their value. I've been looking around and 1 to 4 year old bikes are $5500-$7500. I don't know if aftermarket parts add value or these guys are fooling themselves, but guys are asking more for used bikes than sticker on a new one. Coming from the car/truck world, I think they are crazy. I'd rather buy a new bike for that kind of money. A couple years back, you could get a used bike for $2000+ under sticker. I'm hoping in a month or two, people start dropping the prices back to reality. I've noticed a few bikes have a new lower price than they did a few weeks ago. Bikes aren't moving like they were 6 months ago.

I'm in the same camp as you (49), John and don't see my self doing much if any hardcore off road rides. Those adventure bikes are nice, BUT, they are costly in comparison to dual sports. They can also be more costly to maintain with shorter maintenance intervals. I believe a Honda Africa Twin would be ideal, but I don't want to spend that kind of money on something I'm not totally sure I'd like. The BMW and Harley (didn't know H-D made adventure bikes) would be even more money. A bike like an Africa Twin may be my upgrade bike later on. Like I said, I'm interested in mostly low risk riding with a little highway use here and there. There are tons of chert/gravel roads down here SW of Nashville you can explore. I wouldn't need the power of a twin. I think it would be a waste of money if I didn't use an adventure bike as intended. I'm leaning toward a Honda CRF300L Rally. It has a 3.4 gallon fuel tank vs. 2.0 gallon for the non Rally. The suspension is pretty soft, but they say it only affects the hardcore riding. Inexpensive suspension upgrades are available. https://powersports.honda.com/motorcycle/dual-sport/crf300l-rally I was thinking about the Kawasaki KLX300, but it has a smaller fuel tank and no gas gauage. It has better suspension, but it is also $600 more than the CRF300L non-Rally. I mentioned this to my wife and she didn't react like I expected. The low risk backroad riding kinda eased her mind.

Anybody have a dual sport motorcycle? I've been thinking about getting a 300 cc dual sport. There are tons of old chert and gravel roads to explore sw of Nashville where I live. I'm looking at the two class leaders: Honda CRF300L and Kawasaki KLX300. In today's economy, used bikes aren't too much cheaper than new ones. I've wanted a motorcycle for 20 years, but never did get one. I really don't want anything fast. I just want to cruise around and explore with occasional highway riding. Basically, low risk riding is what I want to do. One of my employees rides a Kawasaki KLR 650 and says it is the most fun you can have on a motorcycle.

I haven't been as sick as I've been the last 7 days in a very long time. I woke up in the middle of the night Christmas night with sinus drainage going directly down my throat. I didn't feel bad the next day except for a little scratchy throat. I went to work Tuesday and Wednesday. By the time I got home from work Wednesday, I was coughing up junk out of my chest and blowing my hose. My throat was not only raw, but it felt like I had strep throat. I stayed home from Bible study and got to where I couldn't breathe through my nose. I slept very little that night. Leah had to go to the couch because she said it sounded like someone was running a chainsaw when I breathed. Thursday night through last night, I wake up every 45 minutes to cough up junk and blow my nose. The stuff coming out of my nose is awful. In the mean time, I've developed pink eye in my left eye (two days) and it spread to my right eye this morning. I stayed home from worship this morning and won't be going tonight. I'm still coughing up stuff from time to time and blowing my nose a little. My chest is really sore from all the coughing. My sore throat has mostly gone away. The weird thing is I've not run a fever or even a slightly high temperature during all of this. I'm kinda tired, but I think that is due to the lack of sleep the last week. Right now, if I didn't have pink eyes, I'd go about my business. I probably should have gone to see a Dr., but at this point, I think I'm getting over it.

The weather cooperated today, so I was able to flush the coolant system and clean up the engine bay on the Ram SS/T. Everything is back in place and it seems to run fine. I'm glad to be done with that plenum gasket repair project.

I will probably just have a custom driveshaft build when I get my transmission and rear end choices figured out. Ronnie's 9" was never set up right. He bought the housing from Currie and the gearset off some guy that never used it. The axles don't seem to engage fully. We've measured them and they should work. It seems to me that they are slightly short, but won't seat for some reason. I'm not a rear end guy, so...

Disney, could you shorten a driveshaft? When I lowered this truck (6" rear) a squeak developed. When the engine is under load, the squeak comes from the rear. I think the driveshaft needs an inch or two cut out of it. Also, my buddy Ronnie is having issues with his Ford 9" in his Cougar. Could I get you two in contact so he could talk about it? He can't find anyone who wants to fool with it.

What if I just drop a block, a crank, and 8 connecting rods off at your house? I'm not looking to build an all out drag engine. I'd like a healthy 500-600 horsepower. Do you think TF heads beat all the others on the market? I was looking at a crate engine from Indy Cylinder Head (they used to be the Chrysler RB specialists. May still be.) for about $10,000. It had their alum. heads and intake. It supposedly makes around 600 hp. I figure I could beat that building my own. Indy's heads are high dollar.

My sis-in-law is a nurse at Vandy. She's looking to move on. She told us that she had to choose her pronouns. What a time to be alive!

Those Trick Flow heads are ready to rock and roll out of the box aren't they? I have truck headers and a good cam that I've forgotten the specs on. I'd probably have to get a good intake. I'd probably stick with the 727 unless I could buy a complete manual swap and transmission for the same or less money. Either way I go, I'll have to build a rearend. Since the truck is already set up for the Chrysler RB engine and I have some parts, that's what I should do.

I've been kinda wanting a 1988-1998 GMT-400 short bed. One of my employees was telling me about a 1997 Chevy stepside that his dad just bought for $3500. He said it has 75k miles and is a near perfect garage kept truck. I told him to tell his dad I'd give him $2000 profit on the truck.

I might let you sniff it or lick the bumper for $500.

This is what the plenum plate and gasket looks like. Those curved sections of the gasket should be straight and there should be no oil.

I have just about gotten everything ready to put back together. I still have to do a once over on the gasket surfaces and clean the bolt holes out. You wouldn't believe what oven cleaner will do to stubborn intake manifold gaskets. They sliced off like hot butter after leaving oven cleaner on them overnight with a new razor blade. It didn't do as well on the aluminum intake manifold. I still had to use elbow grease. I'm hoping this aluminum plenum plate does the trick and I never have to do this job again. If I'd known what I know now, I think I may have taken it somewhere and let them do it.

I have the truck pictured below. It's a 1980 Dodge D150 Custom. I've owned it since 2009. It was originally a slant 6/automatic truck. It has a low compression smog era 1978 440 and 727 automatic transmission now. I bought it pretty much like it is except I lowered it 3"/6" with 1 ton B van lower control arms and a rear axle flip. I also put the American Racing Ansen Sprints (slot mags) on it. You wouldn't believe how solid this truck is. It's rare to see a Dodge of this era without a rusted out bed. There isn't one spot of rust in the truck and there are no metal patches I can see. Whoever painted the truck did a really good job.I am at a crossroad with the truck. It sits alot and I haven't driven it in a few years. I've contemplated selling it or finally doing what I wanted to with it. If I keep it, I'd like to do something with the complete drivetrain. These options would include a heavy duty rearend like a Ford 9" or Dana 60.1. Build the 727 and a 500 horse big block. This will probably be the easiest option2. Pull a complete Hemi (preferably a 392) out of a wrecked Charger or Challenger. Holley makes everything you need for this swap which will probably be the most expensive option.I'm leaning toward keeping the automatic transmission, but have considered an American Powertrain T-56 swap if I stay with the big block. I would probably go with whatever transmission came with a Hemi takeout. I know there are outfits who sell complete drivetrains (Cleveland Performance) ready to run on the crate. I've done searches and can't find too many other places. I've also heard about Copart. How reputable/expensive are they? Do you know of better places/salvage businesses? What would you do if you owned this truck? I have a complete 440 block, crank, rods, etc. I'll probably look into crate engines vs. building one. I do like the modern drivetrain in older vehicles, but it may be too costly. It would probably be much cheaper to go all out on a 440 with aftermarket aluminum heads and intake, cam, and even aftermarket EFI than it would be to go with a stock 392. It's hard to beat a well built Chrysler RB. Since I have the 727, it will also be cheaper to build it than to do a T-56 swap. I'd have to convert the steering column and find a pedal assembly.I helped a buddy put a Holley EFI system in his 1968 Cougar. I really like it. I think that would be cool on a 440. Then, there's air conditioning. This is a non-AC truck, but I think an under dash kit would work fine in a regular cab pickup.

Before anybody gives me grief about the thermostat...there is a spring they put in the lower radiator hose at the factory. It is there to keep the hose from collapsing before the thermostat opens. When I flushed the coolant system last time, it was a little rusted, but I left it in place. I've been told that I should have taken it out because they will rust bad enough that pieces will accumulate on the thermostat. The truck was running factory cool, so I didn't realize anything was up.

I finally got those 3 broken intake manifold bolts out with help and the moral support of my good friend Ronnie. I wasn't able to get a nut on any of them because of the angle of the cylinder heads. The first one (passenger front) took us an hour to get it to move. We soaked it with PB blaster, tapped on it, and heated around it with a torch. The second one (driver front) took about 30 minutes. The third one (passenger rear) took only about 10 minutes. I feel like I've been beaten. The intake manifold pulled right off. You could see that the gasket pooched out in 6 places between bolts. I pulled the plenum plate off and saw the whole inside of the intake is covered in oil. I can't believe the truck's engine never ran hot after seeing this thermostat. It ran as cool 3 weeks ago as it did when it was brand new.

I'm seriously looking for a nice 1994-2001 regular cab short bed for such a project.

A friend is going to let me borrow his propane torch. I figure I'd do the old lock two nuts together trick and try rocking the bolt back and forth with my wrench while applying PB Blaster and heat. I saw one guy who said if you keep heating the area and spray cool water on the bolt, it should break free eventually. He said you will probably have to rinse and repeat more than once. Of course, I've broken bolts off before and once I removed the part, I was able to turn the rest out by hand.

I thought I'd go ahead and take out the intake manifold bolts. I had great success taking 9 of them out. The one in front on each side broke. Comparing the broken length to the other bolts, the rest should be sticking ouf of the engine block. The very back one on the passenger side was broken already. That broken bolt is shorter than the other two, so there's even more of it sticking up out of the engine block. I'm going to wait until Saturday to pull the manifold so a buddy can help me with the lifting. I'm hoping a little PB Blaster will do the trick. If not, I don't know what I'm going to do.

I pulled the upper radiator hose and the thermostat housing. Wow! My thermostat looks like it went down with the Titanic. I can't believe the truck's engine never ran hot. It ran as cool 3 weeks ago as it did when it was brand new. I think it has leaked coolant and oil around the intake manifold for some time.

I got most everything out of the way. I'm going to wait until Saturday to remove the intake manifold. I pulled the throttle body off and looked down inside the intake manifold. As suspected, there's a puddle of oil in the back of the manifold. As usual, I have to make another trip to the auto parts store. I can't find my blue Loctite and I need a thermostat housing gasket. I think I'll change the oil while I'm at it.

I finally decided to do the infamous intake plenum fix on my 1998 Ram SS/T's 5.9 Magnum that I've been putting off for 4 years. Chrysler used a thin sheet metal plenum cover on the bottom side of the intake manifold. It warps over time and develops a leak. So, it ingests oil and air from the crankcase. A tell tale sign is oil seepage and engine pinging under heavy throttle. My truck does both. The fix is the 1/4" thick aluminum plate you see sitting on the upper radiator hose in the picture along with new gaskets. This issue happens around 60,000 or 180,000 miles. Of course, mine had to be the 60,000 miler. A friend from Texas gave me the plate and wouldn't even let me pay for shipping. He sold the truck he was going to use it on. I got industrious today and decided to get started. I pulled the fan shroud, air intake box, and idler pulley. I removed the 9 bolts that hold the alternator/AC compressor bracket onto the block. I disconnected a few plugs and hoses and labeled them. I'm hoping to have everything out of the way so the intake manifold will be ready to pull next Saturday. It's been fairly easy so far. A garage kept vehicle that hasn't been abused makes for easy wrenching. The truck is dirtier under hood than I realized. I am going to de-grease a bunch of stuff before I put the fan shroud back in.