RedNeckGeek
Super Member
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2011
- Messages
- 8,754
- Location
- Butte County & Orcutt, California
- Tractor
- Kubota M62, Kubota L3240D HST (SOLD!), Kubota RTV900
Good Morning!!!! 74F @ 10:45AM. Mostly sunny. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High 92F. Winds light and variable.
Good info on the Takguchi, Kyle. All of their current models use exhaust modifier fluids, something I'd hoped to avoid. But the real question is how your friend found the one he purchased? Craig's List, or some other heavy equipment site? Oh, and that frozen yogurt sounds good!
Happy Trails, Bill. Check in with us when you can, but good luck trying to keep up with these guys!:laughing:
Knock it off, David. First you go out and buy a new flail, so I have to. Now it's a new tractor, and I should. I figure even after I settle on a track loader, I'll still need a tractor for the 3PH stuff like the auger and box blade, unless I also get an adaptor. And I'm sure not going to keep the Kubota hanging around just so it can break again.
Don, if you're missing tractor expenses, I can pass some of mine along. This latest fiasco has now topped $1K with the purchase of hydro oil and filters.
Cute pup, Ron. Does it like to chew on your fingers?
The trip was great this past weekend. Found a nice little room in Porterville, just a couple minutes walk from a steakhouse. Sat at the bar sipping a beer when a couple walked up looking for a pair of seats, so I moved over so they could sit together. We struck up a conversation, and he turned out to be a materials manager with Walmart, and she was a policewoman with the local force. Nice people. Next morning had breakfast outside at a cafe, and struck up a conversation with a 80 something lady at the next table. I think I got two or three words in edgewise, but that was OK since the breakfast burrito was delicious. She knew everyone going in and out of the cafe, greeting them all by name. I guess she does that every morning...
Got to the campsite a bet early and had to pitch the tent on damp ground, but it was fine. Found a spot under one of several popups provided by the host, which would turn out to be pretty fortunate later. Finished in time to go on a ride with about a half dozen others, so up the mountain we went to a little lodge/restaurant one of them knew about. The clouds were already gathering by the time we finished the meal, and I'd offered to lead them on a loop back to camp. A few miles down the road I decided we'd better cut it a bit short as a few raindrops hit my face shield and the clouds darkened. That way led up and over another mountain, though, and while we made it to the top of the saddle dry, as we switch backed down the other side, the northern loop of each one took us under the trailing edge of a thunderhead. Yep, we all got wet, and at one point the rainwater was filling up the wheel tracks worn into the asphalt and running downhill like a pair of rivers. I'd promised no dirt roads, but not dry weather.:laughing:
Not long after that we ran across a group of our folks stopped by the side of the road, and it turned out one of the bikes had conked out. They were attempting to tow it to a nearby hot spring resort where it would be easier to work on. What could go wrong? Well on the first try, the pull was uneven and the tower ended up going almost sideways. I was about to take his place with a passing driver indicated that just over a short rise going the other way was a restaurant at the bottom of a long downhill. So two of the folks pushed the dead bike to the top of the hill and he was able to coast the rest of the way. We started by pulling a plug wire off and putting the plug on the head to see if it sparked. It didn't, but the other plug fired and the engine started. What??? So we put the plug back in and the engine ran fine. I asked the owner when the bike cut out, and he said right after they hit rain for the first time.
Then I realized that his bike used the infamous "Crack'o'Matic" coil that was well known to fail in just that way. One peak up under the fuel tank confirmed it. Since the bike was running, we decided to ride down into town to try to find a new coil, or at least some epoxy or RTV to seal the cracks. It was all down hill, dry, and sunny, and turned out to be a very nice ride. Checking the weather radar in the parking lot of the autoparts store, it was obvious that the campground was getting a bath, so our broke down buddy decided to head south toward Bakersfield and home. We, on the other hand, battened down the hatches to enjoy a rather damp and lightning illuminated spin back up the hill. Most were dry in their gear, but it was a little daunting when the interval between the flash and boom became very short for a while. And by the time we made camp, the rain had mostly stopped. Dinner and a few beers with friends at the honky tonk near the campground was fun, as was an evening around the campfire telling stories.
Yesterday's ride home was uneventful, again taking mostly back roads until north of Sacramento, but traffic was very light and was moving along nicely. Made it home around 5PM, unpacked the wet camping gear and got it all hung up to dry, and decided to enjoy a glass of wine on the back porch. I'd been watching the thunderheads build as I neard home, and by then I could hear the low rumbling as they approached.
The storm seemed to peter out as it approached, but not before showing off with a very nice rainbow. Really nice way to end a fantastic weekend!
Hope everyone's week gets off to a great start!
Good info on the Takguchi, Kyle. All of their current models use exhaust modifier fluids, something I'd hoped to avoid. But the real question is how your friend found the one he purchased? Craig's List, or some other heavy equipment site? Oh, and that frozen yogurt sounds good!
Happy Trails, Bill. Check in with us when you can, but good luck trying to keep up with these guys!:laughing:
Knock it off, David. First you go out and buy a new flail, so I have to. Now it's a new tractor, and I should. I figure even after I settle on a track loader, I'll still need a tractor for the 3PH stuff like the auger and box blade, unless I also get an adaptor. And I'm sure not going to keep the Kubota hanging around just so it can break again.
Don, if you're missing tractor expenses, I can pass some of mine along. This latest fiasco has now topped $1K with the purchase of hydro oil and filters.
Cute pup, Ron. Does it like to chew on your fingers?
The trip was great this past weekend. Found a nice little room in Porterville, just a couple minutes walk from a steakhouse. Sat at the bar sipping a beer when a couple walked up looking for a pair of seats, so I moved over so they could sit together. We struck up a conversation, and he turned out to be a materials manager with Walmart, and she was a policewoman with the local force. Nice people. Next morning had breakfast outside at a cafe, and struck up a conversation with a 80 something lady at the next table. I think I got two or three words in edgewise, but that was OK since the breakfast burrito was delicious. She knew everyone going in and out of the cafe, greeting them all by name. I guess she does that every morning...
Got to the campsite a bet early and had to pitch the tent on damp ground, but it was fine. Found a spot under one of several popups provided by the host, which would turn out to be pretty fortunate later. Finished in time to go on a ride with about a half dozen others, so up the mountain we went to a little lodge/restaurant one of them knew about. The clouds were already gathering by the time we finished the meal, and I'd offered to lead them on a loop back to camp. A few miles down the road I decided we'd better cut it a bit short as a few raindrops hit my face shield and the clouds darkened. That way led up and over another mountain, though, and while we made it to the top of the saddle dry, as we switch backed down the other side, the northern loop of each one took us under the trailing edge of a thunderhead. Yep, we all got wet, and at one point the rainwater was filling up the wheel tracks worn into the asphalt and running downhill like a pair of rivers. I'd promised no dirt roads, but not dry weather.:laughing:
Not long after that we ran across a group of our folks stopped by the side of the road, and it turned out one of the bikes had conked out. They were attempting to tow it to a nearby hot spring resort where it would be easier to work on. What could go wrong? Well on the first try, the pull was uneven and the tower ended up going almost sideways. I was about to take his place with a passing driver indicated that just over a short rise going the other way was a restaurant at the bottom of a long downhill. So two of the folks pushed the dead bike to the top of the hill and he was able to coast the rest of the way. We started by pulling a plug wire off and putting the plug on the head to see if it sparked. It didn't, but the other plug fired and the engine started. What??? So we put the plug back in and the engine ran fine. I asked the owner when the bike cut out, and he said right after they hit rain for the first time.
Then I realized that his bike used the infamous "Crack'o'Matic" coil that was well known to fail in just that way. One peak up under the fuel tank confirmed it. Since the bike was running, we decided to ride down into town to try to find a new coil, or at least some epoxy or RTV to seal the cracks. It was all down hill, dry, and sunny, and turned out to be a very nice ride. Checking the weather radar in the parking lot of the autoparts store, it was obvious that the campground was getting a bath, so our broke down buddy decided to head south toward Bakersfield and home. We, on the other hand, battened down the hatches to enjoy a rather damp and lightning illuminated spin back up the hill. Most were dry in their gear, but it was a little daunting when the interval between the flash and boom became very short for a while. And by the time we made camp, the rain had mostly stopped. Dinner and a few beers with friends at the honky tonk near the campground was fun, as was an evening around the campfire telling stories.
Yesterday's ride home was uneventful, again taking mostly back roads until north of Sacramento, but traffic was very light and was moving along nicely. Made it home around 5PM, unpacked the wet camping gear and got it all hung up to dry, and decided to enjoy a glass of wine on the back porch. I'd been watching the thunderheads build as I neard home, and by then I could hear the low rumbling as they approached.
The storm seemed to peter out as it approached, but not before showing off with a very nice rainbow. Really nice way to end a fantastic weekend!
Hope everyone's week gets off to a great start!
