Well, some more progress on the toy. Got the gas guage hooked up and working, but since we're using a spun aluminum tank, we'll have to play with the angle of the float to get a more accurate reading. Right now the gusage is reading almost empty when a look inside the tank says it's near to half full. That'll be a trial and error thing, but it's easy enough to get the sending unit out so it shouldn't take too long.

The front brakes are giving us trouble tho. I ordered all new hardware and shoes (old VWs have drum brakes all around) so we put those in. Still no joy, so we got new wheel cylinders and hoses as well. Better, but it still seems like the rear brakes are doing most of the work. I didn't want to do it yet, but it seems I'm going to have to invest in a disc brake conversion soon. I was hoping to hold on for a while, but I don't want to sink a lot of money into the drum brakes only to replace them in a year.

Oy, sometimes hobbies are so expensive...

This weekend past, my brother and I did a lot of work to the Valk. New wheel bearings and seals front and rear, driveline maintenance, cleaned and re-oiled the air filter, removed some electrical add-ons from the PO that were causing trouble, removed some of the chrome, and finally added a 205-60/16 Falken ZIEX Dark Side tire.

What's a Dark Side tire? For bikes large enough, it means I'm using a car tire. I know; crazy, right? Apparently not; I first heard about it on the Valk Riders site. After reading and researching, I decided to give it a try. So far so good, and it looks great on the bike. Time will tell...

I'd planned on selling this bike as my girlfriend couldn't ride due to a back injury. Well, after months, she's able to ride a little and there's prospects of her getting even better so I guess the bike will be staying. After some testing with her, we found that the Corbin hard bags the bike came with were causing some trouble as they crowded her feet on the passenger pegs. So we removed them and traded for a set of the OEM Honda bags. Not only are they more comfortable for her, they hold more too. I just painted them flat black at the moment as we're considering a whole bike repaint.

Currently I use the bike for commuting and the occasional weekend ride.

Well, the wiring is mostly done. I need some indicator lights for the turn signals and a license plate light but that's about it. We're not sure the wipers are working correctly either, they seem to have only one speed, but they're not a priority at the moment.

Had to replace the mechanical fuel pump; the "rebuildable" one leaked no matter what we did to it. A "stock" replacement and all is well there. Surprisingly after having sat for so long, it started and ran well.

Since I just moved, I now have a garage of my own to work on it, but at the moment things are too hectic for me to get to it. I'm hoping to have it in driveable condition by fall so I can use it for commuting. I love my truck, but the mileage isn't the best.

Got the water pump replaced along with new thermostat, belts and most of the hoses. A couple weeks later, I found out the A/C wasn't working. Had to take it back to the body shop twice before they got it fixed correctly. Need to get some updated pics on here, but we just moved so it's been rather hectic.

All the wiring is in, save for a few details. Since the Beetle uses a single dash indicator for both turn signals and the new harness doesn't, I need to get 2 indicators for that. I also need a new indicator for the high-beam. I need a horn button too, but I can't seem to find one for the steering wheel I have. I may end up having to buy a whole new wheel with button kit.

On the other hand, the bug still doesn't run. The mechanical fuel pump is bad. I'd prefer using mechanical so I'll have to get another. Also the brakes need to be rebuilt, and I want to replace the front with a disc set up. Since I just spent a lot on the Dakota, the bug will wait for now. Dang it.

My Dakota developed a leak in the bypass hose to the water pump. The body shop says it's not accident related so it's not their problem. Took it to a shop and they said the water pump was leaking as well and quoted well over $500 to fix it. So, I had to wait till the weekend to get some help from my brother. We replaced the water pump, bypass hose, thermostat and belt. I wanted to replace the hoses, but the parts stor didn't have them on hand.

One thing that did happen; we couldn't get the clutch fan off the old water pump at first. When I frequented some online Dakota groups, I'd heard of several people taking the fan off since there's an auxilury electric fan mounted to the radiator. So we left the fan off the water pump. So far all seems well, but we'll see when summer comes. The engine does seem to pin up a bit faster, but it may be just me.

Finally got my truck back from the body shop last week! I couldn't get them to repaint the hood to get rid of the stripes, but I did manage to get a black bumper to replace the chrome one that was on the truck originally. Now I just have to replace the rear bumper the same way (ok, maybe without the wreck) and I'll have de-chromed entirely. Not that I'm against chrome (look at my Valkyrie), but I didn't like it on the truck.

Now I start looking for a new hood with a cowl scoop and the right kind of wire mesh for the open grill shell I have.

I'll get some new pics of the truck up soon.

I loaned my truck to my girlfriend's son while she and I ran down to Forida for the weekend. Wouldn't you know it; he ends up rear-ending someone with it!

First estimate of damages is almost $2800. But they didn't even open the hood to come up with that. I've opned the hood; the radiator is bent (yes, bent and not leaking), the mounts are broken and who knows what else...

So just now I'm driving a 97 Cavalier I just got for her daughter to go to college in. I'm taking the truck in this weekend for a full estimate by the insurance company. I'm hoping they don't total it.

Ok, so we got the petcock kit in finally. It came all the way from canada so it took a while. But, it's installed and the leak is gone.

But the bike still runs like crap...hmmm....

Well, after some tinkering, we pulled the bowls of one of the carbs. Seems the floats are sticking a bit. Guess the bike sat a bit longer than I thought. But we unstuck the one carb, then started the bike back up. It ran a little better, so we tapped on all the carbs with a screw driver handle and must have loosened all the floats as the bike runs well again. Took it for a short run and wound it up to around 100. All seems well for the moment.

Unfortunately for me, I have to go to a company sponsored class for a couple weeks so I won't be able to ride till I get back. Oh well, at least it's running again.

Maybe when I get back we'll try the 4-1 header again. But then maybe not; I've always liked the way the bike sounds. Maybe I can find a decent stock system. We'll see.