Greetings from Oshkosh, WI

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toremitchell

toremitchell

Active member
Joined
Dec 19, 2011
Messages
36
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Location
Oshkosh, WI
New member here. Next summer will mark my third year living in Oshkosh as well as my third riding season with my first motorcycle, a pretty little '83 Wineberry Aspencade. I was 40 years old when I bought this bike. OK, maybe it was some sort of male midlife crisis which prompted the purchase. Whatever the case, I am glad I got it. It's been a great stress reliever, and a pretty decent replacement for my previous passion of flying airplanes. I am a pilot and aircraft mechanic. Although I still work as an A&P mechanic at Basler Turbo Conversions converting old DC-3's into better-than-new turboprops, I have not piloted a plane for the last couple of years. Flying just isn't as practical or thrilling for me as it used to be.

Most of my riding has been local -- about 1,500 miles per year. One of my most enjoyable weekly outings is to go out for an early Saturday or Sunday morning breakfast on my Wing. I would like to ride more this upcoming year.

Right now, the Aspy is looking a bit forlorn as she sits torn down in the garage. I have been able to take care of a few known issues (rear tire, brakes, etc.), and, not surprisingly, have discovered a few more discrepancies to tend to while I'm at it. I am tackling the steering stem bearing right now. I have not decided yet whether I should just re-torque these head bearings or completely replace them. The bike has about 38,000 miles on it. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Tore
 
unless you hit something or something hits you they hardly are ever a problem in my experience ...if its adjusted and feels smooth id say your good there tapered bearing and quite tough and the design is is very forgiving to the parts to me it seems...be careful around the stem when working on it its got some of the self cancelling turn signal stuff there ....

welcome to CGW tore :mrgreen:
 
Welcome to the CGW Forums, Tore!!! :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:
 
Welcome to the site from the far east (New Jersey)! :smilie_happy: :clapping:

Converting DC3's to turbo prop....love to see pictures! Are there that many DC3's still around? How many miles on them? I thought that most of the DC3's were grounded for age?
 
Well, I'll try to post a quick reply here. Just got home from a 14 hour work day. Sounds like somebody ran a vehicle into one of our planes used for polar exploration and destroyed one wingtip and aileron. We are working 24/7 to get a wingtip repaired, modified and ready to send to them early next week. Pretty sure it's going right down to Antarctica. Glad I'm not the poor guy who was driving the vehicle! Anyway . . . .

Thanks for the quick response, literally from the four corners of the USA. You guys were very welcoming.

Thanks for the good advice regarding the steering head bearings. I modified a Harbor Freight metric deep well socket and loosened the upper spanner nut a couple weeks ago. I only had a couple of mild experiences with wobble last season (discovered at relatively slow speed with both hands briefly (yes, very briefly) off handlebars). I figure it's worth at least checking the torque on the bearings, especially since I had the fairing removed for some other work. Considering your advice I plan to forgo replacing the bearings altogether.

Bob, the bike you have pictured looks identical to mine right down to the aftermarket running lights around the back.

Gerry, my wife is from Cape May, NJ. I have probably driven near Mantua, NJ. I see that's not too far off of route 55. I appreciate your Christian flag. Before coming to Oshkosh I spent 12 years in full time ministry as an A&P mechanic helping Baptist missionaries using small aircraft in the gospel ministry. I am a "born again" Christian. As you know, Jesus said to Nicodemus in John chapter 3, "ye must be born again." You might find the following web site interesting regarding the Basler turboprops: https://www.baslerturbo.com

Thanks as well to Joel for the warm Texas welcome. I will try not to be jealous of your longer riding season.

Sometime I hope to get some more technical advice, but I better get some sleep for now.

Tore
 
I got a hop on a DC3 way back in 60.. flew from Mguire AFB to El Paso Tx. for an overnigth stop and then on to Sacramento Ca. I was the only passenger.was a nice trip. I was just returning from Germany. :Egyptian: :Egyptian: :Egyptian: :Egyptian:
 
toremitchell":3ndnpw86 said:
Gerry, my wife is from Cape May, NJ. I have probably driven near Mantua, NJ. I see that's not too far off of route 55. I appreciate your Christian flag. Before coming to Oshkosh I spent 12 years in full time ministry as an A&P mechanic helping Baptist missionaries using small aircraft in the gospel ministry. I am a "born again" Christian. As you know, Jesus said to Nicodemus in John chapter 3, "ye must be born again." You might find the following web site interesting regarding the Basler turboprops: https://www.baslerturbo.com
Click to expand...
We used to live near Cape May in Rio Grande! ('88 through '92) Worked on offshore clam boats, Cape May Lewes Ferry and my wife worked at Burdette Thomlin.

My middle daughter was very interested in becoming a pilot for small aircraft supporting the gospel ministry! That is so great!! When she was 16, she and my youngest daughter swapped out the engines on my bike as we worked together to restore it to running...we had a blast! She went to Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale to the Ocean's Edge School of Worship for two years and is now working as a full time worship leader for children's ministry. They have about 2200 kids come through over 5 services from Saturday thru Sunday.

I have been through Pastor's training at Calvary Chapel and have held home fellowships. I am primarily a Bible Teacher making the Bible plain to understand. (If anyone has any questions, just PM me!)
 
Welcome Tore and glad to have you. I have flown a few times on the old DC-3's. All commercial flights out of Boeing field in Seattle, WA., when I was a lot younger. Here is a little article about DC-3s and the plane that Era Airlines flew as a flightseeing plane in Alaska when I lived there...

"The Spirit of Alaska"


https://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=m ... 67064628ab

Brian
 
Thanks for the additional welcomes from Utah, NM, and So Cal, and NW Pa. I am thankful for the overtime at work this week :builder: :whip: , but that hasn't left me with much time to post replies. We finished the wingtip project last night, and it will be shipped off to Antarctica this morning. Gerry, maybe you are familiar with Church's Garden Center on Seashore Rd. in Cape May? That's my father-in-law's business. We were married at Grace Gospel Chapel in Rio Grande, NJ back in '92. This July will mark 20 years of wedded bliss.

Here's a few tech questions in case some of you have some advice to offer:

I resealed my left-rear and front-right brake calipers for my unitized brake system. I got a fantastic deal on two pairs of SBC FA69HH sintered brake pads ($19 per pair free shipping -- cheaper than organic pads). I plan to use those pads and go light on the brake pedal until I get used to the extra braking performance unless there's some good reason not to do so.

Also, in regards to the rear brake system I am considering resealing the brake pedal master cylinder to complete out that system. I haven't had any trouble with it leaking yet, but the preventive maintenance side of me tells me to do it. On the other hand, it ain't broke, so maybe I shouldn't try to fix it.

I have one other preventive maintenance question. I would like to lubricate the ignition switch. What type of lube would be recommended for that? It sounds like the 83 Aspencade has a unique ignition switch that I should try to take care of. Again, no troubles with it yet -- I am just trying to keep it trouble free for many years to come.

Thanks for any advice.

Tore
 
20 years for us in May!

I would rebuild the rear MC and top it off with new stainless steel lines all around.
This way you know the brakes are all good and out of the way.

Just a small amount of of dry graphite in the ignition switch.
 
Congratulations on your upcoming anniversary, Dan, and thanks for the advice on my rear brakes. I plan to rebuild the master cylinder. I looked at your album and found the pictures of your rear master cylinder rebuild. Looks like that one was pretty rusty. It will be good to know that the system is fresh.

My lines and flex hoses look decent, but I'll consider changing them. Do you recommend a supplier for the stainless lines? Have you run sintered brake pads before?

Thanks again.
 
Welcome to the site, toremitchell, If the slight wobble is still present after you check the torque and or replace the bearings, it could also be your swingarm torque, another special tool you will need to make, I used a HF impact socket to fit .. It's probably the steering stem bearings..
 
Not sure if I've ever run sintered pads, what is the difference?
My fronts stop good and have outlasted the rear 3 to 1 and counting even though I usually only use the fronts.
The backs have been EBC organic, time to look for something else.

Stainless lines do improve the feel of the brakes, I highly recommend the upgrade.
There was a guy here making stainless lines for our bikes, I'd have to look in the suppliers forum who it is.
It's been a long time since I've seen him here, not sure he's even still doing them.

I got mine from https://vencowings.mivamerchant.net/mm5/ ... 0%20Brakes , good folk.
 
Thanks for the great tip on the stainless brake lines! I didn't realize that I could improve the responsiveness of the brakes by changing the lines, but that makes perfect sense. I searched on eBay and found a complete set of three stainless hoses for my 83 GL1100 with banjo bolts and crush washers for $70 plus $13 shipping. There are even five colors to choose from.

The highest quality pad that EBC makes is the sintered pad. For my bike that would be the FA69HH. They use a lot of copper in the pad including the entire back plate for heat dissipation. The pad is supposedly very responsive even when cold on initial application of the brake, and it's supposed to last twice as long as the organic pad. I have a friend at work that uses sintered pads on his Harley (we're allowed to have Harley friends and still be a member here, right?) and says that he really likes them. He said that he locked up his front wheel on his first ride after installing them not realizing what a difference they would make. He said to just go light on the controls while getting used to them. I can't personally recommend them yet as I have not installed them. I found one EBC application chart that cautioned to install HH pads on the front if they are to be installed on the rear to avoid a mismatch in performance.

Thanks also for the advice from littlebeaver regarding the swing arm bearing torque.

Seems to be quite a few guys reporting in from southern California. It's hard for me to believe you still have weather in the 60's and 70's down there. Enjoy!
 

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