Death of the Rodeo

We are finally all back in Calgary now with all of our stuff we had delivered to my Mom.  Not so much for the Rodeo which belonged to my step-father.  What happened is Isuzu uses a big shouldered bolt for securing the belt tensioner for the timing belt which controls the valve timing in relation to the crankshaft.  Most manufacturer's us a standard shouldered bolt and then put a thick sleeve on it but Isuzu knows better and put really big shoulders on the bolt so it is a specialty bolt.  Regardless of that, the bolt snapped at the shoulder but before snapping it bent with the load on it releasing the tension on the belt just enough so the belt had ample opportunity to slip a tooth or more before the bolt actually snapped.  I did notice a drop in power but still running before full failure occurred over the course of about 3 seconds.  With the bending bolt and then updated cam timing there was a coming together as in the holy spirit of valves and pistons.  There was only one cylinder of significance that I could tell using a boroscope into each combustion chamber that had real piston/valve contact.  So confirmed bent valves in one cylinder, maybe more and one significantly damaged piston.  Keep in mind I'm dealing with the only shop that works on import cars in the large thriving metropolis of Lewistown, Montana which has just under 6,000 people.  When the tensioner came off it dropped down onto the crank belt wheel and got thrown around which busted up the lower part of the plastic cover so the cover was trashed and that would have to be replaced to prevent dirt and water from getting in there....try finding that in short order regardless of the cost!!!  Any rate, the shop wanted to drill out the bolt and then retap the hole larger for a larger bolt and then have a sleeve machined to match the diameter (standard sleeved shouldered bolt arrangement) I needed and this is without any knowledge of whether the block could take that or not.  No idea how much aluminum (yes aluminum block) material is down there and whether this would be possible or not and I was not going to risk it.  Knowing I was going to potentially have a compromised block that won't last long and knowing I was going to have a nice winter project to pull heads and rebuild for valves and only hoping I could still drive it home on 5 cylinders (at best) it just didn't seem like a good plan to move forward.  At a certain moment you need to cut bait and run so I did.  The shop gave me $200 for it which seemed reasonable for a non-running messed up car and now I don't have to dispose of it and pay someone to tow it away.  Hopefully he will source a used engine and insert but I just wasn't going to mess with it from long distance and then in a small town (430 miles away).  Sadly I had almost $3,000 in it with all the refurbishment that was generously completed under the watchful eye of a good friend of mine in Las Cruces, NM but when you have compounding problems like these, you know you will see more problems down the road.  It would have been nice to have a beater 2nd vehicle but this one is not to be.  The timing belt itself looked really new with almost no wear on it but no telling how old it really was....regardless, there was nothing wrong with it that I could tell.

As far as I'm concerned, this is simple equipment failure of a single component that destroyed the engine.  Sometimes bad luck happens.  There was no warning...just within a few seconds it all self-destructed.

My big bad boy ready to go

Confusion runs supreme as each entity I encounter tells me a different story of what needs to happen so I can register my motorcycle.  All the while my big bad boy sits idle.  On top of that the really cool brake rotors I bought in Houston are suffering flaking chrome so I have warranty discussions going on as well.

Finally I get clear direction of what needs to happen because I went to a different inspection place.  I know what needs to happen and I can see the finish of this ordeal and I want the inspection to be completed with the most of awesome brakes so the flaking chrome brake rotors stay on.  Yes my big bad boy passes inspection with flying colors...it is my baby and absolutely perfect.  Paperwork complete!!!  Brake rotors come off to send back for warranty work and the full aftermarket exhaust goes on for the superbike sound!!!  

Penny heads down to the department of motor vehicles equivalent up here in Canada and secures a new plate.  Yeah baby...my big bad boy is ready to rape and pillage as any wild beast should do on occasion.  Nothing like the raw feeling that only Kawasakis provide.  Yes I still have some altitude jetting to do but I think I just need a needle height adjustment (one clip lowering of the needle) and all is good.  Because of all of the dynomometer runs I've done my jetting is pretty close so this 3500 feet altitude is an easy fix to make it right.  

Soon those awesome brake rotors will be returned so the stock stuff gets replaced and my big bad boy will be all better again.  Life is good.

Wiley Coyote

We were walking Hannah the other night near our house along the fence line of a cemetery.  I had the ball flinger and was flinging for all that I was worth and Hannah was running because it was fun.  She loves chasing the ball in some ways like a lab.  Normally when we do this an intermission is required to evacuate the bowels to lighten the load, making her really fast and then she noticed hares in the cemetery.  It was evening so the light wasn't bright but more than enough, so call it dusk.  The hares weren't happy with her but at the same time not concerned since there was a fence between them.

Hannah is a pretty smart dog so she took off on an adventure of the hare.  Down to the end and around the fence and then a bee-line for the hares.  Nearing, nearing...closing speed is huge and the grouping of hares takes off...in all directions.  Hannah is confused and suffers computer lock as she decides which  one to go after.

Dog control module...radars locked, course correction and turbo boost...this hare is mine!  Not sure what I'll do with it but it is mine!

Hare control module...I have dog lock, kick in the hyper-thrust and I'm off.

1.5 seconds later what has happened?  Hare out of frame and Hannah searching for what happened.  Running circles around the head stones in search of the scent.   Where did it go?  It will be mine if I can find it.

All of this right in front of me.  Not sure how I continued to stand since I was LMAO (laughing my ass off)!!!  So I jump the fence (dogs not allowed in cemetery) to go get that dog still running in circles.  It was a good night and we had happy dog since she was a tired dog.  Kind of like Wiley Coyote and the road runner.

Shipping the motorcycle to Calgary

When we moved to the Netherlands we used a company to ship the motorcycle and the BMW (Marilijn) and it was a wonderful experience.  Everything happened as they said it would and they met the contract obligations to the letter.  Very professional company and experience for me.

Moving from the Netherlands to Calgary I went against my better judgement and used another company that others had recommended to me.  It cost us about $2500 to ship the car and bike to the Netherlands in 2010 and these guys charged $2000 to ship the bike from the Netherlands to Calgary....or so the contract said.  The contract clearly stated these guys were going to move my bike from their offices in Roosendale, Netherlands to Calgary and in addition it clearly states they will clear customs for us.

The first thing that happened is the bike arrived Montreal and we were contacted and told that is as far as they will move the bike because the ship can't go to Calgary so more money to move it by train...$266 to be exact and you can call it a ransom if you like.  I guess they didn't realize that Calgary was not accessible via ship before...are you kidding me!!!  After arriving in Calgary the bike was put in a warehouse and we are contacted again and told more money for handling fees...only $55 this time but you have to take it in the crate.....ummm, the crate is huge and would survive WWIII if it had to and what do I do with the crate.....we don't care but not our problem was the answer.  Oh, and you need to clear customs before you can get it also...what!!!...are you kidding me!!!!  What is going on here?!?  Off to Canadian customs...easy job to do but still.  I have to take it in the crate so off to truck rental places next and $259 later I have a truck for a day with a ramp so I get can get the bike off of the truck.

Finally I get the bike from these crooks and I'm heading home...yeah!!!  I'm home and start breaking down the crate and what do I find but special headed screws that are 3 inches long and no shortage of them that built up the crate and do I have the tool....YES!..I finally find the tool in my bicycle tool box.  Are you kidding me!!!  You build me a crate to protect the bike and it will but what are the chances that other people will have these special tools?  Unfortunately for me I only have it in screw driver form so it is big time effort to unscrew these things out of the 4x4 studs but I win and the crate is broken down and the bike comes out. My big bad boy starts right up and is so happy to be out of captivity like a dog when you come home.  It just romps around in total bliss...this is why I keep this bike.  Covered in saw dust but now safely in the garage.

The freight forwarder that did this....Marlog Car Handling.  Will I ever use them again....absolutely not.  The next time my motorcycle needs to be moved I'll rent a trailer and tow it to the US.  Never again will others touch it and have it in captivity.  It just isn't worth it but for an overseas move, what choice do you have?  Make sure you pick wisely if you need to move a vehicle overseas, Marlog is not the wise choice.

Calgary flooding

As is usual for the news media pretty much all of Calgary is under water...maybe even several meters (yards) of water depending upon which news channel is reporting (Fox is the worst exaggerators).  Any rate, the areas that were flooded were close to the river.  The flooding was caused by snow melt in the mountains compounded by a bunch of rain on the mountains (speeding snow melt) as well as rain over Calgary and everything in between and when the water rush hit, imagine the flooding.  The river dissects Calgary from West to East right about the middle and then after downtown it heads south through Calgary so downtown and lots of the southern parts were flooded.  Keep in mind if you lived near the river, you probably got flooded.  If you don't live near the river, you are probably ok.

In our case we live well north of the river and on top of hill.  Our household stuff was delivered on flood day which should give you an indication of how safe we were.  I think the water would need to rise another 100 meters (yards) to get to us...yes we are that much higher.  With downtown flooded including the substations feeding it so there is no power, downtown is closed and that includes my employer's offices so I've had more time to unpack and organize instead of having to leave it to Penny.  I lean on her heavily and she has been a huge trooper to get those kind of things done in the past, but this time I get to help.  The bulk of the unpacking and organizing is done but still some to go and we've done it together which is pretty cool.

So fret not as we are ok.  Do not believe everything the media reports since only a small part of what is reported is factual and be happy.

The sex change

One of the things we needed to do after arriving in Calgary is registering for the Alberta Health Care which is our medical insurance here.  No worries about doing that but imagine my surprise when we got our health care cards and Penny has been doing the girl on girl thing...whoa!  And she has liked it!!!  I was listed as a female...surprise!!!

Apparently Penny got tired of the girl on girl and wanted a man so I was forced to head down to the government office to have the innie sewn up and then an outie installed.  The worst part was having to prove the delicate procedure was actually done but I will say Canadians as a whole in our experience have been very helpful and nice through everything.  So just a quick showing with all the stitches/etc. and we were off again.  I'm a MAN!!!  And Penny is very happy again.

Ikea round 2

When we moved to the Netherlands 3-1/2 years ago one of the first things we needed to do was buy a mattress and some bar stools since we decided to camp out in our rental house while we waited for our household goods to arrive.  It took us 5 hours to use public transportation to get there, order the mattress and schedule delivery and buy the bar stools and then return with the bar stools on public transportation.....argh!...and the locals live this way.

Calgary is very much North America so we drove to Ikea, bought a mattress and bar stools so we can again camp out in our new rental house while we wait for our household goods to arrive.  This time we could get the mattress all rolled up into the car with the bar stools and drive it home so no delivery charges....yeah!  It took just over an hour to complete the task.  What a difference being in North America makes.