Many years ago I too lost a bolt (actually a carb base nut) while working on a customers new truck at a Ford dealership. Being an apprentice mechanic & wanting to hustle up & finish the warranty carb replacement, & since I couldn't find it quickly, I scrounged up one from my misc. bolt box. To my great dismay I found it after starting the truck. It had been hiding in the INTAKE!. Cracked a cylinder top to bottom, necessitating a new short block. Murphy's law at its best. Lesson learned.

stinger wrote:
Many years ago I too lost a bolt (actually a carb base nut) while working on a customers new truck at a Ford dealership. Being an apprentice mechanic & wanting to hustle up & finish the warranty carb replacement, & since I couldn't find it quickly, I scrounged up one from my misc. bolt box. To my great dismay I found it after starting the truck. It had been hiding in the INTAKE!. Cracked a cylinder top to bottom, necessitating a new short block. Murphy's law at its best. Lesson learned.

Oh god.. That's awful!

You scarying me already, I can't top that one.

Some of you have talked about your Stebel horn. On 1-1-09 at the beginning of our Polar Bear run. Two members drove up in their HD's and parked next to me. We said Hi, and Happy New Year. They told me about their Xmas gifts. First guy shows me the HD short air horns and blows them, they're loud. His brother in law, the second member shows us the HD long air horns and blows them, they're loud. I said yea, I got a louder horn about 6 months ago, and blew the Stebel horn. Both of them jumped back, and started to walk around the bike looking for the horn, as they said, "Damn, that little thing is loud." I got a kick out of that.

And my brother wants to know why I'm so anal about covering the carb & intake when we're working on the race car. Once bitten....

Mark7 wrote:
None of you have really experienced frustration wrenching on your bike until you've tried to install a set of stubborn, contrary, yet ultimately submissive Roadhouse dual exhausts with a 3 year old shop assistant. Flashback can tell you about it if you need any details!



Have fun doing your winter mods.

M7

Yeah, I have experienced that, Mark, with my Roadhouse Dooleys and my TWIN 2-year-olds and 4-year-old. It made the 5-hour install a 7-hour install.

stinger wrote:
Many years ago I too lost a bolt (actually a carb base nut) while working on a customers new truck at a Ford dealership. Being an apprentice mechanic & wanting to hustle up & finish the warranty carb replacement, & since I couldn't find it quickly, I scrounged up one from my misc. bolt box. To my great dismay I found it after starting the truck. It had been hiding in the INTAKE!. Cracked a cylinder top to bottom, necessitating a new short block. Murphy's law at its best. Lesson learned.






ouch

many years ago I was changing an engine in a VW bug. Got it all put back together and was driving it--went to shift gears and suddenly no power to the wheels. Ended up a 13 mm wrench, left in the flywheel casing, jumped up and would not let the clutch disengage. It was sitting by the throwout bearing all nice and pretty--like it belonged there!!! Well at least I got my wrench back!!!

And off subject--my throttle pinky is doing well--had a pin put in it on 1-2-2009, so at least another 2-4 weeks off. Just got back from visiting my Mom in Lake Worth FL, and my brother and his daughter were in from Thailand. So I got to see everyone. I should break a finger every year just before the holidays, and when I run out of fingers there are always toes!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL and happing wrenching. I can't wait to be able to use my hand. I have a fluid change to do and add a tach, a Bad Boy WOLO horn (couldn't find the chrome one in stock at the Harbot Freight stores however it is online and in the catalog, may have to order it $49)--also stage 1 exhaust to put on. And thanks to these posts--I'll sweep under the R* before starting and make sure no one puts anything extra under it--you meanies!!!! I was laughing at the extra bolts!!!!

VROOM VROOM