Going out for the day last Wednesday (great thing this retirement) when fourteen miles from home the gear selection on my Saab becomes difficult then impossible. Something in the clutch (a broken damper spring in the centre plate I think) is stopping it disengaging. I managed to get it back home though traffic lights and road junctions were a bit nerve wracking. It's twenty years old, I've had it eighteen, and done 163000mls so sad to say it isn't worth repairing. Very sad as I'd just put £70 worth of petrol in it.
Now that leaves me with the GoldWing as personal transport. Friday I'm coming home and the exhaust starts to get louder until I hit a bump and suddenly it's more NASCAR Pontiac than Honda Goldwing. The l/h silencer had snapped off at the collector box. I took the box off but the whole system is badly corroded and I've had to order a new stainless system, £650 ouch!
So until my exhaust arrives or I buy another car I'm dependant on a 1930 BSA or a 1967 Moto Guzzi assuming nothing goes wrong with them. They say things come in threes.
Sid
Yes, things come in threes - now you have your Beesa, your Guzzi, and your GW, you must be smiled on from on high! What a predicament to have - which bike will I use for my personal transport today?
Len in Kapunda
The world is not going to finish today, as it is already tomorrow in Australia and New Zealand, and other islands of foreign nations such as Guam and Samoa.
I have to admit I was smiling as I rode the Wing home Friday the exhaust making a lovely crisp roar, like tearing Calico, but I dont think the neighbours were quite so amused.
I've got three seized nuts on the left hand exhaust manifold. I've sprayed them with PlusGas in the hope they'll free off by the time the new system arrives.
The problem with the Beeza and the Guzzi is that the lights are absolutely useless so it's daylight travelling only at the moment.
I always wondered what a Goldwing would sound like with straight pipes on it. With hunting season approaching, and the deer insanity it contributes to in my area, I am always concerned with running into deer. The mufflers on my Oldwings are rust-brown, and I'm not sure how much longer it will be before one of mine shears off at the inlet end. I've also considered drilling a few holes in the mufflers to give me just a little more decibels to alert the wildlife of my presence.
Sorry to hear you've had a rough patch where vehicles go. I'd be inclined to fix the Volvo. I've never owned one, but have seen many on the road with 400-500K miles on them and still getting it.
I am wrong as often as I am right concerning what is wrong with someone else' motorcycle without having seen the machine in person. Guessing with limited information, as to the source of the trouble, is sketchy at best.
I agree on fixing the Volvo. Sounds like it may not be too complicated, clutch release bearing gone or maybe something more simple. Worth while checking it out.
Although the Saab car factory may have closed, there should be enough at recyclers/wreckers to find the bits and pieces you will need to get it back on the road again. Just think, in another 20 years it will become a collector's item, and then it will be worth a mint load of cash. Besides, you would have to lay out a bucket load of cash for another car, and who knows what you will get.
Unless it is totally shot and rusted through, then I would be considering repairs.
Len in Kapunda
The world is not going to finish today, as it is already tomorrow in Australia and New Zealand, and other islands of foreign nations such as Guam and Samoa.
I'm afraid with my poor old Saab it's more than just the clutch, though that is bad enough.
It's certificate of roadworthyness expires in January. To get it renewed it will need:
A new windscreen, a stone thrown up by a passing truck put a large crack in it.
The metal brake pipes to the rear need replacing as do a couple of brake hoses.
The exhaust system complete possibly including the catalytic converter, it still works but it is very rusty. The rear silencer is original, twenty years old.
Two tyres are near the legal wear limit.
There is some rust in the rear chassis but it wouldn't cause a problem this year but might in twelve months time.
Fitting a new clutch on a 9000 is an awful job. Your supposed to take the engine/transmission unit out but I have done it by lowering the subframe and pushing the gearbox to one side.
If you add up the above it comes to a hell of a lot more than the value of the car, which is about £100 scrap value.
When I bought the Saab eighteen years ago I needed a large family car, my wife and two daughters didn't travel light, but now the girls have grown up I don't need a big car and when you consider that eighteen years ago it cost £30 to fill the tank whereas it now costs over £80 something more economic would suit a newly retired person.
I was hoping it would last until January but, sad to say, I think it's time has come.
Things come in threes they say and unfortunately they're absolutely right. I had to go into town this morning so I fired up the old Beesa and rode off down the street. I got all of a hundred yards before there was an expensive bang followed by a clonking noise from the gearbox. I slowly clunked back home and into the garage. Investigation revealed a tooth had sheared off 1st gear on the main shaft, that in turn had lodged in the teeth of 3rd gear. Total damage done I won't know until I get the box stripped. Never a dull moment and now, until my exhaust arrives (tomorrow I sincerly hope), there's just the Guzzi left. Dare I go out on it!
What ever you do, don't leave the house ... dang man, if it weren't for bad luck, you wouldn't have any luck at all.
Sidcar wrote:Things come in threes they say and unfortunately they're absolutely right. I had to go into town this morning so I fired up the old Beesa and rode off down the street. I got all of a hundred yards before there was an expensive bang followed by a clonking noise from the gearbox. I slowly clunked back home and into the garage. Investigation revealed a tooth had sheared off 1st gear on the main shaft, that in turn had lodged in the teeth of 3rd gear. Total damage done I won't know until I get the box stripped. Never a dull moment and now, until my exhaust arrives (tomorrow I sincerly hope), there's just the Guzzi left. Dare I go out on it!
Sid
I am wrong as often as I am right concerning what is wrong with someone else' motorcycle without having seen the machine in person. Guessing with limited information, as to the source of the trouble, is sketchy at best.
I would certainly give the Guzzi a whirl, you have had your three strikes, so it can only get better for now. Anyways, what else would you be doing, now that you are 'retired', or is that 'retreaded'?
Len in Kapunda
The world is not going to finish today, as it is already tomorrow in Australia and New Zealand, and other islands of foreign nations such as Guam and Samoa.
