WELCOME TO THE THUMPERGARAGE!
updated for you this fine day: 05/26/22
Captain Jack:
Attached is my reservation request for this year's ThumperCafes:
- June 17th in Marne, Iowa: just me, I'll be riding the Husky in photo above.
- August 18th Lakeview Oregon ( Whoa! Hey, Rob - see TN#147, page 27, notice a fine foto of an ole "scally wag", read that page to bring yourself up to date with our plans for August 18, 2022. We plan to be in the heart of the Owyhee's, you can read the rest ... and, boy, is it gonna be cool! - #000) : myself and my riding mate Merrill, we'll probably be riding something fast and sporty 🤣🤣🤣
- October 13th some town Georgia: me for now, and I have no idea what I might be riding.
Ok, that it. Have a great day and a wonderful long weekend.
Rob Fisher # 5186
Andover, MN
Hey, Rob ... no such thing as a "long (enough) weekend" on a Thumper, they are never long enough, right? Love the photo and thanks for being a FSSNOCer! - #000
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Wow, #000! Harvey Mushman on the cover of TN #147. Great job. Mike #5244
(Reply: Yes! You have a keen eye and an even sharper wit, Mike (grin)! - #000)
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Confirm dinner attendance for myself at.FSSNOC confab June 17.
Dr. Gregory Frazier
Author/Moto-Journalist and General Motorcycle Wastrel
(Reply: Yep, you bee on the list. Show up, bring money for your food, and don't forget those three books that you mentioned last week, Dr. G! (dear reader, see below) - #000
P.S. I LOVE that word, "WASTREL" - I plan, I say "plan", to remember it long enough to use it somewhere, some place it will make me look much more qualified than I really am ...
P.P.S. You reading this, Steve? How come YOU haven't told me about this word? - #000.
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Limited availability ... If you are not currently a member of the FOUR-STROKE SINGLES NATIONAL OWNERS CLUB and you would like to pursue membership in this group (FSSNOC), click on the Member Application page as listed on the masthead above ... fill out all the blanks and sign, give us your USA address, send your U.S. funds with your application, don't forget to include your shirt size so we can send you a club shirt for FREE, and this FREE shirt with membership offer DOES include former members as well, something new since 2020. Also, include some details of your own Thumper or thumper-related interests if you like, it helps us to get to know you. We are about Four-Stroke Single cylinder powered motorcycles - AND - we are a National club, having been "Thumpin' in the USA" since 1986. We publish and mail by first class a hands-on paper magazine called Thumper News, replete with color photos and unforgettable stories ... I can't recall one just now, but ... yeah, true!
Thanks for stopping by our website! - Jack, FSSNOC #000
(05-26-22)
This week's update begins:
Jack,
I'm on the Facebook Janus Owners Group, and there's a member who rode his 250 Halcyon from South Dakota to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska a few years back.
I contacted him and he told me some wonderful stories about his trip. He went by himself with no support at all. I have to say that the man is fearless and has big dreams.
I would never take on such an adventure.
Anyway, here's a picture of him and his Halcyon (I don't know how he got it to move as loaded down as it was). He gave me permission if you decide to put it on the Garage.
Steve Oakman #5266
Yo Steve - I think I viewed this photo (used last week on the ThumperGarage) on the wall at JANUS ... I, in a group of four more FSSNOCers, rode a KLR, well, not all five of us rode my KLR, but anyway we motored up to Alaska, meeting up with seven more FSSNOCers at Fast Eddy's in TOK, then our group toured the state, then rode back home - some 11,000 miles, this was in 2001 ... quite a feat, 36 days for us, and certainly quite a feat for a 250cc, for sure. I did see somewhere that someone rode a motorscooter up there, and one does see bicyclists, too. Matter of fact, we did see a few mosquitos riding bicycles as well...
uhhh, that last comment was written, as writers say, for effect or is it affect??? - #000
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Good Morning FSSNOC Emperor...
Just finished consuming my weekly FSSNOC fix. Couldn’t help but add my 3 wheel senseless-ness. (this is in regard to last week's cover shot and article - see below)
Yes ... riding “operating” a sidecar rig is extremely different and your center of gravity is much higher. The trick I’ve found that helps on turns, besides taking them much slower than you would on 2-wheels; is to shift one’s body weight “i.e. butt” toward the outside of the turns. It’s really just a matter of “slightly” tensing (contracting) the inside leg thigh to push/slide one’s center of gravity across the saddle towards the outside of the turn. Another good source for Safe Sidecar operations is the American Sidecar Association Safety Manual.
Keep-On-THUMPING
FRAN #1440
A couple of additional details to the article from last week (below), Jerome's LS650 powered Sidehack got in the very low 30's on gas mileage (remember the Kansas wind?) going home against the wind, as compared to 40ish with the wind, also my Honda CBR250R got a spectacular 79 mpg for the whole trip, out and back, largely due to the relatively slow speed of the Hack.
And, of note, last time I talked to Fran, he was piloting a sidecar rig... #000.
below is the related article:
"MY SIDEHACK ..." - Jerome Kahn, #5372 - KS.
(Editor's title: Who says you can't TRAIN an old dog? - Ha! Ha! Ha! - get it? "Train" an old dog? - #000)
Back in early February 2022, one of our local MC members, Dwain Hiebert, FSSNOC #5174 - KS, posted at a Prairie Pups MC meeting that he was selling his sidehack. It is a 2003 Suzuki LS 650, a 650cc Single, with a 1973 Jawa Velorex sidecar affixed to it. I immediately gave him a deposit!
The day I got it, I rode it around and around my driveway. Boy, I quickly learned that it was really strange and difficult to steer. The next morning, I went to my shed to ride it and there was a puddle of fuel under it ... ugh, I had forgotten to shut off the fuel valve!
I added fuel and pulled it out of my shed to ride it about the neighborhood. I got to the end of my driveway and it wouldn’t move forward, the clutch seemed to be disengaged. Thank goodness, I only had to push it back a tenth of a mile!
Dwain came by to see if he could figure out what was wrong, no luck. He put it on a trailer and hauled it to our local motorcycle shop. They determined that all that fuel ended up on the floor because the carburetor had a bad float valve and a bunch of fuel ended up in the clutch, shredding the clutch.
May 3rd (yep, three months later...)
After $800 in repairs, Dwain and I split the repair cost, he is a true gentleman, new clutch, fuel valve, and carburetor overhaul. Dwain rode it from the shop to my house.
May 7th
I adjusted the shift lever to better suit my foot and boots, I repaired the lighting on the sidecar and added an LED light to the front so the mostly-blind cage drivers can see me.
May 9th
I have been riding it around town, getting used to the quirks of riding a sidehack. I have watched YouTube videos and read articles. The big takeaway so far is, take turns slowly, especially to the right, roll on throttle in a right turn, roll off throttle in a left turn, and lean your body in the direction of the turn to help keep the sidecar on the ground. Yeah...
I am having to keep in mind that there is something on the right-hand side of my motorcycle now so no more hugging the fog line! The more I ride it, the more fun it is. My biggest worry is that I will forget to put my feet down when I ride my other bikes ... time will tell.
Because it has the sidecar, I have been running my errands about town without having to burn a lot expensive gas and diesel. People seem to really like seeing the sidehack, I get a lot of smiles, especially from the ladies, teehee. The previous owner had a woman pull up her blouse when he rode by. I am a 280 pound 5’7” fat boy and will enjoy the attention. To be modern and politically correct, my preferred pronouns are Brilliant and Handsome 😊
May 10th FSSNOC ride to Durham, KS. (for a Moto-Coffee destination)
Met Jack, #0000, at 9:45AM at his house, followed him to Durham KS, 72 miles, all good except I really needed to be in the sidecar heading East with the typical 20mph Kansas Southern winds with gusts to 30. That was the least fun, trying to keep the sidecar on the ground, and when we got onto 56 Hwy, I was a definite road block, running 50mph on a 65mph highway. I would have preferred to go 40, but I would have been a grease mark on someone’s grill. Thankfully it was only for four miles!
Anyway, before and after the highway, we stair-stepped our way East and South on peaceful county blacktops, very scenic, truly an experience of endurance and controlled panic.
We met with several other FSSNOC’rs at the Main Street Café in Durham. Dwain and his better half, Ro, were there on their Rebels, they were very surprised to see that I had ridden that hack all that way. Turns out, Dwain never rode it more than 20 miles! I think I impressed him with how crazy I really am.
We had a lovely lunch, lots great lies, boasts of grandeur, and laughs. As usual, I was the butt of many of their jokes, gotta love those guys and gals.
I burned 1.7 gallons riding 72 miles, a little over 42MPG, not bad. Fueled up the beast and met Jack on the road, we rode to Tampa, KS, a cool little town. Then we took the scenic ride home, prolly 80 miles. At Inman, Ks, we took a sorely needed butt-break. That is where Jack took a picture of me with the sidehack.
(Editor Note: We chose last week's photo (Jerome and his sidehack in front of a train caboose) to allow us to continue our story line in the last few weeks of "Thumpers and Trains" here on the ThumperGarage. As you read last week, this connects us with our destination for our ThumperCafe in Iowa in June, we eat at the Derailed Bar and Grill in Marne, Iowa. - #000)
Another 25 miles and I was home. The hack is now in my driveway cooling down, it was 92 degrees outside.
Because of my limited experience on the sidehack, I was nervous about doing this ride but, it turned out to be a great learning experience without any permanent scars to remind me of the lesson.
In conclusion; it has been said that riding a sidecar is its own unique ride and requires a completely different skill set. It no longer rides like a motorcycle, or a trike, more like a go-kart with a front wheel missing.
I think it’s going to be a great around town grocery getter as gasoline nears $50 a gallon. - Jerome Kahn
"FSSNOC" ... more than a club, it's a LIFESTYLE!
#########################################################################
Borrowed from our website's Event Page:
"Our FSSNOC THUMPERCAFE is to be held on JUNE 17th, a Friday. Our premise is to arrive in tiny Marne, Iowa where we are slated to dine as a group at the DERAILED BAR and GRILL at 4:00PM on June 17th, Friday!"
See, did you catch that? The Derailed Bar and Grill ... this is train country. One of the area's particular delights, as one rides through all those little bustling, and some not so much, towns, is to notice the influence of the train industry, still quite noticeable from a modern sense, but wait until you see some of the railroad stations from yesteryear, example: the Rock Island Railroad Depot, built in 1898 in Atlantic, Iowa (6 miles from Marne - wonder if that had anything to do with trains needing water?) ... Hey, should we do a contest for the best train-related photo taken on our collective trips to Iowa (and it'd have to include our Thumper within the frame, right)? - #000
#########################################################
FSSNOC ... IS on a national YouTube Podcast - don't miss it. Advise your friends to view it as well...
Wanna listen/view a podcast ... DO CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZb4CgjfmEk
The podcast above was generated by Janus Motorcycles in Goshen, Indiana. EP.#1 ... In this podcast, FSSNOC #000 (Jack) is the guest, hereby being interviewed by Richard and Grant from JANUS MOTORCYCLES.
Play/View time is a tick over an hour so some popcorn might be nice, I like the chocolate drizzle kind, btw. Formal wear (FSSNOC club t-shirts, cap, etc...) adds to the mood, but not mandatory. Contact your friends, invite them in, share as you like. No cheat sheets, no prompt boards, no prior discussion was used to make this podcast.
If you like it, tell JANUS at 574-538-1350 JANUSMOTORCYCLES.COM
And, this podcast is for entertainment only...
********************************************************************************************
Don't miss anything, more pages shown on the masthead above - check them out. Contact us by email: FSSNOCthumpers@yahoo.com (to be responded to ONLY here on the site at the update for next week)
********************************************************************************************
updated for you this fine day: 05/26/22
Captain Jack:
Attached is my reservation request for this year's ThumperCafes:
- June 17th in Marne, Iowa: just me, I'll be riding the Husky in photo above.
- August 18th Lakeview Oregon ( Whoa! Hey, Rob - see TN#147, page 27, notice a fine foto of an ole "scally wag", read that page to bring yourself up to date with our plans for August 18, 2022. We plan to be in the heart of the Owyhee's, you can read the rest ... and, boy, is it gonna be cool! - #000) : myself and my riding mate Merrill, we'll probably be riding something fast and sporty 🤣🤣🤣
- October 13th some town Georgia: me for now, and I have no idea what I might be riding.
Ok, that it. Have a great day and a wonderful long weekend.
Rob Fisher # 5186
Andover, MN
Hey, Rob ... no such thing as a "long (enough) weekend" on a Thumper, they are never long enough, right? Love the photo and thanks for being a FSSNOCer! - #000
#########################################################################
Wow, #000! Harvey Mushman on the cover of TN #147. Great job. Mike #5244
(Reply: Yes! You have a keen eye and an even sharper wit, Mike (grin)! - #000)
#########################################################################
Confirm dinner attendance for myself at.FSSNOC confab June 17.
Dr. Gregory Frazier
Author/Moto-Journalist and General Motorcycle Wastrel
(Reply: Yep, you bee on the list. Show up, bring money for your food, and don't forget those three books that you mentioned last week, Dr. G! (dear reader, see below) - #000
P.S. I LOVE that word, "WASTREL" - I plan, I say "plan", to remember it long enough to use it somewhere, some place it will make me look much more qualified than I really am ...
P.P.S. You reading this, Steve? How come YOU haven't told me about this word? - #000.
#########################################################################
Limited availability ... If you are not currently a member of the FOUR-STROKE SINGLES NATIONAL OWNERS CLUB and you would like to pursue membership in this group (FSSNOC), click on the Member Application page as listed on the masthead above ... fill out all the blanks and sign, give us your USA address, send your U.S. funds with your application, don't forget to include your shirt size so we can send you a club shirt for FREE, and this FREE shirt with membership offer DOES include former members as well, something new since 2020. Also, include some details of your own Thumper or thumper-related interests if you like, it helps us to get to know you. We are about Four-Stroke Single cylinder powered motorcycles - AND - we are a National club, having been "Thumpin' in the USA" since 1986. We publish and mail by first class a hands-on paper magazine called Thumper News, replete with color photos and unforgettable stories ... I can't recall one just now, but ... yeah, true!
Thanks for stopping by our website! - Jack, FSSNOC #000
(05-26-22)
This week's update begins:
Jack,
I'm on the Facebook Janus Owners Group, and there's a member who rode his 250 Halcyon from South Dakota to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska a few years back.
I contacted him and he told me some wonderful stories about his trip. He went by himself with no support at all. I have to say that the man is fearless and has big dreams.
I would never take on such an adventure.
Anyway, here's a picture of him and his Halcyon (I don't know how he got it to move as loaded down as it was). He gave me permission if you decide to put it on the Garage.
Steve Oakman #5266
Yo Steve - I think I viewed this photo (used last week on the ThumperGarage) on the wall at JANUS ... I, in a group of four more FSSNOCers, rode a KLR, well, not all five of us rode my KLR, but anyway we motored up to Alaska, meeting up with seven more FSSNOCers at Fast Eddy's in TOK, then our group toured the state, then rode back home - some 11,000 miles, this was in 2001 ... quite a feat, 36 days for us, and certainly quite a feat for a 250cc, for sure. I did see somewhere that someone rode a motorscooter up there, and one does see bicyclists, too. Matter of fact, we did see a few mosquitos riding bicycles as well...
uhhh, that last comment was written, as writers say, for effect or is it affect??? - #000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good Morning FSSNOC Emperor...
Just finished consuming my weekly FSSNOC fix. Couldn’t help but add my 3 wheel senseless-ness. (this is in regard to last week's cover shot and article - see below)
Yes ... riding “operating” a sidecar rig is extremely different and your center of gravity is much higher. The trick I’ve found that helps on turns, besides taking them much slower than you would on 2-wheels; is to shift one’s body weight “i.e. butt” toward the outside of the turns. It’s really just a matter of “slightly” tensing (contracting) the inside leg thigh to push/slide one’s center of gravity across the saddle towards the outside of the turn. Another good source for Safe Sidecar operations is the American Sidecar Association Safety Manual.
Keep-On-THUMPING
FRAN #1440
A couple of additional details to the article from last week (below), Jerome's LS650 powered Sidehack got in the very low 30's on gas mileage (remember the Kansas wind?) going home against the wind, as compared to 40ish with the wind, also my Honda CBR250R got a spectacular 79 mpg for the whole trip, out and back, largely due to the relatively slow speed of the Hack.
And, of note, last time I talked to Fran, he was piloting a sidecar rig... #000.
below is the related article:
"MY SIDEHACK ..." - Jerome Kahn, #5372 - KS.
(Editor's title: Who says you can't TRAIN an old dog? - Ha! Ha! Ha! - get it? "Train" an old dog? - #000)
Back in early February 2022, one of our local MC members, Dwain Hiebert, FSSNOC #5174 - KS, posted at a Prairie Pups MC meeting that he was selling his sidehack. It is a 2003 Suzuki LS 650, a 650cc Single, with a 1973 Jawa Velorex sidecar affixed to it. I immediately gave him a deposit!
The day I got it, I rode it around and around my driveway. Boy, I quickly learned that it was really strange and difficult to steer. The next morning, I went to my shed to ride it and there was a puddle of fuel under it ... ugh, I had forgotten to shut off the fuel valve!
I added fuel and pulled it out of my shed to ride it about the neighborhood. I got to the end of my driveway and it wouldn’t move forward, the clutch seemed to be disengaged. Thank goodness, I only had to push it back a tenth of a mile!
Dwain came by to see if he could figure out what was wrong, no luck. He put it on a trailer and hauled it to our local motorcycle shop. They determined that all that fuel ended up on the floor because the carburetor had a bad float valve and a bunch of fuel ended up in the clutch, shredding the clutch.
May 3rd (yep, three months later...)
After $800 in repairs, Dwain and I split the repair cost, he is a true gentleman, new clutch, fuel valve, and carburetor overhaul. Dwain rode it from the shop to my house.
May 7th
I adjusted the shift lever to better suit my foot and boots, I repaired the lighting on the sidecar and added an LED light to the front so the mostly-blind cage drivers can see me.
May 9th
I have been riding it around town, getting used to the quirks of riding a sidehack. I have watched YouTube videos and read articles. The big takeaway so far is, take turns slowly, especially to the right, roll on throttle in a right turn, roll off throttle in a left turn, and lean your body in the direction of the turn to help keep the sidecar on the ground. Yeah...
I am having to keep in mind that there is something on the right-hand side of my motorcycle now so no more hugging the fog line! The more I ride it, the more fun it is. My biggest worry is that I will forget to put my feet down when I ride my other bikes ... time will tell.
Because it has the sidecar, I have been running my errands about town without having to burn a lot expensive gas and diesel. People seem to really like seeing the sidehack, I get a lot of smiles, especially from the ladies, teehee. The previous owner had a woman pull up her blouse when he rode by. I am a 280 pound 5’7” fat boy and will enjoy the attention. To be modern and politically correct, my preferred pronouns are Brilliant and Handsome 😊
May 10th FSSNOC ride to Durham, KS. (for a Moto-Coffee destination)
Met Jack, #0000, at 9:45AM at his house, followed him to Durham KS, 72 miles, all good except I really needed to be in the sidecar heading East with the typical 20mph Kansas Southern winds with gusts to 30. That was the least fun, trying to keep the sidecar on the ground, and when we got onto 56 Hwy, I was a definite road block, running 50mph on a 65mph highway. I would have preferred to go 40, but I would have been a grease mark on someone’s grill. Thankfully it was only for four miles!
Anyway, before and after the highway, we stair-stepped our way East and South on peaceful county blacktops, very scenic, truly an experience of endurance and controlled panic.
We met with several other FSSNOC’rs at the Main Street Café in Durham. Dwain and his better half, Ro, were there on their Rebels, they were very surprised to see that I had ridden that hack all that way. Turns out, Dwain never rode it more than 20 miles! I think I impressed him with how crazy I really am.
We had a lovely lunch, lots great lies, boasts of grandeur, and laughs. As usual, I was the butt of many of their jokes, gotta love those guys and gals.
I burned 1.7 gallons riding 72 miles, a little over 42MPG, not bad. Fueled up the beast and met Jack on the road, we rode to Tampa, KS, a cool little town. Then we took the scenic ride home, prolly 80 miles. At Inman, Ks, we took a sorely needed butt-break. That is where Jack took a picture of me with the sidehack.
(Editor Note: We chose last week's photo (Jerome and his sidehack in front of a train caboose) to allow us to continue our story line in the last few weeks of "Thumpers and Trains" here on the ThumperGarage. As you read last week, this connects us with our destination for our ThumperCafe in Iowa in June, we eat at the Derailed Bar and Grill in Marne, Iowa. - #000)
Another 25 miles and I was home. The hack is now in my driveway cooling down, it was 92 degrees outside.
Because of my limited experience on the sidehack, I was nervous about doing this ride but, it turned out to be a great learning experience without any permanent scars to remind me of the lesson.
In conclusion; it has been said that riding a sidecar is its own unique ride and requires a completely different skill set. It no longer rides like a motorcycle, or a trike, more like a go-kart with a front wheel missing.
I think it’s going to be a great around town grocery getter as gasoline nears $50 a gallon. - Jerome Kahn
"FSSNOC" ... more than a club, it's a LIFESTYLE!
#########################################################################
Borrowed from our website's Event Page:
"Our FSSNOC THUMPERCAFE is to be held on JUNE 17th, a Friday. Our premise is to arrive in tiny Marne, Iowa where we are slated to dine as a group at the DERAILED BAR and GRILL at 4:00PM on June 17th, Friday!"
See, did you catch that? The Derailed Bar and Grill ... this is train country. One of the area's particular delights, as one rides through all those little bustling, and some not so much, towns, is to notice the influence of the train industry, still quite noticeable from a modern sense, but wait until you see some of the railroad stations from yesteryear, example: the Rock Island Railroad Depot, built in 1898 in Atlantic, Iowa (6 miles from Marne - wonder if that had anything to do with trains needing water?) ... Hey, should we do a contest for the best train-related photo taken on our collective trips to Iowa (and it'd have to include our Thumper within the frame, right)? - #000
#########################################################
FSSNOC ... IS on a national YouTube Podcast - don't miss it. Advise your friends to view it as well...
Wanna listen/view a podcast ... DO CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZb4CgjfmEk
The podcast above was generated by Janus Motorcycles in Goshen, Indiana. EP.#1 ... In this podcast, FSSNOC #000 (Jack) is the guest, hereby being interviewed by Richard and Grant from JANUS MOTORCYCLES.
Play/View time is a tick over an hour so some popcorn might be nice, I like the chocolate drizzle kind, btw. Formal wear (FSSNOC club t-shirts, cap, etc...) adds to the mood, but not mandatory. Contact your friends, invite them in, share as you like. No cheat sheets, no prompt boards, no prior discussion was used to make this podcast.
If you like it, tell JANUS at 574-538-1350 JANUSMOTORCYCLES.COM
And, this podcast is for entertainment only...
********************************************************************************************
Don't miss anything, more pages shown on the masthead above - check them out. Contact us by email: FSSNOCthumpers@yahoo.com (to be responded to ONLY here on the site at the update for next week)
********************************************************************************************