All Gassed Up...

After riding the 850T in between several snow/rain storms, decided to take the 650 (v65sp) out, since it's easier to ride in the mud (Road Rage...10/23/18). I'm too cheap to buy two batteries, so switched it over from the T, put some air in the tires, and rolled it out of the garage to check the oil since that side of the bike was against the wall. When I unscrewed the oil cap, a plume shot out, covering the apron with a gas/oil mix. So put the plug back in, got a pan, and drained a couple more quarts of the pungent liquid. At first I thought I'd forgotten to close the petcocks last fall, but no, they were in the off position. So I guess I need new petcocks and float needles.

The 650 Moto Guzzi in happier times.

Later I talked to my mechanic neighbor and he says he always closes the petcocks on his Harley, even when he stops for just a few minutes. And in the fall he drains the gas from the tank. I always filled it up cause I thought there'd be less problems with fumes and gas degradation over the winter. But isn't that the conundrum of riding old bikes, there's always something new to fix. I'll soon be wrenching on the carburetors and gas tank before riding it again.

April Weather...

Although less extreme than March, April 2019 was again significantly warmer than normal. The Interior sites, Fairbanks, Delta Junction and Gulkana saw substantially warmer temperatures, but the highest departures from normal were recorded in the northern and northwestern coastal areas. As in March, Kotzebue recorded the highest temperature deviation of all with 12.4 °F above normal for the month.

Fairbanks monthly temperature was 37°F, which was 4.5°F above normal. The observed maximum temperature was 69°F on the 30th of the month, the minimum temperature was 12°F on the 4th of the month. The total monthly precipitation was 0.6", which was 0.3" above normal. Snowfall in Fairbanks was 5.4", which was 2.9" above normal. (Alaska Climate Research Center)

Green Up...

Just saw this posted on the Weather Bureau's forecast page:
Green up occurred in Fairbanks on the evening of May 1, 2019. Chena  Ridge was beginning to show a faint shade of green in the  afternoon, but the ridge turned more distinctly green by  evening.  The average date of green up in Fairbanks is May 9. The earliest  green up date recorded here was April 26, 2016.
I guess this means it must be spring now. It's a good thing we didn't get the snow storm they predicted for this past weekend. Anyway, we went for a hike today. Now that I'm pretty much healed up, I can get out and do stuff again. So here's a few photos...

Well the aspen trees are sprouting their leaves here too, it's nice to see that they got that right.

Big old spruce tree went down on the trail. We've had a lot of wind lately and it looked like this one was infested with carpenter ants.

But the surest sign of spring is washing the dog harnesses and the winter gloves. They pick up the oil from the dogs fur and can get pretty oderiferous if not washed every few years.

All Hosed Up...

After one of the hoses blew on the backhoe last fall (Hosed Again 10/11/18), I parked the tractor and removed the backhoe, then took the hoses into town and got new ones made. They sat in garage over the winter, since I didn't need to use it until this spring when I finally got to working on it again.

The two closest hoses are the one's being replaced. I angled the fittings so that both hoses go around the outside of the frame and then wind underneath the control panel. The previous setup had one hose over and one under the panel. I think the one that blew was the one that went over and likely was often kicked or stepped on, since it ran next to the foot boards. Hopefully it'll be out of the way now that it'll run under them.

As soon as the ground dries out, I'll back the tractor up over the sub-frame and make sure the the hoses hook up. Then fit some protective sleeves over the hoses and seal up all the fittings. Of course it might be awhile before the ground dries up. Here's the latest forecast from the NWS:

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT THURSDAY NIGHT TO 6 AM AKDT SATURDAY...Rain and snow expected. Rain will change to snow by early morning Friday. Plan on slippery road conditions. Slushy snow expected, accumulations of 1 to 2 inches in the valley, with localized  amounts up to 5 inches in the hills.