Saturday, February 10, 2018

Another week in Sun City, AZ

Not much moto content.

Spent another week keeping my FIL company in the hospital as he slowly but steadily recovers from heart surgery.

Scarlett did suffer from two flat tires though; the sidecar and pusher tires had to have their inner tubes replaced at the nearby powersports dealership.

In the process, found that the threads on the bracket that holds the pusher's brake caliper had stripped and so I had to order a part from Ski at Triquest as he had it onhand.  It's not a part that's regularly stocked so I lucked out on that.

Also found issues with the mounting hole for the aft bolt for the sidecar wheel's brake support bracket but a run through with the right tap (M10 x 1.25) from the local hardware store fixed the threads and a new similar bolt finished that repair.

$48, I may try to helicoil repair the old part
It's the upper right hole that had the stripped threads.

What I didn't luck out on was the time it took to ship the part from California to Arizona...one state over right?  Paid for two day delivery, got it in five.  Good old USPS, once again failing to meet expectations.

Because of a series of clear, cloudless days, not much in terms of sunset pictures since I wasn't going to ride Scarlett with an "iffy" brake assembly.  Probably doable but since there was no need.....

Instead, here's a couple of pics of a hummingbird looking for nectar in the Aloe Vera flowers located on my FIL's porch.



One evening as I was headed back to my FIL's condo, the sky was lit nicely in peach colors:


Friday's sunset was not bad, lots of pastel colors:



My sister-in-law, Laura, is scheduled to fly in tonight (assuming her flight isn't grounded by the current snow falling in the Detroit, MI area) and I'll be leaving Sun City soon after on my way back to Colorado.

12 comments:

RichardM said...

Two flats and n a week! Gotta avoid the cactus. Tap is for internal threads and die is for external threads.

redlegsrides said...

Thanks RichardM for the correction....and yes, the spinesbon the flora around here are very sharp.

Martha said...

Hip, Hip, Hooray...the changing of the guard is about to happen! We'll keep the light on...

CCjon said...

The first shot of the hummingbird is right on. Good shot.

The desert colors and terrain are so much different than your home state, yet attractive in their own way. Thanks for posting your AZ photos.

Am sure FIL appreciates your help and time you spent with him, Martha too. Have safe travels back home.

redlegsrides said...

Thanks Jan, I lucked out with this particular hummingbird....

Trobairitz said...

I wondered what would cause the flat tires. I didn't think of the cactus until I read Richard's comment.

It seems you still have some very pretty sunsets and the hummingbird is beautiful as well. I'll never complain about bird pictures.

redlegsrides said...

Yep, the cactus and other flora here are covered in spines, and the bushes have really sharp burrs...spent time pulling thorns out of the rubber in the tires!

Coop a.k.a. Coopdway said...

Always fun to see delicately stopped hummers. Better luck with the freshly repaired tires and an easy trip home Dom!

redlegsrides said...

Thanks Coop

SonjaM said...

Another colour explosion, Dom.

BTW I spotted a Ural today and had to think of you and Richard.

redlegsrides said...

Thanks SonjaM, hopefully it was good thoughts when you thought of RichardM and I. ;)

SonjaM said...

Always, Dom.