Finally, again????
Yes, finally again. I thought that I had everything worked out with my motorcycle, but right after my last post I recieved all of my paperwork back from the DMV with a handwritten note. The lady that helped me wrote the note to apologize for having misinformed me as to the status of my bike. She had failed to have me get a CHP verification and had missed one piece of paperwork. Anyway, I spent most of yesterday dealing with these issues. Here are some pictures of my bike up in my truck for the verification yesterday. (I really do plan to get some action pictures soon!)
Ok, I am about to launch into a lot of detail about all the junk I went through for the DMV yesterday so if you are easily bored you may skip down to the bolded starting point now.
I started my day out by loading the bike into my truck, I then drove over to the California Highway Patrol to have them verify my VIN and Engine number. The CHP officer was very friendly, I arrived 10 minutes early and by the time my appointment was supposed to start, I was done. He even had the paperwork done in the computer so it was very neat and easy to read. After this bit of good fortune I decided to go ahead and brave the DMV line so that I could get everything taken care of. I arrived at DMV and waited only 40 minutes before being helped. The woman that was helping me was very nice, but unfortunately she was new so she didn't know exactly what was going on. After about 15 minutes and two trips by this ladies trainer to the back to ask someone else what to do, they decided that I needed to get in touch with the previous owner (before the guy that I got it from) and have him sign a bill of sale to Steve, who sold me the bike. I called Steve, went by and had him sign this paper, and he called Dave (the previous owner). I then went down to see Dave, he signed the paperwork and I proceeded back to DMV. This time the wait was about 45 minutes, but I went home right after I got my number and picked up a magazine to read and something to drink. By the time I got back to DMV I only had to wait about 25 minutes. As I arrived at the counter this time (with high hopes) I was informed that the CHP verification wouldn't work because it had been typed rather than handwritten. WHATEVER!!!!!!!!! The stupid DMV then decides that they can just use the one that they made out the first time. (If you can use that one, why in the heck did you ever send me to CHP????) "Oh, wait," the new girl says, "We can't use this one because the mileage has been modified." Well of course it's been modified, I rode it all around the first time y'all told me it was legal. "Well, we're going to have to do another verification." Luckily for me, I still had the bike in the truck from the CHP, so I told them we could just do it now. I went out and waited in the verification line for about 15 minutes and when I got to the front of that line I had to wait about 15 more for someone to actually help me. Surprise, surprise, for the third time all of the numbers match!!! Could it be, will I actually finish this process??? YES!!!!!!!!! I went back inside (directly to the woman who was helping me before, I wasn't waiting in line again!) and was informed that that was it, she would give me my plates now. I already have plates, I got them last time you said I was done! Easily Bored Reader, Start again here Well, anyway, I should be completely legal this time. Hopefully nothing else unexpected comes up!
Oh, and just for the record, I despise the DMV!!!!!!!!!!
I got it all worked out!!!!!
Well, I just realized that I was having so much fun with all of my new toys that I hadn't updated in a long time. Anyway, I got everything worked out with the motorcycle. I went to the bike shop and got an air filter element along with some chain lube, air filter oil and some grease. I found a battery at a battery place here in town. (This was a bigger task than it sounds like because it is a little tiny 6 volt battery instead of the typical 12 volt.) Anyway, I got the exact battery that I needed at this place, but unfortunately it didn't solve my blinker problem. I still have to have the engine rpm's up just a little bit in order for the blinkers to blink. The next morning I went down to the DMV and they did a VIN and engine number check on the bike and then they gave me a new title and registered it with no problems! They didn't even tell me that I had to have a brake and light check, which means my little problem with the blinkers isn't really a problem. I was very excited. I called an insurance company that Steve told me about and they gave me insurance for the next year on my bike for $100.87. Anyway, my total now for the bike, the helmet, all of the parts, insurance for the year and registration is $650! I am very thankful that Steve found me such a great deal!!!
Last Thursday I went out with Jason and rode around off road for a while, we had a good time and I didn't crash! On Friday Caleb, Lauri, Chuck and I went out to the Klocke's and rode around their yard. Caleb rode the bike all around by himself and while Lauri wasn't quite tall enough to ride it all by herself, she did operate it entirely by herself while I ran along beside her to keep her from tipping over! Chuck rode it too, and despite a few problems with a fence, he rode it quite well. I wish I had some pictures to post, but we (conveniently.) forgot the camera!!! I will try to get a picture of the bike, now that it is running, for my next post.
A bike update
Well, I got all of the problems with the bike figured out. I now know that I just need a new battery to get my blinkers working properly. I also need an air filter element and then I can go for a ride (more than just up and down Steve's street). I am planning to buy these things today, pretty much as soon as the stores open. For those of you wondering what I am doing up before stores are open, I got up at about 3:30 this morning. I have a cold and so I couldn't breathe very well and it was keeping me from sleeping. I got up at 3:30, took some medicine and then played on the computer for a while to wait for the medicine to kick in. I went back to bed at about 4:15 only to lie awake (wide awake) in bed until I decided to get up at about 5:15. Anyway, it is 7:20 am and I have already cleaned up most of the garage and gone to Wal-Mart to buy some tie downs and Vitamin-C.
How many of you know that there is a singer named Vitamin-C? Yeah, I just found out too. I was looking for this picture on Google and kept getting pics of this singer chick.
Ok, enough about vitamins and being sick.
I got my second monitor hooked up yesterday, I think it is pretty cool!
Sorry about the poor quality of that picture, but I am not a good photographer. I also received my new DVD drive in the mail yesterday. It installed very easily, required no additional drivers and as far as I can tell so far (I burned one DVD that doesn't seem to skip or freeze) it has solved the problem that I had with my old burner. All in all, I am very happy with all of my recent purchases and I hope today will come with good fortune as I look for the correct battery and air filter.
The Bike Runs!!!!!
Well, Steve Taff is the MAN!! He called me on Tuesday and I went over to his place to work on my bike. We put about 2 hours in just checking for compression and what not. On Wednesday we put in a new spark plug, cleaned out the carburetor, tightened some nut and bolts and charged the battery. Next we filled it up with gas and it started up!! It runs really well, but right now we still have a few minor issues to work through. The floats in the carb are sticking which cause fuel to leak out of the overflow and the blinkers aren't working. I should be able to fix the blinkers easily and Steve and I can probably figure out why the floats are sticking!
On another positive note, I went down to DMV this morning and passed my written motorcycle test. Now I can legally drive around (staying off of major highways and not driving at night) to practice before I go back to take the driving test in a few months. I also found out that I can register it fairly easily. Since it hasn't been registered since 1983, it is not on record so that makes it very easy to set up new registration under my name, YIPPEEE! I hate dealing with the DMV so this is a real answer to prayer! Anyway, that is what I have been doing! Here, for your viewing pleasure, is a picture of the helmet that I am thinking about getting!
