tucson_sailors

Have had several of the inflatable and "portable" spas in the last 10 years. About 2 years ago we just bit the bullet and got a hard-sided one. Here's the things I liked/disliked about them. 1. Inflatable spas. All 110, no options to use 220. Not terribly high, usually about 30" tall at most. 6' around is usual. About 250 gallons of water to fill. Drain options are usually the circulation hoses through the side of the unit. Pump is also used to inflate unit. Tops are just thicket vinyl, elastic and snaps for the top. Not terribly secure, but in an enclosed space probably fine. They stretch pretty easily (cats sleeping on hot tub) and can be quite expensive to replace. Chlorine/bromine water treatment only. Heater/blowwer are exclusive - only one works at a time. Filters usually in water and can be bumped by user. Getting in and out can be tricky if mobility issues. 2. Spa-N-Box hard sided "portable". Not a bad setup, but basically #1 above with styrofoam panels that have been coated in some sort of liquid ABS or other plastic. Thicket vinyl that the pure inflatables. Same restrictions, though I do belive you can get 220 wiring setup for it, check their website. Also about 30" high, no provision for steps on the inside, inflatable floor, etc. I found that by putting some of the silver bubble wrap insulation underneath it helped with heat retention. Snap on cover of thicket vinyl, same issues as noted above. Drain issues as above. Had on non-enclosed back porch, so no idea on the humidity issues, though would expect that it would be the same as having a large bath-tub 24/7. On the plus side, you can get them into a space that a normal hot tub would be impossible, and the pure inflatable comes in a box that was about 2' x 2' x 3' if I remember right, and was under about 80lbs weight. Best of luck, and hope this helps in the decision. Glenn in Tucson

Righto. Since I'm in process of cleaning carbs, airbox, wiring snarls, etc. I will probably do this as well. Thanks for the quick reply. Glenn

Have seeb that in a fair amount of user pics, the TCI/CDI box is on top of the air box under the false tank. I'm guessing this is done to keep the unit cool, as it wouldn't be sitting directly over the engine. Is this a model year difference (I've got a Mk2 87) or is it a after-market user modification? In mine, it looks like its mounted to a frame rail. I noticed this as I've been looking at wiring and fuse block upgrade threads, and saw the box, and wasn't sure if it was an aftermarket or moving the original. Can't find a thread talking about it, so figured I would have to ask. Glenn in Tucson

Minor update. Got my fox shock air pump in, and inflated the front valve to 20psi. Its been holding over the last couple of days. Also got my progressives in, but will hold off on installing them till I see ride quality with just the air to have a comparison. Also got my Uni filter and some other small parts in. Now if God will cooperate with decent weather on the weekends, I may get some wrenching done. Glenn in Tucson

well, I'll let you know how the "poor mans fix" of a lower kick on temp sensor for the cooling fan works. My new to me 87 doesn't appear to have a working fan sensor and temp gauge sender, so in prep for this weekends cooling system flush (new coolant, thermostat, etc) I also got a lower temp auto (88 chevy sprint) temp sensor for the fan. Think the thread is on poor mans or 1st gen in this forum. It's supposed to kick in at 180, rather than the stock (194?) which would mean more off/on cycles, but with 115 as a regular temp down here in the summer, I'm willing to live with. Leaving the factory temp thermostat for now, but that would be the next idea if it runs hot. I'll see about putting that in if after pulling and cleaning the wiring and using some dielectric grease doesn't fix my "not hearing it running" fan issue with the current installed ones. I had them turn on once on the ride home, but test rides in similar situations have not, and without a working temp gauge I'm really leery of overheating. No desire to turn my new baby into a heart transplant candidate. Have done the "pull and squeeze" on the temp gauge single wire, but not working, and not sure if sender bad, gauge burned out, etc. I may simply plumb in a real capiliary tube style temp gauge - have an inate distrust of idiot lights and electric gauges where temp and oil pressure are concerned. Glenn in Tucson 87 VR 1300 Motortrike conversion

Dillon 550, and a MEC jr progressive for the shotguns. Keep an eye on local CL for opportunities - Dillon is pretty good on the parts and service angle - I've had them send me all new bits, gratis. Square deal is a good entry, but more limited on what calibers, etc. RCBS has a good rep - can't speak to Lee, but I have a lot of their dies, ladles, etc. Glenn in Tucson

And what sort of belt-fed do you have? Glenn in Tucson

Ordered a set of 1111-12 progressives and air and oil filters and the fan temp sender. Can't find the part number for an aftermarket temp gauge sender, but so long as the fans kick on, I may go to an actual capillary tube style temp gauge. Since I don't have the cb or class system, I could route some new gauges down there and leave the original cluster alone. Should be here within a week or so. Since I can't work on the trike during the week, as long as parts show up by the weekend, should be able to put some quality time in. I'll fiddle with the ABS plastics during the week, as I can do that indoors. Glenn in Tucson

Hondaly-Davidson Sportster Royale-Glidewing, perhaps?

Don't laugh too loud. I can see them having it as an option. For those of us down in the warmer climes instead of having a heated vest, I can see having a suit thats plumbed for cool air or fluid. They do make fluid cooling vests for specialized applications - would be a case of how to make the heat exchanger work with the constraints of available power on a bike/trike, and how to make the hookups to the vest bullet/dummyproof. Might be too hard to come up with something that cools from ambient, but I could see a water exchange that started with chilled water and was able to keep it *mostly* cool using a peltier exchange (think those little ice chets that run on 12v). Or in true redneck fashion - trailer with small genset (honda Eu2000) a normal 120vac air conditioner unit, and some very long dryer ducting. Add one "smurf" rainsuit, and you too could be cool in the middle of an AZ summer. Glenn in Tucson

Noted. And I expect the difference is only going to be a few pumps since there isn't that much volume in the two fork tubes. I'm enjoying the teardown, but nowhere near as much as I would enjoy actually *riding*. Went to the local yammarhammer dealer and got prices on a replacement air filter, as well as the temp sender and fan sensor. Ouch. Will be looking for alterhate (uni, etc) on the air filter, and at least one of the senders has a generic automotive alternative that was about 1/3 of quoted priced. Since the trike has been frankensteined (or is that Fronkensteened?) in the past, not gonna feel bad about using non OEM parts. More tomorrow as I get to have fun with decent weather and more clean and find. Sprayed a bunch of carb cleaner and the non-airbox idle smoothed out somewhat, but need to get the restrictor factor back in place and listen to the engine again. As has been mentioned without the airbox it'll idle, but any throttle and its just on the edge of dying. Guess the engineers were pretty darn serious about the air/fuel ratio. Glenn in Tucson

Just pulled the seat and tracedthe lines on the air ports. One is indeed for both of the rear shocks (the one with 60), and one line snakes forward (the one with zilch pressure) towards the front of the trike. I also found the connector for the CLASS controller when I pulled the false tank. So I have manual only. I'll have to pickup a hand pump so I don't blow the seals (if still good, no leaky oil on the forks) when I air it up to 8psi to test with. I expect that the class compressor was removed when they put on the trike rear end, since it wouldn't be needed. Also found all the intercom wiring also under the false tank area - aftermarket stereo was installed, and replaced both the CB and Radio. Think I'll remove the control from the left handlebar, no need to keep it there if its not connected to anything. Pulled the air filer and airbox, extremely filthy with oil. Is there supposed to be a filter on the inside of the airbox to try to at least capture some of the crankcase oil vapor, or is it just meant to foul the inside of the box? Dark coming, gotta go put stuff away and throw the cover back on. Darn these early nights. Glenn in Tucson

Bill - lets talk about this on Sunday. Should be able to take the 5 screw mounting points on the inside of the plastic side cover and cut a piece of kydex plastic to fit. Its a thermoplastic so its moldable at oven temps, so would have to check the rating vs abs but could always put some of the silver insulation epoxied to it on the behind side similar to how you did the cardboard. Kydex comes with a smooth and pebble finished side, or could try and match paint job, etc. I had been thinking about getting some sort of perforated sheet metal to replace the panels and the triangular ones up by the radiator - no reason to limit to only one material while playing around with the idea. $.02 Glenn

Interesting idea. I have a friend who has the 3-d printer, might also be a case of being able to get someone who is good with solidworks to design the vane. I've currently got my plastics off, I'll have a more detailed look and see if its the same vane from left to right, or if they have any size difference. Might also be worth seeing how hard to fab one from sheet metal or sheet abs - mine have cracked right and left, but not all of them. Mine is also a trike, so it doesn't use the kickstand anymore, so that may be why its both sides. Glenn in Tucson

A handy reference for anytime you get an email you want to check is http://www.snopes.com. The site has lots of info on common scams, email and otherwise. Can also be a free-time blackhole as there is *tons* of other stuff to get lost in reading. Glenn in Tucson