Good job… – column

Kiat Que is one of the friendliest people I know. He's also owned Loods 8 for years, yes, at Conradstraat 8 in Arnhem. In fact, Kiat is a compulsive motorcycle buyer/collector in the low-price range. And to justify his captivating deviation, he also sells motorcycles and (many MZ) parts.

Over the past few years, I've helped him a few times with the final clearing out of his "collection." The landlord, the heirs of the person he rented from, had big plans for the property. It was to become a multi-tenant office building. The old junk had to be demolished. So Kiat was faced with a lease termination notice. After a lot of hassle, he repeatedly secured a stay of execution.

In the meantime, he bravely continued shopping and storing his belongings elsewhere. Because of these transfers to other addresses, Warehouse 8 sometimes seemed quite empty.

Long story short: after the final, definitive termination date of the lease, the heirs sent a few specialists to prepare the new construction plans.

The specialists also took soil samples. The site was found to be so contaminated from the time the Billiton lead and zinc smelter was still located there that no spade will be allowed to be buried there for at least the next thirty years, as it could melt.

So Kiat is set. And business continues as usual. For every motorcycle sold, at least one comes back. Or two. Or…

It seems like a fairy tale with a happy ending.

Good job, part 2

Fortunately, my own garage is also an ongoing story. The last few nice days have been used to 1) work for my money, 2) put some more miles on the V7, and 3) continue with the holy trinity: the Ural-Dnepr-Chang hybrid. That thing is an old-school classic. It's not pretty. It's not original. But it's kept running by the skin of its teeth, just like people used to keep their vehicles running due to financial constraints. So, historically speaking, the story is accurate.

With the last parts purchase, Richard Busweiler delivered a set of brand-new exhaust pipes "Made in China." Do they also have Monday morning problems in China? The exhausts didn't even roughly fit. The right-hand bend wasn't "continued" enough, and the end of the pipe pointed sadly downward. Without a heavy pipe bender nearby, they had to improvise. A thick piece of pipe was inserted into the bend side.

As far away from the bend as possible, I slung a thick strap around the legs of the straddling U. With the ratchet… well, that went great! However, the right-hand bend didn't fit in three dimensions. Then you have to start sawing and welding. But I decided to just install the old bend set (including balance pipe). That stuff fit perfectly and snugly with the Russian—or rather, Ukrainian—side valve block (without the starter motor) still in place. But somehow, I ended up with strangely downward-slanting exhaust manifolds. Mufflers that drag on the ground as standard are a less desirable option.

That's something we'll be thinking about. In the meantime, there's still some work to be done on the upper engine mount, where there's a tension between the mounting points chosen by the Ural builders and those of the Chang creators. As you work on this, you'll increasingly see areas for improvement and things that could be improved.

In the meantime, you're still getting calls from this and that, and before you know it, it's almost dinnertime again. Productivity-wise, we eat late, and there's still plenty of goulash left over from yesterday.

But now it's time for a drink, a cigar and some cheese nibbles.

And tomorrow? First, walk the dog in the morning. Then get some fresh bread and oranges, and after breakfast, back to the shed. Thanks to Jan Robers from Boekelo, I've scored brand-new, original mufflers for my 1967 V7. It's a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for.

What a fun hobby we have!