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First of all, I will be in Paris during that time. So, a quick hop using one of those fast train Paris to Milano is within the realm of possibility. I have not made up my mind yet. Nowadays, you no longer need to go to these sort of exhibitions in person given the number of YouTubers we will broadcast the event for you. Previously, it used to be possible to actually climb on the bikes, to get a feel for the position. I watched several of the Vlog of EICMA 2023, and it seemed that many manufacturers now prohibit seating on motorcycles. It was the case for Moto Guzzi for example. If you remove this ability, then there is not much reason to go there in person. In any case, I am planning to resplenish my motorcycling attire and accessories.

Having been born and raised in the city of lights, I had access to a lot of cultural exhibitions from an early age. Either with family or with school, as part of our history lectures. I have also had the opportunity to travel Europe from the early 70's, and I elected Manhattan as my home away from home in the early 80's. Today, when I go back, it feels like being in an active ant-hill. Long lines at each and every sight; almost impossible to take a photo of anything without other people standing in the shot. Some locals have started to take matters into their hands. It has started in Greece, but it is quickly expanding. I read that Barcelona has anti-tourists brigades that hunt tourists with water guns. This is new! I was in Arizona a few weeks ago, and I did feel the same when attempting to visit the Antelope Canyon; I realized that I was myself part of the problem, but the experience was horrible. Each and every visitor fighting for a little bit of space to try to take in the beauty without having the atmosphere ruined by the other eager viewers. It brought back memories of visiting the Eiffel Tower in the 60s, on a Sunday, you would have maximum ten people ahead of you at the ticket booth, and almost no waiting time. I can make the same comparison with any popular place worldwide. Even the little local gems that used to only be known to the few have been given away by all those YouTubers avid of an audience. Trying to get out of the beaten path is more and more complicated. Last year, I booked my Parisian trip for November, hoping to escape the multitude. No chance. There will always be someone with time off at the same time as yours. I am now considering the places which are still not very well known because not really open to world tourism. Such as the Pyrenees away from the Atlantic or Mediterranean coasts. Houston has never been much of a tourist destination, but I can tell how Austin has become from 2007 to today. Difficult not to notice, should mass tourism be curbed somehow?

That's what I get for calling FEMA durtee bastids.

Just ordered a can of Deoxit. Thank you. I also swapped the fuel pump relay with the starter relay (and vice versa). The fuel pump primed and the relay only clicked once (as opposed to the staccato drum roll it had been doing). Maybe just a bad relay? I’ll try again when the bike is stone cold)

Thanks for all the responses. I have the aforementioned Omron relay in the rearmost position. The starter relay was giving me trouble a while back and I bought two Omron replacements. I had a spare when my fuel pump issues started so I put it in the fuel pump (rearmost) spot.

Whether the extreme weather can be attributed to a single thing, no doubt CO2 emissions and global warnings are contributors. For sure what was considered a 500 year flood have now been revised to 5 year flood. I think before we get the climate straightened out over the next 3 or 4 generations to heal (100+ years perhaps), we'll have to reconsider reconstruction, flood plains, and better infrastructure. Some places shouldn't be built back, It might also mean that planning and restrictions on how much "higher ground" can be controlled by a few. Can it be done? I think so. The Netherlands and Venice have shown the technology and big infrastructure does work to protect from flooding. I think The Netherlands is one of the most rationally run nations in the world. But even in America, we're not going to be able to build like that for everyone, everywhere. We'll have to have priorities as I wrote previously. I've obviously stepped over the line here, so I apologize. I'll drop it here.

One can tell when they're over the target by the cries of the offended, and the Ad Hominem argument that always follows. I'll not respond to any more silliness here. If you want a good drubbing, PM me.

Speak for yourself Marty, my car runs on "cloud seeds".

I'm not the guy saying FEMA was "interfering" when they're providing immediate disaster relief and find it totally beyond silly that anyone could collect "cloud seeds" after the biggest flooding in history -even if I believed that it would've been done in the first place which is what's really nuts. So far as your 2 questions, that's what I was thinking about you. You should reread what you wrote.

Sorry but just don't believe what I've read here.

Yeah, the ol' electrical ghost in the machine. Mine's a '97, so the relays aren't in the same place, but I had the same troubles. New relays helped, but at the end of the day It took getting mad enough to truly service the entire relay/fuse panel properly. I disassembled it as far as possible- I don't mean that I removed every terminal from the block- but had a good look at everything and remade every connection I could find, to the battery and to the frame. What truly resolved the problem was giving every terminal a bath in CAIG DeOxit D5. I'll never be without it, amazing stuff. FWIW, I've been able to source the above referenced OMRON relays in any quantity from my local pick-n-pull junkyard; they're in pretty much every Jeep product. I pull the ones lightly used, whatever they may be- not engine fan, headlamps, fuel pump but rather fog lamps, horn, etc.

I'm going to kick off the replies by saying this is exactly what makes our forum tick. There will be some experienced and expert replies coming along to make certain your LeMans is delightful and roadworthy, again, @Sporticus ! First, what kind of relays are under the seat, especially in the very back (Position 5)? This could come down to changing to the best High Current relays presently available . . . https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/picker-components/PC782-1C-12S-R-X/12352866

It is sometimes called a gasket but you can call it what you want look into the open portion of your filter and it has an o-ring or quad seal fubber that seals the oi; from spraying out . Good quick-lube shops require their employees to examine the filter when they remove it and also look at the mounting surface to make sure nothing is stuck to the block. AFA the reason it sticks , who knows . The "fix" is to examine the mating surface and a smear of oil to the seal on installation. You don'twant to lose an engine just because of this .

Yes it sometimes detaches from the filter on removal and sticks to the filter mount and you end up with double gaskets which don’t seal correctly. It’s possibly caused by overtightening the filter. For some reason people think because they can’t see the filter externally on the engine they need to over torque it. The other reason may be filter design which allows overtorquing and distortion of the seal. A lot of filters these days will bottom out if overtorqued so the gasket doesn’t distort to the point of leaking. phil

fabulous

Lindsey Buckingham is a highly under rated Artist...Although Billboard does rate him as one of the TOP 100 guitarists of all time...He is self taught..does not read music..but that finger Picking...OH MAN. He wrote this song and was pissed off when singing it to her live for the first time on stage here..right after she had walked out on him..She only got the job with Fleetwood Mac because Mick wanted him for a guitar player and he insisted they hire her too or he wouldnt accept the role..she was his longtime girlfriend at the time...no good deed ever goes unpunished. ha ha

The one at the top end of the oil filter. I gather it doesn't always come out when one removes the filter.

PPS: Paul McCartney did a fairly good job as a bass player too.

You'd be apologising for the fact that his guitar is not really in tune by the end of the song, right? Otherwise, it's rather good.

The seals in the end-caps, and the o-rings on the outside of the end-caps are the only ones that matter. You can reuse the others if they look OK. That's because most people have the damper set to it's lowest damping setting, so internal leakage is unimportant. What is important is assembly with no air bubbles, and no external leaks. Watch the orientation of the seals in the end caps. Oh, and if you take the mount block off to paint the body (a wood.wedge will open the block enough) then measure it's location. If you try to slide the block as you install it, you damage your nice paint. I know someone with the same name as me did that.

She's beautiful. I love that fairing.

aaah, wrong. You apparently have just not met any of the individuals yet. I've had all sorts of bass sounds going through various mixing desks. Some of the fantastic, others, well, not so fantastic. One of the best combinations ever was the Ampeg with an 8 x 10 cabinet and a Rickenbacker bass. Crunchy, punchy, defined, fantastic. A dream. Bass players using fuzz boxes do exist. Mostly not so nice, but they like it. And then there was this bloke....

I am going to try rebuilding mine. Just have to find an O-ring source. Like the sound of cheap repair.

You’ll still need to address a few other issues if you want to render it truly bulletproof.

I am so appreciative of all of the players that have taken me in. I am just a hobbiest coming to music-making late in life. I don't know that the Bassman is a "powerful" amp at 45 watts. One of the rooms I play has me through a 300 watt stage amp. I can barely crack its volume with the gain way down. And there is another Ampeg "valve" amp that also can easily overpower the room. So, maybe the Bassman amp is just right, after all, and there is really nothing wrong with it . . .

The above post is correct, 30" of rain running down valleys was the issue, we have rivers here that have been turned into lakes by dams, the lakes can absorb the rain and the dams can control the lake levels. We saw no real flooding, but 30 minutes down the road in Erwin and Greenville which are right at the base of the mountains, had major flooding, look for videos of the Nolichucky dam.

The Coppa Italia has arrived

but looking a bit better with a bit of a clean (still some paint film to go at but my finger nails are literally wearing down (an old credit card proved useless)

I live in a city that has grown by 1.4 million people in the last 21 years and it's basically getting to be a nightmare. From around 4.2 million to 5.6 million without any infrastructure upgrades to speak of. The two main issues are infostructure not keeping up with population growth due to a lack of proper management and the Neoliberal thinking that exists today where the social values are now "whatever I decide they should be". You cram more and more people into the same space and abandon the long term developed and traditional social values of basic manners, courtesy, honesty and integrity in dealing with others because that "kinda gets in the way of the life I want to lead and the things I want to do" and things start to get a little sub optimal. I've done 3 long term tours around Europe in the past 84,86 and 1997 ( and yes Neuschwanstein as well Mick) and am about to return again for 5 weeks touring Italy. I'm expecting it to be very very crowded compared to my last visit. Ciao

Tourists. Firstly, I grew up a bit over a mile east of the dot. https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/3167694079#map=12/-35.9438/145.6857 The river that Cobram, the nearest town, is on is a very popular tourist destination. The gag is, the river forms lovely sand beaches on the inside of the curves. Even 50 years ago, when I was still a kid, the beaches were wall to wall caravans during the summer. We locals were slightly irritated by the tourist, but knew that they brought money into the town. Moving to Germany, I have been here about 8 times, I think: https://www.neuschwanstein.de/englisch/tourist/index.htm The first time in 1994 or so. At that time, the ticket kiosk was in the gates of the castle. Some time later, the ticket booth was a hundred metres below the castle on the path up. The last couple of times it was down in the village below. Fair enough, the way up is hard work, and one doesn't want people going up only to find out the can't get in for the next two hours, or even not at all. The last three or four times I was there, the tour groups don't even go in until they are full, about 50 people. The trick is to hang back a bit, and try and be the last one out of each room, and then you get to see it almost empty. That works, but a "shepherd" follows each group through, so you can't overdo it. It seems like they are more and more wanting people to book on-line before the even go there. I have been to this museum 5 or 6 times, I think https://gruenes-gewoelbe.skd.museum/en/visit/ There, you can't get in without a ticket you have booked on-line. You get a time slot, and have to front up at the right time to get in. I'm fine with the systems at both of those places. It is obvious that if they didn't take such measures, you simply wouldn't be able to move inside, and would never really get to see what you came to look at. I think that it becomes unavoidable to take measure to limit access. Another example: cruise ships stopping in the lagoon at Venice. That just has to stop. Saint Marco Square is really lovely (saw it in 1994 or so on the same trip that took me to Neuschwanstein the first time...), and parking a cruise ship in front of it is just wrong.

In Amsterdam people are complaining about the 'trolley case terror'.

what used to be #3 on my list of desirable attributes of a good getaway/vacation was “lack of people”. Now it’s tied for number 1 on the list. Feels old-man-ish to talk like that, so I try and “check myself”, but in fairness our race has never had to deal with this kind of monstrous population. Add that we are now living with the spoils of the success of so many industrial and tech advances, which allows so many of us to not have to toil 12hrs/day in the fields, mines, etc. and we have the traveling hordes. I don’t see how it can end well. Many (most?) of our problems we worry about, pollution, fossil fuels, lack of resources, all go away or get markedly better without all the hordes. But i’m a member of the horde, technically. And the sober reality is that us first-worlders have it pretty damn good. (But I did tell the missus, we can practice making babies all we want, but it’s 1, 2, or none for actual babies…. she wanted 5. ya, despite the tough talk i’m glad I got 2.)

Another interesting question: WHO rain seeded a cat 4 hurricane that would track over the States? Talk amongst yourselves.👵

I've seen more than a few hurricanes, this one was special...for a few reasons. First, it blew up very quickly. The storm surge was not only deep, but very fast as the sand piled up in the coastal towns attest. Then, it stayed very strong over land- much moreso than I've seen or should have been expected. I just drove down the path through Georgia, there was 200 miles of no power. I saw trees still laying on downed power lines a week after the storm- it will take 2 or 3 months to get that all cleaned up. I saw steel farm silos blown in- not just lids off but literally crushed. For a hundred miles, I saw speed limit signs on the square posts with holes on all 4 sides blown nearly horizontal. So flat the first one I thought a truck backed over. A radio tower had the top blown over. Hundred year old trees were uprooted everywhere. Many homes and cars crushed. Fortunately, FEMA wasn't there to interfere- communities had set up dumpster depots where people could dump trash. The lumber companies set up stations to bring wood and tree fall to be ground. I saw more log skidders and log trucks in towns and yards than I ever saw working the woods before. Fortunately, they don't have floodwater to contend with there. Here's the punchline- people in the Carolinas collected rain seeds. WTF would they seed a cat 4 hurricane for?

according to wiki Stevie Nicks had written the lyrics separately and thought they would be a good match; she and Christine McVie did some reworking to create the first section of the tune.[4] Nicks' lyrics referenced the breakup of her relationship with Buckingham, a theme of many of Nicks' and Buckingham's lyrics on Rumours No question about Buckenham's talent (nor Nicks and the rest of the band). She pulled a cruel stunt when LB gave up his tour with his own band to tour with FM, only to be fired by her after a couple of weeks. And then into the hear hospital (?). He ended up playing several gigs on the last season of "Prairie Home Companion". This band was pop-narcist IMO. I liked the rocking music of the Bob Welch better and the Peter Green band was an even better blues band. OTOH, I never saw them live and I understand these guys were outstanding players and Lindsey played the whole catalog... "Oh Well".