Random Conversations on the Road

“I want you to know– you just made that man’s day.”

Ducati somewhere in Arkansas.

I was just talking motorcycles with a local at a small town eatery.

We had struck up a conversation after our waitress had asked why I was in town. “Just riding my motorcycle all over Arkansas,” was my answer. Soon the highway numbers and forgettable town names were swirling like some alchemist’s formula. A family dining behind me had overheard the conversation when a particularly scenic highway was mentioned. “No, that’s 123,” the husband had chimed in.

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The Magic of a Left-Hand Drill

The other day I managed to remove a broken screw from a very expensive casting. Specifically, the engine casing of a Ducati motorcycle. But the job turned out to be a breeze using a backwards drill bit!

Extractor Kit with Left-Hand Drill Bits

A previous “mechanic” had broken one of four of the M6x16 sump cover bolts. Instead of removing the remnants they had globbed it over with RTV silicone for the another poor schmuck to deal with at the next oil change. A few minutes after discovering this I could fully understand why. Being at the lowest point on the engine, it’s not an easy feat to find room for a drill… and then drill into the screw while upside down. But disregarding this hurdle, I resolved to remove the broken screw and repair it properly.

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