Will Ya Still Need Me, When I'm 64?

It's time to pull the trigger on the new belt. 565 bucks American!!!! While this seems like a lot of dough, it's not quite as bad as it seems. It is a Gates GT Carbon Fiber Polychain, the latest hot setup. Much stronger than the Gates GT that I was running originally. The length that I need, (1750 mm) only comes in a 90 mm width, so by bandsawing it down the middle, I will have two, 45 mm, belts, which is the stock BH width. This should be the last, high ticket, item that I need to procure. I don't mind being nickle and dimed to death, but dropping 5-6 hundred clams kind of stretches the budget a bit, especially with our property tax due very soon.
The belt arrived the other day. Today I worked up the gumption to saw it in half. I'd almost rather do a root canal on myself. I have a, very nice, large bandsaw so I decided to use it rather than the tablesaw. I set the fence at 45mm from the blade and clamped another wooden fence 45mm on the other side of the blade, capturing the belt and holding it snug. I fired up the saw and began to feed the belt into the blade. I "rolled" the belt in, keeping the upper loop stationary and cutting the bottom loop only. All went well and instead of $565.00 worth of trash can filler, I have one belt plus a spare. Tomorrow, the swingarm and wheel assembly should go on for the last time. I may, actually, get to ride this thing before I turn 64 in three weeks. 64!?!?!?! Criminy!!!! I'm my own grandfather.

Polish Joke

Not so funny, really. I've been spending a lot of time in front of the buffer, polishing all of the alloy parts that I can. Both wheels, the brake calipers and master cylinder, motor mounts, etc., etc. It's filthy work, compound and lint all over everything. The results are worth it, though. I was surprised at how dingy everything had become, especially the wheels. I used Blue Magic as a final polish after buffing. It's really good stuff. Cheaper than Simichrome and much easier to use.