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Posted by CDNRatMan
- November 15, 2016, 23:33:37 PMGB while we are filling our faces with the free pizza Sam can show you around and explain it all to you.........
We just have to keep an eye on his face book page to find him as he seems to move around a lot, might be to keep people from finding him and asking for free food.......
Posted by greenbarn
- November 15, 2016, 21:59:05 PMQuote from: Zoar on November 15, 2016, 12:26:07 PMZoar, I wouldn't mind checking out all of your solar panels and all that stuff if we get out there. Sounds really interesting.Sounds awesome. Sitting on your big 'ole Drifter to watch a hockey game and TV!!! With popcorn! Man, what could be better??!
On the Pi Truck note, food trucks are made to make food, and every which is spoken for - for the task at hand of making food, not to house people, so it wouldn't work well at all to live in unless you want to sleep under (about 11 inches of clearance) or on top of the rounded dome of the wood fired oven, or on a sink, or on a food prep table. I wouldn't recommend it. I am sure many a chef has worked way too many hours or had too much to drink and ended up sleeping in his kitchen but I can almost guarantee they would say that really sucked and will never do that again. In a food truck that would be a sentiment magnified by about 25 times especially in the winter and since it is not set up to have heat other than what is generated in the truck while the wood stove is going and since it is highly insulated the heat going onto the truck is about nil.
If every thing went to shit the best bet would still be to stay in my house since I am off grid and make my own power and have no electric grid or utilities (I have a well for water and use my solar power to power the jet pump so I have pressure for the water.) The Pi Truck is parked in the driveway an since it is solar paneled up and has massive battery bank I can and have plugged my house into it and powered my house that was as well. Essentially I have two separate power plants and battery storage facilities at my disposal, one is the system that is hardwired from a shed in my garden to the house with the solar panels and the shed roof and the other is the MOBILE system that is on and in the Pi Truck.
Heating the house is done with a separate solar heating system, it heats glycol and a tiny pump moves it through base boards and I also heat with a wood stove. In the Pi Truck heat would need to be by electric heaters that I do not own. I used heat lamps for one event once last winter to try to help keep the workers warm. It was about close to ZERO in terms of how effective it was. Of course, the 8 degree F air temps and 40 to 50 Mile Per Hour wind were no help in the matter. Miserable night. One I never want to repeat. Ever.
Yup I hope to ride my Drifter 800 tonight. I will be dressed warmly and thinking about some of the forum members here watching hockey and crunching on a big ole bowl of popcorn from the Drifter seat! Whata-way-to-go!
Posted by CDNRatMan
- November 15, 2016, 16:55:51 PM 
Well I am not going to get caught with my bike in the shed for that "last" ride and wake up in the morning and have 2 ft of snow in the driveway, been there done that and had to leave the bike in the shed all winter, now I am not needing to be the hero who gets that last ride in.
1730 and it is dark outside, the puddles have a skim of ice on them, So I'll be sitting on my bike in the living room and thinking of you riding the Finger Lakes area, and hope you enjoy it........now to see if there is a game on or watch Ink Master tonight.......
Posted by Zoar
- November 15, 2016, 15:11:14 PMQuote from: CDNRatMan on November 15, 2016, 15:07:31 PMAnd I hope to be riding my 800 outside while yours is parked in front of the TV set! (as long as the temps don't tumble and the rain start pouring). Cold night rain is not my preference for a mid November ride.Consider it done.........lol....
Posted by CDNRatMan
- November 15, 2016, 15:07:31 PMConsider it done.........lol....
Posted by Zoar
- November 15, 2016, 14:57:14 PMQuote from: CDNRatMan on November 15, 2016, 14:53:56 PMI think I speak for all of us when we express our utmost gratitude to you for not posting you clad only in your underwears riding your Drifter in the house.
That said, can you get a picture of your bike in the room with the TV on and the TV showing hockey??? That alone would be worth a lot! You do not need be in the pic. Just the big ole Drifter and the TV tuned to Hockey!
Posted by CDNRatMan
- November 15, 2016, 14:53:56 PM of course I would post a picture to prove it but I watch TV in my underwear and for some reason that just gets poor old PC wound right up and he can not get any rest for days on end........
Posted by Zoar
- November 15, 2016, 12:26:07 PMQuote from: CDNRatMan on November 15, 2016, 10:56:31 AMSounds awesome. Sitting on your big 'ole Drifter to watch a hockey game and TV!!! With popcorn! Man, what could be better??!Well glad to know that if your are living in the Food Truck at least you will be out of the weather, and the whole family can live in there with you. Move to 0hi0.
I got lots of Drifter Time in last night, I used this product I bought last year at the bike show, so about 10 pm went upstairs and washed it, cleaned it all up, started to take the old stereo off, and yesterday I received in the mail from the East coast of Canada a solo bobber seat with springs, so another project I can tinker with, today off to Canadian Tire to check out some mini LED drive lights. Yup lots of quality time with the Drifter.
Tonight might even eat my supper upstairs with her, and see if there is a hockey game on to watch...bowl of popcorn, sit back on the bike and watch TV..........
On the Pi Truck note, food trucks are made to make food, and every which is spoken for - for the task at hand of making food, not to house people, so it wouldn't work well at all to live in unless you want to sleep under (about 11 inches of clearance) or on top of the rounded dome of the wood fired oven, or on a sink, or on a food prep table. I wouldn't recommend it. I am sure many a chef has worked way too many hours or had too much to drink and ended up sleeping in his kitchen but I can almost guarantee they would say that really sucked and will never do that again. In a food truck that would be a sentiment magnified by about 25 times especially in the winter and since it is not set up to have heat other than what is generated in the truck while the wood stove is going and since it is highly insulated the heat going onto the truck is about nil.
If every thing went to shit the best bet would still be to stay in my house since I am off grid and make my own power and have no electric grid or utilities (I have a well for water and use my solar power to power the jet pump so I have pressure for the water.) The Pi Truck is parked in the driveway an since it is solar paneled up and has massive battery bank I can and have plugged my house into it and powered my house that was as well. Essentially I have two separate power plants and battery storage facilities at my disposal, one is the system that is hardwired from a shed in my garden to the house with the solar panels and the shed roof and the other is the MOBILE system that is on and in the Pi Truck.
Heating the house is done with a separate solar heating system, it heats glycol and a tiny pump moves it through base boards and I also heat with a wood stove. In the Pi Truck heat would need to be by electric heaters that I do not own. I used heat lamps for one event once last winter to try to help keep the workers warm. It was about close to ZERO in terms of how effective it was. Of course, the 8 degree F air temps and 40 to 50 Mile Per Hour wind were no help in the matter. Miserable night. One I never want to repeat. Ever.
Yup I hope to ride my Drifter 800 tonight. I will be dressed warmly and thinking about some of the forum members here watching hockey and crunching on a big ole bowl of popcorn from the Drifter seat! Whata-way-to-go!
Posted by CDNRatMan
- November 15, 2016, 10:56:31 AM Well glad to know that if your are living in the Food Truck at least you will be out of the weather, and the whole family can live in there with you. Move to 0hi0.
I got lots of Drifter Time in last night, I used this product I bought last year at the bike show, so about 10 pm went upstairs and washed it, cleaned it all up, started to take the old stereo off, and yesterday I received in the mail from the East coast of Canada a solo bobber seat with springs, so another project I can tinker with, today off to Canadian Tire to check out some mini LED drive lights. Yup lots of quality time with the Drifter.
Tonight might even eat my supper upstairs with her, and see if there is a hockey game on to watch...bowl of popcorn, sit back on the bike and watch TV..........
Posted by Zoar
- November 15, 2016, 09:40:06 AMQuote from: greenbarn on November 14, 2016, 21:49:28 PMGeee, and here I thought the free pizza I agreed to give to Drifter peeps was going to be fair compensation for any free mentions here on this forum?Be careful, there, Chief will be charging you for advertisement....
Tit for tat.
Drifter riders only. All else pay. One thing I found out actually now being in the food industry is --- margins are razor thin and you really don't make much if any money. And yes most restaurants do go out of business for that reason. I know it is glamorous right now to have a food truck or be making food for people, but staying in business is a the grim reality. A famous restaurant bar locally called "The Rongovian Embassy" just gave out a surprise announcement that they are closing their doors. They had some of the purported "best restaurants managers" in the area, too, running it. Now it's Belly UP. I have learned when margins are as thin as they are it does not take much to render the operation to become not feasible. But the good news --- I paid cash for my Drifter 800 BEFORE the season and so was not dependent on the financial success or lack of for this food business to fund the acquisition of my motorcycles. I only know it prevented me from riding my beloved 800 all summer. So, I will not run it the same way next year as this past season. I need to figure that out over the winter and spring. For now I am riding my 800 and my Ducati as much as I can and love the time I can put in the saddle during these autumn days in the Finger Lakes. Still have to work my other business but at least I have some time to ride. In fact, I hope to get some Drifter time in tonight!!! Can't wait!
Posted by CDNRatMan
- November 14, 2016, 22:00:05 PM 
Chief is not like that.......now a few others I bet would....like the grumpy old guy there...........PC....him if it was up to him he would charge......lol.........
Bike is still on the lift, it was there this summer, well need to take a road trip to 0hi0 and give you a hand......oh wait mine is in the house so time to start my winter projects..........
Posted by greenbarn
- November 14, 2016, 21:49:28 PMQuote from: Zoar on November 10, 2016, 14:27:47 PMCool. Pi Truck is the name. I love branding. The more it gets repeated the more effective the branding.
Pi Truck is all about making amazing wood fired oven pizza and providing an experience of watching the pizza being made with all the details and methods borrowed from years of real Italian wood fired oven pizza making combined with some modern techniques! And yes all the electricity is provided from solar panels so the experience is not ruined with the droning noise and fumes from a gasoline generator which is the means for making power used by 95% of food trucks on the planet. Pi Truck is a unique experience and the pizza is by far one of the best and perhaps the best pizza you might ever eat, anywhere, ever.
Be careful, there, Chief will be charging you for advertisement.... 
Posted by greenbarn
- November 14, 2016, 21:48:45 PMQuote from: CDNRatMan on November 12, 2016, 11:04:08 AMBut Alas, the 800 is still on the bike lift...I also think the wind has more an effect on the 800 then on a 1500, the 800 is lighter and does sit a tad higher then the 1500.
Someone like GreenBarn who has both bikes should do a test ride for us and see what happens......
Posted by CDNRatMan
- November 12, 2016, 11:04:08 AMThe tire size on a stock 800 are as:
800 1500
Front 130/90 - 16 130/90 - 16
Rear 140/90 - 16 150/80 - 16
They are pretty close, but the main difference in my mind for most things is the weight. The 1500 is about 670 lbs and then the 800 is a mere 580 lbs. Round out this is about 100 lbs difference. I have noticed when riding with the heavier bikes that they tend to follow the road a bit better. I have lots of tar snakes up here and I find it is not so much the front tire following them but the whole bike. Down in the states were they have the roads grooved, I found my bike wandered on the grooves more then the heavier bikes. I found with the new Metz 888's that the snakes sing as you ride over or along top of them. Really bad if they are hot, the snakes that is on a hot day they seem to roll under the tires.
I also think the wind has more an effect on the 800 then on a 1500, the 800 is lighter and does sit a tad higher then the 1500.
Someone like GreenBarn who has both bikes should do a test ride for us and see what happens......
Posted by RockinRollin
- November 12, 2016, 06:18:57 AMI rode a 750 Honda Shadow for years and sold it when I bought the Drifter, I wish I still had the 750. The 750 was much better in town. Do the 1500 and 800 have the same front tire? I ask because the Shadow had a very narrow tire and when on the highway it would grab the tar snakes and pull side to side. In case you think I've got a vendetta against snakes I'm talking about the tar filled cracks on the roads.