[toomanytoys2]

Well, I finally got to put the Joyner through its paces, and it held up great, except for the last 100'. It was a 40 mile round trip in the desert. I know that most of you are back east, but I'm out here in CA. I ride dirt bikes as well, but I grew up on four wheels (had my own sand rail at 16), so lets just say that a sand wash littered with boulders is what I like. In my opinion there is nothing better then steering with the throttle, and lets just say, my foot was buried most of the time. Tom, I want to give you a GREAT round of applause. The cam specks that you came up with are perfect for a Joyner. I've built a lot of engines, 2 stroke, and 4 stroke, and your cam was right on the mark for a heavier buggy like the Joyner. I bet it would be even better on a lighter buggy, such as a Hammerhead.

Speaking of Hammerheads, it didn't make the trip so well. There was multiple failures with it. The person driving it was my son's best friend. He was more accustomed to dirt bikes then 4 wheel vehicles. I told him that you never let a tire rub against a rock, well you know how that story goes. He did, we found the closest camp site, and they put a huge patch on the outside of the tire, aired it up to 40 psi and said go balls to the wild to get home. 10 Miles from camp The Hammerhead died. It was almost dark, so I did minimal troubles shooting, then said screw it I'll tow you home. So I hooked up a tow rope, ( I'm prepared for problems), put the Joyner in low gear and started to tow him home.

Then when we all most back to camp (100') max, the Joyner died- What the hell. There was a lot of confusion, should we drag a truck out to pull the buggies up? I yelled, give me a flash light, and I discovered that the retaining screw on my carburetor support had backed out and fallen out, so the carb fell out of the intake manifold, more redesign is needed, on my part.

The Joyner was great. Even though it took a while to get a cam from Tom, it was well worth the wait.

The reason that it has taken me so long to post, is what happened the next day. Lest just say that I am the leader of the pack. I understand maps GPSs, and have a very good since of direction. The following day we did a dirt bike ride from 3000', to 7000'. There was one section, 50 yards max that was pure ice. There was no option because it was blind curve, so you turned right, and you hit the ice. On a dirt bike, you can not stop on ice. I take that back, I was the only one who didn't stop. Everyone else stopped by eating it. I am old (papa is older them me though), but I still have the technical skills. However, as I was going down, I was thinking, "OH ****" we have to climb this on our way back to camp.

When I ride dirt bikes, I wear a rescue vest. It has spare parts, bolts, nuts, and medical supplies. Well needless to say, I had to put all of my medical supplies to use. It took us an hour and a half to get 5 dirt bikes up that 50 yards. I had to create a splint for my son's friends knee, and it has cast some serious doubts whether I should ride again.

To start with I have a bad back, after this escapade I ended up with a serious case of sciatica. It was absolute hell to load up and drive home. To make problems worse, when I go play, I tow doubles. That means I have my truck, a fifth wheel trailer, and my toys in another trailer behind it. In CA, I had to get a commercial license to do this. So my wife couldn't drive home (legally), and she would be scared to anyway. So I had to drive for 5 hours, in extreme pain. Then I was laid up in bed from Dec 31st to Jan 3rd, on a diet of muscle relaxers and pain pills.

Why am I giving all the details of my pain and suffering? Because I am a College Instructor, and used to teach High School. I also want to send an EXTREME message to the younger crowd, that as they go through life, protect your backs at all cost. I didn't have a choice. When I was 21, I was forced off a twisty mountain by a motorhome coming the opposite direction, and was in my lane. I ended up going end over end down a ravine. So for over 30 years, I have had pain as my bedfellow.

I don't want to be a downer, but please protect your backs. You don't want to have pain dictate what style of life you have.