New bumpy commute

My new commute is straight down rt 9 to Natick, its like jumping speed bumps every 500-1000 feet, can you guess what I lost today?

Aluminum dust

A little closer to the finish line.

Thanks for the crabs, Cap'n.

Whoops, I mean carbs.

Keihin butterfly; there are a couple of mods for these old stockers that makes them work nicely...I also got a little nutty with the brass & silver solder for on-the-fly adjustment...

What's That? Oh you said 29º?

I thought you said 9º

Rebel Rouser

This pic (which can be found all over the net) is from one of Happy Jack's early biker movies "The Rebel Rousers".

Just all kinds of awesomeness going on here.

Another borrowed pic

fancy shifter

Alive and Kicking

I snagged this FXR shot from the J.J., but thought it was cool enough to repost here. It's rocking S&S's new X-Wedge motor in a FXR frame. I dig the way the sport fairings look on these bikes, and would like to do something similar to mine. Party in the front, business in the rear....

This has no business here...

... but it's old; it's mechanically simple; it's got a Fairbanks Morse mag; and it's mine.

Boy, did I mess this thing up.

May 2008; shovel as I bought it. EDR '08 instilled an irresistible shovel lust.
The bike was loosely assembled at best; shocks with no nuts on the studs, bottom triple tree installed upside down from the top, with the top tree holding the bars set on top of that...
Little did I know what S&S stroker goodies lay within the motor...or what time-bomb shite Taiwanese gears were lurking in the trans.

Silicon bronze=sexy

I had to make a trans sprocket nut socket to move forward with the shovelhead build. I can't believe this is the first time I've ventured into the world of silicon bronze tig rod. I bought some low fuming bronze rod thinking it was the same stuff a while ago... yeah, try tig welding with that stuff. Thanks to Jake C. for the tips.

Ha!

Just thought I'd post a couple pics of my work area compared to El Capitan's. Also, notice in the pictures why my belt may have snapped last season? Maybe it's the pulley and mainshaft nut that were completely undone. Seriously, after I pulled the inner primary, that's what it looked like. At least the new chain setup is going on.

Don't worry, Bob.

Soon you'll be knees in the breeze and grinning like a possum eatin' a sweet potato...again.

Ughhhh.

What didn't go wrong with this simple mod?

Sportbike, Schmortbike

Every Japanese sportbike seems so well polished and well-engineered. Sounds almost boring. I'd be tempted to remove one of the sparkplugs just to give the bike some "character." The 1970s-era Italians, on the other hand, knew how to mix speed, questionable build quality, and undeniable personality. Behold the MotoGuzzi LeMans I. I'd give [someone else's] left testicle for one of these.

I got yer sport bike right here.

I put about 18,000 miles on this monster. Looks like movie prop from a Van Damme movie, but it runs well and has some good parts (inside, of course).

4 into 1
Dynojet kit
new clutch
replaced water pump
Progressive springs

Might make a good first sport bike given the $250 I'd ask for it...

Sport bike

I'm not much of a sport bike kind of guy, I do enjoy mocking my friends who have them, however if either of these bikes came along at a great price I would be shopping for a matching helmet.

Stainless + Time =

Nutty brake lever for the shuv. There was just too much stock hardware on there for me to deal with...might do a different mounting plate next.

time to make bars

Got the new bungs today, 304 stainless made to slip into 1" .120 wall tubing. These things were pricey to make but they'll be used in some limited production bars.

Mr. Seventy-nine used to shoot this much oil out the breather on each start.

New hangout?

Burrrr

sweet

Garage Company

So that's where all those parts go...

Finally put my rear brake hardware. My brake woes a couple weeks ago made me think I'd be screwed if that happened miles away from home, I couldn't just disconnect the front brake and roll the rear.
I really wanted something small, hidden and stealth but there is so much competition for space near my mids (trans, zorst, oil pump) I just put the stock bits on. Doesn't even look half bad.
Time for some Herb-style stops on the commute...

Rootbeer Torture Rack

Yeah, I know the pic looks like something Zapruder took, and the bike is too long to fit in the frame (step back a bit next time, dear)...but what a ball this thing is.

I forgot how much fun long bikes are.

Someone else's Pan

I feel obligated to post something of substance. Plus, the silence is killing me. This isn't my bike. I don't know whose bike this is, and I can't remember where I swiped the photo. All I know about the photo is that it's a pretty close match to one that's taken up space in my head for about three decades.

Step back to 1980 or so. I was 10 or 11 and stuck in the kiddie ward at Lowell General Hospital. I had just been diagnosed with diabetes, but I was too young to appreciate what that meant. What mattered was that I was stuck in the hospital with nothing to do.

Some family friend or neighbor must have known about my propensity for all things greasy, and brought me a stack of car and bike magazines. One of them was some chopper magazine, but I don't remember its title. There was this very basic chopper featured that had me transfixed for days and days, though I didn't know anything about Harleys - stock or otherwise. It was a lot more fun to stare at an article for days than to look around a hospital floor. I remember the layout of the article.

The bike from three decades ago had a solid black tank and non-sprung seat. Besides that, it's pretty much a dead ringer.

life support

don't make me keep posting flat track pics, i'm almost out of material...

Simple mod

Always loved the old 2 pc bar risers. What a simple, beautiful piece of metal.

As always, I cannot leave anything alone.

Mmmm, shovel stuff.

Rebuilt heads, and the top end is on.

Weekend
-stuff rockers in their respective boxes and button up the motor
-stuff motor and trans in frame
-chop some primarys