He's got an opossum livin' under the shedand he wants' him out o' there . . !
Morty (the official shop cat) is mad . . .
He's got an opossum livin' under the shedand he wants' him out o' there . . !
A hard days ride . . .
Year 2001. Rode through So. Dakota on Hwy 44 when they had just seal-coated it with some kind of oil. Then it rained. What a mess.
J.D.
Jeff Decker don't have this photo . . . know why? 'Cause I took it. Sorry I cut your head off a little. He was just dryin' off after a down pour. This motorcycle is probably one of the most famous Crockers in the world. Nice guy.
Brat-Style
Those dudes from Brat in Japan can really build a cool lil' bike. They really dig Yammy XTs and SRs . . . and it gives you an idea of what can be done with singles. If you don't have the cash for a Harley (or a Crocker) - don't worry. Go Brat-Style. Hey, they ain't slow either. We rode them on the ice here in Iowa for years. A 500cc single with high comp piston, big valves, cam, flat slide and pipe can "get it on" if you know what I mean? You ever seen 'em on the dirt? They're fast !
Inntown II
Way cool bar in Cologne, Minnesota. Stopped by last Saturday. Ice cold PBR in bottles was fresh. Pool, darts, roulette wheel . . . nice place. Hey, the Ghost Rider painting on the building made it worthwhile for a stop. Don't know where Inntown #1 is . . .? This 'burg has a neat little lake in the center of town that the highway goes around. We'll be back in the summer.
Progress??????
When you work a full time job, then get off work to either shovel snow, feed the cat, do some laundry, etc . . then work on bikes ! It's a wonder a guy can get anything done? Anyway - cylinders are on for good. Pinstriped the frame a little. Mounted the rear tire (with tire irons). It sure is nice to have a heated place to work.GPX
I got this thing for sleds again - since I raced one like this . . . now I need another one for some reason. Trying to relive your youth can get expensive !
Small Shop
If this place was down the street I'd be hangin' out there all the time - until they kicked me out. It would be fun to hop on yer scoot and go see all the small shops across the USA . . . and we'd have to be here for probably a couple days - at least. Neat.
Baron Roth Kelly
The Crazy Painters: The "Baron" Crozier, BDR and Tom Kelly. My old paint rag given to me by Spina and Dennis Roth. I need to wash it a little . . .
Saturday 8am
It only took me about 5 hours, but I got the cams in, shimmed, tappets installed, cam cover screws chased, cover holes reamed . . . all buttoned up and ready to go. I wrinkled painted the gear cover with PJ1, then sprayed flat black over the top (otherwise it's too shiny). The frame & swingarm are back from powdercoat. I got some parts I needed - and the '78 Bastard Stepchild Sporty Project can now continue.(PS. it's a goofy name - but it is what it is)
WTF is 48 ?????????
This Harley "Dark Custom" jazz is some scarrrry shit . . . 48 What? 48 dollars, 48 lashes,
48 hotdogs, 48 mermaids all in a row . . .
Parts Stash
This guy from Texas has quite the "45" collection - Yes mother, those are springer front ends !Inspiration
If you need some ideas . . . there's nothing better than Street Chopper or Custom Bike.Ask the old gray beard down the block - he's probably got a whole pile of 'em . . .
Private Parking
About ten years ago, when in Sturgis at the Broken Spoke Saloon - if you ride a '69 or older bike, you could park inside the fence off Lazelle. It was cool since all the patrons could check out the old iron, the band was playin', a few cocktails . . . then they quit doin' it for some reason? I kinda dug it since I didn't have to look for parking - just pull in whenever !
Laconia Bend
You've got (3) different types of two-piece, internal cable handlebars for the Sportster XLH and XLCH. Most types are the traditional 'Buckhorn' style bend. The more rare types are the 'Speedster bend' which were standard on the early CH . . . and the 'Laconia-bend' (pictured) arepretty damn rare. I never hardly see them any more. I like them best. Like the speedster, but the bar ends angle back more - parallel to the motorcycle. I run them on my '64 touring bike. (this '59 xlch sold on ebay last week for about $7300 bucks)
Sleds, Tombstones & High Life
Traveled about 70 miles Sunday. The fog was heavy so we rode the Cedar River all the way to Orchard, past the trout stream, then groomed trails to the famous "Staff Bar" in Osage. After a few refreshing $1 beers and a Tombstone pizza - we were all 'fixed up' and ready. Rode ditches back to Floyd - and then the river back to CC. Explored many back trails, woods and CRP land - the river scenes looked like a Hamms Beer commercial - with crystal waters flowing next to the ice. A winter wonderland with plenty of eagles, deer and turkeys. A perfect day that happens only a few weeks a year. Only in Iowa.
Eagle River World's Championship
See if P.J. can be the first to win (4) of 'em? Eagle River, WI is the place to be this weekend.On the high banked iced 1/2 mile oval.
The main event is Sunday at 3:00pm.
(this is also my 400th blog post - hip hip horray)
Bob Spina's Latest . . .
Looks as if Spina has been at it again . . ? This time the "Flake Wizard" tricked out Paul Tracy's Lincoln complete with stripes, scallops, sparkles, sequins, micros, glitter, whatever you call it . . . it get's your attention - Have I got your attention? You'd better listen up - You wanna get flakey?Call me - and I'll call Uncle Bob for you - by appointment only.
Get it done now !
Remember when everyone took their top end off every year - or every other year to check the cylinders, valves, guides . . . just to make sure all was well before the spring riding season????
Fuck it's Cold
Most of Jack Frost is on the inside of my windshield - while trying to see - defrost blowing ice cold air - cloth seat is hard as a rock - power steering grinding & squeeling - brakes are hard - rear view mirror is iced over - lights are flickering - motor is running on 6 or 7 of it's 8 cylinders.-15 or -20 . . . FIC . . . Fuck it's cold . . .
Pinstriping: How-To . . .
I should be getting my frame for the "Bastard Stepchild" 1978 XLH Sporty Project back very soon. Then I can stripe it up a bit - a little on the swingarm . . . way way cool in my One Shot Brown with Ivory. These books were originally Ed Roth how-to books (Spina is in most of them too, since he helped with them) Heck, about 1/2 the illustrations are Spina - you can tell his style. The "black covers" on the left are from Spina and Tom Kelly. Good stuff.
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