Black Hills Rally Replay . . .

Alva "King of the Hills" - Gypsie Hillclimb

The guy I stay with is a Sturgis, SD native.  He drove a tour bus for years, then ran his own custom woodworking business.  Alva has a lot of stories and has studied the history of the Black Hills.  A walking encyclopedia of information.  Here's a shot of him and his Yamaha (at least still on his feet) goin' for glory !
We joke sometimes about riding 650 miles just to sit on lawn chairs in Alva's driveway - listen to stories . . . and drink beer.

A Stumble ?

I've rode this motorcycle many many miles.  No speedometer.  No tach.  No gauges.  I know what the motor sounds like when everything is spot on.  I inspected the plugs - I set the valves.  Guess what?  My breaker point gap had narrowed . . . .014.  That changes your dwell (measurement in degrees my #2 cam rotates with the points open).  Like a mother that knows when her baby is a little sick - I knew something was fishy in Denmark.  I don't need a prescription for this one - all home remedy !

Sturgis, SD - Priceless Images

The Rapid City Journal just released some photos of the Black Hills Rally 

(courtesy of the Meade County Times)

See the journal for over 195 old photos . . .

Michael Lichter Ton-Up 2013

Those bloody Brits, a ton, chips, clip-ons, pints . . . tea time ! 

If you've never been out to "The Chip" at Sturgis
and had the pleasure of seeing a Lichter event ?
They are bloody cool !

This one highlights the cafe-racer culture . . .

Go check it out . . .

Cool Art . . .

Cool Paint . . .

GW @ F.T.S. this year . . .

The Heart tribute - she really rocks it !

My dad (original Noot) - Engine Builder

Years ago, Noot's name was in Easyriders Magazine (Nov. 1976) when he did the motor work on this Pan/Shovel Stroker Custom built by Boyd Dingman of Charles City, Iowa.  An 86" motor was a big deal back then - and this thing ran pretty hard.  I picked up this un-circulated issue since he didn't have a copy.  Dingman still builds, paints and drag races his custom motorcycles - and it makes you wonder if this project had been a failure - would Boyd (or Noot for that matter) still be doin' it ?  As it turned out - they both are still bitten by the bug !

K Mods . . .

You take a Linkert / Bendix Adapter and saw off the Bendix flange.  Then, you turn off the spigot using a 4 jaw chuck - and utilize the Mikuni 38mm rubber spigot.  This moved my carb in about 1 1/2" and gave it more stability, and a bit more throttle response . . . AND more leg room for panic braking situations !
Thanks to Jeff Mac for makin' the shavings !

Terry Vance

TWO STROKE SMOKE . . .

I've noticed 2 cycle dirt track motorcycles are still quite popular in Europe - more so than in the USA.

It's slightly more archaic over there, since the sport never evolved to the status of our circuits.  They still utilize 2 cycle powerplants (over here it's all CRF, YZF, XR, TT, Rotax).  

Our national circuit seems to be dying a slow death since the AMA cut-backs, and sponsors pulling out. 

I suspect the problem over here might be that we have so much liability coverage to deal with.  Insurance.

Possibly more lenient in European circles ? (no pun intended).

EIGHT

. . . . via Hudson @ Dave's Car Nite !

Went to CHVRCH . . .

Jeff is cool - We always have fun together . . .

He has a small project for me . . .

I can't wait !

Thanks to everyone for all the fun . . . !

Going to Sturgis? Clip-N-Save

Jackpine Gypsie Short Track and the Gypsie Tour (which I might go on that ride too . . . Since it's what the rally was founded on - riding in the hills and races !

Small spaces . . .

Bored for .050 over pistons (which measured a perfect 3.4875).  Our new boring cutter is exact - spot on.  The old cutter liked to bore .001 oversize, which is fine - just so you take that into consideration.  I like to give a .0015 to .0020 clearance on these newer cast pistons.  The old (oem) cast Harley pistons were probably a bit more porous, (more air space in the aluminum) so they expanded less, and you might get away with a tighter tolerance - like .001 to .0015.  Make sense?  Now I'm confused.