Packed and jacked!

Ready to rock on to Indy. MotoGP, here I come!

No interstates will be harmed on this trip.

Cheap knockoffs

I couldn't stand it. The fake Ohlins just look too good, so I got a pair.

I pose, therefore I am.

New stuff

Got my new luggage rack for the Sportster. Originally for a Knuckle or Pan, it bolts to the rear fender.

Of course, I don't want to bolt it down for a couple reasons, mainly drilling holes, so I have to come up with another way. I bought some suction cups, but they don't keep it off the fender enough. With weight on it, it'll scratch the paint.

So, I have to scrounge up or make something a little thicker, like a hood support or a kickstand bumper rubber. It's always something!

Also got my new Bell Classic helmet, the coolest! Actually the cheapest.

Those new grips aren't gonna cut it, I don't think. I'll give them another couple rides before they get shelved.

Changed the front fender back to the original, it's a better setup for the rain.

Getting ready for the road

I plan on riding my Sportster to Indy MotoGP in a few weeks, so decided to do some work to it, instead of riding it all the time.

First up, raising the ride height. Since the stock shocks were rusty and leaking, I've been running a set of Dyna shocks. They're an inch or so shorter and stiffer than the originals, and I've had to run the preload all the way up so as not to bottom. It rides a little rough, but looks good lowered.

I bought a set shocks from a friend of mine that were replaced with shorter ones on his wife's bike, he said they have less than 20 miles on them. They look the part. Here, you can see the difference-

The bike before-

After the shock change-

It jacks it up some,but after a couple thousand miles, I'll be glad I switched them. The new shocks only cost me 20 bucks.

I'll be doing some riding at night, so I thought I better finally put a license plate light on it so Barney Fife doesn't have an excuse to hassle me on the back roads through Podunk.

Lit-

Next, I was going to put a Kaoko throttle lock on it, but the Biltwell bars are made of thicker tubing, making the i.d. too small. Scratch that idea. It has the pld style Harley thumbscrew anyway.

I had bought some grips to cut in order to use the Kaoko and decided to use them anyway. They're e-grips, supposedly better for the long haul. I'll do some riding before I leave so I can take them back off if I don't like them. A pic-

Next up, oil change and service the whole bike, finally take the rear wheel off and pack the bearings, change the rear brake rotor. I have been running one from a Softail. It's the same rotor, but has a different wear pattern than the stock one, making the brakes feel a little wooden.

Local wildlife

I stopped by one of the neighbors' to help her adjust the mirrors on her Harley, and this guy showed up-

He fans and then shakes the feathers behind it to scare the squirrels. As you can see, it doesn't work too well.

Bar #3

Put my Biltwelll tracker handlebar on today, went from this-

to this-

I didn't get a chance to ride it or do any adjustments, had a little rain. I'm looking forward to it, though.

Swap meet ride

I decided to take a cool morning ride to the monthly swap meet at Webster. It's about 70 miles from home.
The temperature was in the low 70s or high 60s when I left at around 8:00am. Sunny and cool, just how I like it!

You can tell that summer's here, because everyone gets there early, and some vendors have headed north for the summer. Still a good crowd, though.

I walked around and really didn't need anything, but you never know. Saw a few guys I know, and one of them was doing what I should do; sell some crap instead of buy. I've been kinda looking for some used Biltwell tracker handlebar for my Sportster, a new one costs too much to try. Anyway, he had one for $30(new-over $100), so there I went.

One of these mornings I'll put it on and see. Glad I brought a bungee, just in case!

The ride back was ok too, I made it back just after noon. It's 94 now.

New rubber, some day

I ordered new tires for my Busa almost two weeks ago, still waiting.

I thought for sure they'd be in the other day, so I got ready, but still waiting. Maybe today's the day!

I want to put my hard bags back on and be ready for a little trip.

Fun in the sun

Today's fun time was replacing the a/c blend door actuator on my truck. This is the door that mixes fresh air with the a/c on the commands of the hvac control module. Summer has arrived here already, so air conditioning is a must.

Of course, it's hidden beneath the dash, behind the passenger air bag, and underneath the ductwork. After three hours, here's what we have, and i still can't see the thing.

After a lot of swearing, sweating, and just plain straining, I got it replaced. I hope it's fixed, so far, so good. I see why the dealer charges over $500 to do this job. It hit 92 today, so I didn't have to dress up to work outside.

Hope I can get the bloodstains out.

Old pics

My friend Carlos

Got some old pics from Julie's facebook.

Raining in Pa-

At the Gap with the gang-

I think that was the only sunny day we had. No pics of Sam's bike after the getoff on the Cherohala Skyway.

Saturday ride

Stopped at my friend's shop to check them out, he was working on their pro-stock Harley drag bike. They won the AHDRA championship a few years ago, it's hard to repeat. They run low 8s in the 1/4.

The sun kinda wrecked my pics.
Then I rode over to Leesburg Bike Fest, looking to replace my failed running light. I didn't find one at the HD shop and it was too hot and crowded to go downtown, so I rolled for home.

Had a good parking spot, though.

New "muffler"

Got a new to me muffler off craigslist. It's a cheapo, but still looks better than the Supertrapp.

Took a little fooling around, mainly figuring how to mount the brace. I finally decided to use a Buell shifter linkage that I had. It only needed a little shortening.

It's a little louder than the Supertrapp, but looks a heck of a lot better. And, I can use my rearstand now, the old pipe made that impossible.

Stopped a Mike's to see the progress on Chris' chopper, they're working hard on it.

Bike Week is just a memory now

We had a pretty good week of riding and goofing. The guys said that my tail light wasn't bright enough, so I angled it up a little and added a running light to the muffler mount.

I think it's too bright. Here's what the Screamin' Chicken module looks like-

It revs right out now, but life is tough at 7500. Don't wanna go there.
A pic of Chuck and I, taken by Georgana.

Don't drop a bit into your intake, it won't turn over.

Congrats to Nick and Kris on your new bikes! Be safe and have fun.   

More bike week!

Rode up to the big track to check out the vendors, not really much new except more trike builders. Rooke had a couple nice bikes-

This Vrod was nice, too-

checked out the "new" ZX14-

Look at the numbers on this thing-

Ran into my friend Wayne at the swapatona-

I actually bought some parts, which is rare for me.

Said our goodbyes to Chuck and Georgeanne, have a safe ride home!

Another damp day

Happy people.

We took the back way to Destination Daytona, it was a nice ride.

The weather is supposed to be better tomorrow.
My girl and me.

Here we are at Diane's camper, her pic.

She did a great job of capturing the color of the sky.

Our bikes are the correct color.

Bike Week

Bike Week is here again at Daytona. I've ridden there a couple times already. Sold a Buell header to a guy from Badweb, so I got the truck out-

Had to remember my friend Ian, founder of labusas.org-

Had a great fish sammich at Down Under with our great friends Chuck and Georgeanne(sp). So cool that they rode down to get some rainshine!

New look

These pics are a little dark, it was cloudy.

Today was the day. I went at the tank and fairing with 1500, then 2000 grit sandpaper. I tried to polish the fairing with my drill motor and a small pad, but just couldn't get any heat in the paint. So when Mike got home, I rode it down there. His brother Rick volunteered to do a little buffing and I'm very happy with the result.  

Then, I rode it home in the rain.

The waiting is the hardest part

Waiting to sand a little and buff, that is. The paint is dry, but I want to give it just a little more time to harden. There's a little dirt in it, but once I finger it a little, it should really shine, 'cause it already looks great in the sun.

Paint fumes can be harmful

After finding the perfect tank, the only thing left was to get the yellow out, so Mike and I went at it. Domer Custom Cycles doesn't take President's Day off.

I had been running my mini fairing in black abs, really a pretty maintenance-free way to go, but since we were painting, I scuffed it a little and it turned grey.

Mike had removed the stock decal from the tank, and it turned grey too.

 You can see the heater, the weather was not cooperating, and it was cool outside.

Then, things started turning black.

Don't wanna forget the bottom.

Color done.

After much thought and discussion, the No.1 logo won out for the minimalist graffic.

Could've been a little lower, too late now!

Now for some clear.
High tech paint stand.

Spray away! Repeated five times.

Shiney!

I can't wait to see it mounted, and out in the sunlight.

Thanks again, Mike!