they see me rollinnnnnn.....

I admittedly have pretty eclectic taste in music and some of the weirdest hip hop songs in my ipod/mp3/CD collection. The other night when I was riding into manhattan, this Chamillionaire song came on in my headphones, and it just brought me back, reminding me of life right after college, living at the SLATCH haus in Narragansett, RI, basically on a permanent vacation. Not to say this was the ideal life. Definitely not at all, we can all admit that. We're lucky to be alive...

We all had jobs. We knew the liquor distributors by name. We watched the package store bump the price of a PBR 12 pack up from $5 to $8. We stole street signs. We lived on a lake, while also living at the beach on the ocean. We food shopped at Costco, sometimes under the influence, which is how you wind up with $200 worth of snacks, cookies, and no actual food. We saw more people fall down our stairs at parties than you could have imagined. We drank Cristal (more on that at a later date).

We knew every bar and what night they had what kind of food for free.

anyways, enjoy this track.

Ridin' (Dirty)

Yeah, the song is still pretty terrible, but in a GREAT way.

Streets of Fire Big Twin

Very productive weekend. Hurricane prep, made a tail light, rode around a little bit, had some good times in Williamsburg, and of course talked about pictures of motorcycles. check saturday and sunday's posts for some info on the "xyzal light".

Speaking of that, here's Malcolm's bike as it is now. I'll let the picture say it all.

There's a lot more to come on this bike. With the change from the square shovel style swingarm to the round panhead style swingarm, the rear dropped almost 2" so now the fender that he cut up sits too low, just another thing to re-buy, re-work. Lots of parts to make, all the little stuff, and the race is on to make it for the Gypsy Run and Brooklyn Invitational.

xyzal light con't or cont'd

I still don't know if the abbrev. for continued is con't or cont'd. Does anyone know this?

Got some mesh screen today and finished off the lens for the light. After these pics were taken, I found some proper M5 screws to fasten the cover, but I forgot to take pictures of that.

I wound up stacking 3 screens at different angles to get the final look I wanted. The heads of the countersunk screws were too big, so I hit them with the grinder to make them smaller and have a cool little handmade feel. I'll post pics at some point.

Thanks again to Chris for donating the remote float bowl and Kim for donating the LED cluster. (if they weren't meant to be donations, send the invoices)

tail light bandwagon - the xyzal light

after all of the excitement around making some sweet little tail lights around the blogosphere, I figured I'd get started on one that I had been kicking around a bit. I had originally planned on working on it while I was in socal right before Born Free, but there were way too many other priorities and only so much Mt. Dew, Burritos, and time to get things done.

Cut, Grid, File, Clean, Polish, Prep, Cut, Make Gasket, Assemble. Now just need to get a small piece of metal mesh to cover the LEDs, some nice screws and some more polishing. Last step is to decide if it will go on the shovel (and if it does, a nice little mount for it) OR if it will get donated to someone else's bike.

Time will tell. But it was a nice way to spend the day prepping for the big hur-a-can-do.

let us bathe you in our heart

I love this Easyrides centerfold. I'll be framing it, hanging it, or at least putting it somewhere other than in a drawer in my toolbox.

With the impending doom from the hurricane on its way, lets take time to enjoy our Friday calm before the storm. Go out and ride. Go out and be with friends. Go out and have a drink or two. Fuck it, go out and play golf. Just do what you want. Go to the beach, go surf, go fabricate something.

back to the shop

maybe it was the 'quake...maybe it was the realization that I have had pretty extreme up and down days and have for the past 6 months or so. BUT last night it was back to the shop where I could get some work done and feel good about being productive!

Malcolm's new bike is coming along really well. He has carefully picked the parts that he wanted for the bike and last night it was finishing up the roller and getting his 96" S&S heart into the bike.

After carefully taping off the frame to avoid scratching up his fresh powder coating, the motor went right in (2nd try) and voila. He's on his way.

Last picture shows him sizing everything up. Looks pretty good so far. This new swingarm frame adds around 4 more inches of wheelbase than his old rigid but still looks tiny when you're a 6'4" gigantor.

Calm after the Quake

That was pretty weird. Dreary feeling. But on the streets everyone got along. Everyone was so nice again. And so I snapped this picture. Because it felt good again.

speaking of Black (metal)...

Kvelertak is officially my new favorite band right now. And while their lyrics are in Norwegian, it doesn't matter. Listening to them while either killing a spreadsheet at work or driving/riding fast on the roadways just feels great. Even walking around the streets, it doesn't matter. If I've inspired you to check them out, leave a comment here. Let me know what listening to this band makes you want to do. And I know they aren't officially black metal, but they are rulers.

And if you're one of those people who check the blog silently, quietly lurking, just know that listening to this band makes me want to punch you in the face. Like accidentally run into each other in a dark alley and realize that I'm the guy that writes about himself and stupid shit here and you're the one who's IP address and service provider constantly pop up in my analytics as a top follower.....not that I check that stuff. But if I did and this band was on in my headphones, we could see if the years of boxing actually have any use outside of the ring.

AND FURTHER.....I got this email that Filson is officially releasing some of their best sellers in ALL BLACK. Coincidence of the black metal and the All Black Top Siders? Maybe. Maybe not. But look how great the Greenwood Jacket looks:

check out the rest of the black collection at Filson's site here.

side note:....I'm not a tough guy, I'm just tough. like hangin' tough. like NKOTB.

All Black Everything...even Top Siders

To the Nixon crew, yes I continue my trend of All Black whenever I can.

Thanks to Jon and Casey for the lookout on these Sperry's.

Gorilla USA - I love shoes and Fridays

Its no secret that I love shoes/boots/footwear, etc...It used to be AirMax 90's, then Dunks, then Vans, then RedWings, then New Balance, and the list goes on. One of my new favorites is Gorilla which I still believe are out of Worcester, MA.

Made in USA shoes and boots that are built to last, be re-soled and stay with you for the long haul.

check them and their story out here.

these are the ones that I've been rocking. I mean, come on, everyone needs a pair of blue suede shoes. Especially with leather soles.

Other than that, its another Friday. The shovel is on its way to NYC and should be here by next Thursday, and I can't wait for that. Plans for the weekend? probably. maybe some jersey? some Hoboken to meet up with friends and then down to central jersey and Philly? sounds pretty good.

OH, and Saturday morning if you're in Brooklyn and you love cars, motorcycles and Rockabilly. (basically, if you love SoCal....haha), come and check out the Rumblers 11th annual show. WE'll be there.

the Great Salt Lake and Pangea Speed

Looks like Andy has been up to some fun stuff lately, and with his Born Free build done, I'm sure he is looking for more work to do! One of these little projects being a facelift to our great friend Nate's big twin. The bike was originally bought from a great small boutique builder, but I'm not sure if Nate and the bike ever really gelled.

I know from first hand experience that the bike was impossible to turn at speed. It sat so low, that the floor boards would scrape through every traffic light turn. I'm pretty sure last time I was out in SLC, I fully skidded through a sharp turn on the floor board in the front and rear tire in the back....not a fun feeling.

Either way, some paint here, bars there, seat over there, lengthening the front end by 3" and a few other little secret tweaks and this bike is begging for a road trip.

Check out what Andy is up to over on his blogggggggg.

New Filson x Levi's Collection

Must haves for this upcoming Fall/Winter season.

Check the Filson site here for the details of this all Made in USA Collection.

and I'm not just all over Filson because Rufus rides for them....

got it right

I see this graffiti on my way to work everyday. I think Dano has something here. Unless, of course, you're suuuuper rich or bitches just don't stress you out. File under 'very classy'.

back from the weekend

whew, made it out....still here....

I'll start it off with a picture from my "guess who dosn't live in NYC" set.

from there, Friday night started off with great Thai dinner and then out with Jose, Malcolm and Jose's crazy Australian friend on the lower east side and east village. Everybody knows that once you feed and Aussie booze, you never know what is going to happen. this held true.

Saturday was Rob's '32 is 23 in a mirror' birthday BBQ. Lots of this
and this

Sunday was spent out in Jersey. Some traffic, a lot of rain and then a little chilling in the 'burbs. Check out this license plate that I snapped a picture of. Had to be purposely done, right?

ahhhh, rockin' the suburbs.

finished it up with some time spent welding at the shop. Nothing fancy. maintenance work. still busy. and never really took the time to settle down and relax. maybe next weekend.

Kim's SR500....for sale!

even though I'd much rather have anyone who reads this blog buy MY sportster, Kim is also selling his amazing SR500!!!

check it out over here.

THEN, head back to the olde pro and buy my sporty!

more pics from my work day

with a work meeting being called at our site in Parsippany, NJ, it was a perfect opportunity to take the sportster out for a little spin. I love living in Brooklyn, and being in NYC, but nothing beats getting out of the city when the sun is out and enjoying the great roads of the east coast. wait, the highways actually suck for the most part....especially 78. Its like they installed ejector bumps every 30 feet! seriously, they need to take some notes from THE 78.

but once you're off the highways, the local roads really are unbeatable. Tree lined and covered streets, white picket fences, the smell of BBQ's and the sounds of nature are hard to beat.

back to reality and the highway of doom.

halfway over the Manhattan bridge looking at downtown/Fort Greene BK.

riding over DUMBO. the place not the elephant. although that elephant is pretty awesome too.

Workin Hard or Hardly Workin...

Offsite meeting in New Jersey yesterday. Great day.

5K - your next bike

that's it. 5 large? make this happen. you won't regret it. girls will think you are super cool. OR they will think you are lame. Dudes will be totally jealous, or they will think you are really weird and jumping on the bandwagon. Either way it doesn't matter. Fuck them all. Motorcycles are fun and dangerous.

that probably wasn't the best sales pitch. This bike is just fun to ride. And its waiting for you in Brooklyn.

romantic rights

3 turns of her throttle to get the carburetor wet...

...and then get to work and start straight kickin' it!

The truth is, once she's ready to go.....she's ready to go. And you can't rush these things. She's a machine like the rest of them. Chris captured these pics on more than one occasion. Sometimes it was more kicking than I would have loved to admit. Like, strip down all your clothes off because you're sweating so much from kicking. But JD's method seems to be the way.

reading / guitar nook

Spending time with Eames.

here you go buddy...

...the anthem you need.

If this storm really comes through and brings waves, then we'll see where the weekend leads us. Montauk? Bel Mar? Slease Side? maybe even just Rockaway? All I know is that after last weekend's non-existent waves, something would be nice.

Happy Friday. its the weekend, baby....

old commuter - all black all day

this was my transporter back in 06/07. loved this thing. Now she lives in Salt Lake City and I hope Bruns is still enjoying the ride.

will I ever get another fixed gear bike? probably not. I enjoy my gears way too much.

Who's World is This?

Still one if the best albums. My Wednesday has started off on the right foot now.

Taco Tuesday

Yum. Well now it's Wednesday, but still.

Picture Perfect

I still think the next version of the shovel will wind up heavily influenced by this bike. OR we'll build another. One for Cali and one for NYC.

Once Chris smartens up and sells that slow pan, maybe he'll step up (down/back) into a cone.

welcome back to the working week

the weekend proved to be nice and stress-free. hopefully it was the same for you. saturday started off with brunch with mom in Brooklyn. she trekked in from the 'burbs and it was great to catch up. then, it was off to Manhattan in the afternoon to meet up with the upper east siders in my life and had some good times at Vol de Nuit. If you're looking for a good spot for great belgian beers in the west village, head on over. Tell them I sent ya. Then headed to Plug Uglies for some tabletop shuffleboard and less-belgian-y beers....

saw this great van parked outside the apartment...

and even took the sporty out for a ride around the block, if you know what I mean...and you do. came across this 'first edition' benchmark points cover in my toolbox that used to grace my 06 sportster. removed before I sold it so that one day I could pawn it on ebay when Kim is famous.

oh and of course, I was at Rockaway to get some beach action in. No waves, but still got all sandy and swam a bunch. like I said, drama free and ready for action.