busy bee, busy beaver, business

I have no idea what that title meant.  What I do know is that I've been keeping busy as hell and yet not planning a thing.  Pretty good.  Spent some good time with Walter last weekend and installed some internal fork stop neck cups.  Wound up tig welding the stop plate to the bottom of the extra tree from Kim.  feels better now, knowing that the bars won't spin 90 degrees or more at any given moment.

Also this weekend, finally got BOTH front and rear brakes working.  And working well.  I wound up stripping the threads out of the gorgeous Grimeca front master cylinder and that's part of the reason it just wouldn't get firm feeling.  Maybe also it was the wrong bore for the caliper?  Not sure.

Good thing I bought a nice Jay Brake unit a few months ago on a whim on chop cult.  It had a brushed finish, so I spent some time with my rouge and the polishing wheel and made it look a bit better.  Next up is re-shaping the lever.  next week.....

Then for the rear master cylinder, as I was tightening the banjo bolt, the casting actually cracked in half.  SO i was holding the front half with the banjo on it while the rear half was still on the bike.  Luckily I bought a sweet Wagner Lockheed unit at the SoCal Swap meet some months ago when I was out there.  So it was run back to the house grab that one and the rebuild kit from the tool box and got that thing on the bike and voila!

Bleeding both the Jay Brake and the Wagner were super easy.   way too easy.  But they both feel great.    So I celebrated by washing the bike.  and I almost uncovered the crusty Kawi behind my bike and power washed that too, but I know that I'm not up to date on my tetanus shots so I left it alone.  And I think I'm done with messing with the bike until Winter again.  Just need to actually ride it now.  The East Coast definitely teaches you to love working on them more than riding them.  Especially living in the city.

OH, and then Sunday night, I headed to the Yankees/Red Sox game.  Got the amazing invite that said. "come to the game.  I got some suite tickets."   I immediately thought SUITE!  then realized it was probably meant to be SWEET.   nope.  Suite.  The Party City Party Suite to be exact.  While the Yankees lost in extras, it was a great end to the weekend with great people.

I still have my Alfonso Soriano jersey, but as he hasn't been a Yankee since 2003, it was good knowledge to be able to pick any of the ex-#12 players as well.  "is that an Eric Chavez jersey?"  "oh, no, its actually a Billy Martin jersey......or Alvaro Espinoza.......or Wade Boggs......or Kenny Lofton.....just kidding, its an Oscar Grimes jersey."  that game can go on and on.

Eric pointing out just how much Party goes on here.

Great weather, free food, free booze, New York, yeah....even with a loss, it was a great night.

Late 80's Knuckle

Some rake
Extended front end to keep the frame parallel to the ground
Banana style seat
Left side of tank dash fab work
Rear facing passenger peg mounts
Painted primary cover

And some more in there as well.

I have no problem admitting it....I don't think I got it a few years ago, but 80's and 90's style is absolutely great.

October 1990 Easyriders

I was going through the milk crate of 80's and 90's Easyriders and came across a few gems yesterday.  This one stood out in specific.  Look familiar?  Yeah.....what all the "club biker dudes" are building now 22 years later.  I guess good style never goes out of ...umm....errrr.....style.

Here's the takeaway though.  You don't NEED a vintage bike to be rad.  This bike was 10 years old when it was put into this form.  Not a ton of changes, enough to make it work, not just bolt some stuff on, but still, this bike was 10 years old when it was featured.  That would be like having a 2002 bike nowadays....think about it.

Oh and if you know about a priced to sell generator shovel or a pinhead in a swing arm frame.....let me know.  because I still like vintage bikes.

Two Shovels

Señor Morales and I getting gas on our way back to the city from Strange Days.

Brooklyn Coffee Excursion

Woke up early Saturday (as if that is different) and decided to try the coffee at SweetWolf's on 6th ave. They proudly serve 40 Weight coffee, so yeah, I kind of nerded out on that.

After some discussion about having the best cup of coffee and really tasting the coffee without needing sugar or milk, they broke out the coffee siphon and proceeded to brew a perfect cup of coffee.  This thing changed flavors, textures, and body throughout my drinking it.  From when it was hot to luke warm, it constantly tasted amazing.  And the consistency was a bit more tea-like than I'm used to.

Thank you for the presentation and science lesson as well!

The Sportster Update

got this picture from Josh who bought my sporty last year.  His text included the picture and these words:

Another 300 miles this weekend. Still going strong.

Keep it up Josh!  and still glad you're still loving it.

clutch woes....or woahs!

I've been staying at the Grand Boyle Hotel this past week while in California and guess what.....?  We talk about motorcycle stuff and parts and changes, etc.  Also, they don't mind when I make the coffee at 5:30am!

I think I might be stealing a 35mm lower tree that he has laying around to install an internal stop onto for my shovel just in case the bearing is super pressed onto the one that is currently on the bike.  I know I've had a helluva time destroying bearings (and stems) from an old wide glide lower tree in the past.

Also, Chris and I were talking about clutches, and the fact that my 4 speed transmission will probably never be fully sealed.  It is what it is, but that doesn't mean that I can't get it adjusted well.  He reminded me of a repost of a post that Kim had about removing one set of the clutch and friction plates from the clutch pack, so I'll be giving that a whirl.

In addition, I found two from the Knucklehead Theology blog.  With these three sources, I (we all) should be able to get those 4 speeds working flawlessly.

BCM: 2009 Repost: Improving the 74 Clutch

The Venerable 4 Speed Clutch, Part I

The Venerable 4 Speed Clutch, Part II

note, I am admitting to lifting and just linking them here.  I am affiliated with BCM (like in the currently bunking up in the guest room and otherwise friends way).  I am NOT affiliated with the gospel on Knucklehead Theology.  Although sometimes I've read the religious posts wondering if there will be a twist and referring to a motorcycle in a hyperbolic way.....you know like the resurrection.....of a motor that has been rebuilt?  no?