Buyers Remorse ..........

Let me just say I don't ever have it. That is buyers remorse. I can already see myself destroying my backyard as well as myself on my new 1981 MX 175 Yamaha. Never had one so it is so much fun just staring at it and making mental notes to what needs attention first. 120 dollars well spent in my book. Anyone out there that may have one of these IT, DT, or MX models let me know if you have a parts bike laying around. I need a bunch of little parts. Went to a junk sale and found this old Bug eye aircleaner, the final touch to the Sportster project. The last picture is of the tail loop I am molding in. Weld weld weld grind, weld weld weld grind, its almost there and a coat of self etch should be on it by tomorrow night. Very little amount of bondo and then I will get it painted by next weekend. I am gonna take my time putting it back together. Every part will be cleaned and inspected. Repainted, polished or serviced then put back on the bike. Ordered my 10.5 shocks and I welded in my bung for the brake stay. Kinda sucks having to weld on chrome but sometimes you have to just thrash and hope a nice shiny washer covers it up enough. 
Top 5 Saturday Is all About Truths.

Number 1.Being an introvert in a extroverted world sucks.

Number 2. Motorcycles make me happy when everything else makes me feel like shit.

Number 3. Motorcycles should not be the only things that makes me happy.

Number 4. If I had a million dollars I would still have old crusty shit that I'd have to work on. Just A LOT more of it. 

Number 5. Saying your sorry is the hardest fucking thing in the world to say.

Sportster Muscle Flexing.....

So Like I said it is ready and actually  just walked in from blowing it apart. Pushed it outside to take a gander at it in the open air. Sat it outside and just stared at it for about 20 minutes. Made some mental notes about some detail stuff and pushed it back in. Had to build another one of these wrap around fork stops. Once they are all molded in and painted they are cool and work great. No matter what forks you run these work. Built a 2 into1 header out of some scrap pipes and they are gonna be ceramic coated black and I will leave the muffler chrome. Built the frame loop out of 3/4 round stock. Fucking not fun trying to get the loop even and then opened up to fit into the frame stubs. Once all the welding and smoothing out is done they will look like they were always there. Welded the fender piece on and they will all be molded in. Got my Haifley Bros seat mounted and I am gonna run the P Pad because it makes a good stop for my ass. The big picture is to have my Noot Built Stroker motor in this Hot Rod by the summer. I think he said it will be 77 cubic inch Sportster motor at that point. I have always liked the 70's Muscle bike look and this thing with the 16 rear and 19 front both in Avon MkII rubber looks tough as nails. Basically lowered 3 inches front and rear and I need to buy some 10.5 shocks still. These were just for mock up and are 10. Did some trick mounts for the tank I will show later and Id say in the next week it will be ready to paint. Oh yeah I am totally gonna run the Flying Weasel Painted Wassell. Had to fix the split seam which was not so bad so when the next one goes I will handle it like a pro. Welding gas tanks is hairy scary shit. Even after rinsing it out like 5 times I get all sketched out the first blip of the welder. So Happy Tofurkey day.

Because Sportsters.....

Because a unit motor looks good anyway you build it. I am already about to blow mine apart for paint and finishing up. Can't decide on wheels yet but that can come later. The last picture is steadily growing into my favorite picture. When ever I am about to hit something with a hammer I think of this cartoon and just laugh. Fucking truths hurt!

Saturday Night Sat sat sat sat Saturday Night!

You want to know the quickest way to get depressed. Find a picture of yourself from 20 years ago. Man I do love these straw hats. Still wear them all the time. Shawna and I think the other girls name was Amy in Vegas in about 1994 I think. FUCK time goes fast. So I decided the Crack Pipe had lived its full life and now it is on to the swingarm project. Already totally digging it so that is good. Tore the bike down and mocked up the Swingarm this afternoon. Funny it takes months to get these bikes put together and in about an hour they are just a pile on the ground. So as of now I am gonna sell the carcass of the Crack pipe. You will get the frame, tank, oil bag, fender, struts, wiring and battery. 1200 bucks takes it. All you need is a front end, wheels,and a motor and you are rolling chopper style. As for the shirts here is the deal. I have not done  a new tshirt in a few years and these are the last of the old style. I have 7 medium shirts left and that is it. If you are not fat or just a medium sized fellow paypal me 5 dollars at Rickyanchor@gmail.com and I will send it out. This does apply to the 48 only if you live out of the first world hit me up as I am only charging for the shipping. Basically the shirt is free. OK

Saturday Top 5
Top 5 Reasons To Wear Straw Hats

Number 1. They fucking look good.

Number 2. The are cheap like real cheap.

Number 3. They keep the sun off of my bald ass head just as good as your lame ass baseball hat.

Number 4. They do not make you look tough like if I was wearing a ten gallon Stetson. Yet I look tough because I don't fucking care. 

Number 5. They last forever if you take care of them. I have been wearing the same one for like 8 years and it is still going strong. Riding my snapper, drinking my Arnold Palmer and wearing my Straw cowboy hat. Timeless.

And yes the Rollers sang it best

Music To Shave Legs To!

Tech DIY Shave Them Legs

Here is a novel Idea, working on motorcycles. So I sold off the front end that was on the sportster so I had to build up another. 6 over this time and I needed to shave the lowers. There of course is many different ways to do this operation but this is how I do them. I do not have a lathe that will fit a lower in and most of you out there don't either. Granted I have done quite a few of these this way so don't be scared. But now you will know why I would charge like 400 hundred dollars to do a customers bike.

Step 1. Cut all your tabs off. I picked up this porta band and it does a killer job. You want to make sure you stay above the cast marks. Cut all brake tabs and fender tabs at the same time.

Step 2. Flap disc on a hand grinder. I like flap disc because they react to pressure and when you need a lot of material gone you push hard and then just by pressure you can feather out the edges and go on to the next step. DO NOT GO TO DEEP. You are trying to get the highs of the cut off tabs to blend with the leg at this point.

Step 3. Flat file till dawn is how it goes. This is the longest and most tedious part of the whole deal. I have a medium flat file with a fine on the other side I like to use. I put the leg in a good vise and start the up and down on the leg to find all my high and low spots.  The leg should be poking your tummy and the file is in both hands.Just like doing block sanding on a car. As you find the highs you want to go at them with the file to knock them down. After a lot of this and going over the whole leg you are ready for the next step. You may have to clean out your file many times as it will get clogged with aluminum, I keep a clean wire brush handy. The clogged file will leave deep gouges so clean the file often.

Step 4. DA sander comes out. I have two, a 6 inch orbital and a 3 inch finisher. I start with 80 grit and hold the DA flat on the leg. Just hold tight and let the DA do the work. At this point the big scratches will pop out and you may have to flat file some more. These are the steps with the DA and grit paper I use.
80 grit first
150 next
320 
600
then with a block I go over them with 1000.
Each one of those means you do the whole lower and get the finish uniform. Once the leg looks uniform you go to the next level up. By the time you get to the thousand grit they are starting to shine.

Step 5. The Polisher. I wipe everything off first because if there is any fork oil or other goop the legs will not turn out worth a flip. There are a thousand products out there to polish and I have kinda been stuck on the jewelers rouge and the Crafstman green polish. The white rouge cuts real good and you will go over the whole leg with that first then go to the green high polish. The trick is to get the leg kinda hot as you polish it but not real hot just so the polish blends in and rubs out as you go. I'm sure you could spend days going at this point but I will spend about a hour for each leg till I'm happy. After I use a hand polish and rub them out. The mothers aluminum polish helps seal up the fresh polish job and will help keep it from oxidizing. 

One of the Chopper rules: Thy Shall Shave Thy Legs Or Be Made To Ride In Back.

Perfectness and Simplicity

This might be the perfect Cafe Ironhead I have ever seen. Of course that is in my eyes and if your eyes disagree then they are broken. I have stared at this thing like twenty times and just love the flow. Think that is a Ducati scrambler tank. Love shouldered rims and the tail section is fit perfect for looks and butt stop. I have said it before but all the bikes I have ever lusted after are because I wish to ride them. If I can't see myself on them then I have no interest at all. So with that little fluff this morning here goes my Top 5 for this second week of Nov.

Top 5 Things I Love About Motorbikes.

Number 1. Freedom
Number 2. No Rules
Number 3. True Love
Number 4. Patience tester
Number 5. Time travel

Late Top 5

Been thinking a lot about the next tattoo's I am gonna get. I go through phases of getting some then none for a long period of time. It is something that always draws me back in. Watched the Flake And Flames Documentary last night and I actually really liked it. I will admit that it does have a bunch of old hip artist and builder types so it sits well with me. Anyone that can say" The Kids Don't Know Shit" and know they are correct is alright in my book. I am lucky to have been around that time frame when the whole Kustom Kulture world really was blowing up. 1993 was filled with the first real car shows I drove my own car to and the Mooneyes show was my first. Ed Roth, Robert Williams, Coop, Kozik, all were there and blew my mind. 20 years later people think this world has always existed. It hasn't. I really got into Gearhead Magazine in the 90's because it had it all, everything I was into. Cars, and punk rock. Each issue came with a 7 inch record and I have every issue. I don't think mags like Dice and Greasy Kulture could exist with out Gearhead. Anyways I will say this not once in the whole movie did anyone say the word RETRO. If so I would have turned the fucking thing off. The word RETRO is just another way of marketing something fake. If you live your life in the same way they did 60 years ago then that has nothing to do with being RETRO. If you dress up for Rockabilly night then the rest of the week you dress like a tool well then your a tool. It can't be Halloween everyday folks. People like myself and quite a few of you out there build, or paint, or just ride your bike because there is a dieing urge to do so. An unspoken drive that compels you to lay in bed and think about making a bracket or how to tune a carb. It is real, and it is forever.  Being analog in a digital world is the real battle.

Top5 Tattoo's on the board

Number 1. Converge- By far my favorite Hardcore band ever. They have a song called Aimless Arrow. Lyrics are brutal and I am gonna get a arrow tattoo'd facing  out into the sky. Noone else will know but me. Fuck em

Number 2. Get Shea to finish my side piece. It has only been two years. Shit for a small dude he can hand your ass to you under the needle. 

Number 3. Black Flag bars. Think I am gonna due some huge black flag bars on my tummy. Inside of the bars I will do a full on scene of lowrider type shit. Roses and skull cholos. Lowrider cars and a shovel head with a naked girl in the sombrero. NO FUCKING CLOWNS. I hate clowns and they are one of my only childhood fears that has stuck with me. Fuck Clowns. 

Number 4. Do Or Do Not, There Is No Try. 

Number 5. Ive got this old Rat Fink Decal that has the RF playing a surf guitar. I've got a good spot on my leg and I have always wanted a Roth tattoo.

Flathead on the Brain

Can't wait to get going on my Flathead. This will be the first year in five years I think I am not pulling either of my bikes apart to redo. They both are done for now and I will winterize the Ironhead and keep the Shovel in running status for the days it may be warm enough for a ride. So I have a few customer bikes to work on over the cold months and other then that I am gonna slave away on the 51. List of shit I am gonna do.
 3 inch dropped axle
Flathead swap
Sand body again
Figure out what color to paint it.
Clean the inside up
Take out a few rear springs.
Box the entire front of the frame. 
New brake lines everywhere.

Top 5 Motors Looks or Performance?

Number 1. Buick 322- 401 Nailhead
Number 2. Ford 49-53 Flathead
Number 3. Ford 390-460 Big Block
Number 4 Chevy 235-250 Straight 6
Number 5. Buick Roadmaster Straight 8