Mags or No Mags

Trying to decide which way to go with this build. I am digging the Mags right now, tomorrow who knows. I also am gonna try a springer front end and see how that looks.

Top 5 Saturday

I had a thought this week about music. Everything I do revolves around music. I get into my shop and the first thing I do is turn on music and get ready to work. So this week is gonna be my Top 5 records to work to.

Number 1. Johnny Cash- This should be a giving seeing that he is the baddest MFer to ever live. I finally got all the American recording records and the box set so I can go for hours with JC telling me how it is, was , and should be. The man lived a amazing life and I am so glad he did these last records. I love his early records but I truly feel he did his best work on the American records. The songs are humble and straight forward. In the times we live in it is hard to believe that Johnny only needed a guitar to change the world.

Number 2. Electric Wizard- There Black Mass record has been on heavy rotation as of late. Super Fuzzed out heavy as a ton of bricks Rock and Roll. Having a super cute lady rocking the guitar is a plus. The riffs are great the songs are long and the record is a blistering fester from beginning to end. Mind blowing.

Number 3. Black flag- It is funny that after 20+ years I am still in love with Black Flag. Why you may ask? Well there first 4 years record is about as awesome as it gets. Greg Ginn's guitar assault on all the songs are mind blowing. This record has all the first OG singers. That doesn't matter the songs are short and the singing all rules. Buy it now.

Number 4. Bloodshot Bill- The wildest Canadian Rockabilly Trash that ever lived. Bill has his feet into all kinds of stuff, but his one man band bloodshot Bill as amazing. The songs are raw and the singing is somewhere between growling, howling , and teenage lovemaking. The Rockabilly Trash record is my Fave and is hard to find but if you really want it you can find it.

Number 5. Back from the Grave Comps- These are put together from Crypt Records. All the volumes have tons of obscure 60's garage bands. Even if the songs aren't good they are better than any new music. I have burnt a ton from vinyl to the old Ipod. So hours and hours of fuzz and reverb can be heard with no breaks. I love the idea a teenage kids in there parents basements trying to write there own music. Some of it is really good but my favorites are the really loud crappy punk songs. Such a great time for music, it is a little before the hippie stuff and a little after the pop explosion. Anyways there are a ton of comps out there so take some time and look them up.

Runner ups Black Sabbath, Minor Threat, Beach Boys, The Mono Men, Hank SR, The Black Angels, Converge, Crocodiles, Weekend, Adolescents, The Ventures, Howlin Wolf, Charlie Feathers.

Juans Ride

Anyone recognize the front end? Juan did the right thing a pieced together a killer bike. Sure it took a few years but he got exactly what he wanted. Killer Diller

Past Rides

Moldy oldies. I have had allot of cars but these are my favorite. The Falson was my first real car build. Learned allot about wrenching and what looks good. Sold it after 5 years or so and bought the 56 Buick Special. 322 Nailhead was the coolest motor ever. In 2000 I got the 52 Chevy pickup. Slow as death but still fun. The 67 Rivi was the best driving car I have ever owned. Drove like a cadi sitting only 4 inches off the ground. First flame job I ever tried to do. I like seaweed flames and these took along time to lay out. Panels on top and flames running the length of the body. I was trying to get the 56 B3uick grill to work in the Rivi at this point. I had put a 53 Buick grill in the 56 right before I sold it. The bike is the OG 75' 500t Honda. First hard tail and I welded those pipes up the morning of the show. I believe this is the first Primer National show in 2004. They were Triumph scrambler pipes that I reworked to weld to the Honda header pipe. I eventually cut the hard tail off and remade it with a little bit of stretch. I had just put the CZ tank on it also which it still has. Good times and sorry for the pics of pics but I don't like scanning stuff. I bought the 64 Falcon 20 years ago this year. Man I am old.

Top 5 Saturaday

How about we talk about shop stuff today. It has taking me a long time to amass my shop set up. i always made do with what I had but lately I have been hell bent on getting the right tools. Nothing pisses me off more then not have the right tool for the job. So with that here is the top five for Saturday

Drill press 1. What can I say about this tool. Drilling holes in metal is about the most important thing in the world. I went for years drilling everything with a hand drill. Of course with a drill press means you need a good set of drill bits, hole saws,center punches, clamps etc etc. For the price they are the best tool in any ones shop.

Sheet Metal break 2. Once I got into doing tanks and really working on my car this is a must. I do not have a sheer but a jigsaw does a pretty good job and then the break lets you make the shape you need. Battery boxes, seat pans, patch panels all can be done with ease.

Misc grinding 3. What I meant by this is don't just buy one little grinding disc. Buy a bunch of different ones. Different sizes, texture, and material. Doing metal prep is something you have to do when welding. I use allot of grinding wheels for various things. I usually buy all these expendable type things at Harbor Freight. They are cheap and when they get used up just throw them out and grab a new one. Sears sells flap disc for 7.99 a piece and HB has a 4 pack for 9.99. Cut off wheels are even cheaper and I use them allot.

Scissor jack 4. These little scissor jack is the best little jack in the world. You can pick one up for about 50 bucks. They have a flat plate on the bottom and top. Fairly stable and will raise a bike up 16 inches. I use mine on the bike lift allot. Keeps things from moving around and on the ground they are great for pulling a wheel off.

Bike lift 5. I still can not believe I worked on the ground for years before I got a lift. I did build a table that helped allot but a real hydraulic lift is the way to go. Mine doubles as a welding table, frame jig, paint booth, , engine stand, etc etc. Being able to get to everything at eye level is the best. I would sell a kidney if need be for a new lift if mine takes a shit. No joke.

Seriously Nice Out!

If you live in Cali you won't care a bit but it is so nice out today. Middle of Jan. and It is almost 60 out. pulled out the Ironhead and went for a putt putt. Still not used to the new brakes. They work so damn good that I end up sliding up to most stops. Before I would have to heel the damn thing and now I just rest my foot down and I am power sliding. Anyways if you live in the midwest I hope you got out today. Such a good way to get my head all cleared out. Later

Top 5 Saturday

Today we will talk about Motorcycles. I will list my favorite motorbikes ever. I have almost owned every type and make of bike out there. Excluding a new Harley, I have never had the salt to pay that much for a cycle. I got my first real dirt bike at 10 I think and I have owned a bike ever since. There was some dry spells but for the most part it has always been cars and bikes.

Number 1. 1982 YZ 80. My first real dirt bike. For the times it was the fastest thing I had ever owned. The sound of a well running little zinger is the best. I can't wait to take my boy out and let him rip. I got it for christmas in 83 and I rode the piss out of that bike till I got my KX 80 a year later.

Number 2. 67 BSA 441 Victor. Still hate that I sold this bike. This bike is the one that made me learn how to work on old bikes. These bikes are known for being hard to start and mine was the worst. I have never owned another one since and my knee still hurts I think. Very fun though when it was running. Light and nimble and the big thumper motor was a torque monster, but slow as shit.

Number 3. 1975 Honda 500t. My first jap street bike. When I picked it up it was already treated to a ghetto cafe racer look. Clubmans and the seat was trimmed down. It was fun but this is the bike that was my first chopper. I got my first welder and tried to hardtail it in my back yard. I hated the first one so I cut it off and made my own. I rode this bike for a few years and was the first bike I got a award with at the first David Mann chopperfest 2004. I was very proud of this bike but it was a pile in reality and after I blew the motor up it sat for a year or so until I put the rd350 motor in the frame. In that set up I took it to the Horse West show and took a top ten trophy. It was a good little chopper.

Number 4. 1970 R5 350. By far the most fun bike I have owned to ride. Scored this bike on Ebay for cheap. It was a local bike so I picked it up and when I got there it would not start. I low balled the guy down some more and brought it home. Rotted out ground strap was the reason. 5 minutes later I was off ripping up town. Fun little bike and I really do love the sound of two stroke bikes. They aren't tuff sounding but the ring a ding sound is intoxicating. The smoke cloud that explodes as you whack the throttle open is like have the Batman smoke screen.

Number 5. Moto Guzzi 750 Eldorado. Not much to speak of except this is how me and Tony met. He had this bike for sale and I had some money. These are the weirdest bikes to ride ever. The transverse v twin motor makes for a very odd bike.
When you whack the throttle open the whole bike would dive to the right. So I ended up trading this bike to Brian for my 67 Triumph 650. I loved the Triumph and for the first time I really fell in love with a motorcycle. The Triumph was a pain in the ass for a long time but I learned allot from it.

Number 6. 68/79 Harley Sportster. Started this bike from a ebay motor. I have built this bike now 4 different times and I love the bike as a whole. If you take the time a work out all the bugs they are great bikes. I had never owned a big displacement bike until now. 1000cc motors are great. Plenty of torque and with the gearing played with the bike will flat out go. Ridden this bike all over and in the next year I am gonna kill some miles.

This is not all the bikes I have had. There was a time where I had a 750honda, 2008 Triumph, pile of Triumphs, 73 Rd 350, 73 Rd250, It 250, etc etc. I love motorcycles and that is that.

Noot Knocking it Out.

Thru twist of fate the motor Noot got from me is now coming back into my life. Only it is coming back in awesome Noot fashion. First time I am paying for a rebuild but in the grand scheme it is all the same. So believe me Noot and his pops do crazy good work and I believe I am gonna have a little hot rod Sporty to go by summer. I mean another one. Look at these heads I would be scared to look at them to long they are so pretty. Feb 11th I will be bringing it home.

OMG OMG OMG

I want to ride this so bad. Triple 2 stroke chopper is looking amazing. If I ever come up on one of these it will be go time. I have already stared at this pic for a half hour. Still blowing my mind. The proportions are perfect and those expansion chambers even look right in down in the belly. Weed Wacker Express will be its name.

Almost a Wizrad

Top 5 Saturday

Saturday the 7th of Jan. Top 5 this week is gonna be a doozy. Top 5 reasons not to give a shit what others are doing.

Number1. Blog influence- I of course use my blog to show what I am up to and show off some customer bikes. Others use theirs to show nothing and do nothing. I have found myself just staying off of the computer all together. It is a dream world out there. I live in Kansas City MO and we are about the most dead center a place as you can get. There is no scene here and without the 4-6 guys that have bikes I would still be riding alone and actually I still ride alone about 90 percent of the time.When I moved here I knew no one that had a chopper. I brought my So cal style to the Midwest and have since met so good fellows that are like minded. Granted there are only a few that are ate up over choppers like I am.

Number 2. Timeless- Choppers are forever, Hot Rods are forever. A proper chopper will forever and always be at the forefront of cool. One hundred years from now a chopper is gonna still be what it looks like now. Forget about all the bullshit fads and whatever. Build yourself a timeless period correct or not chopper. It all has been done before so don't even think for a minute you have a original idea. You can except this and then build a bike with this in mind. All it is is a motor, two wheels, and some tins. Other then that it is amazing at what kind of abominations people build.

Number 3. Love Thy Bike- It was in the bible I think. Maybe just my bible. Nothing gets my goat more then seeing a bike neglected. If you don't give your ol girl what she needs then she is gonna burn you. Take pride in your bike, while you are on it blasting down the highway you want to know nothing is gonna fall off. I take great pride in my bike. I know there are better bikes or faster bikes but I know I have done my homework and if it breaks I am the only one to blame. Screw what everyone else thinks a tidy bike is a happy bike.

Number 4. Scene report- Nothing to report here. I had a funny short conversation with Chopper Dave at the Dice party. He was saying how rad the Midwest was because we don't have all the scenester fucks screwing it up. I agreed and said about the same. We are just lucky to meet anyone else that has a bike. I mean if you have a bagger there are millions of people but a chopper you are screwed. I never thought of it as a blessing but in hind sight he is right. I grew up in Cali and let me just say when you go to a show and everyone there is flexing and trying there hardest to be the biggest, loudest, most chopper guy in the land. It gets old real fast. These are the guys that ruin everything. Same for car guys, they are a bunch of pre-madonna sissy boys. They are more worried about there hair/clothes then having a legit ride. That is why I love my club the Punk Rods. Just a bunch of solid grease monkeys that don't get all nancy about anything.

Number 5. Why are you here- Good question I suppose. I ask myself this all the time. I don't care what is going on in the bike world. It is just smoke and mirrors. I will be here doing what I do until I can't pick up a hammer. So ask yourself this every once in a while. Why do you need a chopper? For me it is like a artist painting or how a bird has to fly. I crave the outlet. I'll spend hundreds of hours building my bikes then you get to go ride them. It is the best therapy out there. Satisfaction at its best. I lay in bed and think of brackets, sit and draw exhaust,think of retarded paint jobs, etc etc. If you just want to ride then by a new bike. If you want a relationship that pays 10 fold go vintage.

Selling some parts

Trying to off some stuff on Egay. Need some dollars to put towards my motor. Mullins Chain Drive 41mm narrow set up. Old chopper tanks, and a Corbin Gentry king queen seat. Tons of other shit also. If you are bored during the next week feel free to check it out.