Call Me Crazy.......

But This 1979 Sportster is one awesome motorcycle. Its got good lines and looks real comfy yet will still handle good. After riding that little Honda around I have to admit that sitting up on top of a bike rather than all in it was kinda sweet. Not to mention jumping curbs and ripping around the yard. So this is the problem do I take the Crack Pipe apart and build up a swingarm bike or do I sell it and just buy a stock Sportster. First world problems are still problems right?

Better Then Christmas.............

We have heard about old man Curt before. Every year at Greaserama he brings me something cool and we catch up about life and just hang out. He is cool as shit and has some great stories about riding choppers in the 60' and 70's. Well I guess he has gotten  to that age that he was wanting to clear out some space and unloaded all these mags on me. HOLY SHIT when he called and said he had some rags for me I was thinking like 2 or 3 not a hundred or so. I was freaking out while pulling stack after stack of little pages out and then the old 50's Hot Rods came out then Rod And Customs. For someone like me this is better then winning the lottery in some respect. He thought of me because he knew I would not just flip them for money but will keep them and learn from them. Somewhere along the way I did something right. I'd say it will take me about a year to get through them all. I was going to lay them all out on the floor but the floor isn't big enough. Fuck where am I gonna put them?

Top 5 Saturday

Top 5 Saturday 6/22 is going to blow your doors off. The When Where and How of the coolest bikes. It seems that all parties claim to have started the chopper craze and to this day damn near 60 years later the debate is still going . I will try and give my input and hopefully this will open some eyes or close some eyes whatever. 

 Number 1. Iowa/Kansas City Connection. I have talked about it before but all the bikes that are the craze right now really can be traced to the Iowa/KC connection. The EF's built the most insane choppers ever and are still a legit club. David Mann was from KC and started the KC chapter in the early 60's. Even today this club has a no bullshit approach and choppers are still the rule. Wild Childs was famous as fuck and even Roth himself would come out to Kc and see what was going on. Ray Farner with cars and bike shows had the whole country looking at the midwest. Not to mention the St Paul and Minn scene which was just as influential. One of the biggest parts innovator Smith Bros and Fetrow was from there. Finch from Detroit, etc etc.

Number 2. Bay City Angels. Sportsters rule and these early Angels built some pretty slick hot rods. The mix of filthy and cool was never perfect as the early Bay city bikes. Later to only have been blown out of the water with Ness coming up with the digger look. By the 70's all the club guys were riding big couch sleds and all the chopper freaks were still riding Sportsters. 

Number 3. LA, Hollywood, Long Beach, SO CAL. There are plenty of badass guys that keep it real in So Cal. I do know that there were allot more back stabbing, parts poaching, ripping off mother fuckers down there then anywhere else on earth. Roth basically kickstarted the whole chopper world as we know it. He was a genius and neanderthal all in the same breath. Randy Smith from CCE is another fellow that never got his fame and fortune yet his parts today are worth a small mint. AEE brought choppers to the masses and I am not saying that was a good thing but Tom McMullen had a head for good business which meant he would have fucked his own mother to sell some more bling out of the Street Chopper format. Sugar Bear was still building bikes up until this year and had the talent and eye dating all the way back to the early 60's. The Club bikes from South were always a little bit flashy as the times changed so did the bikes. All I know is all the old timers had cool fucking bikes. 

Number 4. NY East Coast. Seeing that I am from SO CAL it was always hard to believe that a riding season that is only 5 months long would have a bike scene. Well NY proves that not only does this crazy city have a bike scene it has giving us some of the best builders in the history of bike builders. That gives you 7 months to work on your pile so you can ride for the 5 with out any hangups. NY bikes I don't think need the flair that Cali bikes have. The city is so gnarly that they don't need the flash. If you ride a bike in the city you are bat shit crazy. there is a killer video of Chopper Dave riding around NY. It is so fucking cool and scary. Larry might be the most famous but there has been chopper guys in NY since the beginning. If you add in all the surrounding areas then you really do have allot to talk about. 

Number 5. Nowhere Planet Earth. I will just say this as a homage and thank you to all the other shops just like mine all over the planet. We have some ideas and we have some skills. I look at these shops with great respect and understanding. It is hard to run a shop and raise kids, work a day job, mow lawns etc etc. I truly think that we are the ones keeping it real like at the street level. Fame will change you, Money will do the same. I just want to build a solid good looking motorcycle and be recognized for said build. That about sums it up. Also I got waved at 10 times today. Argh

No Waving Here

Pretty fucking funny but I have been riding the Honda for a couple of days just to make sure it is solid  before I sell it. It has been and has made the round trip a few times with no issues. What I have noticed that when I am riding my Harley I get every jack off in the world giving me the BIKER BRO WAVE. On the Honda I did not get a single wave in 3 days. Fucking awesome I'd say. See in the back of my head I am like" Fuck these mother fuckers I have two Harley choppers at home and I am still cooler then you riding this Honda". So there I said it. Screw you and your wave, take that hand and shove it up your ass. Well honestly if they rode that Honda automatic they could ride with one hand shoved up there ass. I rode to get lunch and held my lunch in my left hand and rode all over town with just my right. So Weird. Think I got it sold already so that is good, which means I will be getting waved at again. Ugh

You"ll Meet The Biggest Asshole On A Honda

As in me Ha. Did some trade out work for this pretty clean little Honda CM400A as in Automatic. It is so fucking weird with no clutch. So this is how it works, there is a neutral and to go you move the shifter up into low. This will take you to all city speed limits like about 45-50 then up one more time to high and away you go. Fixed all the little shit and wiring issues and then did a shake down run the long way home. Not even a hiccup out of this old girl. Holds 65 no problem and was actually kinda fun. Big GIANT cushy seat which my ass really liked and besides the fact I probably looked like a circus bear on a tricycle it is ready to sell. You can see all the tire marks in the grass from me ripping it around the yard. Front brakes are weird to use as well. So used to not having one that I never even touched it. Anyways it is gonna be brutally hot this weekend so I will crank the AC and get some real work done.

STALKERS - 3 Way Weekend

Been digging this band lately. I hope it is true they are gonna have a new record out. There first lp Fucking Rules.

Made in the USA

Snapper riding punk rocker for life. Damn this new yard demanded a riding mower. Walking it took 2.5 hours. Snapper action too only 35 minutes. Worth its weight in gold I 'd say. Used it today to drag a old fence right out of the fucking ground. Made in the USA and damn if it doesn't make mowing the yard almost enjoyable, almost that is. Pulled my straw hat out for the first time this year. I fucking love these cheap straw cowboy hats and I get more people asking me where I got it. My secret and let me just say it is ridiculous. Norton is getting sent off to the powdercoat guy and I am doing some trade out for a 1976 Honda cm400a. The A is for Automatic and it should be fun as a yard bike. Strip it down and go.

Top 5 Saturday

Well after a few weeks of no posts I will pick it back up off the ground with a Top 5  Tools ever invented in my eyes. Should be fun and the list should a mile long but I will just do the absolute top 5.

Number 1 . Welding machines in all forms- I still get this warm fuzzy feeling knowing that I just stuck two pieces of metal together FOREVER. It is like being God or even better, a wizard of metals. Unlike other magical methods a bad weld can be fixed and fixed and fixed. Amazing. I will never forget the very first time I used my Grandpas stick welder and repaired my go cart with a piece of bed rail and then went and ripped on it right after. Kind of started that day now that I look back on it. It was fucking broken and I fixed it. Life changer.

Number 2. The Almighty Sawzall- The start of every good chopper. I have had the same Milwaukee Sawzall for 20 years almost and I have used it hundreds of hours and it is still chopping up bikes, cars, bicycles, and anything else you can cut in half. I have got to the point I am like a surgeon with a scalpel and have got real good at cutting damn near perfect straight lines through shit. Could probably build a house out of all the blades I have gone through over the years. The trick is to let the Sawzall do all the work and you just guide it. Let me just say this you can get fucked by one of these guys. Had a blade bind up once and the entire Sawzall damn near took all my teeth out. Yeah I remember that, it sucked.

Number 3. Hammer- Seriously I know this one goes all the way back to caveman years but this is the ultimate tool. Round hole and a square peg? No problem I have a really big hammer. Bolt is rusted to shit just grab a chisel and a big hammer and your problem is gone. It really isn't just the hammer but all the tools you use in conjunction with said hammer. Chisels, drifts, impacts, soft blows, rubber,  man they are all amazing and when used right they are your best friend but cross them and the will mess you, your fingers and whatever you were trying to clobber up for real. True Story, I was at Travis's house trying to get his Kawa chopper thing together and trying to line up the shocks I was beating on a bolt and slipped with a good 2 pound hammer right on the side of my hand. I swore to the devil himself I had broken the shit out of my hand. It swelled up like a egg under my skin and for weeks and weeks if air touch my hand I would cringe and swear at that fucking motorcycle. OUCH

Number 4- Mill/ Lathe- I will combine these because without one you would never need the other. Pretty much everything in my life has to do with someone much smarter then me using one of these machines. I am terrible at math and to use these machines properly you need to know math. I take the trial and error approach and have actually turned some cool stuff. Spacers, bushings and little odds and ends. In the near future I am gonna invest in some serious tooling. One of my goals is to really learn how to make some killer shit using these two tools.

Number 5. Drill Press- Holes in everything, everything has holes. Straight up if you think you are gonna build anything and not have a drill press you are crazy. Just a drill press will change your life in a positive and very forward motion. I have an old 60's Chicago press that was handed down to me and it works killer and has never left me hanging. Do buy a good drill press vise and never ever try and hold anything by hand and drill a hole through it. After almost losing a number of fingers I learned my lesson. It did take multiple tries but by god I learned it. Scares the shit out of you the first time something bites and goes flying. I bought a little mill vise and just clamp it in place and it works like a champ. 

Number 6 bonus- Torch set- I know now a days everyone has a plasma cutter but all I have is a set of torches. I was given the set from a friend that is dead now and they are one of my prize possessions. Just like welding these can undo about anything and with the right tips and skill you can cut apart a tractor and then weld a gas tank together with a change of the heads. So much fun bending up sissy bars or making footpegs it just would be almost impossible to do without heat and lots of it. RIP BILL HENRY

Swiss Miss

Hot cocoa is the color I think the 51 ended up for this season. Can't say I love it but I can say it is the only truck in the world this color. After 3 rounds of body work and two complete primer jobs I had to say enough is enough. So I have been driving the piss out of it the last two days and I have to admit I do love this old girl. Went to the vintage cycle show at the Airport and took am few pics. Very light turn out indeed and the weather was being a asshole so most people stayed home I guess. Anyways I have all my toys at home and I got to go explore some country roads today. 5 miles out of town and you are in straight up BFE and I love it. Found a sweet gravel road and decided the shovel is still to pretty to take on the dirt. I'll take the Sportster out there this weekend and do some sliding around. Yeah and some wise guy already left a Hot Cocoa instant pack by my shop. Funny

Holding On To A Dream.....

Does anyone else get super attached to there gloves? They become like my children to me. After three years these fuckers have seen a lot of miles and I think this is about the end for them. Finally blew out the finger and they are starting to smell like death in the middle of summer. I was staring at them today and just could not throw them in the trash. I will start looking for a new pair so they can get broken in by the Sturgis trip. May get a pair of summer type gloves that aren't so hot but I like my damn gloves and they even look cool. They are worn in perfect and in the morning they keep my crusty hands warm and after work they are like slipping a pair of slippers on. Just on your hands of course. Noot next time we ship some heads and barrels we will be doing it in two boxes OK boss. Broken fins are a bummer for sure. Random things I have spied from the last week. This swingarm Sporty is top notch and the Robt Williams poster pics are from Erics Garage. The man is a genius when it comes to subject matter and style.

Done And Done..........

Well I am officially moved into the new digs. The weather in Mo has been terrible and on moving day we got over 2 inches of rain. So that always makes for good times. Got the rest of our stuff moved on Friday and now I am just emptying boxes. I had to go get a lawnmower and up till yesterday I thought it was going to be fine. I was wrong and after 2 hours and I was still mowing I realized the bad decision I made. I will be righting that wrong once I buy a riding mower. All boring stuff on my end I will get back to normal this next week. Norton is all blown apart and truck is about to get the paint laid on. These are the best days?