07/28/2005

This update is for you Gary. :-)

Well, a mysterious motorcycle appeared on my site recently.. and then I just referred to it in the last post as if it had always been. That's probably a good way to confuse my friends, and those who seem to be getting some value from my ramblings eh? :-) I'll try to explain.

About two weeks ago I bought a 2005 Kawasaki Vulcan 750. This was after about 3 months of shopping around and looking at bikes. It came down to the Shaft-Drive Vulcan or a Triumph Bonneville.. and while the Bonneville was VERY pretty it had a chain, no center stand, and was much more expensive. The Vulcan with the accessories I want (LeatherLyke hardbags, Memphis Shades windshield, and a luggage rack) is less expensive than the stock Bonneville I was looking at. While the Bonneville dealer in town is extremely nice, and great people.. I had to be practical. The bike was marked down for me, as the 2006 models had already rolled into the showroom. I loved the look of the Vulcan, straight out of the 80's when I was wanting a Honda Shadow and my dad wouldn't let me even think about it. It's all partially his fault anyway, since the Honda dirtbike he bought me and rebuilt when I was a kid is what made me want a streetbike so bad back then. I forgot about it until last year, I'd think about that little bike sometimes. I always loved riding bicycles too, and did all though college. A bicycle was my primary source of transportation on campus, with a milk crate sawed off and mounted on a cheap $10.00 luggage rack from Wal-Mart. The bike was a Huffy I got in Junior High and it looked rough, but I kept the tires aired up and in good condition, lubed the chain, axels, and kept it rideable despite chaining it to a bike rack in the rain all those years.

Now I'm rambling off course. Why do I need another motorcycle is what you want to know and did I get rid of the Buell?

Well, no.. My little Buell Blast is still my first love. It's a great bike and I love riding it. The styling is extremely modern, and with a windshield the highway isn't a problem. I was just in the mood to get a second toy, something else I guess.. Part of it stems from Marie's wanting to get a Buell XB9R. She started looking at them now she has a year's experience, they come in yellow which matches her gear (hah).. and she got me looking to. It's pretty much her fault, but then again it's my fault for getting her into motorcycling in the first place because like me she is addicted. I love Buell, and would like one of the new Ulysses Dual-Sports, but the bike is higher than the price range I consider reasonable for a motorcycle. I have this odd number, that a bike must cost $8000.00 or less. Bizarre eh? I'm also not too into used bikes, I've had a used truck once which the engine died in after one year.. and the Honda that I rebuilt was very cool, but the previous owner treated it harsh. There can be alot of hidden things on a motorcycle that the old owner did or didn't service and I don't deal to well with the unknowns. When I sold the Honda I told the new owners everything I could about it, what I'd replaced, what I thought might be a problem, etc...

Well... Since getting the Vulcan I've learned a few things about it from reading on the internet, the obvious electrical design faults related to the Goat's Belly on the pipes, with the Regulator/Rectified mounted above it, and the battery above that. All of which are easily fixed with heat shielding, a maintenance free battery, and some in-line fuses (read about this online). I've also noticed how different riding the Vulcan is to my Buell. Both bikes sit pretty much the same other than a height difference, the Vulcan is pretty much a standard that looks like a cruiser. It's 750cc's versus my Buell's 492, and I've noticed alot of pep. It runs smoother than the Buell, but that's the nature of a single cylinder versus a twin. The Buell is a champ on city streets, but the Vulcan is the king of the highway as it weighs more is less succeptible to wind pushing it around than the Buell it seems. First day I rode the Vulcan I put 100 miles on it, and the city riding made my knees ache as the bike weighed more and I wasn't used to it.

The highway performance of the Vulcan has got me wondering. I love the Blast so much, and it is such a comfortable ride. The Vulcan is BIG, or feels big. I guess because it sits so high up and the Buell is pretty low to the ground. Both are low maintenance bikes, which is a must for me. The Blast though I have noticed at about 65 to 70 requires some pushing to pump it up faster, and at 70 the bike climbs to higher speeds slower than it does at lower rpms. Supposedly a new cam set, performance exhaust, an oil cam, and a performance air filter and jet kit will improve performance in the mid-range (so Buell is basically saying 65 to 70 is the mid-range). Next year, we'll see... It may be time to take my little Blast in and get the performance kit added to boost things up a bit.

I figure I'll be keeping my bikes a while. I've got two fine motorcycles, from two different companies. Marie is wanting the XB9R, but still loves her 250 (and so do I, it's a sweet ride and an excellent daily commuter). I've learned ALOT about motorcycles in the last year, my only wish now is that I could turn it into a career. I love writing code, and working in IT... but I really envy the guys who ride bikes for magazines, write reviews, or do concept designs for motorcycle companies. I have an Art degree in Graphic Design, and would love to work in the motorcycle industry. Marie is a mechanical engineer, who has done product and industrial design. I've done some concept work for her company before.. but doubt that would qualify me for a design team position somewhere as she's more qualified.

I've got some wild ideas for new motorcycles, but no way to actualize them. Anyway, I'm still learning alot about motorcycling. Some of the best lessons I've learned is to really to the T-CLOCS walk around and check on your bike regularly. I check the air in my tires on my bike either every time I ride, or every other day depending on how the tires maintain their pressure. If I am in doubt, I do it. I check the coolant on the bikes, and oil. The Buell has to be warmed up to check it's oil, so I usually check to make sure there is oil in the tank, ride to work, and then check it. The Vulcan, and Ninja have sight glass windows which to me is awesome. I wish my Buell had that! Then again the Buell is aircooled and has an oil pump, and the Kawasaki's are water/antifreeze cooled. I always check to make sure I am in Neutral before starting the bikes, I let them warm up before riding. The Kawi's are easy to monitor with their RPM's, and the Buell with it's auto-choke you just have to wait until it smoothes out to know it's warm. Letting them warm up lets the oil get to all the parts of the engine before putting load on it, not a bad thing. I know how to align my headlights, I check them to make sure they're working, the horn, and the turn signals and brakelight before each ride. Brakes get a check, check brake fluid, etc.. Everything to make sure the bike is running good, and ready to roll. I don't want it failing on me in an emergency where I need to do emergency swerving or braking.

Going to take my bike for a ride this weekend to add some more miles on the Vulcan. The Buell is getting an oil change pretty soon, just waiting for the Engine Sentry to come in, and the Oil Filter heat sink I ordered for it to come in. The Honda was worth the exercise, as it taught me how to wrench and I didn't have to worry so much about the bike since it cost so little. That's about it, pretty much a wrapup so far. I will post as more happens.. :-)

07/24/2005

Well about 3 weeks ago I ordered a custom shed from Appletree Building Crafters. I rode out to their place during lunch one day on the Buell and ordered a 6' x 10' metal shed, white with grey trim. They delivered it last week. Today I mounted two shelves, and a bumper at the back of the shed. They're all pieces from a server rack that they were discarding at work, and turned out to be the exact size. With some shelf brackets I'd been hoarding for years, and wood and sheet metal screws I was able to put them up in about 30 minutes. They have a lip around the edge, and are painted so they look much better than wooden shelves.

Then I mounted a hook on the wall for my portable shop light I got from Harbor Freight years ago. The cord is long enough to reach the outlet in the carport, and still be clear of the door. The hook lets me hang the light, and cord up where it will actually be used. So that worked out good.

Then I mounted some bicycle hooks in the wall by the door so I can store my tri-fold aluminum loading ramp there, and I setup a bungee cord on the hooks to be a retainer to keep the ramp in place. After that I spent an hour painting the floor with an oil based floor and concrete paint. We bought four cans of it when K-Mart closed in our neighborhood years ago, and it's Battleship Grey. Looks good though, if oil, or anything leaks onto the floor cleanup should be easier.. or at least it won't stain into the wooden floor.

I was very pleased with Appletree Building Crafters and would recommend them. They built the building to the dimensions I wanted, if I had gone with an 8' wide building I probably couldn't park my truck in the driveway anymore. Now all we need is a parking stop so I can anchor it and be able to park close to the building without having to worry about denting the thing! The shed roof was the first they had ever built on a portable building they said, they ran a line of trim along the back which is perfect. They put it right up against the house like I wanted, and the shed roof is great because it directs any rain away from the house rather than splitting it away and against like a normal A-frame roofed shed would have.

Custom 6' x 10' Shed from Appletree Building Crafters with a Shed Roof.	Interior of Custom 6' x 10' Shed from Appletree Building Crafters. This was taken right after I finished painting the floor. The rear bumper is a steel brace from an old server rack that I was given that they were throwing away at work, and so are the two shelves above.

Yesterday was yardwork day, I got a new spool for my old electric weedeater and mowed the yard and weedeated. Still need to trim the hedges, but the temperature outside is 102 degrees at the moment.. and with the humidity they say it feels like 110. A friend was in the neighborhood and thought I went out riding when he stopped by, he wanted to see the shed (Sorry Fred), but I was in it at the time I think, painting the floor. I then spent a bunch of time cleaning up the carport shed and organizing my yard tools and gardening tools.

I ordered a set of hardbags on Saturday, Tom at Kawasaki Sports Center is getting me a set of LeatherLyke Classic bags for my Vulcan 750. I also have asked him to find out if I can trade in the stock battery as I want a maintenance free battery for the bike since you have to unbolt the seat to get at it (and that kinda stinks). While I am at it I am planning to get some heat shielding so I can figure out if I can put it under the Regulator/Rectifier to insulate it from the heat from the Goat's Belly on the exhaust system.. and I am going to need to go to Radio Shack and get a 30 amp inline fuse so I can put it on the connections to the Stator from the Regulator so I don't have to worry about it burning the Stator out if it ever fails like I've read about. I don't really want to relocate the Regulator like some have because it looks ugly. Heat shielding should work, like on race cars electronics.. if applied properly. I'm also going to have the dealership lube the rear splines when I take it in for it's 500 mile service as I've heard that doesn't always get done by a dealership and is key to the splines lasting. It may cost more, but I want the bike to last.

Also went by Rodney's Cycle House, still can't decide what windshield to put on the bike. I like the idea of a Memphis Shades sportshield.. but Memphis Shade's doesn't list it as being compatible with my bike. The only shields they have that work are the Fats and Slim which require a $80.00 turn signal relocation kit, and the handlebar mount ones which don't. Not big on handlebar mount shields. I guess if I used the right loctite it might be okay.. We'll just have to see. I really would like the large sportshield, in the faded black tint. That would look really good with a stainless steel dash kit I saw online for the gauges on the bike. I figure once I have a shield and hardbags, and then get a maintenance free battery and do the fuse work then I'm done for a while. I would really like a Corbin Seat..but how can you justify $500.00 total for it, and the backrest for the driver. The backrest itself is half the cost! I can get a Protec driver backrest which matches the stock seat and is a heck of alot cheaper. I love Corbin Seats.. but YIKES. A Corbin for my Blast is not bad, but for my VN750 it's insane. There's also a guy out there who makes floorboards (the Knifemaker?) who also makes the dash.. If I order the Dash from him at some point I'll get the floorboards.

Anyway, I need to get an oil filter for my Blast and do and oil change soon. We'll see. Technically it's not supposed to get one until 5000 miles, but 5000 miles? What? I ride in the city alot, so it needs it sooner than that. I'll do it myself, my local Harley Dealer is dropping Buell from their lineup.. and they told me they will not service Buell's anymore once they sell the last Blast they have in stock. How lame is that? I wrote a letter to Erik Buell to complain about it as it leaves me with the closest Buell dealer being in Memphis.. and while they're a good dealership I'm sure, I don't want to have to go so far. I also had someone in the parts dept. at our local HD dealer tell me Buell was going out of business.. and then heard it the other day from a guy who hard also heard it from someone at our local HD Dealer. That's pretty freaking sad that they're saying that, especially when Buell just released a super-cool Dual Sport bike (love to have one, but $12,000.00 is WAY over my limit for a motorcycle) and another version of the Lightning which is longer and leaner. So Buell comes out with two new bikes, the local Harley dealer is dropping them from their lineup and people who work for them are telling people that Buell is going out of business. Pretty damned sad. Buell sportbikes seem to be leading the pack in the racing circuits at the moment from what I read in American Motorcyclist, and with the Ulysses Dual-Sport Buell (and Harley-Davidson who owns Buell) now has an on and off road bike. Who knows, maybe one will show up in the Dakar Rally.

07/16/2005

Elvira has left the premises! I placed an ad in the paper for Elvira, I guess the word Chopper in the ad brought in most of the calls because alot of people wanted to know how long the forks were. I had to explain to them that the term covers bikes which have had their fenders bobbed, and nonessential parts dropped off in order to cut the weight and gain speed on riding. Anyway, I had around 25 calls over the course of 3 days in addition to slapping up a flyer in the breakroom at work (which garnered 0 e-mail's!).

A guy and his wife swung by and took a look at the bike on Friday after I got home from work. She wanted the bike to learn to ride on, and thought it looked pretty cool. I had started it earlier in the day, and checked it out to make sure it was running fine.. and when they got there it wouldn't start! Then when I pulled the rear sprocket cover off, one of the bolt holes started leaking oil. I felt horrible. I put the bolt back in. I guess when I last changed the oil it might have removed some gunk in the engine, which might have blocked that hole up.. and as such it didn't leak when I had the cover off so many times. It's bizarre to me that the bolt would go into the engine case like that.. Anyway, I felt sunk... like they wouldn't be interested. Yet I got it to start, it didn't lose much oil so it was okay.. He wanted to take it for a ride, so I opened the gate and let him go.

When he got back, he asked his wife what she thought and she said she wanted it.. So we loaded it up, I signed the title over and they paid me. They were nice enough, and I hope they enjoy the bike. I was worn out from working on it.. and was ready to say goodbye.. but it made me a bit sad to see it go.

So Farewell Elvira, you were a fun project bike.. and turned out looking pretty darned cool when I was done!

07/10/2005
Man, I am so screwed up. I've got the months all off by one. I submitted an ad to sell the Rebel in the paper, twice.. Wondered why my ad didn't appear today.. and then when I submitted it today again I realized I'd put 08/13/2005 as the listing date. Decided to list it for $800.00, since I did put alot of time in.. I saw a 1985 Rebel listed at $1200.00 today, all it said was: Runs.. Okay, that's vague. Mine runs, and other for a few small things that need to be sorted out with the headlight, and turn signals (my buddy Phil says I just need to put a bigger fuse in and they'll blink.. he's seen it before) not blinking (just coming on) it's a pretty neat looking little bike.

Anyway, Maru and I went riding today. It was pretty hot but we had a good time. Rode out to Pinnacle Mountain, it's a nice ride, pretty scenic. Then when we got home I washed the bikes. I've got a shed being delivered this week, it'll be nice to have some more storage space to sort things out. I still need to sort through the boxes of junk and parts, bolts, etc.. and my tools and get everything squared away from the project.. and to throw away what is trash and not needed anymore.

Gas prices have soared again, some Senators in Illinois are asking for a special investigation, as there have been reports of gas prices going up by 25 cents a gallon in the space of 2 hours in their state.. and I saw how gas stations in Florida raised the cost per gallon by 40 cents in 24 hours right before everyone started to evacuate.. Talk about taking advantage of the disadvantaged. The attorney general of Florida is looking into it. AAA says people are going on vacation no matter what the price.. I guess that's right, but if you want to go some place that requires driving it seems like you'd better do it now while it's even within reach because some stock analysts are predicting $4.00 a gallon next year...

And somehow I doubt our wages are gonna go up to keep up with it, and I also doubt transport costs will hold so that food and other goods are gonna skyrocket. Perhaps it will be a bag of gold for a loaf of bread before it's all over.. Pretty damned sad. We knew about energy problems in the 70's. I remember seeing programs on TV about the new energy sources being developed, the same sources which were squelched by big oil, both US oil companies, and the OPEC Cartel.. I always associated a Cartel with criminals, since they used to talk about the Opium and Cocaine cartels on TV related to the War on Drugs.

Well, there's the Diamond Cartel, which I've read some about them using conflict diamonds.. and how pricing is fixed, and that they limit the amount of diamonds released to keep the prices up.. and then there is the Oil Cartel, which seems to do the same thing... It's just another form of an Energy Cartel, like with Enron.. Except there is a whole blind eye turned towards what the oil industry does.. I know that $2.35 a gallon like I saw today made me pretty damned sick. Wal-Mart had it for $2.19 a gallon.. Last week I paid $2.09, and the week before that it was $1.99 one day.. So WTF?!?! I'd have to agree with the senators from Illinois that there is some price gouging going on... Big Oil is trying to make every last nickel and dime they can from what's left of the World's Oil before they switch us over to the 'Alternative Fuels' that they have been buying up, keeping under wraps, and squelching for the last 30 - 40 years.. and you know what??

Someone needs to do something about it... but they won't.. By forcing the prices higher, they'll make more money.. and when it comes time to switch to alternative fuel's we'll be glad to do it.. Sound like a conspiracy theory? Well, it is.. We do need to switch to alternative fuels, and conserve what oil is left for things like plastics, etc.. but it makes me sick that they're doing it by sticking it to the world's pocketbook almost at gunpoint.. Maybe that's the only way they will get the Hummer and SUV drivers to ever switch over.. but they're killing what is left of the American Auto Industry, GM is going under as all their cars are gas guzzlers and they aren't working on a hybrid. Toyota and Honda are embracing this new stop-gap technology (since it isn't a full solution to the foreign oil/oil problem).. and Ford is working on Hydrogen powered cars. GM just doesn't get it.

Anyway, it's hot, gas prices suck, and I'm tired and going to bed. Check out the pics from today's ride.

07/03/2005
Well, it's done. Or as done as it's gonna get under my stewardship. I've decided to sell the bike as of yesterday. So today was final mopping up. I got the electrics hooked up but there are ghosts I don't want to deal with. Like, how the taillight works fine.. but I'm not sure if it gets brighter when I hit the brakes.. The turn signals light up when you hit the switch, but they don't blink. I think it's the wattage on the bulbs, since they SLOWLY light up. The headlight was working, but after I bundled up the wiring it stopped. I have tried figuring it out, and during that time the sealed beam fell off and broke (ARGH) so I had to go to the store and pick up another one.

It's a fine looking bike, and after putting the chain on and tensioning it, putting the sidecovers on, and assembling everything that needed it I am kind of sad to sell it.. but I am tired of the bike, tired of working on it. I'd say it's 95% done, and that the next person who gets it could probably finish it up by sorting out the headlight and turn signals properly and they'd be good.

Since I'm selling it I decided that I could either put the bar end mirrors on the bike (which cost me $30.00) or I could put some regular bar ends on it (which cost me $9.95 for a pair). I opted to do the bar ends rather than the mirrors. I'm going to ask $600.00 for the bike, which is reasonable considering the footpegs on it cost $50.00, it's got a new front tire that cost $100.00, I bought replacement sidecovers for it, new turn signals, built a custom seat, custom license plate bracket, repainted the frame, forks, refurbed the speedometer and odometer (which looks new now), put a new headlight assembly on it, and headlight buld, new petcock and gas cap on the Harley Davidson tank, new clutch cable, headerwrapped the pipes, painted them and the engine, fixed the chain guard, custom chopped the rear fender, etc.. etc.. etc.. I paid $400.00 for the bike, but I sold the rear fender struts, and a bunch of parts non-essential to my project for customizing it which along with some other E-Baying means I will break even if I get $600.00 for it.

Know anyone wanting to buy a custom Honda-DavidSun Chopper with a 14 cubic inch engine? :-) Let me know. I'm going to list it in the paper, and on an e-mail classified list. So we'll see. I've loved working on this bike, there has been frustration, moments of joy, and I love how the bike looks, it's comfortable to ride (well, I rode it in the driveway), and I'm sure it'll get alot of looks. Too bad I can't donate it to the motorcycle hall of fame. It's a nice work of art, a bizarre little custom... and I'll be sad to see it go, but also glad to see it go as well.

1987 Honda Rebel, Custom Chopper - Honda DavidSun, Nickname: Elvira Side View	1987 Honda Rebel, Custom Chopper - Honda DavidSun, Nickname: Elvira Front View	1987 Honda Rebel, Custom Chopper - Honda DavidSun, Nickname: Elvira Side View	1987 Honda Rebel, Custom Chopper - Honda DavidSun, Nickname: Elvira Rear View	1987 Honda Rebel, Custom Chopper - Honda DavidSun, Nickname: Elvira 3/4 Rear View