Keepin it Rollin

What a fall! I can say without question that this has been one of the best years in a long time, and I owe it in the most part to finding my new passion for motorcycles. I thought I was having a ball when I was building it, but riding is indescribable. It is a perfect union of man and machine. It's a Buddhist meditation on being in the present moment. I love winter because it is the beginning of snowboard season, but now I hate it because I have to put the bike away.

After riding it for the last few months I have come to several design conclusions that I will be applying to the bike this winter with the complete tear down I intend to do. As my first picture shows the bike is running like a champ because of Chad Francis. It was a dash to get it rideable by mid September but I got it done. One friend said as long as I keep it in primer I can say it's still a work in progress. I still intend to sell it so that’s not really an option.

So what’s on the agenda for the winter? Well first I have been working on getting my work area renovated so that I can make the winter as productive as possible. I am picking up a motorcycle life this week and have built a work table. One of the major lessons learned from this build has been that working on the floor is a prospect for the young. I will not work on this thing again on a hard, uninviting concrete floor. I am liquidating my bicycle collection down to just a few choice items that I will keep close at hand. It has been hard to part with some of them, but their moving on provides another lesson on the impermanence of life, and some much needed capital to finish the shop and project.

I have begun to design a rear set for the bike. The current riding position is ok, but a little cramped, so several cockpit changes are in the works, including clip on bars that are going to get some trick chi chi done to them.

The seat. What a battle this has been. I have built and rebuilt this thing so many times. My latest design will have the fiberglass being replaced by metal and have the battery and all the electronic place in the tail mounted to a metal frame. A new battery is needed because the one I bought SUCKS! An exhaust change is also in order. I’m hoping I can pull a few favors with some LVM people and have them help me with the exhaust as well as this damned seat! I do have to admit I have learned a lot about fiberglass fab, so we will see where it goes from here.