Ski-Doo, Doo It!

 

Far greater success this weekend when we took the ski doo to the lake. Ran like a mule deer, died and left me stranded, was bush repaired with sandpaper and spit (not even kidding) and pulled through to provide a hell of a good time for the rest of the weekend. Stoked.

 

Forever Two Skis Test Run

Well it wasn't really a test run because it didn't actually run. Forgot a plug socket so there was little I could do. Stopped at Canada Tire on the way home and put in fresh plugs. Fired up first pull so I ran up and down my street once for good measure. Now I just need to sort out the brake. Cole and Dirk had more success with their Yamahas but that's cheating because they are enticers.

VL victory

Brian got his lathe up and running and went to work on my VL making it suitable for the big twin neck on my wishbone frame. Stole the idea from a Love Cycles post from way back for the adapter. Amazing work. Thanks bud.

This is getting outta control

 

Doo it

XS Lazarus

 

Got the $150 XS400 fired up last night. It was a race to see which XS was gonna be easier to get running. After finding electrical boogies and carbs needing a rebuild on the 360 I think I've decided to have a stripper party (details to come).

Pangea Speed

I got a chance to meet up with Andy Carter and visit the Pangea speed hanger this past week while in Utah. Really dug everything Andy's got going on there right now and was pleased to get a chance to see the amazing Pan he put together last year. Amazing details. Could have studied it for hours. Thanks for the hospitality man.

 

 

Wiring a CB500/550 mutt

First, take it by the head and pull. (Make sure you get the whole spinal cord)

 Second, find a cool 70's diagram on how to wire a chopper...

 Consult the shop manual... (What the fuck?!?)

Pitch the extra crap (safety switches, warning lights, whatever the law doesn't require, etc) and hope for the best...of course they changed a whole bunch of colours and shit from the 500 to the 550, and I have a random assortment of bits from both.

Results to follow...

November ride's and Shop Updates

 

Went for a last coffee run with Cole and Brian on Saturday. Glad we did because chunks of ice literally fell from the sky on Sunday covering our streets with snow and ice.

 

Temp wasn't too bad, but cold enough that Brian's kickstand snapped. Ended up leaning the bike on a tree like a real gangster. haha

Also scored this little XS400 parts bike to help with Carole's XS360 project this winter. She's a runner and near complete for $150. Couldn't resist.

 

And just in the nick of time  I got Carole moved into her new warm and cozy basement studio leaving another quarter of the garage open for me to scoop in and fill up. Gonna be nice to have the extra space this winter and I actually got all the bikes in too. Stoked.

Frazetta fatty

Elias picked me up this massive old Suzuki tank from Regina salvage to go into the frazetta collection. Thanks bud. She's a beaut!

November

RIP Lou 1942-2013

Red Deer Swap

Headed out to Red Deer this past weekend for the annual Fall CVMG swap. Once again we had terrible road conditions with freezing rain and snow heading into Red Deer. But, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. You gotta suffer for your art. Here's a round up of the inventory scored.

2 Avon MKII's, a 17" spool wheel with a hallcraft disk and new rubber, a set of Norton pipes for Carole's XS360 project, some old panhead floorboards, a wheel truing stand, an old chopper chain guard, a chromed waffle style kicker pedal, a license plate side mount for the shovel, an old Unity spot light, an old wassell style smooth metal fender and... a lot of PC beer. Ok the beer wasn't from the swap, but from the obligatory SuperStore Liquor store stop. Stick it to the socialists!

Welcome back to Saskatchewan

XS360 revisited

 If you go back far enough on the Antiquated Mule you may find the project bike that started it all for me. My first two wheeled turd, a 1976 XS360 I got for $500. I knew nothing about mechanics, motorcycle or otherwise and had only ever ridden out on the farm with antiquated 125's and the like.

Well only a few years later and here I am going into the winter building season and I'm building a panhead motor, transmission, wheels, forks, and basically everything else from the ground up and with old rotton pieces of chopper history long forgotten. We've come a long way Baby!

So I was pleased when my search for an adequate bike for my wife Carole led me to...you guessed it, a 1976 XS360. This one I got for $300. Looking forward to the new version of the original Black Sparrow.

  

Here's a sneek peek at the direction we'll be aiming for come spring.

 

Dick Dale 1941 HD Flathead

And if you're interested in the geeky details of his sound and guitar/amplifier history stuff, go to...

http://selvedgeyard.com/2013/10/20/dick-dale-god-of-surf-guitar-got-a-machinehead-better-than-the-rest/#more-33477

I like the bit about how his fans called themselves "Dickheads".

Wakaw Weekend

 

 

Keno brought the Comet Traveler out for the weekend. Super happy I got to take a pleasure cruise before the ice sets in. Even if we did spend most of it hung up on the rocks.

 

And on the way home I stopped off in PA to pick up this for the wife. It's the same year and model as my first motorcycle the Black Sparrow. Stoked, but kinda overwhelmed with the amount of winter projects now on the go.