Lack of updates: not much free time lately.....

Sorry it's been a bit quiet here, I've had my hands full keeping the shop moving forward and wrangling a cranky old man. 'Nuf complaining, here's some random fun....

Here's an adjustable fork brace for my pal Swapmeet Louie's latest bike. Lou's off his fookin' nut; he's building a truly unique XV920 TURBO!!!!!!! cafe/track inspired death machine. I love this guy! Yup, a Turbocharged Virago, I'll wait till he's a wee bit farther along but I will sneak you a quick peek.

See....this is why Swaps is cool. Anyone can drop a few grand and slap together a mostly acceptable UJM (Universal Japanese Motorcycle) like an cb350? It takes a certain kind of vision to work from an uncommon platform like this. I love it specifically because the engine is just a predominant visual element and let's be honest, a well tuned V-twin sounds cool as hell.

Without giving up too many details before it's ready, he's got the front end and wheels from a Seca Turbo (fitting no?) on it already, the tank from an ancient Benelli, an honest to gods fabricated steel seat and some very cool hand made clip-ons. More to come when it's done...I know I'll be waiting for this one!

A very cool side benefit to this whole gig? Swaps and his lovely partner in crime Heidi came out last week for dinner and BSing, all the way from Boise Id. I've 'known' him for several years online but this was our first face to face and it was a damn good time. I have the feeling we'll blow some stuff up together in the future!

Let's see, what else has been going on....

I've made very minor headway on my 'Sakura' roadster project. I reworked the rear pin mount for the tank and gave up on the brass front mounts for something a little easier on the sheet metal.

Here's the new pin mount, I like it much better. It was carved out of some brass hex barstock that I bought for the project...for something to be shown later. In this case it really beats the first one, on several key points. First it's slightly taller and cut deeper with a recess so the pin is far better located, not much chance of popping out; thanks to Haplo-84 for the rework idea mate!

Here's the real lifesaver though. I'd been wrestling with ideas to hold the tank up off the backbone just a touch and hopefully damp the vibrations inherent with a vertical twin. I had several other possibilities mocked up but all of them were fairly easy to see and just didn't look clean enough. In this case, there's a 1.25" strip of 1" high density closed cell foam (D60) glued to the top of the backbone. With the leather belt pulling the tank down against it, the tank will be firmly located with enough 'give' to damp any crazy hits or vibes it might take. Not shown are a couple small milled pieces of delrin bolted to the sides of the tank for flats that along with some 1/4" thick foam will keep the tank from wobbling left/right but allow some flex too.

On other fronts, I need a CAD monkey! Anyone out there feel like creating some files for me? I've had enough interest in some of my parts to invest in having them pumped out on a CNC machine. I love making these parts but hand-making every single piece is a time consuming labor of love. I'd be ok with less love, more like and more time/money! haha



Ok....now the real reason you all peek in this hot mess now and then:

So perky she levitates!

Stacey Dash is quite lovely!

If there was ever a 'Come hither..' look, this would be it!

Can you feel the force?

I'd sure like to try...