Thursday, January 5, 2017

Almost Famous

I was looking through my pictures folder today trying to find an image of a bike that I wanted to review to help with a build I am working on.  While I was searching I found a couple pictures I wanted to post up.  These are from a photo shoot last year in Daytona during bike week, when my bike was featured in Cycle Source magazine.

The photographer was a guy named Mark Velazquez.  I am sure many of you know him as he is all over the place shooting for the popular bike magazines.  We, meaning he, my wife Laura and I all hit it off immediately.  He really did a great job and is now one of our friends that we enjoy catching up with from time to time.

So, here are the shots he sent Laura.  This will be the last shots of this bike as it looks here as it is in the middle of a complete restyling.  Stand by for more on the makeover for the Lace Bike.



Saturday, November 5, 2016

Boogie East Chopper Show

We are are working together with two of my oldest friends to deliver a world class chopper show to the East Coast.  Scott Hoepker of Chemical Candy Customs Tani Labarbera Annie Oakley's  Co-owner and myself (Rob Clague) Gasshole extrordinaire all grew up together in a small East Texas town riding skateboards and dreaming of choppers. 

Ya see Tani's old man Pete not only employed us fed us beer and generally taught us the ways of the hard knock life, but he was also a legit hardcore biker.  The image of his leaky shovelheads sitting in the back of the party room at Tani's place are still burned into my brain.  The essence of cool for a 15 year old kid.  I drug my first bike home from his place in pieces.  A hardtail Iron head sporty.  I rode that bike for the next 5 years. 

Well Pete is gone now and we are finally in a position to honor our old mentor.  I can think of no better place than at the true grit biker watering hole that he left Texas to build and run.  Annie Oakley's Saloon in Ormond Beach. (Daytona ).  So "Boogie East " my Chopper brethren and join us for a hell of a party.  Bike Week 2017.

Saturday, July 30, 2016

1983 FXWG for sale

Trying to move this FXWG on the quick.
1983 FXWG, Runs ride and stops good.  Titled and registered in my name.  I have too many bike in the Garage right now so come and get it.  Local pickup only.
Bike is located in Dallas Texas.
 $3850.00
Thanks for looking.

Rob

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Sprung and Stroked


So our pal Steve picked up a 1974 shovel head last year, and it has been giving him hell.  The motor was supposed to have been rebuilt, stroked and big bore'd.  I believe that to be true because the tops of the pistons were clean when viewed through the plug holes, and it has what appear to be new S&S 4 1/2" flywheels when viewed through the timing hole.  Having said that the bike would not run worth a damn.  After some tinkering we got it together enough to run, but starting this beast was a bitch.  The compression would send poor Steve over the bars when it coughed or pre-detonated.  The other part of the problem was that the bike was set up for a much taller rider and was not comfortable for him.  Well he had been admiring the Gasshole bike for a while , and it was such a good fit that we worked out a trade.  He took home the Gasshole bike.  (He looks pleased with himself doesn't he)  



and I took this finicky bitch, Below are a few pics of how it appeared when I got it.


Not the sleekest profile, and not particularly what I would build, but good bones nonetheless.  What none of these pics show is the huge 3" primary belt drive.  The issue that I discovered there is that the diameter of the clutch shell combined with the engine sprocket size related to less than 1/2 of a rotation of the motor when kicked through a complete stroke.  What that means is that unless you have the motor set up right on top of the compression stroke, the kick through is not turning the motor over enough to fire.  That combined with the high compression stroker is a recipe for frustration.  All of this was compounded when the engine was hot.  This meant it would routinely sputter and die at a stoplight, leaving the rider to kick and cuss until it decided to start 20 minutes later.  Unacceptable.

Well What to do?  Have a look and I will talk you through it.

We wanted to restyle the bike, and sort out the mechanical gremlins that were taking the fun out of riding it.  But most importantly we wanted to do as much as we could using parts we had sitting around the shop.  Stuff that did not work on previous builds or was taken off of other bikes that we restyled.  I am happy to say we were able to accomplish the restyle with less than $500 spent on parts.  Most of that was on gaskets, spark plugs, fluids,  hoses, hardware and bits like that.  The largest single expense was the clutch cable, tail light and broomstick bars.

Here it is a little closer up.  As you can see the lines are much more appealing and the silhouette is smoother and flows much better.  We kept the tank but ditched the seat and the rear fender.  Instead of the gunfighter seat we used the LePera bare bones solo, and we put on a bobbed rear fender instead of the Superglide style that was there.  You ca also see the new exhaust, and the solid polished rear wheel, both of which make a big difference in the overall appearance of the bike.

And then there is the addition of this Paughco springer front end with 21" wheel and broomstick drag bars.

Perhaps the most important mechanical change was this......
We went back to an original enclosed primary with a starter.  I considered trying a 1 1/2" open belt, This would have probably worked because the clutch hub primary sprocket is much smaller sitting inboard to the shell, where on that 3" it rode outside the shell.  This would have changed the ratio allowing for more motor rotation with each stroke of the kicker.  Three things prevented me from trying the narrow belt.  First I had most of this enclosed primary setup sitting in a box under the bench, and as I said above I started this makeover with a goal of using as many on hand parts as possible.  Second I thought the narrow belt would look out of place on this bike.  It has more of a hotrod look and the narrow belt is more suited to a nostalgic chopper build or a panhead bobber.  Finally I wanted the option of a starter in case it was still a bitch to kick after the ratios were changed.

What I discovered is that the improved ration dramatically improved the kick starting for this bike.  It is still a harder kick that any of the other shovelheads I have but it is very doable.  The starter is an All Balls starter that I had on the shelf as a warranty return.  

I will use this opportunity to say this;  What a great company.  I called them about a starter that I pulled off a bike because it was not working.  I wanted to send it to them for repairs.  Instead the customer service lady tells me it is warrantied for life, no need for registering or showing receipt or any of that nonsense.  Just send it back for a replacement.  So I did and a week later I got a brand spankin new starter in the mail.

That said I am still having a little trouble with the starting system.  It is set up with a feeler gauge to initiate the starter instead of a switch and it engages and turns over strong, but disengages early more times than not before it starts.  I have tried adding the little wafers to the solenoid as they suggest and the battery and cables are new but still having trouble.  It will start but just is not right yet.  So a little more work there.  If I find something ground breaking I will let you all know.

So we have a bike that is much more ridable, and in my opinion a sweetheart to look at.  It is still a hotrod so I am not quite ready to take it on a road trip, and the suspension is pretty low causing it to scrape on right hand turns, but for a bar hopper of local street fighter it is spot on.

So if anyone out there is interested in a nice little stroker Shovelhead hit us up.  It can be bought for under 5K.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Gasshole revisited



The Gasshole bike has been a blast to jam around on and it has been incredibly reliable to boot.  Well being reliable means being the last in line for attention.  That has been the case for this bike since I put it together a few years ago.  It finally got to the point that the tires were an issue.  So that was all the excuse I needed to put a little love into it.  One of the other Gasshole guys Chance Mcgiboney is putting a shovelhead together and he went with the Firestone S-3 tires like you see here.  Needless to say I liked the look and decided to give them a try.  While it was on the lift I used the opportunity for some maintenance and a coupe upgrades.  As far as the maintenance goes it got brake pads fork seals fork fluid change and all the wheel bearings repacked.  Once that was done I fixed a loose shift linkage problem by installing the Rivera roller bearing linkage bar.  Then dropped in a BDL belt primary and capped it with a cool drilled and vented outer primary to keep the belt temperature down and prevent premature failure.  Besides that it looks super cool.
I changed out the headlight and put on some new chain adjuster blocks.  So the look of the bike is slightly more aggressive with the all terrain tires but the spirit of the bike is not radically changed.  The tires give the bike a heavy almost sluggish feel.  Not nearly as agile as it was with the Dunlops, but it also glides over rough asphalt and potholes like an FL.  I will reserve final judgement on these tires until a have a hundred or so miles on them but I can say I like the look and in Choppertown you can take that to the bank.

Monday, February 29, 2016

B&B Racing Metairie La.

Got a couple boxes in from Billy at B&B Racing in Metairie Louisiana.  I was referred to these guys by my long time pal Bo Bennett at East Texas Cycle in Tyler Texas.  I had been sending all my case and head repair work to Tom Shaw at Creekside Welding in Chillicothe Ohio.  Unfortunately we lost Tom to cancer last year.  The vintage motorcycle world will never recover from the loss of a craftsman like Tom.  Fortunately I took Bo's recommendation and called Billy at B&B.  He was awesome on the phone and I instantly felt more comfortable about sending my cherished junk to him.  I don't know about you folks, but I can instantly tell when a mechanic, and especially a machinist knows what they are talking about, and Billy did.








The boxes arrived at my house before I even sent Billy the check.  He didn't want to make a second trip after he got the shipping total so he just sent them then.  They were packed nice and secure and arrived safe and undamaged.  When I pulled them out of the box I was impressed.  They look like brand new heads.  Perfectly clean and in pristine condition.  These could not be the same turds I sent him a few weeks ago, but they were.  They initially had broken fins, stripped threads and one of the combustion chambers looked like it had run 100 miles with a handful of dimes in it.  But all traces of that damage were gone.



He must have found that some of the rocker assemblies I sent were beyond repair, because he sent back a bag of unused parts, containing two of the rockers sets that I had sent.  He did't make a big deal about it, he just grabbed a couple from his stash, refitted them, cleaned and re-sized them and put them on.  Now lets talk about the blown out rocker cover holes.  Helicoils right!  Not a chance.  He over drills the holes, welds them up with a harder aluminum, and then drills and tabs a fresh set of threads.  Then somehow blends the area so that you cannot tell which have been repaired and which are original.



Bag'O'parts



Oh. what about that beat up combustion chamber?  I can barely tell which one it was.  Smoothed out like it never happened.  All the head bolt holes cleaned up nice so the bolts will thread right in.  I also had him install a set of O-ring spigots for the intake instead of the old plummer style that was in there.  That was a tough call because now the heads are so nice that it is a shame to alter them from that original configuration.  Well Billy installed them using the factory technique and sent back the threaded inserts should I ever decide to revert back.  Dilemma laid to rest.




Needless to say I am more than happy about the work and the price paid for it.  The service was fast and friendly and I got exactly what I asked for.  So here is a money shot of the heads perched on top of the motor they will be installed on.  I have added the shops web page to the links on the right side of the Blog.  Stop by the page and have a look at what they have to offer. I will add a note once the motor has fire to let everyone know how they perform, but based on what I have seen so far I have no concerns about that.




Well what was in the other box you ask?  Have a look.  1963 Panhead transmission.  So here is a caveat that you did'nt get above.  About half way through the head work I had a chance to stop by the shop in Metairie.  I was in New Orleans for the weekend, and Metairie is a suburb of the big easy.  Billy and the crew welcomed me and my wife Laura to the shop.  We got the full tour and lowdown on the capabilities and services they provided, and then they proceeded to fill us full of beer.  While cruising around the shop I noticed a bench full of fresh rebuilt transmissions.  All 4 speeds and all in excellent condition.  I picked one out we settled on a price and he added it to my ticket.  I am stoked about how nice it looks and how well it is going to work with the motor that I am building with the heads they did.  The drive train will go into the chopper I am building in one of the earlier posts.  "Cycle Daze again".  Its the bike I got from Graybeard Jack up in Norman Arkansas.






WL Flat Tracker Project

Here is a great project that I have been collecting parts for over the past couple years.  I started with a "G" motor out of a trike.  I found a nice original trans, a pristine uncut solo frame and a set of wheels.  Most of the rest is reproduction with the exception of a few of the small bits and pieces.



The seat is Biltwell.  I modified the T-post to work, but the Pogo spring is a little weak so I am trying to find a heavier version.  

                      
                                                              

 This project is for sale or trade for Generator Big Twin bike, parts or project of equal value.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Chopper daze again. The new Gasshole chopper build.

 Bought this beater Panhead from Jack up in Norman Arkansas.  Looked OK until I started inspecting  it up close.  I had it completely torn apart before I left the shop that night.
It had a couple pounds of plate steel gusseting from the neck all the way back to the top motor mount.  I removed it as surgically as I could but I was still left with a mess.
You can see it is a toss up whether it is salvageable.  I considered dropping the $500 for a new casting, but the frame had enough other issues that I couldn't bring myself to do it.  I figure it was being ridden like it was, and whatever I end up with will be much better executed, and engineered.


Here is what I came up with.  It still needs some finishing, but I feel comfortable riding it.  Like I said, can't be any worse than it was, or than the hundreds of 70's chops still running the highways.

 Sneak peak at what I am thinking for the new rear fender.  This is an early Sportster fender with the side skirts cut down.  Fits the Firestone like a glove.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

AMF'r




Here we go again.  This is a later swingarm shovelhead frame that was hard-tailed using repro castings.  A tool box mount, and sidecar loops and floorboard mounts were added for good measure.  There is no brake crossover tube so we will use early juice brakes on the rear.  The neck numbers are intact and we have the paper so getting legal should be no problem.

Stay tuned, more to follow...............

Here is the rough mock up.  We are digging it.  Probablly going to use a 21 up front instead of the19.