What's to Like about Motorcycles

Went to the pismo car show today, about a 2 hour or so ride, with a bunch of bikes, everything from harleys to hyper bikes, it was a great time. At the james dean memorial, i swapped bikes with a zx14r. Got to ride it to SLO, wich is probably about a 50 mile or so ride. I cant wait to get one, i was really impressed with the traction control system, being that im going to build one for grudge racing, that system should really help me make the transition to racing bikes, from cars. Best day in a long time.

 

Motorcycle question du jour.
Is it better for a motorcycle drive chain to be too loose or too tight. ?

 

I had no idea'r this simple motorcycle question could be so exasperatingly
perplexing.
I guess sometimes the simplest of things can be utterly confounding.
How about this.
What came first ... The wheel or the donkey.
The Democrat or the jackass.

 

A tough question but two things are important. If it's too tight it will often break and if you don't have a master link (that everyone should have) then you're stuck. If it's too loose then it can slip off the sprocket but it won't typically break. Of course you'd need to tools to loosen the adjustment on the rear wheel so that once the chain is relocate to the sprocket it doesn't come off again.

Ignoring the fact that it's so easy to ensure that the chain is properly tensioned I would probably go with the "too loose" as opposed to "too tight" situation. You really need to overtighten the tension a lot for it to be too tight in most cases. Even a 1/2" of play instead of 1" of play (typical rule of thumb requirement for chain driven m/c's I've owned) isn't really too tight but it is tighter than it should be for most motorcycles.

 

On Wednesday my local Harley dealer received one Street 500 from the factory and by yesterday it was ready for a test ride. I was the first person to take a test ride on it and I was extremely pleased with it overall. Good handling, good performance for a 500cc motorcycle, good braking, and very comfortable to ride.



As I believe I've mentioned I'm waiting on a Street 750 that I can use for building an old school rigid frame chopper for my Stone Free II Project. Hopefully the Street 750 will arrive for me next week on the delivery truck from the H-D factory.

 

That is about the gist of it.A too tight chain is actually dangerous { could snap }
and will undoubtedly wear much faster.The whole idea behind adjusting a chain
for the proper tension { or slack } is make it safe and also wear normally.
Also it is important to note that if one decided to change out a chain due to wear
that it is advisable to also change out the drive sprocket.
I have to now ball out my Harley buddy as 2 Saturdays ago I was over his house and
let him show off all his latest motorcycle preparations.He takes a long trip every
summer with his Military Motorcyle group and he obsesses over his preparation.
He'd been explaining how his other Harley { an '83 Shovelhead } is about ready to
go.He changed out the clutch plates and was still fine tuning the smoothness.
he also said he changed the chain. I checked the tension on his chain while he
was tinkering with his other Harley { a Fat Bob }.I just bent over and with my finger
pushed up to check the slack. There was absolutely no slack.That chain was tight
as a drum. There was No give or slack.I asked him about it.He insisted it was the
correct amount of slack.His is very Harley proud and refuses to give an inch,
even when wrong.Right before I checked his chain tension we had a disagreement
about the adjustment of his cable clutch for that Shovelhead.There was no slack
in the clutch grip.None.I questioned this.He insisted it was within the 1/16ths to 1/8th
range and went and got his little gauge that measured that.It was hard to even
tell the difference between the 2 measurements.Again there was no noticeable
difference in the amount of required slack in his clutch handgrip.
I said that's probably why he was having troubles with his clutch performance.
he chalked it up to needing to be broken-in.
He's a Military Tank mechanic and has a garage full of tools.He should know
better.I think he's been trained for years to tighten things too well.
That is why I brought this up. Tightening things too tight can be harmfull.
Like Overtightening a spark plug.I had this same problem with him years ago.
He likes to tighten a spark plug too tight.The same things applies to an
oil filter.DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN.

 

Some people just don't seem to get it. When I was involved in stock car racing one of our crew members just don't understand "don't over-torque" and when tightening down the carb he over torqued the nut and broke the tab off the bottom of the carb. Yes, we were able to weld it back on but that wasn't the point. The point is "don't break it" to begin with. I've also been having my Mercedes serviced and watched a tech tighten lug nuts with an air gun and then go back with a "click-type" torque wrench and it clicked every time without moving the lug nut. This indicated that all of the lug nuts were over-torqued and apparently he didn't know that.

 

Beautiful weekend thus far.And yes,that also means the continual and
ever present blipping of Harley hogs as they stream off to whatever
event caters to their blipping mindset.It is truly a given.
Buy a Hog and Ride a Hog and make sure to Blip ,that throttle.
In fact,it is unquestionably THE most important feature of Harley types.
They live to Rev their engines.It is akin to Liberalism.It IS a mental disorder.
What else could possibly explain it.
next time yer at the gas station check out the Bluing of the typical Hog.
Their exhaust pipes will have bluing.From too much Revving of their
engines which causes a Richness of the combustion.
Just like ya don't increase the throttle when shifting.You let off the throttle
then shift,then add throttle.

 

Foolardi, I thought you might enjoy this episode of South Park

[video=youtube_share;hsp01bc4ASA]http://youtu.be/hsp01bc4ASA[/video]

 

What I enjoy mostest is Honesty and fair Play. Which does not exist in the
mindset of Harley types.They are ALL about Harley's and those who
ride/own them. It is a huge Clique.I detest cliques.
Those who feel the need to crave a group mindset like a clique,in My Minds' Eye
are weaklings.That is why Hunter Thompson when researching and writing his
first book - Hells Angels - made a point of riding a Triumph.Not a Harley.
because Hunter was a True,Great American.Somewhat of a Lone Wolf.
But never allowed himself to cotton to a clan mindset.
He beat to a different drummer.If anything I prefer to ride alongside a
Metric rider. To me,most Harley riders are just boyish brats intermingled
with outright bullies.That is why they Ride to Blip their throttles.
I NEVER blip my throttle.It is a form of desperation and peer pressure.
It also serves no function but can help degrade an engine.
BTW ... Why Does Harley Davidson have SO many Models.
Right there spells desperation.It's ALL gimmick and bell's and whistles.

 

Stereo types are fun, it would seem im a terrible human being because i like harleys. I am also a horrible harley guy i guess. I will ride with anyone, i give zero (*)(*)(*)(*)s what they are on, scooter, sports bike, can-am what ever. I just like to ride. I dont really much care what anyone thinks of my bike, i built it for me.

 

Freud would have LOTS of fun with you, dude. Talk about projection!

 

At my Wits end with Harley's !

Wit and It's Relation to the Unconscious { 1905 }
" No matter how much restriction civilization imposes on the individual,
he nevertheless finds some way to circumvent it. Wit is the best safety
valve modern man has evolved; the more civilization,the more repression,
the more need there is for Wit. "
-- Sigmund Freud

 

I had a little chat with a 1%'r in a grocery store parking lot, first time I'd ever met one in person. Seemed like a decent enough guy, though I'm fairly certain that he was spun out of his mind. Then, on the ride home, I swerved to miss a giant pot hole in the road, but ended up hitting the chunk of concrete that came out of the pot hole... just about ate (*)(*)(*)(*)...

 

About a week ago on a nice afternoon bike ride I was heading home from
the Big City { a little over 20 miles away } when I came up next to this Old Coot
Hippie guy on a scooter.I thought it was one them Burgmans.But as I got closer
at a stop light it was a Honda.A Silver Wing.This guy was heavy set with a balding
head yet a Ponytail and tattoo's on his thick arms.He was wearing some kind of
denim overalls and thick scandals.He seemed to be really enjoying himself.
I might be wrong but it seemed like he might have been texting also.
I can't for the life of me understand why Motorcycle manufacturers are
now all offering some version of like home theatre sound for the more expensive
models.Indian's new Chief spends a lot of time advertising it's stereo features.
I could care less.Next thing ya knowed they'll be offering hardtop motorcycle
models.

 

Finally...things came together for a real riding weekend: Liz off work, and 2 days of nice weather. Discovered my Burgman tops out at ~95MPH. Her Comet tops out a bit higher. (I was topped out, hers was still pulling.) Arranged for track gear Saturday, then just hit the road and went! Hit 4 states and covered about 850 miles.

I wanna do that again.

 

I envy you, its just too damn hot to really ride here right now. 95mph on a scooter is flying, did it feel nice and stable?

 

I just returned from a ride to Dawson Creek BC from my home near Seattle and during that trip I ran across two riders on Yamahas headed up the Alaskan Highway to Fairbanks. It was a casual meeting as we were all stopping for lunch in Prince George and simply ran into each other while parking our motorcycles. We had a great chat together over lunch. Didn't seem to be any animosity on anyone's part as we were all riding and that was what we found important. We sure as hell didn't care about what brand of motorcycles we'd decided to own and ride.

BTW It was a great ride overall to Dawson Creek and back. Someday I'd like to ride the Alaskan Highway but this trip was just to make it to the Mile Post 0 marker (and to do a little flyfishing).



I also did a little riding on a 10 kilometer stretch of the untouched original Alaskan highway just north of Dawson Creek that includes the all wood construction, including the roadway, Kiskatinaw curved bridge that is a marvel of engineering.



On Saturday I made the entire 750 mile trip home that included a little fishing and shopping along the way that ultimately took me about 23 hours. It was sweltering hot in the afternoon running in the mid-90's and then, as I finally approached home at about 3 AM it was about 50F but with the wind chill at 60+ mph it felt like it was below freezing. I wasn't dressed for either extreme so in a sense it was the hottest and coldest riding I've ever done and it was on the same long single ride home.

 

Took delivery of my new 2015 Harley Davidson Street 750 today that is the platform for my Stone Free II chopper project. My build partner and I agreed that it's perfect for the old school chopper design we have in mind. Still need to put about 1,000 mile on it just to ensure against any factory defects before tearing it apart (and voiding the warranty).

It's all very exciting and we need the build complete in time for the custom motorcycle competition at this year's Progressive International Motorcycle show that's in Seattle around December or January. It's a lot of work that needs to be accomplished in a relatively short period of time because so much of the work must be done by us. There are no after market custom parts for the Street 750 yet so we have do prototype and build almost everything that's hard to build.

 

I have absolutely no idea'r what you are babbling on about.
You spent good money on Harley's smallest ever cruiser just to tear it
down and turn it into a chopper.
makes No sense.Do you even know of where a chopper speaks.
Basically a Chopper { NOT a Bobber } has a long wheelbase.60.4 inches is too short.
How are you going to get around that.A chopper also has a chopped
gas tank { meaning as smallish as possible }. So yer going to change out the
front forks in order to stretch the bike and give it a smaller gas tank.
Of course the entire seat would need to be replaced with a compact design.
How about that front liquid-cooled radiator.Can't change that and keep the
water-cooled engine.
I think yer Bullcrappin us.
First it was ALL this Bobber talk and now Chopper talk.
It think yer in daydream land.

 

And if an accident happens up ahead it is much easier to swerve to avoid a collision than break. Always handy.

Bikes are fun. What's not to like?

 

Actually that is a fallacy.Let me explain. If a rabbit or squirrel scatters
across a road in front of one on a motorcycle,it means real trouble.
A car is far more capable { it has 4 wheels } of quickly swerving away from
the critters.You do not have that ability on a motorcycle.
Without dropping a bike or crashing.I remember a couple summers ago
in the middle of summer I was on my faviorite 2 lane back country road.
A big box turtle appeared after a slight curve in the road.Meaning I didn't
have enough straight road ahead of me to see the doggone turtle.
I was on my M109.Luckily I missed the turtle which was almost directly in the middle
of the road,slowly crawling to the ditch { side of road }.
I reacted as best I could and managed to slow down and miss the turtle
directly by mere inches.I also heard a big Bike { Harley bagger } right behind me.
I couldn't hear anything but his engine but looked in the rearview mirror
and saw he went directly over the turtle.I kept wondering how that Hog managed
that. To this day I don't understand it.I let the Hog pass me,a little ahead
as I wanted to see the look on that Harley guys face.He appeared unfazed
as if just a day in the park.
I'm pretty sure I saw that Harley run right over that turtle.Not knocking the
turtle off the center of the lane with the front tire.
But NO.On a motorcycle one cannot make abrupt and quick changes
like when driving a car. That is why when riding always look ahead
a fair distance.Keep your vision ahead enough to spot hazards like things
on the road or cinders,chuckholes.
Always ride defensively as if yer invisible.Like you expect a car not
to see you.In other words don't take it for granted a car sees you on yer bike.

 

Actually I know exactly what I'm doing. I going "Old School" chopper based upon the style of the late 1960's where the extended fronr forks were typically 8"-12" longer than stock (bobbers retained basic stock geometry). The classic bobber of the 1960's was based upon the WW II WLA Harley Davidson that was a 45cid (740cc) flathead engine and it was that classic bobber style that was incorporated into the early choppers of the late 1960's. The earlier Indians from the 1930's were also a commonly referred to as the classic bobber style as the only real difference was the springer fork on the Harley and the girder fork on the Indian. Both were available in quantity for very little cost as WW II war surplus motorcycles which is why they were so popular in the late 1940's and early 1950's for modification into bobbers.

Most bobbers and choppers of the 1960's were in the 650cc (Triumph) or 883cc/1000cc (Sportster) size range although it wasn't uncommon to convert Honda 450cc and later the 750cc Honda into choppers. Also very popular, albeit to a lesser degree, were the 650cc BSA's of the 1960's. In truth virtually any motorcycle offered a platform for both bobber and later chopper modification and I've seen them all because I grew up then in Los Angeles.

It is true that there were no water-cooled bobbers or choppers in the 1960's and that was for one reason alone. There were no production water-cooled motorcycles being produced in the 1960's. If we would have had production water-cooled motorcycles then there would have been water-cooled bobbers and choppers. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a water-cooled motorcycle and the radiator doesn't distract from the classic style one iota. Of note The Brassworks is already onboard to produce a radiator that fits between the front down tubes of the frame to make the radiator virtually "invisible" from a design standpoint.

Here is an artwork of the "style" that I'll be incorporating although with some changes.



This is basically a bobber and I'll have longer (12") extended front forks that will change the rake from the factory 32 degrees to about 36 degrees (I have to work the rake out during prototyping) but I won't change the trail very much wanting to retain the cornering ability. I'll also have a front brake (I'm not stupid) and my exhaust will be different (haven't decided yet on whether to have fishtails or drag pipes) but they will be designed correctly with a cross-over tube to maintain low-end performance. They will also be ceramic coated on the inside to reduce heat transfer because I won't have a heat shield for the exhaust pipes. It will be a rigid similar to shown with a spring seat (my kidney's can't handle a frame mounted seat) but the rear fender will be bobbed more than what is shown. I'll also incorporate some modern technology like a digital speedo/tach, twin halogen headlight, and integrated LED rear lighting in the fender because even builders of the 1960's incorporated the latest technology in their builds. It will have the small 2.2 gallon peanut tank and that's all that's required for over a 130 mile cruising range. I fill up my Sportster every 90 miles and it has about a 145 mile range so there won't be much of a difference in fuel range or distance between fuel stops for me.

The paint scheme uses pearl white as the primary color with pearl red, pearl blue, pearl black and real gold leaf graphics.

It's going to be a beautiful show bike when I'm done as well as being a very good riding motorcycle. It won't be my primary ride but it will be a great ride when I decide to take it out.

On a final note this is a tribute motorcycle to my brother that passed away last Thanksgiving. In late 1969 he created the first rigid frame choppers based upon the Honda CB750 at least in the Los Angeles area (and probably in the nation). Below is a picture of him beside one of the 750cc choppers he was producing at the time. He produced 18 of the CB750 based rigid choppers before moving on to other things.



The introduction of the Harley Street 750 couldn't have been more fortuitous and it offers the perfect platform for my tribute chopper build project. The Street 750 even out-performs my 1200cc Sportster from what I've read because it's much lighter with a great power to weight ratio. I know when I rode it yesterday the accelleration through the gears was outstanding an it even popped a wheelie "on demand" even though I don't normally do wheelies. I did want to try it though and "Wa-La" there is was.

 

Why. It isn't gonna make the bike ride better.In fact,it will make the bike ride
rougher and turn more difficult.Braking will be precarious.You mean that being
Kool on a bike is that important to you.I just don't understand that.
I ride a motorcycle for it's ability to be fun and also perform.
I have no interest to be seen on a motorcycle for the sheer purpose of
appearing Kool.case in point.That was the entire objective behind those
Hogs in - Easy Rider -. But Peter Fonda { Captain America } and Director
Dennis Hopper literally couldn't ride those bikes more than a few miles at a time
w/o stopping.They were that hard on the body.You can actually see it if you watch
the movie carefully.
It would be like one dressing up in one of Elvis' Rhinestone Vegas outfits
in order to lunch every day. That would wear down a normal person in short
order.Maybe after a couple weeks.
Once one can separate themselves from peer pressure they can breathe more easily.
I fail to see the import in owning a bike just to appear Kool.
Choppers are cruddy rides.

 

I'm planning to get a 250cc after I get my license.