Finally!

My front brake line is here! I'm gonna bleed this sucker tonight and the bike will be officially finished! Well, maybe.

Tool Bag

My former neighbor and good friend Big Jon gave me this old, stiff-leather, ladies purse from (he says) the 1930's or so. We're going to mount it on the bike this afternoon and I'm throwing tools in it!

UPDATE:
The brand of this bag is "Jo-o-Kay" and is marked "Hand Tooled" under the label on the inside. I've found a website dating it to the 1950's and calling it a 'doctor bag.'

Living the Life

I received a copy of "Living the Life: Photos by Q-Ball - Poems by Sorez the Scribe." First Edition January 2010. This edition is limited to 3,000 copies. I've seen this hard-cover book for sale in many blogs and had to have it. If you order it through Q-Ball himself, he'll sign and personalize it for you. Pretty sick.

Here's what Bill Bryant from Chop Cult had to say:

"Thirty years of Life on the road brings experiences that can't be had anywhere else. Thankfully, Chop Cult member Q-Ball has been documenting his ride along this rough and rowdy path through the lens of his trusty camera. His new book Living the Life combines a collection of these images along with prose from road poet Sorez the Scribe for a perfect paring of word and image.

It took decades for Q-Ball to decide to share these images with the world. He struggled with what to write, what words could possibly accompany such photographs? Cheesy captions, made up from scratch many years after the fact just wouldn't do. Poetry isn't something many of us are experts on around here, but the Scribe's gritty and romantic poems are a rich complement, and were just the catalyst required to let Q-Ball feel comfortable showing his work to the world.

Published by another Chop Cult member, Mr. Boh, who is also responsible for the new magazine out of Baltimore called Lowside, the hard-bound book is an exercise in restraint. With much contemporary graphic design cluttering up dramatic photos, it's a welcome respite to see a clean layout, elegant in it's simplicity, that lets the written word and high-contrast imagery take center stage. In addition to being showcased in the book, many of the best photography is also available in poster form, perfect for framing.

Living the Life was a good choice for the title. It's not so much about the individual or the exact machine they happen to be on, however important and central those details may be. It's about the road less traveled and how much richer that road is on two wheels. Many of these souls are gone now, the Life as they knew it, evaporated. But, through the pen and the lens, we all get a brief glimpse at what that it looked like. The question now, to all of us is: Are we Living the Life?"

Tumble Bug

For Clutch Fab. via Hated of the World

Almost Complete

I'm waiting on a longer front brake line to come in and after I bleed it, the bike will be 100% complete! I finished up everything else yesterday and went for a ride. It feels great to get back on the scoot after waiting for powder coating and paint (although it only took a week to get the work done, it seemed like eternity).

I'll post photos of the bike after Hot Rods and Hillbillies this Saturday.

Vintage Biker Pulp Novels

I received these sweet, old biker pulp novels today. I bought them off of Guy at Greasy Kulture magazine. Here's a quote from the beginning of "The Outlaws":

"Right out of sight, evil menacing mechanical mutter, growing -
It's four a.m. Sunday morning, the somnolent and unprotected underbelly of the week. The dawn is rousing itself, the colour of lead, above the skypricking cranes, above the factory stacks which sprout out of the lifting darkness of the downstream Thames -"

Magazine Day

I received a bunch of back issues today and the new Fly Wheels!

Also, I received a new clutch lever and perch from Jay Brake to match my master cylinder. The one I have been using is a clumpy, stock chrome set-up and looks awful. Now all I'm waiting on is a longer front brake line to accommodate the new handle bars.

Paint Flake

A friend of a friend painted these tins in Seymour, IN. Thanks Dave!

UPDATE: It was just brought to my attention that my paint scheme is reminiscent of the New Orleans Saints colors. This is completely coincidental. I don't follow football nor am I a Saints fan.

Like a Glove

Zack came over and did some welding on a seat pan he's working on for his XS build. He helped me get the motor back in the frame without scratching up the gloss black powder.

Powder Coating

I received my frame and some parts from Bloomington Powder Coating today. I'm very happy with their work and pricing. I'll have to do some filing on some of the moving parts I had coated but that's seems to be a given.

Hardtail Puch

My friend Kate has this sick hardtail Puch motor-pedal. I found two of these STOP tail lights at the Walneck's Motorcycle Swap Meet on Sunday and hooked her up.

In the time my ol' lady went to the movies and watched some vampire film, she got back as I was removing the front end. I'm pulling the motor this evening.

Today, Atomic Electric came by and installed the proper outlet to run Zack's welder. Now I can finish the unfinished welds on the frame and Monday it'll take it to Bloomington Powder Coating. Tomorrow, I'm meeting my painter in Nashville to drop off the tins. In the meantime, I'm thinking of tearing apart my lowrider girl's bike and putting all of the gold plated parts on this old 1950's Hawthorne frame my buddy Big Jon gave me.

New Work Space

Here are a few shot of the new garage space. I'm very excited to tear down the bike in a space that's this nice. There's plenty of room to lay out everything and organize it well. I'm having an electrician come by today to wire a 30 amp outlet to run the Zack's welder again. Then I can start on my list of welds-to-finish. I'm taking the tins to the painter this weekend and hopefully will have the bike apart so I can give the frame to the Bloomington Powder Coating on Monday.

Moving

My lady and I moved this weekend. We're both relieved it's over. We got our full deposit back from the old house and we're settling into the new place. This is why I haven't posted in a grip.

Coming soon: tear down, powder coat, painted tins, etc.

Carb Tuning

I stepped up the pilot jet from a 265 to a 28 and I think it's still lean. I also didn't put torque cones back in my exhaust. I think that's why I'm getting these weird burps from the motor when I try a steady acceleration.