Where you go to see bobbers, choppers, cafe racers, stanced cars, flush cars, s13, s14, s30z, rauh welt, porsche 930, porsche 964, porsche 993, harley davidson, panhead, ironhead, shovelhead, knucklehead, hachi roku, JDM, honda shadow, streetwear, nike, basketball, photography, videography all in one place.
I don't think Clint Eastwood or John Wayne ever had to deal with zombies. Downloadable Content for Red Dead Redemption. Got it last night and it's like old times with John Marston. For those that have finished the original, you know what I mean. Get it, turn off the lights and grab a few beers. This pack is... to die for... muahhahaha
Well, this is how she sits as of right now. Haven't rode in about three weeks and I've been itchin'. This is the last pic for awhile since I'll be out trying to squeeze in as much riding time before the weather doesn't really permit it. Who knows when Mother Nature will get her rag again. One week its record breaking heat, the next its thundershowers and rain.
Oh and a pic of my dawg Huck, cuz she's a cool ass dog.
The next time I update on the MC, the tank will be painted and it'll have a rear fender. Until next time my friends.
UPDATE 04/20/2011: I totally forgot to mention the solo seat kit that I used. You can pick up this particular solo seat kit from Blue Collar Bobbers. They have kits for more than just the Honda Shadow. This thing was so easy to install it was funny. This was my first bike and I was terrified about modding and digging into it. Included in the kit is a DVD that will walk you through step by step. Currently, they have two seat designs, large and small, so head on over and check them out!
Digging around on the interwebs today led to Jeris Springers. By looking at their site, it looks like they've been featured on a bunch of shows including American Chopper. Anyhow, I'm trying to source a springer front end for the Shadow from the Philippines since they have the Shadow over there --except its called a Steed-- that comes with an OEM springer front end. Picture for reference:
Unfortunately this is off a Honda Steed 400.. from 1989. My Shadow is a 600..from 2002. If it doesn't fit I'll just go buy some Harley Davidson springer front end and make it fit. I leave you with this picture of coolness:
...in the 100 degree weather we're experiencing here in SoCal. Today I went ahead and took off the seat and the rear fender getting ready to put the solo seat on. Just waiting for the light kit to get in and we're off to the races. Still trying to decide on what color to paint the tank, but if I don't get it painted by the time the seat is done, I'll just rattle can it black for the time being. In the pic below I placed the seat on there to get an idea of what its gonna look like. Gonna lop off that rear fender frame during the week.
"ONCE UPON A TIME, MEN WORE THE PANTS, AND WORE THEM WELL. Women rarely had to open doors and little old ladies never crossed the street alone. Men took charge because thats what they did. But somewhere along the way, the World decided it no longer needed men. Disco by disco, latte by foamy non-fat latte, men were stripped of their khakis and left stranded on the road between boyhood and androgyny. But today, there are questions our genderless society has no answers for. The world sits idly by as cities crumble, children misbehave and those little old ladies remain on one side of the street. For the first time since bad buys, we need heros. We need grown-ups. We need men to put down the plastic fork, step away from the salad bar and untie the world from the tracks of complacency. It's time to get your hands dirty. It's time to answer the call of manhood. IT'S TIME TO WEAR THE PANTS."
So I've been starring at pics of the Rauh Welt Begriff Porches for what seems like forever. I found these cars on Speedhunters, 0-60 Mag and Auto Otaku. I just can't get over how bad ass these automobiles are. Since I've gotten rid of my S13 240SX I've been itching to pick up another project car. Obviously with my motorcycle its slowed a bit, but I'm thinking a few years down the road I'm going to pick up another project car. This time for mostly track duty so I can forgo the compromising between being a daily driver and weekend track car. Before I blab too much here's a pic to keep your attention.
From Auto-Otaku:
I have no idea where this pic came from, if its your let me know and I'll reference you:
From SpeedHunters:
Rauh Welt 993
From the video on 0-60 Magazine, these things sound amazing not to mention everyone who's heard them first hand. From ITB's and custom Ti exhausts to crazy rim configurations and bodywork the shop owner, Nakai-san knows how to do the damn thing. Tuning mostly 930's, 964's and 993's, Nakai-san sure knows how to build a head turner.
Got some time last weekend and installed the Biltwell Inc. Tracker bars--upside down. I ordered the non-dimpled ones since the dimpled ones probably wouldn't fit the controls from the Shadow anyhow. Since I haven't swapped bars on a motorcycle before, I didn't know what to expect. I ended up drilling a couple holes, one on each side to mount the OEM blinker/horn and starter controls. I mated the bar with some retro Harley grips from Drag Specialties I got from Lifestyle Cycles in Fullerton, CA. A note about the grips if you're interested in using them. The throttle side won't fit without you mangling them up and ripping the hard plastic out of them. Once you do that you'll have to use something to thicken the throttle side for the grip to slide in tightly. I used duct tape, the fix-all. The chrome ring will probably fall off too, so have some Super Glue handy. Oh and don't forget the grip glue when you put the grips on.
This thing definitely changed the attitude of the bike. Here's a side by side comparison from the front, before on the left, after on the right:
And of course a side view comparison as well, top is before, bottom is after:
Riding position is MUCH more involving. The stock bars were great if you just wanted to sit there and numbly ride around. With these bars you're leaned over almost in a sport bike-like position. I've ridden this thing for 1.5 hours straight and my neck and back didn't start cramping like I thought it would. So there you have it, she's coming along slowly but surely. Just the way I like it.
Though.. I dunno if you can qualify this guy as one. The turtleneck just finishes off that leather outfit. Finishes off that biker gang look ya know? The guy taking this video is taking shots on this guy and he doesn't even know it.
My buddy turned me on to this video last week and forgot to post it up. All I gotta say is its an amazing video. Full screen and crank up the volume. He apparently worked for owned Zero Engineering for a while but went on to open his own shop called Chabott Engineering. Here's a link to his blog too.
Damn, who woulda thought a dirty ass bike could be so fucking sweet.
This Triumph Bonneville chopper/bobber/cafe racer or whatever the hell it is totally badass. Maybe my next bike will be a cafe Bonnie.. The build can be found HERE.
Never really knew what kind of car this was until I stumbled upon it on the internet. Porsche 356 Coupe (or Coup-ay as Jeremey Clarkson would say). But this thing is just beautiful. I'll let the picture do the talking.
JK. Haha.. Low and behold the UPS person brought me a gift today... all the way from Temecula, CA. Biltwell Inc. Tracker Bars. Gotta support a local shop right? I love the IE.. spent many a years there. Actually, I don't even know if Temecula is part of the Inland Empire. Well, whatever. Here's a couple pics of the unboxing.
Everything was boxed up real nice. The bar even came with a protective sleeve made of sock material..unused I hope! Anyhow, the bar is nice and black with no scratches. They even threw in some a shit ton of stickers!
Another pic for good measure.
Hopefully I'll be able to install these soon. School is almost out and I plan on taking a week off work to un-learn everything I learned in college! Until then, keep the wind to your backs amigos.
Finally got off my ass and drilled out the baffles on the motorcycle. All I gotta say is, "Holy shit." Yeah, its that loud. The youtube videos don't do it justice. My neighbors were already giving me the mean mug when I first fired it up. Ah well. But for those that want to do this, its pretty easy.
First you'll need a 1 3/4 holesaw with bi-metal. I got mine from Home Depot for about 14-17 bucks, I don't remember exactly. Grab a drill and the top exhaust is the easy one. Go straight and go to town. I varied the pressure applied every 10 seconds or so and drilled through the first baffle in about an minute or so. You're gonna have to get some needle nose pliers to wiggle the baffle out.
The second exhaust is the harder one. You'll need about a 10" extension for the drill and a 12mm wrench to loosen a mount. I loosened the two 12mm bolts under the upper exhaust and pried it down to get some clearance for the holesaw. I actually went a bit sideways when I first started and as the drill went further in, I straighted out and bam! Just a bit harder than the first one. No pics of the process cuz its pretty self explainatory. But here's a pic of it afterwards, metal shavings and all.
Notice you're only drilling through a small portion of the baffle, probably a quarter inch before all you need to do is wiggle it out.
A pic before I went on a test ride:
And another one just because I liked the way it turned out.
Now for the vid. No before vid cuz I figured, if you're looking at this thinking about doing the mod, chances are you know what a stock VLX sounds like.
Next up, solo bobber seat--which i ordered a couple days ago--and lowering this bitch. Then I'll think about what to do with the handlebars. Got a few ideas but gonna kick 'em around for awhile.
Gasp! I called it a fixie. Whatever, I just realized that I haven't posted pics of my rig after finishing it up. Well the only thing I added to it since its been put together are some better pedals and a front brake. Rode it a couple times without one and its as retarded as I thought it is. Anyhow, saving up for a Mavic Ellipse rear wheel to finish it off. Maybe next year or when I get bored I'll paint the frame. Who knows. Pics!
Here she is right after I put the seat on
My first trek with her out in the wild.. sans brakes.. :O
What a year! First a motorcycle, then graduation and now this. A dog. We've only had her since Wednesday and shit it feels like I have a kid. The first two nights were great, she was so doped up on meds that she just slept. When she was up, she was so well behaved. Then on the third night it was like Who Let the Mangy Pound Dog Out??
Anyhow she's an puggle, we didn't know until we google'd Pug/Beagle mixes unknown mutt. Luckily she looks more like a beagle, a dog I've always liked anyway. I would left her ass to rot if she looked like a pug.. hahah. Oh and we rescued her from the pound. Yeah, I'm into that kind of thing.
You know, helping out animals. Yeah fucking right. I was too cheap to spend $800 bucks on a dog! Hahah, seriously though, lets just keep it real now. Most people who adopt, adopt for the same reason as me. But the difference is, they like to spin it like they're some sort of self righteous do gooder in this world. If saying this makes you angry, then maybe I'm right? If not, kudos to you. Have fun with kennel cough!
Well, its been 10 years in the planning.. making.. whatever since I've wanted a motorcycle. Of course back in the beginning its always been a crotch rocket; a Gixxer, R6, Kawi, whatevs.. but at my ripe age of 31, I'm happy to just cruise around.
Picked it up for $2k with 3966 miles. Since it was such a good deal, I ended up buying it before I took my Basic Riders Course, which was only a couple days away. Luckily the seller lived literally two blocks from my uncle. Bought it in the AM, rode it to said uncles house, dumped it in the garage and came back around 12am to get it. It was an interesting experience teaching yourself how to ride, but luckily I got it home in one piece and only stalled once--in a turn.. haha.
She may not look like much, but if you know me, nothing stays stock for long. I am already massing parts for it for next summer. This summer I'm just gonna ride it, get to know the bike, and enjoy it. Next summer? Bobber time. I know those aren't Hondas, but thats the look I'm going for anyway.
Stay tuned.. I'll be documenting my modifications soon!
Now you can be a douche riding a bicycle! I checked the prices on their existing bikes and its just ludacris. 3000 EURO for a bike that looks like you could get at Wal-Mart. I wonder what this will go for since it has an /M badge on it. But seriously, the frame looks pretty nice--nay sick--but at 28lbs, this is a little on the heavy side. I wonder what this would look like as a fixed gear. Hahah.
When I woke up this morning, it looked as if Doom itself was rolling in on dark bitter clouds. Braving what could be Mother Natures latest temper tantrum I set out to Jones Bicycle 2...once again. I finally got my proprietary fork with a one inch steerer tube I needed off Ebay and wanted to get the steering portion of the bike squared away. Below is the aftermath of my day there.
Yeah, I know, not your typical clamp eh? Looks like a monkey skull with a stripped turtle neck. Haha.. I figured why not. I'm not gonna go racing in some velodrome anytime soon and I don't take my biking too seriously. I bike to have fun and exercise. Dropped some coin I was gonna spend on some Kobe V's on the bike, but its okay, I have way too many shoes as it is and I only (almost) one bike!
Awesome cinematography and music. Great points and reminds me that through the hatin' we do on each other - you know, acting like we don't see each other on the streets - we do try and help each other whenever people need it. Perhaps its dying because the ones who pioneered it are finally starting to grow up and out of the scene. Whatever the reason, I believe it'll live on, because for some reason, I'm naively optimistic.
Damn, I don't even like the IX but this colorway just makes it too sick to pass up. Hopefully it'll sit on store shelves like most of the J's have this year so I can cop at a discount! You can swoop some up right now at Marqueesole if you can't wait. Read the rest of the story over at nicekicks.
Well, got over to Bensons this past weekend and got some critical components to start off the new bike. Here she is with her new Cobra cranks at the shop.
Totally got lucky with the chain. Since its a triathlon bike, I don't have the traditional horizontal fixie drop outs. Took out one link and had the perfect tension. It wasn't all gravy though. Found out I need a 1 inch fork. Stupid 04 frame. Oh well.. time to hit up Ebay.
Well, its been a couple of months since I've added anything to this place. For those that care, I stopped because during my last semester at school, my rig was stolen. Right off campus. Sheesh, who the hell steals bikes these days?? Oh well, went through the standard operating procedure with the cops and that whole rigamarole and got nothing back. The thing that hurt the most was that I had JUST finished putting on a new set of H+ Son radials and handlebar set up.
Anyhow, I just picked up a new frame so I'm back in the game. Got enough spare parts to throw at it to get me rolling again quick styles. I know it ain't nothing to look at right now, but at least I'm rollin'. Stay tuned for updates!
