bicentennial kid

when i first started looking to buy a motorcycle, i was hoping to score a 1976 honda cb550. the reason was two fold. one, my dad had one when i was little and would take me to school on it. two, that was the year i was born. instead, a buddy of mine sold me one of his yamaha xs650s. it was a 1975. i still have it, it's a great bike. my next bike was a 1975 shovelhead. i still have that as well and hope to have it forever. don't know why i wrote all that. the point of this post is to show this sticker. i don't have one of these. original ones go for a hefty amount on ebay right now. i like the slogan, "great american freedom machine". i always make my fiancé chuckle when i refer to my bike as my "freedom machine".

a little evel

two cool chops

standing side by side.

'48 pan

covered shocks

i finally zipped up my primary drive project. i replaced the compensator, and compensator nut. this greatly reduced the shiver feeling that my bike had when the rpms would hit 1200. since i was in there any way (and because i busted the chain oiler), i decided to seal the primary off as well. once all that technical stuff was done, i felt like doing something to the bike that would be visually noticeable as well. i've been wanting covered shocks for some time now. no time like the present.

old sporty

my dad wants to buy this. i think the guy is asking too much for it. looks sharp though.

that shovelhead

just went down in price. it's 500 bucks cheaper than it was last week. my girlfriend thinks i should call just so that i can see it and put my mind at ease. i just keep thinking that i could make it look like this...

black shadow

hunter s. thompson's ride of choice, a vincent black shadow is on exhibit at the museum of modern art, nyc.

compensator nut part 2

so i failed to mention last time how i was so excited about removing the nut that i hastily put the new compensator on without really checking what was going on in my primary. as a result, after i got the whole shebang back together again, i could still turn my compensator by hand. imagine a stream of profanities fighting their way to escape my mouth all at the same time. the only one that made it out was, "shit!". so, i figure, no big deal, i'll just back the nut off again. nope. the nut was chewed from the many times that the wrench slid off (and banged my shin or the tank). the nut wouldn't budge.

i decided to buy a 1 and 1/2 inch socket and a breaker bar and try again. it worked. now in addition to my previous advice, i would say don't go with a big ass wrench purchased at the tractor supply store. go to harbor freight and buy a socket and a breaker bar and find at least a 2 foot long cheater bar/pipe to help you. if only i had done that from the start... anyway, you live and learn.

so, i got the damned thing off and crack a beer to celebrate. this time, i took everything apart. the chain, sprocket, clutch plates and basket came out. the problem was that there was no spacer between the sprocket and the rotor. aaaaand there should be. i knew that. but i trusted that whoever had this before me knew that as well. i guess they spaced when they put the primary back together. now i have some parts on order and hopefully will be riding again in time to go to vermont and see the fall foliage. hopefully, the next post will be a picture of me dancing and the bike warming up to go for a sweet ride.