Choppin', Makin' Sparks and Melting Metal

Got some more work done this weekend. My friend Mike has access to a "suitcase" TIG and offered to bring it over to where I'm working on the bike to help me. Since I don't have a car/truck or a trailer it was going to be a pain to get the bike over to Ross's house (plus he's in the middle of his mods for the El Diablo Run and doesn't have much room). So Mike brought the TIG and we got to work...

This is where the sissy bar was when we started. I was off to a good start, but I was using stainless steel so I needed a TIG to weld it up right.

Also this week I had finished making my battery tray. I used some angle iron, a piece of flat stock, two barrel nuts, some threaded rod and wingnuts. I think it came out pretty good considering how long it's been since I've done any metal work.

My work area is finally set up and ready to chop. I still need a drill press and a good vise, but I'm getting there.

The finished tray ready to mount.

I got there early and got things ready so Mike and I could get started....

Of course that means we didn't have something we needed. In this case it was the right plug to hook up the TIG. Mike made a run to Lowes while I cut the rod to finish the sissy bar. I started wearing my helmet to do this because it is auto-darkening and has a "grinder" setting. This is better than safety glasses because I don't get metal pieces up my nose.

Mike tacking the new pieces in place.

Doing the real welding to make it all work.

The beast that made it all possible. I'd love to get one of these one day. It will run off of 110 or 220V, you just change the plug.

More work getting done.

I love to see metal glowing red hot.

We used my MIG with the flux wire to mount the box. I'll go back in this week and make it look prettier.

The bar welded up.

The completed sissy bar. Now I can get the fender mounted correctly and finish up the rear of the bike including mounting the voltage reg and cutting/notching the fender.

Mike also machined me a couple of spacers. When Ross and I first set up the rear I had a stock HD rear brake and part of it was a spacer. When I switched to this Fab Kevin brake this side had to be respaced.

That's it for now. Mike is coming back after work one day this week so we can mount the oil tank and start to finish up some other stuff. By the way I know I watermarked these with 2012. I didn't catch it until I was finished editing them and didn't feel like doing it all over again. I've edited my watermark now so that the rest will be correct.

Happy New Year & Some Progress On The Flyrite

The first post of 2013 and I'm happy to say it's about progress on the chopper. Where I work they've let me have a small corner of the warehouse to do some of my projects and right now this is my main one. I still need to get the bike over to Ross's shop for some TIG welding and machining, but I am getting done a few of the things I can right now.

After I finished for the day I decided to play with the new flash and triggers I got for Christmas/Yule. In this one I have a flash behind the bike and nothing else. I thought it was kinda neat, but does show that I have a long way to go to learn this flash photography thing.

It's an ugly flux core weld, but it seems to be pretty solid. Hopefully I'll find a bottle soon so I can do some better looking and stronger MIG welds.

Finally got the old electronic ignition stuff out. I gotta figure out what to use for the timer cover instead of this hideous thing.

The new points set up. It still has to be timed and the wire run to the coil, but it is at least installed on the bike.

The carb is done. I'm waiting for my new faux breather bolts to finish this part (these are head breather heads on a case breather motor so the holes need to be plugged).

Got the new grips on. I have new risers and clamps, but I'm not putting those on until final assembly.

And here we have another attempt at flash photography. This time I put it to the side and up a bit. There is a flash behind the bike too, but it didn't fire. Like I said, I'm still learning how to make all this stuff work like I want it too.

That's it for today, I guess I gotta remember to change my watermark to 2013. Have a good year and I hope to meet more of you out on the road!

Making Just A Little Progress

Once again this weekend I got a little more done. I pulled the primary cover off and installed the new starter that Danny from the Quad Cam Bastards forum sent me. It's even got the starter button on the solenoid so I can skip the hassle of a starter switch. While I was in there I changed the crusty clutch cable out for the new one. To get the new cable on I had to take the ball and ramp apart so I have a new lock ring on its way for me to go back in and replace the worn out old one. I just made a nice order from JPCycles.com Sunday night so my exhaust will be here Wednesday along with some other parts I need. The next time you see pics it will look like a chopper, but I'll still be short a few important pieces like an ignition system and coil. Plus I gotta get a new voltage regulator. I hope to test ride the bike this fall and then get it pretty over the winter to really ride by Spring.

The New starter is mounted.

You can see all the crap in the floor. Just so you know, puppy training pads are GREAT for catching oil spills while you're working.

The CRUSTY old clutch cable

The shiny new one.

Starting to look like a bike.

Beauty shot!

Artsy beauty shot!

Stay tuned I'll be getting more done soon and then it'll slow down while I go to the Bastard Bash, then the next weekend my work is moving to a new location and then Labor Day the family is taking a trip for my Birthday (not really, I'm just claiming that since it's happening on my Birthday).

Made Some Progress On The Flyrite

I've been trying to get some work done lately. I managed to get most of the parts I need, but every time I want to work on the bike it rains and once it rains here the humidity goes so high that I can't stand to stay in the garage. This weekend it stayed nice until early afternoon so I made some progress. It did start raining again, but I was almost done by then.

Got the other bikes out of the garage to make room and got the chopper up on the lift to keep it level.

Getting started on mounting the correct controls. I had some later model ones on there, but they won't work with the oil lines running from the oil pump to the filter. I now have the right ones, but since this is an aftermarket frame they still needed some persuasion.

Had to make a hardware store trip to get longer bolts and luckily I had a good supply of spacers stashed in my stuff to make it all work. It seems the spacing of the front tubes and the mounts are different than a stock frame. Nothing a little measuring and changing bolts and assorted parts couldn't fix.

It started pouring rain so the other bikes got wet, but they get wet when I ride in the rain anyway so it was no big deal. I like this picture because it shows just how long those damn forks are.

While I was at the hardware store I also got the bolts I need to attach my seat to my new Fab Kevin invisible seat mount. Now to get the mount welded to the frame.

The finished controls. It took quite a while to mount these because the instructions Custom Chrome send are copies of copies of copies so it's hard to see anything in the drawing and the words are impossible to read. PLUS I had to try different bolts and stuff to find out what would work and what needed changed. I got it done though.

I doubt I'll use these pegs once I get the bike on the road, but they came with the kit and will work until I get different ones.

The Fab Kevin brake set up I bought is on the axle, but now I need to redo the wheel spacers and get the tab for the brake anchor welded on.

I put the rear axles of the Triumph and the Flyrite even with each other to show how much longer the chopper is. That's a helluva difference.

All the bikes back in their place so I can finally get back inside and get out of the sweat soaked clothes. Got lots more to do, but at least I'm making progress.

The Flyrite Sporty Is Finally Home

As most of you know I've owned this bike for a couple of years and have been slowly working on it as I could. This whole time it's been at Larry's shop (Garage Company Customs) where I would tinker with it on Saturdays when I could, or when I had parts/supplies. Well finally most of the fab work is done and since Larry and Ashley are going to be gone for a couple of weeks to Born Free, I figured now is a good time to bring her home. This way I can work on it when I have time instead of just on Saturdays. Before, I had to remember to get/order the stuff I needed, and then remember to take it with me or find a way to transport it to the shop on Saturday. Sometimes this was a pain plus it's hard to concentrate and work on your bike when everyone else is cutting up, having fun or just working on something more interesting. This way I don't have all the distractions and hopefully I'll make some progress. My first batch of parts should be here today and some more will be here tomorrow. I still have stuff to get, but at least I'm on my way now.

I have to take a minute to thank Larry for letting me leave the bike sitting at the shop so long. Larry is a good friend and has been truly supportive of me during this build. I also have to say thanks to Spenser for helping me, encouraging me and sometimes just plain ol' doing it for me (Larry did some of this too). It's good to have friends and I hope all of you are able to find folks you can hang out with, work with and basically just share your love of cool bikes with. I also want to thank Bill, Ian, Ross and Whitey for all the support, help and Brotherhood they've provided. Enjoy the pics and stay tuned I hope to be posting more like this soon.

Outside the new shop waiting to go on the trailer.

Big Boss Ross from Southpaw Machine hooked me up and gave the girl a ride home. He's the only one I know with a trailer long enough .

You can see here that she takes up damn near the whole rail. Hopefully during this build will be the only times she ever sits on a trailer.

Got her to the house, Ross is amazed that I think I'll be able to squeeze her in my crowded garage.

Ready to get off the trailer and into her new home.

The next day I pulled her out and sat there staring at her as I made a list of what I need to buy and what I need to do. It's not a comprehensive list, but it's enough to get me most of the way there. Yeah, you can see that I'm a geek with my tablet and keyboard. But it DOES do a good job of keeping me organized and lets me look stuff up without having to come back inside and using the desktop computer.

I love these lines and can't wait to have a long bike on the road again. The Triumph used to be set up very similar to this and I've missed having a bike with that style.

All my babies are together for the first time at home.

I'll post more as I get parts and start to get some work done.

Cuttin' Them Bars!

Enough with the mushy stuff! Time to get back to choppin'! I told you yesterday that we took an inch from the center of the bars and here are the pics to prove it.

The new profile with the 8" 0ver tubes. I think it looks a helluva lot better.

First I had to cut the bars apart and remove the inch of unwanted bar from the middle.

After I got them cut and test fitted Larry broke out the special tools to hold the bars together for welding. I LOVE to see unique tools used for doing cool stuff.

Making the two back into one.

Snapped a pic of Larry doing some welding on his own bars.

The finished product. I told you it looked better and here is the proof.