desert run 2013

Welp. It’s been almost 2 years since we’ve posted anything. I guess after the final touches were applied, Scott spend more time riding and less time blogging it out. Not such a bad thing I guess.

A couple/few weeks ago some guys that Scott works with whipped up a plan for an overnight ride to the desert. The idea was for us to depart on Saturday afternoon from the Westside of LA. We’d circuitously make our way across the Ortega highway pass, through Elsinore, over to Idyllwild, up to Yucca Valley and overnight in Pioneertown.

In Pioneertown we stopped into Pappy and Harriet’s. Scott seemed thrilled to end his day with a steak and a cold beer.

The next morning we were off. We bombed through Joshua Tree. Then made our way around the Salton Sea, through the 116 degree heat of the Anza Borrego Desert, eventually making our way back over to the coast and the much cooler air.

All in all, 612 miles in a day and a half. Not a bad way to break in my second set of Cokers.

camera ready

we showed up to a tv shoot and happened to run into a photographer that was fortunately happy to fire off a few shots and chew the fat about the build.

almost there...

this past weekend, he put a few of the finishing touches on me. he polished up my salvaged fender. applied a set of tank pads from a '66-'67 bonnie. and last but not least, took the steel wool to the side covers, converting them to a nice satin version of their formers selves.

malibu bound

sometimes, close is close enough. sure, i need another round of polish on the tank, some rust knocked off my old salvaged fender and i'm still waiting for a new pair of tank pads from a '66 bonnie, but today, i'm going out.

we're rolling up to the 'bu and gonna to park it right up front at the rockstore...

stripped

we're so close i can taste the socal asphalt. thanks to 5 rounds of paint stripper and a few hours with a powerdrill, my tank is naked. it has yet to be polished, but the old paint is gone and the badge screw holes are filled (courtesy of marsh weld-craft).

tomorrow morning scott is dropping off the seat pan and foam and if all goes well, we'll be wrapped in less than two weeks.

the shop at marsh weld-craft.

going over the work.

buttons on the suit

scott has been on his computer ripping through color configurations like a fat kid through a bag of double-stuffs.

here's the latest. i can see myself wearing this suit.

tank
• metallic ceramic coated, with a slight brushed finished
• knee dents- black
• badge- "triumph" in futura bold, chocolate color


front fender- gloss black
rear fender- metallic ceramic coat

he loves it. but he also loved vintage auto green idea for the past 3 months.

seat-less at sunset

glamour shots

wiring is done. turns are mounted (although not in this shot). here are the only things that stands between us and a shake down run in the malibu twisties.

1. tank paint
2. front and rear fender paint
3. new seat

some more weekend progress: sunday

we're soooooo close. after a quick test fit on the rear fender, the next thing i know, he's got it mounted up. my front fender was reshaped and mounted and the turns hung (roughly) in place to test the lighting system.

some weekend progress: saturday

i'm starting to believe. scott was pretty sure we'd be wrapped up by april, but until this weekend, I had my doubts. it's amazing how quickly things came together when he returned with a box of stuff sporting a shiny new powdercoat finish.

here's a quick overview of the weekend's progress.

1. re-install forks (new satin finish and fender mounting tabs removed)

2. re-mount headlamp and new headlamp guard

3. install ignition relocation

4. re-stall gauge bracket with new wrinklecoat finish

5. install indicator led bulbs and new covers

6. install new throttle cables and new braided brake line

7. rough-in wiring for new turns and taillamp

posh grips and a new bar

the end of this week was a busy one for scott. so, there was limited progress. he was, however, able to sneak on the new grips and fit the new handlebar. it's definitely working.

seat - part III

back to the seat for another multi-hour battle.

today, scott cut the seat pan out of a sheet of 3/8" hdpe plastic. the goal is to maintain stock mounting points, add rigidity and create a clean even edge along the frame to anchor the new seat leather to (something you can't do with the stock pan).

first, he cut the pan.

next, he test fit on the bike.

and finally (at least for part III, cause we've clearly got a long way) he married the new seat pan to the oem seat pan. so far so good.

forks

sunday, march 6. fork overhaul day.

after much internal debate, he decided to do a fork refresh, rather than buy anything new.

first, he removed the fender mounting tabs. and ground them down to match the profile of the fork.

the top fork is still sporting the mounting tabs. the bottom one has had them removed.

next up, crack open the forks. replace the stock springs with a pair of ikon progressive springs. cut down the spacers to around .5".  re-assemble forks. and respray in satin.