Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween, Indiana Style



Sammy Terry, aka Bob Carter, had a local Friday night horror show on WTTV-4 in Indianapolis. Man, he used to scare the living shit out of me. His selections were brilliant too; Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and especially all The Hammer Horror films with some REALLY cheesy ones thrown in:







Kids today are really missing out.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Ladies And Gentlemen: The Fabulous Stains!


Diane Lane, Ray Winstone, Laura Dern, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Paul Simonon and Fee Waybill. I can't overestimate what an influence this movie had on me, right up there with Repo Man and Another State Of Mind.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Joe

A war inside a man's head

Sometimes when the news gets me down I hum this to myself...



Jealous cowards try to control
Rise above, we're gonna rise above
They distort what we say
Rise above, we're gonna rise above
Try and stop what we do
Rise above, we're gonna rise above
When they can't do it themselves
Rise above, we're gonna rise above
We are tired of your abuse
Try to stop us, it's no use

Society's arms of control
Rise above, we're gonna rise above
Think they're smart, can't think for themselves
Rise above, we're gonna rise above
Laugh at us behind our backs
Rise above, we're gonna rise above
I find satisfaction in what they lack
Rise above, we're gonna rise above
We are tired of your abuse
Try to stop us, but it's no use

We are tired of your abuse
Try to stop us, it's no use

We're born with a chance
Rise above, we're gonna rise above
I am gonna have my chance
Rise above, we're gonna rise above
We are born with a chance
Rise above, we're gonna rise above
And I am gonna have my chance
Rise above, we're gonna rise above
We are tired of your abuse
Try to stop us, it's no use

Rise above
Rise above
Rise above
We're gonna rise above
We're gonna rise above
We're gonna rise above


Nut up or shut up

Eric Joyner







Gracias al Senorita Jennifer.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

I will probably just have to buy this one.


I cant find it anywhere on the net.

Winter is coming, don't get ashy.

Keeps my skin soft and supple,

smelling good,

and non-flakey.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Man, I love craigslist.


I bought a 39mm Sportster front end today for $75. Bearings, triple trees, tubes, springs, lower legs, brake lever, reservoir, caliper, etc. it was complete except for the wheel and brake rotor. Jay Hart gave me some smooth lower legs. I lost the Ebay auction for a mislabled Akront 21" wheel with a drum brake. You win some, you lose some, sure. But craigslist is a ruler over Ebay, hands down.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Back up and try it again

Well, another summer has passed without my BSA chopper on the road.

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I am NOT a fabricator, and I'm a horrible mechanic. I barely have a garage. I probably shouldnt have bought such a basket case. It came with a crapped out girder front end and no title. The price was ridiculously cheap ($300)and I really wanted a bike. But that was five years ago!

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My friends went from offering help, to giving me shit, to shaking their heads in disgust. They all know better than to ask now.

It's a neat bike though: 66-68 BSA Lightning A65 stock (as far as I know) mill with Boyer ignition, twin Amals, stock frame with a hardtail and HD size neck, Sporty gas tank, HD rear wheel, Avon rear tire, flat fender, Octagon oil tank, Sparto tail light, Honda CB 750 front end, Jay Hart 7/8" stainless Z-bars and upholstery by me. I used an exercise bike seat pan with chrome springs and made my own minimalist p-pad. I painted it all by myself with rattle can laquer from Pep Boys and lots of wet sanding.

Personally I've been through a marriage, birth of a child, divorce, bankruptcy, job changes and multiple moves. My little 650 has been plagued with problems all along too. It has been stashed in no less than 6 different garages. The carbs were a leaky nightmare, rejetted and rebuilt by me. I had the fuel lines routed all wrong. The wiring was a clusterfuck. I've redone that at least twice. The front end has never been right. It sticks. I had Timken bearings altered to fit the HD cups OD with the Honda stem ID, no fork stops. The brake caliper is frozen solid.

To get it on the road I need to reroute fuel lines, change out the front end (I'm picking up 39mm Sportster forks this weekend and bidding on a 21" Akront rim with a drum brake). I need to get it titled, insured and registered. Other than some minor tweaking that should be it. At some point the frame should be blasted and have extra holes filled in. Who knows if it's cracked or not. The bars need to be narrowed. I'd also like to repaint the tins basic black, reupholster with red flake vinyl, lengthen the pipes and have a mid height sissy bar made. Easy peezee, right?

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My Honda is reliable, no muss, no fuss. But I'd really like a proper big bike chopper, probably a shovel or 1200 ironhead. If I go that route it will be a running bike that needs styling, NOT a complete rebuild. I'm going to give the BSA one last try over the winter. If it's not on the road by next May I will sell it.

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Beezers forever, or not.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Daydreaming is a form of self abuse

At my job I spend a lot of time on the phone. To keep myself occupied while the phone rings I often peruse the internet. Craigslist is one of my favorites. Though I am not looking to buy anything right at this very moment, it's still fun to see what's out there. However, some deals are tantalizingly cheap yet still out of reach. Why do I torture myself?

I found these two Pans locally:

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/mcy/1388292614.html

'49 Pan in a wishbone frame, Sportster front end with a drum brake, $14k

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/mcy/1415900755.html

? year Pan in a swingarm frame, wideglide front end, $4800, or the price of good running pan motor, WOW!

I can't believe how cheap Ironhead Sportsters are going for these days:

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/mcy/1418073290.html

Change the paint and fenders, a Wassell tank, Bates seat, perhaps a different front end and this would a super dope chop, $3000!

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/mcy/1387975202.html

Still in the swing arm frame but with a solo seat and a good looking springer, $3500.

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/mcy/1387420267.html

Stocker bored out to 1200, $3500.

Some decent prices on Shovelheads too:
http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/mcy/1415893853.html

Shovel with a wideglide, $4200.

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/mcy/1412716924.html

Lots of potential here but considering the prices above a tad steep at $8k.

If I only had about $5 grand to spend I could get myself a proper big bike chop. I'll just have to keep on daydreaming.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Indiana Autumn riding and rocking

Or maybe it's Spring? Who cares. My short, chilly ride yesterday got thinking that I might need to get one of Johnny Cougar's crotch protectors. This video is a relic of my childhood, back when everything cool wasn't stained by irony and cynicism. Great bikes, great tune and this is one heck of a great video. I dig it the most.

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An unfocused dilettante. I'm not half bad. Overall a very good yegg and a wrong guy in an increasingly right world.

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