Kyle rode his bike home today.......

Well, Kyle finally was able to ride his '00 Sporty out of here today. What started out a couple months ago as "just a hardtail...." on Kyle's part soon turned into more mods as he saw it progress along. Originally, he wanted the Led Sled's hardtail, a sissy bar, and a Red Tail Leather solo seat. Then he decided on a full frisco'd tank, 2" shorter front legs (we used 2" under tubes), Lick's ultra-narrow 12" apes, Goodson Little Breather, full braided brake lines, and wanted his old long drag pipes modified to follow the frame legs, with turnout tips.......

Originally, Kyle wanted to keep his final belt drive, but both pulleys were worn cock-eyed, and the new longer belt would always track into the worn area on the trans sprocket, eventually shredding the side of the belt. We decided to go with a chain conversion. I used an '82-'85 Sporty rear sprocket, and opened up the center hole to fit his '00 wheel. Then I took a '91-'92 front chain sprocket, and about 45 min. crossing and re-crossing H-D part numbers, and some carefull measurements, discovered that the early Softail 5sp chain drive front sprocket seal and spacer would fit his Sporty case, and line up his chain sprockets perfectly!

We gutted about half his wiring harnass out, moved his coil between his cylinders on the L/H side, and left him just enough stuff to get by on. Kyle's coming back for a complete rewire in late Fall, along with an internal throttle, bare-bones hand controls, and a 16" spoked rear wheel. He may even go for a Labriola foot clutch. Until then, he plans on putting as many miles on his bike he can before the snow flies. I can't blame him!

I used Kyle's stock '00 Sporty gas tank. I dropped the tunnel, raised the filler neck (it's an Acme Choppers solid brass vented cap unit), relocated his petcock to the lower LT. corner, and used four rubber isolated platform mounts under his tank for the mounting - you have to look for the mounts to see them. I don't remember who did the paintwork right now, but they did an excellent job!

Here's the sissy bar I made out of 1/2" cold rolled, and you can see the detail on the turn-outs on the ends of the pipes. You can see how ultra narrow those Lick's bars are, they have that really nice "butterfly wing" shape to them. They look killer on a 39mm front end.

I was able to tuck Kyle's OEM 4 piston caliper inbetween the frame rails ala a Softail by simply adding a 1/4" thick tab on the lower frame tube, registering into the old adjuster slot on the caliper body. Nice, clean, simple mounting of a stock component. Why buy a new custom caliper?

The tail light/license plate mount is one I've been making for clients since '04. Basically, it's a 1/2" cold roll bar that I bend to fit the plate and their choice of tail light. It plugs into two sockets on the frame rails w/hidden bolts, and is removable. If you look on my website, you'll see several variations of this mount on my builds, including Part-timer Steve's bike. They're super-rugged, believe me.

The tail light is one I found a couple years ago. It's a 30 element, dual function LED lamp, and it measures 3 3/4" long x 2 1/4" in dia. This lamp is BRIGHT! I found this when Part-timer Steve wanted the Heartland teardrop tail lamp for his chopper, and nearly had a heart attack at the price. This unit is about a 1/4 of the price of those, and is brighter. A couple summers ago, when we were riding thru Utah late at night, with no moon, I could see Steve's tail light about a 1/4 mi. up in front of me clear as could be.

If you're interested in the license plate mount, or the tail lamp, let me know. The lamps are $65.00, and the license mounts themselves are $150.00 in bare steel, less the LED lamp, and illuminated license plate frame ( I can get the LED frames for you, too) + S&H. I can accomodate your choice of most any tail light you'd like to use.
sales@shamrockfabrication.com

A few posts back, I showed you the R/H side of Rocky's CFL, and the mid controls I was fabricating, using a set of roached-out JayBrake forwards for parts. I wanted to wait until I had the whole setup functioning, but Rick Labriola (of L.A. Jocky Shift fame) is splining a shift lever rod for me, and I haven't gotten it yet. Rick's in the process of moving from one shop location to another, and his foot clutches and relocation takes precedent, and I understand.

The goal was to use as many parts from the JayBrake components as I could, and fab the rest. It worked out great on the R/H side, but I couldn't use any of the L/H side's forward components, because JayBrake has a oddball sized shift lever shaft and lever, so........

Rocky originally bought this used 3" BDL setup on Ebay. I cut a 5/16" plate to fit between his pulleys, and then I figured out the position and height of the footpeg mount to match his R/H side. From there, I was able to figure out the position of his shifter shaft tube. The shifter shaft tube runs thru the motor plate similar to the FXR/Dyna. When I get the shifter shaft from Rick, I'll be able to fab up the linkage, show you how the shifter will actually function.

Once I got everything TIG'd up on his plate, it was easy to transfer the measurements for their location to the pattern I had previously made for his outer belt guard. With everything marked out, Part-timer Steve cut the outer guard out of 5/16" 6061 aluminum plate, and I dolled it up with my usual "speedball" hole pattern. The outer guard is mounted with two of the old BDL stand-offs, they worked perfect.

You can see the shifter shaft tube location in relation to the footpeg a little better here. We'll use an OEM FL shift lever. The whole mid control assembly is held to the motor plate itself with four 3/8" countersunk allen bolts, threaded directly into the motor plate. Again, you see the fancy-schmancy Joker Machine BMX-style footrest, and the shift lever will get the matching Joker peg. All in all, a pretty simple setup.

"So, tell me Rich.....how are you going to get that outer belt guard plate off now, if the belt or anything on the primary needs servicing?"

I'm glad you asked me that...... I extended the clevis block back into the tubing a couple inches for support, then I drilled the tubing and the clevis block together, and used a drift pin (see the red arrow) to secure the clevis block. When the belt needs to be serviced, you can knock the pin out, and remove the whole footpeg/clevis to take off the outer belt guard. Pretty simple solution.

It might be just me, but........

I was cruising around on the 'net, and I saw this press release for "Z-calz" . They're these decals (for $29.99 for a set of 70), or magnetic plaques ($39.99 for an equal assortment) that you stick on the drawers of your tool box, so you can find your tools.

I'm thinking if you can't remember what drawer you put what tool in, so you can retrieve it, you quite possibly shouldn't be working on anything mechanical to begin with.

I think a better choice of spending $39.99 would be to head down to The Vitamin Cottage at the mall, buy a bottle of ginko baloba, take a couple, then walk down a little further to Sears, and buy more tools with what's left over.

That is, if you can remember where the mall is..........

So, last Friday evening......

......I'm working late, and I rolled Tommy's chopper off the rack at about 9:00pm. While Tommy and I were getting ready to call it a night, the phone rings around 9:30pm. Dan's on the other end of the line. I hardtailed Dan's Sporty, and posted some photos here on the blog a little while ago, and I also used his frame in my IronWorks how-to tech article on the subject.

Anyways, Dan says he met this guy from Japan, and he spun the nut off his front belt drive pulley. Dan's called around, and he either can't get ahold of anybody, or nobody has the tools to get it back on right. He wants to bring this guy over, and could I fix his bike for him. Well, I'm up, and so I say sure, I can't leave a guy stranded.

About a 1/2 hr. later, Dan and this guy roll up. This guy is packed for the road, and he's riding this rigid Shovel, with like this 22over springer on it, no front brake, and Invader wheels. Dan introduces him as "Masao". We roll it on the rack, and it barely fits on there. I clean off his motor shaft threads, and his pulley nut, dab on some red Loctite, and with the jamb bar in place, it takes me about 15 min.in total to get the nut torqued all to spec, and fixed up.

While I'm fixing Masao's bike, we're making chit-chat, and it turns out we know several mutual friends. The more I speak with him, the more familiar he looks. When I was finished, I went inside and got out my Hardcore Chopper magazines, and sure enough, that's where I had seen him before. Masao Suzuki owns MC Peckers, a chopper shop in Japan. He builds bikes, and the springer and the "Invaders" on his bike he's riding are part of his parts line he manufactures. What a small world anymore, huh?

Here's a picture of Masao from Hardcore Choppers Vol.21. It was in an article intitled "The Long Fork Philosophy". Masao had 3 bikes built by himself and his shop MC Peckers, featured in the article.

Masao told me he started off from L.A., rode up to Sturgis, then down to Texas, here to Colorado, and is on his way back to L.A., to ship his bike from there back to Japan. Shortly after he gets back to Japan, he's going to ship his bike over to Tibet, and ride around over there for awhile. Wow!

Masao wanted to pay me for the time it took, and I told him to forget it. I told him it was all about the "wheel", and how it all comes around again, and he smiled and understood. He shook my hand, and then he and Dan were off to find him a place to stay for the night.

Safe journeys, Masao Suzuki. We'll meet up again, I'm sure.

My buddy Butch, and the Harley giveaway....

I happened to be looking at the rideicon/Icon Moto Blog, and I ran across this. Icon got it from a blog in France, Ze Last Chance Garage. It's an ad that ran in most of the 1979 Peterson Publishing titles, like Hot Rod and Car Craft, and a bunch of the straight cycle publications. Harley-Davidson came up with the idea to give away a brand new Corvette and Sportster - both custom painted to match.

All you had to do to win them was to guess the combined value of both vehicles, including the custom paint and accessories that were added. It just so happens that the painter who did the killer kandy rootbeer over black pearl base on both giveaway vehicles back then is a long-time friend of mine, Butch Brinza. Also, in the early '80's, this color combo was even offered in the H-D line as an available custom color after the contest.

Even in '79, as stated in the H-D giveaway ad, Butch's reputation in the custom paint and pinstripe world was huge. Butch started out on his own in '58, and since that time has had more cars and motorcycles inside magazines, and on covers than you could count. Butch has been lifelong friends with the likes of Von Dutch, Larry Watson, Ed Roth, Jon Kosmoski, and Junior Conway, just to name a few. As a matter of fact, it was Junior Conway who told me he thought Butch was the best custom painter in the world.

Butch's work has graced Oakland Roadster Show winners, ISCA Champions, Bonneville racers, Indy Cars, and everything inbetween. Butch has done work on Hollywood star's cars, restorations for the greatest automotive museums out there, as well as friend Gary Gabelich's Blue Flame LSR car that set the Land Speed record of 630.388 MPH on Oct. 23, 1970 - that stood for 13 years (his KPH record stood for 27 years). Butch also painted both of friend Wink Eller's LSR bikes - Red October, and Blue Monday.

Butch's pinstriping and lettering can also be seen gracing the restored "#1" 1903 Harley-Davidson, in the Harley Museum in Milwaukee, WI., among other bikes there.

Here's Butch (2nd from the left), Willie G., and the winners of the contest at the press conference/vehicle keys presentation. Butch told me that he was underneath this car in the shop, when he got this call on a Friday afternoon, and Willie G. is on the line. Willie G. told him to get down to Juneau Ave. because they're awarding the car and bike to the winners, and he absolutely had to be in the press photos.

Butch said he cleaned up as best he could, and drove over there. They tossed a clean H-D Tshirt and jacket at him, and told him to put them on, and stand behind the winners for the publicity shots. Notice how they positioned Butch so they didn't shoot him from the waist down - his pants were really grubby. Too bad somebody didn't tell him to comb his hair, haha! Butch says he can't remember the names of the winners, or even if they ever told him, it was such a rush deal that afternoon.

Butch in the '60's, in typical pinstriper fashion, doing some last minute striping in the middle of a show, probably at one of the ISCA sanctioned one's. Check out the chopped Deuce shell, and the '36 Ford spare tire ring front fenders.

Back then, as was the case with Larry Watson and others, it wasn't uncommon for Butch to have 10-20 cars and bikes he painted and pinstriped on the floor of one show. And, Butch competed with Jon Kosmoski of House Of Kolor fame at almost every ISCA show back then for the "Best Paint" awards at the big shows in Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, etc. - one time Butch would take it, next time it would be Kosmoski's turn. Butch said "In a situation like that, you either become best friends, or you hate each other's guts. Fortunately, Jon and I became great friends, and are to this day".

Butch is the recipient of the ISCA "Lifetime Achievement Award", and is in the ISCA Hall Of Fame.

Grouchy ol' Butch and I attending the Rat Fink Reunion, when it was still held in the parking lot of Mooneyes, in Santa Fe Springs, CA, in 1999.

Butch at home in Goleta, CA, in March of 2000, a few years before the move to Payson, AZ. You can see some of Butch's fine art works displayed on the walls, including a beautiful etched glass panel suspended from the ceiling he did for his wife Liz.

I've ridden quite a few miles with Butch, including Sturgis, and trips to Harley's 85th, 90th, and 95th Anniversary Parties in Milwaukee (we both skipped the 100th). I gotta make the time to head down to Payson, and look he and Liz up. It's been too long. Think I'll call him, because he still does't like the internet.

From my old Homage blog - the brush box that Von Dutch gave Butch a long time ago. If you look between the paint splatters on the lid, you can make out Von Dutch's Goodie Box, in Dutch's typical lettering. Butch still has this box.

It seems Dutch was upset with Butch carrying his striping and lettering brushes around in a bundle, with a rubber band around them. Dutch thought that was a sacrilige to treat his brushes this way, so he gave Butch this box to store them in. Well, Dutch actually threw the box at him.......

I'm also fortunate to have photos that Butch had taken with Von Dutch about 4 weeks before Dutch died. Brucker called Butch, and told him Dutch didn't have a lot of time left, and if Butch wanted to see him, he needed to come up pretty soon. Butch said when he got to the Brucker Ranch in Santa Paula, Dutch didn't recognize him, but when he started talking, he knew who he was right away. Butch said Dutch would drift in and out while he was there, and agreed to have some photos taken of the two. They are for the most part in front of Dutch's orange/black VW Thing, parked next to Dutch's workshop at the Brucker's place. Dutch looks to be pretty bad off in those photos, and Butch looks pretty sad as well.

Butch had me promise I'd never post those photos anywhere on the internet, copy them for anybody, or use them in any articles I wrote. I've kept that promise to him thru the years. You'll just have to see them if you ever stop by my place.