Have You Ever...

I know by now you do and since I have no parts and no bike related info I am going to too. I can't figure out which one is really small or which one is really large. CLICK HERE
Either way it warms the cockles of my.........heart....yeah, yeah that's it my heart.

Be careful what you whish for...

In how many previous posts did I wish for a parts dealer in the are that could ship fast? Now that I ordered some stuff from Demons and it gets here the next day I have nothing to look forward to. Normally its order parts on payday, wait 5 days for parts, parts arrive spend a couple days putting them on wait 6 days and its payday again.
Now I ordered the forward controls on payday they showed up the next day I managed to hold off until Sunday to put them on and now I am on a 11 day wait for payday! So I guess the grass isn't always greener!

Very Little Going On

Not much happening lately. Waiting for next payday to get more parts.Specifically the oil tank so I can get that situated and start tearing her down for the welder. And I need some steel bar stock to finish up the tank mounts also for the welder. If I get lucky enough to also get the hand controls and switches at least assembling them will take up some free time.

Great Lengths

Now that she is almost done it is impossible to get a full picture without having to open the window take out the screen and take a picture from the front yard like this one...

The wheelbase is 6 feet 6 inches from axle to axle add another 20 inches and she is just over 8 feet from end to end. The Harley Fat Boy wheelbase is 5 ft 3 inches add another 18 inches and it is 6 feet 9 inches end to end.

Todays Labors!

Well the bars went on without a hitch and they look good and more importantly I have full range of motion without hitting the tank,but its close.

And the starter was no problem with a little help from the folks at http://www.clubchopper.com/

The starter is actually much stronger than I need. It is made for big inch bikes but this one has the starter button right on the starter so if the starter relay in my harness fails as they often do, all I have to do is use the button and no push starting!

The Rise of the House of Usher

Any Poe fans out there? If so I got that Fall of the House of Usher thing going on only in reverse. As the bike gets closer and closer to being finished I find my self, among other things, feeling younger and younger. Maybe younger isn't the right word but it's the right feeling. I am feeling more like I did back before I was married and had Tommy and had all the responsibility. Not that I am sorry any of it happened, Tommy is by far the greatest accomplishment I will ever have a part in. It's kind of hard to put into words. I feel stronger, happier, more aggressive and confident than I have in years. Maybe the bike is just a midlife crisis manifesting itself. Or it could be the other changes in my recent life and I am just projecting them onto the bike because it has become so all consuming as it nears completion.
I don't now how to explain it. I don't want to live forever anymore(anyone seen my smokes?). Or more to the point I am not going to let the fear of the inevitable intimidate me. I have no desire to spend the next twenty years doing what I have done for the last 10. Scurrying toward a pension I won't ever see like a daft rat on a endless treadmill of grief. The whole fucking world is out there! Once upon a time I wanted to see it all, and somewhere I traded it in for safety and security and a room with no windows.
Lately I have been remembering that the little shitty road right outside my door actually goes to The Bad Lands and The Smokey's and Key West, Laughlin and Reno and VEGAS BABY! And the only reason I am not there is fear. What if I can't pay my bills? What about child support? What about a place to live?
I remember a time back in the darkness when drugs ruled my life. I had nothing, literally the clothes on my back and that was it, but I regularly walked a neighborhood in Detroit that made South St. Pete look like Disney World yet somewhere along the way I became afraid. But lately the fear has been subsiding, at first I thought it was just apathy setting in for good but now that apathy seems to have a edge of angst to it, a little hot spot that won't go out.
Whatever it is I like it! I feel at times 10 ft tall and bulletproof again. I can't wait for it to be finished so I can ride away from the meaningless, pointless, frustrating, endless crap that clogs up most of my days. But until then I am going to enjoy this feeling and remember the old battle cry of when I was truly young, strong and alive...

Parts is Parts

Well the handlebars, grips and isolators arrived today along with the starter. I will get them on tomorrow for some quick pictures then dis assembly will begin for its trip to the welder. I still have to cut the fender struts down and get the front height of the tank measured in a way that I can get it to the same height at the welders. If it sits to low or to far back the mounts hit the engine. More tomorrow!

OH JENKIES GANG!

I just spent the last few minutes of my evening before work mocking up my rear fender for its final position and discovered my beautiful $100 fender supports are about 2inches to tall! Now cutting them down could be a viable option as my axle blocks have a unusual notch cut out of them and if I cut them down the radius might be just right to fill the notch. But I would then have to weld them in which means they would get painted to match the frame or the bike but chrome would not be possible. Or I could just cut them down and bolt them on the way I originally planned but I can't imagine the cost for a private citizen to get them re chromed.
This is the first serious oops of the project to the tune of a 100 smackers. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

By The Numbers

This is a by the numbers special report. Having, through the course of the last 9months, only one person ask me how much I spent so far. And being more concerned with building than counting. Also, so as to not scare myself I never kept a running tab.
Sine the foot pegs are on and the gas tank mounts now all fabbed up and waiting for their date with the welder; and I am here all alone I took out my receipts and ran the numbers. Now keep in mind this is just the parts and shipping of the parts. Also wheel mounting is included. What is not included are tools I had to buy, such as a impact wrench, torque wrench, tap and die set, BMF socket set, one vernier caliper, laser level and other items. But all told that isn't even in the $200 dollar range as I bought most at Harbor Freight and it isn't fair to count them because I will use them again. What also isn't included is hardware. All the nuts and bolts I had to purchase were all stainless steel and good quality. Some hardware came with the parts they belonged to. So once again that total is small about 80 cents a bolt, less for the nuts. I won't get into my theory on nut prices vs bolts but I bet a woman had something to do with it.
Anyway, the current grand total is $6,088.03. Now one of my previous posts stated that including speedometer and oil gauge and exhaust I was about $1200.00 from being ready for welding and paint. That number with the exhaust is more likely going to be in the $1500 range.
So add that to the 6k and we are looking at $7588.03. On top of that if you throw in the welding, and I really have no idea what it will cost for about 30minutes of welding, we will call it $200 just to be sure we come in less. And I have been given a initial price on paint at $500 but it will probably be a little more, unless I do it myself in which case it will be less so lets keep that at $500 for now. That brings another $700 to the total so it is now $8288.03; which puts me 1700 and change under my initial guess of 10k.
However, there is still the great state of Florida to deal with. Upon passing the inspection you have to bring receipts for all "major components" of your build to the tax collectors office and pay sales tax on anything bought over the Internet or out of state. Now since this is Fucked up FLA I have heard of guys bringing in receipts for motor, tranny, frame, and wheels and paying tax on that and I have heard horror stories of guys having to bring receipts for everything down to the freaking spark plugs. There is no standardization on this it all about who is in what kind of mood behind the counter when you get there. So if I have to pay tax on everything I bought out of state it will be about $560 still giving me $1200 of wiggle room.
And if the economy wasn't so crappy and I found the right buyer I could get $11,500 for it giving me about 2k in profit. Now if the engine was new I could easily hit the 15k mark in a better economy.
So there you have it, by the number. Now I have a headache. I won't be doing this again until she is 100% done. Have a peach of a day!

Been Mounted?

"The forward controls?" you ask. "Of course", I reply, "the bike is the only thing around here getting anything mounted lately."

But they did go on smoothly and look great!

The rear brake side...

And the shifter side.....

Repent Now! The End is Near!

Well the forward controls arrived yesterday. Demons cycle in Pompano Beach has a bad reputation around the Harley forums but I have to say I am very pleased with them so far. I have gotten the tank a fender bracket and the forward controls from them. The bracket was a little slow to ship but the tank and controls shipped the same day and I got them the next day. That sure as hell beats waiting 5 or 6 days for my stuff to get here from Jireh!
Anyway, I took a chance on these forward controls. They were factory seconds that supposedly had some discoloration in the chrome. But they were like $20 dollars cheaper and, as you know, as sharp as this bike will be she is no trailer queen and will be ridden well and frequently so I don't really care if the chrome parts I put my boots on is off a bit. However I did notice one little spot on one where the chrome is wrinkled a bit and a small spot on the other that is a bit yellow it is nothing that is noticeable without some real scrutiny. A good deal in my opinion.

On the financial side of things I did some figuring last night at work, and not counting the seat, the paint, the exhaust and the welding I am $979 dollars away from being up and running. That is putting the speedometer and oil gauge on hold. After all I don't need them and skipping them and all the brackets and things that go with them save me a couple hundred bucks. If I put the speedo and oil gauge on the total will be $1201 dollars.

Almost there! I can smell the exhaust.I can hear the young girls squeak with joy, I can hear the wannabes whine, I can hear the old bitty next door complain already! Oh the joy, the rapture!Muuuuwwwwaaaahhhhh!

Sorry got a little out of hand there! But life is good. With the welding I am 2 paychecks away from the inaugural ride. As far as the seat goes I will ride without one while I figure out how to make one. Leather working, another skill I always wanted to acquire.

It Is A Roller Baby!

As seen in this video she now is a bona fide roller. You have no idea how bad I want to take it down and run it up and down the street. Unless you know me, in that case you are probably figuring the odds on how long I can leave it up there once the bars are on! HERE IS A BRIGHTER VIDEO!!

Two Two Two!

That's right a new project record! Two productive days in a row. Today I fixed two small but critical parts on the rear axle(note to self, buy rubber mallet or quit hitting things w/hammer). Also I ordered the handlebars their dampeners the grips the forward controls the starter and I went to Fletchers and picked up my ignition harness. Unfortunately Jireh was out of stock on a lot of things but I was able to find them elsewhere. The forward controls are coming from Demons in Pompano Beach and will be here tomorrow. But, I couldn't find the hand controls or switches anywhere, everyone was out of stock so I bought the starter and ignition harness instead. The controls should be in on the 1st per Jireh so I will get to them next time.

Lots DoneToday

Today was a fairly productive day! I got the rear wheel all centered and ballanced and trued I got it spaced out and I got the sprotor on and situated. I also got the front fender mounted and cetered in its permanent spot! Furthermore I messed around with the gas tank mounts got the holes tapped in the tank and figured out how that was going to work. And for the picture I put on the rear fender and the struts but they arent anywhere near their final position.

Tomorrow is big order day! Onto the pictures!

I like how the front tire is just to wide for the fender. A unique look to be sure just remind me how unique it is when I am eating dual rooster tails from the sides of the fender!

And the profile

Duh! Axle Pictures!

Sorry I am tired almost bed time.

And the big ass crown nut and washer. Beautiful work on this axle!

Joy Oh Joy

The axle arrived by UPS not 45 mins after my last post. So I sent a follow up email where I apologized for being short and nasty. God I hate doing that. His response was very nice he admitted he was supposed to send me tracking numbers but he had to leave town to pick up a bike and forgot. So I left him good feedback and he did the same for me so tomorrow I will have a axle to put on and a rear wheel to center. Then whaddaya know its payday again. This is going to be a biggie. At the very least it will be the complete handlebar setup, switches, grips,levers, the whole shooting match and then a few other things at the best it will be the complete handlebar set up and the foot controls. The only question is can I spend that amount and still have money to eat. I took leftovers to work today and if I take peanut butter and jelly tonight and my father is taking Tommy out to dinner tomorrow so I won't have to feed him; I may be able to stretch the $80 I have in my pocket until next payday. Hmmmm....... half tank of gas, don't eat Wednesday no unnecessary driving. One jar peanut butter 3 loaves of bread. I think I can do this.
The squeeze is on kids, I have this paycheck and the next and maybe just maybe the one after that, then I really have to make all the reservations and arrangements for Tommy and my trip to NYC at the end of June. Now May has 3 paychecks and we aren't going until June 28 but I don't want to wait to long and not get the hotel I want and get stuck at a dump somewhere. I still have almost 80 days left but I don't want to take any chances! But I am so close people so very close. I would like to hear it fire before I leave on vacation but more than likely it will be shortly after my return.

No Joy

Well the axle didn't come so I sent the guy a email threatening to file a dispute. I told him not to reply with any info other than tracking info because that is all that will stop the dispute. I also told him not to reply and ask for the measurements again because I have provided them 3 times already. I just don't get it. Get paid and do your job. Hell I have to work then get paid, all these assholes get paid first and still can't get the job done. I must be in the wrong business. I actually have to deliver day after day after day to get paid.
This one lousy part is holding up the whole build and it is really starting to piss me off. I guess this is another reason why I don't deal with locals. Because if this asshole was local he would be seriously hurting now. More later whenever there is more to tell. If ya happen to know someone seriously incompetent who is in the aftermarket Harley business who is to stupid to remember to breathe please send me his contact info I would hate to think I missed one.

Still no axle.

Well 7 days have passed since I last communicated with the man about the axle. One of the things I requested was that he email me when he sent it out. No email no axle. So, tomorrow I will email him and if he can't provide tracking numbers I will go ahead a file my dispute w/paypal. It has been 38 days since I ordered it and I have given him the measurements 3 times and I am not going to risk losing another week waiting for something that should have been here a month ago. This is just pathetic. More later.

Update!

The tank is here and the mounts arrived today to sit in the drawer with the rear caliper anchor and the rear fender mount and await for their date with the welder. Which of course won't happen until the rear wheel is on and centered which brings us back to the rear axle now 28 days overdue. But I have been assured it will be done very soon. Either way on Monday I will file a dispute w/eBay if the guy can't at least give me tracking numbers.

Then the oil tank needs to be figured out for the welder also. Then it's pretty much all down hill. With the help of the great people at http://www.clubchopper.com/ I have the ignition harness figured out and the rest of the wiring should be pretty straight forward. I just wish the damn axle would get here so I can move forward!

The Other Side of the Coin

In light of the yet another local pit bull attack on a Pomeranian I feel it is my duty to remind everyone of the other side of the coin. This picture was taken last week when my son was sick with a fever. He layed on that dog for over 3 hours and she never moved. When he got up and went up to bed she followed him and scratched at his door until I let her in. At which point she jumped up on the bed licked his face and began to whine while giving me the most heartbreaking look I have ever seen on a animal.

While I sympathize with the family and their lose and I fully understand how dangerous the situation was. This was a dog that attacked another dog. The breed is irrelevant. A dog is a tool, a blank canvas. It does what you teach it and it becomes what you make it. There are no bad dogs just bad owners and irresponsible journalists.

Another quicky for King Richard

'nough said.

Tommy's Joke...

Sorry it's such a odd time for Tommy's Joke but shortly after coming home from school on Wednesday he developed a fever. I strongly felt it was a Halo Wars was delivered today related fever, but as it turns out it was legit and he spent the better part of Thursday and Friday asleep. But before succumbing to the vapors he passed along this beauty.

Why do blonds have bruises around their belly buttons? Because their boyfriends aren't that bright either!

The boy is growing up to fast I tell ya!

Tankage Part II

Here are a couple photos of the gas tank in its preliminary position. I may end up dropping the front a inch or two.

The drop seat really becomes obvious with the tank mounted and will be even more pronounced with the fender on. It will really show the "pocket" the rider sits in.

The tank also has a brand name pop up flush mount gas cap. This brand of cap goes for $60 by itself; which really makes this tank a deal at $195. Here is the cap closed.

And popped up for opening. A neat little add on custom touch!

Tankage

The tank arrived while I was at work today. Pictures tomorrow I am to tired right now. See ya on the sunshine side.

The Upside

The company I wanted to order my gas tank through came through on the small order. It didn't ship as fast as I would have liked, but it got here and was right and good quality. So Thursday night I took the chance and ordered the tank and it shipped this morning and has a scheduled delivery of today! That is the best thing about fedex they deliver on Saturdays!

So maybe some eye candy before I leave for work tonight or at least definitely Sunday. Here is a reminder picture!

No Axle, No Info

Well I fired off a email to the axle guy and he emailed back and states to his knowledge all the axles were done and shipped out. He would try to find out if mine went ups or usps so I could get a tracking number if it went ups but then he never got back to me.

So I will wait until the mail comes today and if I haven't heard from him and the axle isn't here I will email him one more time and tell him I am filing a dispute. Paypal only gives you 45 days to file and 30have now passed. So we will see if that gets any results. Until then no forward progress.

So everyone out there building a bike and shopping on Ebay stay away from Road6Customs! This one is for you guys at Road6, a bunch of axholes!

Wasted Days and Wasted Nights

Sorry for the couple days lapse but absolutely nothing has happened. The front fender showed up and it is a mess. The pre-drilled mounting holes make the fender sit like a bmx fender, so I will have to cut off the legs and drill new holes. The rear wheel spacer set came yesterday but with the axle still MIA they spacers don't do me much good. I sent the axle guy a email asking for a eta or some tracking numbers but have received no response yet, but it has only been about an hour.
Other than that I ordered the gas tank and its mounting hardware yesterday so maybe by next week I set it up there and have a look. Nothing else to report now! Check back soon!

A word about the donation cessation

Lately I have been reading a lot about a man called Sam Childers. He runs a orphanage in Sudan. I first learned about this guy in a article in American Iron Magazine. This man is a long time biker who made a big change in his own life and now makes huge changes in the lives of kids in this war torn region.

Currently there is a bike built by Jesse James paid for by a anonymous donor that is being raffled off in June. The tickets are $20 dollars apiece or you can jut make a donation for the heck of it. His web site is http://www.angelsofeastafrica.org/ . If you ever in your most whimsical of moments thought about donating to my site please please please go here and donate instead.

He also has a book coming out this month "Another mans war" I believe it is called. This guy is on the up and up he is a legal 501(c)3 charity and your donations are tax deductible.

Around the biker world he is called the machine gun preacher. Here is his picture sitting on the bike to be raffled off. There are more and better pictures on his site at the above link. Do what you can for this guy. WE are all worried about a tanking economy and this guy is trying to function where one doesn't even exist!

If I was ever in a position financially and otherwise to get a leave of absence I would not hesitate for a moment to spend it in Sudan with this man and his people! Donate Now! I humbly request as I step down off my soap box.

Have You Ever....

If you have been following my blog long enough I am sure you have at least once. It's been about three weeks since the last time I have, but that is a different post for a different blog. All I can say about this one is Make Mine A Double!

Joke of the Whenever...

Ponder on these imponderables for a minute:
1. If you take an Oriental person and spin him around several times,does he become disoriented?
2. If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland called Holes?
3. Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?
4. If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?
5. If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?
6. Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?
7. When cheese gets its picture taken, what does it say?
8. Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist but a person who drives a racing car not called a racist?
9. Why are a wise man and a wise guy opposites?
10. Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things?
11. Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety one?
12. 'I am' is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language.Could it be that 'I do' is the longest sentence?
13. If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged,models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?
14. What hair colour do they put on the driver' licences of bald men?
15. I thought about how mothers feed their babies with tiny little spoons and forks so I wondered if Chinese mothers use toothpicks?
16. Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are we supposed to do, write to them?Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the postmen can look for them while they deliver the post?
17. You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.
18. No one ever says, 'It's only a game' when their team is winning.
19. Ever wonder about those people who spend two pound a piece on those little bottles of Evian water?Try spelling Evian backwards:
20. Isn't making a smoking section in a restaurant like making a peeing section in a swimming pool?
21. If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhoea, does that mean that 1enjoys it?
22. Why if you send something by road it is called a shipment, but when you send it by sea it is called cargo?
23. If a convenience store is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365days a year, why are there locks on the door?

Upchuckdate

The front fender should arrive today per tracking info and the rear wheel spacer set should be here on Thursday per tracking info. So if by some spontaneous disaster of competence the axle shows up I may actually get something done this week.
Also, I have finally set my mind to the whole paint thing. I think, no I am sure, we are just going naked until next winter. Let's face facts, I built this, there will be problems.So before some error in assembly or high speed wobble or just a plain old wheel falling off and grinding up a good paint job happens we are just going to run bare metal this summer to shake all the bugs out. Besides I am so ready to ride you would not and could not believe it. We are at a need it level. So on that note at the very least Wednesday and Thursday will be spent tightening everything to specs. Pulling the front end back off and greasing the bearings and all that since it won't be coming apart until December. And who knows by then I may be ready to sell it and can offer a potential buyer their paint choice.
Another reason for this decision is the housing prices are looking to good to be wasting to much more time. I don't think anything will change, as a matter of fact, I think prices will continue to drop. But, with my sketchy credit history I am going to need a healthy down payment to get a mortgage. And I want to get started on that.
That's all for now, I am beat, just finished my 4th 12 hr shift 8 more tonight then at least one day off but I am on standby again Thursday so who knows. Night Night.

No news is no good news

I am trying to think of something to write but I am at a impasse. No news on the axle that I am hoping for today. The rear wheel spacer set I ordered or more to the point re-ordered hasn't shipped yet. The tracking number for the front fender hasn't updated since Feb 27 when it was in Champagne Illinois so nothing new to report with little hope that anything will arrive by Wednesday so I can get anything done. So I will probably be another week behind. But, at least its payday this week so I can send my money off to a whole new group of incompetents who will keep me waiting for an undue amount of time for things I pay for instantly.
I can't even find a funny picture about waiting or anticipation so it must not be that funny to anyone else either. Oh well check back again for frequent updates.

Debo's Bday!

That's right Debos birthday was yesterday the 28th of February. He is 1 year and 1 day old today!

I hope you have many more Mr. Deebs! Look at that handsome mug! Not bad for the runt of the litter!