Sunday, November 4, 2007

Geahead Progression

One thing or is it just the next thing. A gearhead will always tinker. There is a constant need to modify, improve, design and customize the vehicles we own. An established gearhead will have an abundance of tools and the need for one that does the job better. Gearheads have piles of excess parts; taken off and set aside or aquisitioned for future use. The longer that one has been a gearhead the more unfinished projects have collected.
Zippy the Wonder Slug was my first ride. At 21 my Uncle John passed down a 1978 Gs550. I spent a week of nights resurrecting it from it's dormant state. I rode for the summer and rebuilt the engine on my kitchen table that winter. I earned the respect of weathered bikers and the ire of gold card wielding RUB's.
I had a friend wh owned a '79 KZ1000. An old roach that recieved a lot less tlc than Zippy. When it quit running on him, I took it over and kept it alive for one more season. A few years later I picked up Stan, an 85 700 Sabre. Basic maintence meant a lot of saddle time. I passed Stan along to a friend when I moved to Phoenix.
Oddly enough, I found a V65 Sabre five months later. I paid a buck a cc and rode Stimpson J. Sabre for the next eight years. I will never dispute the longevity of a Honda. Where they lack in charisma, the make tenfold in reliability. That bike never left me stranded in the 80,000 miles I rode it. That is not to deny the religious maintence I put into that bike. Machines don't survive on burning gas alone. Stimpy was still in a daily rider when I sold it with 115+ on it. Somwhere along that road, Zippy had been sidelined in favor of the bigger, newer machine. I eventually traded the bike for a computer.
Before I sold the Honda, I had already replaced it with a 200 dollar wonder. PB or Poquito Bandito. Honda and Yamaha had each brought 400 cc bikes to the US market in 1989. Suzuki followed suit in 1991 with the GSF400 Bandit. A previous owner had done a dual disc conversion to the front wheel and installed a full Yoshimura system. The parts alone were worth what I paid. A year later I purchased an identical model in stock trim for 250. It was only natural I call it Dos. A rocker and a stocker. PB had a good start to being a hot rod, and someday it will be. I first engineered an 01 GSX-R750 shock to fit. This was no simple bolt on process, some surgery was required. Being the Parts Geek Extrordinaire that I am, I scored a complete YZF600 Front end for 50 bucks. The front end was a little more of a project. Fasttrack Dave straightened the fron wheel. Jeff turned down the steering stem some. I created a homemade chassis stand and grafted it on.
A good chassis and a 45 mile daily commute are murder on small engines. I ran the piss out of an already high mileage tired motor until the rings gave out. It was only logical to pull the running engine out of the stock bike and put into the good chassis. It held out for another 12000 before it puked too. The first engine has been on my bench half apart for the two years now. PB and Dos are stacked in the garage collecting dust. The plan is to hotrod the engine while it is apart and rering the other one...one of these days. Sad thing is that I have the parts to overhaul one engine as it is and no desire to do it right now.
Lax Attitudes develope when there is a new and shiny bike to move my soul. Last March I bought the greatest motorcycle of the modern era. Mignon, named for my grandmother is a bike truely worthy of her name. Yamaha created the perfect UJM (universal japanese motorcycle) when they put an R1 engine into a steel cradle frame with good brakes, near ideal suspension, a big fuel tank, and the best factory saddle ever. 1500 Dollars for my dream bike, which only had 6300 original miles when I got it. I have already ridden it over 15000 miles in the last seven months. Mods include an MRA VarioScreen, a Dos Hermanos Carbon muffler, and a stiffer shock spring, soft luggage and upgraded lighting. Mignon is my daily ride, and I plan to ride it until the wheels fall off.
My latest project is the ground up chopper. The frame is a raked Triumph with a BSA Super Flash plunger Tail. The engine is a T100R Daytona motor. This bike suits me like no other. I have always had an affinity for small engines. My first mentor hooked me on small Buicks, the 215 V8, 231 and 190 cid V6's. I miss Roger. Dude, wherever you are, I hope you are alive and well. My GS was over shadowed by the 750 and 1000 Superbikes of it's era. The 400's were the smallest of the Suzuki W motors. The 500cc unit twin is often sidelined for the 650 and 750 T120/T140 twins. It's the perfect bike to build. I have always wanted a chopper and now I own the perfect bike to build. It's not a Harley or a wanna be. No mass produced, buy it from a catalog frame or engine. An English bike to reflect my mothers English lineage. I will build this bike with sweat passion and I am sure to bleed on it too. Man and machine, its what makes me a gearhead.

2 comments:

Big Daddy said...

And you say I'm good with words kudo's to you....Big D

Ann said...

Nice job, Aaron!