BIKERNET NEWS FLASH: ECONOMIC BOOM FOR ENTIRE YEAR BUT ONLY FOR BIKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES Hey,

Half the country is buried in snow and it’s as dry as a popcorn fart on the coast. Makes a man want to ride more than work. The new year started with a bang. I can’t tell you some of the plans just yet, but a couple of deals are under way that will, well, you’ll just have to wait and see. We’ve been in the garage a lot recently. The 1928 Shovelhead we’re building at the Dallas Easyriders store is rocking and scheduled to go to paint in the next couple of weeks. I’m working on a paint scheme without much luck. Maybe I need to go to the Easyriders Bike Show in Pomona this weekend for some inspiration.

We’re beginning our Buell hop-up this week or next. Here’s an eye-opener: One of the projects for this year will be to finish my Badlands book with interviews with several veteran club members. Mike Lichter is the man behind the photographs. Mike and I may make a cross-country run to get the interviews and photos. The Harley-Davidson Street Fighter or Buell will be the mount for the ride.

We’re finishing up the details on the next motorcycle desk project. The base for this unit will be a Paughco frame and front end and a channeled Evolution motor with a Custom Chrome 4-speed transmission. The pipes that hold up the glass top will be carefully crafted by Samson Exhaust Systems.

I’m trying to unscramble my feeble brain to explain what happened on Jan. 1. There was a party, a girl, then another girl, then I woke up. At least I think I woke up, and went for a ride. It’s all so fucking fuzzy. Let’s get to the news.

MINNESOTA A.I.M. ATTORNEY WINS RULING AGAINST GANG STRIKE FORCE– St. Paul, Minn. – (MCNW) In what is believed to be the first time bikers have successfully gone head to head with the Minnesota Gang Strike Force, lawyer Stephen R. O’Brien succeeded in obtaining judgment in favor of Michael Kanne and the Minnesota Motorcycle Club Coalition (Confederation of Clubs).

Kanne and the MMCC sued the strike force on Oct. 5, calling a search this summer at Kanne’s St. Cloud apartment illegal. Kanne, a member of the Christian motorcycle club Bond Slaves, is secretary for the MMCC and has no criminal record. Seized were various items of personal property, three computers, dozens of disks and tapes, club mailing lists and other items belonging to the coalition.

Kanne’s lawyer, Minnesota Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) attorney Stephen R. O’Brien, filed a notice of motion and a motion for the return of all property and the unsealing of the supporting affidavit, the document that justifies the signing of the search warrant.

“By refusing to divulge the supporting affidavits, the government has shown no justification for the search,” O’Brien said.

At a hearing on Nov. 9, Judge Bernard Boland ordered the immediate return of all property seized during the search. The judge also ruled that the supporting affidavit justifying the search warrant had to be disclosed. This may enable O’Brien to bring a 1983 federal lawsuit against the Minnesota Gang Strike Force.

O’Brien recently sued a Crystal, Minn., bar for refusing service to a biker, and was awarded a $720 judgment in what is thought to be the first legal test of Minnesota’s newly enacted Equal Access biker anti-discrimination law.

For his efforts, O’Brien was selected by the National Coalition of Motorcyclists board of directors to receive the NCOM Silver Spoke Award for Legal at next year’s NCOM convention in Orlando, Fla.

SUPERBOWL PARTY– Someone called the other day and asked if there was a charge to come to the party. Well the answer is “No”. The food is on Bikernet, the Superbowl on the NFL and the bands on the Blue Cafe, but you need the coin to buy me drinks. Hell, even the parking directly out front is free.

Of course, if you want a copy of my new book, you’ll have to pay big candy. Don’t miss it. Here’s your personal invitation: You can download the invitation here.

HARLEY MAKES FORTUNE LIST OF 100 BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR– Harley-Davidson Motor Co. has made Fortune magazine’s annual list of “100 Best Companies to Work for,” coming in at No. 92. This is the third time in four years that Harley-Davidson has been on the list.

More than 36,000 employees at the candidate companies filled out the Great Place to Work Trust Index, an employee survey that evaluates trust in management, pride in work and the company, and camaraderie.

Details will be available in the Jan. 8 issue of Fortune, on newsstands now. Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz, authors of “The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America,” assisted Fortune in compiling the list. For more information, visit http://www.fortune.com/fortune/bestcompanies

ULTIMATE TECH TIP–Yes, after extensive research and threatening Snake with his job, Sin Wu came up with the notion for the ultimate tech tip. It hurts to be forced to admit that the concept for the ultimate tech came from a woman, but I humbly admit that it’s true. It’ll be posted soon, don’t miss it.

FACTS OF LIFE–

1. At least five people in this world love you so much they would die foryou.
2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to bejust like you.
4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don’tlike you.
5. Every night, someone thinks about you before they go to sleep.
6. You mean the world to someone.
7. Without you, someone may not be living.
9. You are special and unique in your own way.
10. Someone whom you don’t know even exists, loves you.
11. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
12. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look. You most likely turned your back on the world.
13. When you think you have no chance at getting what you want, youprobably won’t get it, but if you believe in yourself, you probably will get itsooner or later.
14. Always remember compliments you receive, forget about the ruderemarks.
15. Always tell someone how you feel about them, you will feel much betterwhen they know.

BUELL REPORT–Check out this exhaust for the Buell from BUB Enterprises at www.bubent.com. It retails for $470.Good looking setup, don’t you think?

__Agent M-2 Anson

ZEBRA SURFACES–Got a question for you. This gas tank is leaking, again. It’d would be the fourth time I’ve had it welded, if I fixed it again, which I’m not interested in doing, because it won’t work. I think the capacity of the tank (although I’ve only been running it half full after Miami to try and remedy the problem) versus the thickness of the steel is a ratio that allows the weight of the fuel, during bumps and rough roads, to crack the metal around the welds, no matter how many times they fix it and I repaint it.

Do we have anyone out there who can get me a tank that’ll hold fuel and not bust all to hell, and that’d look decent on that scoot? Something under a million dollars.

–The fireman, Zebra

If we don’t see an edit of “Burning Daylight” in the near future, our explosives will be set to detonate rather than corrode.

OPEN LETTER TO BANDIT FROM SEDUCTIVE SUNDANCE, DIRECTOR OF BIKERNET’S CYBER BIKE SHOW–You know that most women feel that if we want something done, we’d better handle it ourselves, and let me assure you that I’m no different – especially when dealing with Bandit!?

I was relaxing in my office with a hot cup of tea and reviewing some new bike show entries when my computer chimed to notify me of a new e-mail message. Ed Jauch, one of our winners from November, was writing to ask me if I had received his mailing address. It seems Ed had not yet received his prize for winning in the Sportster Division over a month ago and was wondering what the hold up was.

“BANDIT!” I hollered as I headed down the hall. “What is it you wish, oh tall and blonde one?” Bandit schmoozed as he looked at me with his most innocent little boy grin. “Did you forget one tiny little detail last month when you knocked off for the holidays?” I asked. “No, I don’t think so. Gee, Sin even watered the plants while you were gone. What’s up?” “Well, it seems our November winners are?still waiting on their prizes, and I just know you sent?them out already, RIGHT?”

“Oh SH_T! – the prizes!” Bandit was moving at full speed now, and I trailed him down the hall to see Layla. “With all of this year-end stuff, I completely forgot to mail the prizes to the November winners. Can you get them out today?” She looked up cooly from her still wet nails and calmly informed Bandit that she could take care of a simple task like mailing prizes. Bandit looked at me and smiled. “See, no harm done. The prizes will get out today! You worry too much Sundance!” Bandit saluted us both and headed back down the hall, grateful that I no longer had cause to be angry with him. Layla looked at me like a kindergarten teacher addressing her class on the first day of school. “I thought you knew by now that if you want something done around here, you should bring it to me in the first place.” “I know, I know. It won’t happen again,” I apologized. We smiled that smile of female camaraderie (and began to disrobe), and I wondered if it would ever occur to Bandit who it is that really runs Bikernet.

–Sundance

I tell ya, I’m innocent–Bandit

REMEMBER?–having your photo taken on this bike in So. Cal. at an Easyriders rodeo? They gave away a workstation the same weekend. Recently sold the scooter to a friend in No Cal. His name is Shawn. Will also send photos of a diamond deck workstation for the new product section.

–Thanks a million, Ray C. Wheeler

22 SIGNS THAT YOU’VE ALREADY HAD TOO MUCH OF THE 21ST CENTURY–

1. You just tried to enter your password on themicrowave.
2. You now think of three espressos as “gettingwasted.”
3. You haven’t played solitaire with a real deck ofcards in years.
4. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach yourfamily of three.
5. You call your son’s beeper to let him know it’s timeto eat. He e-mails you back from his bedroom, “What’sfor dinner?”
6. Your daughter sells Girl Scout cookies via herWeb site.
7. You chat several times a day with a stranger fromSouth Africa, but you haven’t spoken with your nextdoor neighbor yet this year.
8. You didn’t give your valentine a card this year, butyou posted one for your e-mail buddies via a Web page.
9. Your daughter just bought a CD of all the recordsyour college roommate used to play.
10. You check the ingredients on a can of chickennoodle soup to see if it contains echinacea.
11. You check your blow dryer to see if it’s Y2Kcompliant.
12. Your grandmother clogs up your e-mail inbox askingyou to send her a JPEG file of your newborn so she cancreate a screen saver.
13. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cellphone to see if anyone is home.
14. Every commercial on television has a Web siteaddress at the bottom of the screen.
15. You buy a computer and a week later it is out ofdate and now sells for half the price you paid.
16. The concept of using real money, instead of creditor debit, to make a purchase is foreign to you.
17. Cleaning up the dining room means getting the fastfood bags out of the back seat of your car.
18. Your reason for not staying in touch with family isthat they do not have e-mail addresses.
19. You consider second-day air delivery painfullyslow.
20. Your idea of being organized is multiple-coloredPost-it notes.
22. You hear most of your jokes via e-mail instead ofin person.

RACE PROGRAM INSPIRATION–Few women are into racing motorcycles, but a group has now been formed to enable women to become more of an intragel part of the racing scene. The group, centered in Cleveland, Ohio, is called WRAFS — Women’s Race Action for Sex. Leader Shiela Lust said of the new organization, “There’s nothing more rewarding in the world than accomplishment and sex. We know that sex is the ultimate stimulus for accomplishment, and there’s nothing that drives a man to better, faster and more quality accomplishment than the promise of fine sex. Besides, when they’re on top of their game, it’s all the better for us. Imagine making love to a loser. The program works, and we’re looking for more women to join to help our men succeed.”With over 500 members, they plan to move into virtually every competitive arena. Watch for Shiela and representatives of WRAFS to be featured on Jerry Springer later this month, then on Jay Leno.

FAST FOOD REPORT–I’ve noticed McDonald’s recently added a small sign to their front door, asfollows:

Braille andPicture MenusAvailable

Obviously aimed at the blind who can’t see and the illiterate who can’tread.

–John S.

SAN DIEGO FEMALE GANG WARS– Bandit, that would be so totally cool if you attended our bash. Damn…It is definitely gonna be a good time, definitely wild, and not for the mild.

OK, here’s the info: “The Devil Dolls MC and NY Myke/San Diego H-D are hosting the killer bash on Jan. 12 with a VIP gig, then on Jan. 13 a party from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Then it’s a free for all as we all go out and terrorize the So. Cal. citizens! For more info, check events on www.devildolls.com, or call (888)8 CYCLES. “No khaki/blue shirt yuppie uniforms allowed.”

Be cool, baby.Happy New Year!
GOTHGIRL
DDMC

THIS IN FROM WINO JOE– Muchas gracias por su libro con su firma. Nuff’a that Mexshit:) Have’a good one pal! Keep them senor-eaters on their knees toplease! Y’all keep the rubber-side down. Party up! But pack that rollin’a garbagebag; spend the nite with pals and don’t get “caught” out inthe cold.

With respect to those that count. Ride On! Wino Joe,USA

BIKER BABE FROM THE BIG APPLE REPORT–Here is happy me wishing it were riding weather. Brrr…too much cold andsnow. Yuck. Give me that crazy, sexy, hot weather any day over this cold,nippilating temperature. Want to come melt some icicles?

–Sasha

WHAT A DUCKHEAD!– A man took his old duck to the doctor, concerned because the duck wouldn’t eat. The doctor explained to the man that as ducks age, their upper bills grow down over their lower bills and make it difficult for the animal to pick up its food.

“What you need to do is gently file the upper bill down even with the lower bill. But you must be extra careful because the duck’s nostrils are located in the upper bill and if you file down too far, when the duck takes a drink of water it’ll drown.”

The man goes about his business and about a week later the doctor runs into the duck owner. “Well, how is that duck of yours?” the doctor inquired.

“He’s dead,” declared the heartbroken man.

“I told you not to file his upper bill down too far! He took a drink of water and drowned, didn’t he?” insisted the doctor.

“No,” lamented the man. “I think he was dead before I took him out of the vise.”

–from Rick

AN OPEN LETTER TO OZ (BIKERNET ADVERTISING DIRECTOR) FROM THE DIGITAL GANGSTER–

OK Oz, repeat after me….. For 2001:

1.) I resolve to get Digi-Dude the parts he needs to build his rigid.
2.) I resolve not to tell Bandit to fuck off every day (even if he does deserve it).
3.) I resolve to sign the best in the industry as sponsors and keep us all in beans and booze!
4.) I resolve NEVER to be a politician, because the guys at Bikernet need me, and don’t want to see me converted into an EVIL profession…….
5.) I resolve to make that Softail Standard one bitchin’ ride – then run Zebra over with it.
6.) I resolve NOT to round file this e-mail where it will never been seen again.

Happy Fuckin’ New Year!!!!!
-Digital.

TOURING CHOPPER FOR SALE–That’s right, the touring chop is on the auction block. It may be on display at the Easyriders bike show in Pomona this weekend. Come watch Bandit squirm around on the pavement detailing his bikes. It’s Saturday from noon to 11 p.m.

I’VE LEARNED SOME NEW SHIT–I’ve learned that you can keep puking long after you think you’re finished.

I’ve learned that we are responsible for what we do, unless we are celebrities.

I’ve learned that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first,the passion fades, and there had better be a lot of money to take its place.

I’ve learned that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you’redown will be the ones who do.

I’ve learned that we don’t have to ditch bad friends, because their dysfunctionmakes us feel better about ourselves.

I’ve learned that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get arrested and end up in the local paper.

I’ve learned that the people you care most about in life are taken from youtoo soon and all the less important ones just never go away.

I’ve learned to say “Fuck ’em if they can’t take a joke” … in six languages.

–GENO, THE HORSE MAGAZINE

HAPPY FRAGGIN’ EVERYTHING CREW–Watch “Junkyard Wars,” a must see for bikers andmotorheads of all ages. If you locked Tim Allen, MadMax and Monty Python in a garage, you’d end up with”Junkyard Wars” – the engineering contest of harebrainedschemes, incredible tools and lots and lots of ducttape (remember boys and girls: Duct Tape – don’t leavehome without it). Thisprogram pits two teams of tool-toting gearheadsagainst one another to see who can create the biggest,fastest or strongest whatever with parts they scroungeout of a junkyard.

“Junkyard Wars” made its North Americanpremiere on Wednesday nights this past December. Thenew sasson, the All-Americanversion, started Jan. 3. Mark yourcalenders.

Consider this a public serviceannouncement.

Live Free Or Die,
Jim Buck

LIFE, LOVE AND THE ETERNAL PURSUIT OF LUST AND SATISFACTION–My code for the week. The new year is underway with a straight-pipe blast. The ER show circuit is underway. The dealer shows are coming in February and already we’re trying to finish bikes by March for Daytona. Sin Wu is tapping on the back door and, believe it or not, it’s warm enough out there to lay in the sun and watch those warming rays put a natural glow on her perfect naked body. Can you blame me for wanting to split? Then later we’ll tinker with Little John’s desk project and go for a ride. Life couldn’t get much better. –Bandit

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Digital’s Rigid

/ Free Departments, Tech / January 2, 2001

Welcome to the inside of the Bikernet Northwest Garage. This is where the next project begins. The goal – To complete one bad ass, mail haulin, knuckle draggin’, speed bump scrapin’, rip the skin off your face, back breakin’ rigid scoot.

This bike is going to be ALL about mailorder. Since many of you don’t have shops in your area that are versed in how to build a custom scoot, we thought you might like to know how we did one without the help of a local professional shop. Buying parts is easy. Painting, powder coating, and certain sheet metal fabrication and modification however, can pose particular problems when you, the builder, do not have the ability paint or weld. Watch over the next couple of months while we put this beauty together (without the help of a local shop) and tackle some of the hurdles of a ground up – mail order custom.

The following is a glimpse of some of the stuff we have so far. It should be noted that the most important piece of equipment here IS the cooler pictured in the first photo (above). You gotta have beer to properly build and test a rigid…..

This is the single piece Softail tank with welded shrouds on the front and in the seat pocket. This particular tank is available from Custom Chrome. Since this is going on a custom frame with a 2″ backbone stretch, we made some minor mods that required some welding and finishing. More on that later.

The Baker Six Transmission. This is the Softail version. These amazing pieces of engineering come with full width Andrews Gears. They’re tough. Damned tough. One of these took Zebra from Florida to Sturgis at a non-stop 110 MPH last year.

Pickin’ Up The Pieces–

The above photo details the back end of the Atlas Precision ‘Roadrunner’ frame. Attached is a 9″ wide stubby fender, also supplied by Atlas. Both the fender and the frame are designed to handle 200 mm meat. We’ll be using a 180 for the project.

Since wide tire aftermarket frames require special fenders, you have to be careful to select the proper width fender and fender struts because stock fenders don’t often fit, even if you run a stock tire.

The Atlas Seat pictured above is by Danny Gray, built specially for Atlas to fit their frames. It’s pretty bare bones, but fits the ‘Roadrunner’ like a glove. This seat also came with an optional pillon pad. I got it so the wife could tag along. I have a feeling, it’ll get used only once. A note about the seat maker. Danny uses all European leather to make his seats. He does this for a good reason. Since European cattle ranchers don’t use barbed wire, the cattle don’t get any scars. This means, you get a seat without any irregularities in the leather.

See the open BDL drive in the box? Stop drooling – it’s mine! We’ll be putting one together in detail for you.

In addition, we’ve got a LOT of Joker components for the project including the hand controls, wheels, pulley’s brake rotors, etc. We’ll detail ALL of the goodies when we pull them outta the box and mount them to the bike.

Stay tuned boys and girls. When Oz gets me the engine, we’ll really start to rock and roll!

We’ve collected a number of parts for the rigid over the last few months – but one key item was missing. That’s the engine. When it came time to decide on a power plant for the project, there were a couple of factors that warrented consideration. The first is of course, cold hard cash. None of us have a lot. Any way you cut it, an engine is not cheap. The second factor, of course, is engine performance. Nobody wants to make this kind of investment, no matter what the price, only to find out it the motor is a dog or doesn’t hold it’s own when the throttle is cracked. (When buying mail order, performance is particularly tough to judge because you never get to test the engine before you buy.) The third factor is overall quality. If you shell out a few grand for a motor – you don’t want to have to do it again in 3 years. You want it to last, and you don’t want it to be plagued with problems. Having a bike that spends more time in the shop then it does on the road just plain sucks.

As the number of V-Twin manufacturers increases to meet current demands, the competition to provide a high quality, big torque V-Twin that can withstand time and abuse for a reasonable price has also increased. The clear winner in this competition is you, the consumer.

For those of us who need to maximize our dollar spent, we need to really understand our requirements. What’s the average biker want? A motor that’s usable for the street. If you want a Nitro-Burning tire shredder, get ready to spend some serious cash. But if you basically want a hot street motor, and live on a budget, you should to look at a couple of factors. These are performance, reliability, total long term cost of ownership,and the reputation of the engine manufacturer.

For this project, a Revtech 100 CI Evo-Style motor was procured. The guys at Custom Chrome cut us a deal on it to fit our budget. Let’s have a look at some of the features that convinced me that the RevTech 100 was my best choice.

First off, the Engineering and Manufacturing team at RevTech have spent thousands of hours researching, designing, building, and testing their engine design. When you buy one of these motors, you’re not just buying an engine, you’re buying 20 years of experience and expertise from one of the largest, most respected aftermarket american v-twin companies in the business. The company’s reputation was an important in choosing to buy one of these motors because I’ve never so much as thrown a leg over a bike built with one of these engines.

Second – The spec sheet. Have a look at all the features this engine has.

Basic Features

ALL Chrome Covers are included. No need to add your own. Price this out when you’re building your next project. You’ll see the advantage of buying these as a package.

Comes with a Mikuni Carburator, Revtec Air Cleaner, Thunderheart Ignition Pickup AND Thunderheart Electronic Ingnition Module. Keep this in mind when buying a motor. The Module, Ignition System, and Carb/Aircleaner setup when purchased separately are worth at LEAST $600 retail if you have to add them separately. There’s a trick feature here too – the ignition module is actually mounted right on the pickup – so mounting an external box is NOT required.

Available in 88 or 100 CI displacements, in Raw, Black Powdercoat, or Show Polished finishes on the cylinders, heads, and case.

Case

356-T6 Aluminum Case with added material in key areas for increased strength. What does this mean? Lower case flex. Why is that good? Longer bearing and shaft life. If things stay aligned, they wear less. It also means, this motor can take some punishment and that your lower end is likely to fail in an extreme condition than your average run of the mill case.

Removeable Lower Sump Plate. – This is VERY cool. It allows you to keep tabs on your motor over time by being able to inspect the lower end WITHOUT having to rip the whole motor apart. You don’t get this with just any case.

Pressed and Bolted Crank Pin and Pinion Bushing Carriers. The carrier on the left is pressed in like stock. The one on the right is pressed and bolted against a machined surface for superior alignment across the case. This translates into better alignment of the bearings, lower friction, and less bearing and shaft wear.

Heads

No head gaskets! O-Rings are used for LEAK PROOF SEALS. This is an extremely important feature for retaining compression and performance over time.

Wider than stock spaced head bolts for superior strength.

D-shaped ports for high flow characteristics. If your motor ain’t flowin’, it ain’t goin’.

Cylinders

Steel cyliner liners are perma-locked into the outer aluminum casting for the ULTIMATE in durabilty.

Larger Cooling Fin Area that Stock Evo Motors for lower engine temperatures. Lower engine temperatures means your oil retains it’s integrity longer and provides better engine protection to reduce wear.

Cast Pistons in the 88″ motor, Forged Pistons in the 100″ CI Motor. This is something you may want to consider if you have a personal preference.

Flywheels

The halves are one piece forged and then post machined from 4340 Steel. What’s that mean? They’re seriously strong and accurately manufactured.

Oil Pump

The latest in oil pump technology. NEVER underestimate the importance of delivering good lubraction to your motor. In an air cooled motor, oil is also the lifeline to cooling.

Warranty

2 Year – 20,000 Mile warranty. Just make sure you fill out the card when it comes.

Shipping

Bagged and shipped in a custom built wooden crate..

Third factor – Total price – about $5600, retail. We did some internet shopping and found that you can knock about $600-$700 off if you look around a little.

We also priced comparable Black Powder Coated 100 CI motors from S&S $6300 Retail + which still require an ignition module to run (about a $200-$350 investment). If you want a TP Engineering motor, add another $500-$600 to those prices. Don’t get me wrong. S&S and TP make damned good engines, but you’ll pay for them. If you want a great motor that’s convenient to install, and has the added benefit of a carb pre-installed and dialed in with a pre-existing ignition module, and you’re on a budget to boot, you may want to have a hard look at the Revtech motor.

We’ll have some details about mounting it into the frame as the project progresses.

OK, I know….. It’s a shitty photo. Sorry folks. The good news is, it’s promted me to go out and buy a new camera – so keep an eye out for some high quality photography in the next installment.

So here it is. Actually, as I write this, the project is a little further than the photo would indicate, but the time it takes me to get film developed has me at a disadvantage (Did I mention that camera will be a digital one?) Whatever the case, at this point, it’s almost completely mocked up.

We do have one good photo to show you however (and no, I didn’t take it.) It’s a photo of the front end. I feel it’s one of the centerpieces of the bike. It’s a GCB 54 mm inverted system. It’s massive. They aren’t the most inexpensive forks on the market, but a set of forks this wide will give you the most stable ride you’ve had. Not to mention, they look killer.

This set came from Chrome Specialties. The chrome leg version retails for about $3000, but if you shop around the web, you can sometimes find someone with an online shop who will sell them to you for 10-15% less.

These setups come in either a wide or mid-glide style fork, in either satin or chrome. They are stock FL length (30″) which when matched with the rigid frame and 40° rake, provides for a nice level stance on the frame.

A couple of things I’ve learned along the way during the mockup.

1.) If you’re building a bike with rake over stock – get prepared to make use of internal fork stops. I’ve got somthing kinda jimmy-rigged for the mock up, but will be putting some in soon.

2.) If you’re making use of a belt drive, be sure you’ve got a tool to remove the race from the main shaft. Jim’s makes one. If you go look in their section, you’ll see a “How To” on using one. I ended up waiting for some period to time to get mine in the mail.

3.) If you think you can use the spacers and the bearings only to determine where your front wheel should be placed on the axel – think again. I was able to do this on my last bike, but not on this one. I found that the races in the hub were not quite where I thought they should be. They were off about 1/4″ the left as received from the manufacturer when looking at the bike from the front. Since I had a local shop already check the end play on the bearing races, and pack the hubs, I had to make up the difference with spacers….. Which meant I had to order some….. Which meant I had to wait another week for parts. Patients is a virtue when building a mail order custom.

4.) Paint. I’ve changed my mind on paint. I’d planned originally to paint the bike orange and put some racing stripes down the middle. Here’s the problem. I’ll be sending my paint out via UPS to have a friend paint it who lives in California. So, without the chassis, how do you line up the stripes along the length of the bike? The answer is, you don’t. So much for that idea. Instead, here’s a pencil sketch of the artwork that will be adorning the tanks. Jon Towle is working on the final product, and I’m going to see if I can’t sweet talk Crazy Horse into making it a reality in enamel.

Uncle Big Bad – By Jon Towle

When Jon get’s the artwork done and colored, we’ll have a look to see what color will be best behind it, then it’s time to send the sheetmetal out for paint.

Sponsored By

Although you haven’t seen it in a fully assembled state, the rigid has actually been mocked up to completion. However, anyone who’s built their own sled knows that an assembled bike without paint and powder just isn’t quite the same as the finished product. Although a primered mock-up will show you the lines and shape of a bike, the machine doesn’t truly come to life until it’s been dawned with color. For that reason, we saved a lot of the assembly detail for you until the paint and powder was complete.

The mocked-up rigid was torn down to the frame, which was sent out for powder coat. It came in only a few days ago and blew my socks off. Although the photos shown here make it look screaming red, it’s actually a deep sunset orange.

The powder coat was done by Hytek Finishes in Kent, Washington. Hytek was the ONLY house I could find in the area that had worked with anything other than a flat powder. This one is a candy orange, color matched to a House of Kolor Kandy paint I’d selected as the base coat for the sheet metal.

Candy paints are valued mostly for their depth. They are made of a base metallic coat covered by a transparent paint. House of Kolor offers a color book for about $42 that you can order from their Web site. Many custom painters around the country use and are familiar with these paints, so they make for a good standard to work with. Candy colors will vary slightly based on the thickness of the transparent color that is used to coat the base.

Candy powder is a little different. The base principle is the same, but you are limited on thickness that can be sprayed because the metal has to be charged to get powder to stick. If the base coat is too thick, you will lose the charge and be unable to get the top coat to stick. Whenever you pick a powder house to do your candy color, make sure they’ve used such paints before because they are tricky to use. This one had a couple of thin spots underneath because the powder coater didn’t want to lay it on too thick. Fortunately, the areas are under the bike that nobody will ever see.

The way I had this matched was to send the House of Kolor sample to Hytek Finishes. They sent the sample to their ‘Prismatic Powder’ supplier, who custom mixed the powder for the job. Not many places do this, so you may have to do some searching. The results are well worth the effort.

With the frame back in the garage, it was time to get started. The first order of business was to get the power train in place. I started by prepping the area where the engine would sit in the frame. To do this, one must take the time to pad the area so as not to scrape the shit out of the newly finished frame. I used a combination of plastic tape, pipe insulators, towels and bubble wrap to do this.

It is important to use a heavy tape where the engine will mount.

It was then time to put the Revtech engine in place. Caution and ease are the keys to success here. One thing to note: If you build a ride of your own and are using the type of stand I do, which sits under the frame, make sure the rails are around where the bottom of the engine will sit to ensure the motor will fall into place and not sit ON the rails.

Using a pen, the front and rear engine mounts were traced. The engine was removed and what is left is what you see in the next photo.

Using a razor blade, I removed the tape from the areas where I planned to mount the engine and prepared to strip the powder coat. The powder must be stripped from the mounting area because the power train must make electrical ground contact to the frame for the ignition, starter and speedo sensor on the transmission.

Once the tape was removed, a small Dremel tool was used to strip the area down to the bare metal.

The area was cleaned and the engine was placed back in the frame over the bare metal spots.

Once the engine was back in place, the bolts were placed and the tape was removed.

Then it was on to the area where the transmission was to be placed.

The transmission plate from Custom Chrome and the rear fender mounts were put into place and bolted down.

The transmission was then put in place but not bolted down.

You’ll notice at this point that the secondary pulley is already on the transmission’s output shaft and the shifter lever is in place. Note: You want the shift lever to be straight up and down when bolted in place. The one in the photo required some adjusting to make this correct.

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This project uses a BDL open drive system to drive the tranny, so the motor plate was put into place and bolted down while the engine bolts and transmission bolts were still loose. Make sure to use Loctite 242 and to torque the bolts to spec per the instruction sheet provided with the BDL system.

Something to note: This plate comes with its own bearing for the main shaft on the transmission, so the color had to be previously removed from the transmission. A tool from JIMS USA is available for this and can be found here in their section on Bikernet.

The offset needs to be pinned into the front pulley as shown below.

Both pulleys had to be slid onto the engine and transmission shaft simultaneously.

At this point I needed to make sure the front and rear pulleys were even at their outer edges. This was to make sure the belt does not rub on the pulley rim. A long level or other straight edge can be used to do this. If you need to move the front pulley out, Custom Chrome sells some hardened shims just for this purpose that range in thickness from .010 inch to .200 inch thick. Don’t be surprised if you have what you think is a “stock” application and you need shims. Depending on the rotor/stator setup on your motor, you will most likely need to shim the front pulley. Here’s a top view of a system that has been properly aligned.

The spring plate on the clutch had to be removed to allow for bolting the rear pulley to the shaft. This was done by removing the six spring/bolt assemblies and the plate.

The bolt was torqued down to spec, along with the front pulley. I was then ready to turn the motor to make sure the belt tracked properly. To torque these down, an air compressor and an impact wrench was required. I would never have been able to torque against the motor or transmission using a regular torque wrench unless I had jammed the pulleys.

Using a large torque wrench, I turned the motor forward a few times to make sure the belt could make three revolutions and still track to the center of the two pulleys. If you use one of these set ups, it should track as assembled, but if it doesn’t, check the spacing on your front pulley. If you still have problems, you can call BDL and they will walk you through how to shim things up on your frame.

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January 4, 2001

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