He Did Okay

Last weekend, while most of you were at TTC for the world round and the vintage bike show, I was with my family, witnessing a rite of passage. Yep, my little man has finally taken that big step. One that his mother and I had long been anticipating (and dreading). I'll be honest, there were occasions when I doubted he had it in him. Oh, he looked like he was setting himself up to go all the way, but still there was a part of me that had reservations. In fact, I found out this weekend that he had been holding some reservations of his own. Looking back, I know I should have expected it. Well, that's all water under the bridge now, because he did make it. Made it all the way (with a little help from his friends, and his old man). Made it all the way......to FLORIDA!!!!! Yep, he said someday he was taking off with his friends and hitting the road and by golly he did it. Heck he's there now! In a hotel that's full of high school kids, with eight of his buddies and right next door to Hooters! Man, he sure has made his old Pap proud. Way to go son!! Oh yeah, he also graduated from High school.

Fun with ballons

Can you imagine some guy going 90 mph on I-40 with these balloons trailing a few yards behind him? Instructions for a fun time on the interstate.....................
Step 1. Tie balloons to car.
Step 2. Drive like a bat out of hades....
Step 3. Watch people freak out !!!!
Is this great or not?

ITSA Great Time, Every Time

We made another pilgrimage to Dickson Saturday, for the 3rd event in the 2006 ITSA trials series and I’m happy to report that me and the boy both managed to make it through the WHOLE thing to the end. No breakdowns, no injuries (except the inevitable lacerations in pride), or bad weather to mar the experience and I got to say, riding an entire event will leave you just about as worn out as spending the day pushing a motorcycle. You guys that always make it to the end of the ride should have said something to prepare us half-loopers for the ordeal. But hey, it was nice to go home without box full of parts for a change and I always get a thrill when I can drive past the emergency room in one piece.

A word to those of you that ride trials and were within driving distance of Dickson this weekend. You’re missing out on a real opportunity to enjoy our sport if you bypass these ITSA events. The crew at the ranch make real effort to make it worth your while to come, whether you ride vintage, modern or something in between. You really should try to make the next one; I can guarantee you won’t regret it.

Everything in Black and White (& carbon fiber)

Well, I wrote the previous post last night, then forgot to publish it. This one is current and being written after working on the Reflex tank all day. ALL DAY? Didn’t I just write that I only lacked spraying a little clear on the thing? Well, I had a choice and I was torn. They were planning to spend the day laying out sections at the ranch for the upcoming ITSA event and I wanted to help. On the other hand, I hated to show up without the painted parts in tow. So I concluded that my best bet was to jump out there this morning and complete the painting, before driving over this afternoon. I flew into the garage and started ripping off paper. EGAD! (as my friend Graham would say). I found the paint had bleed under the tape in several spots, wrecking my carefully laid lines. I then proceeded to spend the next 6 or 7 hours gently sanding the edges of the color breaks with a fingernail file. That was a job. I did manage to get one coat of clear on it, but it needs a couple more and I ran out of time. I hate I missed the workday, but I was a prisoner of my own making.

I Ain't No Artist

For the past several weeks, I’ve been working sporadically on a painting job that I’ve undertaken for my good buddy, the Guru. At first there didn’t seem to be much of a rush and with a pretty busy schedule and rain for almost every weekend this year, I haven’t finished what really shouldn’t have amounted to much of a job. After seeing the progress being made on the rest of the bike (as documented on the Guru’s Blog), I really been motivated to get the job done. The tank is this really sweet handmade fiberglass unit, made specifically for the tricked-out reflex they’re building over there at B&J Racing. It’s going to be a nice machine, so I didn’t want to screw up the paint job (too much). I also have the stock fenders, which I’m painting as well. The front fender had suffered a kink or two in its time, so I laid in a little fiberglass re-enforcement underneath help it hold its shape. With the glass matting out, I went ahead and filled in the holes where the taillight had been on the rear fender. Applying the color to the tank wasn’t a big deal, doing it two-tone just takes (me) a little more time that it otherwise would. In the shots above, you can see the first layer on the tank as well as the finished product on the fenders. The second shot is the tank after applying the second color. All that remains is pulling off the paper and shooting the whole thing with a little clear coat. I think it turned out pretty good. I guess there are probably those who’d question the logic of putting so much effort into the appearance of what’ll be an off-road competition motorcycle. And I’m not talking about just the tank and fenders; they’ve got the rest of that thing looking really good. Still, won’t it just get banged up the first time it’s taken to the woods? Well, maybe. Either the Guru or Hockeyboy will likely be piloting the thing and they don’t crash one very often (contrary to convention and my example). But it can’t avoid getting slimmed, no matter who’s driving it. So why bother to make it pretty? Well, why not?