It’s 2011, almost 2012, and this old Sportster is still a work in progress. I was sure I would have been done last spring, but work and all the other projects got in the way, again. Winter is here and hopefully I’ll get some work done over the holidays and with any luck, it will be ready by spring 2012. It’s so close! All I need is a little time and money for the machine shop.
A batch of random images from our last trip to Sturgis, SD. Some bikes, some people, some places and other stuff.
Finally, after a series of other distractions spanning nearly four years, the fabrication and building of the Sportster has resumed.
In the last four days I’ve managed to finish most of the frame modifications, fabricated a mount for the oil filter and began building the chain tensioner for the final drive chain. The rear fender had been all mounted and fitted before the frame updates, so that had to be refitted and a new mount fabricated for it as well, which I also finished in the last couple days.
More updates on progress to come shortly as I am spending the entire day fabricating the remaining pieces for Cindy’s chopper today.
Every year when everyone else is getting their bikes out for the first ride on the first warm days of spring, I’ve already been riding for a couple months and am tearing my bike apart to fabricate new parts or fix the ones I broke last fall. This was summer of 2009 and there were no broken items to repair, but I was testing a new prototype set of forward controls that I just fabricated. Below are some photos of the bike with the new controls and new pics of the latest version will be posted soon. They utilize high end mountain bike pedals for excellent versatility and comfort, as well as high quality sealed needle bearings for all moving parts, giving braking and shifting a nice tight feel with no sloppy, loose metal banging around making noise and causing poor action for the rider.
In the middle of it all, I decided that 5 gears were not enough. I feel most comfortable at an average 90 – 100mph highway cruising speed, but that’s hard on the motor and really hard on the hearing when your exhaust is as loud as mine. Since the upgrade, I’m able to pass cars on the freeway at nearly idling RPMs. Nice.
WMD '08
My ongoing project, the “Weapon of Mass Destruction”. This bike has been built and rebuilt so many times I’ve lost track. I forgot what it looked like until I came across some photos of what it looked like the day I bought it.
Below is the current version of this bike.
Below is the whole gallery; just tap the thumbnails to get the big picture. Or read on… whatever.
Above is a shot from the left-rear in which you can see the “HogLeg”, a kickstand I designed, produced and patented a few years ago. It launched a whole line of other parts that I designed, most of which can be seen on this bike such as the handlebars and risers, the fender struts and tail light, forward controls, ignition/points cover and oil tank. Most parts on this bike were created as one-offs specifically for the bike. The seat, gas tank, exhaust, fender, swingarm and frame are a few. There are a number of other little hidden items too, but that’s not important right now.
Below is what this bike looked like when I purchased it. I began swapping parts in the shop where I bought it before it even left the lot.
This is a work in progress. I was just getting started, and it began with what I could do without my bike lift, air tools, welder and all the other totally necessary things you need to build a complete bike. I couldn’t just leave it alone though, so I had as many parts machined as I could for what’s here and started with that. The fender struts were the first custom machined parts on this part of the build.
The black version is the first rebuild. I was happy with it for nearly a summer. Just like all the other versions, I’m usually happy with the outcome for about a summer and then it’s time to redesign.
Above is my friend Dozer who helped make this bike what it is. I couldn’t have done all of this work without his help. Unfortunately, if I wasn’t walking behind him with a tazer, this is what most of the activity would have looked like in the shop every day.
Oil Tank version 1
A shot of the first version of the new oil tank (above). Another item fabricated by Dozer.
New Pipes
A shot of the new exhaust fabricated by Dozer. Most things regarding my bike I like to design myself, but Dozer has a way with exhaust that I’ve never seen from anyone else in the business. So when he asked me what I was thinking about doing with the exhaust, I told him. He said “naw, that’s just stupid. You’re an idiot and I have better ideas”, so I figured, what the hell. Let’s see what happens if I let him loose, and this is what happened. I’ve changed a whole bunch of things on this bike from build to build, but the exhaust is permanent. It’s cool, it’s one of a kind, and it makes the bike.
Above is the whole thing coming together. Working while I’m taking pictures is Dozer and Rich. None of this would have been possible without the help of my friends.
Spring '07 complete freshly built MC
Above is the completed build, version 2.0 I call it, just to keep track. Visually, not much has changed since this version except for minor stuff like some powdercoating over the last remaining chrome parts and some aluminum stuff that I got sick and tired of polishing.
WMD right - spring '07
And finally, this is the final build of the bike as it is now, new frame, new swingarm, new oil tank and other stuff.
That was in the spring of 2007. The shots at the top of this page are the newest, though not much has changed as far as the appearance goes. Last spring the connecting rod bearings nearly wore a groove halfway through the mainshaft. Of course, that happened early in the spring as usual, when I’m the only guy riding a bike in the cold around here. I had to tear it down and rebuild the motor from the mainshaft out. Everything was wasted. Some keyways from the main shaft had actually made their way through the oil journals and into the breather gear where they proceeded to rip the shit out of the gear and everything around it. It took close to a month of searching for the right parts, getting the flywheels in sync and balanced, and generally waiting for parts to arrive before I got it all back together and ready to roll. By then of course, it was warm and sunny, and all the weekend warriors had their shiny chrome covers and turn signals all polished up and were dressed from head to toe in their brand new leathers in 80 degree weather, riding up and down the street past my house as carefully as can be while I sat by my bench covered in assembly lube and fuming angrily as I put it all back together.
This year will be different. For the first year in a decade I didn’t strip it down and redesign the whole damn thing over the winter. With the economy in the crapper, I didn’t have much choice, so I haven’t turned a bolt all winter. I should be able to hit the road without a worry this spring, and when it’s time for that first ride, I may hit the road and never turn around.
The Weapon of Mass Destruction V2.1
