This page covers my project from March 2006 to present.
March 12, 2006: Getting ready to paint!!! After a lot of deliberation, I chose T.S. Customs in Waterford, WI to lay the paint. Jeff has the painter's trifecta going on: talented, reasonable, and super friendly! More than anyone else I spoke to, Jeff had great ideas and fortified them with a "no problem" attitude. Here's a couple of quick shots of the frame and tank in primer at Jeff's shop. He did a quick sketch to show me what he had in mind, and I'm all over it.
All those hours of body work were worth it. The sheet metal is just smooth, round and flowing at this point.
Below you can see a mock-up panel of the paint scheme Jeff did for me. It's House of Kolors Dry Pearl Lapis blue marbelized over a black base. The flames will be "ghosted" as seen in the lower right section. It gives it a real organic look that really jumps in the sunlight, yet looks nearly black in the evening.
The schedule looks like I'll have the frame and tins back from paint by mid-April. Then the real fun begins -- I'll be doing final assembly with my brother.
March 22, 2006: Well, I decided the flames were too bright on
the sample panel, so we're going to paint them on a charcoal base instead of a
silver base. That will make them a bit more subtle. I also meant to
put up a picture of the boltless rear hub cap that I had fabricated. Look
ma, no bolts!
I also wanted to give credit to Johnny Roberti at Roberti Customs who is upholstering my seat right now. It's being covered in saddle tanned ostrich skin, and Johnny is making a passenger pad for me at the same time (but I doubt it will ever be used!). More updates shortly!
April 7, 2006: Two weeks from today, we should begin bolting it
together. The great guys over at T.S.
Customs are hard at it right now, Roberti Customs put the seat on the brown
santa's sleigh today, and I got this out of the crate and bolted together:
I need to build a front extension for the lift table now, because I need it to be about 2 1/2' longer than it is. My back and knees are thanking me already. I can hardly wait!!!
April 27, 2006: Darn, had an unanticipated setback that Jeff at T.S. Customs discovered and is fixing. Long and short of it is that the company I paid to prime the frame may have incorrectly prepared the metal prior to priming it. When T.S. Customs went to sand the primer, they discovered it was not adhering well, so Jeff recommended we blast it down again and do it right. That put me back another 2 weeks and another few bucks. Delivery of the painted frame/tins is scheduled for May 30!!!!!
June 7, 2006: Still waiting for paint. Jeff is just a
little behind, and I just handed him another task -- make the frame fit the seat
which is now done and upholstered. We had some small gaps that can be
addressed by building up the sheet metal, and Jeff was good enough to handle
that for me. Perfection is such a time killer!!! I tell you, I am
dying to wrench this grave delivery device together! Here's a shot of the
gap Jeff is going to correct with some additional sheet metal. A similar
gap exists down on both sides
I did manage to modify that Harbor Freight lift to handle my bike (which has a 10' wheelbase) by adding 3' of 1/4" aluminum diamond plate on 1/4 x 2" x 5' angle iron frame rail extensions. Here's how I did it:
Which makes it long enough without being front-end heavy. In fact, to balance the front end, I only need to add 12 lbs. to the back end, and considering the weight disposition of the bike, I'm not even going to bother. Obviously, I need to remount the front tire stop and wheel chock, but I'll do that after I get the frame and tins back from paint and mount up the front end. You'll also see a scissors lift from Western Manufacturing on the table -- another tool to make the job easier.
So here's what I've got tied-up in the cost of building this 10 1/2' long 1000 lb. motorcycle lift:
Lift from Harbor Freight: $299
3' x 26" of 1/4" aluminum diamond plate $100 (I could have used steel,
but it would have added a LOT of weight to the front end of the table, making it
unstable.)
10' of 2" x 1/4" steel angle iron $10 (two 5' pieces)
Grade 8 bolts and misc. hardware $8
Total: $417. That's less than 1/2 of what the next best suitable
option would have cost me.
Update: Based on some recommendations I got from another guy who reconfigured his lift, I went out and bought a new (large) front tire clamp for $45 -- that brings my total to $462 -- still a good deal for a table that's 126" long.
June 29, 2006: WE'RE PAINTING!!!! Here's shots of the
frame and tins in primer and before they went to sealer:
And here's a shot of the frame after sealer and the black base coat:
Here's some shots of the tins with after they were sealed, painted with the
black base coat and hit with the light charcoal base. Jeff also added a
really small metallic flake, which should really jump out in the
sunlight.. He went on to mask the flames, which
will have breaks for the blue marbelizer. The frame will actually be done
by the weekend!
Also made the decision this evening to have the 5" primary belt
painted. Man, I am so excited to wrench on this thing!!! Giddyup!
More photos posted tomorrow night of the frame nearly done, just awaiting clear
coat.
July 1, 2006: MORE PAINT! This paint job is coming out
better than I ever could have hoped for. In low light, the bike looks
practically black. In the sun, it grabs your eye sockets and smacks them
around with a flaming blue bat. I'll pick the frame up on Monday and the
tins later in the week (they need about 5 coats of clear yet).
July 15, 2006: Well, I'm now well into final assembly, and really enjoying every minute of putting this ride together. Last Saturday, (July 8) I started with just the frame. First job was to get the engine in without scratching the hell out of the paint. Even with the rear rocker cover off, it was a tight fit and some foul language was used, but I managed to drop it in with only a couple tiny nicks in places that can't ever be seen. Since then, I've been out in the garage for about 2 1/2 hours a night, slowly bolting it together. I discovered that I had forgotten to send the rear wheel spacers out to chrome (doh!) and that's going to take 2 full weeks. And my front spacers are missing, so I've got to go and do that all over again (grrrrrrrrrr). I also had to hunt down some parts and some bolts. But it is coming together nicely.
August 1, 2006: Making a lot of progress. I need to finish the plumbing -- oil lines, vent lines, brake lines and throttle assembly. There's a bunch of little stuff (pegs, shift linkage, chain, etc.) that I'll do in the next night or two.. Then, its electrical wiring, fluids, and fire it. I'm going slow, taking my time, figuring out how it all goes together, and having a blast. The primary cover is brand new from Hitech called the "Rascal." I liked it a lot more than the Dominator cover I had -- the Rascal fits the theme of the bike much better, so I snapped that up. Top motor mount still needs to be designed and fabricated. Right now, I'm worried that's going to hold me up, but we'll see.
September 17, 2006: Today was the first day I've lifted the tarp from the two wheeled casket in 6 weeks. Ugh! I have been working, and fulfilling a major volunteer commitment over these past 6 weeks, and didn't spend even as much as an hour soldering or plumbing. It was kind of strange to reacquaint myself with the blue monster today after being away for so long. I still don't have a top motor mount, but I FINALLY think I found someone who can construct one for me. I have a mountain of wires to clip, arrange, and soldier, and I'm a little freaked-out by just how many there are. And if that weren't bad enough, I can't seem to find anything to be happy about with the clutch lines and front brake line. The machine is starting to fight back. I'm reassured that I have less than two days work to finish and fire this bike, but something tells me that it will be a long time before I'm riding it.....
In any project that challenges your skills like this one has, it's good to have a brother who is at the top of his game and knows how to do it right. My brother Dan has really helped me out lately. He was the one that got me "restarted" after 6 weeks of neglect, and sent me back on the path of finishing this thing. "THANKS, DAN!!!"
Here's a collection of pictures that show where we're at:
Looks like about 30 miles of wire under the seat.... Where the hell does it all connect to?
December 19, 2006: I am finally in the home stretch! Three parts are still being fabricated: top motor mount from MMBilletworks, front brake cable clip from MMBilletworks, and a custom PM footpeg clevis from TonyB so I can use aftermarket foot pegs on my aftermarket forward controls. I also still need to bleed the brakes and clutch, cut a fuel line, make a tank crossover, soldier a couple of wires, and address a few other minor details. The bike is going to make it's debut at the World of Wheels show on January 12-14, so I need to finish it in the next few days. The following pictures are just a few quickies I took in bad lighting, but you get the idea...
January 18, 2007: Well, it's done being assembled. I rolled it off the lift for the first time on Wednesday January 10 after about 4 1/2 hours of polishing. As soon as it was on the ground, I just couldn't believe it -- this bike is L-O-W. You don't appreciate that in the pictures, but the seat height is at about your knee. Here's some shots of my hot new motor mount and the bike's first look off the lift.
On January 12, 2007, the Two Wheeled Casket made it's world debut at the Milwaukee World of Wheels show. We had a great time there, and it was fun to watch people stand around it and take pictures. I'm not vain enough to enter my work in a show -- my painter Jeff at TS Customs did.
Now that I have that out of my system, I need to rebuild the front end. The trees need about 10 degrees less rotation, so I'll need to insert tighter stops. I still have to hook up the rear brake switch, and I'm going to rewire the entire left handlebar (long story, but it's bugging me). About April of this year, I'll pour some oil and gasoline into it and fire it up. That's probably the next and last update you'll see from me on this project. I'm ready to start another one!!!!