Making a List, Checking it Twice!

I just got off the phone with Ryan from Surf Tech in Port Moody and we’re on! Tomorrow morning at 9am it’s the beginning of the end for the cosmetics on this bike. If all goes well the ceramics on the exhaust and the powder coating on the frame will get done and I’ll be reassembling by Sunday. Not likely but it would be nice. Yesterday I fabricated a couple of brackets to put the new seat on and then I just kind of guessed at where they should be welded to my frame. Until I try to put the gas tank on I won’t know if I got it right or not. That’s just the way I roll though. Take a lot of time and effort to do things twice; the wrong way and then the right way. It’s really the only way to learn as far as I’m concerned. And besides, anything worth doing is worth doing twice. Take a look at a couple of pictures of me in the shop.






So my list of things to do is getting shorter, yet it’s still a long list. Here’s what I have left to do:

• Buy the new LED tail light and signal lights.
• Mold the rear seat cowl with fiberglass.
• Cut the rear fender to match cowl.
• Reassemble the frame and all the little pieces (ie. center stand, kickstand, foot pegs)
• Change the front brake pads and grind the rotor.
• Rechrome the front forks, replace the fork seals, and refill with oil.
• Clean up the rear swingarm
• Refinish the rear shocks or purchase new ones.
• Attach the front forks.
• Mount the handlebars and mirrors.
• Attach the rear swingarm and replace the swingarm bearing.
• Mount the air box and battery holder.
• Paint the fenders and tank.
• Mount the lights and route the electrical lines.
• Attach new fuse panel.
• Clean up, rebuild, and mount the engine.
• Connect final drive.
• Clean carbs and bench synch.
• Mount Carbs and reattach cables.
• Finish electrical work.
• Test drive bike.
• Fabricate luggage and attach.
• Go to Europe!

When you write it down it becomes a never ending shopping list. How am I ever going to get all that done? Oh yeah and go get my drivers license needs to be in there somewhere. One step at a time. I really hope I get the painting done tomorrow. Otherwise the rest of this list gets put off even longer.

I got a call from Money (Steve Money not currency) two days ago and he has a friend that can get me all my paint. That will be a real help! Of course I could probably use advice and instruction more than supplies but I will take what I can get.

If anyone reading this blog wants to lend a hand you’re more than welcome to come over and help. Just thought I would put that out there. If I know my readership no one will come out until after the 9th.

I just hope that the guy at Surf Tech doesn’t have anymore unhealthy family members.

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Curiousity Killed the Catscan!

So how bad do you think I feel? I went over to Surf Tech Coatings on Saturday to get my exhaust coated and the guy wasn’t there. The whole shop was locked up tighter than Fort Knox, and looked more abandoned than the Statue of Liberty in Planet of the Apes. What nerve?!? I mean, I even bought beer and cash to bribe the guy to give me a lower price. I drive all the way there and nothing… nada… nil. I’m so pissed off that I have to drink a beer immediately and then chase it down with another beer right after. That made me feel a bit better so I had to celebrate my mood change with another beer. I vow to take my business elsewhere and I call my buddy Jimmy up. Good News!!! He’s having a barbecue down at his dealership. What a stroke of luck? Barbecue tastes really good with beer. I stop in; have a couple burgers, drink a beer, and leave. Quick and dirty just like me.

Since I’m not getting any real work done I go by the local Princess Auto. They have a paint gun on sale for $15. How can I say no?

Did I mention that I vowed to take my business elsewhere?

This next part of the story is more relevant to the title of the blog.

If I’m going to take my business elsewhere there really is no reason to call the guy up and ask him what the heck went down. I can be the silent customer who just goes to the competitor and doesn’t give a reason. Well, if anybody knows me, silent is not the word to describe me. I call the guy up and give him grief. He apologizes emphatically. Even says that he would have called me if he had my digits. He then explains that he wanted to be there but he had to be with his mom because his dad had a heart attack while riding his bike up to Kelowna… silence.

This is the part of the story where I feel shame. I don’t need to talk about my feelings because I’m a guy. But you can all imagine. It’s a very similar feeling to the one you get when you ask a girl what trimester she’s in and she replies by telling you she’s not pregnant. You vow to never make that mistake again but as time passes you forget what the taste of your foot was like and your inner curiosity subliminally puts you in a position to serve it up cold, shoe and all.

So in the end, I told him I would see him next Saturday and that I hoped his father gets better.

If I find out he’s an orphan fists will fly!

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Paint me a Story.

I checked my email this morning and I'm finding that I'm irritating my readership again. My intention was to publish a blog a day, but I’ve been terribly remiss. So here I am again finding myself apologizing for not being on top of things here. Sorry. Now leave me alone and read the blog damn you.

I’ve been asked how the bike is coming… actually; I’ve been asked if the bike is done. The answer is, it’s not coming together very quickly. I’ve been busy. I’ve still managed to get some stuff done, but I need some uninterrupted time to get right down to it.

I have stripped the bike and removed the paint from all the pieces. What I need to do now is put all the frame pieces together the way I want and then take it all apart again for painting. Then I will put it all back together and add an engine. Here’s a picture of what she looks like right now. I’ve changes the tank and seat and now I need to figure out what I’m going to do with the rear fender.



Since I can’t really get much done on it these days I spend my time buying stuff for my bike on eBay. So far I have picked up new handle bars, mirrors, lights, and an ignition and gas cap that use the same key (as opposed to mine that use a #2 flat head screwdriver). Tomorrow I will be taking my pipes into Surf Tech in Port Moody to have them ceramic coated. A nice satin black finish is going to make them look so nice. At the same time I’m going to discuss powder coating colors

I had moved away from the idea of powder coating but while I was borrowing an air sprayer from Hoover (don’t ask me how he got that nickname), he told me that I wouldn’t be able to do it and that I should pay someone to do it for me. He basically came out and told me how much I suck and that I don’t have the ability required or the potential to ever learn the skills required to give my bike even the crappiest of paint jobs. He then went on to criticize the way I look and dress and mentioned something about my inability to be human. So I have definitely decided to paint the bike myself! And get a new wardrobe too. He was right about the way I dress.

Seriously though, how hard could it be to paint a tank and a couple of fenders? Any monkey can do it. I mean Hoover made a living at it so it really couldn’t be that hard. We’ll see how it goes. I won’t be painting for a couple of weeks yet. That should give me plenty of time to read about how to paint on the Internet and become a pro.

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Going Underground

Alright, alright... I know. I haven't penned a new post for quite some time and I'm truly sorry. I have been very thoughtless to my loyal following, but I have been busy.

Last week I had to go to Edmonton for the Canadian mining show. I know what you're thinking, "Wow! How did he get so lucky?". Yeah... I'm charmed. You know the working in the mining industry is pretty close to being a rock star. Girls, drugs, booze. It's just party, party, party.

Yeah right.

All week I just wanted to be working on my motorbike but that damn thing called work got in the way again. It wasn't a bad trip by any stretch of the imagination, but Edmonton is definitely not for me. Too dry and dusty and my hotel as in the middle of the ghetto. The trade show was quite social and I did make a few friends. Here are some pictures:


My new Chieftain. I've been made an honorary tribesmen. Where is the Congo anyways?


The best part of the trip was going to the Potash mine in Saskatchewan. The hard part was waking up. The plane (I only call it a plane because it does fly. A more accurate name for the vessel would be cigar tube with wings) left at 6:30am. That meant that I had to be up by 4am to get myself ready and walk over to the hotel where the bus was to pick us up. I thought I was organized until I actually had to wake up and go. In my experience 4am was never made for waking up at it was made for going to bed. What kind of crazy Bizarro (read Superman comics to understand the reference) world am I in? I had my morning timed to allow me the most possible sleep. My wake up call was actually for 4:08am. I figured what harm could 8 extra minutes do. I could shave 8 minutes off my morning routine. Well the one thing I didn't account for was the walk to the other hotel. Although it was only 6 blocks away I didn't take into account that they were very, very, very long blocks. I had to really move to make it on time. This wasn't a bad thing because 4am in downtown Edmonton is no place for a leisurely walk. And what exactly is that smell?

So I made it on time and I wasn't the last person to show up so i guess I could have slept a couple of minutes longer... damn.

We make it to the sardine can of a plane and begin a long taxiing process to get to the runway. I'm not sure if the video below will work but it's the flight attendants instructions to the passengers and they are hilarious.

Once we landed in Saskatoon everything was smooth sailing. The bus was waiting for us and we arrived at the mine with time to spare. We went through a small presentation topside and then we proceeded to the hoist to take us more than 1 kilometer underground (1100 meters to be more accurate). It was hard to believe that being so deep underground it was as warm as it was. The temperature doesn't change. It was 28 degrees Celsius and quite arid. Here are some more pictures:






All in all it was a very interesting day. I would describe it as a once in a lifetime opportunity. I doubt I will ever be that far underground again, but who knows?

Now that you know what has kept me from my blogging I will get back on a better schedule. I can't wait to start the rebuild of the bike. Way more fun than underground mines and million year old rocks.

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Jingle Bells Shotgun Shells

So I stripped the bike down completely! My pipes were rusted to ruin, at least so I thought . I took them to the shop and stuck them in the Shot Blaster. Now look at them! Unbelievable. And i didn't have to lift a finger. Life is good!

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