So last night Erik and I replaced the taillight lens and all of the “winker” lenses. Man, is it ever nice to get rid fo all that cracked plastic!
We also replaced the rear/passenger footpegs with sparkly new ones and re-mounted the main footpegs and side stand (mostly — we’re missing one bolt), which required some adjusting to the shift lever and rear brake lever so that everything had proper clearance. It’s really gone beyond the “hey, that thing looks like a motorcycle” stage at this point.
Next we have replacement air filters coming via eBay as well as a new (or at least “not destroyed like the one we have now”) headlight bucket that Erik ordered from the (apparently) famous Sac Cycle shop.
Oh, an I finally took my first spin on the thing once we had the pegs on it. Granted, I only went maybe 20 yards down the driveway, but at least I managed to pull a U-turn without dropping the bastard (Thank goodness for those damned box turns in my motorcycle safety class, eh?). Of course, this wasn’t the maiden voyage for our little Scrambler, as Erik is so at home on motorbikes he could ride the thing without footpegs. Heck, I’m not even sure he needs handlebars.
It’s not all good news, though.
It’s beginning to look like getting a title for this thing is going to be a royal pain in the arse. For one thing, the online version of the Kelley Blue Book doesn’t even think the bike exists! And that’s a fairly minor detail in the entire process. As Erik told it: “I went down to the DMV and told them that I have a bike that I’ve rebuilt and that I need to get a title for it… And they looked at me like I was on fire.”
You have got to be kidding me!
After thinking about the previous post, I went to the Triumph site not really expecting anything new. What I found was the new Scrambler model. Holy cow! All this time I’ve been saying the CL350 we’re working on is like a small Triumph. Well, now Triumph has a big CL350! Of course, I had to call Erik right away so he too could be tortured by the dreams.
Then as I looked at the local dealer’s site, I noticed a new black and red color scheme for the Bonneville T-100. My response: “Oh, no…”
I’ve got a fever. I don’t think cowbell is going to help.
Well, huh…
Looks like some of the old school British motorcycle brands are being reborn in the US.
There’s a new Norton coming out of Oregon of all places — It’s a sporty cafe racer, too, which I find interesting, but justifiable based on Norton history. They claim it’ll probably go for $15k once it’s in full production.
Then there’s a new Vincent company based in San Diego. Not sure how I feel about the Vincent prototypes from a stylistic POV, but I’m positive I’ll never consider getting one as they seem to be planning for a $20k start point on the price range.
It’s an interesting trend: Take advantage fo the current custom bike craze by buying out a legendary name and pumping out an upscale, high-dollar machine.
Funny. I was just telling my friend Erik about the International Male catalog last night. When I was in high school back in the late 80s, IM was a hot source for kids like me (ie: in the boonies of East Tennessee) to get some seriously queer fashion.
That’s queer as in different, y’all. I never even thought about buying a mesh tank top. 
——
In much more butch news, Erik made some crazy progress on the CL350 while I was on vacation. Last night he showed me how the thing will start with the slightest press of the electric starter button. It definitely needs some tuning (timing, fuel mixture, etc.) and there are some … uh … idiosyncracies — like when you rev it above 7000 RPM and the tachometer just goes BERSERK!!!
Then we worked on the clutch a little bit and got that working, so Erik took that little 35 year-old motorcycle for a spin around his neighborhood.
It’s a runner!
After a long, grueling weekend of standing out in a sunny parking lot, I have my Motorcycle Safety Foundation certification, which I need to take to the DMV to actually get my motorcycle endorsement.
It was good times, and I definitely learned a ton.
Now I need a motorcycle, so these newly acquired skills don’t whither away!
P.S.
For the morbid types out there: Only two people didn’t get their certifications out of the twelve in our class.
Hezzy and I have been a little crazy since we got back. For one thing, Wifey really wanted to paint the trim (baseboard, etc.) in the living room. Lucky for me, I haven’t had to do much more than paper and mask for that.
My primary excuse from here on out this weekend is, of course, my motorcycle class. Tonight was all classroom workbook/video type stuff. But the people seem fun, and I’m totally impressed by the diversity of the crowd in the class. We have a mother-daughter team, a couple/few older dudes, a father-son duo (junior is only 16), and then a couple guys that are probably in their twenties, one of which is an Air Force recruiter.
Also, thought I’d point out that Threadless is doing another $10 sale, and you can hurry up and pre-order the Sailor Jerry Chuck Taylors, if you are so inclined.
Oh, and the Red Sox are killing me.
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