four - by DBJ

Listen to four!
Experimental, distorted, jam session music.


http://d-b-j.bandcamp.com/

The Cure - Pictures Of You

1993 Sportster not so bobber Project

I finally got a seat for the Sportster. It is a stock seat off a 1994 sporty, but it was only $41.50 off eBay. That's about $125 less than most aftermarket seats, and inexpensive is good. I also installed new forward controls (again off eBay) and boy does this make riding more comfortable. Still waiting to get an air cleaner and then maybe start moving on to other items like a headlight/led turn signals...who knows.

Tuesday Test Ride

Today was a beautiful day. And what better way to enjoy the day than a nice motorcycle ride. And how do you make a motorcycle ride better? Invite a friend along and try filming it at 60+ miles per hour.

This is very poor quality video. It was shot with a Canon Powershot A590 camera and then edited in iMovie 09. It was my first attempt at the art of one-handed motorcycle riding/filming, and I know I will get better. One problem may be the very light weight of the camera itself. The other is obviously the meathead holding it.

Please stay tuned. I hope to get some more rides in and put together something magical (or mediocre).

1993 Harley Sportster Bobber Project (Part 4)

Well, the motorcycle is getting nearer to completion (if you can call it that).

I purchased some custom pipes from a great little company called Ragerbuilt Choppers out of North Carolina and they fit like a dream, look awesome and sound great...but...I had a stripped exhaust stud in the rear head that prevented me from doing anything but wish that I could ride. So I took the head to a local motorcycle garage and the owner did about an hour's worth of work trying to get the darn thing loose, but to no avail. Thanks go to Dave at Brown's Cycle Shop Dallas for attempting the removal and NOT charging me anything when they couldn't get it unstuck. They did recommend that I take it to EDM of Garland which is a local machine shop that can burn these suckers out quick. I took it in, spoke with the owner Nolan and by the end of the day had the stud removed and only $50.00 outta my wallet. Great work, thank you!

And while EDM was removing the stud, I had gotten the bike ready to do a rattlecan paint job...and with orange being my mostest favoritest color, proceeded to do the tank in orange and the rest of the tins in classic flat black.

It is coming along and someday I may get around to purchasing a new seat. For now, I am happy. This is such a fun process, I'd recommend it to everyone.

The Anti-HOG Harley owner?

It's has recently come to my attention that the Sportster is not really "accepted" by the "H-D" community. Now this little tidbit of information came to me from a recent metric convert. This particular convert rattled on and on for weeks about the superior performance of his Honda I-Don't-Know-What and explained to me that this particular 750 provoked a lawsuit from Harley regarding it's similarities to Harley's signature exhaust sound. I had to listen to him droning on and on about the reliability of his chosen ride. And I came to the conclusion that the only point my poor coworker was getting across was that he was afraid to work on a bike.

Nowhere in his original argument did my colleague mention the Sportster, in particular. Nor did he mention the displacement of my 54 inch Sporty. Instead, his focus was concentrated on reliability.

Enter Fatboy and the more-money-than-brains complex that is running rampant these days regarding anything mechanical. I am not a skilled mechanic and nor did I spend the night at a Holiday Inn Express, but I know a little about the inner workings of a gasoline motor and I possess the ability to follow instructions. With the advent of the interweb, there is more than enough information available regarding pretty much anything in existence. I read. I hack. I read. I hack. I want to make things go.

I bought an inexpensive Sportster so that I could learn how to hack, chop and shape the motorcycle I want. And the more I look around, the more I realize that like-minded individuals are becoming more rare. All the local HOGs (Harley Owner's Group motorcycle clubs) are filled with middle-aged riders that drive baggers and spend money out the arse on overly-priced "custom" Harley accessories that are put on by the dealer at outrageous labor rates. That's not me. Nor am I a law-breaking, rough 'em up drive it drunk biker.

I guess I'm just a guy that appreciates a little grease under the nails. I appreciate the journey and (one day) the destination. Now, as I watch my friend enter the room in his Harley leather jacket, his Harley chaps, his Harley helmet and his Harley boots, I cant help but wonder if he got a Harley reach-around to go with his Harley arse-raping. Originality simply can't be bought at the local dealership, you gotta find that somewhere else.

(Note - If you are into HOG and enjoy it, great. If you're not into HOG and enjoy it, great. But for God's sake, let's just ride.)

New Biltwell Frisco Handlebars on my Sportster

Well, I went and made my largest single purchase to date for the Sporty. I purchased some Biltwell Frisco bars from Biltwell's website. I was looking for something a little more old-school chopper, but don't really like "Z" bars and haven't found narrow enough mini-apes to force me to take the plunge...then I saw these!

My wife said they look like they are straight off a 3 year-old's tricycle. Sweet! That's exactly what I'm going for. Here is a little video showing off the bars and the audio captures the idle pretty well. I will clean up the wiring, when I clean up everything else (probably in a few years).

Any comments are appreciated.