Friday, October 23, 2009

I got the parts cleaned up for the front end and bolted it all together

I think it looks good and makes the front end look even more slammed . I've always loved how these frontends looked all bulky and heavy looking . Nothing nimble about this wild hog , it's fat , low & heavy, all the way .


who wouldn't want one of these

Talk about living it up . . . I checked eBay and of course there were 2 of them for sale .

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

My son the mad scientist

Sometimes in the morning we watch motorcycle clips on Youtube and he gets pretty fired up . This is his " crazy chopper " face .

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The new bike is in the compound and ready for a gentle massage

Like I said in an earlier post , This bike is pretty much what I wanted . Almost an anti-chopper . Don't get me wrong here , I still love me some fast , dangerous , loud , chopped up rigid jalopies . that will never change , but I felt it was time to slow down a little . This bike is not going to be a bobber , or chopper or brat style , or anything that is currently being touted by the lifestyle mentors of the world .

It's just going to be a good old Harley .



I plan on making simple , easy changes . Nothing that can't be done over the course of a day or two of fucking around in the garage with a few friends . I want it to stay a driver throughout the whole process . Tweek on it here & there , but no major teardowns or alterations .

First I'm going to put the tins back on the forks . I love that look and it will be weird bolting shit back onto a bike instead of hacking it off for a change . Then I'm adding some taller , more narrow bars . I have a set of Johnny Chop baby apes that a good friend gave me a while ago and they have been just waiting for a bike like this to come along .

I just got a set of '08 springer softail risers off ebay again , gotta love the new / old style of some of the factory parts these days . I had to get new risers because I didn't want to cut up the bars I plan on running & the risers on the bike now are for 2 piece bars .

Then I plan on putting a 16" wheel up front in a nice full fender to finish the effect . Total luxury ride , with a starter and working brakes front & rear .

Maybe some mids or buddy style pegs just for foot options .

Down here these style of bikes are referred to as Ghetto Blasters , or Barrio Bombers because in the Mexican neighborhoods during the 70's this was how they did it . Lowered bikes with tall bars & a fancy paint job .I might have to wait on the paint though .

Shit I might even leave the bags on for a while just to be a dork . I also plan on making it a 2-up bike so me and the O.L. can go for a righteous putt to the local wine bar , or all you can eat / mimosa breakfast joints in our neighborhood . The bags will be nice if it gets chilly and I need to pack a sweater vest or a pair of mittens or some chapstick .

Knees = breeze .

This bike is not only visually a lot different from my last bike , but also very slow and relaxed comparatively . When I would leave a curb on the '56 I would either shoot off like a rocket , or stall it . Lots of power and minimal room for slipping the clutch and playing it cool . This bike just rolls it on . 74" of stock HD horsepower , and as the previous owner Hatch told me . . . " Just about everything is fresh , including...top end 10 thou over molykote pistons, fresh heads, chains, battery, wiring, starter, tires, tubes, etc etc etc. "


and as you can clearly see , Vaughn is very excited about a pile of new tires laying around .

Thursday, October 1, 2009

The right place at the right time

Swap meets , yard sales , garage sales , things laying in an alley , you name it I love other peoples up for grabs or discarded stuff . So it was no surprise that we decided to go to a swap meet one saturday morning about 15 years ago . There's a local swap meet that we generally always go to but this morning we decided to go to one that is down in my old neighborhood that I grew up in . The spring Valley swap meet , is in a town about 10 minutes away from Bonita which is where I grew up and where my dad still lives , So we decided to go see him & my mom and then swing by the swap meet for some other peoples junk .

As we're strolling through the isles I see an easy up with a bunch of musical instruments . Mostly brass , a few guitars and way in the back a bunch of congas & hand drums of different shapes & sizes . I decide to see if there are any name brand guitars and when I realize they are all junkers I look back into the shadows to peek at the drums . . .

I see one that is all scribbled & painted on . I can tell what it is , but in the dim light and with it slightly obscured by a few other drums , it's hard to really tell what I'm looking at . I get a shiver and think to myself , " man what if that's a dutch striped conga drum .

I get a little closer and start moving the other drums out of the way and there it is . Obviously very old , automotive style pin striping . I start to breathe a little faster as I scan it for a signature . . . nope , nope , nothing . . . shit who did this shit ?

Then on top of the conga there this wild round asymmetrical design with a small barely readable signature and a date . Watson '58 .

Shit that's not Dutch . . . wait Watson ? LARRY WATSON ?

I ask how much for this busted up old drum , and someone says $20 . I say how about $15 . . . deal and done .

A little time goes by and I contact mister Larry Watson through this hot rod shop that was sharing a complex up north and since they are having an open house I should bring it up to have him verify it for me . I do and he does , and we talk for almost an hour with him sharing stories about when he did that for his dad so long ago and that was actually the only one like that he had ever done . He actually remembered it well and pulled out a wad of bills and started peeling them off . " how much will it take " he asked me . It's not for sale , is all I came up with .

Talk about the holy grail of swap meet finds ! I've only ever seriously thought of getting rid of it once but was quickly talked out of it .

I thought I would put it up on here for posterity .