Sorry everyone – I accidentally wiped out the database for this site and had to restore an old one.
If you had a post, please feel free to re-post. I’ll be adding users back in manually.
Archive for September, 2009
Sorry- I wiped out the database
September 18th, 2009September 9th, 2009
http://www.webdco.com/website.html?url=ROCKSIDECAFE
CHECK OUT MY SIGHT I,AM HERE IN CLEVELAND OHIO. HAVE MANY PARTS FOR VENTAGE HONDAS MY SPECIALTY IS REBUILDING CARBS, MIKE
New Resources Page
September 9th, 2009Hi everyone. I’ve sent out a few emails but also wanted to post this because I think a lot of people are coming here looking for the resources page.
I’m working on it and it will be up in a few days. For anyone not familiar, I’m adding a page (or pages) to list local resources for vintage bikes. If you work on them for other people, if you sell bike parts, or whatever, send me some contact info and a little blurb on what your specialties are, and I’ll list you as a local resource.
My theory is this: I want people to come to this site to look for resources for their vintage bikes, and if any of the VintageBikeRiders.com members can provide these – then we’ve made a great connection.
Thanks. Also, for all existing and new members, I really appreciate the comments and posts, so please feel free to keep doing so.
BT
New to the site…
September 9th, 2009I just found out about this site from craigsslist. So I thought I may check it out. I have restored more than a 100 bikes in the last several years. Seems as though I end up doing allot of the CT70′s. Probably half anyway. Right now I have a 69 Norton in the works as well as a Harley SX175. This is the Italian harleys made by aermacchi.
My Daily rider is a 2009 Victory Kingpin and I also have a 1999 Excelsior Henderson and a 2004 Triumph Speedmaster. If anyone has any questions I would be happy to help out. I do have a good bit of experience with a wide variety of bikes Japanese, English and American.
Thanks
Rick
Restoring a bike is like marriage
September 7th, 2009Yeah, the more experience I get, the more I’ve come to realize that restoring a bike is a lot like being married….
I’m thinking everything is going smoothly, then all of the sudden it will barely run anymore ["the unprovoked argument"]. Having fuel filters on, it was pretty easy to see that fuel was only getting into one cylinder ["quickly finding out what's bothering her"]. The petcock was clogged up ["what's been ok for a long time suddenly is not ok"]. My guess is there’s still a bunch of crap floating around in the tank ["shit from the past coming up AGAIN"].
So, instead of working on cosmetic stuff while I wait for my switches to come in, I ended up cleaning out the petcock with the help of the air compressor (I would say “blowing out the petcock” but that just sounds a little wrong).
I guess in this analogy, the makeup sex was seeing fuel flowing through both filters again and if it runs ok when I start it up tomorrow there will be that 2 or 3 day love-dovey blissful period.
CL200: Stainless Look?
September 5th, 2009
One thing I’ve been struggling with on this project since the very beginning is the fact that unless I dump serious money into this restore, it will never look like it did when it rolled out of the factory in 1973.
Certain cosmetic and coating features obviously need to be done in resto-mod style in order to achieve results on a low budget. Do the usual and paint shit black? Nah…not yet anyway.
So, I decided to try out a stainless look, starting with the really rusty taillight mount. The picture shows it kind of half sanded….just so I can get a feel for how it will look. So far I like it.
I’m thinking I’ll try to buff the steel as much as possible to get some amount of shine to it, then clearcoat it.
I’m trying to ponder how it would look with cobalt blue sidecovers and gas tank (the tank will need to be painted because it will need some filler to smooth out a few dings), ceramic coating in place of any chrome, and maybe a bare or stainless steel look on parts that were previously black. By the way, I’ve already decided that the exhaust heat shields will get painted a flat black on the outside, or possibly powdercoated.
Just kicking around the idea for now. I can always remove the clearcoat and paint it black later if I find I don’t like it.
I really kind of want to stay true to the bike’s intended appearance and purpose.
New brake light switches should be in Monday, by the way….then it can be at least bolted up and ridden.
CL200: We have lights!
September 3rd, 2009
Ah! Finally I have a taillight. I have to be honest though, I tapped into the guage lights and ran a new wire to the back. I just couldn’t trace down the problem and dismantling all of the wire harnesses was not an attractive option.
I ordered new brake light switches from Western Reserve Honda in Mentor Oh. As usual, they were able to set me up with NOS for less than risky buys on Ebay….about $24 including tax.
By touching wires together, I can make the brake light work from both switch locations…so I’m confident that as soon as the switches are installed the issues will be resolved.
This Saturday I’m going to purchase the historical vehicle plate for it and (crossing my fingers) I will be able to get a nice ride or two on it before Winter.
New Project: Harley Bobber
September 1st, 2009
I’ve said it before – I have nothing against Harleys…I think they’re nice bikes but have issues with many of the owners. That being said (again), I’ve decided to launch a new project and build a VINTAGE HD Sportster bobber, similar to the one pictured here – without the ape hangers but with lights and signals and nix the red wheels. I’m choosing Harley because of the availability of custom parts.
The bike pictured here was actually built by a friend of mine who is completely responsible for getting me interested in bikes. He is exclusively a Harley guy.
Right now I’m trying to secure a good deal on a frame but a big project goal for this is NO MORE than $400 per year out of pocket spent on the bike. I am going to try to build this thing completely by trading services, parts, selling shit I own, etc. More info to come.
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