Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Monday, July 29, 2013

New Shoes

Since way before Olivia was even a completed project I intended to run a 4.50x18 rear tire. I had some concerns about the tire clearing the chain, fender, etc. I also knew if it didn't fit I'd pretty well be stuck with it and the repop Firestone Deluxe Champions are not cheap. I wimped out and ordered a 4.00x18. Believe it or not the 4.50 is a full inch taller. I know it's petty but the look of the 4.00 has bugged the crap out of me ever since.

 When I decided it was time to replace the well worn 4.00 I knew I wanted to give the 4.50. Finding a reseller that would accept the return in the event the 4.50 didn't fit. 

Sure, you probably don't crap but I think it looks way better.

Skinny tire or not this is one of my favorite photos from the Cussen sessions. 


And for comparison:


Sunday, July 28, 2013

DUKW Birthday

In typical gearhead fashion Vaughn decided he wanted to ride a WWII DUKW amphibious troop truck for his 8th birthday.

The tour is known as "Ride the Ducks" here in Seattle. It was more fun than I expected. The wacky tourist routine gets old fast but the truck itself is pretty cool. The "captain" did a great job presenting the historical portion as well.


 Good day all-in-all. Thanks to Flathead Rob & family for tagging along.


GoodGuys 2013

Vaughn & I took a brief run through the GoodGuys show today. There were a ton of cars cruising around the grounds and V didn't like the noise. Shame. He was loving it otherwise. I have no idea how many cars we didn't get to.

Chief Pontiac

I liked this car quite a bit. The stance is a little too street rod for my taste.


1955 Austin Healey 100-4

Vaughn's Fastback




Loved the paint on this '39


I'm generally pretty over flames on hod rods but they are still pretty cool on young women

Bastard child of a GT40 and a Mach 1? Not may taste but Vaughn was ready to take it home. Vaughn decided he is ready to start building a GT40 kit car. Vaughn's b-day is tomorrow so I guess we now have 8 years to finish it.






Vaughn was excited to find a "Cossacks" crest on this car in the parking lot

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Son of Firestone Man?

I finally had to break down and buy Olivia a new rear tire. She and Vaughn have seen quite a few miles over the last three and a half years.





Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Kaz's Triumph

I'm still pissing away loads of time obsessing over the perfect stock looking rigid rear section for my Duplex '61. I stumbled across some photos of Kaz's bike in an old issue of Greasy Kulture. It's the first Unit bike I've been excited about in a long time. The article says Kaz built the rigid rear section himself and it's just perfect. I bet I'll referencing back to this bike a bunch for awhile.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Scott

I remember loving this ad when I first saw it as a kid.


Plymouth Monster

I've rekindled a pretty serious "window shopping" habit again for vintage motorcycle magazines. I'm still nursing moving expenses so I'm not buying much but I'm certainly tempted to.


This routine has made for some interesting finds recently. This June 1950 issue of CYCLE features the "Plymouth Monster," a motorcycle I recall seeing in one of Flathead Rob's Plymouth Club magazines as a kid. I had to dig up some details. I'd love to see the actual CYCLE article.

Despite the bleak economic condition of the country in the mid thirties, the spirit of adventure was very much alive and well, especially in the world of speed. It was the "Age of Speed" and the place to be was the Bonneville Salt Flats.


Apparently a rather large reward was offered to the first man to break 300 MPH on a motorcycle. Californian Fred Luther welcomed the challenge. Luther, a Chrysler employee, convinced the company to supply him with a power plant suitable for his attempt. Chrysler supplied a complete 1934 Plymouth PF six cylinder engine and transmission.


The basic bike was built around a much modified Henderson "X" cycle. After stretching and strengthening the frame the engine was mounted lengthwise. The steering was mounted far back on the frame, behind the center point of the engine, and was driven by a heavy roller chain via a jack shaft on the front fork. Skid plates mounted on either side served a dual purpose. In addition to maintaining an upright position they could be deployed as brakes on the surface of the salt to slow the bike down. Firestone supplied 30x5" 8 ply treadless tires purpose built for high-speed salt use.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

C@D Report - Speed Triple Edition

Here are a couple of photos English Stephen and Justin took at CAD today. They caught this impromptu gathering of Speed Triples. I miss all those guys and the semi-weekly Sunday morning "Church of Choppers." The two bikes with out of state plates belong to a couple of guys who quite their jobs to to fulfill the infamous cross-country trip every other motorcyclist dream of doing someday.


Hinshaw Honda

I was unfortunately not able to make it to the Vintage Bike Show at Hinshaw Motorcycles last weekend. I had still intended to to get there to register Vaughn for the Ryan Dungey signed 450SX FE they are giving away so when Nate proposed a ride down there today I didn't have to think about it long. We rolled really close to closing time so we didn't have loads of time to hang around. Hinshaw is the only dealer I'm aware of that is an official new Norton dealer. Since they are also a Polaris dealer I'm super curious if the are planning to be a new Indian dealer. I didn't have a chance to ask.

I was pleasantly surprised by the number of vintage bikes they have on display. Especially because many of them are makes and model you don't frequently see nicely restored. They are even have a few bikes that might have been restored for the purpose of resell .The prices a pretty high but I still think it's really cool. Here a few photos of some bikes on display. Sorry lame quality of some of the photos.

"Vaughn's" KTM 450 SX FE
This is  KTM 50 Vaughn really needs. Note the bikes visible in the top right corner. They help to give you a feel for the number vintage bikes on display.
Norton Atlas


These late 70's CR's are some of my all time favorite MX'ers aesthetically
Bultaco

I was really happy to see all these beautifully restored CB's. Given popularity of certain custom bike trends finding unmolested CB's could be a real challenge one day.
Maico
BSA Rocket 3


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