Was Harley going to close the doors? Yes. After the third quarter of 2019, HD lost over a hundred million dollars in the Indian market place. They had no choice, when India was dragging them down to under a billion dollar company.
What is Harley going to do? They sold out the name to Hero. Harley will be leaving India, but India will still be able to buy a “premium” Harley Davidson, except from Hero. The idea of doing India like they do America, build overly expensive, under powered bikes, and force them onto the market, failed them.
Hero will now be building a knock off Harley Davidson, with real Harley badges. The bikes will be cheaply made, in a less than satisfactory factory. This will, by all rights, be a money run on the Indian market, with a inferior product, at a premium price.
If these Hero products will make it to America, is unclear. Harley Davidson has not said anything about this. With the change of leadership in America, you might.
During October of 2020, a lot of things happened at the quarter’s HOG earning report meeting. Zeitz drove in some coffin nails on large chunks of Harley Davidson. He turned their focus to the network of owners, who want profits.
Really, this could go either way. Riders in America, you are getting the focus of the entire company. They are coming back to try and rebuild. Most of the world is losing out, for the US.
Harley Davidson has left 40 world markets. They are bringing those resources home. All that extra money will be spent here, on dealerships, and other things that will only turn a profit.
This will be pretty decent, if you use Harley for service. They will be speeding the process up, and improving turn around times. It is pretty good to see some positive focus on the riders, but everything comes at a price.
Zeitz goes on to talk about that price. A new Harley comes at a hefty price. They have come to notice the value of their used bikes. Harley will now turn their focus on this market.
A big blow to riders, do not expect to see any more premonitions, or discounts. You wont be getting anything else for the cheap. You will pay full price for everything you buy from them.
They plan to increase the value of used motorcycles. If you own a Harley, this is an awesome deal for you. If this works, your bikes’ resale value will go up.
What will future prospective Harley buyers see? Well, it is obvious that the price of used Harleys will go up. The price of new bikes will follow. Over the last three months, HOG gained 22% back to their market value. They did it with used bikes. The future better have a deep pocket.
The plan to drive up that price, it is simpler than you think. 30% of Harley Davidson’s line-up will be cut. See, when you are Harley Davidson, and you can control the market, you do just that. By limiting the styles and numbers of bikes being produced, the value of a used Harleys will go up. I think that is going to push people to Indian or metric bikes, who do not make many dash for cash moves.
Next, they might have given the name for use to Hero in India, but a lot of others are going to lose it. HOG parts will now be made by HOG. The shirts and other merchandise will come directly from Harley. I mean, just now?
Another big change, the fiscal year. Harley will now release new bikes before their best quarter This will be near the end of winter, when the new riders start buying in. I have been unable to find the exact release date. Of course, ill write about it when I do.
Next up was the change to E-Bike. The bike will be changed to the “Series 1” powered by Harley. Series one will now build these bikes. These resources will be put back into motorcycles.
The market is a fun ride, just like the bikes! Thanks for reading! Stop by and give my group a like, or stay where you are, ill be around! Keep your elbows pointed to the sky!
In 2019, Hatley Davidson applied for a patent. This patent was to be able to add a super charger to Harley engines!
Tucked in over the crank case.
If you have been paying attention to HD lately, you would know about management changes, and refocusing on the company. This has caused Harley to refocus on used bikes. New management proved that new bikes wouldn’t sell.
Belt driven.
Unfortunately, this project is left over from the old management. Like the Nova project, which would have made almost all HD bikes parts interchangeable, they could crush it. But, the design of this super charger, is something new!
The belt is geared into the crankshaft.
This super charger bolts right on to the crankshaft, with no modifications. Harley has not said if it will be available for used bikes, or if it will be at all. Another strange feature is the belt tensioner.
Air…
On most belts, you must tighten the tensioner. On this one, you will never tighten it. This super charger rides on two slide rails. When you go down the road, you tighten the belt. There is no belt tensioner. It doesn’t matter how old, or stretched, the belt gets, it slides good enough to keep it tight!
Springs also help hold the super charger back. Will this project come to fruition, or will it be scraped? This are questions that Harley has not answered! It might come out on new bikes, and it might end up with Screaming Eagle? We will have to wait to see!
Chasing that normal life… It just wasn’t possible. My mind won’t let me. I have to dream, I have to run after them, or I’ll lose control.
Sitting there, behind a desk, I have been there. It was miserable. For some people, it is the dream. They went to the classes, as I did, and found their path.
Others, they jumped into construction. They build, and love every minute of it. That’s how I have spent parts of my life. Normal… That white picket fence, that car payment, I could not do it.
The bottom of Gen X… Have you seen fight club? That’s life. A generation of men raised by women… A generation without a war… A lot of that movie makes sense.
We were cotton mill kids. We had it all. We had a beautiful town. During Christmas, this place was wrapped with lights. It was amazing.
Then, one day, a man from Washington spoke up. He was going to save u all. A few months later, the cotton mill was forced to close. That beautiful town, slowly died. The mill was burnt, and the property declared unusable.
We got those Red, White, Pink slip blues, Hank sings about. Lucky for us, we would never lose the house. We picked up a ragged out mill house for $5000. I had 5 siblings. Tax checks helped get it.
Then, that mill closed. Like I said, I had 5 siblings. We could no longer afford to feed us all. My older sister and older brother, they had to move in with family. This ripped my family apart, still today.
As it went with the South Carolina motto, from “Smiling Faces, and Beautiful Places”, to ” Dum Spiro Spero”. Eating good, keeping a family car, keeping the heat on, for we had breath, we hoped.
Cartoons and video games. That was my escape. I found a role model in a Cartoon. His mama, like mine, calls him Pete. She is a sweet lady, that only wanted the best for him.
Unfortunately for him, he didn’t have my step dad. He fought, until he died, to make sure I was taken care of, and the generations below me. I will always have that $5000 home to go back to. Except, unlike having giant rats, as it did when I was a child, it is a beautiful bungalow home, stashed behind flower beds that holds generations of my family’s flower. You can even see endanger species in our beds.
My daddy lived his dreams. He worked hard. He was in the Navy, the Gaurds, then spent his life in the mills. He earned his dream.
The way it ended, he told me to never do what he did. I was free. I struggled, spent nights cold and hungry, but I was free. Not many men have what I have, and to never give up dreaming.
This blog is a little background about me. I come tonight with advice. Damn it, they come at me everyday, telling me to stop. They tell me to go find a normal job, have a normal life. They tell me I can no longer dream. I can’t write, build, or anything.
With a smile on my face, I say to them, no. I am living my normal. I’m doing as my daddy did, and building what I want. Don’t listen to them. Be you, dream. Fight for those dreams.
Don’t let their normal destroy your life. Don’t be sitting on your porch, telling you kid that he is free. He will see the broken dreams in your eye.
We talked for the last time, that day. He asked me what I had planned for the rest of my life. I told him I was going to build my bike, save me some money, and then riding as deep into South America as I could get.
He tells me I probably won’t make it back from that trip. But, if I want to go, and come home in a bag, come home in the bag. His last advice for me was to risk everything, for a dream. He told me I was free enough to get on, and go. “Dont let people talk you out of it Pete. I love you son. Go, live more than I did. Stop sitting here”.
So, I have been working. This site is to track my journey until I’m gone. I have almost finished my bike. Then spent years losing weight, getting in to shape. As I said, everyday, someone tells me I need to change.
To them, I say, I spend every dime making this happen. I won’t listen. You made your choices, sit down an let me make mine. You need to reread the name of this website, because it will always be A BIKER’S LIFE FOR ME! Live and die on two wheels.
So, I was continuing on my build, and needed volcitey stacks. I normally don’t buy stuff off Facebook users, but I have been in contact with a lot of strangers, lately.
If I would have done my leg work…
Most of them are good people. I have done some business with a few, and everything has went smoothly. Yesterday, I let myself slip. A scammer got me for $60.
I got happy, and the cocky bastard even said he got me!
Here is everything else, and a few more people that he got! Share this around! Look out for your fellow bikers! I paid $60 for this guy to be exposed! Let’s go ahead and let everyone know to watch out for this name! Watch out for any of the items for sell in these pictures, below! These are his tools!
These are all the pictures he uses!
$60 wasn’t that much, but it is a low blow. I will continue my build, find my stacks, and end this guy. Yall, don’t buy from people, you don’t know! Always search the name first!
Way back in the 1920s, a style would be born. This style is called the “Cut Down”. The bike that inspired this style was the Harley J. This style would become what we now know as the bobber.
1919 Harley Davidson J Series Vtwin
In the 1930s, the first “bob job” was performed. The first builders were inspired by two bikes. One was an Indian Dakota. The other, a Harley Davidson WLDR, of course. Both of these bikes battled it out on the tracks of sanctioned races.
1934 Harley Davidson WLDR
This style would be popular up until the 90s. Major motorcycle companies would then change the design of the common motorcycle. They would lose the hard tail design, for more comfortable designs. Most of them became two piece frames, like the Honda Shadow.
1992 Honda Shadow.
Honda Shadow kept the look, but once you remove the plastics, you find a mass ugly, useless, steel, airboxes, and wires. Wanting to go back to the original bobber look, people started trying new things, with these bikes.
People like Motor Psychol J started coming up with ways to rebuild bikes into hard tailbobbers. He would take time to learn the angles, the pipe size, and all that. He didn’t have my other article to help with the hard parts.
After years of practice, he learned how to build the perfect bobber.Motor Psychol Js was good enough to give us picture of their build, and now, we will take a quick walk through of the steps to install a hard tail!
First, you need to put the kit on the bike. The kit isn’t welded up before it goes in the frame, you actually put the bars in one at a time, left side and the right side.
Im going to have to get me those pipes…
Then you set the distance of the seat bar, depending on what fender you are using. Next you tack in the left and right bars. Drill a few plug welds, and then weld them up. Weld in the middle bar. Clean up your welds.
Slide it in, weld it up, make it pretty!
With people like Motor Psychol J coming onto the seen, Honda builders have options. They give the normal guy a chance. You can buy a bike, for the price of a proper pipe bender. This guy is selling these kits, beyond reasonable.
Notch it!
If you have a piece of pipe the same size as the middle bar, cut it 2 inches longer than the kit’s middle bar. Notch out both sides. This isnt easy, but adds a little to the looks!
Putting the hard tail kit in, is one of the easiest processes. Having one made, making one, makes this the hardest part of your build. Im telling you these things from experience. I tried the metal fab guys, they could only cut, stretch, and weld the pipes. This looks nasty. They couldn’t bend them. I will be ordering one of Motor Psychol Js’ hard tail kits.
The other guy… When you add that stacked up shipping, thats a brutal price to pay!
That is all for this time! We will be doing another about J. It will be some histroy, like how he started, he favorite stuff to make, and favorite build! Thanks again for coming by!
Lets meet Motor Psychol J! He is not a guy that has built only one or two bikes. J has a long line of bikes, and products that he offers to the public!
This article is about Motor Psychol Jsmufflers! J’s builds every type of pipe a person could want! The bikes you are seeing, are all also their builds.
Spider fangs!
These remind me of a spider. This is an excellent look. You can pick up a set for less than $305! That’s not bad for bikes for a set of Shadow pipes!
Motor Psychol Js does all kinds of bikes. They are a bit into the metrics. Harley has too many parts suppliers, but he will still make pipes for them, if you ask. Mufflers are not his only parts! We will cover that next time!
Can you hear them?
J will make you a set of “your own”, pipes. You could almost draw a line on a piece of paper, and he will make mufflers.
Him, and his guys are putting in the work on these rides! They have turned this into a hard tail. This isnt hard for them, since they sell a hard tail kit!
This one is short, but you can expect more about J and his builds! We will be taking a look at that hard tail kit, the installation, and price! You are going to be impressed!
Today, we are going to take a look at a VStar! These bikes are great to customize! If you are paying attention, im a bobber guy. These make excellent bobbers!
Lets take a look at Mark’s. Mark has a beautiful bike on his hands. Look how it is sitting on the ground! That would be his air ride suspension. She lays down!
Mark has been able to add the air ride, and keep it unseen. Her wheels are powered coated. This is the best way to go. Its hard to chip. He has went the complete paint journey, with this one. By completely stripping the bike down yo the frame, Mark has been able to paint the frame. A lot of people, they dont take it that far. They paint the fuel tank, and that is almost all. The colors are also excellent matches.
Im a flake type of person!
Flake, pearl, flip flop, chameleon, I love them all! As you see here, he has added Paint Huffer metal flakes to his custom tank. This tank sits on top of the frame. To me, that gives a better stance. The tank sits up high, giving it a more custom built look. Then, it isnt easy to get a peanut for a VStar. He as doon an excellent job at fitting this one to his bike!
The hang ons!
To add to the look and comfort, he has added a set of 16 inch apes! For taller rider, this is a perfect setup! If you are not as tall, it is still a great look, and comfortable ride. How fast is that ride?
What kick stand?
Mark has stepped it up, when it comes to speed. First, look at this Vstar! He has done an excellent job with everything! This is a top of the line bobber! Everything is slimmed down, the frame is chopped, the suspension is replaced, the pipes are cut, the intake is custom, and that paint! This is an awesome build. Let’s get to the go fast! This bike is an 1100, but he has stepped up the engine, along with the look!
Exhale!
Man! Those pipes are hot, and not just because of exhaust fumes! It seems he might have lost a tie, but the wrap is done properly. If you look, he has started from the bottom and went to the top. Wrap can damage your pipes, wrapped top to bottom. If you wrap from top to bottom, the laps will hold water. This will put rust lines on your pipes, and cause the wrap to rot.
A deep breathe of fresh air!
This VStar also includes dual custom intakes. This style is an excellent way to go in places with sand and weather. Volciety stacks are safe. The filter on them, it does keep out junk, but not like this. Always remember, you need to jet your carbs when doing exhaust and intake!
6sigma Jet Kits is one of the best places to get the parts for your carburetor builds. I have purchased ebay kits. They don’t not compare. 6sigma has taken it a step up. They offer a great selection. You can get carb parts for any bike. It is as simple as entering your make and model. Then, they take in account for your altitude, allowing for better performance.
6 really does have the best information. They send it out with every kit. Their pamphlet includes tricks to get a better throttle response, to how to do every step of the build. This pamphlet is detailed enough for any skill level of builders. 6sigma is the way to go. Mark has went well passed this boost in power.
The horse farm!
A lot of bikes, taking off the cover of the engine is pointless. You cannot get the parts for boring it out, or high lift cams. Matt has done this rebuild to include high lift cams! He has really done as much as possible! A VStar is a great option, when it comes to building a custom bike! Lets look at a couple!
What a beauty.
Look at that front wheel! This is beautiful bike! Everything about it says that is Naughty! Great work!
Yak horns! Some of my favorites!
Tom proves that the straight bars are an excellent choice for a VStar! The original flow also of the original tank, is a smooth look. Another great build!
Bars, bullets, and bulbs!
This VStar has had the sissy bar added, some white walls, exhaust, and engine work. James has also included a nice se of neons for the night rides! Beautiful!
A mirror for her makeup?
If you dont like Chrome, do you really like motorcycles? Chrome is a lot of work to keep up. Streling has put in that elbow time, keeping this bike clean and amazing!
A stance of a proud thoroughbred!
With her head held up high, and her back end poised to go, you have to love the look of the VStar! Korey has done an excellent job at showing this! These bikes are nice, factory, or custom.
Well, that is all we have! I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for your support! Your pictures and donations are very much appreciated! Thanks to Mark for allowing me to write about his VStar! Vist us on Facebook! Please purchase a sticker, $5 free shipping! Im Kris Kay! This is A Biker’s Life For Me!
WELCOME TO THE low DOWN RALLY! I AM YOUR HOST, KRIS KAY. I REPRESENT, “A Biker’s Life For Me!” THESE ARE THE BIKES OF METRIC BOBBERS!
With a smile on her face, this 83 Honda Nighthawk brings in the morning. The 80s came out with some nice bikes. It is too bad that it took us 40 years to figure it out! Let’s get out of this field… SLUGGER! BLOCK THE ROAD, ITS TIME TO START HER UP!
Over here, blocking the road, we got Slugger and is01 kawasaki Bobber. This bike includes the custom coffin tank, custom bars, and a custom seat. The pipes are straight, blasting eardrums, everywhere they go. Beautiful. Is that Walter White? Is he cooking that crap again?
Oh! NO! That is that1980 xs400, “Trailerpark Hollywood”! This bike is a custom with the styles or a bobber and the stance of a cafe. Those straight pipes let’s everyone know when she is screaming though the trailer. That camper would be nice to have! I would be sitting on Dirty Myrtle! WHAT WAS THAT!
it’s an 05 VStar 650 classic, and it looks fast, just sitting there. This bike is a Metric Bobber. The fenders are gone, the plastics are gone, the tail is hard. The pipes are chopped. She is slimmed down, trained up, ready to run like one of those Peeky Blinder horses on coke. Excellent.
Haus. Thats what im calling this one. She is built! She looks like she is ready to fight! The lettering is excellent!
The 90s is another generation of excellent looking bikes. With just a few cuts, you can have a bobber look, and keep the hidden mono shock, on these Shadows. LOOK OUT! HERE COMES KUBER!
This man is a biker. He doesn’t get off this bike. Kuder, can we get a look at the bike? Can you get off?
Thank you. This 05 honda shadow spirit 750 is well kept, and a nice look to it. The sissy bar, the seat, the bars, all custom. They bring a lot to the bike. Up next… Wow.
Again, the 80s. This 85 honda magna 700 shows what some love and hard work, can get you. This is a top of the line Metric Bobber. The shine on that paint, is worth more than some bikes.
Come up ten years, you got this, 1994, 1100 honda Shadow Spirit. All those years, and she shines, runs, and rides. Honda builds a great bike. This next one, she is as badass, but not a Honda!
A 2009 Yamaha V star 650 custom. This bike has that look of The Great Escape. The paint pays respect to the troops that rode a bike. The seat, tires, frame, chrome, sets the bike apart. Here comes James! I bet he has something to show and tell us!
What do you have for us, James?
“My junkyard built XV250 with a jockey shifter and foot clutch!”
Look at that pipe! Junk is never built in a junkyard! This thing screams. A 250 is an excellent ride around town bike. They are cheap on fuel, and look great!
You got anything else, James?
“Sure do”.
“Both are my first builds ever! I bought the first one as a $600 all stock Vstar 650 classic! I just started cutting and going at it till it is how it looks now!”
Thats how you learn how!
“The second bike was originally my wife’s first bike! I bought her a cbr600 and she gave me the virago!”
That is an excellent wife! He got another bike, and she got another bike! A family that rides together, stay together! What is it, James?
” it’s a 2007, with super low miles! So, I immediately started, cutting it up, modding it with parts I found from Allen’s Cycle, my local motorcycle junkyard! I always wanted a jockey shift bike! I cut up some stuff and made my own and I love it!”
That is the dream! If you haven’t been to your local junkyard, go. You can end up like James, 2 badass builds! A little imagination and you could have a bike like those, or this next one!
99 Honda shadow 600. Again, those 90s Shadows are where it is at! I own one, and I’m probably fixing to have another.
This Yamaha XVS650, can also live in my garage. I can almost here the wind and engine. Then, it goes quiet. Yall here that water? What beautiful bike, and spot!
Here is Chris’ other ride, an old Lambretta chopper! This is perfect! You can take it to your local races, swap meets, whatever, and have a ride! Then, it is more custom than most bikes! This is nice! Great job!
CHILLING ON A BACK ROAD! DRINKING SOMETHING ICE COLD! I’m walking to these trees to smoke something fat that i rolled! We find Harry, and his VZ800. This picture can have a place on my wall. It defines the mindset of the biker. It makes you want to jump on his bike, and go see what is over that next hill!
Kawasaki vn 800 classic! I like those highway bars. Thats the first I have seen, made that way. This will protect the engine, in a crash.
Xochitl, what do we have here?
“1974 Honda 450 my first build when I was 16!”
I am impressed. What else do you have for us?
“My 2011 Honda shadow 750!”
Nice! She is clean! I can’t wait to see what you do next! I’m heading back one by the water!
Look, a Honda Steed 600! I dont see many of these! Steeds are not where I am from! It has that 90s Shadows look! A lot of it is the same. That plastic behind the seat, for one! This is a nice Steed!
MY EARS! THAT HAS TO BE A STRAIGHT PIPES INTRUDER, UP NEXT!
A mean, Intruder vs700 1986! Did you know you could not get a bike over 700cc in America, imported to America, in 86? You couldn’t. This bike is not available in other countries! These Intruders, they get me.
We will talk about that at the next Intruder. First, Vulcan Classic. The Blue Beast! What a fast looking ride! That angle this bike sits at, I love it!
And now, a 06 Honda Shadow VLX 600C. You see a lot of Shadows, for a good reason. Honda had excellent designs, when it comes to anything. The shadow is the motorcycle world’s Civic. You can do anything with a Civic, or Shadow.
This one has a different style. David has used his front fender, as his back fender. Personally, I enjoy this look. It does the job, keeping you dry, and adds to his look. That front tire isn’t hurting this bike, either. That is the look I want. David, where did you get those tires? I’ll be needing a set!
A work of art. What else can I say? Don’t quote me, but this is Mark’s first build. Atleast that is what I think he said. He done it all, even that tank! Impressive! Quit your day job, build. This Suzuki Savage 650 lives up to the Savage name.
Come on! We are going to get high with Jason!
You thought i meant weed? Nope! We are getting on the roof! Look down there! See the 2000 Honda magna 750? Beside it is a 1987 Kawasaki ninja 250 R! Excellent rides!
Jason, also, has another one! A 1982 virago 920! Again, the 80s! The bikes are beast. Im looking for me a bike like this. My girl loves to ride with me, but can’t ride my bobbers. Then he has these three!
A 2000 Honda magna 750, a 1980 Kawasaki 440, and a 1982 Yamaha virago 920. That magna is a nice ride, not to say all of them are not nice rides! I’m sure they are! Lets go inside the garage! We have a build going on in there!
We have a Honda Shadow VT600, hardtailed with a DNA springer front end, and Harley front wheel. This is a versatile builder! He has done some things to this bike! He us showing the definition of a Bobber! Todd isn’t doing too bad for himself, either.
This is the Honda Shadow 600 Bobber look, another reason people love Shadows. By chopping off the back seat supports, and fender mounts, this bike becomes a bobber looking bike. Removing the fender, completes the look.
There is danger in buying someone else’s monoshock bobber build. Make sure the shock is still own the bike, or something has been added to hold the frames in place. A lower look on the Shadows can be achieved by putting nothing under there.
This is dangerous, and can fold the bike, while you ride. Todd has this taken car of. If he didn’t, the plastics behind the seat would line up straighter with the back frame.
This is an awesome build! The forks add a lot! That redone seat is also nice!
Honda 750, 1973. Just look at it. Brian has it down. Hush. Look at this. Sit there and look at. Some bikes don’t need a lot of words. This bikes age and look, they say everything!
A Kawasaki VN800! This is a smooth bike. She isn’t chopped all up! That is ok. Some bikes need to stay like they were made. Its got some custom stuff, but it is kept right. If it rides good, and looks the way you want, you can’t ask anymore than this.
Another, savage, 01 Suzuki Savage! Suzuki are mean looking bikes! Even from the angle, this bike shows that it is street mean! Here is another street mean Suzuki!
The 1989 Suzuki intruder 1400. The 80s and 90s Intruder tanks are some of the best looking tanks. Dave has done nothing but improvements to this one! You can look for a solid hour, and not see everything!
The bars. The seat. The flat black. This 2000 yamaha road star, is a star of the road. Dave done it twice!
A cafe racer! This 1980 xs400 US Custom is built to race! John has given it a nice stance and made her look fast! This is an excellent style for taller riders!
Speed, looks, and a loud scream. This Yamaha xv 1700, has every bit of that! Wendell has put a lot into this bike, and it shows!
Suzy! 800 intruder… Im scared. I am scared because this bike reminds me of my first build. She is a hellyun. I cant beat her! I love her, the looks she gives off, the sound…
Anyways! We are talking about Joe’s! This bike shines! If you dont like that blue, you are lost in a sea of gray! Those big tims they put on front, they are sweet! Intruders are awesome, just not mine.
Look, it is an excellent build. Dennis forgot to tell me the make and model, but I can guess what his bike is. Can you? Leave your guess in the comments!
Jory caledl this 81 g.s. 1000g, ugly. This is a Bobber! Gas tank, engine, seat, frame, tires, that is all a real one has. That is all that is this picture. Jory has payed true respects to the original styles!
This has been a long one! Im getting tired! Thats ok. I have had real fun!
These last three, as the sun sets, are blocking our other roads. This 99 Shodow 600 of Mat’s is nice! The two tone pipes gives it it’s on look. The picture is also amazing!
Here we have an amazing picture! This XVS 1100 build is something most dream of. That black on black… the sexiness of how the seat fits the finder. Curves… Beyond remarkable.
What a day of amazing bikes! Here is our last one! When you say you have a bobber, this 82 XS650 is what I imagine. I want to see through the bike. I dont want to see added parts, fenders, plastics, fake oil cans, or anything extra. This is perfect! Micheal has done it!
ALRIGHT THAT’S IT! GET OFF MY ROADS AND OUT OF MY FIELD! IT OVER! Ah hell, light a fire. Let’s camp, tell stories, and get drunk!
Thanks for sharing all your pictures, and for reading! This was a lot of fun! I look forward to the next one! I hope you do too! Come over to A Biker’s Life For Me! Pick up a $5 sticker!
ALSO! Dont forget to check out ATB Vintage Motorcycle Gear! They have some very original sissy bar bags! These are not those same ole leather saddle bags! This is a new option, with an excellent design! I dont know how long it is going to last, but we have gotten ourselves’ a discount! Its Christmas, buy a biker a bag! 10% off at ATB’sUSE CODE: KMAN2020
We had a recent chat to an Aussie expat living in Thailand, Jimmyb. This guy is a character, he has ridden most of South East Asia, as well as both the east and west side of the Himalayas. But, this isn’t why we were talking to him. We have featured his builds, more than once. Let’s talk about those.
Jimmyb
Jimmyb has a wicked hard tailed, springer front end, Honda Steed (Shadow in the USA) which peaked our interest. This is one of the best conversions we have seen in a long time. Even for those who are not a fan of this ratrod chopper style, you can appreciate how mean this thing looks and sounds.
The Honda is a 600cc model, which has had the Harley single carburettor conversion done. The fuel is gravity feed. It has also been converted to a brass petock.
The backbone was scrapped for a single tube, and the rear end hard tailed. The ratrod inspired rusty tank was hand made in Bangkok, with the “Crazy Mary” artwork done by a local tattooist. They done it for beer. A light clear coat keeps it protected.
The springer front end is Thai made, heavy duty, two inch over. It holds a twenty one inch front wheel. The use of brass on the springer forks really set of the whole gritty theme of this chopper.
The tires are Moonstar, available in Asia. Even though they are sketchy as hell on the road, they really fill out the vibe of the Honda. The deep black of them, makes everything pop.
The King and Queen seat was a custom made job, specifically for this build. For Jimmyb it’s a great fit, but we hear his wife doesn’t find it so comfortable. The back rest keeps Jimmy nice an comfortable.
All the electrics are hidden in an oil can, under the seat. There is no speedo, no tacho, and no fuel gauge, except for the sight glass on the side of the tank. This chopper is as basic and simple as it gets.
Noise is pumped out with twin fish tail pipes, that scream 1960’s style. They add that old school chopper look. Their sound is clean as a lion’s roar.
All and all, this is an excellent build. Jimmb has went all out. It shows.
Well, thats Jimmb and his love, Crazy Mary! Thanks for reading! Please share!
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