93″ of LOVE – PART 1

There are a lot of ways to build up a good shovel. I’ve had 74s and 80s but Im now working on a fresh 93″. The wheels, cylinders, cam, and pistons will kill you if you don’t try and shop smart. Retail, Sidewinder kits are gonna beat you over the head at anything from $1500-$2000. Lots of good things can be said for S&S products but that’s not really the point of this series. The point is to look at some math and figure out how to go the distance without going broke.

Here’s a pic of my pile of parts to build up my 93″ motor. Stock cases and heads will work just fine with a little trim and shim work. A set of used T&O wheels are at the heart and soul of this thing. If you haven’t looked into it here’s the deal with T&O. T&O stuff is killer and they’ve been around since the beginning. They’re experience and knowledge are in their products and the prices are very reasonable.

That said, these wheels were used and I paid used price. They need to be checked carefully and rebalanced but overall, they are in great condition. After a chat with some guys at T&O, I decided I’d go with new Vtwin Cylinders to save some cash over the name brand stuff. The money I saved on the cylinders I turned around and dumped on some really nice forged S&S pistons.

All the stroker parts are present and accounted for. The other parts like the cone, rockers, lifters, oil pump, etc are all on a shelf as well but those are stock parts that anyone can find in abundance. I’ll post more pics as the motor comes together.

Another Killer Swap

You know you’re in for a treat when you pull into the swap parking lot and two dudes are carrying out 6ft of vintage springer together. Invader wheels, trike frames, old school king/queen seats with good leather, hardtails, and even a pretty good triumph presence to boot. Looks like all the good little boys and girls on the other side of the mountain will have lots of wonderful things to play with. Hooray! Thanks as always to Gringo and Mickey for putting it all together. Dig it.

*pic lifted from groovycycles.com

New Machinery Hard-On

That’s right. I’ve got a machinery boner and I’m not afraid to share it! Just last weekend, I had a new printing press delivered here to the shop. Built on January 10th, 1967 and placed on my shop floor just 1 day prior to its 42nd anniversary of production. It was clearly meant to be. This mammoth 1-ton fully automated Kluge 10×15 letterpress is naturally referred to as “Killer.” This thing is capable of 700 impressions an hour at its slowest speed and when she’s fully wound up, its like a steam locomotive running through the building! Production capacity tops out around 3 thousand impressions/hour. This thing is gonna save me a world of time and likely save me from loosing a few digits while I’m at it.

Killer… welcome to your new home!

the Kingdom of Diamond Dave

Much thanks and appreciation to Diamond Dave who was kind enough to let me stop by his garage last night for some much needed advise and inspiration. Dave’s a real cool fella. He’s got style and an endless stash of killer chopper parts. He knows his sh*t and is willing to share some knowledge. All you gotta do is listen. That’s good people.

Click here to check out some photos of Dave’s garage scene shot by Josh Kurpius from Kemosabe and the Lodge

photo by Josh Kurpius

Cycle Maintenance and Bubble Shields

– Adjust chain
– Snug some hardware
– Top her off

Had a killer weekend. Got a nice, new solo seat put on the bike and even threw some fresh seat springs on too. RL and David swung by on Saturday on their xs650 chops. David picked up a bubble shield for the fall and then we took a quick swing around the fair grounds to test out the seat springs. Reinhart came by on Sunday afternoon and we headed all the way over to East St Paul. Every place we stopped at was closed but the sun was shining and the bikes were screaming. All in all a Hella-Weekend. Now I’m just getting primed for next weekends CHOPOUT. Dig it. Join us Tuesday Night at Grumpys NE for a little CHOPOUT pre-party action.