Life’s a Drag!

Drag bikes are my thing. I cant get enough of em and Im pretty sure the next bike project I get sucked into will almost definitely end up being a drag bike of some kind. Im thinking either an H3, RD, KZ or maybe Ill go shovel. I cant wait to drag the wife and kids down to the track to sit under a white tent, eatin hotdogs, and sippin on coca cola. Drag racing is good old family fun.

the D Pedal

Last night I was lucky to get pics of Zac Dooms garage-made Lee pedal. Joe calls it a D Pedal. I think that’s pretty fitting. Joe Mason and Diamond Dave are also lending a hand. Click the pic to see an enlarged image. Dig it.

4 Hour Miracle

So I’m out last Thursday night hangin with the Motorcycle Cult. Just as I’m maybe a mile away, the bike starts making some evil noises when I close the throttle. Turns out I seriously dodged an engine destroying bullet! My damn exhaust valve in my rear cylinder dropped the seat. Somehow by luck or chance, the dropped seat was actually perfectly caught by the valve as it tried to close. Even better, the pushrod just hung there. Didnt pinch or bend or snap or anything. That was Thursday. Saturday morning I got up at 6Am and did 600 miles int Wisconsin with Drunkle Evan! Here’s my 4 hour miracle on Friday afternoon.

3PM: Bike on lift. Took off pipe. Valve clearly stuck. Called Gator.

3:30PM: Cylinder removed and I am clearly fuct but piston and cylinder are 100%!

4PM: Realized “Shit! I have a donor motor sitting on the bench!” Yanked the head off and texted a pic to Gator for his blessing before proceeding.

5PM: Drank coffee. Made piece with wife. Found an unused top end gasket set and reassembled rocker on new head. She’s looking pretty.

7PM: Head and top end reassembled. Pipe remounted. Readjusted pushrods. Everything torqued properly (thanks again Gator). Dropped it off the lift and after a couple primer kicks – she was up an running once more. Road around maybe 20 miles that night and called it a done deal! By 11Am the next morning I was 200 miles from home and still running strong.

Fathers Day in Minnesota

Woke up to a little corn beef and eggs with a side of black coffee and toast. Cruised over to Back to the 50’s car show for some swap meet action. Kind of a dead scene considering it was Sunday. I did see this gem of a Gasser parked somewhere just off the beaten path. I couldnt pass up getting a quick picture.

From there I went home and got out the bike. Took a ride over to the Blind Lizard cycle rally in Minneapolis to catch up with CT. Reinhart came limping in on his Triumph. Points were well beyond useless. Pretty Rick and the Monk happened to be in the crowd and decided to do the Minnesota thing and come over and get his points readjusted. After a little file action and a few swift kicks, the salty dog was up and running on two cylinders again. New points are being installed as I type.

Came home, napped for a hour, ate a sub, went back to bed. All in all – a good fathers day.

Union Speed and Style – Garage Feature III

Ran out to visit Jordan at Union Speed and Style yesterday. Turns out it was his Birthday. Happy birthday mother f*cker! Jordan is fitting me for a custom vest. Sh*t is gonna be tough! Denim w/ golden brown stitch, green/tan flannel liner, and a short pop collar. While I was there I thought it a good time to get him in for a little garage feature session. Union Speed is tucked back on River street in Monticello. A little off the beaten path but for what he’s doing, its probably a good thing. This dude is so busy, he’d probably loose his sh*t if he were in the twin cities (distractions day in and day out).

Jordan and I don’t get many chances to hang out with us both being knee deep in running our respective shops. That said, I did get to rock down to Iowa with him lat weekend. His little XS has got some serious balls. Not surprising… his bike didnt miss a beat once the entire trip. His spot was packed with projects. Jordan dabbles in all sorts of stuff. He’s turning out custom tanks, frames, leather and denim, seats, etc. Come to think of it… he’s a bit of a one stop shop.

Union Speed works pretty steadily throughout the year and they even manage to make all the stops on the vendor circuit. I’m not even really sure exactly how many people make up Union Speed but from the work load, they probably some kind of small army.

The Union Speed Crew are definitely a younger bunch but they’re also talented well beyond their years. If you need some fabrication, without having to deal with the grumpy old heads in the scene, these are the dudes to hook up with. They’ve got the skills and creativity to blow minds. Check em out. UnionSpeedandStyle.com