It's been a while....

Alright, so it's been a while since my first post. The reason for that is that I've been busy brain storming ideas for the bike so there isn't much to post. I've also been busy collecting (read purchasing) tools that will be necessary for the build. So....let's get to viewing what it is I've purchased over the past week and a half and not talk about the fact that perhaps I went a bit overboard. It might just be white break bologna sandwiches and Ramen noodles for the next week or two until payday ;-) I'm sure I'll survive just fine....

First thing I bought was a compressor. Every good shop needs a compressor for things like inflating tires, cleaning off dust, and up to angle grinding and impact wrenches. Here's what I bought. It was on sale and if I bought the compressor I'd get 25% off air compressor tools and accessories so of course I bought more than a compressor.

It's a nice little 20 gallon 150psi compressor from sears and an angle grinder with accessories for those tight to reach places my 4.5" DeWalt grinder can't reach. All in all this came out to a VERY reasonable price and am quite content with the purchase.

Next comes the purchase the purchase that will send me shopping for a few packs of Ramen noodles. Should I have bought it only a few days after the compressor?.....probably not. Am I happy I did....if you could see the ear to ear shit eating grind on my face after using it you would know the answer ;-)

Yup that's right...I bought a GMAW/FCAW welder! Now the welder, 240 volt extension cord, 2 lb. roll of flux core wire, welding gloves, welding pliers, gas regulator and hose, auto darkening helmet, and heavy weight fire retardant cotton welding jacket came to under the price of the bottom of the line Mill and Lincoln 120 volt welders. The craziest thing is that Hobart was actually purchased by Miller and is quite evident by the fact that the wire gun is a Miller product. I just got in from the garage after using and while flux core doesn't produce the nicest welds the machine performs far above and beyond anything I could have possibly expected. I will happily eat those super salty and crappy tasting noodles for this purchase. And I'll do it with a shit eating grind because I'll be welding in my own garage with a quality welder on my motorcycle.

Now for the ideas and purchase I've made for the motorcycle. First and foremost I bought the Visual Impact Brat Kit for the motorcycle to transform the rear end of the frame into something MUCH more appealing that what it currently looks like. Take a look at their website....Visual Impact Brat Kit. At the top of the page is what comes in the kit for a very reasonable price. If you scroll down you'll see instructions on installation and a couple examples of what it looks like after a finished install. I think it will pretty damn spiffy on the bike. Now while I wont be finish welding the kit on my bike due to the flux core process I have (upgrading to full GMAW will come later) and the fact that my welding skills are not where I would like them to be to weld something my ass will be cruising on at 60mph, I can at least tac it into place so that I can bring it to the welder in town to have it professionally done so I can cruise in comfort.

Now the next item on the agenda is pipes. No I'm not talking about the type your grandfather smokes...I'm talking about the loud, ear splitting, disturbing the peace, piss of my neighbors, exhaust pipes for the bike. I found a man online who makes custom pipes for the XS650 and has a couple different styles available. Here's his web address....Gordon Scott Engineering. Those are his "Curved Drag" pipes and here is what they might look like on my bike....

Mind you they wont be so small, white, and made out of PVC pipe but you get the idea. So what do you think? I'm not 100% convinced yet. While they look f'ing sexy on the hardtails shown on his site I think they loose some of the sexy on the softail due to the huge ass piece of steel that supports the swing arm and that used to support the foot pegs. What do you folks think? Post in the comment section and let me know.

Well sorry for the wall of text but I had a lot of catching up to do. That's all for now.