Happy Hoe!!!

So the first thing one of my co-workers tells me this morning...."I've got a hoe for you in my car!"

Much to my dismay I got all excited and worked up for nothing. He had a friend that broke his gardening hoe and asked if I would fix it for him. He also told me the man had a sense of humor so I figured I'd have a little fun after welding the two pieces back together. Here's the result.

Isn't it a happy lil' hoe?

 Well after that was done I had the welder all set up and roaring to go I decided to do a little fab work on the bike afterwards. You should read that as "I got in a groove and lost all track of time and normal body function like eating and the need for water while sweating profusely."

Anyways, TC Brothers forward controls are now mounted. Have a gander.

Front quarter vew.

Left side view. Don't look at other side, the linkage isn't connected to anything.

And as you can see the new custom fiberglass seat pan is all fabbed up. Still not mounted however. Here are a couple photos of the progress it went through. Sorry there aren't more but that fiberglass resin sets up QUICK with no time for photos.

Must cover everything around the mold so I don't get resin on the bike.

First four layers have been applied.

Close up of the finished product. Still needs one light coat of resin though. So not COMPLETELY finished.

Anyways. So there you have it. Wont be doing much more work over the course of this week. I've got to go UPTA CAMP!!! 

I love Duct Tape!!!

Alright, so before I go into the biggest news of all I need to talk about my love of duct tape. While seemingly random this post does tie into building my motorcycle build.

After installing the Visual Impact Brat Kit onto my frame I realized shortly that the Sportster seat the bike came with would not work out. I browsed online but the more I browsed the more I realized it would be VERY difficult to find a custom built seat pan that would fit the style of my bike without looking out of place. Therefore I came to the conclusion I would need to build a custom seat pan myself. Well besides the fact I have no metal molding tools, even if I did my experience in that world is VERY lacking. What's the next best thing? FIBERGLASS!!! The do it yourself best friend!!!

In order to do the fiberglass however I would need a mold to form the glass around. Wait for it....here comes the Duct Tape love.

I cut out some cardboard and laid it on the frame to get an idea. Man did I EVER get an idea. What was originally meant to be a 30-45 minute job ended up lasting for 3 hours this morning. Half a roll of duct tape, 2-3 cereal boxes, and a USPS shipping box later this is what I've come up with....

So that's my mold. I've got to lay down 4-6 layers of glass, add some closed cell foam custom fit to rear end, then lay some fabric across it and TA DAA!!! I've got a seat.

Now without further delay here's the biggest news for this post....I can hardly contain myself so here's a photo. It's MUCH more explanatory....

THAT'S RIGHT!!!! My pipes came in and they F'ING SWEET!!! OH....I think I just pee'd myself a little!!!!

Two updates.

Just a couple of updates today. First, Gordon Scott Engineering shipped my pipes today which means they will be on my doorstep this Saturday. Can you say "EXCITED!!!!"

Second, I decided to modify the ugly, clunky, gaudy, neck gussets on my bike. I could have bought some plate steel and cut new ones out but didn't feel VERY comfortable welding them to the neck of the bike. So I decided to cut, grind, and weld the existing gussets to more of my liking. Lets just say it turned out to be QUITE the process. Probably would have been easier to cut the old ones out, fab up some new ones, and weld them in. Well it's all part of the learning process I suppose. So here we are....

Before....

And after....

Busy morning...

It's been one hell of a busy morning and I'm freaking exhausted after starting all this at 8am and finally finishing at noon. So I am going to keep it short. The new scoot has a new ass end. Without further ado....here she is...

It's sort of sad

Well...here she is. A shadow of her former self....

But I suppose that in order to build something great you must first tear it down to the ground. So this is the bare bones stock frame with the ugly junk removed at the rear end the former owner added. It will soon be replaced with the new Visual Impact Brat Kit. But first I need to grind off all the sharp bits, removed unwanted brackets, and possibly install a new neck gusset. So I guess now I'm at the bottom of the barrel. I'm sure it'll be an interesting and fun climb out.

I'll leave you with one last picture of all the bits removed. I'm not sure if you can tell but I think the old XS400 in the background is laughing her ass off at the humiliation the XS650 has just undergone.

Busy little weekend!!!

So I've been a bad boy. I know....I know....I should have been working on the bike this weekend. But I had other plans. I did some calling around and found a great deal on a 60 cubic foot pressurized gas bottle from Maine Oxy. So since I know have a bottle of gas, 50ft 10/3 extension cord, mig gun, work clamp, and a welder to carry around I was in dire need of a welding cart!!! Ta Da.....

My new welding cart. BAM!!! I know I should have taken intermediate photos but I just got into it and didn't have time for photos. All that's left is to make the studs the welder will rest on so it doesn't actually fall off the cart and then paint the S.O.B and I'm done. Hopefully over the next week I'll actually have a motorcycle build update to post on here. Till then....

Pipes are on order!!!

Just got off the phone with Scott of GordonScott Engineering!!! He got the photos I sent him of my mocked up exhaust and it looks like it will 7-14 days!!! I'm psyched!!! SUPER friendly guy and he comes to my home state to ride all the time. WTF are chances of that? Anyways, here's a picture of what I finally came up with. Final pipes will be much larger in diameter and made of raw mild steel. Once they are in they get a coat of good quality hi-temp paint and fiber exhaust wrap. It's going to look sick!!!