11/26/12 Thanksgiving Week Progress

It was nice to finally have a long weekend so I could get some work done at the shop.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving I brought my triple Weber carb setup to the shop so I could do some wok on them. On the way there I spotted a future ideal home: a Manhattan brownstone with a private garage. Swap out the Porsche with a Datsun and you've got a pretty great setup for me.

Anyway, once I got to the shop, I set to cleaning up the last carb of the set. Webers are shockingly simple, but when you have them apart it looks pretty impressive with all of the components laid out for cleaning.

Once finished with that, I also replaced the curiously missing throttle return springs in the two I had built already for a full set of (hopefully) operational webers. I could only get the trumpets cleaned up but so much because they were rusty, so I'll probably have to order new ones eventually.

Afterwards I cleaned up the intake manifold. Starting to come together! Just for comparison, this is how they started out.

On my way home I spotted this 'Mercedes'

Saturday I brought the E31 head and most of my tools to the shop. It will be great to have a place to work again.

I also have some work to do on the G35 in the near future. The driver's side window has been acting up, so the motor either needs replacing or cleaning. I also need to replace a muffler gasket and throw on new rear tires for a possible sale...

Stay tuned.

-W.W.
SBSS/BNYSS

11/15/12 Painted and Flooded

I haven't been particularly good at updating this, but we have been doing work at the new shop.

As I said last time, the containers turned out to be alot uglier than we had expected. So a few weeks back we spent some time painting them to make them a little more presentable for our neighbor who has a beautiful new building.

Before we painted, however, we needed to get all the dirt, grime and loose paint and rust off of the containers. To do this we rented a gas powered pressure washer. The washer proved to be powerful enough to remove the decals on the container as well, so we spent the better part of a cold October Saturday getting cold and wet cleaning off the containers.

We returned Sunday to spray the now squeaky clean containers with an airless paint sprayer full of flat black Rustoleum. This took way less time and paint than we were expecting, so we were out of there by mid afternoon.

Unfortunately two days later the biggest hurricane in recorded history hit the East coast. Luckly I spent the week high and dry, but our containers were not only flooded with 2 feet of seawater, but were moved but the water surge. This is what BNY looked like early on Monday. The real surge didn't happen until around 7-8pm...

Last weekend Jordan and I went out to the shop, borrowed a forklift and put the containers back in their place and strung up some lights. We also tested all of our damp power tools and liberally applied WD-40 to our now rusty tools...

This weekend I hope to bring my car back to the city and get my tools and some parts out to the shop.

-W.W. SBSS/BNYSS

10/25/12 New Shop!

This Tuesday marked the official beginning of my new shop. Jordan and my new home is in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. As I hinted at in a previous post, we are building our shop out of shipping containers. Tuesday morning I drove over to the yard and watched a beautiful sunrise over our new view.

We had our storage POD and our two containers delivered to our space behind this beautiful building right on the water. Unfortunately, our containers came in substantially worse cosmetic shape than we were expecting, so we're going to have to paint them soon.

The first one was positioned with a precision and skill I didn't even know was possible. The second was lined up with a forklift to be parallel to the first.

This shop will be somewhat less automotive oriented than the first, but we should still be able to get a car in there for the odd work. Here is a possible layout, though we may not cut the entire wall between the containers.

Power is being connected today and we will be pressure washing and painting Saturday. Stay tuned for more updates.

I also found a great deal on a leather motorcycle suit. Idly browsing craigslist, I found this awesome Kushitani Dragon 2 piece suit for $100. I was a little worried about it fitting right, but when I went to try it on it was perfect! I've only ridden in it once so far, but it feels great. Kushitani is supposed to be one of the best brands and I can see why. The leather is supple and soft and the finish is great. I may upgrade the back protector to something more substantial, but other than that I am very happy with it.

W.W. SBSS (BNYSS?)

10/18/12 Armoring Up

I've always known that in order to ride safely I needed to wear my gear. I've pretty much always (with a couple obvious exceptions) worn my gloves, armored leather jacket, and some sort of boot in addition to the required helmet. Unfortunately, this leaves a couple of notable gaps in my protective armor.

Firstly, I finally bit the bullet and upgraded from my trusty Doc Marten's to a pair of proper riding boots. The Icon Super Duty 4's should give me a bit more impact protection, especially at the ankle, than the single layer of leather in the Doc's. They don't look half bad either and should go unnoticed with jeans or khakis.

Second, the pair of summer short gloves I've been wearing for a few years are starting to show some signs of wear. Because I've looking at a well reviewed but somewhat sketchy site for a budget full leather suit, I figured that trying them out on something small like gloves would be a good idea. I picked up these pretty heavily armored gloves. If the quality turns out to be good, maybe a $200 suit is in my future...

The last and most difficult area is pants. While I plan on getting a full leather riding suit for the ultimate protection on long rides, I needed something in the middle for when I’m just riding around the city. As Wes at HFL has indicated, vanity can often get in the way of proper protection, but I’m convinced I can improve upon the current offerings in both style and safety.

Jeans, no matter how rugged, will never be as safe as a dedicated motorcycle pant. The problem is that dedicated motorcycle pants with abrasion resistant fabrics and integral armor tend to be very ugly. No one has ever brought a girl home from a bar while wearing these.

The new crop of 'riding jeans' typically add thicker denim and kevlar backing in certain areas, but with no armor and relatively loose-fitting styles. The added protection is marginal, so they somehow manage to still look stupid.

To get around this, I've decided to adapt a pair of Carhartt canvas pants. These are heavy grade construction and work pants. The 12oz canvas is much more abrasion resistant than denim, and all the seams are triple stitched for strength. Carhartt has a great reputation for durability and these are built to last forever. I opted for the double front pants for an additional layer of protection as well as the flannel lining for riding in the cold. I'll likely have to order an unlined pair for the summer months, but I'll deal with that later. A surprising side benefit is now that Carhartt has realized that hipsters are ironically wearing construction gear, they're actually in style.  

Another benefit of the double front pants is that a convenient pocket is created for knee armor. I ordered the Icon Field Armor knee armor to slip into the pocket. 

Overall I think this could be a great solution. The pants are simple, tough and even with the armor will be relatively discrete and comfortable on and off the bike. Even buying the pants and armor separately, they are cheaper than pretty much all of the current offerings, and I believe they will be a big step above kevlar jeans. Stay tuned for reviews of the boots, gloves and pants. 

-W.W. SBSS

The Chill of Speed

I love the cold.

I always have. Because of my metabolism I've always run hot by nature and preferred it to be a bit colder than most. Growing up, my Mom always had to fight me to put on a coat and I would challenge her by asking why Dad didn't need one. I suspect he was similarly hot-blooded, but that argument never got me very far. Fights over the thermostat in the Watts house were not uncommon but were never fair, and my Mom now has a very nice collection of sweaters.

Overheating has always been a problem for me. In the waking day I can manage my temperature reasonably well. Mercifully, my office is kept at a balmy 62 degrees, but after walking home I almost immediately have to change out of my suit and tie. I lounge around my apartment wearing nothing but shorts much to the chagrin of my roommates in an attempt to keep cool. I sleep heavily, and the temperature in my poorly ventilated bedroom is determined by how long I've been in it and exactly how ajar the door is, so it's not uncommon for me to wake up drenched with sweat in the morning, having overheated under my blankets.

On a motorcycle, you can't always control your temperature. I'm a firm supporter of ATGATT and yes, there are summer jackets and vent zippers and sweat wicking materials, but lane-splitting is annoyingly illegal in my state. This means I'm occasionally sitting stationary, on a heater, wearing leather, in 90 degree heat. This sucks, but I can put up with it. I love bikes for the experience more than the convenience, and showing up somewhere a bit sweaty isn't too bad if I had a blast getting there.

Sometimes, though, that lack of control is surprisingly wonderful. I left the city around 6pm to go for a ride one Monday. It was 'perfect' riding weather, meaning low 70's with a slight breeze. I was well equipped with my summer gloves and leather jacket, vents open, with no liner. The roads I found were good enough that I didn't turn back when it started to get dark. After finding an interesting little port town, I turned back along the relatively deserted 9W. At 60 mph in the low 50 degree weather, the wind chill got pretty strong. It stung when the cold first crept up my fingers and down my neck. Still in the last days of summer, it was an unfamiliar feeling.

After a few minutes, the cold had slipped around my body like an old jacket and I felt quickened. The cold balanced me, quenching my internal heat and leaving me with a cool calm. Feeling so strong a sensation all over, I was focused, my vision and other senses narrowed to the task at hand. The sounds around me faded into the white noise of the wind rush and the thrum of the V-twin. There was nothing in the back of my mind, the ever present to-do list of my life left floating in the dusk. There was only me, the bike, the cold, the road.

The Beauty of an Ugly Bike

I love New York City. It’s a huge, wonderful playground for 20-somethings with more interesting places to eat, sights to see, and things to do than one could experience in two lifetimes. It also has the best public transportation system I’ve ever used. You can get from one end to the other of the sprawling 5 boroughs for $2.25 and be drunk while doing it. As a result, car and motorcycle ownership is relegated to a luxury, at least in Manhattan.  

It can certainly be fun to dice it up with the cabbies, trucks, and delivery guys. I love weaving through a somewhat crowded street, particularly on a summer night when the air is cool and the lights flashing by add to the sensation of speed. Unfortunately, the day-to-day realities of owning a bike aren't always so poetic. 

I’m poor, so I park on the street. Because of how tight parking is in NYC, sights like this are not uncommon.

My bike gets knocked over about once a month and the dents, scrapes, and a broken front fender tell the tale. Knowing it’ll get violated again in a few weeks, I’m not inclined to fix the cosmetic issues with my bike, so it starts falling into ‘streetfighter/rat bike’ territory. Don’t get me wrong, I love my little SV. It’s the perfect city bike and it has served me very well. I'm meticulous about maintenance, but I can’t justify repairing it to a point that I’d be proud at a bike night. As much as I love it, I don't think many others could appreciate what I see in my beloved ugly bike.

We often compare our bikes to beautiful women. We give them female names, talk about their voluptuous curves, and can be as protective of them as of a pretty girlfriend. I know I've been guilty of referring to a bike as 'my baby' and I've been told by girls that they felt like there was another woman in the relationship (not knowing they were the other woman). Half of the print motorcycle magazines have women on the cover, and the other half are soft-core porn *cough* Easy Rider *cough*. 

As with women, it's the pretty bikes that get on the cover of magazines. They are the ones that turn peoples' heads on the street and get all the attention at parties. Coveted by many, they turn their owners into Gollum-like creatures of lust. We save our exotic, finicky, and specialized toys for those perfect summer days when we can blast up a coast road or show them off at a bar. Spending slightly outside our means to buy the newest, hottest model, we love them dearly and loathe to park them out of sight, lest some miscreant molest or steal our precious.

There's a good chance, though, that your first bike was an ugly bike. You were 19 and you wanted something cheap and not too intimidating to learn on. It was supposed to be a summer fling. Once you had cut your teeth, you were supposed to move on to something newer, better looking, and more powerful. The truth is that no one ever forgets their first and, regardless of how good or bad it was, it will always have a special place in your heart. In spite of all your plans, here you are years later and you can't bring yourself to get rid of your old friend. 

This type of bike is beautiful in a different, more faithful way. Like an old dog with half an ear missing and a bit of a limp, they don't have broad appeal. They aren't the most impressive to show up to a party with, but will always be by your side. You love bikes like this, not because of the way they look, but for what they do for you and what they mean to you. Sure, you've been bitten once or twice, but you can move past the time they left you stranded in the rain because the good times you've had are far more important. 

You've aged together, both gaining scars and scrapes along the way and rising again tougher than before. Every broken part is a reason to upgrade and every close call is a lesson. You know that spending more than the original purchase price on better parts is a losing proposition. You know that you should just bite the bullet, sell your old friend, and buy a new bike. You don't, though, because if you pulled emotion out of the equation, you'd be driving a Prius. 

Bikes like this don’t even have to be cheap. This Ducati was not a cheap bike when it was new a few years ago. Judging by the rash on the bar and tank along with the lack of side plastics, it has been down at least once. Rather than simply repairing it, this owner made the bike his own, resale value and public opinion be damned. The frame has been painted, and there are numerous upgrades. Sure, the chain is a little rusty, but that suggests the owner is forced to park it outside, giving me the image of the owner rebuilding his baby in the living room of his apartment. Despite being wrecked, rashed, and a little bit ugly, this bike is clearly loved.

Well-loved bikes age better than most. Their lifetime of use gives them a reassuring, weathered feel, akin to the callused, leathern hand of a lifetime laborer. Like a well-worn boot, they fit perfectly; not because they were engineered to be perfect from the factory, but because over time both you and the bike have molded to fit each other. An identical bike owned by another would feel foreign. 

Ugly bikes are also freedom. They are freedom to park wherever you want without worrying about someone sitting on it, scratching the fairing or knocking it over when parking.  They are freedom from worry about it being stolen, because even thieves appreciate a well worn but well maintained bike. These fears allayed, you can ride to interesting new places, leave the bike parked in an unfamiliar and shady neighborhood, and be confident that it will still be there when you return. It doesn't have the same value in someone else's eyes. The prospect of my SV being stolen when I park it in the Bronx about the same as someone stealing a guard dog: theoretically possible, but who would want to.

Being a motorcycle guy in a city can be hard. Because we can’t just lock the bike up safe and sound in a garage or driveway, our bikes take additional abuse.  Occasionally, I forget why I push the damn ugly thing across the street every other day for alternate side of the street parking and have to keep my plate in my pocket, but it all comes back to me when I ride. Motorcycles move me, and once on the road it doesn't matter if my tank is dented or my seat is ripped.

Here's to having a beer with your old friend rather than buying a drink for the hot girl at the bar. 

8/18/12 Saturday Stroll

Went for a walk this morning before heading to do some car stuff. Luckily I've been reunited with AY's old DSLR.

Plus a hint of what's to come with my car.