Ultimate Addons Mounting System for Phones

Who is looking for a way to safely mount their smartphone to the handlebars of their motorcycle, bicycle or atv? Initially when I first decided to add navigation to my motorcycle, the first thought was to find a mount for the Garmin Nuvi that I use in the old van, but quickly realized that my smartphone has some seriously good navigation apps installed on it and has the added advantage of always being with me. Keeping in mind the price of my phone and the importance of the data that it contains, any mount purchase would need to be secure, strong, & waterproof, with excellent vibration & impact resistance. After a quick bit of internet research I decided to try one of the Buybits Ultimate Addons mounts, and placed an order with Amazon. At $69.99 plus shipping from the U.K. this is not a cheap product (although it is not the most expensive either, price as of 8-9-14).

As usual my order arrived quickly and was well packaged with no transit damage!

<happy little fedex box>

Opening it up and viewing the contents I found the protective case, handlebar mount & power cord. Please note that if your motorcycle or atv is not equipped with a DIN (Hella) style power outlet you will need to install one in order to use the charger, here’s a link to the item I used.

<ultimate addons cellphone mount>

The protective case is a very impressive design, thick plastic with a generous amount of rubber inside both to cushion the phone & seal out the water. Please note this case is not for weight weenies, but if you don’t mind carrying around a few extra ounces in order to keep your device safe & dry it is worth it. A great and pleasant surprise to me was to find out that there was a viewport for the camera, the touch screen worked well, and the case is engineered well enough that all operation functions of the phone could be controlled just as if the phone were not in the case at all.

The handlebar mount itself had me worried a little bit after seeing the relatively bombproof looking case that attaches to it, the mount looked small and while not flimsy looking it seemed like it should be larger and heavier looking to hold up this big case & my oversize $500 phone. In engineering we all know that well designed products can be much stronger than they look, but the barbarian living in my head doesn’t always see that, so for my initial testing I strapped it to the rattliest, roughest riding pile of junk in the shed, a Baja MB165 minibike. My minibike is a frightening concoction, of assorted used parts loosely assembled together and then blessed (cursed?) with a couple of speed enhancing modifications including a CVT drive.

<cell phone mount on minibike>

If this don’t kill it nothing else will.

After bouncing around a little while around the field, up & down the dirt road a time or two, and at least 50 laps around the house it didn’t fall off, or even come loose. I even shot a short video that I didn’t post any where but if enough of you want to see it I can add it to this page later. An S4 in this mount actually  makes a decent video if you can get the orientation right. This was more than enough of a test to convince me the mount was going to hold up just fine. So now it was time to check the water resistance of the case so I fastened it to the front rack of this ATV and took it out to play in the rain, at night.

<ragged out p.o.s. brute force>

 

<Ultimate addons mount on atv rack>

After all of this I opened up the case and found that my phone was completely dry and safe, and while I still would not actually submerge it in pond or anything like that I am now convinced that this case properly installed and closed will keep your phone dry and safe during any rain storm you are going to encounter out on the road or trail. After all the Brits who sell this product obviously know all about riding in the rain.

It is a large bulky case, and yes in bright sunlight the screen can be hard to see, but if any of you have a touch screen phone that is easy to see in direct sunlight, I want to see it, because at this time such a phone does not exist. The charger is easy to install, but if you are cutting off the plug and hard-wiring it to your vehicle be sure to connect it to a switched circuit or install a separate power switch as the charger has an LED that is always on whenever power is present. I just installed a DIN outlet so that I could unplug it. It would have been nice if the mount were taller and had more adjustment for position. They do make one one but I admit to being a cheapskate especially when dealing with products that I am not familiar with.

Here’s a shot of it attached to the bars of my main ride with navigation open, ready for me to go get lost & then find my way back home. Having used this mounting and charging set up for a few hundred miles on four different vehicles I am happy with it.

Bottom Line: The Ultimate Addons Mounting System for Phones is well worth the cost, I’d recommend this product to anyone.

Peace Y’all

 

 

 

 

 

2014 Antique Bikes On Main Rally / Kamikaze Motorcycle Show in Chesnee S.C.

July 26, 2014 the weather looks absolutely wonderful on this fine Saturday morning as Mrs. Psyco & I load up the world famous Suburban Assault Scrambler, slipped into our riding gear and hit the road for a little jaunt 3 hours to the northwest to a little town called Chesnee. The Carolina Rider a newsletter/ezine/website that I have been following since signing up for their email list a couple of years ago, was sponsoring a bike show for Japanese and European motorcycles so I thought that I’d go check it out. Plus I love old motorcycles of any make or country of origin so the whole sound of the days event sounded like a winner to me.

<Mrs. Psyco at Historic Brattonsville>

<motopsyco at Historic Brattonsville>

I plotted a backroads course into the GPS on my phone and we sailed up highway 903 through Lancaster, getting onto highway 9 & eventually 909 for a while. We did stop at Historic Brattonsville, but just long enough to take a few pictures, but we are making plans to return for one of their living history events. From there I treated 909 as my own private roller coaster rolling back & forth with the curves until we got onto Highway 5 in Spartanburg County for a while, until we merged onto I-85 for the ten mile run south to Chesnee

 

This was a decent route that gave us only about 2o miles or so on the super boring slabs, did I mention it was a fantastic day for a ride? Even the temperatures were mild for a South Carolina summer with highs only in the lower nineties in the hottest part of the afternoon, during our morning ride out & evening ride home it was actually very nice and comfortable in our gear.

<rider on the super slab>

Getting off of the slab & rolling into downtown Chesnee, my initial reaction was that I must have made the wrong turn somewhere, as I drove my 34 year old Honda rat bike into a veritable traffic jam of Twin Cams, and Yamaha Stars, awash with brand new shiny chrome and that new bike smell filled the air surrounding them. This spectacle really is more of a rally than an actual antique motorcycle meet. This is not really a bad thing but in all honesty me (& my fat wallet) usually avoid Harley rallies because I don’t feel like putting up with the bullshit from all of the part time fair weather road pirates who just don’t understand why I don’t ride what they think I should ride. I don’t encounter that problem when hanging out with the AMCA crowd on their ancient Pan Heads and Indians. Normally between antique meets, VJMC events, and the occasional Ton Up Club show I get my fill of bike show & rally entertainment. But I got to give credit where credit is due everyone that I encountered here was as nice as you could hope to meet and if that trend continues I may add a few more of these rallies to my weekend plans.

<cookie cutter motorcycles>

somewhere behind these cookie cutter cruisers and this big ole bus is a line up of nice vintage British, European, & Japanese motorcycles

I found the Carolina Rider tour bus and parked my bike in line for the show, there were several nice Brit bikes that had been lovingly restored, nearly new Moto Guzzi V7, a pair of nice early sport bikes etc. Crossing main street and heading to the next block where the swap meet vendors were a few old bikes came into sight, and there were some very unique and interesting motorcycles and parts available. It was not a huge meet and there was plenty of room left in the swap area, so if you’ve got stuff to sell I am sure they can fit you in next year.

<Antiques on main swap meet>

<Antiques on main swap meet>

For entertainment they brought in 3 trials riders with the On the Edge Action Show, one on a bicycle & two on motorcycles and they put on a fantastic show for us that was worth the trip all by itself.

<Trials Bicycle rider>

 

<Trials motorcycle rider>

I did take some video that will be posted at the motopsyco.com youtube channel as soon as I get the chance to get it edited. For the rest of this post I’m going to dispense with the storytelling & just post a few pictures & comments for you to peruse.

Of course no rally is complete without at least one of these Thoroughbred Motorsports trikes and this one had a splendid real fire paint job.

<Thoroughbred Motorsports trike>

 

 

 

 

<sport bike art>

artwork on a cool blue Suzuki

 

 

The Shadow in the foreground below belongs to Shaggy, one of the writers for the Carolina Rider, it’s a 2007 with 180,000 miles on it.

<Shaggy's bike>

Honda’s just don’t die unless they get deliberately murdered.

Moto Guzzi V7 for sale at a decent price. I admit to being tempted by this one.

<Moto Guzzi V7 Classic>

Cool swap meet items!

<antique art deco tricycle>

Hodaka

<Hodaka Motorcycle for sale>

Restorable Harley Sprint

<Harley Davidson Sprint>

The only drawback to riding my motorcycle to an event like this is not being able to bring little things like this home when I find them…

<ruff honda st90>

I have restored much worse than this.

This really neat old Indian was in the swap section as well.

<real Vintage Indian Roadmaster>

How about some fine Vintage Italian Iron?

<Ducati 350 scrambler>

Signs, signs everywhere are signs…

<garage decorations>

Since I like bicycles too I felt this was a great find.

<antique Elgin tank bicycle>

<Vintage Elgin & Hondas>

Of course there was a lot of other stuff to look at, Chesnee Classic Cycle, the main sponsor of the rally had this fantastic & extremely rare XR1000 on display in the showroom.

<Harley Davidson XR1000>

Now THIS is a badass Harley!

This Suzuki RE5 Rotary was ridden in.

<Suzuki RE-5>

This wooden Indian is also on display at Chesnee Classic Cycle

<wooden Indian Motorcycle>

Of course now you have to go listen to Kaw-Liga by Hank Williams (Sr. that is)

Here’s some Britsh machinery (& a rat KLR) lined up for the Kamikaze show.

<vintage iron>

A pair of good looking Harley baggers One excellent vintage restored, the other a great looking late model custom!

<Electraglides in black & blue>

I like the opposites in this shot, a massive VTX1800 trike & a scooter passing each other while cruising down Main Street.

<honda vtx1800 trike>

Got Ural?

<Ural Sidecar Motorcycle>

“Howl at the moon, shoot out the light, small town Saturday night!”

<antique bikes on main 2014>

 

<antique bikes on main 2014>

 

<antique bikes on main 2014>

Last but not least, here are the results of the 2nd Annual Kamikaze Motorcycle Show, first up the winner for best custom was this stunning Triumph Chopper.

<one fine custom Triumph motorcycle>

The award for best sportbike went to this immaculately preserved 84 Kawasaki GPZ750

 

<84 Kawasaki GPZ750>

and some guy’s rusty old p.o.s.  commuter Honda CB650 was awarded the best vintage trophy, go figure…

<1980 Honda CB650C>

Yes I had a blast, (and not just because I got a trophy either) and enjoyed meeting Shaggy, Bub & the rest of the crew from the Carolina Rider, plus anytime you can spend a warm summer day with a few hundred of your fellow motorcyclists, you’re bound to have a good time. I am going to recommend that my fellow enthusiasts of Japanese, British, & European motorcycles stage a mass invasion of this event next year, & all you people with the Flatheads, Knuckles & Pans should show up too. Then it really could be Antique Bikes on Main.

Peace Y’all

<a wild hawg>

 

’97 Honda Shadow 1100 Carb Cleaning & Jetting ~ Part 2

In the last installment, I had removed this set of carburetors from a 97 Honda Shadow 1100, after washing all of the loose crud from the exterior it was time to begin dis-assembly. This is not going to be a full on complete step by step tutorial, but we will cover all of the highlights that are specific to this job. Here you can see that the float bowl is off and although the interior of this carb does not look that bad there is a thin film of of fuel varnish on all the surfaces so I definitely going to clean that out.

Don’t forget, that if you need to you can enlarge any picture on this blog by clicking on it.

<001 dynojet honda shadow kit>

As always when working with multiple carburetors, it is best to dis-assemble one at the time and to lay the parts out in a reasonably orderly fashion so that you can reinstall the parts back into the carb body that you removed them from. Below you can see the float bowl, float, jets, etc. are lying on the table and I’ve removed the top and am about to pull out the spring and slide.

<002 97 shadow 1100 slide spring>

Since my ultrasonic cleaner is small to prevent part mix ups I only put one carbs parts at the time in it. One nice thing about dealing with the Shadow carburetors is that both of the air cut off diaphragms are on the outside of both carb bodies and can be reached without breaking the carbs apart, this makes it much easier to clean those critical passages.

<003 carb parts ultrasonic cleaner>

Now it’s time to begin the modifications that will really wake your old Honda up and make it sing a new song of power and glory! You should wash the slides off good and inspect the diaphragms for holes, or rips, if you find any problems you will need to replace the diaphragm before proceeding but if all is well, look insde at the retainer and using either a proper JIS screwdriver or an 8mm socket twist the retainer counter clockwise about 1/4 of a turn until it pops loose and will fall out, remove the needle (aka the metering rod) being sure to note if there damage to the retainer or it’s spring.

<004 shadow ace jet needle retainer>

The Dynojet Research needles are packaged as shown, refer to the instructions in your jet kit for assembly instructions to match your particular application.

<005 dynojet research metering rod>

Here’s a quick shot of the slide, retainer & jet needle.

<006 metering rod removed honda 1100>

The next picture down is a comparison of the shape of the stock needle to a Dynojet needle. This difference in shape makes enough of a difference in flow that it should be used with the matching jets supplied in the kit. Likewise you can’t use your leftover kit jets in another bike without purchasing the correct needles.

The stock Honda needle is on top and the Dynojet needle is below it.

<007 needle jet comparison>

To simplify reinstalling the needle first insert it along with any spacers into the slide, then place the retainer into the end of an 8mm socket like this and then turn the slide upside down

<008 reinstall shadow ace jet needle>

while holding onto the needle as shown in the following picture andinsert the retainer into place and turning it to the locked position.

<009 metering rod install honda shadow>

Before I finish cleaning the bodies the idle mixture screws need to be removed. They are located under these caps on the sides of the carburetors. If you live in a state that requires visual emissions equipment inspection you should purchase new caps when you buy your carb kits or your bike will fail inspection if it does not have these caps on it.

<010 mixture screw cover>

Centerpunch the holes and the very carefully drill through the caps stopping as soon as the drill bit breaks through the caps so you do not damage your carbs.

<011 drill it out>

Then you a sheet metal screw of the right size (supplied in the Dynojet kit as is the drill bit) and screw it into the hole far enough to get a good grip on it & then

<012 screw it in>

yank it out with a pair of pliers. If you are just installing the jet kit without cleaning the carburetor turn the screws all the way in until seated and then back out 3 turns for your initial setting. If your are cleaning the carbs as I am here carefully remove the mixture screws, their springs, washers and o-rings and then thoroughly clean the carb bodies.

<013 pull it out>

In this shot below things are going back together now, just reverse the diss-assembly process checking all of your parts,float height, gaskets etc. and correcting any problems you find.

<014 honda ace carburetors>

 

 

<015 dynojet research jets>

When it is time to put in the main jet you have a decision to make based upon the modification level of your motorcycle. Since this particular bike had a pair of large tube drag pipes on it, I went ahead & put the largest jets in the kit in it. Don’t just automatically put the biggest jets in especially if you are running stock or quite aftermarket pipes and the factory air filter setup.

<016 97 honda shadow 1100 carbs>

You should also be prepared to do a bit of tweaking especially to the idle mixture screws to get a good idle with a good throttle response as you come off idle. One must also be prepared if necessary to pull the carburetors completely back out if need be to try a different set of jets or alter the jet needle cir-clip position for the best running. If you pay attention to the instructions in the kit this is not likely but it is a possibility.

 

<017 Carburetors ready to reinstall>

There you have it, if you’re contemplating doing this to your bike at home first make sure that it is running well, and that it has new plugs, and that the ignition and charging systems are up to spec, and that there are no other problems such as cracked intake boots that would cause you to have drivability issues. If you put a jet kit in a motorcycle that is not running right to start with, you are very likely to have a motorcycle with a jet kit in it that still does not run right.

Just take your time, read the directions, and keep everything as clean as possible and you should be able to make your old Shadow run & sound even better than it does now.

Peace Y’all

<97 Honda Shadow Ace>

 

 

 

 

 

 

97 Honda Shadow 1100 Carb Cleaning & Jetting ~ Part 1

<97 Honda Shadow American Classic Edition>

Let’s jump into another “how to” post! Above is today’s patient a 1997 Honda Shadow, a great riding 1100cc v-twin that while still running very well, needed a little tweaking.  These motorcycles came from the factory with the carburetors set up toward the lean end of the spectrum for emissions reasons. This led to some drivability issues on some of them, when you combine the original lean jetting with a set of drag pipes, and 17 years of ethanol contamination it was running mighty lean indeed. The engine had a tendency to run hot, hesitate on acceleration, and frequent backfiring on deceleration. So I am going to pull the carbs off, clean them up a bit and install a Dynojet Research jet kit in them. To hear what this bike sounds like before the carb tuning click here go to my youtube channel.

First get the bolt out of the rear of the passenger seat.

<001 ace seat bolt>

Then remove the 2 from beneath the drivers seat one on either side

<002 ace shadow seat bolt>

Lift it up and set it out of the way.

<003 honda shadow seat remove>

Locate the petcock and shut off the fuel.

<004 honda 1100 petcock off>

Remove the bolt at the rear of the tank,

<005 shadow 1100 tank bolt>

and the other one at the front of the tank.

<006 shadow ace tank bolt>

Disconnect the fuel line from the petcock.

<007 remove fuel hose>

afterwards lift the tank high enough to remove this vent hose from the bottom

<008 honda shadow tank vent>

After you have removed the gas tank and placed it in a safe location this is what you should see.

<009 honda 1100 air inlet>

The yellow plastic container is there to catch any oil that happens to emanate from the crankcase ventilation system, so unbolt it,

<010 shadow ace oil breather catch>

pull the hoses loose, and set it out of the way.

<011 crankcase vent hose honda>

Next loosen the hose clamps on the rubber piping that leads from the frame to the inlet of the carburetors.

<012 honda shadow air hose removal>

Now we can finally see the carbs!

<013 there be the carburetors>

Time to remove the throttle cables, remove the 2 screws (indicated by arrows) and you will be able to get the cables out of the pulley on the end of the butterfly shaft.

<014 1100 shadow throttle cable>

The cold start enrichener is next. These 2 little plungers take the place of choke flaps on the most of the last production carbureted motorcycles. Instead of blocking the air they just add more gas. It works well but is a bit more aggravating to remove. I used to have a special home made tool for getting these out but it has been at least 10 years since I saw it last so I just you whatever combination of open wrench & needle nose pliers that allows me to remove & reinstall them without boogering them up.

<015 honda enrichener aka choke>

Here I am holding one of the enrichment plungers so you can see what it looks like on the inside.

<016 cold start enrichner honda ace>

Go around to the right side of the bike and pull the hoses in this tee junction that was connected to the crankcase vent reservoir and fold them back out of the way.

<017 shadow crankcase vent hose>

The rear spark plug wire runs through a loom that is attached to the right carburetor so remove it and the enrichener  on this side.

<018 rear plug wire standoff 1100 shadow>

You can reach under the carbs now & loosen the clamps holding the carbs to the spigots.

<019 carb boot clamps honda shadow>

With a rocking and twisting motion you should be able to pop the carburetors loose, but dont rush to pull them up out of the frame just yet.

<020 pop the carburetors loose>

Before you try to pull them all the way out remove all of the fuel lines and vent hoses, being sure to note which hose goes to which barb.

<021 pull off all the hoses>

These carbs come out of the top, just tilt them up sideways and turn them as needed, this is actually much easier than most Japanese cruisers of the same time period that require you to remove the carbs from the side.

<022 shadow carbs come out the top.>

Here are the carbs sitting on the workbench ready for cleaning. The next step is into the parts washer to get all of the exterior crud off for dis-assembly.

<023 dirty nast filthy carburetors>

Keep checking back as I will be posting part 2 of this series very soon.

Peace Y’all

Part 2 of this how to article is up & you can reach it by clicking here.

 

 

Ton Up NC Blog The July 2014 Website of the Month

I first heard of the Ton Up Club during a visit to the International Motorcycle Show in 2013, they had a cool display setup with a bunch of neat vintage motorcycles and flyers for their upcoming shows. Last September I visited the Bull City Rumble and saw just what a great show (and party) these fine people over in NC can throw & I’ve been keeping up with them ever since.

About a month ago they published a really cool post, “After the Flood, The BSA That Refused to Die.” After reading it I immediately hit them up for permission to link to it. No I’m not going to give you the details, click on the link and go read the post for yourself.

<bsa motorcycle survivor>

In the last few weeks that annoying as hell real life that pays the bills got in the way & I am just now getting around to sharing this post and decided just to make

Ton Up NC the website of the month, so go check them out and let them know that the old ‘Psyco sent you.

Of course if you are not in the great South-land but are really into vintage style Cafe Racer customs you might want to check out the site of Ton Up North America to see what is going on near you, the home page itself seems out of date but there are links to the local chapters, that can probably get you up to speed an what they are doing.

Peace Y’all

The Perfect Adventure Bike, or The Perfect Adventure Attitude?

This is one of the best articles I’ve read about motorcycle choices for serious travel.

Paul Pitchfork's avatarHORCAMOTO

imageIn this post, I look at the much-debated question of which machine is best for a long road trip. It’s probably one for the motoqueros amongst Horca Moto’s readership, but perhaps there is a lesson here for others about life in general….

It is one of motorcycling’s perennial questions: “What is the perfect adventure bike?” Asked and answered from many differing angles, it is a favourite on biker forums, in magazines and no doubt in many a pub and bar around the world. So to celebrate hitting the 40,000km mark on the roads and dirt tracks of South America, I’ve decided to don my flack jacket, raise my head above the parapet and throw my hat into this well-trodden ring.

Firstly, let’s get clear on semantics. ‘Adventure biking’ can mean many things to many people, which can muddy the waters of the discussion. Here, I am talking about ‘overlanding’ –…

View original post 1,242 more words

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on The Perfect Adventure Bike, or The Perfect Adventure Attitude?

A Redneck Defense of Atlantic Beach Bikefest! (Let’s Stick Together Y’all)

 

 

Late last week when I first wrote the first draft of this piece, I was angry and it sounds like it. Over time as I waited for permission to use various pictures and/or searched for free to use images on the internet, it crossed my mind that it might need to be toned down a bit. After re-reading it tonight for the 100th time I have decided to let it roll as is anger & all because it is the truth. Unlike some assholes I consider all who ride to be my brothers & sisters. Sure the odd fool might embarrass the family but to preserve the biker way of life we have got to stick together regardless of race or type of motorcycle we choose to ride.

<rise together>
Positive imagery provided courtesy of Bear over at The Old Bike Barn FB page! Thanks  This is the link for the main Old Bike Barn Store.
All over the internet and on the news all day and all night since Memorial Day weekend, all kinds of whiny, scared weenies, greedy developers and racist jackasses have been calling for an end to the Annual Atlantic Beach Bikefest, more commonly called Black Bike Week. Last weekend a bunch of thugs from Summerville, were in Myrtle Beach and decided to shoot the place up. I must point out that none of the shooters or the targets for that matter had anything in common with the bikers except for race. You can Google the thuglife dot com website for the Charleston, S.C. area. I refuse to link directly to it but if you wanna look it up and verify what I am saying be my guest. Somehow this important distinction has been lost by all of the news media, why? Because for years the city leaders of Myrtle Beach have been scheming and dreaming of ways to get rid of everyone they consider undesirable, this especially includes anyone on a motorcycle whether black, white or any other variation of humanity.

<Yellow_flame_Hayabusa_at_Black_Bike_Week_Festival>

First some background information I am a redneck good old boy white-bread cracker and damn proud of it. Yes I got a Rebel flag around here somewhere & I listen to a lot of southern rock & heavy metal music. Anybody tells you that I hate anyone for any reason is yanking your chain so that they can control you, don’t let them do it. I also love custom cars, fast bikes, big ass trucks and hot ladies. Perhaps unusual for a person of my background I prefer sports bikes over the Harley type stuff. Most important of all I believe in the freedom that motorcycles symbolize for all of us. Ever since the city of Myrtle Beach started harassing bikers to put an end to the rallies I have only been to that giant ocean side hospice center 3 times. Once to support Ron Paul during the republican debates, once to visit with a dying friend, and then back for his funeral. I have not been back since and I never ever plan to return again. If you own a motorcycle or if you love someone who does, my opinion is that you should NEVER go to Myrtle Beach at any time for any reason. Go directly to Atlantic Beach for the Bikefest, if you can’t get a room there stay anywhere close by except Myrtle Beach. There are plenty of other nice beaches for your family vacation the rest of the year too, let this place go to hell without you.

For the longest time the Grand Strand was referred to as the “Redneck Riviera” and for the longest time the vast majority of the crowds were local or nearly local people. But with time and prosperity tourists began to trickle in from further and further away, many from the eastern seaboard began to even bypass their local beaches up north to visit the warmer and at the time safer southern paradise of Myrtle Beach, especially the older snow birds. The problem was that this place was filled with a bunch noisy loud people who liked to have too much fun too late at night. Ocean Boulevard was crowded with cars & truck filled with (mostly) young people having fun. In the summertime, during my last couple of years of high school almost every other Friday night we would head to the beach in a convoy of vehicles from Darlington and cruise until the sun came back up! Then of course there were the bike rallies, for several years in a row a few friends and I would hit the beach and enjoy the show, eat too much expensive local seafood, and have a few beers. The scene on the boulevard didn’t even get rocking until after midnight, sleep was what you did in the morning. The African-American bikers had their rally up at Atlantic Beach and yes some of them would roll down south to have a look around. Big deal, we all came to the beach to have a good time without hurting anybody and that is exactly what we did.

<lexnfx custom paint>

Some of the good old boys in trucks like this could be your best allies if you reach out

This magnificent truck was painted by Lex at http://lexnfx.com/ If you need a badass custom paint job he is the man to see. Seriously go check out his website.

 

But the (northern) tourists and the snowbirds whined that all of these rednecks, bikers and blacks were keeping them awake past 9:00 p.m. Why couldn’t Myrtle Beach be more like the Jersey Shore, or the big city west coast beaches? So with dollar signs floating before their eyes at the possibility of so much more tourist money from far away and from wealthy retirees who just wanted to play golf by the ocean until they passed on, the city fathers began to act. Using the strategy of divide and conquer they decided that the first group that had to go was all of these noisy ass redneck teenagers from the surrounding area. After all they didn’t spend that much money, not being old enough to drink and being more interested in getting laid than playing golf, combined with all of the redneck imagery such as the loud music and Confederate flag license plates, they made an easy target. The first step was the introduction of anti-cruising ordinances, and very heavy handed enforcement of noise and traffic laws. Together with members of other local groups the beach area was completely sterilized of anything a local young person might enjoy. I do realize that some of you reading this are probably glad they got rid of them and may have even helped to run the rednecks out due to racial politics. I forgive you and plan to help you fight to keep your rally, just remember to stay free we must fight for every man’s freedom whether we like them or not. Think about it, back when the rednecks ruled Myrtle Beach y’all didn’t have nearly the trouble you got now. A bunch of rich white progressives are way more dangerous to your freedom. Plus they are the worst fucking prudes on the planet, no fun allowed with them in control.

<no fun in the sun>

They really mean it at Myrtle Beach!

The next big target was the Harley rally, at the time it was the easier target. All those damn drag pipes echoed up and down the walls of the new high rise condos on Ocean Boulevard, keeping the highly desirable newlywed or nearly dead tourists awake at night. It didn’t matter that the bikers usually brought great big bags of dollars and spent more money in a shorter period of time than any other group, they had to go. It was not the image that they wanted to project. The desired picture was Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons in Hot Jersey Nights, not Peter Fonda & Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider. So they enacted noise restrictions so tight that a stock bike might not pass, put in a city helmet law, greatly restricted vendor permits, and directed the police force to make life as miserable as possible for the bikers until they got the message. I know that I did, and except for the occasions mentioned above I have not been back, and now that my friend has passed on I never will. The Myrtle Beach HOG rally still goes on, but it is just a shadow of its former self and now has much competition for the biker’s cubic dollars from events such as the Outer Banks Rally. If I want to go for a family beach vacation I usually go to one of the small town beaches in N.C.
Now they have the chance to hit their final target Black Bike week. All of these silly people from the far reaches of the land where there are darn few black folks and the ones that they do see resemble Bill Cosby’s t.v. family, well they are scared to death of a man on a motorcycle and when it’s a black man on a motorcycle, it just scares them that much more. The Bikefest had a couple of advantages, the first being that the epicenter is in Atlantic Beach, out of reach of the Myrtle Beach law, and the second being that the NAACP was watching over the whole proceeding looking to sue the ass off of anyone that they could possibly could claim was acting out of racism. At the time this all started I think Myrtle Beach had a republican mayor, so they were afraid to crack down on them as they had the other two groups. This turned out to be the two edged sword that may eventually cut the head off of Bikefest. Because they knew the civil rights organizations were monitoring the scene and that the police would be less likely to react, a lot of the thug life crowd began to take advantage of the situation. The rally began to develop a bad reputation that quite frankly had nothing to do with the bikers. The bikers are not the problem, they never have been. Now Myrtle Beach has a super “progressive” democrat mayor, and there has been a major outbreak of violence involving persons of color in Myrtle Beach at the same time as the Bikefest was happening in Atlantic Beach. If any civil rights group tries to stop them, the democrats, backed by the will of most of the people of all colors in this state, will scream, “We’ve got to protect our children!” and then bitch slap them into the middle of next week. And yet another group of innocent people will lose a little bit more of their freedom.

<support Atlantic Beach Bikefest>

Support Atlantic Beach Bikefest FB page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-Atlantic-Beach-Bikefest-Thebikersarenottheproblem/1398678850419443

If you think what I am saying is a little far-fetched just remember when you cruise through Atlantic Beach, you see the historical African-American beach in S.C. When they look at Atlantic Beach all they can see is how much money could be made if they could bulldoze it flat and then build 500 more 20 story condos packed to the rafters with blue haired Canadians and retired farmers from Minnesota. It ain’t about racism, they take advantage of other peoples racism to further their agenda but it’s all about money, and that’s the bottom line. If it were just racism it could be stamped out, but the ever increasing greed of well-heeled politicians (regardless of party) will never die.
Once again let me state. The Bikers Are Not The Problem! The root of this problem is in the policies and development directions pursued by the leaders of Myrtle Beach. The problem with their desire to attract the big city tourists and remake Myrtle Beach into a “Coney Island / Jersey Shore South” kind of place, they forgot the reason the reasons that people were looking for alternatives to these places, namely overcrowding and a growing crime rate. The shootings this weekend had nothing to do with the bikers, period. Gang style violence of this type is a regular event in the locations that the powers that be in Myrtle Beach are trying to emulate, and even if all of the bikers are permanently banned from the area, unless the city leaders change their tune and quit trying to become another overdeveloped big city beach these problems are only going to get worse. Quit blaming the bikers and open your eyes to the truth.
Trust me a man on a 20 grand custom bike like this one below is not going to cause you problems, I don’t care how he looks to all the straight laced types.

<one badass 'Busa>

I’d like to have a beer with this man & talk about motorcycles.

Let me go on the record as stating the city officials of Myrtle Beach asked for this when they started their war on bikers a decade ago. While most folks like me just shook their heads and walked away some decided to stay and fight it out. African Americans came out in droves to support the Bikefest even if they didn’t ride. Too bad all of you Caucasian bastards didn’t help us, no y’all were glad to see most of us gone and still hope to get rid of the rest. FYYFF”S! Of course anytime you get a much larger crowd than normal you’re gonna get a few trouble makers, but like I said, y’all asked for it and you got it.
Now there is one thing the bikers, the leadership of Atlantic Beach, and the various civil rights organizations are going to have to do. You’re going to need to step up a little bit and push back against the thugs, maybe even crack a few heads, or help the Myrtle Beach po po identify the bad guys before they cost you not just your rally but the entire city of Atlantic Beach. The bikers and the people of Atlantic Beach deserve better than to be smeared by the actions of criminals, and yes it is not fair that the innocent parties have to do something about the problems. All I can tell you about that is welcome to my world. The rich old men with the big money bags are just waiting on someone to screw up bad enough so that they can snatch it all away from you and make themselves even richer.

<Tough sexy LADY>
Nothing like a strong beautiful woman riding her own ride!
Now let me address some of the shit that I have heard from stupid ass white people. One guy was on the news talking about two wheeled terrorists, because he saw some bikers dressed all in black with bandannas over their face. Listen up sunshine, a bandanna over the face worn by a person on a motorcycle is a piece of protective gear not any kind of attempt to be sinister. If you are that damn stupid that you have to describe folks trying to keep bugs, dust & rocks off their face as terrorists all I have to say to you is Yankee go home, and stay there.
Of course there are also all the complaints about the women in teenie weenie bikinis. It’s the beach people! It’s a place to have a good time, with as few clothes as possible. As long as they got their nipples and their slits covered up, please quit griping, if you want to be somewhere where women are completely covered up perhaps you should vacation in Lancaster, PA or Tehran, not at any beach anywhere in the U.S. Same thing goes for some occasional whooping, hollering, engine revving, and maybe even a burn out or two Yes some people might go a little too far and folks who are actually endangering other people should be stopped. But the enjoyment of freedom always involves a bit of risk, and believe it or not, free men and women prefer it that way.
Until next time ride hard, ride as safe as you can and still ride happy.
Peace Y’all,
‘Psyco

 

Posted in Rants, Raves, & Stories | Comments Off on A Redneck Defense of Atlantic Beach Bikefest! (Let’s Stick Together Y’all)

A Wammo Update

Just thought I’d share what’s going on around the barn a little bit. Getting the fender, seat and battery box figured out now means that it is time for the real work to begin.

<custom Honda bobber>

A few days ago I dropped the engine out but since then most of my spare time has been spent elbows deep in the severely damaged engine of some guys atv. Today I caught a little break since I have to order more parts for the Brute Force, it gave me a chance to finish tearing this one down to a bare frame.

<bobbed honda 400 frame>

<CM400 rigid frame>

Now the previous owner of this fine mosheen was a true rat biker and whenever he felt the need to attach something else to it that could not be tied or glued on he resorted to that favorite motorcycling custom trick of using self drilling screws to tack shit to his motorcycle. So I spent a couple of hours brazing up small holes in the frame, before it was time to break out the angle grinder and safety glasses and remove all of the unwanted tabs from this frame.

Some of the tabs were saved and will be reused on this and other projects, but most of them were tossed into the scrap bin to be recycled. Now its time to soak it down with oven cleaner and get it completely clean so I can do a little more welding then clean it all up and prep for paint.

<oven cleaner motorcycle frame>

By the way, I have been documenting the crankshaft replacement of the Kawasaki Brute Force 750 and will be posting a ton of pictures in the days to come so stick around.

Peace Y’all

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute Motorcycle Safety Study – The April WOTM

Virginia Tech Motorcycle Safety Study

<seen not hurt>

1981 was a long time ago; 33 years ago in fact that’s when Dr. Harry Hurt and his team published the now famous Hurt Report study of motorcycle accidents. This author is not personally aware of any large scale studies done prior to this. Dr. Hurt & his team conducted in depth analysis of several hundred motorcycle accidents in and around Los Angeles, California in 1976 & 77. This study is still the basic benchmark for most motorcycle related safety regulation & recommendations in America today.
This was fantastic work but by the time the report was published in 81 the data was already 4 years old and the state of the motorcycle industry was in the midst of serious change starting into the 1980s. In 1977 the most powerful “normal production” motorcycles on the street were air cooled inline fours from Japan, or modified Sportsters. (Yes youngsters at one time the XLCH was actually a badass motorcycle and not an overweight beginner’s cruiser.) The new decade saw a revolution in the power levels and handling of the Japanese sport bikes, and legendary machines like the Interceptor, FZR, Ninja, and the almighty GSXR. These motorcycles in box stock trim had power and handling undreamed of even in professional racing machines in 1977.
At the other end of the industry, the cruiser revolution was taking off. Jump started by the Reagan administrations bailout and swept along on a proud current of patriotic fever, Americans who had never in their life considered owning a motorcycle, rushed out to buy new Harleys powered by the reliable new Evolution engine. Millions of beginners took to the highways on brand new 1340cc machines. It was a glorious time. Even the big four got in on the act producing similar machines for those still dis-trustful of H-D quality.
The late ‘70s & early ‘80s had been slow times for motorcycle sales but by 1985 things were busting out all over, but it was a completely different scene. Today there’s good sized “retro” market for vintage styled machines resembling their ’60s & ‘70s counterparts, but with modern fuel injection, brakes & materials. A 2014 Ninja is as far advanced from a 1984 GPZ900R as the GPZ was from a ’69 Triumph Bonneville. Here in 2014 1300cc is considered to be a midsized cruiser. The greatest change of all is that there were no cell phones back in 1977. Things have changed so much. Ten years from now it will be different from what it is today, count on it.
In 1999 in Europe the MAIDS report was released. The Motorcycle Accident In Depth Study was yet another study of accident reports focused on all powered two wheel vehicles, including the moped class machines. In 2009 the organization released MAIDS 2.0 which I am certain was based on the same data set (please correct me if I am wrong) but segregated the 50cc mopeds from the larger motorcycles because the smaller machines tended to have much higher accident rates, skewing the results of the study.
Both of these studies are cause & effect studies based on accident reports. They broke the accidents and their causes various logical groups, and really did help to sort out what things were done wrong by those involved in motorcycle crashes. But to me the best way to improve safety is to find out what those who do not crash are doing right. This brings me to the current studies being conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. First I would like to thank one of their research associates a talented young engineer by the name of Cameron Rainey for making me aware of it, and helping me to better understand the focus of it. This is a series of naturalistic studies, involving real motorcyclists who agree to have their motorcycles outfitted with telemetry equipment & cameras. The motorcycles and riders are monitored, speed, position & conditions tracked for set time periods. In order to get true results from the study participants are given immunity from prosecution. I have no doubt that knowing that they were being observed caused some people to alter their riding some, but without this immunity allowing riders to behave as they normally would without fear of prosecution, this study would be completely useless. Let’s be honest here, how many of us don’t at least speed, or filter through traffic every once in a while. Okay put your hands down, all three of you

You can’t help but wonder how many of our pre-conceived notions will be challenged when the results of this new study are published. For example I always run my high beam headlight during daylight hours, does this really make me more visible or just piss people off? Another unproven belief of mine is that it is always better to stay out of a pack of cars whenever possible even if it means speeding through them or driving below the speed limit to get away from them. I do think that unless the traffic is traveling at ludicrous speed it is better to go a little faster than them, going slower than the posted speed will get you treated as an obstacle like a moped or a bicycle & tempt others to pass you in a dangerous matter. Plus I would die of shame if I were on a motorcycle and holding up a line of cars behind me.


One thing that I hope is still true from the Hurt report is that deliberate hostile action by drivers of other vehicles against motorcyclists is still a negligible, inconsequential percentage of the causes for crashes today. At this time my personal belief is that deliberate hostile intimidating action by other drivers has increased greatly no matter what you are driving. I hope they prove me wrong.
Please go check out their website, and don’t just glance at the homepage, take time to dig through it, sign up to volunteer in case they decide to do a study in your area. It will be interesting to see the completed report and compare it to past studies and to our beliefs, instincts, and gut feelings. It would also be interesting to hear from you dear reader, what are some of your beliefs about safety on the road? If you find out you are wrong about something will you be willing to adjust your riding style? Please tell me in the comments section below. (First comments are moderated so please allow time for them to be posted)

Peace Y’all
Relevant links used for research.
Virginia Tech Motorcycle Safety Study
The Hurt Report Summary
The Motorcycle Accident In Depth Study

See Me Save Me Motorcycle Awareness

Custom ABS Plastic Battery Box

When I last posted the last picture was of sheet of plastic with my cardboard pattern lying on it. After tracing around it with a marker I used my bandsaw and a Dremel to cut it out to shape. Be certain when cutting plastic with any high speed rotary tool the you use either a saw blade or the router attachment. Do not under any circumstances try to use a metal cutoff wheel for plastic and of course always wear eye protection.

<custom abs plastic battery box>

This next step involves extremely high heat, possible hot metal & molten plastic. It is your responsibility to take all reasonable precautions to see that you don’t get hurt.

The first piece to get bent is the lower brace. It will get reshaped even more later but for now let’s just bend it to a nice 90 degree angle. First you clamp it into a vise sandwiched between a couple of metal angles and start heating it.

<heat forming abs plastic>

When it gets warm it will bend very easily. To get a really good square corner take a slab of wood or another piece of metal and press down on the corner and hold it for a minute as it cools.

<heat forming abs plastic>

<heat forming abs plastic>

<square corner abs plastic sheet>

After this I bent the tabs in for the sides. These tabs my not really be necessary but I like the security of having large bonding surfaces to hold parts like this together, especially in a high vibration environment like a motorcycle.

<build custom motorcycle battery box>

Bending the sides up to form the box takes a little more thought. If you have enough equipment and desire absolute perfection you should carefully clamp each corner to be folded and follow the procedures shown above. In the interest of time and since this motorcycle is going to be another deliberate neo-rat, I simply heated the plastic along the bend lines until it was bendable and then used two blocks of wood to form it to shape. Hey it works for me.

<custom chopper battery box>

<custom Honda chopper battery box>

Before moving on to the next step you will need to test the fit and make sure that your battery fits properly. At this point you can reheat the plastic and adjust things somewhat, once you glue everything together it’s not so easy

<custom chopper Shorai battery box>

When you glue it together be sure to use plenty of ABS cement. Do not use any other type of cement with ABS plastic.

<custom chopper plastic battery box>

One of the nicer things about working with ABS is that the cement is very thick and you can use it as a gap filler to seal off cracks and imperfections and then sand it down after it all dries.

<custom bobber plastic battery box>

<custom motorcycle plastic battery box>

Here is a quick shot of it in the frame with the bottom brace glued into place. At this point the battery box is pretty well done except for sanding and painting.

<custom rigid frame chopper,bobber,motorcycle abs battery box>

The next steps for Project Wammo is going to be a complete teardown to the bare frame to finish removing all the unwanted tabs & finish up the welding. Then it’ll go back together as a roller with new bearings, fork seals, brakes, tires, etc. Then it will be time to freshen up the engine & paint the sucker. Stick around & enjoy the fun.