A Quick look at Harley’s Street 750

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Motopsycho

I took a quick trip to Charleston S.C. this past weekend, mainly so could spend the gift certificate from Low Country Harley Davidson that I won at the Rockabillaque bike show, and so the Mrs. & I could have a nice romantic lunch at Gilligan’s restaurant in Monck’s Corner on the way. Low Country is a very well set up dealership with a large bike showroom that actually takes precedence over the boutique gift & t-shirt portion of the store. Yes the other merchandise is housed in an impressively sized store with a very upscale appearance, but it is clear that the bikes come first when you walk in.

There was one bike in particular that I wanted to check out, Harley’s Street 750 & 500 models. They had one of each with the 500 sitting at the front of the showroom and the 750 off to one side on display in front of a Christmas tree, at the entrance of the boutique.

Unfortunately, it was pretty well being ignored as most customers seemed to head straight to the baggers. Yet even with the improvements that created the liquid cooled “Rushmore” line of motorcycles the fact remains that this is the most advanced engine that HD has released since the V-Rod or the short lived Buell 1125. With liquid cooling and overhead cams it steps firmly into the modern age of motorcycling. I do realize that all of my fellow Japanese iron riders will yawn with boredom at the thought of a mere 57 rear wheel hp (as measured by Cycle World here), but when compared to other mid size machines with a similar design focus, based on unique or classic styling, beginner friendliness, and character it compares very well. Bikes such as the Triumph Bonneville, Moto Guzzi V7, and Honda’s new series of 700cc machines such as the NC700 have similarly modest horsepower. The folks that buy these machines are not after barn burning power, but unique styling combined with ease of use is the name of the game.

If these bikes were available through the rental program, I would rent one and try it out, perhaps I can snag a demo ride on one somewhere. After throwing a leg across it and sitting on it I really liked my first impression. Even though it seems small compared to all of the big bikes in the showroom, for a genuine vintage rider like me it seems perfect.

the Motopsyco on Harley’s Street 750

Let me be totally 100% honest with you, I really do not like to ride cruiser or touring style motorcycles. Chrome don’t thrill me & I thoroughly despise floorboards, forward controls, and infotainment systems on motorcycles, after all when I ride a motorcycle I expect it to entertain me without any outside help. The street 750 &500 models will probably be available in other colors soon enough but the murdered out appearance of the current model really turns me on, as do the mid controls and the bikini fairing reminiscent of the 77 XLCR.

Harley’s Street 750

I have the feeling that I could live with one of these in bone stock form at least through the first summer. But as soon as the wrenching season hit it would wind up with my laptop plugged into the first aftermarket injection controller I could find. Then I would have to dig up a wrecked CBR/GSXR something or another and con one of my machinist friends into helping me swap the forks & wheels onto it, along with some taller shocks & lower handlebars.

Yes I know the target market is beginners who are planning to move up to a big twin from Milwaukee, not nutcase rat/brat/cafe racer fanatics like me. This little twin is really cool, and I think it’d be fun to cut it up and make it into something KUSTOM! The only thing I wouldn’t change is the color scheme.
Peace Y’all

StoriesofBike Website of The Month December 2014

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Motopsycho

I have a confession to make. I love to watch hipster motorcycle videos. In fact they have to be downright stupid for me not to like them. Hell I’m even thinking about making one of my own, after all even though I am old as dirt I’m still so hip I have trouble seeing over my pelvis.

The website that will be brought to your attention today goes quite a bit beyond the typical bike videos normally produced by guys in small shops with custom wares to hawk or questionable skills to show off, and gets deeper into the personalities of the people who ride and love these motorcycles.

We all dream of riding

Based in Australia, Cam Elkins is the creator of Stories of Bike, with the aid of his brother Jack who creates the music that accompanies the videos. Yes there is a video or two involving your typical tattooed 20 somethings with piercings, flannel shirts, and fuzzy beards working on some variation of custom bikes. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, and if that were all there is to it, watching these clips would still be a great way to waste a few minutes of your time on a fairly regular basis because of the strong production values the StoriesofBike.com team bring to the table .

But these videos blow right past that, talking to the riders and builders in depth about motorcycles, life, love and how they came to be the people they are today. Yes there is fine machinery in these videos, but there are also fine people in these videos too, from different places & backgrounds but all connected by a common love of riding motorcycles. When you watch one of these clips you end up feeling like you know the person or persons being filmed & interviewed, a very difficult feat to pull off in the short film format.

The video embedded below especially touched my heart, there is nothing better than love that lasts all the way to the end. This is my favorite video at StoriesofBike.com watch it all the to the end.

Love baby, it’s what makes life worth living, especially when you have motorcycles to go with it.

So is StoriesofBike Website of the Month material? I absolutely think so, let me know if you like it as much as I did

Peace Y’all,

Psyco

Start of the Winter Season

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Motopsycho

It seems as though the start of the winter season here in S.C. has been pretty decent so far. There have been a few chilly days and a fair amount of rain but most of the time it’s been really nice just a little nippy in the morning on most of my riding days but I haven’t had to break out the snowmobile gloves yet. Next week I think I’ll install the winter liner in my riding suit and try to locate those winter gloves just in case it turns really cold and stays dry.

It’s Dec. 5th and I may have to put the insulated liner in sometime soon.

Yes all of your supposedly sane friends look at you like some kind of idiot or freak when they see you riding around on a motorcycle in the winter time, even here in the deep south. There are occasional times when I wonder about myself for doing it, but it’s just so much fun to ride a motorcycle! Not to mention the maintenance headaches I save from not winterizing or having to do start up service in the spring. If by some chance I were to move to a location where the snow and ice would make it dangerous to ride the bikes would go into storage for the winter but here in SC we have way too many 60 degree days for me to do that.

Life has been going really well around the farm lately, and I picked up a new shop truck to replace my semi-trusty old van. Just plain white regular cab Toyota work truck. Of course since I live by the motto, “stock sucks” the modifications have already begun starting with a tonneau cover and some cargo control updates.

I couldn’t forget the blogs web address!

Deer Hunting season went really well this year & we’re stocked up on meat for the year, so now it’s time to do a bit of cool weather trail riding. The last 2 stroke dirtbike I had was a Kawasaki KD100 that I got when I was 12 or so. Since then it has been all big 4 strokes until this year when I picked up this little blue Suzuki. This was supposed to be a restoration project but it has turned out to be such a hoot to ride just like it is, that I’m reluctant to get started on it. All of these years I was never a fan of so called “ratbikes” but now I am forced to admit there is something very liberating about riding a motorcycle on which the cosmetics just don’t mater! Tree limbs, briars, mud, dirt, dust, or dropped objects in the shop as long as it fires up with the next kick or push of the button who cares. I still love, admire and plan one day to own more beautiful bikes, but everyone should try living with at least one rat for a while.

in the woods Dec. 5th 2014 8:30 a.m.

I have developed the tendency to blast around my neighborhood without any gear, kind of a throwback to the time when I wouldn’t have been caught dead on a motorcycle wearing a helmet. Yes I still get fully geared up for serious riding but I still understand why some people wont. To each his own, live & let live or die, c’est la vie, etc.

Well that’s the start of the winter season for me, it’s just like summer but with colder shorter days and fewer ravenous biting insects. What is it like for you? Do you ride your motorcycle or do you put it away & wait for brighter days?

AmyTracker The November 2014 Website of the Month

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Motopsycho

One of the great things about the internet is the huge variety of interesting people you run across in the various motorcycling forums and in the blogging community. Amy & Kevin are two such people. I’ve never met them, but have thoroughly enjoyed reading about their adventures online. Take a look at the map below, this is the route the two of them rode on their latest motorcycling adventure tour.

I first learned of Amy’s blog while reading her ongoing ride report for this 2014 trip to Alaska over at the advrider forum. So I started following her blog and reading the posts as they came up on WordPress reader. She has a great style of writing & the photos taken by her and Kevin are terrific especially if like me, you really love the natural beauty of the great outdoors.

on the Denali Highway

So if you really like great pictures and interesting adventures go check out amytracker.wordpress.com
Like so many bloggers she started this blog as an online personal journal, but it has grown into a great source of entertainment & information for those of us who find ourselves chained down to a desk full time & are too timid to break free & go ride!

So go check out Amytracker & if you like it let her know.
Peace Y’all
‘Psyco

The Best Sunrise!

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Motopsycho

The Best Sunrise! Feel free to share just let everyone know where it came from…

Attention Deficit Project Disorder!

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Motopsycho

Well it was another rough week at that thankless job that I go to everyday of every week to keep the lights on around here until my web store catches fire & I can sell enough products to retire from everything but blogging. (go buy something, click on any ad here and help a brother break free!) My original plan for the evening was to go climb up in a tree & try to shoot Bambi’s father, but it was starting to rain kinda hard when I got home so instead I decided to grab a beer, & carry the forks that the mail carrier just dropped off from the house out to the shop and maybe work on fitting them to the CM400 bobber that I’ve been tinkering with for the last few months, but decided that the shop really needed cleaning up a little before proceeding so I pushed some of the junk bikes out into the rain for more room.

What’s under your desk?

Then I moved the two portable work benches back to the sides of the shop to clear up floor space. Then I decided to go ahead & start soaking my new to me,old pile of junk Suzuki with penetrating oil so that it would come apart easier when I go to replace the rear inner tube and the 40 or 50 other parts it probably needs to be trail worthy. Of course it’s a lot easier for an old fart to work on a motorcycle if he doesn’t have to bend over so I grab the old furniture truck ramp from the yard and dig through my lumber pile for a couple of timbers to set it up on since my motorcycle lift table is loaded down with my CB360T restoration project. For some reason as I was digging through my scrap lumber pile, a misshapen piece of wood that was left over from some long forgotten construction project jumped into my hand and said, “hey look at me, wouldn’t I make the perfect Plains Indian gunstock war club?” But by this time I had enough of a buzz going that there was no way you could ever get me near the bandsaw so I threw it back on the pile, got the timbers and headed back inside to prop up the dirtbike. Hopefully I can find it again when I am sober & have some time on my hands as it would go so well with my Hawken, powder horn etc. In fact it would look really sweet hanging up next to my black powder shotgun if I ever finish building it….

Can you see the pattern here? It’s a serious disease that afflicts middle age men. ADPD Attention Deficit Project Disorder It’s incredibly dangerous, because the problem just gets bigger & bigger. You become an addict scanning Ebay & Craigslist for just the right item at the right bargain basement price. The problem is that you don’t need it, there are a dozen projects, plus your honey-do list ahead of it, and just as sure as hell your boss will start demanding extra overtime on top of what you already work, so your discretionary income is temporarily enlarged while your time to enjoy it is diminished, this leads to more shopping & less doing until your place starts to look like a salvage yard, and your neighbors start calling you Fred G. Of course this is also the time when everything in your house will break down too, so you have to take care of those things first. Sure you could pay someone to fix the plumbing or the light fixture but for two things 1; the guy you call can’t do it any better than you can & maybe not even as good. 2; You just scored the deal of the century on another old piece of shit motorcycle, gun, car, jeep, boat, plane or what ever your addiction is & spent the money already.

At any rate I got the TS185 up on the ramp so I can work on it, but since the weather is supposed to be nearly perfect for riding tomorrow, it was time to give the old CB650 a good going over & adjust the chain so I stopped to do that instead. Hey you got to look after your main squeeze if you want her to look after you! Well it’s been fun blogging with a little buzz going on, but right now I need to find a carb kit & battery for the 1969 CJ5 under the carport & figure out when I’m going to get time to fix my tractor so I can keep the wood lot clean & get the garden ready for next year. Then maybe I can relax, watch a little television while checking out the crack-list on my tablet.

Peace Y’all
//

Oops I Did It Again. A Junkyard Dog Double Feature. (updated w/ video)

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Motopsycho

I went prospecting for rusty gold again. Brought home a couple of early 80’s Suzukis.

One is an RM 80 condition unknown, some parts missing, in fact I am not even sure what year it is. This one is truly a junkyard dog and it is for sale right now as is where is, to the first person willing to give me $50

The second one is a 1980 Suzuki TS185. It’s rough but will start and idle.

I really like the headlight assembly.

There are plenty of interesting crusty bits on this one.

Overall this old cycle is not the worst I I have ever tried to restore. At this point my plan is for a basic restomod as a woods bike, but if too many of the parts needed for that are not available, it may become a “brat style” custom scrambler.

Peace Y’all

Mercury

Posted on August 15, 2014 by Motopsycho

It was a crisp cool morning, 65 degrees made it feel more like October than the middle of August. The gravel crunched beneath my tires as I traversed that last half a mile before reaching the asphalt. To my left just peeking over the trees a huge brilliant sun was shining like a cosmic blow torch burning away the foggy mist that lay gently on the forests & fields that surround my Carolina country home. Stopping at the end of the dirt road, I made sure the choke was completely off, and checked my surroundings before pulling out onto the empty back road of the kind that I love so much.

After a quick run up through the gears, it was time to weave back and forth leaning the old Honda to the left and the right as far as I could without leaving my lane to warm up the tires a little and clean the sand off of the sides of the treads. So far, so good, the road is still empty so I ride on stepping up the pace a little, confident that all is well with my steed.

Then I spy a nicely banked sweeping curve that is followed by a nice long straight running down through the pine trees, so I lean forward a bit and twist the exhilarator a little bit more. While swinging through the apex of this gentle curve, I peer down the road ahead and note that it’s completely empty for at least the next 2 or 3 miles that I can see.

Exiting the curve I simultaneously lean over & reach down, wrapping my armor plated leather fist around the top of the left fork tube, while my right hand twists the throttle all the way to the stop, and my heart pounds as the devil may care grin on my face stretches from ear to ear. In that moment all is perfect, a curious mixture of calm serenity, and the heart pounding excitement of the illusion of danger. In this moment it seems that I am thundering down the back straight at the Indy Mile aboard the legendary RS750, as the crowd goes wild. Hitting the red line in fourth I shift into fifth and screw it on for just a few seconds more.

Real Honda Dreams

Before you know it, it’s over, it’s time to let go of the dream and the throttle. Up ahead there are houses with driveways & cages, filled with prisoners, their cell phones in one hand, breakfast in the other, and a cup of coffee between their legs as they attempt to navigate through the commute that they regard as a waste of their life. To them the road is just an obstacle course to be run, a linear prison where they are held against their will, and driving is a form of punishment. God help the innocents that get in their way.

Turning onto the multi-lane roads heading into the city, two fingers on the clutch & two on the brake crawling through traffic at forty or fifty is far more dangerous than any amount of ludicrous speed on the back roads. You watch every car & truck like a hawk, trying to anticipate any bone headed moves that might punt you into the emergency room or the morgue.

Knowing these things why do I still ride? Even sensible motorcycling is still far more enjoyable than being stuck in a box isolated from the surrounding environment, you see, hear, feel and smell what is around you. But the best times for me, are the rare moments like this morning;

I was Mercury, my feet had wings, and I could fly!

Help me keep a good thing going! Click below to shop through Amazon & support this site for free while you do so.

Ultimate Addons Mounting System for Phones

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Motopsycho

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ultimate Addons Mount on the Suburban Assault Scrambler

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

Peace Y’all

97 Honda Shadow 1100 Carb Cleaning & Jetting ~ Part 1

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Motopsycho

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.

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

Lift it up and set it out of the way.

Locate the petcock and shut off the fuel.

Remove the bolt at the rear of the tank,

and the other one at the front of the tank.

Disconnect the fuel line from the petcock.

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

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

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

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

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

Now we can finally see the carbs!

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Welcome to the Asylum

Crazy About Motorcycles!

Tag Archives: motorcycle

A Quick look at Harley’s Street 750

StoriesofBike Website of The Month December 2014

Start of the Winter Season

AmyTracker The November 2014 Website of the Month

The Best Sunrise!

Attention Deficit Project Disorder!

Oops I Did It Again. A Junkyard Dog Double Feature. (updated w/ video)

Mercury

Ultimate Addons Mounting System for Phones

97 Honda Shadow 1100 Carb Cleaning & Jetting ~ Part 1

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