Friday, June 16, 2006

The Sportster chopper lives!



A little history for this one. A few years back (About 8 or 9 if memory serves), I bought my fist Harley. I wanted one ever since I was a little kid. I remember looking at old Easyriders magazines and parts catalogs like the "Jammers Handbook" and thinking how cool choppers looked. Truly motorcycle as art.
I couldn't afford what I wanted, but I have owned different motorcycles most of my adult life. I've owned dirt bikes, sportbikes and cruisers. The Harley had to wait.
One day I found a 1979 Sportster that was priced in my range and I bought it. The reason I could afford it was that the 1979 Sportster was a really odd year and it was really tough to find parts that would fit it. I rode it for a couple of years and with the urging of my buddy Bryce, we decided to tear it down to the ground and build the chopper from scratch.
New frame, new wheels, new almost everything. We welded, bent and hammered everything into place. It was a great experience in problem solving!
We got it together and it was a lot of fun to ride. Everywhere we took it, we got a lot of nice comments about our homemade bike.
The plan was to tear it down and change a couple of things, do a nice paint job and put it back together. Add a few more years and Bryce has taken it upon himself to get it rolling again. It's still not quite finished, but it's getting close and looks great. I know I can't wait to give it a test run!

Low and lean

The first build

The Sportster as I bought it. The best part was the paint!

Thursday, June 15, 2006

New camera

We just got a new point & shoot camera and had to test it out on the "kids". In case anyone cares what kind of camera a pro uses when he's "off the clock", it's the new Fuji F30... Excellent little camera! Probably safe to say that most of the pix you'll be seeing here from now on will be taken with it.

Shelby checking out a bug

Barking at bug...

Bailey wants out of the patio.

Just a happy dog.

I'm ignoring you...
Beth was so proud to finally get a shot of Indigo with her eyes open
(Indigo's not Beth's!)

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

My visit to Orange County Choppers

OK, it wasn't really OCC like you see on TV, It was their retail store (In case you aren't familiar, I'm talking about Orange County Choppers featured in the Discovery Channel show "American Chopper"). Due to the success of the show, they have plenty of fans stalking the guys at the shop and I had no desire to be one of "them". I was happy to browse the store and check out the bikes they had on display. I hoped to see some of the bikes from the show up close and was a little disappointed to find only a couple. I guess the more famous bikes are being shown elsewhere. The "Livestrong bike" built for Lance Armstrong was there as well as the "Chrismas bike" (Geez that thing is UGLY!). They did have a few other cool old-school choppers that Paul Sr. built. I'm always impressed at the detail work they do.
I think sometimes the fame of the TV show has overshadowed the fact that these are guys who love to build badass motorcycles. The Discovery channel built them into characters that are so typecast. I wonder if they are different when the "reality show" crew is not around.
As I was looking around the store, I kept thinking "Kiss"... Not the verb, the band! These guys have their names and faces on everything from coffee mugs to Pez dispensers. What a marketing machine! Of course I bought my T-shirts and other souvenirs... What kind of fan would I be otherwise? ;-)

The Orange County Choppers retail store

How much is that chopper in the window?

Old-school Panhead bobber

A nice "Paul Sr."Indian chop

A few other nice rides!

A couple more...

A collection of law enforcement patches lines a wall of the store.
Nice dog statue!

Mikey for President... A lunchbox I never knew I needed!

Memorial Day weekend at Crescent Beach

We took advantage of great weather and an invitation to visit our friends Mike and Lavon at Mike's parents condo in Crescent Beach. Sunday morning we packed a change of clothes and our swimsuits on the Harley and headed south. The condo sits on the ocean in one of my favorite parts of the east coast. Just south of Marineland there is a stretch of beach that is covered with natural coquina rocks. It's unlike any other beach in FL... Very pretty!
We hung out by the pool in the afternoon, then cooked a great dinner on the grill and gathered our beach chairs and accessories to enjoy an evening on the beach. No bonfires allowed, so we brought candles. Not quite the same, but fun nonetheless!
We spent the night and got up early Monday and rode home in perfect, cool conditions. I could do that every weekend!

Assume the position!

Love that beach (and the girl)!

This is what the above picture looks like as it happens. (Copycats!)

Mike and Lavon... Very metal!

Wine and gumballs... eeew!

Trying not to stub a toe.

Lavon tries to light the candles in the wind...
Hmm, sounds like a song.

Our "bonfire"

Monday, May 22, 2006

Cedar Key getaway

Beth and I have been talking about taking a quick trip to Cedar Key for some time. We finally had the opportunity this weekend. The weather was beautiful and we had no obligations keeping us in town. We packed a few things on the motorcycle and hit the road. It was a scenic 3 hour ride out through Green Cove Springs and Penney Farms. We hit Rt. 301 in Starke and cruised through Gainesville on 24, then on down to Cedar Key. A quaint, quiet place on the Gulf, it was just the R&R we needed. We had a room right on the water and saw plenty of Pelicans, seagulls and even some dolphin right off our deck!

Our room at the Harbour Master Suites was the top level with a wraparound deck

This is the view of the hotel from the street.

A view from our deck looking east.

My feet relaxing on the deck!

A local resident welcomes us!

Looking at the wharf area from the bridge.

Another look from the bridge.

Toasting a great weekend!

I think she likes me!

Sunrise... Time to fish! Maybe next time.

Daytona Bike Week 2006

Beth and I rode the new Harley to Daytona for its inaugural Bike Week. Our good friend Bryce went with us. I've been so many times, but always enjoy the freak show. The weather was great and the bike is just awesome!

Sitting in traffic on the Main St. bridge

You're better here than across the street! (a cemetery)

Bryce on his bad motor scooter!

Inside the Boot Hill Saloon

Outside the Boot Hill Saloon!

She makes that bike look Good!

One of my all-time favorite bikes built by Indian Larry. So sad that he died last year. The frame on this bike is made of welded chain links... No one had ever done it before!


Tuesday, February 21, 2006

New bike pics


I've been adding some goodies to the new Street Bob so I took advantage of the nice weather this weekend to get some better photos at the ICW at Beach Marine

At play...


Dial-9 played Fionn MacCool's Irish pub this weekend.
Mmmm... beer and Jaeger!

Friday, February 17, 2006

The pets

Have to show off the "kids".
Shelby is the big baby of the clan.


Bailey "Chillin"


Bailey and Indigo are practically joined at the hip!

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Starting 2006

I guess a blog isn't much good if I don't use it! Beth and I were fortunate enough to travel to Hawaii for two weeks in Jan to start the Champions Tour season. A nice working vacation (I worked, she vacationed!) Here are a few snaps...

It was steep hike down, but the black sand beach was beautiful!


One of the many spectacular sunsets on the north shore of Oahu!


Beth hangs out with a new friend on the Big Island!

Our downstairs neighbors at the Hilton Waikoloa...
Pretty quiet as long as they get enough fish!

An old lighthouse at a very remote spot on the Big Island. Good thing we had a 4X4, the dirt road was almost impossible to navigate... National would not have been happy if they had to come and tow us out!
Feeding llamas is fun!


"Dolly" llama!


The famous Waimea Bay on the North Shore... Very flat that week!


The bridge at Haliewa
A monk seal spends some time relaxing at Turtle Bay. I guess tourists are better than sharks!