Swap

This morning I rode across town to the monthly motorcycle swap meet that's held here in Long Beach. It was pretty awesome to see all the different bikes (hundreds!) and vendors that were there, selling everything from old, rusty bolts (already got plenty of those) to vintage helmets, patches, leather jackets, tires, etc. etc. etc.

I tried on several jackets, but nothing fit quite right. I left the meet empty handed, but that's not for lack of cool junk to buy. The throng of attendees seemed to be about 90% Harley riders (of which about 90% appeared to be "biker on the weekend" yuppie dads), and I got some strange looks (of adoration? disgust?) riding in and out again on my Honda. But it felt pretty good, as always, to look a little different than everyone else there. I love my bike :)

Progress Report

Here are a couple new photos taken out back. I've got the bike more or less where I want it - with the exception of a new tail light (the last one I ordered didn't fit). I tilted the bars a little lower, put new grips on, new rear fender, new air filters, new turn signals, painted the tank, and switched out to a smaller mirror. It's a very fun little ride.

Tank Moody

I spent all weekend watching paint dry. This little project was pretty tedious, but I like the result. I tried to loosely model the new tank after older Triumph tanks I'd seen with a horizontal split two-tone. This thing is in no danger of being mistaken for a '60 Bonneville, but whatever.

Here was the process - I emptied the tank, let it air out, then sanded the old topcoat and orange paint down to the metal. Then I used a grey primer. After that I painted the whole thing white. When that was dry, I measured and taped off the bottom half and painted the top black. Once that was dry, I carefully sanded out any imperfections (and probably created a few in the process) and sprayed the whole thing w/ a clear coat. Then I laid down a thin line with "imitation gold" 1shot along the divide. I may eventually make this line a little thicker so it can be seen better, but maybe not. The best part of the whole process was hooking back up the fuel lines, putting some gas back in, and actually having the the beast start. Up close, the paint is definitely not professional body shop grade, but nothing on this bike is in show-quality, nor do I care to make it so - I think a rattle-can job done in the garage fits the Hornet just right. Not a bad weekend.

Sunday Morning

This morning I took the Hornet down through Seal Beach to Huntington Beach and back without a single issue. I don't want to jinx myself here, but whatever was going on a couple weeks ago with the pooping out at lights seems to have worked itself out (is that even possible?). It was cool and cloudy this morning, which made for a great ride down through Bolsa Chica going about 70 mph. I'm still trying to work out where the power is with each gear, when to shift to get the most out of her, etc, but every day I'm getting more and more comfortable. Pretty good morning.

It Takes More Love to Share the Saddle than it does to Share the Bed

Yesterday was my 31st Birthday, and Kristen agreed to ride around the neighborhood for the first time on my motorcycle. We never got over 3rd gear, and kept bumping our helmets into each other, but it was incredibly fun. I think that's what these things were made for. I complain a lot about getting older - and how these kinds of dates are only sad reminders of the passing of time, but I really couldn't be happier with where I am. I have the most amazing girlfriend, perfect for me in every way, and we don't have much, but we have enough, and most importantly, we have each other. Here's to 31.

Getting a Signal

My new turn signals came in today from Dime City Cycles. The stock ones are HUGE, so I've been looking for some smaller ones that fit the look of the bike. My friend Seth recently bought a '71 CB500F that had some great little metal/aluminum signals on it, so I went hunting for the similar ones, and here they are. 

The installation was pretty cut and dry - altho the new signals had 3 wires and the old ones only had 2 - but it was fairly simple to figure out what went where and they definitely look much better.