Shovelhead update!

   Well, hello there, fart-face. So, this past Thursday went semi well..there was a bit of a hiccup and a bunch of frustration. Story of my life. Anyhow, some good did arise by the end of the night.
   I aimed my focus at getting my carb figured out. Being a mikuni, I have limited resources as far as friend knowledge goes. At least, that's what I thought. As it turns out, Timmo is a fuckin WIZARD with the mikuni. Sweet. We pulled the carb and cleaned it, yanked the jets...Timmo apparently had a complete jet kit at his house and was kind enough to make the drive. What a guy!! Thanks brother!!
   While Tim worked his magic in the jet department, I set my busy fingers loose on my gas tank. With the help of Glen-Bob, my petcock was changed in a matter of minutes. Easy-E. Tim zipped my carb back together and I slapped it back on.
   With dry, red eyes (from something), I started in on my wiring issue. Taillight, no headlight. What the fuck? Every time I hook up the positive, it either arcs or smokes a switch. Boo. After much cussing and asking Papa dumb questions, I trace the wires and find the bastard. Pinched wire going from the switch to the headlight. Motherfucker. Now I gots to be re-wiring shit. Ain't nobody got time for that. Actually, I did have time. I made it so.
   By the end of the night, my carb was straightened out (hopefully), my fuel will actually shut off now, and I now have a taillight AND a headlight. Sweet. Thanks to the shopnight bros and friends from here and there, Thursday was a pretty damn good day!
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Shovelhead update! And first fire!!

   Ho-lee-shit!! Well check this out! Today was the day, finally... Myself and some good friends have put in a shit ton of work and its finally payed off. We fired the fuckin shovel today!! AMERICA.
   Papa and I did a bit of scrambling and tied up a few loose ends that had to be taken care of before we could summon the almighty Kafton. Get the primary belt tracking properly, finish up the oil lines, drop the battery in, fuel line, a bunch of little shit. We got it done, no problem..er..good enough for now. Papa called upon the Kafton, and we waited.
   While we awaited the arrival of the sorcerer himself, we worked a bit on Jamey's fender. Well, I didn't actually do shit, I can't lie. I eyeballed the spacing and cleaned up some bolts on the bench grinder. You know, some real important stuff.
   Dr. Kafton arrived and the shit eating grin started. We got down to business, doing some oil-flow checks and whathaveyou..perfect! Dave gave me a green light to start her up. So I did. She started right up, first kick! Yeah...right...I kicked, and I kicked, and I kicked...took a break...then I kicked some more. The Great Wizard (Dave) took pity on me and relieved me of my kicking duties. Gives it 3 little rabbit kicks, and it roared to life! I warmed it up for sure..
   A couple little kinks need to be worked out, running a bit lean... I still got to ride it! I putted around the gas pumps, smiling like a retard at a circus show. Think about it. I did 2 victory laps and pulled back into the shop. Fuck yeah!!! I have a small to-do list before she's really road ready, but i'm ok with that. SOON!!!
   Today was AWESOME. It was one of those really good days. It was quite joyous, like...the joy you get when you beat the piss out of someone at a board game, that kind of joy. Haha! Thanks Dave, for the help today! Thanks Jamey, for the help every damn day! Jeez.
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Shovelhead update! Once again!

   Well ho-lee-shit! Another update on the shovel. I'm afraid this is becoming a regular occurrence, one might say that I enjoy working on my chopper. That's a true statement. Get at that dude!
   Tonight was SUPPOSED to start with me helping the bearded giant, aka Papa, aka I crush things with my hands, aka Jamey Thorpe.. He had planned to switch up the tail section on the knuck by swapping the fender and building a simple sissy/grab bar. Minor complications put a halt to that. There will be a post coming soon when shit gets ironed out. Glen-Bob did a bit of tinkering on HIS shovelhead, which will also be covered soon.
   On to MY shovel. I picked up where I left off Monday and started bolting my fender and sissy bar back up. Not too tough. Found a set of spacers for my oil bag to fender junction relatively easy, and they were a matching pair. Fuck yeah. I moved on to my rear wheel and brake caliper. Slapped a new set of shoes in. Yes. I hooked up my brake line and after a bit of head scratching, cussing, and farting, we got my brakes functioning properly. Who knew that a brand new master cylinder would come with a bum seal? Boo. Swapped it out. Good to go.
   Dirty Dan and I heated and bent my clutch arm a bit, so as to keep it from hitting the bottom of my battery tray. Victory. I threw that fucker back on and Papa and I finished the assembly of my belt drive. We got that put together and I started in on my license plate and left side controls. Papa, like the teddy bear he is, did me a solid and handled my oil lines for me. What a guy! While he finished those up, I threw my chain back on and farted some more. Yayerrr! That about capped off the night.
   Today was an AWESOME day. Start to finish. Started with a KILLER cup of coffee, ended with some VERY productive choppering. Thanks for the help Jamey!! Keep your eyes peeled folks, the next shovelhead update may include details of the first fire! Snap!
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Shovelhead update!

   Fuckin a! Another shovelhead update. Once again, Jamey was kind enough to let me burden him with my presence. I spent the morning with him and Marty, doing some official JTO business. I played an important role, like...keeping an eye on the truck, making gay jokes, and keeping Marty's dog Bailey company in the backseat. It's cool. We bonded.
   And now for some shovelhead bullshit. I put my right side controls back on, as well as my master cylinder.. They both bolt to the tranny..no sweat. I also hooked up my brake light switch, had to modify the spring a bit, but I got it to work. America.
   I moved on to the welding portion of my day. I still had a tab to weld onto the frame for my rear pipe to hang from. I found a scrap in Papa's pile o' goodies, trimmed it to length and zapped it into place. While the mig was hooked up, I also welded a small crack in my fender and smoothed it with the grinder. Good to go! So, fender is done and exhaust is completely finished!
   Got a bit done, probably not as much as I should have with the time I had available, but oh well.. I felt a little like a hamster in a wheel, like someone played a dirty, dirty trick on me. Ha!
   All in all, a good day. Hanging with Marty and Jamey is a shit ton of fun, top it off with a bit of choppering...AWESOME!
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Shovelhead update!

   Well, well, well...tis been a fortnight since my last post.. Call it me being busy, or me being lazy, yes..let's call it me being lazy.. I haven't done much during this month-long chopper dry spell. I've THOUGHT about choppering a whole bunch! But yeah...there has been a major lapse..sorry folks.
   Anyhow, I'm sure I'm gonna catch heat for this, but...there was a last minute invite from Papa to head out to the shop to work on the shovel. I couldn't turn that shit down!! Sorry, shopnight brothers! Get mad at Jamey. Try to kick his ass if you like...(wear a helmet.)
   So yeah..Thursday, I headed out to the shop and put in some serious work..I completed a major laundry list, getting me closer to my ultimate goal: WHEELIES! Well,  mainly just starting my bike..
   First off, before I worked on the shovel, I got to help Papa work on his flathead for a bit. I felt privileged to do so. For a guy who helps me out as much as he does, it feels awesome to actually return the favor. We swapped his frontend, and slapped his new wheels and tires on. Only took a few minutes, but I'm glad to help. You're welcome Jamey, now YOU owe ME!
   On to the shovel! I put my cutting and welding skills to work, finishing my exhaust. I had to bring my rear pipe in a bit closer to the oil bag, which meant taking out some material before the bend. I made it so. While the cut off wheel was out, I made a set of kick out tips from a fucked up "u" pipe my buddy gave me..they look a bit grimey, but hey..so do I. I welded those fuckers on, and BANG BANG! The exhaust is done. I just need to weld a tab on the frame for support. Next time.
  Next, we re-tapped the drain plug on my tranny, as the threads were south of cheese...well, Glen-Bob did it..I watched.. He did it up right good, and I commenced with the putting on of the ratchet top, that George "oh daaaamn dude!" Perry, was kind enough to fix for me. Thanks Holmes! New gasket and screw set, fuck yeah. She sealed up nice, and I bolted her back in the bike.
   Then!! I pulled my oil bag to get it prepped for fresh oil and a FRESH MOTOR! Jamey fired up the pressure washer and set the heating element to KILL! I blasted the inside of the bag and flushed out all of the shit that's been collecting since God knows when.. Put some air to it, drying out the insides, and bolted it back on the bike. Again, fuck yeah.
   Lastly, low on time and freezing our asses off, we started installing the brand spankin new belt drive! Good trade, Papa! Patrice and Papa proceeded to fuck about, removing the stupid ass compensator something or other from the crank..that was REALLY on there. They emerged victorious, and Papa installed the front pulley. That's what I'm talking about. Teamwork. After a few brain farts, I started putting my final drive sprocket on, and we realized that we didn't have the socket to zip the nut down. Boo. Dead in the water.
   I made a shit ton of progress, it may have made up for the long layover. I'm pretty sure Jamey invited me to the shop because, he got tired of seeing my puppy dog eyes whenever we talked about the shovelhead or shopnight. Did I guilt him into letting me get my work on? Fuck...probably. You be the judge.
   So, after all was said and done, Thursday turned out pretty swell. I feel like it was thoroughly mixed for Mike Riot! I got to see some good friends, and got to do some choppering. That'll work!
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