Hooligan film

"Hooligan" - this documentary is not a technical history of motorcycles. It is designed to shed light on an energized cult of inspired motorcyclists – past and present – who have been referred to as "Rockers," "Hooligans," "Ton Up Boys," "Coffee Bar Cowboys," and "Bike Boys." It is not about Harley Davidson riders, weekend cruisers, chopper builders or sport bike riders. It is about a lifestyle born from the coupling of rock ‘n’ roll and the magic of two-wheeled machines like Triumphs, Nortons, BSA’s, Motoguzzis and Velocettes. It is about stripped-down, old-school cafe racers; retro classics; bobbed fenders; clip-on handlebars; customs; and rat bikes. It is about the love and commitment necessary to restore and maintain them.

I especially like the tagline:
"Real bikes are built in garages."

Strapless

While the bike was indoors, I was fiddling under the seat and located the bolts holding the seat strap. Not particularly liking the strap, I removed it... what do you think?

BTW while I was under there, I found an ancient rubber "bungie"-type tiedown wedged between the foam and seatpan. Cool.

A-RRRing-Ding-Ding-Ding

A coworker forwarded on to me this morning a PowerPoint document comparing the sounds of a HD to a Honda... of course the HD was all rumbly potato-potato, and the Honda was, well, not... but the funniest thing is I describe the sound of my bike almost exactly like this! Have a listen:

[728k WAV]


UPDATE: After having heard the sound once again, from online ads touting it as a cellphone ringtone to a wierd animation of a frog imitating a motorcycle, I followed the link to annoyingthing.net and actually discovered the origin of the sound from an interview conducted by Newtek Europe with Erik Wernquist, the creator of The Annoying Thing:

A little more than a month after I had put the animation up I got a phone call from a somewhat confused person claiming he recognised the sound in my animation as his own creation. His name was Daniel Malmedahl and he said he had been contacted by a friend of his telling him to check out my website. I was a little uncertain at first but when he gave me the "proof" of performing the sound live on the phone there was no doubt he was the guy I was looking for. Apparently he was oblivious to the fact that his sound had spread around the internet, even before the Annoying Thing. He told me the he didn't actually make that sound as a joke at first, but as a serious attempt to imitate the 2-stroke engine of a moped of his. He has a talent and interest in imitating the sound of engines. This was about six years ago, and it wasn't until a friend of his put the sound on a CD that they used to play at parties he realised the hilarious quality of the noise. From that CD, the sound somehow found its way to the internet and eventually ended up in my mailbox...

Want to convert an R5 into a TR3 replica?

I had already linked to another R5-TR3 conversion, but the parts listed were from Yamaha, and most are no longer available. Well, Jamie Linxwiler put together an up-to-date article on building a TR3 Replica R5/RD350, using parts and resources that are currently available. It seems like it's remarkably simple and straightforward process... and making a hybrid, street-legal version with the TR3 tank and seat could be very interesting... time to start saving sheckles...

Old Brit Blog

Dr. Laverda writes about the joys and woes of vintage motorcycles... some damn funny writing here. This is a must-read!

Bike is indoors!

And it's been called "a work of art"... gotta love that!

Took a friend and I, a long 2x4, much grunting, some profanity and a few tense moments, and it was in.

I rather like it inside, it really is a conversation piece. I find myself sitting on it regularly.

Problems... solved?

It came time for the annual DelVal ABATE Toy Run, and after giving the car a much-needed washing, I tried to get the ol' Stinker started. No dice. I changed plugs, nothing. Plenty of gas, oil, petcock open. Nothing. Noticed the idiot lights were pretty dim. That might be it.

Got around to getting a battery tender/charger, plugged it in and clamped it on. In about an hour, voila! The foulest mix of gas, oil and crud came spewing out the pipes all over the pavement. Took a good while to clean. But the bike was once again running strong. So that might be the problem!

Perhaps this winter, once I get the bike inside (weather has been too nice these past few weekends... can't bring myself to do it!), I'll tear everything apart, get a good cleaning done, and see if I can suss out the problem with the electricals.

Getting a few more rides in...

I got a message from a member of a friends' scooter club, Neal Friedant, and thought I'd pass this on:

One of the local scooter people forwarded your website and I found your email and wanted to ask you if anyone you know may be interested in buying my project 1970 R5, purple and white. I have it in my warehouse at Frankford & York. It runs and is complete, but needs crank seals on left hand side of the motor. I have a clear title and the bike has 20 on it, asking $400.00/OBO. By the way I saw your bike on 3rd street yesterday. It is sweet. Thanks if you know anyone that is interested.

If anyone is interested, let me know, and I'll put you in touch. Thanks, Neal, for the kind words.

Got the bike out on Sunday for a trip to the supermarket - a few items needed for a late breakfast. She ran spectacularly. Probably because she's feeling it might be time for hibernation...

End of summer...

I entered the Yammy (alongside Russ') in the Hot Rod Hoedown... first time I've entered anything in any sort of car show! Great stuff there, including a handful of tasty kustom bikes in the show and a whole slew of them parked just outside. A few of 'em are shown below. Good stuff.

After that we rode out to the Lansdale Bike Show... and by gosh I have never seen ANYTHING that enormous EVER. There were easily 60,000-70,000 people there. And just as many bikes! Not too much interesting stuff, mostly cruisers and such, but there were a few gems here and there and some really well-done examples, even for Harleys. Mike from Hiway had a booth set up. Stopped by to say hello.

Since then I've been riding sporadically, as the Yammy has been quite temperamental. She'll go a whole day, 130 miles or so, without a hitch, and the next day she won't make it around the corner. Plug fouling seems to be the culprit, and I haven't been able to figure out what's wrong. Got her going a little yesterday, that was fun. I'll keep her going as long as I can, until it gets too chilly. Then she'll come inside, where I can admire her all winter.

Here are a few snaps from the day:

Pictures posted

This past weekend, while putting in a little wrench time, I was able to snag a few photos of the bike. She looks a little different from the images posted in the auction...