DTT Barber Build 2012

Flugtechnik

My bike is not transportation, it is a respite
I am very conflicted about starting this thread. I really love the idea that I am going to lay out here, but I am uncomfortable being the beneficiary of the project. There are people on here that actually NEED our help or deserve it more than me. All I did was act like an idiot and ride faster than I should have with the expected consequences.

So what is this idea? Well, the idea kind of took shape on my crash thread here (http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=36724.0). We were talking about rebuilding my bike at Kiley's house during the Vintage MC festival at Barber in October. I remembered seeing that DCC had built a bike at a recent bike show, during the show on the show floor. I thought that was pretty cool. So we discussed doing the rebuild at the actual show at Barber. The way the "cafe" area was setup last year, it was up at the top of a hill. There were some tents for different vendors, including DCC, Cafe Racer TV, and Tim even set up a DTT booth. I think it would be a great way to show what DTT is all about to have us actually doing what we do at the show. I think it would be a great way to demonstrate the type of community that DTT is where we can all come together, hang out with some beers and turn some wrenches. We could do it in the DTT booth or set up another tent next to or behind it.

Here is the basic idea. I bring my trashed bike to the show just as it was when they pulled it out of the ravine. On Friday we do the teardown and whatever work can be done at the show. Friday night we take it back to Kiley's and do whatever fab work is needed, welding, etc. and painting. Then on Saturday, we do the reassembly. If it is possible, we could try and have it ready for the parade lap, but i don't think that is really important. we could have a list of To Dos so people could come and work and know what needs to be done. You could come and turn some wrenches for an hour or two and then go enjoy the rest of Barber. I wouldn't want this to keep someone from seeing what the came there to see. It should only add to your experience so don't spend any more time working than you want to.

44bdbacd-4ada-c947.jpg


The other big aspect of this project is the collecting of the replacement parts. As I mentioned in my original build for Nixon here (http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=9560.0) I was on a pretty tight budget. The way I was able to get my wife to agree to me getting and restoring a bike is that I would only use "my money" to do it. That means birthday gifts, Christmas gifts or money from selling parts, etc. I was able to stick to this pretty well. For the last three years, all of my Christmas and birthday gifts were parts for Nixon. The only exception were the custom tank and seat that I had to beg and plead to use "family money" on. Now I am not poor. I make a very good living as an aerospace engineer. I do not need nor do I want charity. As I said, there are much much more deserving people here that need help. I'm not one of them. This is a hobby to me so I only spend my hobby money on it. After the crash, I have no hobby money left. It was $300 just to recover my bike from the ravine and get it back to my house. (The police officer forced me call a tow company instead of waiting for my friends but that is another story and what's done is done), not to mention the medical bills coming. So, if we are going to rebuild my bike in October, I won't have very much money to spend on parts. I am expecting a small bonus from work that will be "my money" so I should have about $250. that means I will need to reuse as many parts as I can and rely on donations of parts from you guys. Just old crap that you have laying around and don't want anymore. Maybe we could get some some companies to donate a needed part or two.

As the discussion of the build progresses, we will be able to figure out what parts are needed. Hopefully not too many.
 
Well I have a donor 450 that all I want from ifs the engine, so there's that. I say choose a direction in relation to what where you want to take her and we will make it happen! Once you have an idea of what to do for the build we will know what parts we have that will work. We all have that pile of parts to work with! Once we get an idea and a parts list I will be glad to do a sketch of the bike in completed form a la Chip Foose and we can go from there. Personally this is exciting to me. I don't see it as a charity case, I see it as an opportunity to solidify what this place is all about.
 
oh snap Kiley... you just compared yourself to Chip Foose didn't you? :p
Give yourself credit man... You're way more manly than that pansy!
 
To start, maybe a list of what's salvageable would help?
Here's a spreadsheet to help us coordinate:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiXzl-HNrZMkdHg4ckVvMmZPZ2F4MGx2a3hsYVJSUHc
 
Hahaha! Yes. My beard is greater than his.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
 
I'm in...i'll bring a set of fork seals, some oil, and i'll rebuild the forks for ya. Plus what ever other wrenching needs done. I've helped at Kiley's every year so far, so why would this be any different =)
 
First, my hopes and thoughts for a speedy and complete recovery.


And while I will not be able to attend Barbers, I would like to offer a plan of attack if you don't mind.


I used to work in the entertainment industry doing concerts, TV, big industrials and such. This "2 day build" smells a lot like the shows I used to do where we woudl have 24-36 hours to set everything up for a show with a crew of 30-70 folks swarming around it like bees.


This can be done, but it will take a fair amount of work ahead of time so that all involved know what the vision is, what the "plan" is (not necessarily the same thing) and what each can do/bring to assist.


It seems to me that the first thing that needs to happen is that you need to establish what all is salvageable from the bike as it is now. (is the motor still sound? wiring harness good?, etc.)


That frame certainly looks suspect to me, and the forks and wheels need to be inspected closely.


Next you need to consider the vision. Do you want to put Nixon back to the way it was, or try something different?


With those 2 things in place, folks can offer ideas, parts, skills, etc. in service to your vision.


Then you can start to plan.


I'm not trying to sound preachy at all, and feel free to do your own thing, I just know from much experience that it is exactly this kind of fairly boring and tedious legwork that can make the build experience itself really exciting and rewarding for all involved.


Again, best of luck, and know that if I could, I'd totally be there to assist in any way I could.
 
And as I typed up the above, others piped up with exactly the same info.


One of the reasons I really like this place, btw. Everyone thinks just like I do!




And sorry if the above read as preachy. I seem to have a problem typing the right words to get my point across...
 
The direction I would like to go with Nixon's rebuild is towards a bobber (which is why I put this in the bob n chop section). I loved how Nixon turned out and thought she was beautiful. However, to be honest, she was uncomfortable to ride. Also, if I were to rebuild her back into a cafe, I would have to rebuild her exactly as she was with a new custom aluminum tank and seat that I can not afford.

This will not be a hardtail. I would prefer some rear suspension and a hard tail would be very difficult to do in the time constraint of the the show. There are currently 13.5" shocks on there, but I also have some 11" shorty shocks that we could use.

I don't really care for the brat style seats (my personal taste) so I thought a solo seat would be in order. Something like this:
se-aa-bk-00-00-biltwell-black-tuck-and-roll-bobber-chopper-motorcycle-brat-solo-seat-bottom-side_1.jpg


However, I don't know how that would look with the frame. We could cut the frame off just behind the shock mounts, but then there would still be a lot of frame length under the seat. Maybe we could move the shock mounts forward.

As for bars, I was thinking of something like drag bars. I still have the stock handlebar mounts.

My front rim is bent and needs to be replaced. I was thinking it would be cool to replace it with a 21" rim. It is currently 19". I really like my front drum hub. It is painted to match the rest of the bike and it works well. it is a double leading shoe. I thought we could just lace a 21" rim to it. But when I was checking ebay for rims, I ran into a problem. The front wheel I have has 40 spokes. All of the old 21" honda/yamaha rims I found are 36 hole rims. I found some 40 hole rims but they were for Harleys. I'm not saying I couldn't use a harley rim, but I think it would be hard to find someone with an extra one or find a cheap old one. Also, by doing this, I would need to get some custom spokes made and get a 21" tire. Not sure the budget can handle that.

I would really like to reuse my CL pipes. I think they look awesome and they attract a lot of attention. However, I don't know how they would look on a bobber.

As for the tank, I don't know. I have a 350f tank that I could use. It has a really big dent in the top of it that would need to be fixed though. I think it would look good on a bobber though.

a68909d8-5468-7366.jpg
 
Get me the tank flug. I'm in the midst of a bunch of bodywork with my wing and 350. I'd love to do the work on it if you want it done before the build.
 
Bozz, thanks for the advice. All very good points that we will keep in mind. Yes, I would want to have this already planned out and as much of the work done ahead of time as we can.

I also will be making a list of what is salvageable and other items I have. Yes, I know the forks, swingarm, wheels, frame, etc will all need to be checked first.

We have some time to organize our thoughts on this. There are a lot of details that need to be worked out. With enough planning, hopefully the time spent at the show can be like our relaxing wrenching sessions at home. Personally, if it doesn't get finished that weekend, I don't really care. As long as we have fun.
 
My personal opinion, and this is just that...an opinion...is that I hate the solo seats on flat frame rails. The only way that you can hide those rails is with a flat sitting seat that covers them. Another option is modifying the frame I have here. You would have to get it titled, which isn't a big deal, but it could be copied to your hearts content. Try finding some bikes on the Web that are similar to what you want.

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Mike, I got help from our friends here to make Barber last year, and I hoped to pay that forward this year. I may not make it to barber but will follow this thread and once my house sells I would like to pay forward the finacial help that our friends sent my way last year, your way this year. The GTG at Troys we all pitched in to get Swagger a ticket, I had the extra $$ and sent it. Last year I was broke, so it came my way, so I would like to offer either parts, paypal $$ or both towards your build and if I do get to Barber I will sling a wrench or whatever to help out gladly. I think I would enjoy that more than anything else.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Just so happens that I have a 21" alloy front wheel from a 78 XL350 lying around collecting dust. Next project will be a cafe, so no use for it there. Its in great shape (minus the surface rust on the spokes, but that'll clean up) and has the uber rad conical drum brake. All yours if ya want it.
 
Last year at Barber's, I enjoyed the wrenching/drinking/shooting the shit as much or more than any of the riding I did.

Plus, your tail light was too fucking bright. Ha.
 
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