Ola chicos

Well 2017 started ok.   I took some time off and got a new job.   It might take some of my time away from bikes but, it does pay the bill.    So, we left off when I more or less finished the rebuild the Triumph engine.  As usual, I took it to Ace to conduct final check on my useless work, and to set the ignition, and to do a dry run.  At Ace, I met a new guy there name Riaz who will ultimately be the one doing the work on the triumph.  A kool guy that introduce me to "blip motorcycle" some sort of coop workshop pretty cool.


After taking my engine to be checked, I realized, as I was tidying this up, that my triumph tank had suffered a little dent on the side, so I sand the area and fix it .

and finished.  The tank is now ready for painting.  Just need to find the right color.  I am thinking turquoise and yellow but have not made up my mind yet.

Then it was time to move back to the CT70.  It was time to re do the engine.

Check the primary socket: Pretty worn out ain't it.  The previous owner must have seriously done some damage.

I don't know when was the last time this bike was on the road but the bloody gasket are melted on the cylinder.  

Well, looks like the carb will also need some serious upgrade.   A repair kit cost 20$ when a new carb cost 30$, so I will spare the pain and replace it.

Then I remove the piston to notice the rings were broken, which entails new ring.

The cost of a new piston and rings been more or less the same price of a new one, I decided to order a fresh new piston.  Strangely enough the new piston is shorter than the original one.  Will see later if that has any impact on the performance

I was itching for a ride, as I had been away for the holidays, so I took a weekend break to head over to the Yankees Tavern Ice House to attend a Chili cook off and vote for the best one. 

and as usual this trip was not gonna turn out ok.  

One spoke from the back wheel broke and went inside the tube, and as I was loosing control of the bike, the clutch cable gave up on me.  Another afternoon, full of event.   Luckily some blokes stopped by and gave me the phone number of a local towing guy that took me and the bike back to Houston.

Should really get roadside assistance on my insurance.  Anyway, I took the wheel off as soon as I got home and figured it was a good time to repaint the chopper.

And so I blasted.  Must have been 5 layers of paint. 

but got the hang of it and sanded to bare metal

And then primer and paint and start with the new look.

I wanted a tribute to Operation Ivy, a famous ska/punk band I liked when I was younger. 

And did a bit of art.  well I think it is at least

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And then I remounted everything, and when I was about to start it I broke the throttle cable.  Anyway, it looks good

While I was awaiting for my throttle cable, I worked on the little ZB50.  I took it apart, cleaned everything, changed the petcoke and consumable and kick started.  As luck would have it, the throttle cable gave up on me, but it does work so am happy with that considering it was given to me. 

And I finally remounted the engine of the CT70.  

And did a mock up while am waiting to receive the wiring harness and few other bits and pieces. 

Then I headed up to 713 Tatoo shop where Showclass magazine was launching the release of their latest edition.   Met few kool dudes there.  A pretty nice party though I had to leave early.

burger and beers were good in spite of the shitty weather.

And as luck would have it, I had a short on my XS just as I arrived at Blip.   After, taking few things apart, I realize the whole wiring system will have to be redone.  Bummer.....

Well, that's all for now folks.  Up coming event will be Giddy up in New Braunsfeld, the Handbuild in Austin and the Moto GP end of April.