Cruiser News
I just finished painting all of the panels- except the tank cover- on an 08 CBR600RR Pearl Fire Orange. This is an almost impossible color to match since it is a tri-coat with a base, mid and clear. Since I had no idea where to start, we decided to go Read more…
Among the factors, satisfaction with the sales experience has improved most, increasing to 856 (on a 1,000-point scale) in 2011 from 838 in 2010. Satisfaction with the product and cost of ownership also improves significantly, compared with 2010. The study also finds that motorcycle build quality improves to 122 problems Read more…
All I can say is, wow. That is beautiful. I’m currently riding a Triumph 675 Street Triple R and I love it. The comparisons have already begun and the new Brutale isn’t even available yet but it should be a good fight. The Triumph is a great bike but a Read more…
It was a great weekend for vintage and custom motorcycle fanatics… Even the races were fun with big old time names like Schwantz, Springsteen and Ahern all racing. Some of the custom stuff was amazing and NCR Ducati had a bunch of exotic stuff there along with lots of vintage Read more…
The yearly Vintage festival at Barber Motorsports Park starts today and runs through Sunday. I go every year and never tire of looking at the thousands of amazing bikes that show up. if you don’t already have plans for the weekend, you can’t go wrong here. If you need parts Read more…
Well, the SV is done and it looks awesome. Really nice low mile (4600) bike with all the tasteful upgrades- Carbon exhaust, billet mirrors, matte black upper triple clamp and handlebars, paint matched headlight, and the wide wheel conversion that allows you to use a 180 tire. SV’s are still Read more…
Here is a quick update on the SV. The headlight is reassembled and mounted. I painted the brackets matte black and used some mini turn signals to finish up. A new brake lever is on the work bench waiting to be installed.
The 07 SV650 restoration project is coming along- slowly. But, the painting is done and it is a slightly darker shade with a touch of purple or magenta in it. Here a few pictures- the headlight bucket and rim look awesome when they are painted on an SV. It really Read more…
This press release is from their auto division, but I’m sure you can see the possibilities for motorcycles- Munich. As a globally successful carmaker within the premium segment, the BMW Group attaches the utmost importance to advanced technology in all sectors of automotive manufacturing. Exclusive innovations and technological leaps secure Read more…
I picked this bike up at the auction a couple of months ago and I’m finally getting around to working on it. Mechanically, it was fine but it needed some cosmetics. I’m taking off the ill-fitting clip-ons and replacing them with the stock risers and some generic superbike bars. One Read more…
Moto Guzzi has announced a very cool new model in a press release today. This genre of motorcycle is quickly gaining market share because the average age of riders continues to increase. But, even some younger riders are into the retro stuff or at least the naked bike/Streetfighter scene. This Read more…
I was over in the Huntsville, Alabama area last week and decided to stop in and see my good friend Danny Roberts who heads up the Dunlop Proving Grounds. We raced together back in the 80’s and have been friends for almost 30 years. This is the facility where they Read more…
This started out as a stock 04 R6 with some slight body work scratches and scrapes. The owner had already gotten the wheels powder coated in the candy red that he wanted the bike painted. So my job was to match the color that was already on the wheels. As Read more…
In this picture you can see the cable and hose routing. The throttle cables need to come up from under the tank and pass through the risers instead of around the front of the triple clamp as they are with the clip ons. Both the brake and clutch hoses need Read more…
If you own pretty much any Suzuki from 2008-2010, you should contact your dealer for info. If you are the original owner of record, you will get a recall notice in the mail. This problem is pretty well known in the GSXR community, but many other bikes are affected as Read more…
Well, here is the finished product… the owner installed the body work and obviously did a lot of other things while the bike was apart- like recover the seat, paint the fork legs, etc. The dark “shades of gray” looks good on this bike. He also has some black GIVI Read more…
Well, the clear coat is on and it looks great. The dark gray/orange contrast really comes out with the clear and the metallic in the gray jumps out as well. It will probably be a few days until the parts are back on the bike, but as soon as they Read more…
Today we are going to put the flames on. I ordered a kit from Tapeworks.com with a bunch of generic flames in various sizes so we could get creative with where we put them. Flames are not really too easy to install since there are lots of little “fingers” that Read more…
So today we are putting the basecoat on… the colors are going to be Storm Silver with Orange flames. Tomorrow, we are putting the flames on so check back for progress. Basically, we could have used the flames as masks and painted them on first before putting the silver on Read more…
After a break for some really cold weather (and even a snow storm!) here in Atlanta, we are back on track to get the V65 done. The side covers are like everything else- well used with cracks all through them. After a little plastic welding, we are ready to sand Read more…
This tank was dented pretty much everywhere, but was solid with no rust. I’d rather fill dents than try to seal a rusted tank. So… I started by putting a layer of Gold Bondo over the big dents. The thing about filling dents is that whenever there is a dent, Read more…
After getting some of the big dents out of the tank, I primed everything with an epoxy primer to seal the metal and get a good surface to put the filler on. Even with the dents pulled out, it still will take a lot of filler to get the original Read more…
A friend of mine bought this Magna last year and has been slowly working on it to bring it up to the condition he wants. As you can see, it has a very “unique” paint job with lots of green and cream on everything! We are going to give it Read more…
From BMW’s press release… I guess everyone is getting in on the Harley 48 look. Honestly, I don’t think the 1200 GS lends itself to this scheme all that well. But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Coming Soon… 2011 BMW R 1200 GS Triple Black Woodcliff Lake, Read more…
Ducati has leaked a teaser photo of their new power cruiser bike and sure enough, I’m teased… I’m thinking that this is a good move for them since the average age of motorcyclists is increasing every year and the people who have the money to buy things like Ducati’s tend Read more…
I picked up a 2002 Futura from a local dealer on Saturday and rode it back to the shop. Nice Sport-Tourer but for someone short like me (5’8″) it sits a bit tall and the reach to the handlebars is too long. The natural comparison for me is to the Read more…
Here is the press release and photo I just got from Aprilia. I personally think that the standard naked bikes are going to continue to gain ground in the market due to their excellent ergonomics and near sportbike performance levels. That, coupled with the fact that the only people in Read more…
With the clear coat on, we let everything sit and cure for a couple of days before wet sanding and buffing. Some of the parts like the front fender were fine as is but the tank and tail needed to be buffed for that ultra smooth dipped in glass look. Read more…
Good video clip from NBC about women and motorcycling. It is cool to see women on all types of bikes these days. They do a good job of describing the “ride”- one said “you are just in the moment” and another said it is a natural way to de-stress. I’ve Read more…
I saw this over at Autoblog today, but the rumors of a Ducati Power Cruiser have been around for a while. Let’s face it, that is the money market right now. Older guys who have money are not generally going to buy a Sportbike and the smaller boutique manufacturers like Read more…
I think Honda will have some serious competition for its Gold Wing very soon- From BMW press release… BMW K 1600 GT and BMW K 1600 GTL – fascination with six cylinders. Since BMW Motorrad presented the concept study Concept 6 in autumn 2009, the six-cylinder in-line engine featured in it has captured the imagination of many Read more…
This is not really new news, but still, it is worth heading over to Ducati’s website to check out their available colors and paint schemes. I’m really partial to the classic black and gold Darmah scheme but it looks terrible on the red frame. That bodywork really need to go Read more…
As you can see from the email ad I received from Victory, they are trying to get rid of old inventory- as in 2008-09 models that are dragging down their dealers. The problem with having lots of old inventory is that unless the manufacturer discounts it heavily in the form Read more…
Harley-Davidson announced that the XR1200X Sportster, introduced in 2010 for export markets only, will be available through Harley-Davidson dealers in the United States as a 2011 model. The XR1200X is equipped with fully-adjustable Showa front and rear suspension components and can be dialed in to match rider weight, riding style Read more…
Just some light weekend reading for you… Here is a press release from JD Powers on motorcycle helmet owner satisfaction. I personally have both an Arai and a Shoei and while they are both great helmets, I prefer the Shoei for fit and comfort. But I have friends that swear Read more…
OK, this is a bit harsh since Harley really has updated their bikes with things like Showa suspension and Nippon Denso electronics (both Japanese, BTW) but, still funny.
Now that the Street Rod is done, it is time for it to find a new home. The paint is beautiful, the aluminum is polished and the bike is completely serviced including new tires. Priced at 8999.00, it is about 2500.00 under NADA book value. The 07 Street Rod was Read more…
This is a glimmer of hope in an otherwise very bleak powersports industry. The fact that BMW is adding dealers may just be wishful thinking, but I suspect that they are planning on converting some owners of other brands. BMW has a great lineup now with the addition of the Read more…
So, if you haven’t ever seen this, it is worth watching. This guy lives up there and obviously has the course dialed in. But still, this is impressive. The guy filming is also on a Wing and you can hear his footpegs scraping in every corner. (Thanks for the link Read more…
I have fixed a few bikes when guys have hit deer, and it is always a lot worse than this. The fact that he kept the bike up and didn’t crash is amazing. Probably more luck than skill, but hey, it’s better to be lucky than good sometimes!
It really seems like a simple and obvious thing to do- call a customer after the sale and make sure they are happy. But apparently it doesn’t happen very often. That’s because sales people are pressured to sell and once a bike is sold, they move on to the next Read more…
Here are a few pictures of the finished V-Rod Street Rod. This is a super rare bike that Harley only produced 700 of in 07. In addition to the paint and cosmetic repairs, I also did a complete service that included new hydraulic fluids for the brakes and clutch, oil Read more…
Today, the weather was a bit nicer with temps in the 60’s and sunny skies. So it was the perfect winter day to do the final buffing on the paint. Even though the paint looks great after clear-coating, we wet sand everything again to eliminate any slight orange peel or Read more…
We are in the final stages of the “restore the V-Rod” project and is is starting to get really fun. Today, we get to install the replacement exhaust and put the chrome heat shields back on the pipes. The original mufflers were scratched when the bike fell over- not badly Read more…
So, now we are in the final stages of our project and some of these are really tedious and time consuming. Since this bike was a daily ridden commuter bike, it wasn’t cleaned and polished regularly- so the aluminum parts like case covers, swingarm and wheels had that dull slightly Read more…
Jay Leno is one of the good guys- he loves motorcycles, cars and pretty much anything with a motor. So, it is really cool to see him do the dealer show intro for Piaggio Group’s line-up, which include Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Vespa. Press release from Piaggio Group- Moto enthusiast Read more…
Well, the V-Rod is on the ground and rolling. After a thorough cleaning with all the bodywork off, we are ready to reassemble. Wet sanding the tank (really, air box cover) is easier with it off the bike, but I won’t buff it until it is installed. Plus, we have Read more…
Today I reinstalled the front end components- forks, wheel and the clutch and brake mater cylinders. Here’s a tip for you- always do your cleaning and polishing with the parts off the bike for ease and simplicity. It is way easier to clean a wheel with it off the bike Read more…
With the forks back on and the steering head nut tightened, we can now install the handlebars and soon, all of the switch gear and master cylinders. In the mean time, the tank and rest of the body work has been cleared and is drying and awaiting reassembly.
Well, I needed to strip the bike down more than I thought since the handlebars were tweaked and needed to be replaced and the steering head bearings need to be adjusted. I will say this- Harley does not design their bikes with ease of maintenance in mind. At any rate, Read more…