Frame's Done

I got the motorbike frame all welded up and painted. I was looking at a picture I had of it when it was assembled and I got to thinking some chrome fenders might look nice. The only problem being there's no place to bolt a rear fender on so I made up a piece of tube to run across the chain stays with a hole drilled in it. Hopefully it won't interfere with anything else. The paint job is just a rattle can job, so it wouldn't take much to cut the tube out and touch up the paint if it doesn't work. I'm going to give the paint a few days to set up and then I'll see about getting it all back together again. Additionally, I've now got a couple of hooks and chain to hang things up so I can paint them. 

I got the new Cycle World and was surprised by the new format. It's now like Motorcyclist - more of a motorcycling lifestyle magazine, rather than the old road tests, expert columnists and race results. I'm about a fourth of the way through it. So far some good articles but it's now a quarterly rather than a monthly also. I like the way things were with one of them monthly and one quarterly as well as different takes on the sport. Looks like now they're both the same again. I figure that means one of them will be gone soon, at least with a printed copy.

I got a phone call from the salesman at the HD dealer last Friday. He said the new Sportster came in and that they were having some kind of shin-dig for St. Paddy's Day. I wanted to check it out but I went to the gym in the morning and I already had a date with the Missus to go out early afternoon. I'm going to try and get up there soon and check out the bike and see if they'll do anything on a trade with my Suzuki. Right now it's kind of a coin toss between the Royal Enfield or the Harley. Two bikes that aren't a thing alike, I know, but I'll see which one speaks to me the loudest. I do regret selling the other Sportster a bit. This one would be a bit more practical with a larger tank and an electric starter. To be honest, as a guy who's had a heart attack, I was a little concerned about having to kick start that old one. Once they're dialed in they're pretty reliable but if it didn't start on the first few kicks, I'd have to either call for help or an ambulance. 

Now it's make the fingerplate and get the fixture finished for machining the levers on the Sprint. I'm shooting for at least three projects with wheels to be completed this year. The motorbike will be the first. I'll get to work on the BSA and finish the wiring and paint on the sidecar project next. Need to stay busy - it's officially Spring as of today.