Sporty's Done!

At least for now, that is. Mid pegs are on and everything is working. Turned the bars downward a bit to give a more cafe/boardtrack inspired riding position and after 50 or so miles I can easily say that I really like the results. Other than the sleeker look what was most apparent to me is just how much, well, sportier the damn thing is. A simple tweak has made the gearbox feel more responsive, the handling better, the braking better- and all because some jackass put cheap ass forward controls on. I figured the shifter and brake pedals would feel a bit tighter once all the superfluous rods and connectors were gone but damn. It's like night and day. Plus the fact that my legs aren't sprawled out in front like I'm in a La-Z-Boy means I can shift my considerable weight around better and get off the seat a bit for big bumps and the occasional backflip. I can't for the life of me figure out why guys will buy a Sporty and then spend all kinds of money making it into a mini bagger other than the fact that they absolutely have got to ride a Harley and can't afford anything else. Here's a novel idea: buy a used bagger! Next step is the rear fender chop and new taillight. Pics soon.

Finally seeing some progress on the Sporty. Of course, it won't be done until the rod end for the rear brake shows up (Friday or Monday I'm now told) but at least those ugly ass forward controls are off. I'm also managing to finally get the last few chrome bolt caps off as well. Honestly, I just don't know what possesses people to put shitty plastic caps on bolts. It's a fucking motorcycle! It's supposed to have bolts! Shouldn't be much of a surprise, this is the same guy that put shitty Kuryakyn forward controls on a Sportster.  I'm also slowly replacing the silver bolts with pretty black hardware. Unfortunately I keep forgetting little things here and there necessitating extra trips to the store and slowing the process down. After this the next major move will be to chop the rear fender a bit. The damn thing is just way longer than it needs to be.

10 Best Engines

Sure to spark plenty of arguments, fisticuffs, name-calling and divorces, Visordown has compiled their list of the ten best motorcycle engines ever. Here's the list as they see it:


10. KAWASAKI H1 500
9. HARLEY-DAVIDSON EVOLUTION
8. TRIUMPH DAYTONA 675
7. HONDA NSR500
6. KAWASAKI Z1
5. HONDA C90
4. SUZUKI GSX-R1100
3. YAMAHA R1
2. HONDA CB750
1. DUCATI 851


I'm really surprised there's no BMW engine on the list. Surely the R90S meets all their criteria, much more so than at least a couple of these. Also glaringly omitted is the unit Triumph 650 twin and the modern MV Agusta F4 engine. I suppose you could argue that the MV is too rare but the Triumph 650 is easily one of the most widely regarded and important engines of all time. Definitely top three. I'm glad to see Harley got some credit though. Too many bike snobs like to deride the American MoCo but the fact is they make some pretty good shit that is well designed for its purpose and yes, I'd grudgingly admit the Evo is their most important engine even though I'm a Sporty guy. Head on over, read the article and voice your protest.


http://www.visordown.com/features/the-10-best-motorcycle-engines--ever/9854.html

Today's the day...

...to begin prepping for the switch back to mid pegs! The Sporty unfortunately came with some fuckugly forward controls (Kuryakyn I think) and it's finally time to transform this thing back into a proper bike. I snagged a group of parts from some old guy who also uglified his Sporty years ago and threw the stuff into a box in his garage only to be discovered years after the bike sold. Everything for the mids was there except the rod end that goes to the master cylinder and wouldn't you know it, no shop in all of Phoenix has the damn thing. Plus it's 8 bucks which seems like highway robbery to me. So I reluctantly ordered it, stopped at Ace for the rest of the hardware and I'm eagerly awaiting its arrival. When all is said and done I'm Craigslisting the other parts and hope to end up with a zero net cost transformation. Today I'm scotchbriting parts, taking the Dremel to a couple rough edges and doing whatever else I need to get these things on as soon as the part comes in. I'm so excited I'm moist. Also thinking of giving the bars a little downward turn too. Might be problems with the internal wiring though. I'll see. When all is said and done I'll be off to a couple spots I scoped out for good pics. Hopefully by Thursday. That is all.

New Milestone

Thanks to the folks over at Magneto Industries, MOTOanimus has hit an all time new high of three followers. I'd like to thank all three of you, you're the ones who make this all happen. I'd also like to thank my mom and Jack Klugman, both of whom have been inspirations in their own rights. Now, with a little bit of work and a whole lotta luck, perhaps by summer we can break that seemingly unattainable goal of four followers. We can do it!

Falcon?

Alright Falcon Motorcycles, it's been over a month since you launched the caferacers.com website and nothing more has been said since. All we really know is that Falcon plans to put their touch on factory Triumph Thruxtons. We've seen other builders do some very choice stuff with these factory cafe bikes. Mecatwin is the first to come to mind, but when a builder like Falcon, who in one fell swoop (The Bullet, above) raised the bar so high announces something like this, well, let's just say I sit up and take notice. So please Ian and Co., give me a teaser, a peek, a tickle... just give me something! In the immortal words of Tom Petty: the waiting is the hardest part. 

Magneto Industries

Those crazy Blood Falcons just keep on giving. Discovered the sweet Magneto Industries blog thanks to motoguru. Lots of nice vintage stuff to be had there. Almost makes me want an old Kawi. Almost. Check 'em all out.