A long last weekend in the garage for a while. Next weekend the soccer games start...and well, if you've seen my son play then you don't want to miss games. His team has finished division champs for three seasons, but this year they go into under 16 so will probably be a bit outmatched in size.... I digress....again.....
I get out in the garage Saturday 9/10/2005 about 1 in the afternoon and start with the tank. It has had plenty of time to set up the POR-15 treatment. I add the petcock and fuel cap and trim ring for a Valkyrie that I bought new from Honda Direct Line, about $55 if I remember right. Put about 1/2 a gallon of petrol in the tank and sloshed it every direction I could....splashing it up and down and side to side....couldn't find any leaks. Awesome!! Time to mount it to the bike. The rear mounting hole is about 3/4" further back from the stock mounting location so I had to cut off that mount with the plazma cutter and reweld it further down the frame tubes. Had to add an extension patch to one side as the frame is wider as it goes back. Ground and painted, tank mounted, fuel line connected as well as breather. Done deal! The upper triple tree barely touches on left full turn so I ground a bit of the tank seam down. Right full lock is fine.
Next was tackling that long awaited rear fender light modification. I pulled the fender off and put it on the bench to work on so I could keep it level. Then I decided I did not like the way the rear lights were being mounted, all three straight out the back. So off on the Valkyrie to Autozone to get some more exhaust tubing (3" tubing with flared end fits the Caddy taillights just right!). A very long day and night and I had the light mounts done, cross members under the fender welded in place, and a piece of tubing welded up under the fender to run the wiring through. I went to bed at 4:30 Sunday morning and Erin got me up at 12:30pm Sunday!!
Went out in the garage and mounted the fender Sunday night, changed the fork springs on the Cheese (CB750) and reworked its rear brake calipers. Rolled Vicious out this morning (Monday Sept 12) and took a couple sneak peak shots of it.... here ya go.
The seat pan is the one I hammered out of steel plate, it is okay to sit on but not for long periods I bet! The tank bag is just sitting on the Valkyrie tank, not sure that I will put it on the final version. The tank is still wearing the Valkyrie badges as well.
Here you can almost see and I forgot I did it this this past weekend, but I added a flamed grill to the radiator cover. I had to plaz out the chrome grill with the bird on it to fit this one behind the chrome frame around the radiator. Not too shabby!! Also check out the small sports shield added here. I picked that up off of Ebay a few weeks back for $38. I just couldn't see me putting the full 19" Memphis shield back on, this one is a Memphis also, forget the name of it but it is on the back of it if you want to know. The tint helps hide the speedometer and wires/cables. Also check out the new spotlights on the light bar. I had an extra harness built and since my original harness wasn't built like the ones I make and sell now, I decided to recheck the install and wire lengths. Man that was the easiest thing I have installed on this bike!! Also not the bar mounted turn signals and flamed mirrors.
I was going for a enhanced 40's look but these lights look straight out of the 60s to me now!! Not everyone's cup of tea but I am loving it!! It may not be cool, but it is unique!! You have no idea how long I had to cut, trim, grind, measure, balance, etc to get all three of these lights pointing the same direction and spaced perfectly (within 1/8"). The fender curves down the back as well as around the side, and the sides have two curves to follow as well. Needless to say I have some Bondo work ahead of me to smooth out my imperfect cuts...first I have to grind down the welds a bit, then Bondo, hopefully that will happen this evening....
I don't like the exhaust shown in the last picture....it is too close to the fender for one, it is a common Vance and Hines for two, and it just doesn't go with the custom look for three..... so I am thinking of getting some Mudustas (shown below) for a Harley and cutting off the ends and seeing if I can make them fit. Might have to get my buddies torch over to the house to bend those tubes some if needed, which I am sure it will be, but it won't be the hardest part to any of this. These pipes would stop nearer to the front of the fender which would look cool. I want to cut a flamed brake bracket which would show under the fender on the right side.
Here I made a little drawing of what it might look like with these exhausts. I think it follows the lines of the fenders pretty well, while many others say the bike needs a retro looking exhaust system to follow the retro look. I am trying to meld both old styling with modern technology on Vicious, so I think these Medustas will find themselves at home here....
Have to pick up an exhaust flaring tool today, after all the welding on these light mounts, one of them is distorted and is a real tight fit for the light....the top left one. The three lights will serve as running lights and brake lights, but the top right will blink for right turns and left light blinks for left turns. Kind of like old cars huh? Each light has 1157 LED bulbs in it. I haven't wired them up yet or cut the holes for the wires, have to pick up some grommets first.
and a final picture . This will probably be the last picture for a while... have to finish a bunch of prep work and start hitting up some buddies for paint work. I am now considering doing the purple flames on top of silver panels instead of black.....I think that would look cool too. Just wondering what the black frame would look like with silver tank and fenders. Doesn't that Valkyrie tank look like it belongs on here?
Still need to make a decision on a license plate mount.....I am now thinking it belongs at the bottom rear of the fender instead of a side mount...I mean, this thing is wide as is!! The plate mount is a necessary eye sore no matter where you mount it. Email me what you think would look best, send pictures if got them or want to draw it in on the picture above to show me what it looks like. Send it to the address below. I will add them to this page if you do...
one final thing is the suspension isn't shored up yet. I think it is still a bit springy, but I have my eyes on a GL1800 mono air-shock and a compressor to adjust the ride level....if this works out for me then I can get a gunfighter style seat made so I can haul Erin to the Bike meets on Vicious the Hondian!!
Gonzo
2002 Honda Shadow Spirit - "Vicious" the Hondian