Thursday, May 06, 2010

A ride through West Virginia on scenic HWY 52.


-- Sent from my Palm Pre

15 comments:

Michael Maier said...

A hardtail? I like those for guitars, but for a bike? Hell no!

JACIII said...

Oh, hell, MM. It's fuckin' Honda Rebel Chopper fer cryin' out loud. It ain't like you can do any real damage to it.

The fact that it is not a ubiquitous McChopper some lard ass bought off the shelf makes it rate in my book.

Mikesbo said...

One of the bikes I had in college was a 1972 CB450, and I remember to this day seeing a guy ride up next to me with the same bike, but chop-i-fied like this rebel, but with a ridiculously long fork...

mmaier2112 said...

It's about hurting your arse! Not the stupid bike!

Michael Maier said...

Where did my comment go? Dude, your blog is odd.

Anyway, I was trying to say I would be far more worried about the damage to my ass than the bike!

I do have a question for the craftsman in residence...

My old Rebel had the hole for one of the screws that holds the footpeg onto the frame rust out and strip. How much work would be involved making a trustworthy repair?

I'm guessing maybe drilling out all the rust and then filling it in somehow, then tapping new threads. Is that a lot of work?

Because that Rebel is currently a stalled project in a buddy's garage. And my younger brother is looking to start riding. If the fix would be relatively cheap, I might look to buy it back.

Bill said...

MM, I'd file/brush as much rust off as I could in ten minutes, and then weld a nut into the hole.  Or cut out a small patch, and weld in a plate that's either been tapped or had a nut welded to it.  I usually weld in nuts since tapping is kind of a pain.

BTW, I thought the "rebel" chopper was hilarious, great idea!  I didn't catch that it was a rebel at first, but I thought the engine looked kinda puny - figured it was a 50cc someone had rigged up.

Bill said...

oh.  I omitted a step, you gotta drill out the rusted nut.  What you weld back in is called a coupling nut, you can get them in round, sometimes called a threaded spacer.  And another thing; is it past using a helicoil?

Michael Maier said...

Don't remember, been a long time since I looked at it. I don't have easy access to it now.

I just remember how easy it rode compared to my dad's Honda. It started, stopped and rode so smooth.

Mikesbo said...

A ride through the Cascades and Columbia River Gorge along scenic Highways 26, 35, and 14 (the Lewis and Clark Scenic Hwy).

Mikesbo said...

Google maps is a pain...

JACIII said...

Gorgeous, Mikesbo. Nice bike, too!

JACIII said...

Not much beats a "Screw it. I'm goin' ridin'" day.

Michael Maier said...

I wish I lived near some mountains or at least some views like those. Gorgeous pics, sir.

Mikesbo said...

Damn straight!

Mikesbo said...

A local dealer is a collector and has these on/above his showroom. This is a '73, but the same bike, even the color. I nearly crashed on this, though, because you couldn't quite lean it over as far as a YDS3...