Harleys can kiss my.... AKA - Sit on this!!!

Time to put some Harley parts to good use...  And what better purpose than to use them as an organ donor for a really sweet Jap Bike build right?  I know, I know - go ahead and hold off on the hate mail for just a few days....

So we have been plugging away at Tevan's Resto-Mod build, and decided we wanted to make a sweet  cafe' style tail section for it.  We thought about buying an off the shelf tail section, but thats not how we do things around here.  We thought about laying some of our own fiberglass down, and I decided against that for no real reason other than I hate messing with fiberglass...

So we looked around the shop for some sheetmetal, and happened to remember we had a set of HD tanks sitting on the shelf that might be suitable to cut up...  Sounds perfect!

The Donor Tanks:

We eyeballed what we thought would look like a nice shape for the tail section, drew out some lines with a market, and then gave ourselves a bit more room to shape afterwards... 

Make some cuts... 

Do some grinding, shaping, hammering and welding and you should end up with something like this:

Match up the left and right halves - I like to use my Eyecrometers for a job this tedious....  You'll notice we welded in a flat panel on the bottom of this section, as the stock HD tanks look like the surface of the moon for whatever reason... 

You can also see that this tank had some kind of liner in it previously, we had to scrape/grind/chisel that crap out of the areas to be welded to keep from contaminating the welds...

We tacked the section to the frame, just to get a good idea of what it will look like.  Once we have the position just right, we'll make some real mounts for it.

I think Tevan approves, its kinda hard to tell really, he has this look all day long here in the shop...

In the next few days, we will be modifying the swingarm and building a set pan...  Stay tuned folks! 

SHOP PARTY! This Friday/Saturday!

So we are having our first ever "Shop Opening Party" this weekend!  We are inviting ALL 2 wheeled enthusiasts in the area to come on out, check out the new shop, partake of local brews and some grub and just have a great time. 

The New Shop is on 191 Lyman Street, Asheville NC 28801.  We are in Unit 125, around back.

So I keep saying "We" - and that means Hugh's HandBuilt and Briton Bees - we share a common space in the River Arts District.  Briton Bees builds some of the coolest 2 Stroke machines on the planet, and is starting to build small cc vintage commuter bikes in the near future.  Its worth a visit by itself...

So what's the plan? 

7:00 PM Friday Night - I'll bring the grill, fire up some burgers and hotdogs, and supply some wine/cheese/brew and snacks...  Hang out, get to know us, check out some of our projects, and have a great time.  You might even score some door prizes/stickers/etc... 

11:00 AM Saturday - Head over to Wheels Thru' Time Museum in Maggie Valley...  If you've never been to this place, you should..  It is the greatest place on earth.  It is after all, the Museum That Runs!  And the best part is that it is only 30 minutes or so from Asheville. 

5:00ish (who knows....) Saturday - Get back to Asheville and partake of some local breweries wares and local food/grub...  The Wedge Brewery is within walking distance to the shop, so thats the likeliest candidate but there are plenty of other options available for fine local craft brew and micro-brews... 

Saturday Night - 7:30(ish) And for those of you that can't make it Friday night, don't sweat it, we're going to be at the shop again Saturday Night!  Food, Brew/Wine, and Motorcycles!

So come on out, get to know us, check out the shop, and enjoy one last good weekend before the super cold weather sets in!  Asheville is a great city, full of things to do, people to gawk at, and some of the east coasts greatest motorcycle riding is within 1-2 hours of the city.  The Blue Ridge Parkway is local, or you could take the time to go hit the Tail of The Dragon.  Either way, just make sure to get into Asheville and come see us. 

And just in case you feel a bit unsure of who to talk to, I'm the ugly dude that looks alot like this feller:

Camping is available for those interested, just go downtown under the Bridge and Pretend to "Occupy Asheville" and you are set - take care and see you soon! 

Speedster XS650 Hardtail

I've had a very patient customer waiting on some framework - and I finally got a chance to pull the frame jig out and knock this tail section out. 

3" Stretch, 4" Ground Clearance.  1 1/8" Lowers, 1" Uppers - Uses stock rear wheel and axle/spacers.

This frame came to the owner already cut, and it was fairly butchered.  A standard Weld-on tail would have taken some work to get right.

As with any framework I do, I machine the proper sleeves for mating up new tubing to old original tubing.  These are then plug welded to each end of the joint. 



And magically, the rest of the frame just seemed to jump into place and weld itself all up!

Well, thats enough for today, and don't forget about the upcoming Shop Opening Party October 22-23 here in Asheville NC.  All readers are welcome - see ya soon!

Hugh

Gotta learn sometime right?

This is Tevan who has been a serious help around the shop since he was hired on.  For his first milling exercise, I figured he should index and drill some holes in his rear hub for is Resto-Mod Cafe Build

Keep up the good work Tevan, this bike is gonna ROCK!

RIP - Justin McMullen - Benefit Auction

I am copying this from the TCU and ChopCult.  RIP Justin

Some of you may already know but our friend and fellow chopperhead Justin from TCU and "justinspace" from here passed away a couple nights ago from injuries he suffered in a motorcycle wreck last week. He fought hard while being in a coma for a week now but finally went to ride the great roads above.

We (Thechopperunderground.com) are hosting a benefit auction with items donated by members and vendors (such as Biltwell, Thanks Bill!) alike. We already have several very cool items and will be adding more up until the beginning date of the auction.

You can view the thread discussing this auction here.
http://www.thechopperunderground.com...howtopic=59085

and you can view the Auction itself and the items here (already a couple of pages long)
http://www.thechopperunderground.com...?showforum=107

Now, you can view and watch without becoming a TCU member but to keep things the cleanest you will have to register to bid (it is free though of course).

All monies will go to Justin's wife and 4 beautiful kids he leaves behind. No one and I mean NO ONE will make money off of this. Every dime will go to Justin's family.

Just wanted to share with you all here at ChopCult because I knew Justin was a member.

Hugh's HandBuilt will be donating Several NEW Items from our store, so please check in and take part...  The Biker Community is amazing for taking care of each other in a time of need - Thanks For Checking In.

Hugh