Progress

Things went better today, although I still have to repaint the front, Easy clutch installed, fender on with no need for brackets.

Overall pretty much satisfied with the outcome but not of the progress, still marred by missing parts.

Project Jinxed

Its time to change from Blitz Bomber to Jinxed Bomber!! Nothing is going right this week, I received my coil relocation kit with missing hardware. My front fender is screwed up, after painting and mounting the wheel; with right axle, the holes do not match the forks. This means, welding grinding and repainting. My project plan is slipping and so is my temper. However challenges are to be overcome and time is the essence here.

Is my Luck changing?

Got a call today my USPS package has hit the APO facility, cool stuff, now I can start working again, at least in mock up mode. As I am still awaiting my triple tree from California. So the plan would be to achieve the following today.

• Finish the rear fender and mount the tire.
• Install oil tank drainage
• Mount coil relocating bracket
• Center front wheel
• Mount fender
• Manufacture fender spacers on Saturday
• Chrome Front wheel spacers.
• Drain Gear Oil
• Install Easy Clutch and clutch cable
• Change Gasket

String of Bad Luck!

All the parts I have waited for, in the past 10 days, were received yesterday  from JP-Cycles. After trying the parts on the bike, the decision was to scrap the lot in the bin. That's 65$ burned to the ground, which makes it  my 4th order on the bike that I am scrapping, as it is sometimes difficult to see what you are buying of a catalogue and the final product does not live up to your expectation.

Here are a list of the stuff i ordered and did not use

Seat Pan : 45$
Oil Fitting: 15$
Front Braided Brake line: 45$
Horn: 45$
Adjustable Rods: 75$ (lost)
Braided Hose: 35$

Total 260$. I would have rather spend them on something useful, however this is what I call Mail Order margin of error when you are building a custom bike.

Extreme Frustration

Not only my packages were late due a plane mechanical break down, the box they came in was torn into pieces. When I received the package one of my NPT Oil line fitting was missing. I checked the BOM everything was crossed correctly. Aramex maintains its customs and off course whom am I to challenge Kuwait customs . What a fuck up, don't they know how to open boxes. I guess this was not part of their training policy %$#@!* F****!!!! So what's next, I need to go to Shuwaikh and manufacture one.

Harley Dark Customs

Harley launched last year a new line up dubbed the Dark Customs line up. The bikes are mainly black and gray in color, preferably mat, chrome items have been replaced with black powder coat or spun aluminum. the whole concept is to give riders the ability to ride more rather than chrome and polish the bike. The flagship model of this line up is the Harley Crossbones, we have yet to see how successful the concept is in relation to the Kuwaiti market the V-Rods aka (Night Rod) have been selling well, as for the Crossbones , it is still sitting on the showroom floor for now. Link

Uneventful Week End

 With my parts scattered somewhere between the US  - Dubai - Kuwait and some unknown military base in Europe. Work progress on Blitzy has taken a second seat. I spent the week-end  with friends and family, kicking back and chilling, reading and watching some TV. Next week things are much more hectic, as I I 'll be flying to Dubai for a day, I  am still aiming at finishing  the bike by the first week of August, as my wife's bike is next inline to get a new paint job.

Harley CVO 2009

Every year Harley releases its CVO range (custom vehicle operation) a name that sucks, cause in reality there is not much customization going on, for the exception of the springer (240 tire). In a nut shell CVO comprises of a paint job, lots of  Harley Chrome components that you can find in their catalogue and a hopped up engine with bored crankcases. These are manufactured in limited quantities and priced at 45% more than the already overpriced Harley. Given the custom trend in the bike world it would be nice to see Harley adopting a Nike like strategy, where the customer can build his custom bike online based on OEM frames. This way you can decide color, tire size, engine size, etc, lets face it, since we are paying 45% more and a delivery time of 6 month, why not get something unique and worth your buck.

Paint Job Second Round

The guys at Monaco did another great job pinning the right variation of Mat. The whole job was done in 24 hours, including the helmet and the whole process job was done in one week, I guess faster than Larry and Tony. Contrary to Khaled's comments, their job was more expensive than Tony, however they have a satisfied customer and believe me, I am a tuff one to please. I hope that the bike will finish in the coming 10 days.

PS: Oh Yeah Lebanese Rules !!

Blitz Bomber Saddlebag

I am watching this item on eBay, plan is simple, buy it, manufacture bracket and bolt it to the left side of the bike. This would definitely look cool.

Swiss Bobbers

Blitz Bomber Game

I was searching for Blitz Bomber in Google and I found this game. maybe I should strategize how to obliterate my competition by bombing the hell out of them.

Shipments Delay

3 shipments scheduled to arrive yesterday were delayed due to the following reasons. Wrong address, misplaced and did not ship on time. Can things get any worse than this? Why is is that every time I need to finish my projects, I hit bump and my schedule get extended. Its good that the weather is still hot and my APO items did not arrive either. One more week of waiting bummer.

Aramex Update

My luck that the flight got canceled, my shipment will be delayed for another 4 days @#$!!

180/65/16 White Wall Tire

With the introduction of the new 2009 Harley Touring, I feel i got a raw deal. Off course no one could predict that HD will be releasing  a 180/65/16 WWT. I wanted to mount a wider tire on the Blitz Bomber, however I was limited to the market offering  in terms of White Wall Sizes. Well I will ride this year on a 150, and change it to 180 next year. Which will cost additional $ in terms of a new fender and outer rim.

Harley 2009 Models

Nothing new in the line up, for the exception of the VROD Muscle. Built more like a drag bike with a redesigned tank, dual exhaust and beefy bars. Gone is the ugly duck tail, replaced by a more aggressive looking fender. The styling reminds me of the of  Japanese bike.

On the Touring Range major revamp on the frame, inherited some CVO characteristics such as, Incorporating an all-new frame, swingarm, engine mounting system, wheels and tires, running 130/80-17 front - 180/65-16 in the back. It is about time that HD put some effort on the touring model, plagued with bad handling and serious high speed wobbles. The water cooled engine will have to wait till 2011.

The Dyna Street Bob gets a fresh dose of retro bobber attitude, with a newly chopped rear fender, blacked-out powertrain and an LED taillight from an old school custom.

Newly introduced is a motorcycle for those of us with a taste for comfort or a fear of falling. The Tri Glide Ultra has three wheels and a brand-new chassis design. It retails for $29,000.

One thing has changed is the price that has gone up on all models.

Challenges Ahead

For starters the paint job was great, notice how I mentioned was, until I scratched it with my nail! Yes with my nail, the coating was super mat to the extent that if you run your naila on it, marks will be left, which can not be lifted off  by washing. So back to Monaco Paint shop today. The guys where very understanding and apologized for missing this issue. They will repaint with a lesser level of flatness. On the other hand work in progress has slowed considerably due to 2 major items that did not land on time. My triple tree and my front axle, therefore the front end will have to wait till next week. I did manage however to lower the front and change the sliders.

Bikers Past & Present

Hilarious no need to comment on both pictures.

Blitz Bomber new console

One thing Harley Davidson has been able to maintain throughout the years, is its cross product compatibility. if we take the Softail range for the exception of the Deuce and the Rocker, with a little bit of ingenuity, you will be able to adapt most of the parts to older model. On Blitzy, there are a combination of 02 and 08 parts. the wheels are off an 08 Softail only difference are the bearings 1" vs 3/4 and the hub width easily cured by machining the pulley,changing the bearing and manufacturing new spacers. My new purchase is the infamous cat eye console introduced in the late 40s and remanufactured for the cross bones for that authentic bobber look. Total Price 180$.

Harley 2009 Rumor Mill!!!

After spending some time on various forums trying to find out what’s going to happen these are the top 7 rumors for the 2009 models.

1. 117ci liquid cooled in the baggers ( I heard 118 CI)
2. 100 anniversary of the v-twin motor (Expect Anniversary Editions) (Not Again!)
3. With the influx of NEW riders and soaring gas prices Harley Davidson is going to release a scooter. (HA!)
4. A touring version of the V-Rod.  (Options have been available for the past two years so this isn’t a stretch)
5. Decrease in production and an increase in MSRP  (true)
6. Night Rod will be discontinued in 2009?
7. DISCONTINUED COLORS:
   PACIFIC BLUE PEARL
   OLIVE PEARL
   SUNSET YELLOW PEARL
   OLIVE PEARL DENIM??? Similar to BlitzBomber
   CRIMSON RED DENIM
   CANDY RED SUNGLO

New Models will be available to view on the web July 22nd (Today)

Paint Job

The Guys at Monaco pulled it off, Mat Dull Nato Green, yeap the way I wanted it. Ali did a great job on mixing the color and the other Ali did another great job at painting. The color has the tendency to show different nuances of green based on the lighting conditions. Now I need to put the emblems and getting my helmet painted in the process. There is still some way ahead, but definitely I would say screw Toni, Lebanese rule.

Update Day 13

Been to the paint shop today, they got the right color, now its question of getting it to be  mat! On the other hand, my tank and my exhaust copper coating decided to change color, oxidization has taken place and the bike got suddenly 20 years old. My front light came giving the bike an authentic bobber look, still some stuff are still pending to finish the project, hopefully the last bits should be here within 14 days.

Paint matching challenges

I am really amazed that every time it boils down to flat (mat) colors, Kuwait can not deliver. I have been scanning Standox website and they show Matt NATO Green code as 385F (Flat). The Kuwaiti Dealer does not import this color, only color available is the 385. This is frustrating, that you cant get the color you need to apply on your build. In the meantime I am still working on finding an alternative, I am not keen on going candy colors or flat black.

Paint Job

The toughest part of any build is to find the right combination of colors, not this time, I guess I have mentioned the world green like a dozen times in this blog and yes the color is green. In Specific mat green, black is too gloomy and colors on a bobber is not really the style i am looking for. If I am lucky to get the right color combination it should look something like this.

 

Fat, Fatter, Fattest

The front tire was mounted as a mock up to simplify the drilling of the front fender. After some minor mods and cutting to show the fat 150 tire, here are the results. Still some machining to the spacers needs to made to achieve the transformation.

Closer to reality

I was browsing through the web and I found this bike, quite similar to what I am building today. I must admit it looks good.

Progress Report

Well although I spent 3 hours working on the bike today, the main issue has been resolved. The rear wheel is finally spinning freely, this was due to a 2mm spacer that had to be was slotted behind the bearing ,which insured the proper free play. The oil tank is in place and the exhaust was mounted to insure the style flow, the only downside is that the baffle is made of aluminum and can not be treated (Bummer). Some works still need to be done to the rear end, more parts to Copper coat, spacer to be manufactured and brakes to be fitted. Overall I am happy with the outcome. Tomorrow if time permits I will start working on the front end.