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.