XJ 650: hypoid gear inspection

Early morning garage time while the family sleeps. Inspection reveals minimal wear and everything looks good. 2hrs of elbow grease and it looks new. Bag it, shelf it, one more check off this list.

XJ650: Minimalist Battery Holder

Finally we have some warmer weather (hovering just below freezing) which means I can finally get into the garage again. After an all day family outing, I have a few spare hours this evening to fab up a minimalist battery holder I've been thinking about. 

I already welded up a metal box that I was going to install, but I just wasn't feeling it. I found a leather strap that one of our tenants had left behind in the Rockyford house, and that gave me the idea for this battery holder. The perforated metal I found in a scrap bin while cleaning up my uncle's garage. I think it's going to work and it certainly feels better than what I had previously built.

A few months ago I picked up a MIG welder. It's nice to have a decent welder that isn't flux-core, but I need to do a little TLC to it. It works for now, but certainly not laying down the nicest welds I've done.

XJ 650 update

I have a lot of time off over Christmas, and without much in the way of travel plans, I thought I'd be able to get a whole lot done on my XJ 650. It's sadly been sitting idle for a long while. In the past few weeks I've finished striping it down ad grinding off all unnecessary frame bits. It's reduced as far as it needs to go, and now it's time to start mock-up and fabrication for what I'll be adding and altering. The bummer is that it's -24C (-12F) outside right now which makes for a stinking cold attached unheated garage. Combine that with getting over a nasty flu, and the garage isn't an appealing place to be right now.

So instead I'm doing what work I can inside, and started laying out a design for the emblem I'm going to put on the tank. This is based on a sticker that was on the donor tank I picked up for the bike. It was faded almost to the  point of invisible, but I took a picture of it, manipulated a little on the computer and now starting to trace it out and get it ready for a decal shop.

My goal is to have the bike done for spring, so hopefully this deep freeze will let up a bit so I can get back to welding in the garage. Until then, it's bunker down in the house with a steady stream of good coffee and lounging. 

Adventure Motorcycles

I noticed this little motorcycle in the underground parkade here at the Fernie condo. I like seeing little bikes like this. Motorbikes that actually get ridden. Our riding season in most of Canada is quite short.  Seeing bikes like this, bikes that are nice, but used and well ridden, conjures up a sense of adventure in me. The bikes rider is someone who has braved elements, been places, not worried about the beautiful factory finish on his nice motorcycle. But instead, decided to just ride. Bikes like this inspire me.

My Suzuki GT750

Last summer I came upon an opportunity to pickup a 74 model year (actually made in 75) Suzuki GT750. I've loved the GT750 since the first time I learned about it 12 years ago. At the time I was attending SAIT going for my 3rd year Millwright. School leaves you cashless and I never really perused this bike further. 

Fast-forward 11years and I get a text from a friend of mine while I'm in Montana, that at his dad's estate sale in Saskatchewan, there's a bike that no one seems to be bidding on. He texted a quick picture of the bike and I saw the GT750 badge on the tank. I told him, I'll take it. A few days later I returned from Montana, and he from Saskatchewan and we rolled the heavy beast into my garage. It sat for a few weeks, but seeing as I had already started on my XJ650 project I hauled it off to my dad's farm to store it in his shop for the winter. 

I've thought about that bike off and on. I had always wanted to do a some-what radical custom on it, but seeing as this example was all there, and almost all original, I think it's a bit of a shame to cut it up. While it's not yet a rare bike, it is getting harder to find, especially in decent original condition. The more I think about the bike, the more I realize that I don't think I have time for it. Also, with my new love of guns, I need to choose where I divert my spending cash. Right now, guns are my top priority. Bikes are #2. This bike needs a full restoration to bring it back to it's former glory, and that's something I'm just not willing to pour my hard earned cash into.

While it is fun to own and dream of having a nice running GT750, the reality is that having this bike isn't all that important to me. Not as important as I thought it was back when I was in trade school. Interesting how interests change over the years. Back then, I would almost have killed to get my hands on a GT750. Now, I have one, and as long as I can find a good home for it, I don't care what I let it go for. 

Here's a few pics of the beast.

XJ650 progress

Well, it's slow but still moving forward. At the moment: grinding unnecessary bits from the frame and cleaning the engine. Anyone recommend a really good degreaser that requires little elbow grease?

Also, this post was entirely brought to you via my iPhone. Handy-Dandy.