T minus 5 and counting.

I am doing this update from work on a lovely warm Monday morning. And Thursday is it for me. Then Friday we will be hauling and boxing and getting ready for a 4am getaway.

The last three weeks have flown by. I mean Flown by. Hard to believe that soon I will be out of here and out of the state and we will be onto something new. T and I were talking the other night (yeah we actually talk, it is nice to know you can have a conversation with your girl) and she asked if I thought we would be where we are right now. I can honestly say that I didn't have a clue. And I think it is probably a good idea to just let life come as it comes. Life has been great since I stopped getting in the damned way with my ideas.

So this week I have a lot to get ready. I am cleaning up everything at work. Both jobs... Then I have to squeeze in classwork. And packing. And I have to call my optometrist. And the boy's school. And call on the new services at the new place.

And get over this damned cold. Sore throat, achy glands, stuffed up ears. Meh.

This is the last update for a little bit. I promise that I won't pack the camera and will have some stuff from the move when I am back online.

Imma updatin'

So off we are going. Two more weeks to go.

T and I have been trying to get everything set up and ready for this move. It seems to be going along ok. I am pulling some OT to cover a few costs, she is trying to get her bosses to get up to date on her pay and then we have deposits and paperwork and all the other good stuff to do. (Was that a hell of a run-on sentence or what?)

Today T met up with a guy at a company that wanted to hire her locally. Basically she got down there and was told,
a.) They want her to work there.
b.) They didn't know when she could start
c.) They didn't know how much they could pay her, but it would be less than the offer she has.
d.) They didn't know if she could ever move up to a position that would offer her what she is currently being offered.


All in all, not the best of deals.

I have to say, it isn't a bad thing. As it gets closer to leaving, I am liking the idea of this move more and more. I am starting to feel excited. Getting nearly a thousand miles away from the ex's side of the family doesn't sound too bad either. But here's the reasons I am feeling excited.

So far I have been seeing work all over the county for what I do. All of it near what I am currently making. I have gotten a couple of emails about resume's I have posted, which is a good thing. And we were able to get a house. That's right, three bedrooms, a den, a basement and a two car garage! For just a little bit more than I am paying right now for a duplex. How sweet is that? Of course T justs wants to be able to park her Jeep in the garage, but is not against the idea of the bike taking a long trip with us. So I get part of the garage for my personal merry making, hammer bashing fun.

So I am liking the idea of a nice fresh start and making a home with T. And while I am giving up on certain comforts, I stand to gain a lot too.

Fingers crossed.

Wait, wait. You're doing what?!

I am moving to the most Republican county, in the most Republican state, in the U.S.

A thousand miles from the place that I have bitched about being my home for over ten years.

Surely I am joking. Right? Wrong. So very wrong.

My girl was offered a spot with her old company that will truly outshine what she has made since she has come back to Cali. And me, well what can I say? I am going along. Hell or highwater, I am packing up the few things I own and me and the boy are heading out there with her.

So naturally you are wondering. Are you excited or scared? I could lie and say I am perfectly calm and feeling totally great about it. But then I would be lying. I am excited of course. I haven't had a good adventure in many years. But I am scared shitless, too. I mean I am going to going over state lines. Away from family and a couple of friends. I am going somewhere I have never been. And only know as the land of LDS. I have seen pictures of course. But somehow I get the impression that pictures won't be the full story. I mean sure there are some neat national parks and shit. But I am not exactly heading out to go camp out in some hippie wet dream.

Nope I am going to go and work and live and make a new start. Somewhere pretty damn far from here. Did you know it snows out there? I mean like the shit actually falls from the sky. Not even pumped out of big machines for the benefit of teenage and yuppie skiers. But as in, clouds get dark and shit actually comes out of the clouds. That will be a trip, I tell you that right now.

Now what about the Honda? For now, I guess it goes back into storage. I need to get permission to set it under a tarp somewhere until I get settled in out there. I mean, it can be tough enough to get a decent place to call home when you got credit like mine. Imagine trying to haul a collection of bike parts and assorted crap.

Now when is this all happening, I bet you are wondering? Well plans are being made as I type. I am checking rates for U-Haul, and I just gave my boss my notice. And then schools need to be called. My ex's side of the family will have to be informed and of course we are looking for some comfortable digs out there.

So game is afoot and I am off to grab a tiger by the tail.

Back in business

Well well. Here I am writing about something that I have DONE, not talked about doing. What in the world happened? Ahh yes, I got the Ultimatum.

So today we all went outside. My little one was visiting his grandmother. So T and her little one came out for a little bit and practiced their Heelys. And I took a few pics.



After that, I went into the carport and started doing a little bit of work. Just a little. I started taking a few measurements for the front end. Here is what I have.

The neck stem appears to be 1"
The neck height is 7 7/16"
The width of the bearing cup is 1 15/16"

I think it means that my frame is set up H-D style. I am going to post these measurements on hondachopper and make sure.



Then I took measurements for the length of the front end. I think I am going to give up on the Fury. It needs a lot of work and I am without the money to do a proper job for it. I am going to save it and maybe in a while I can take it out and get everything done properly.

So with a 3" trail the front end needs to be about 23" or a touch more. I don't have much in the way of ground clearance. Bottom rails sitting level is at 3 1/2" And with a 23" front I would be at 4" in the front and 3 1/2" in the rear. If I am not mistaken, 23" would be a 2" over. If I decide not to go with a girder, I will run a springer. So off to shop.

And then I pulled the valve cover off.



It is nice and clean. Not a touch of sludge. Talk about a damn fine surprise. I had pretty well figured that the innards of the motor were going to be like the frame of this beast. But maybe someone took decent care of it. Or at least didn't abuse it like the frame. So hot damn, I may not be starting up a time bomb. I had pretty well figured on it scattering parts and then picking up a replacement motor.

A big thanks needs to go out to T and her putting her foot down. I had forgotten just how much I enjoy going out and dicking around on this thing. Sometimes it takes a detour or two to figure out just where you should have been all along.

The ultimatum.

That's right. T put her foot down last night about having pieces of a motorcycle in our carport.

Last night we were in the bedroom talking and she says to me. "I want you to get the motorcycle finished by spring. Right now it's winter, so it's not a big deal, but you need to get it running by spring."

Now how fucking cool is that?

Come on guys. We all are familiar with the girls that give you a ration of shit about dicking around on projects. "Every Saturday you are working on that damn (insert big boy toy of the moment) why can't you pay attention to me?!" Or the slightly luckier guys might get,"I don't give a damn about it, just don't waste all our money on it, or I am going back home to mother." Not mine. She tells me directly to get off my ass and to start working on it again.

Of course I aim to please. That is if I can get off my lazy, ever widening ass and do something about it.

Time flies when you're having... fun?

I just realized that I have been on this little journey for over a year now. December of 2006 this hunk of Japanese aluminum and American steel came into my life. And what a strange journey the chop has taken.

Starting (supposedly) from Arizona. To camping outside the garage of a group of people that believe they are living with the second coming of Jesus. Really, they do. I cannot make this kind of shit up. Then being hauled over to my Pop's house and camping out on the back patio. To being hauled over to my one bedroom apartment and taking up a lot of space in my kitchen. Then back to Pop's for a few months before brining it over to my new digs and placing it gently in my carport.

No one told me it would be easy. Actually I think most people have said I am fucking nuts. All the while with a look of envy. Funny how that seems to be. I get these guys telling me I am more or less a nutjob for taking this task on and then doing the 20 questions bit about the entire build. Occasionally getting a hold of me just to see where I am at on it.

Yeah I have been both fanatical about building and completely lazy about even stepping out to look at it. I have weaseled every piece I could, and now I am at the point where I am trying to set aside green to buy stuff for it. I have busted knuckles, stayed up late, fantasied and ignored this bikes existence. All the while adamant that I will get it back on the road.

So where does that put me now? Guess it is time to get back to work on it. I have no excuses. I am only working one job at a time. It is starting to stay light out past five. My girl is all for me messing with it in my spare time. Though she says the sissy bar looks ghetto. But I am still keeping it. And I have all my parts right here.

Now it is time to try and get off my lazy ass and start buttoning it back up to see what stuff I have to get for it. I am going to start hauling out the parts in my kitchen closet/laundry nook out to the carport this weekend. It is time to get it all nearby. Of course it is also in some small part due to fact T brought all her stuff over and we need to find homes for it all. And carburetors in the kitchen, while giving me a hardcore biker fanatic credentials, is not really the proper place.

Welcome to your new home.

So yesterday afternoon, I brought an old member of the family home to stay. That's right, I finally got off my (heavier, post-holiday) ass and picked up the Honda. T was kind enough to let me sully up the back of her Jeep (with leather, even) to get it. Perhaps she didn't realize just how dirty this thing really is. Or maybe she kinda likes me.

No matter, I did make sure to lay out my over shirt to keep any grime from being left in there.



There she is. All nice and cozy in the back. Awww. It just makes me feel like a proud papa. Well, not really. But it is nice to get this near me.



Off to the left is T's hand. She made me promise not to upload any pics of her. I did try to get her to pose on the pile of motorcycle parts for me, but she just wasn't having any of it. Damn.



So I had help getting the pieces of the Honda in the Jeep, but pulled it out solo. T offered to help, but she does have a bad back and anyway, I need to prove that for the extra inches around the waist and my computer job. I am still a M-A-N.

That was not the brightest thing to do, but I never said I was really that sharp anyhow.

CB750 engines are heavy. Very. Heavy.

What's next? Well, I need to get the neck measurements off the neck and see what kind of the neck my frame was made with. I am debating about whether or not I should really bother trying to salvage the girder. It will require a lot of patience and welding and machining. And of course time and money. If I buy something that is in better shape, I may just need money. Plus I still need to get some pipes cut for it and the intake and the wiring and the tires, and, and, and.

Someday it will get finished.