Re. my 1200 project....

[John Schmidt]

For some reason I can't create a link to my post on the Fla. board, so here's a sample of it. Today, I was able to pick up a new tag for it and had some tweeking done to one of the extensions for the exhaust. I painted them this afternoon to match the headers which I painted last week and then mounted. I used some NAPA 1300-2000 degree paint and you have to run the bike for various periods to cure it. Since it was sitting in the driveway while running, I finally gave in to the urge to ride it...which has not been done yet. So, I ran back and forth on the sidewalk a couple times, then when no traffic was coming I scooted out into the street and went about a half block back to my drive. What a surprise....the bike is light and quick, can't wait to get it out on the road, just a little at a time at first in case of some bugs showing up. Shouldn't be any problems, everything is either new or rebuilt.

I have the muffler hangers about half done. I also had to cut about 6" off the back end of the upper frame behind the seat 'cuz when I parked my dainty glutes on it and bounced just slightly, the fender hit the frame. I'll be welding a cross piece on there to mount an extra bright run/brake LED for more visibility. Made kind of a neat little Bobber out it, but think I now need to cut down the front fender so it looks balanced. I have some front turn/run lights coming, soon as they're wired in I'll mount the headlight and stuff all the wires in the bucket...hope it all fits. Major stuff left to do; paint and upholstery. I'll be staying with the black/silver of the '99 Valkyrie tank, I plan to leave the Valkyrie logo on the tank for now, that should confuse a few people.  Seems as though I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, assuming it's not a train coming from the other direction. 



My replacement gauge. The old ones were ugly, plus made me feel like I was being watched by a giant Praying Mantis. This gauge gives me everything but temp and oil, still need to create an idiot light for the oil pressure. This one also shows gears, time, fuel which I can't use. With nothing hooked up to the fuel wire, the empty tank light kept blinking which drives you nuts. I figured the resistance created by the sender and mounted a resistor across the sender wires, creating a false "full" indication but stopped the flashing on the gauge.


Notice the fork caps. The old ones were all rusty so before installing the new ones and after rebuilding the forks, I drilled and tapped them, then installed the button head SS bolts shown. That allowed me to put the forks together with the caps in place, then using a small funnel system I made I was able to fill the forks with measured amounts. Caution; don't try compressing the forks before replacing the bolt plugs.....don't ask!    The forks come with a drain plug at the bottom so the oil can be changed easily from now on. This has been a labor of love....i.e., I'd love to be done with it. I'm really looking forward to showing up on this beastie at one of our lunch rides this Fall.

[The emperor has no clothes]

You've come a long way with this John.  I've checked in from time to time on the Florida chapter following your progress. She's really starting to take shape. 

[f6john]

I'm loving it!

[Karen]

Absolutely fabulous!

[baldo]

That looks pretty sharp! Are you doing anything special with the upholstery?

[jdp]

Very nice, my hat goes off to you, keep us updated.

[John Schmidt]

That looks pretty sharp! Are you doing anything special with the upholstery?

I'm leaving that up to my friend that did the seat and bibs on the Valkyrie. He has a handyman that comes in a few hours a week to do odd jobs for him, was in the paint/body business for over 20 years and knows how to swing a paint gun. So, in the near future I'm shipping my two fenders and side covers out to him for painting. Then this Fall, tentative plans are for him to haul them back here for installation. While here, he plans to build a new seat pan and do a basic design for the seat and take it back with him to finish the build and tooling. I want to keep it simple, using the same basic colors of the tank....black & silver.

So, do you think I should leave the Valkyrie logo on the tank? Thought it might be kinda fun watching the reaction of those that don't know about Valks.    At this point I don't know if I'll keep the bike when done, will wait and see if there's any interest in it. Also thought it might be kinda fun to take it to InZane one year.

[old2soon]

Lookin cursed gooder there John!  Leave the Valkyrie logos on the tank! Anybody asks-tell them you lucked into a barn find early prototype!  Course to those of us That KNOW!  Sooooooooo afore I sign off-Zackly HOW do fork oil taste??  Rest assured my friend-nobody here has EVER effed up before!  RIDE SAFE.

[John Schmidt]

Sooooooooo afore I sign off-Zackly HOW do fork oil taste??

Pretty rancid. It stained my greasy shop shirt, took a while to clean off the tank and forks. I used ATF and it tasted worse than my big old aunt Dora's unwelcome kisses from when I was a little tyke. That woman always wanted to kiss me on the mouth instead of my cheek.   

[sleepngbear]

I just love this kind of project. Instead of just asking 'what if', you actually answer the question. All my respect and admiration goes out to anybody with the skills, patience, and most of all the vision to dive into something like this. Reminds me of somebody who created a cafe racer out of a '83 GL650, which turned out to be quite a work of art.

As for the Valkyrie logo, I would leave it. If you really wanted to get creative, maybe change it into something more antique looking, maybe with some kind of older English lettering, to suggest this is what it might have been if they started it a generation earlier. But definitely keep it in some form.

Beautiful job, man -- keep it up!!!  

[baldo]

Sooooooooo afore I sign off-Zackly HOW do fork oil taste??

Pretty rancid. It stained my greasy shop shirt, took a while to clean off the tank and forks. I used ATF and it tasted worse than my big old aunt Dora's unwelcome kisses from when I was a little tyke. That woman always wanted to kiss me on the mouth instead of my cheek.   

You were probably just a cute kid.....

[John Schmidt]

Sooooooooo afore I sign off-Zackly HOW do fork oil taste??

Pretty rancid. It stained my greasy shop shirt, took a while to clean off the tank and forks. I used ATF and it tasted worse than my big old aunt Dora's unwelcome kisses from when I was a little tyke. That woman always wanted to kiss me on the mouth instead of my cheek.   

You were probably just a cute kid.....

That cute kid has now turned into an old goat.    That aunt always followed the kiss with a big hug which buried my face in her huge bazooms. 

[baldo]

 buried my face in her huge bazooms. 

You say it like it's a bad thing.....

[Willow]

...    That aunt always followed the kiss with a big hug which buried my face in her huge bazooms. 

So why are some of those great experiences wasted on the young?

Help me out, John.  Tell me she had horrible breath or many missing teeth.   

[Patrick]

I like that, it looks good. You have some good ideas. I really like the one with the fork caps.

I like the fuel tank with the Valk emblems, but, how about some vinyl Schmidt decals. That should raise some eyebrows.

[John Schmidt]

Baldo & Carl, I was about seven yrs. old at the time and learned quickly to disappear when she came around. It didn't matter to me if she had bad breath or any teeth at all, for a little kid that experience was mind altering. One of her daughters, however, did inherit some of her mother's "attributes" which I became aware of some years later when the gender variations became more important to me....and her. 

[baldo]

Baldo & Carl, I was about seven yrs. old at the time and learned quickly to disappear when she came around. It didn't matter to me if she had bad breath or any teeth at all, for a little kid that experience was mind altering. One of her daughters, however, did inherit some of her mother's "attributes" which I became aware of some years later when the gender variations became more important to me....and her. 

I like yer style.....

[John Schmidt]

Baldo, I see you're from the Cape Cod area. Years ago in the late 50's I was stationed at Pease AFB in Porstmouth, NH. One weekend a couple buddies and I drove down to see the Plymouth Rock among other things. While standing there looking down at it, just to see what kind of reaction I'd get I commented to my friends that it looked like any other old rock. I went on to say I'll bet they dug this up from some farmer's field and hauled it over here. There was a little old lady standing nearby that heard me and she began to jump down my throat for such blasphemy. She went on and on, my buddies just stood there laughing at me, I stood and listened. I got a history lesson, quite loudly, in about five minutes time. We all got a chuckle out of it, I guess she didn't see the humor in my baiting comments. I finally went over and told her I was well aware of the history behind it, that my father was a history and econ teacher(among many other subjects) so he made sure I knew history. After talking to her for a bit, she said she was fine with my explanation....then reached up and slapped me. She told me that was for my father since he wasn't there. I just smiled, took that same hand and kissed it, then we left. Often wondered what she might have told her friends and family. 

[Solorider]

Baldo,

I'm a Umasser,.

..I lived in Conway Mass. then Amherst....Rode many a bike to the cape....I was one the first lane splitters on a busy Friday night getting into the cape !  in the mid-late 60s and early 70s ....

I remember in the early- mid -late 60s (650 Bonneville) or my Daytona 500  bikin to Boston and New York to go to coffee houses to listen to some great folk music.. gigs....unknown artists ..Bob Dylan ..etc or heading the  Berkshire's to hang with Arlow G.. and friends....I miss all that....and the simple times.

I left the state with so many unpaid bike speeding tickets, that a state police stopped me heading out for good on I-95 and I promised to never return !!!! he let me slide ~!!!!!

Last spring I saw Arlow at Jazz fest here in New Orleans....dam he's getting old ....lol   

Opps .Sorry !!!!  to be off subject...Just another ....Flash back



Solorider