It's a lifestyle…
I caught this from another blog and thought it was neat. I’m a gun guy and I like to think I’ve got decent training with my weapons, so this may be a cool show to watch. I don’t get the outdoor channel, so maybe I’ll be able to check it out on youtube or elsewhere at some point.
I came across these while searching for some info on the norton and I thought they were beautiful. A mix of new and old to get our motor running…
2005 Speedmaster
1968 Bonneville
I added a couple of new pics to the “Miscelaneous Bikes” gallery. As you can see, I’m a HUGE fan of british bikes. Now, I do my best to keep from uploading copywrited pictures, so if you see one that belongs to you and don’t want it here, let me know and I’ll pull it asap.
Enjoy!
So, I was fortunate enough to have my dad let me bring his bike to my place to see if I can get it road worthy. It’s relatively fresh off a rebuild, but it needs some work. When he had it restored he was able to put about a mile on it before the head gasket blew. I believe this was a result of improper torqueing of the head, but it’s already been replaced. As of now, the bike can be started, but clutch problems and major oil leaks need to be repaired before it can be ridden. It’s a beautiful bike, and I’m excited about the prospect of taking it to a bike night or two. Heck, I’d even show this one!
Enjoy the pics for now.
Where to begin. I guess the beginning would be a good place. I bought this ‘85 Jeep CJ7 “renegade” edition in the summer of ‘89 with cash I had saved up and a deal with my dad where he could drive it until I got my license. Now, this means that no only did he have the opportunity to drive it, but I drove it through my younger years. What does this translate to? A project that’s been beaten, broken, and mostly abused. What I’m doing now is trying to put it back together in a manner in which it will suit a variety of needs.
The goal:
A lot of people throw out “the plan”, but I don’t really have a plan. I have a goal and some ideas, but it’s a far cry from a plan. My ultimate goal is to have a vehicle that can carry me and my family anywhere and everywhere we want to go with the ability to take with us the items that we need. It needs to be able to handle highway speeds while being able to hit the trails from time to time. I already know this is a lofty goal as I have a family of 4 and space is at a premium, but I’m hoping additional storage options (racks) can resolve some of this.
The basis of the project:
Additions:
As it stands, this handles itself well off road, but is lacking on road. It needs some creature comforts added, some safety features, some redundant features, and some refinements.
Some ideas I have had thus far are to remove the stupid shackle lift that on there. I made a couple hundred mile trip to Arkansas to do some wheeling and the steering was adversely affected by their length. I did not run into any real issues with the tires rubbing, so removing the additional 1.5″ and doing some minor cutting should resolve this. I thought about flat fenders up front, but I really like keeping the integrety of the rounded openings of the CJ. Functionality being the goal, I think I may compromise and use TJ flares and just cut the fenders.
I also want to build some baskets for carrying supplies. It sucks carrying gas in the back. This is a priority. I plan on two racks. One that mounts to the tire carrier and hangs over the tire for carrying gas cans and supplies for short trips (ex. cooler). A second rack for longer distance trips that mounts to the body and carrys a roof rack is a secondary goal.
Some other niceties will be the addition of an AC unit, had one and like an idiot removed it. I would love to add propane injection to it for a dual fuel setup, and apparently that’s pretty easy. Some nicer suspension seats are in order too. Of course, there’s the obligatory body work. It’s a Jeep and full of rust!
I think this is a decent start for my project. As I do some work and come up with ideas I’ll be sure to post them up. If you have any ideas I’d love to hear them.
-Jimmy
Of course, this would be worthless without pics, so here you go…
