Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Favor at L.B.C.S.!





Great success at Long Beach Cycle Swap this weekend! I'm so stoked cause i prayed for all the right parts to be there for us and for favor when dealin with the vendors! and guess what...we got some amazing deals and it seemed like the vendors didnt even know why they were giving me awesome parts for such a great price...Praise God, He loves Harley Davidsons!!!
First off i found a killer unknown aftermarket Sportster swingarm frame that needs a little work cosmetically but is gonna be an awesome skeleton for the Pura Vida. I love the "A" shaped front downtubes, definately not a stock H.D. frame. Think there might be a couple of degrees in the neck but can't tell yet. The dude that sold it to me said "sure u can buy it for yer price...only if you take that HUGE box of extra parts with it"!...."no problem" i said. The box had a ton of treasures in it....new chain, front pegs, passenger pegs, fender struts, front and rear fenders that i actually dig for this bike. Got the rear 16" XL with drum for a song! Found a cool sissy bar to for "R".
Gonna cut the spokes out today and get it all to powder coat as soon as i get the front hub for the 21" front wheel. Lookin for the right tires too, i think i know the size i want to use but need to find the best deal on 'em. still some parts to find, oil bag, fairing, gonna make a killer two-up seat and have the guy at redtail leather make it look beautiful!
Pura Vida! C

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Motors Done!



Oh Man! The motors all buttoned up with a buncha new inside stuff and a lot of chrome hardware.The chrome head bolts and chrome rocker top bolts look great!I love that all the hardware on the entire engine is matching and brand new...no stripped out 30 year old bolts on this thing.
Painted the metal high temp wrinkle black that really holds up to heat and gas. Sandblasted all the rocker tops and jugs etc and then painted em with high temp gloss black, they look sick! We made some neat polished oil return lines and some brass pushrod tube covers. Waitin to get the electronic ignition from Crane to see if i can find a new one at the cycle swap for a few bucks cheaper...new of course.
Pura Vida mi amigos!
Hasta que hablar otra vez

Friday, February 24, 2012

Decision time


These are the three best choices for the powdercoated rims. keep in mind that we will color match the paint to this color on the tank and fender so pick the one you want the paint to look like. The one on the left is obviously very orange and looks crazy in the sun! It "flops" from dark to light and is real dramatic. The center one is a little more traditional yellowish gold and has a lot of sparkle in the sunlight, a real eye pleasing color. The one on the right has more of a champagne look to it. Its's classy and would look fantastic opposite gloss black tins. I think the center color is best and would look great with the new chrome spokes and black hub of the wheels. I think it will also "pop" off the semi gloss black paint with cream pinstripe and lettering. We should put a small panel of color on the front fairing too! Im planning on painting Pura Vida similar to the black and orange bike being black (semi or gloss) black on gold tank panels and a paneled rear fender.
LBC cycle swap this weekend! Pray for the perfect frame!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Pura Vida parts!


Got a box of stuff from J&P Cycles today, Chrome pushrod covers, James complete engine gasket set, chrome axle adjusters, cam shims, and chrome tach plug. Yesterday we got chrome engine hardware kit and a sick pair of cheap grips from Biltwell. Havin a Gas! hanks R.J ! PURA VIDA!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Pura Vida update #4


Motor is lookin hot! media blasted , de-greased, polished and painted! Gaskets will be in this week and it goes back together with new cam shims and all stainless steel oil lines and polished copper return hard lines.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

pura vida update!






Exciting!
Got the heads and cylinders back today and they look amazing! We replaced a few things in there but overall it just needed a go through. The heads and rocker tops as well as cylinders were all sandblasted and painted high temp gloss black. I decided to go through the clutch and make sure everything was tight and as other than a new chain tensioner everything was great! Looks like the front sprocket is relatively new as is the chain....cool. The cam side of the motor is always tricky but i ventured into it and took the cam cover off to trick it out and lighten it up a bit. Noticed that the lifter end play was a bit excessive so I'm ordering new tappet blocks and probly lifters. The cams look perfecto as do the shims so after replacing some black stock hoses with stainless steel ones we are goin to re-time the motor and replace all the gaskets and put her back together using all new chrome engine hardware...badass!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Pura Vida update...




Got the top end of the motor off and aside from some rust from sitting awhile the jugs and pistons n such looked pretty good. Gonna replace the pistons and rings and basically redo the rocker valve assymbly but it tells me that the motor was runnin pretty good! I took the heads and cylinders and rocker tops to my good buddy Randy who does an amazing head job and the stuff always comes back lookin brand freakin new! With some new H.D. gaskets and some chrome hardware the top end of the motor will look tight! Ordered new chrome rocker tops too, they will really offset the black wrinkle finish on the engine with just the right amount of shine.
Thinkin of doin somethin funky with the clutch cover and cam cover...dunno yet, maybe sandblast the chrome off and keep em raw or machine finish ..or just polish the shit out of them n pinstripe 'em.
Got an amazing bargain on a brand new S&S Super E carb from a friend with intake minifold. Deal! and its polished!
Should be a week or so before the heads come back..till then we find the frame!