East Coast vs. West Coast

It's been ten years since I packed up and moved here from the Boston area, more specifically, Cape Cod. East vs. West is a constant battle that plays out in my head. I love so many things about both places but with my roots in New England it's hard to resist the urge to move back. I know I can do my design and build thing anywhere... so, traveling to shows will be more involved if we are on the East Coast. Both my parents are retired and both are cancer survivors, a fact that reminds me that we are not invincible and our time here is limited. How much time do we have? How much time will we have together? I want to spend more time with them before I know the answer to those questions. This picture is from a trip to Cape Cod I took two years ago to visit my parents. It just reminds me of home.

Christmas comes late...

or early depending on how you look at it. I scored this carburetor on Ebay for twenty dollars and it is in mint condition. I have a mock up carb on the BSA now and was dreading having to rebuild it because it's in bad shape. This is an original carb that was rebuilt years and years ago and sat on a shelf till I found it on Ebay. All I need to do to dial it in for the BSA is alter the float bowl angle! I'm very happy!!!

More is Less!?

Well in this case it's proving to be so. I am loosing track of the hours I have spent bending, cutting, tapering, welding, and grinding of various tubing profiles to achieve the cleanest lines possible on this build. The killer is if someone doesn't understand tubing and the limited profiles available all this work is lost. Oh well, this bike certainly won't be appreciated nor liked by all and that's just fine with me!

Pretty Colors

Today I worked nine hours on the BSA and had so little to show for my efforts at the end of it. Oh well, they say slow and steady wins the race, eh?

One of my accomplishments was welding up and tacking on the rear motor mount.

I enjoyed welding today... surprised it came out as well as it did considering how much coffee I drank this morning ;)

Coming to a head.

Head tube fitment to the BSA's downtube.

Striking Oil!

It's been a very busy couple of weeks here at Speed Shop. Between all the family gatherings and holiday celebrations and the eating I have been busy at work on the BSA. What you see here is the down tube which just happens to be the oil tank. When you see the entire bike as a whole it will make lots more sense but until then here are some details:

Happy New Year everyone!