From the way back machine...

Special #6.2

I have been working on so revisions to trusty old Special #6 the past couple of weeks. It all started with a new battery box and now I am building an entirely new seat. This seat is all aluminum as opposed to the original which is all stainless. I wanted a back to it as well as a bit of a cafe racer hump so here you can see me mocking up the panels with the seat travel fully compressed.


I have a few ideas on how I will do the upholstery but the trick will be designing something I can fabricate myself.


This project is a good warm up to all the sheet metal work I'll be doing on the Triton project soon!

Melt Down!!!

I purchased a couple of Lithium Phosphate batteries a little while back and recently put one in Special #6. At first I was impressed by how small it was but then almost immediately unimpressed by how quickly it melted down while trying to start the 1000cc Sporty for the first time. After a week of emails trying to ask the maker of the batteries questions as to why this may have happened I have given up waiting for any customer service. Needless to say I will not be buying any more batteries from these people... Beware of www.carbon-speed.com!

So after about thirteen hours and a bit of stainless steel I have a new battery box to hold a standard size sealed battery as well as a tool roll. The four little belt loops are exactly that, belt loops to hold two small leather belts I will make soon.

Special #6 is looking for a new home...

Unfortunately it is time for her to move on. I recently upgraded her with a new lithium ion battery and a new aluminum battery box that not only holds the battery but now there is room for some tools... something I always wanted to add to the bike. I will miss her but I need to get moving on next years AMD World Champion ;)

Special #6 on Ebay

No longer an AMD newbie!

After driving through the night we are back in Seattle safe and sound.

It was an amazing time and I met so many wonderful people from around the world.

We did really well and are very happy to bring home some big ass trophies.

The Beezerker won 2nd place in the Metric World Championship and 5th in the over all Freestyle World Championship. Even Special #6 had a great response and finished 14th in the Freestyle World Championship.

I will post images once I have a chance to download them but now it's time to sleep ;)

Until then check it out here:

http://www.amdchampionship.com/

Special #6 in El Diablo Magazine

Check out page 245

http://www.eldiablomagazine.com/mag/09/index.html

More Hot Bike

Hot Bike

Go get your copy of the January 2010 issue of Hot Bike on the news stand today. Not only did Special #6 get a five page feature but it also made the cover!

Special #6 on display

Thanks to Scott at East Side Harley, Speed Shop Special #6 is proudly displayed with the beautiful north west (Seattle) in the background. It is for sale so if you have some cash burning a hole in your pocket go talk to Scott ;)

The sound of beezzzzzz..zz..zz.z.z.

Special #6 has been getting some nice write ups(buzz) the past week or so. You can check it out at:

http://www.bikeexif.com/harley-sportster-custom-2

and most recently at:

http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2009/08/24/speed-shop-design-special-6-by-chris-flechtner/

Thank you all for your support.

Chris

Thank you Jim!

I just received a great set of photos of Speed Shop Special #6 from Jim Gianatsis at fastdates.com



The pin up shot will be in the upcoming 2011 Iron and Lace Calendar.



I think they came out really great. Thank you so much Jim for all your support and enthusiasm.



I can't wait to have my new builds in the Long Beach show next year!!!



See the rest of the set at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/motormaniac/sets/72157621956362249/

Out in the sun

Here is a nice pic of Special #6 from the Long Beach show courtesy of Jim Gianatsis.

Hot rods are NEVER finished...

For me that is the essence of a Hot Rod. When you build something from the ground up and think about every nook and cranny so many times you can't help but continually ask yourself, "how can this be better?". Well yesterday afternoon I had the urge to go into the shop and get my hands dirty. The bird catcher on my bike has always bothered me a little because when I'm riding it keeps my right leg from holding the bike tight when I need to maneuver quickly... a feeling I don't care for. So I decided to take a piece of scrap perforated aluminum and a velocity scoop I had made a year or so ago and make something all new for riding the bike. I will probably still show the bike with the Ford horn scoop on it but this one a a bit more practical.

I chamfered all the holes in the pref, it's .125" thick. Domed it in the press. Then a turned the scoop to take it like a stone setting and plannished the edge over with a hammer.

Almost too blingy for the bike but I like it!

Thanks Everyone!

Thank you to all the wonderful people I met at the Long Beach show.

I feel my bike is one of those builds where you either get it or you don't... and I was simply amazed by the number of people that got it and talked with me to share their enthusiasm.

I am so fueled by the experience that I simply can not wait to get my other ideas out of my head and into metal.

Stay tuned for more, this is just the beginning ;)

Chris