Chuck Lawrence, Stampeder

Hey Ray,

I dont know if you remember me, Chuck from Tennessee, but we met at the last stampede. I enjoyed meeting you and getting to speak with you. Boy that was a blast. I saw your recent post about missing the stampede. I am in the same boat. I reminisce about it often. I thought id share with you my latest build. Along with a photo of my sporty i ran the race with. Anyway the shovel is 79 80in shovel with an S&S super E carb and solid lifters. I tried to use all genuine harley parts building this bike. I hardtailed the frame using cast axle plates from Hardtail Choppers. The rear wheel is a midstar with a juice drum brake. I assembled it with salvaged spoke from a panhead star hub wheel. The front end is a 49 wideglide with drum brake and a 21 rim laced to an original star hub. The tank is an old mustang that I narrowed by 4in and fitted with a Pingel petcock. It has a 1.5in open belt drive and a stock clutch. The bars are old 2 piece sporty bars. The tank is an old chopper piece, I had to clearance the bottom to clear the clutch release arm and cable. I fitted it with a remote mounted oil filter. I really enjoyed building this bike and collecting the parts. One of the coolest things about building a bike like this is that each parts has a story. I either got it from a friend or found it at a swap meet. I went through each part mechanically but did not mess with the finish. I wanted each part to retain its own story. I really wish I could take this bike across the country with you guys. Hopefully one day we can do it again. I hope all is well. Hopefully I'll see you again one day.

Thanks, Chuck

BSA Owners' Club of Northern California

Saturday the BSA Owners' Club of Northern California held their April Fools North Bay ride. I usually meet friends on Saturday mornings for a breakfast ride from Novato to Pt. Reyes Station, but this day called for a change of plans.

As would be expected there were a lot of British bikes ranging from oily and rough to some looking like they just rolled off the showroom floor. And there were two Harley's, my '02 Sporty and Rolly's knucklehead.

Gordon rode his '66 Triumph T120 and we stopped high above Tomales Bay  for a few photos.

When we got to the little town of Tomales, there was a battery smoking in the street. It was a lithium battery that had been in a pristine Trumph Trident. When the rider pulled into town he noticed smoke and drug the battery out of the bike. He was lucky the bike didn't burn up and I think that nearly every BSA Club member took a memo, "Note to self, NO LITHIUM BATTERIES."

Stampede Feelin' 2 Years After

I miss The Stampede. At this time of year I would be focusing my energy on getting the bike ready, and that felt good. This year I've got a little trip in mind for May, so I pulled out all the old stuff I used on previous stampedes. I'm not going to be riding nonstop day and night, so the bike can be a little more raw. But I will want my personal stuff and need some extra gas.











I decided to leave off the roll bag. I had used it for the Stampede because I needed the extra bag space and to mount LED lights for night travel. It also acted to block the wind and kept the rain from blowing off the front tire onto me, but it also caused some handling problems because the weight is high and forward. 
I put on the saddle bags from Stampede 10 and the 2 1/2 gallon gas tank from Stampede 9. That will give me the packing space I need and nearly 5 gallons of gas too. I think it looks good.