My Stampede Bike Is Almost Ready

I used aluminum bar to build the struts. They are 3" shorter than the shocks that were on the bike, but the 3" springs under the seat keep the bike a tall ride. Lowering the tail end changed the fork angle making the steering more stable.

A friend really helped by machining aluminum slugs and steel end caps to solid mount the engine. It was a beautiful job and done by a master machinist. The bike actually vibrated less, the old rubber mounts were probably worn out. I think I may be on to something here, old worn parts cause vibration, amazing.

I installed a new chain and sprockets and went up one tooth, from 15 to 16, on the counter shaft, which lowed the RPM's from about 5100@70MPH to 4300@70MPH. The new sprockets and chain further reduced vibration. I'm sure that the lower RPM reduced vibration, I'm also sure that the worn out chain didn't help. 

I built a rack to hold the 3 gallon tank. The rack is in the same place as the old radio box but had to be a little higher in order to gravity feed the carburetors. 

I built a box at the front of the rack to hold a backrest from my Harley. The seating position on the bike is quite upright and riding at speed is like doing a continuous pull-up and the backrest will give a little relief.

All the big stuff is done, but I've still got a long list of small stuff that still has to be done.  But with a little luck I should be ready to head for Barstow on June 15 and give The Stampede a go.

Sprung Seat

Prior to 1982 the Kawasaki KZ1000 Police bike had a sprung seat, but after that the seat was hinged from the side. There is no storage under the seat. My theory is that they just wanted you to be able too lift the seat and admire the volume of wires that are located there.

After a couple of false starts, I decided to weld in a bar to carry the new sear springs. I took the seat cover off and took it to a local upholstery shop for repair. I built a "T" bar to hinge the seat. After I put the seat cover back on everything worked fine. 

My Stampede Bike

 
This is going to be my Stampede bike. It's a 1983 Kawasaki, KZ1000P2. Yes it's an old cop bike. I believe it was used as a trainer at the California Highway Patrol Academy. This photo is the day I brought it home.

FXRP

Most of my friends regard the FXRP as the hot rod of Harley Davidsons. Made for police use from 1983 to 1993, they had floor boards mounted high and close for good cornering clearance and the chassis layout made for good handling.

I talked to Eric in front of Smiley's Saloon in Bolinas, Ca. He was very happy with his FXR. He says the Ultma 120 horse motor really wakes up the bike.

If you don't think Eric rides with gusto, take a look at the pipes.

Hatt's San Quentin Toy Run 2011

I can't believe its December already, time for Hatt's San Quentin Toy Run. The weather was great this year, its usually cold and rainy this time of year. The good weather brought out some nice machinery.



A Vincent masquerading as a Norton.

After our first stop at San Quentin, we headed out on a tour of Marin County. Next stop was Peri's in Fairfax. Then after a stop at San Geronimo Valley, we headed for great mexican food at Los Guitaros in Novato. It was a great December ride, t-shirt weather most of the day and I won a couple of sweat shirts in the raffle.

Pat's Chopper

I've started looking for a bike to put together for next years Stampede. I found this little Yamaha XJ-750 on S.F. Craig's List. I rode over to South San Francisco to take a look. I met Sal who greeted me llike an old friend. Sal said that the bike belongs to his wife, Patricia, but she is ready for a bike with shock absorbers.

Sal's garage has a lot of character and is one of those places where people, like me, like to hang around. So over a cup of coffee, we talked motorcycles.  Sal has a soft spot for 500cc singles, SR an XT Yamahas. I spied an XT with a polished aluminium tank in a corner of the garage.

Pat's chopper is a little small for my idea of a Stampede bike. But if anyone is interested, drop me an email and I'll hook you up with Sal. He makes good coffee.


 Oh yea, Sal, those cigs are gonna kill ya!

I call it, The Compassionate Medical Motorcycle Act

TRADE PROP 215 BLUE DREAM MEDS FOR RELIABLE MOTORCYCLE (san jose south)___________________________________
Date: 2011-10-24, 9:38PM PDT
Reply to: sale-@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
____________________________________
I have some extra prop 215 blue dream meds, also have Haze\ Skunk. Both are 100% Organic. Great taste and smell. I am a valid CA.MM.card holder and you must be as well. I am looking to trade for a reliable motorcycle to get around town. I am open to make and model but reliabilaty and overall condition of bike is the most important factor. If you are interested in this trade then please hit me up, Thanks
JAY     (408) 555-0100     Please no texts, Thanks
_____________________________________
When I read Jay's add on SF Bay Area's, Craig's List, my heart went out to him. Poor, brave Jay, gravely ill but still willing to do without some of his much needed medication in order to secure two wheeled transportation.
Yet there are millions of Californians, who, like Jay are forced to forgo much need medication in order to secure basic transportation. I call on the California Legislature to ignore the cost, as they have done so many times in the past, and immediately pass legislation to provide two wheeled transportation to those unfortunate Californians who are being forced to ride partially medicated.  
In a state where we have so much, surely no one should be forced to ride less than fully medicated!  

Scars on Scars



1972 BMW R75/5 Kick Start Lever

 

We have a match.

Leg

Chilly Billy Memorial Run 2011

After weeks of perfect weather the Rip City Riders, 6th annual Chilly Billy Memorial Run began under cloudy, threatening skys. Attendance for the poker run seemed good, Rip City Riders gave ride pins to the first 700 riders.

Marie and I signed up for the poker run at Michael's Harley Davidson. Then we hit the Redwood Cafe in Cotati where me met our friends for breakfast. Rocky was riding his wife's V-Rod, because of a slight malfunction of his own bike and Lance was on his Suzuki Hayabusa after a major malfunction of his Electra Glide. So, after coffee we headed north on Highway 101 to River Road.

River Road follows the Russian River and it's a good ride but heavy traffic and bicycles made sightseeing a passenger activity. Our first stop was at the Rio Nido road house, a good choice as there was plenty of parking. I drew a six of diamonds, not a great start for a poker hand. 

Our next stop was at The Blue Heron in Duncan Mills, after I drew my card my poker hand was pretty well shot and the people in the bar showed no sympathy.  After leaving Duncan Mills it was a few miles to Highway 1, then south to Bodega Bay and east to Petaluma. 

  



We arrived at the Petaluma fairgrounds and the weather was warming. There were a lot of people there. The local newspaper said that 10,000 people showed up for the bike show, car show, vendors, food and of maybe a cocktail.

If they could find the bar.

I really liked this sweet little Triumph. Simple and clean, I couldn't stop staring at it.

The Rip City Riders put on a great show. This was the 6th annual Chilly Billy Memorial run and the event gets bigger and better every year. Everyone had a great time, and funds were raised for two local carities, Zero Breast Cancer and Mentor Me Petaluma.

Famous Road Signs

 Zzyzx Road is on Highway 15 near Baker, California. I had a theory about what a Zzyzx was but I was wrong.

The Town of Locke

The town of Locke, in the Sacramento Delta, was built by the Chinese. If you look up information about the town, you will find that it was founded in 1915 by Chinese businessmen after a fire in the Chinese section of nearby Walnut Grove. In 1934 Al Admai opened a restaurant called Al's Place, later called Al the Wops, and Al only served steaks. 

If you dig a little deeper into Locke's history you will find that Locke in the 1920's and 1930's was a rockin' town with Opium dens, gambling parlors, and of course girls. I have good information that Al Adami served more than steak. In the back room Al's "Ladies" were busy. Locke's close proximity to Sacramento, the State Capitol, gave our lawmakers a much needed break from the rigors of their lawmaking duties. The only door bell in town was wired to the gambling parlor to warn if the Sheriff came into town.

Now Locke is pretty tame but it's a fine ride to good destination where you can get a good meal but it sure would be interesting to see it back when.

The Real McCoy and the J-Mack

Lee and I took a ride to the town of Locke for lunch at Ed the Wop's.  Locke is on one of the hundreds of "islands" in the Sacramento River Delta.  There are several ways to get to Locke, I like to go by way of the Real McCoy and the J-Mack.

From Rio Vista on Hwy 12, we turned north along the main shipping channel.  After a few miles on the levee, we took the car ferry called the Real McCoy across Cache Slough to Ryer Island. 

We rode around Ryer Island to a smaller ferry named the J-Mack on Steamboat Slough.  The J-Mack is one of the last operating cable ferries.  A cable ferry pulls itself along a cable that is fixed between the banks of the river.  The ferries are free and even though the rides are short they are a lot of fun.

Stampede News

I have just learned some news from the Stampede, it looks like Charlie The Nomad came in first. Chris Price came in second. It looks like 14 riders finished the race, 26 started. Weather caused problems this year, the riders had to dodge thunderstorms and tornadoes.

 

El Nomads bike was obviously well prepared. I think the engine is a late 70's Kawasaki 900 with a truly unique exhaust system.

Jim's KZ750 at the Stampede

I talked to Jim who had ridden from Alberta Canada to compete in the Stampede. Jim calls his Kawasaki KZ750, "Calamity Ensues" after the two female devils on the tank. Get it? Calamity and Sue, yes, Canadian humor.

Jim's bike had developed a intake manifold leak so he was in the motel parking lot with the carbs off using a little RTV to seal things up.

Jim took time from his repairs to talk with me and that's no small thing with the start of the race just hours away.
By now the Stampede is over, and though I don't know how anyone did, I hope Jim did well and had a good time.

The Brits Take on The Stampede

This is the sixth Stampede and there has never been a British bike entered, until now. This year with the Stampede off the Interstates, three Brit bikes, Norton, BSA and Triumph, stepped up to the challenge.


1970 BSA A65 Lightening #2

#5 1979 Triumph Bonneville

Stampede 2011

The Stampede 6 is underway.  The Stampede is a race for hardtail choppers.  No windshields or fairings, no hard saddle bags and no rubber mounted engines are allowed. This year the Stampede started at South Lake Tahoe, California and will finish at the Greenleafe Inn in Pine Bluff, North Carolina. As I write this entry the 26 riders who started are about half way across the country.

The course is not revealed until the evening before the race. It was known that this year the course would avoid the interstate highways. It was to be two lane highway most of the way. I snapped a photo over some one's shoulder as the course sheets were passed out.

The race follows Highway 50, the Loneliest Highway in America, for 3100 miles then turns south to finish at Greenleafe Inn.
The people who are riding in the Stampede come from all over, and they rode their bikes to get to the starting line. You won't find any trailers hidden in the neighborhood.

I've got a load of photos and as soon as I can I'll post more.