My Stampede Bike for 2015, Fabrication

     After tearing the bike apart, I took it to Paul Arvin at J.F.R. to weld on the hard tail section. 

Paul also fabbed the brake mount between the frame rails, seat mount, fender struts and oil tank mounts. In other words just about all the fab was Paul's work. I wanted it done right.

                             I know the seat looks a little out of scale it's the Mustang seat I used I used last year. It is large but proven comfortable. I'll change it for something more chopperish after the Stampede.

     The hard tail section is T.C. Bros, the fender and oil tank are Ledsled. I got the air bag for the seat from McMaster Carr. I used the same air bag for the 2013 Stampede and it worked well. Paul's contact info is J.F.R. Chopper Shop, 40 Maxwell Ct., Santa Rosa, California (707) 548-1839 
     Next comes paint.

Famous Road Signs

Looks like by 2012 the bicyclists had worn out their welcome. 

Belt vs Chain

     This is the belt from my '04 Electra Glide. It has 110,000 miles on it. I just replaced the belt not because it was worn out, but because the pulley was.

     I recently read an entry on a motorcycle forum, where the writer opined, "Chains drive motorcycles, belts hold your dress up." The above belt and pulley have 110 thousand miles on them, the chain sprocket below is from my Sportster after the last Stampede and has a total of 7,000 miles. 

            Your honor, I rest my case.

     

My Stampede Bike for 2015, The Tear Down

     One of the things I learned from Stampede 9 was that a belt is far better than a chain. The chain needed constant adjustment, caused vibration and threw chain lube all over the place. So I decided to loose the kick starter and go with a belt drive.

     I ordered a TC Bros weld on hard tail, the price was right and it is well built. I chose a 2" stretch hard tail which uses the stock tire and a 137 tooth belt.

     So the red Sportster began it's new life, I started to tear it down to install the new hard tail section.

    

My Stampede Bikes

    

      My first Stampede was #7 in 2012. The race started in Barstow, California and finished 3000 miles later at the Green Leafe Inn in Pine Bluff, North Carolina. I built the Kawasaki (KZ1000p) Police bike for the race.  I strutted the bike and solid mounted the engine. I also sprung the seat and mounted a 3 gallon extra tank.  My time was 49 hours and 51 minutes. I finished 4th.

     For Stampede 8, in 2013, the rules changed and there was a 550 cc limit on engine size. So I sold the KZ and bought a Kawasaki Vulcan 500. 
     I used the struts I made for the previous years KZ1000p and solid mounted the engine. I mounted a trailer fender and made a rack to carry the three gallon gas tank. I also built an air bag seat suspension that worked well. The seat however was too small and hard and caused no end of discomfort. The bike looked a little more like a chopper even though it was still more of a rule beater.
     Stampede 8 started in Tokeland, Washington. The route covered 3600 miles to Pinebluff. I had electrical problems and did not finish. 
     I still make it to Pinebluff, too late, but I still got there.

     For Stampede 9, in 2014, the rules changed again and required a kick starter and allowed only 5 gallons of gasoline on the bike. I found a 2002 Sportster and added a kick starter made by Led Sled. The main tank held 3.3 gallons and I installed a axillary tank that held 1.5 gallons.

     Stampede 9 started in Oakland, California and covered 3200 miles the long way to Pine Bluff. I finished 2nd, just 23 minutes out of first place.

     My plan was to strut the bike for Stampede 9 and build a propper chopper for Stampede 10. For a time I vacillated, maybe the bike was too nice to cut up, but in the end I told myself to stick to the plan. I'll be writing about the "chop" in the near future.

     To read more about The Stampede click at the bottom of the page on - Labels: The Stampede.

Sunrise on San Franciso Bay

     I happened to be in Marin County at sunrise, Marin is just north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge. I stopped at Strawberry Point on Richardson Bay to take a couple of photos.

Hubert

     Hubert Kriegel, pronounced U-Bear, was at the Ural Motorcycle dealer in Santa Clara for a meet and greet. I have been following his blog for several years. Hubert has been traveling the world on his Ural sidehack for the last 10 years and was in town to talk about his travels and answer questions. The URL for Hubert's blog is http://www.thetimelessride.com .

    



      

Hubert's visit was hosted by 
Triquest Motorcycles, Santa Clara.

The photos below are from his blog, and show his winter trip across Lake Baikal, in Siberia.       

Hubert is currently touring India and would be returning there after his California visit. 

Famous Road Signs, Dead Man's Curve

     This sign is located just outside of Sierraville, California on Highway 49 and refers to the fifteen miles to Downieville.  It's a good warning as there are some really tight corners that are at best flat and at worst off camber.  
     Deep shade on the curves keeps moisture from evaporating.  We were there in mid November and it was quite cold, I'm betting that there could be ice on those curves at night and early morning.
     So, thanks for the warning.

I Ride the Indian Scout

     I went to the International Motorcycle Show at San Mateo.  There were several of the big manufacturers giving test rides.  I wanted to ride the new Indian Scout and the line was short so...

     I signed up to ride and the bike I got to ride was this blood red model.
     The test ride was about a half hour and covered a good distance both in town and on freeways.  I really liked the Scout.  It is supposed to have around 100 hp and it is fast and very smooth.  The seat is comfortable and the riding position feels like you could put on a lot of miles without fatigue.  The bike could use a better fork.
     With a price tag around 11 grand, I'm not sure I would buy one, but, like I said, I really liked the bike.

Took My Ol' Harley for a Three Day Cruise

     My friend Greg called to say he had three days off.  A three day cruise sounded terrific.   

     Three days is the perfect amount of time for a rambling cruise through the Sierras. 

     Ebbetts Pass is about 200 miles from my home in wine country.  To get there, cruise through the Sacramento Delta and through the California Gold Country, then into the High Sierras on Highway 4.  Much of the road over the pass is a very winding one lane road.
     Once over Ebbetts Pass we stopped at the Wolf Creek Inn at Markleeville, a tiny town on the eastern side of the Sierras.  Then it was on to Monitor Pass.

   


     After Monitor pass we hit Hwy 395 near Topaz Lake and turned north to Reno.  We stayed in Reno, total distance about 250 miles, a great days ride.

     Next day we left Reno headed north to Highway 70 where we turned west toward Quincy.  It was hot in Quincy, it always is during the summer, so we gassed up and headed into the Feather River Canyon.

    We spent the second night in Chico and hit the Sierra Nevada brewery.  Then an easy ride home, perfect three day cruise.

Alan Smith, Hypermiler

     When this streamliner showed up at The Project Livewire Experience, I had to take a close look. I spoke to the pilot, Alan Smith. He said that the bike had gotten 181.6 miles to the gallon in Ohio. He was referring to The Craig Vetter Fuel Economy Challenge held July 11, in Lexington, Ohio. 
     Smith won in the traditional fuels class on 154 mile course in Central Ohio. The course followed posted speed limits and had to deal with traffic. Under that streamliner skin, Smith's bike is a Kawasaki 250 Ninja.
     Smith said he has an improved kit that will make your bike into a hypermiler.

Project Livewire, Harley Davidson's Electric Motorcycle

    When I learned that the new Harley Davidson electric bike was going to be at our local dealer, I headed right over to sign up. Perhaps they recognized me as the noted motojournalist that I am in my dreams, but more likely there were enough rides to go around.  At any rate I was invited to come and ride the Project Livewire Electric Motorcycle. 

    
The Project Livewire truck set up in the Sonoma County Harley Davidson parking lot.   
     

     

  I talked to Mike Daniels, the west coast tech for the Project Livewire Experience. He said there were 33 of the hand built bikes in existence. He said there were 11 on on tour on the west coast, 11 on the east coast and 11 in Europe.

   I really liked the bike it was fast, fun and light. I had no problem transitioning from a gasoline engine to an electric motor. The bike uses regenerative braking which helped to make the bike feel like it was well under control at all times. The bike is fast and since there is no shifting it feels like the thing would accelerate forever. 
   The one thing I didn't like was the sound. Harley Davidson is obviously very concerned that the bike have a distinctive sound, a recognizable Harley signature sound. I suspect that the sound of this motorcycle is made by something other than its motor and gears. At any rate the sound of the bike was annoying. 
   So would this motorcycle sell? That's the million dollar question. If these things were as cheap as scooters, there might be one in every garage in America, but I don't see the words inexpensive and Harley Davidson often used in the same sentence.
   Poor range, the bugaboo of both electric car and electric motorcycle, is the main problem. The commuter market would probably be the place for the Livewire. Ride to work then plug in, ride home and plug in, repeat.
   Will this bike become a production bike, problematic, however the bike is already a success because of the publicity and interest it has created. It might also influence how R&D projects are viewed by the Harley Davidson Motor Company in the future. 

          We had some storms come through wine country the other day. I stopped and took this photo with my cell phone.  I did get a little wet.

Famous Road Signs, Half Way to the North Pole

Also half way to the equator, this sign is really in the middle (of nowhere).  It's on Highway 97 west of Shaniko, Oregon.

Frank from Walla Walla

     Marie and I stopped at Fat Cats Tavern in Walla Walla, Washington to wait out a rain storm and maybe have a couple of beers.  Frank came over and introduced himself.  He said he was 82 years old and because of his age had just given up riding.  He pulled out a photo of himself on his Electra Glide.  

     He was really proud of that bike and you know what that motorcycle meant to him that he carries its picture around in his pocket.