I’ve had a few people ask me lately what I was doing to keep my sanity while looking for work.  While this is a reasonable question, it presupposes that I had any sanity in the first place.  So anyhow, what I am doing these days, unburdened by sanity as usual, other than officiating the daily bird vs. dog mayhem here at the House of Insomnia, and looking for work, is keeping that awesome layer of grease under my fingernails by working on bikes.  

With the departure of the GSX-R750 to its new home somewhere out west this week, it was time to focus my efforts elsewhere.  Pictured above is a perfectly good 2007 Triumph Bonneville.  I got it a month or two ago, amazingly enough, with 4 miles on the odometer.  Apparently it wasn’t uncrated until this past February.  I have been riding it, a little, and it now has about 2500 miles on the clock.

I should begin by saying that there is really absolutely nothing wrong with this bike.  It is, hands down, one of the nicest bikes I’ve ever ridden.  Not the fastest, loudest, flashiest, or best handling, but probably the nicest.  Everywhere I go on it, people go out of their way to comment on it, either because they know what it is, or they think they know what it is, or they feel moved to say something because it just looks so damned friendly. It is like the VW Beetle of motorcycles.

The fact that it is virtually brand-new (and un-crashed) creates a bit of a challenge when it comes to picking a place to start.  It is, however, my latest victim, so I have to start somewhere.  I thought I’d begin with the most awkward bits I could find and work my way from there.  In my humble opinion the ugliest part of the bike has GOT to be the front end, so the plan is to ditch the turn signals, change the headlight, bars, grips, and gauges.  In order to accomplish this I need to remount the rectifier (currently up under the headlight) somewhere down on the frame, relocate the ignition switch (currently on the left side headlight ear), and work up some kind of mount for the new headlamp (probably a smaller bottom-mount Bates) so I can lose the dopey headlight ears and the clownish turn signals.  Probably while I am at it I’ll put some gaiters on the forks, since they are going to have to come off anyhow.  The speedo currently sits up so high I can catch shade under it–this will have to go.  Hopefully I can find a replacement that is a little less obtrusive.

I’ve got some Biltwell Tracker bars coming–the thought being that we’ll go more in the direction of Desert Sled/Scrambler than cafe racer with this one. Argument in the garage currently is about exhaust system, me wanting to go with high pipes, and Yobbo the Unwise (my assistant in these matters) agitating in favor of D&D TT pipes. Both have their merit, but I have always wanted to put a skid plate on a street bike, and the high pipes on this bike might afford me my only chance.  Will keep you posted as this develops.