Non IT Project Website

[Stoic Joker]

So for the past year I've been working on an antique Harley custom/restoration project. So while I was on Christmas vacation I decided to slap together a website for the project that chronicles some of the (hopefully) more interesting parts of the project.

Granted I still haven't done anything with my main site ... But this has been way more fun.

Project Alice

In the garage I get to use a hammer!

 

[mouser]

It's fun to read about your adventure -- keep the new chapters coming 

[KynloStephen66515]

Heh I read through all of this and I love your writing style xD Not a fan of Harley's myself (I prefer bikes that don't break down every 38 minutes 😂) but I love what you have done with yours!

[rgdot]

Is it electric? ............. just kidding

Cool stuff 

[Stoic Joker]

Thanks guys, good to hear it was entertaining...as that was kinda the point of the site.

@Stephen - IIRC you're a BMW guy aren't you...

[tomos]

Yes, an entertaining read  :thumbsup:
in spite of not having much of a clue what goes on in engines etc, I love reading / watching this kind of thing.

Also liked the way you bought the manual *after* having worked on it for most of a year :-)

[KynloStephen66515]

Thanks guys, good to hear it was entertaining...as that was kinda the point of the site.

@Stephen - IIRC you're a BMW guy aren't you...

-Stoic Joker (December 30, 2016, 01:09 PM)

Wait...wat...ew no!

Triumph Speed (or Street) Triple
GXSR6/1000
Honda Fireblade
Thundercat/Thunderace
Fazer 6

THOSE are my kind of bikes xD

[Stoic Joker]

Thanks guys, good to hear it was entertaining...as that was kinda the point of the site.

@Stephen - IIRC you're a BMW guy aren't you...

-Stoic Joker (December 30, 2016, 01:09 PM)

Wait...wat...ew no!

-Stephen66515 (December 30, 2016, 07:54 PM)

LOL Okay... Just checking

Years ago I worked on the big 4 from Japan at a motorcycle salvage/repair shop. They also did the Britts...and pretty much everything else except Harleys. I found back then that I really liked how both Honda and Kawasaki build their machines. Yamaha and Suzuki however both drove me nuts with some of their design choices that frequently left me wondering WTF were they thinking when they cobbled this thing together??

The Britts were always fun to work on/ride because of the delightful - stick-to-the-basics - simplicity of their designs ... This also is/was/remains a big part of my attraction to Harley.

So at least we share some common ground in the Honda/Triumph arena.

But I have to stick with the Sport Touring class of bike, as - even being over 50 - the full on Sport bikes are just too much of a temptation for me to keep a Driver's License with.

[Stoic Joker]

Also liked the way you bought the manual *after* having worked on it for most of a year :-)

-tomos (December 30, 2016, 02:14 PM)

Good Catch!  - Yes, memory server me well ... Right up until it didn't...

[Stoic Joker]

I forgot to mention Chapter 2 is now done, and I'm working on chapter 3.

[tomos]

I forgot to mention Chapter 2 is now done, and I'm working on chapter 3.

-Stoic Joker (August 10, 2017, 03:55 PM)

hope this not an awkward question:
how come your brother got a good functioning 1985 bike for 3,500 and yours, 1981, cost 3,000 and required a lot of work?
Is is the year, or are there other differences I'm misisng?

(Keep in mind I know nest to nothing about bikes)

[Stoic Joker]

I forgot to mention Chapter 2 is now done, and I'm working on chapter 3.

-Stoic Joker (August 10, 2017, 03:55 PM)

hope this not an awkward question:
how come your brother got a good functioning 1985 bike for 3,500 and yours, 1981, cost 3,000 and required a lot of work?

-tomos (August 11, 2017, 07:57 AM)

LOL Yes! ...But it's a good kind of awkward...

Is it the year, or are there other differences I'm missing?

-tomos (August 11, 2017, 07:57 AM)

Yes to both. My 81 has the older Shovelhead style engine, and is one of the first few years for that style of frame. So they weren't real popular back then...and became almost instantly rare because people were either cutting up, scrapping, or just not buying them. Me... I had an 82 FLT back in the day that I just loved...but had to sell to keep a business running ($$$). About a year later I got the 87 which I then road for almost 20 years, but it was the (like my brother's) newer Evolution (a.k.a. Evo) engine.

Needless to say parts for the Shovelhead era FLT's are a bitch to find. So my objective was just to find a Shovelhead FLT in as complete a condition as I could find ...(body parts, locks, instruments, etc.) And deal with the other crap later. But had also already planned to do most of the modifications anyway because of advances made in the various (braking, suspension, etc.) technologies.

My brother OTOH was just looking for a good deal on a bagger because he had already fallen in love with mine.. 

...And then there the whole just being lucky(er) part, as both bikes were purchased as-is, and came home in a truck. So while Alice's odometer only showed 14k miles ... It was an aftermarket item that made it impossible to know exactly what her mileage/history really was. And then there's the fact that she had apparently been previously been owned by a two fisted, whisky drunk, alcoholic, orangutan that should not have been allowed to have hand tools.[/quote]

[tomos]

^ okay, so you weren't ripped off (I didnt honestly think that would have been the case)
thanks for the background 

In the photo of both together, I'd prefer the look of Alice, but that's probably mainly down to the lights and handlebars. (But the other bike has a lot of character too, and they look great together.)

I'm learning some lingo here as well e.g. bagger, Shovelhead engine^w.
May as well give your link while I'm at it
http://www.stoicjoke...ce/Chronicle_pg2.php

[Stoic Joker]

^ okay, so you weren't ripped off (I didnt honestly think that would have been the case)
thanks for the background 

-tomos (August 11, 2017, 12:16 PM)

Tis truly my pleasure. There's tons more, but I'm at work/rushing a bit ... Hence the dangling /quote tag above..

In the photo of both together, I'd prefer the look of Alice, but that's probably mainly down to the lights and handlebars. (But the other bike has a lot of character too, and they look great together.)

-tomos (August 11, 2017, 12:16 PM)

Yes, Alice's retro classic vs. Nightmares "The 80's" look...that's why I decided not to bother with trying to track a (just like nightmares, original) replacement fairing for her. I'm kinda digging the classic look too.

A close look at that picture will show the (subtle to the untrained eye) difference in Alice's much newer and larger late model front brakes. Alice will stop on a dime...Nightmare won't.

I should probably try to get a pic of (Trixie too) all 3 of the girls together one of these days.

I'm learning some lingo here as well e.g. bagger, Shovelhead engine^w.
May as well give your link while I'm at it
http://www.stoicjoke...ce/Chronicle_pg2.php

-tomos (August 11, 2017, 12:16 PM)

Truly glad you're enjoying the story, but be careful you don't get sucked in to far end up wanting one. I went out for a beer with one of our company's IT clients Monday night for the sole purpose of discussing how best they could pickup a bagger (like Alice..). Because they had seen Alice when I showed up there on a service call, and heard her tail.
Me, my brother, the client ... She's quite the little siren it appears..

[colder69]

Nice bike! And yeah the website may need some improvement, but not bad for a start.

[colder69]

By the way, A bit of OT though, where do you source your Harley parts? I myself get them from 4WheelOnline. They do sell more affordable parts and even accessories. Check their Harley section on their website.

[Stoic Joker]

By the way, A bit of OT though, where do you source your Harley parts? I myself get them from 4WheelOnline. They do sell more affordable parts and even accessories. Check their Harley section on their website.

-colder69 (August 23, 2017, 09:41 PM)

Multiple locations depending on part, availability, and how close to new it needs to be. Sources for all item(s) used on the Alice project are listed on the page top left of each "Shopping List" table.

eBay has been surprisingly good to me on a lot of both new and used (frequently high dollar) items. Next most popular is a toss-up between JP Cycles, and a local shop that's been in business for 40+ years ... flat, knuckle, pan, shovel, block, TC...yep they've probably got it.

(Spoiler-> Alice is back on the road now ... I'll hopefully get the site updated soon - brother's in town - It's been a wild week.

[Stoic Joker]

Site updated -(hint)- Alice wins her first drag race.