Norton Chop Starting Reliably

The Norton chopper has been starting reliably lately -- usually on the second good kick. That's pretty encouraging. I think I've got the hang of it now. I've redone the rear brake pedal to make more room for my foot on the peg. I've also opened up the outer primary cover. So a few minor changes here and there. Still haven't got the rear brake working, but that's a whole other story. If the weather cooperates, I'm hoping to drive it to work tomoorw morning so I can take it to Colorado Powersports to see if they can figure the brake thing out.

A couple of weekends ago, Honora and I were on business in LA a block away from Yoshi's Garage Company. Stopped in and had a chat with Yoshi about my various bikes and projects. Yoshi is an extremely approachable guy with a wicked eye for classic Americana. I urge anyone who has not been there to check him out. He's in Culver City not far from Venice Beach and Washington Ave. If you like Kustom Kulture, Ed Roth, Von Dutch, and old school shit, you'll love Yoshi's.

I've been moving forward with my next build. My engine and tranny rebuilds came back from Matt Rambow at Colorado Nortonworks. They look like new. Just gorgeous! I've got my frame welded back together. If I can get the girder front end together, I've got myself a roller. I'm replacing the spring with a pneumatic shock absorber sort of like Jesse Rooks. I'll start posting pics on that project once I get that far. I've got a lot of the parts and pieces. So once I've got a roller, the rest should go together much quicker than the first project.

There's been some false rumors about why I resigned from the IIRA TC/presidency. I hope I've laid those to rest on the Indian Community BB. That reminds me, the weekend before last, Honora and I were in Racine, WI. Honora was teaching her class and I had a few hours to myself. So after visiting the local H-D dealership, I went looking for an independent store we had passed the night before. When I found it, I realized it was the Racine Indian dealership. What a surprise! They were still in business, keeping the dream alive. We had a nice visit, talking about things Indian past and future. Of course, they didn't have any Indians for sale, but they did have five Indians they were working on in the the back, three Chiefs, a Scout, and Spirit. Hugely nice folks. However, I was surprised to hear that David Wright of Stellican had moved on. I hope that doesn't bode ill for their resurrection. In any case, anyone in the Racine area interested in an H-D alternative should stop into Racine Indian. They've got some interesting Indian memorabilia on their walls. Bought another black t-shirt just to support their cause.