A bunch of Photos I found of myself, friends, and bikes, from Phoenix.

This was my second tattoo, the Triumph logo, old school, straight to the chest, hurt like a motherfucker.

I discovered this neat thing, if you stop for too long (like 10 minutes) then it begins to heal, then when the artist starts back up the pain is even worse.

But the end product was something that I truly love, and it really shows how much I love Triumph bikes, you can think that's stupid, but I don't. They make me happy, and in my life that is Very important. 

These are actually Cam giving me my first Tattoo which is the Norton logo, it really should be on my chest, and the Triumph on my shoulder blade, but Norton is my greatest love, and this being my first tattoo that is what I went with. Because I'm so thin, Cam said it was like hitting bone the whole time =p

Thats Zach on the table getting his soon to be wife's name tattooed to his chest. That necklace he's wearing his father gave him when he was 14. He gave it to me when I collapsed in his apartment from pain, one of many attacks which was one of the reasons I had to abandon Phoenix. 

This is a Sleeve Zach wanted and Cam did for him. 

Without a doubt these were my two best friends in Phoenix, and even that I'm gone I consider them to be still. Zach in the shirt, Cam without. Zach is pointing at the first tattoo he's ever done, the webbing on Cam's knee. 

Cam is actually now in jail, and looking at 15 years. It makes me very sad because this is one of the nicest guys I've ever know. He cleaned up, found Jesus, quit smoking, quit drinking, was getting the best grades at MMI, was doing incredibly well, he's a brilliant tattoo artist, and as loyal and true a friend as anyone could ever wish for - and he was arrested for small time shit he did a few years ago, and they trumped up the charges. 

On the left we have Mike, he was a really cool guy, I was in classes with him for 12 weeks. He was always really nice, talked to you, sarcastic as fuck, my kind of guy, and one of Cam's best friends out here. One night he put a .50 caliber pistol in his mouth and blew his brains out. It was quite sad, still is. But we've all seen death, all of us there.

Ahhh The GROUP

L->R: Ian, Cam, Zach, Barrat, Callie, Jazmine, Steve

L->R: Cam, Steve, Barrat, Ian.... The Outsiders?

New Years Eve? I'm actually Not sure when this was taken.

L->R: ?, Zero, Cam, Ian, Steve, and Zach on his knees.

This is Everybody

Standing L->R: Cam, Jazmine, Ian

Sitting L->R: Chris, Steve, Myself, Will & his Girl.

Cam, in his riding clothes, and his school shirt. 

Here we have Ian and Cam. Ian was one of the most mellow, happy, nice, cool guys I knew there. Loved loud angry music, dirtbiking, all sorts of shit, lived in a wild part of Colorado. A month or two after I left I heard the news. He was drunk or high and carrying his pistol around, Steve said I don't like guns in my house. Ian said "Its Not loaded, See Watch" and put the gun to his head and shot himself. Last I heard (sometime ago) he was in critical condition. I continue to pray for him, but don't have the heart to ask if he's still alive. 

New Years Eve. Minus the hat and blanket that was pretty much my winter rig for clothes. I ended up forcing Zach to accept that pipe as a gift before I left to come back here. Its a Brebbia made in Italy. Great pipe. I was probably smoking Bombay Extra by McClelland. Which was Dad's favorite blend.

Cam and Chris, we called Chris "Sir Revs Alot" I'm not sure who thought that up, they were probably VERY drunk, but it stuck. He had a new Harley and just ran the piss out of it. Great guy, one of many to force me to accept food. He worked at a mexican resteurant and gave me one of the best meals I've ever had when Cam told him I had next to no food. 

This is a 1995 Kawasaki KZ1000P - the P stands for Police, I bought it in Feb of 2008, it came with a radio rack, rear cases, rear crashbars, front crashbars, and a giant fairing which I took off the day I got to Phoenix. It broke down 5 times on the way across, blew out an average of 1 qt of oil per day on my left boot, and was just pretty damned miserable. 

2 days after arriving in Phoenix it died again 1 block from the apts, I abandoned it for the day and pushed it home that night at like 2am. The next day I went out and bought another bike.

I met Cam at a party in the apartment next door to mine, where Barratt and this kid Corey were living. Cam and Will banged on my door and ordered that I join them. We all became good friends, pretty quick. Later down by the pool Cam asked if I was going to sell the KZ, and I said ya, how much you got, we decided more or less on a $1000, and Will was asking very specific questions which I was answering dead honest.

I bailled on them for the night, and in my apartment I thought, "You know what? Fuck it" so I went back out, walked into Barrat's apt where Cam, Will, Zach, and everyone was hanging out, and said to Cam "You know what, you can have it" This seemed to blow everyone away, I guess they just weren't expecting it, I was misty, but thats because I get such a high out of doing cool things for people. I made a few friends for life that night, wasn't my plan, I just figured he could use a bike, I had a spare bike, he liked it, he'd love it, he could have it. 

This was it the day he got it, he took this picture. 

Cam likes Rat bikes, I do too. So he decided to make the KZ a Ratbike, by the way, the problem was 2 wires. He lowered it, made it a hard tail, used a seat I gave him, a different headlight I gave him, and a tail light I gave him. He really loved that bike. I think he paid me for some parts, and he gave me free food, and Zero, Zach, and I all got free tattoos - as well as others. 

In the background you can see my second 73 Triumph, God I loved that bike, I got too sick to start it (kick only) and had to sell it. 

KZ, Triumph Tiger, and Royal Enfield Bullet. 

I had more in mind for writing but it's 5AM. So I'm going to just go to bed. 

Hard Sun

Now I'm more in the mood to write, and I don't know what the difference is, or was. I don't know what subtle change there is that makes me go from there to here. 

My mate Wingnut is dating another mate of mine. They're both close, but W is closer by far. He is one of the closest friends I've ever had. 

I'm sitting here in the basement middle room, and I'm talking to him about Love, such an important subject, and my mind is all over the map. There are so few people who I love. I love my mother and my brother - of course. I love many a dead friend. I loved dad so much it hurt. I love Kyle. I love Liam. I love Wingnut. 

I need to clean my space down here. I need to really sort it out, really pull it together. I had such great plans for this space, and then my body came apart. Now my body is pulling back together and I need to get this place sorted out again. 

And just like that *poof* my inspiration is gone =[

The Doors & Wingnut

I'm sitting here watching "The Doors" and talking to Wingnut - thus the Title of the post. I'm too tired to write anymore, but I'm loving my convo with Wingnut. More later.

Motorcycles... as always.

The picture below is my father's Norton Atlas that he bought new when he was 21, and here in this picture I am sitting on it trying to be Steve McQueen when I was 21. McQueen was a mutual hero of my father and I, and I remember that day so well. It was one of those perfect days. Dad, my brother, and I worked in cleaning up the garage, we sat and talked bikes, my brother took this picture of me. It was just one of those wonderful days. I was feeling top of my game and everything was going right. 

For as long as I can remember I have loved the Norton Atlas and wanted one. Not just any, I have wanted his, that bike above there. When he died I turned it into a Triton, a bike I just haven't been able to finish yet. For some reason finishing that bike is like the final nail in Dad's coffin, I just can't do it. Not yet. 

I have been through so many bikes. Its one of those funny things, I was given the 1981 Suzuki GS550 because it was wrecked by a friend of a friend. It took some time, but yesterday I was finally able to get her on the road. It's not legal, but its rideable.

I have it idling fairly decent, and I have finally got a gas cap that I can get on and off. She fires right up, drives pretty good, stops less good - but OK. I feel pretty goofy with the current handlebars, but I think in time I'll be able to mount something flatter and easier to handle. 

Seriously though I'm thrilled with this bike. I don't know how or why, but I find that I love this bike almost as much as the Norton. She handles good, is light on her feet, nimble, and makes the same HP as the Norton. She is very much like the Norton. 

Dad named the Norton "Old Venerable Old" and I have named the GS "Jenny Lind" after a locomotive I wanted to build when I was a little kid, he was so cool that he bought me the book for building it as well as some of the plans. Always willing to encourage me. I can think of no better tribute than Jenny Lind. 

She really is quite something. More later.

New Bike: 1981 Suzuki GS550

This is the bike after I had stripped all the broken non-reusable parts off of it. 

She was pretty hammered, I got here for free. A friend of a friend got spooked in a corner and tried to straighten up while in the corner, locked up the brakes, and went down. Dented up the gas tank pretty good, ripped up the seat, destroyed the handlebars, clutch lever, headlight, gauge cluster, ignition switch, headlight, turn signals, and a bit more. 

Here are some of the parts I took off. Happily the tachometer survived thats the one clock you can see in this picture - I don't have a spare, so I was happy to find it still alive. I do have a spare Speedometer from another bike, so that is what I will use when I fix it. I had to replace just about everything in this picture.

Here is the bike at the end of the first day with newish handlebars, headlight, foot peg, and just overall what I had left put back together. 


There is a pretty serious dent in front left and right side of the gas tank. You can see one of them pretty clear in the picture above, but not so clear in the picture below. I will have to strip the paint off the tank and use Bondo to patch the dents up round. From there I will be able to spray the tank primer gray which is the color I think I will stay with for the painted parts of the bike, the side covers will also become that color.

Also in the top picture you can see a rather solid dent in the front fender where I think it slid into a curb. That will need to be hammered out. 

The seat is also a bit battered, gorilla tape will patch the holes, preventing against water damage in rain, and I will have to come up with some other form of mounting other than the locking cylinder in the seat - which I do not have a key to. 

Down here you can see the parts that I purchased for the bike already, as well as future parts, and distant future parts. 

I have another frame in the basement which has a disc brake setup in the back - which I hope to fit eventually. 

Dry Weight: 451 lbs
Engine type: 

Air-cooled 

549 cc inline-4 

DOHC, 8 valves. 

49 hp/ 9.000 rpm

I tend to REALLY love bikes that make about 50HP, so having an inline four cylinder that does it, well that's just mighty sweet. 

The TOP picture was what my 2002 Royal Enfield 500cc Bullet looked like when I bought it. The Bottom picture is how it looks at this moment.

That Royal Enfield remains one of my biggest regrets. It was absolute perfection when I got it and then I tried to make it better and better till I ran out of money and had to strip it down, then I lost the place i was keeping it and had to sell off most of it, and then well the whole thing just collapsed. 

Now I'm trying to rebuild it on the cheap. I Sold the gear box and sawed off the oil tank after dad died. Not smart moves on either scale. 

Now I'm trying to sort it all out.

The Triton is too important to me to treat too roughly so the idea is this Enfield will be the bike to take to parties, and shit like that.

Anyways more later.