Bed Liner is the new Flat Black!

So the other woman (Dirty Von Kashmagnet) was looking pretty cool in the original yellow, but flat black is an order of magnitude cooler than any color. there is only one thing that is cooler than flat black and that is truck bedliner. Did i jsut pull all the plastic off my new bike and paint it with bedliner spray?
you bet your ass i did!

here is the process:
Step 1. take everything off the bike.



( i know what you are thinking, it does look super bad ass naked, but i imagine that it wouldnt work too well in the rain/ mud like that.)

Step 2. lay all the stuff out.



Step 3. paint it with this spray on bedliner that i found at pep boys (I'll let you know how it holds up.)



here is a close up of the texture of the paint. it looks pretty tough, i hope it holds up.



Step 4. Put it back on the bike and look like you rode out of a Mad Max movie.



So sweet!

i am still trying to decide whether to paint the tank or not. I kinda like the visibility of the yellow tank and i also think it looks kinda cool having some color to the bike. also plastic is cheaper to replace if i decide i dont like the black than a tank is. i could also sell the tank for a dented up one and make a little money on the deal too. I dont have to decide today so it is fine for now. don't sweat the yellow faring out front, that will be vanishing soon and will be replaced by this!



8" racing light! that is huge and will be so bright. now to save up another $275. i was talking with a guy on Advrider and he said it was a direct plug in operation. i am not sure what that means to someone who sucks as much as i do on the mechanical front but ill let you know.

Stuff is happening....

So everything arrived and it is all on the bike. lets start with the front wheel:




I went with the 19" so that it wouldn't look too obviously Motarded. i like the look and think it looks "correct" on the bike.
I got the wheel form the guys at Procycle ( http://www.procycle-online.com/ ). they were very cool and informative and everything arrived on time and exactly as promised. i dont know if they were the cheapest but i couldnt find a better deal, it seems liek everything costs about the same ($500 for a wheel). stock suzuki hub laced with Buchannon spokes to an Excel hub. looks good and is totally round. ha. check it out!



i also got an Acerbis universal SM front fender:



which i totally butchered trying to fit to the bike. the first two holes were perfect and beautiful, and it all went south from there. making it centered is hard and it isnt helped by the fact that i am a horrible mechanic. look at this!



Horrible. but on the bike it looks good.

Next step was losing that stock tail light and the rear fender.
I ordered a 350 tail light from kientech. tore all the other stuff off and bolted it on. easy as that.



the Roommate came up with a cool way to hang the license plate. check it out:



just two L brackets that bolt right into the holes that held the plate hanger on. easy and i just used the bolts that came on the bike.

the guys at Procycle also sent me a new rear tire. Avon Distanzias. they rock. i had to go to Speed Motorcycles here in NYC to get it on since i dont know how to do that and don;t really feel like experimenting on the new bike. I'll learn how to do it eventually but not today. $50 bucks well spent in my book but i am determined to figure it out.

Took the bike to bear Mountain to try it all out and scrub the tires in. I am pretty sure that i was getting my shoulder down, but maybe i am exaggerating a little...

more in a bit.

Please stop me

yesterday i dropped the Suzi off at Camrod Motorsports on 48th and 11th ave. i have never been there for anything other than an inspection before but i am working on 57th and 10th so i figured that i would drop it close to the office and get a quick tune up. I haven't had the chance to tune it up myself (and i dont know how to do a tune up) since i bought it and wanted to get it back to factory spec's before i start messing it up.

I am doing this partially because i dont know how to do it, and mostly because i dont know how the bike is supposed to feel when it is correct. so this will be a good way to find out how it is supposed to be. i will report back on their service once i get the bike back, but they told me that if i brought it in in the morning it would be done in the afternoon. not bad. it is raining today so ill let them hold on to the bike till tomorrow, but i will say this they seem kind of pricey. $250 for a tune up on a single cylinder bike is a bit expensive. but maybe they will do a really good job.

oh and there are more things coming on the horizon. my buddy got me interested in the Pine Barrens 500. ( http://www.pinebarrens500.org/ ) and now i am doing that next month. what does this mean? it means that i am not selling my old 21" front wheel and it also means that i am on the hunt for a new rear tire. i think the stock front tire is fine for the ride but the rear def needs to be replaced before i do the run so i am back on the hunt for a rear tire. i have some leads and it looks like it will be a Dunlop 606. i keep hearing good things about them so i will give it a try. i found one for 73.99 online and am trying to see if Jeff form Procycle will match that price.

speaking of which, jeff sent me an email telling me that my front wheel and rear tire shipped out yesterday, and that i should have them both by friday. I also ordered a new pair of Puma Desmo boots which should be here on friday too. and my rear brake light shoould be here by then too.
like i said i have a problem.

please stop me.

please