I finally pieced in the missing link !

[I74]

11/17/25,, & a sad day ...

Put the Bike up on the lift & blocks for winter today,, as the temps are going to shit,, pretty much here on out in E central Iowa .
Forecast is showing snow,, Sat. after black friday,, & temps are already getting down into the 30's...
I took off full coverage Ins. yesterday,, & just have comp. on it now for winter storage.
That will save me around 300 bucks,, for the next 5 1/2 - 6 months,, as comp. for storage,, is only $9.20 a month.
Hopefully put full coverage back on in late April,, & start riding again.
Progressive treats me ''real'' good.
Have a super nice HD cover for it also,, that the Guy gave me with the bike,, which was a bonus !

You will also notice,, that I put cardboard under it,, & also do that with the Mini's,, ect.
Concreate sweats ect. & is ''very'' corrosive ect.,, as some of you might know,, especially in cold humid climates..
No brainer there.

Lastly,, if we get any decent days before spring,, I always have the 2 Mini's that I can ride.

I

 

[f4radar]

Looks great! I had to laugh about the cardboard, I assumed it was to catch the leaks.

 

[I74]

Looks great! I had to laugh about the cardboard, I assumed it was to catch the leaks.

Yea,, that's frigg'n hilarious !!

This bike doesn't leak @ all,, & all the gaskets I have replaced,,, are top shelf ''James'' ones ..

The cardboard is an excellent protective barrier between the concrete & the bike .

My old Shovel chopper didn't leak either,, once I got all the gaskets & o -rings ect.,, replaced with the James ones ect.
Took a few years to get that one up to snuff though...

I

 

[I74]

Haven't posted a ''current state'' pic. of my GX,, in @ few years,, & here's some I took this last week.

Am actually ''just starting'' ,, to consider offers on it,, as I have ''Big Joe'' now,, & don't need ''little Shmo'',, plus I have the Electric brushless one also,, but will be keeping that.
With Big Joe,, I only rode this, ''1 time'', this season.
It needs a good new home,, with someone that would appreciate what I put into it,, plus be skilled in maintaining & riding it..
That's also why I haven't put it in the classifieds here,, as most on this thread,, I consider friends,, & are pretty skilled,, plus know my abilities,, & a bit also,, on who I'am,, & also,, pretty much my generation.

Send me a PM if ''seriously'' interested.

I

 

[I74]

Christmas 2025 latest updates .....

I ended up going with the EBC- FSD010 - 5 button / 5 star polished stainless front rotor.
EBC , is out of Whales,, & totally ''top shelf'' .
Got a great deal on it, from a Cat down in AZ,, & saved around $75 bucks, off the ave. going price !
That rotor weighs in @ only 3.7lbs, & is around 1.5 lbs. lighter than the stock one.
Also got ''Chrome'' button head 5/16 allan bolts for it.

I also just ordered a Weize group 20,- LI-PO4 -600CA , Lithium batt.
That Batt. only weighs around 6lbs,, & has double the CA of the ''boat anchor'' ''18lb. '' LA batt. that was in it.
Actually already sold the LA batt.,, plus a bunch of other stuff,, that I replaced off the Bike.

The 12 lb. weight savings on the Batt.,, plus the VH slip on slash muffler pipes,, which are 1/2 the weight of the stock pipes,, plus lighter bars,, lighter pegs,, & lighter front rotor,, Knocks around 30lbs. off the Bike !!
Figure the AUW with these mods, @ around 610lbs.,, which puts the Bike right about the same weight,, my old Shovelhead was .

That Lithium batt. & VH pipes,, also helps with better lateral balance,, & also,, lowering the center of gravity.
I already noticed the handling difference,, with just changing the pipes...

Anyways,,

I also ordered a 40 spoke 21'' chrome 40 spoke front wheel from Mototeks in Compton ''LA'',, but already sent it back for a refund.

That wheel did not have rolled lip edges,, plus the lip edges,, were ''very'' sharp in spots,, & those edges were obviously ''not'' finished & dressed,, before being chromed.
Chrome had contaminants under it also,, & obviously,, the surface, was not prepped well before being chromed .

That wheel also,, was a frigg'n ''way'' heavy ''Boat anchor'',, & I'll bet,, @ around 60lbs. !

Lastly,,

I ended up deciding,, to just keep ''my wheel'',, & just strip the black paint off,, & sand, polish,, & seal it,, with gloss Duplicolor 1K ''urethane'' clear.

That wheel is absolutely perfect,, & has ''no'' lateral or radial run out what so ever.
The bearings are super tight & smooth,, plus has rolled lip edges.

Picked up a Qt. can of ''Blue Bear'' safenol paint stripper the other day.
Looks like you wann'a put it on pretty thick, then wrap over it with plastic wrap,, for about a day or so....
The wrap keeps it from drying out,, & think it also keeps it activated better.

Once I get all that black paint off,, I will then start going to town,, with foam backed orbital sanding & polishing pads,, & chuck them up in my Kobalt 24v. brushless drill.

Before I do the clear cote,, I will finish sand/ buff,, with a 3M - 3000 grit foam sheet,, & then prep for paint,, with top shelf Iso. Alc.,, that's for electronics.

Am pretty sure that I can just about make that rim ring look like a mirror,, but will just take some time,, which I have plenty of ...

P.S.,,
Here's a pic of that ''jewel'' rotor.

Happy Holidays everyone !!

Ian

 

[I74]

Feb. 2026,,
Still waiting on my tire ,, since last Oct...
Am told that it it is sitting off shore on a ship.
(political reference deleted)

 

[I74]

Got the rim pretty much ready for clear cote !
That Blue Bear safenol bio degradable paint stripper is the bomb !
It took ''way'' less work to get the the rim ring spiffed than I originally thought,, & I ended up ''not'' using the buff bob,, because I don't want the compound impregnating into the metal,, & potentially messing up the clear cote.
I basically just used a plastic scrapper,, popsicle sticks,, & a brass wire brush,, to get the main stuff off,, & that was after letting it soak in for about a week,, with the rim ring covered & wrapped up in plastic wrap.
I then used 1000 & 3000 grit 3M foam sheets,, & also ultra fine steel wool.
The rim ring surface ,was actually pretty smooth already !

Latest update on the tire,, it got pushed back ''again'' till the end of March,, but other places are not supposed to see them till mid May.
Prob. will be May,, for mine also.
If that's the case,, I'll still have 6 months to ride it.

Anyways ,, still got 2 Mini's to ride though,, & I spring serviced & took out ''Little Shmo'' last eve,, with putting around 15 miles on it,, & also spiffed up the Electric ,& let one of my Buddies ride it.
It was a good time,, & the weather was awesome,, with temps in the upper 70's !!
My Buddy really liked the Electric also .
I

 

[Davis]

Why don’t you just go with a different tire and ride the thing?

 

[I74]

Why don’t you just go with a different tire and ride the thing?

Because there is no better 90/90/21 tire,, & that's why everybody's out of them.

It's top shelf or nothing,, especially with the front.

This aint no Mini bike,, that you are putzing around 30mph on.

 

[Davis]

Because there is no better 90/90/21 tire,, & that's why everybody's out of them.

It's top shelf or nothing,, especially with the front.

This aint no Mini bike,, that you are putzing around 30mph on.

That’s not all I putz around with. I built this one a few years ago. It went faster than 30 after 140hp on the dyno.

 

[I74]

That's a really nice bike,, but ain't no 90/ 90/21 on the front.
You really need the extra 10mm width,, when having a stock 21''- 2.25 rim,, as the stock tire is a 80/90/21,, & ain't wide enough.
Going over bridge road surfaces with sipe groves in them,, the stock width 21 front tire is a night mare !
My old Shovel,, I had a 19'' on the front.,, which was ''a lot'' closer to your size,, & was fine,,& the rim was wider.
''Skinny'' 21's don't cut it,, & the the best tire, is the Metzeler Lasertec 90/90/21,, for those.
I ran Metzeler Lasers on the front of my - ''6 over'' Shovel ' 'Chopper'' for years,, & that sucker was on ''rails'',, & I also lived & ''ripped'' the mountains of Colorado & N Cali.
Also ran it for a bit in Cali., with an ''8'' over wide glide front end.

Always ran Metzeler ME 88's on the rear also.
Most ''old school'' ''top'' Cats out in Cali,, thats' what they run also.
This bike is only ''4'' over'',, but again,, with a 21 by 2.25. on the front.
I