I made the switch

I switched the bobber over to Royal Purple last week. I've run Royal Purple in everything I own: even the family Honda Pilot. Always follow your engine builder's recommendation for engine break in and then make sure switching over to synthetic is okay. In the case of RevTech, I needed to put 2,000-miles on my engine before I could switch it over. As soon as I rolled the 2K I put the bike on the jack stand and changed over the engine oil and the transmission oil. My motorcycle has a dry clutch so I had nothing to change there.

Although Royal Purple is higher in cost, the benefits out weigh the cost. Synthetic does not coagulate or stiffen like conventional oil does. When I started my motorcycle up after changing over, the engine fired without any lugging. It was about 30-degrees out! Your engine will run cooler and it's a proven fact that your engine wears out slower. Any time you can add miles to the life of your engine, it's a no brainer.

It's a reposted picture but this is how I drain my oil. YOu won't spill a drop!

I always place a shop towel under the oil filter to keep from drowing my regulator with engine oil as I remove the filter. This time I used a Shamwow and yes, I still got oil every where. Guess I'll never avoid it! Also, make sure you cover that chrome filter before you place that oil filter wrench on to tighten the filter. This keeps from scratching it all to hell.

The oil drain plug in the RevTech transmission could have been a bit bigger. The size Allen wrench was an odd-ball size. I can't recall the size though. It took like an hour for that sludge to drain from that plug. In case you are wondering, the drain plug is that small Allen head in the center of the two larger bolts. Driving the motorcycle after changing over the transmission oil, I noticed fluid shifting and less stress at the shifter. Seemed to go through the gears smoothly. \

Motorcycle Lift

Since I got my new bobber, I wanted to get a motorcycle lift for it. However, a hydraulic table is relatively expensive and I wanted something that will let the rear wheel hang. I looked around and located a motorcycle hydraulic lift at harbor Freight. It took me about 20-minutes to put together and really worked out nicely. It's got a bar with two positive stop locations to secure your motorcycle on the lift when you work on it.

I thought the pull-tight straps were shit so I went out and got a set of quality 6-foot ratchet straps to help secure the frame to the lift. The last thing I want to have happen is see my bike fall 4-feet to the ground. That would suck ass!

As you can see, I have a 4-gallon bucket resting on a lawn chair while I drain the oil into the bucket. It gives me two hands free to remove the drain plug and keep everything in place. This lift made changing the oil a very simplistic process.

Are you paying too much?

I often wonder why people pay $50,000 for a motorcycle and park it in their garage. In all honesty, I don't know if I would pound the hell out of a motorcycle I paid that much for. When I went looking for the custom shop to build my motorcycle I wanted a motorcycle I was not afraid to drive due to its cost. When I came across American Classic Motors, and talked to the head builder there he said something that really resonated with me. He said, "we build nice custom bikes for the daily driver." That's what I ended up with. I'm not joking when I say people yell out their car windows at red lights to tell me how cool they think my bike it. When I ride down the road I feel like I have a $50,000 motorcycle the way people react. However, I know what I paid for the bike. ACM motorcycles average around 17-20K and when you think about it, that's less than most stock Harley, Yamaha and Honda motorcycles. I have no problems being a spokes boy for ACM because they have treated me well, balanced my expectations and provided world-class customer service not only in their sales department but in their build shop as well.

For an example, I came across this motorcycle for the first time when I went to pick up my bobber. Had I seen it first, I might have rolled out of the shop with it instead. They sold the bike a few months ago and I'm sure someone is rolling around town with a grin from ear to ear with it. When I get my next motorcycle from ACM it will most likely looks similar to this one. This just goes to show you that you can get a great custom built motorcycle and not have to pay $50.000 for it.

Pictures taken from America Classic Motors.com

Buying American

I took a load of shit from a few people the other day because my bobber has a Revtech transmission and not a Baker transmission. I've been very happy with both the Revtech transmission and Revtech motor installed on my motorcycle. The argument was about the fact that the Revtech is not American but the Baker is. Somehow, this automatically made the Baker a superior product even though the ones who were bitching at me acknowledged that they had never used a Revtech transmission and some of them had never even used a Baker transmission.

I personally have never used a Baker transmission so I will decline any discussion regarding the superiority over the Revtech and I will not make any assumptions on the quality of a Baker transmission. From all accounts, Baker makes a great piece if equipment. However, from my account, the Revtech has been a great transmission.

The argument became "if you buy anything not made in America you are not supporting America and what you are buying is shit." Well, I disagree with that with a passion. Take for example that Baker transmission. They manufacture it and assemble it in America. However, in order for them to get the raw materials to build the transmission they had to purchase the materials from overseas companies. In fact, regardless of what you buy, it is almost certain at some level, you have supported international trade. At this point it is unrealistic to think you can be 100% exclusionary and buy only American made products made from American made products. The fact that we no longer make steel tells you that anything made from it used overseas raw materials.

Those same guys who gave me shit are all "Harley or nothing" guys. I find it funny since Harley increases the quantity of components built overseas every year. They buy Harley because they feel like they get a quality product and because the company is American owned, they get a sense of pride.

That's cool and I understand it. My motorcycle was built 50-miles away from my house so I can understand the sense of local pride. I consider it American made but I fully understand that less than 50% of it was made and assembled in America. I recently bought my second Honda Pilot. It was built in a plant down south. That vehicle put food in the mouths of people who live in America. I am happy about that. We live in a global economy and the money I spent on my motorcycle put food in the mouths of local people and helped to support businesses world wide. I am also happy about that.

I think the people whose mouth runith over with, "I only buy American" should take a look at their own house. If you own a house, you do not ONLY BUY AMERICAN because there is absolutely no way your house is 100% American made. Get over it and realize the world you live in. Go out and buy a product that suits your needs, gives you the best quality for your buck and provides you with years of service. If the company happens to be American owned: great! However, understand that the products they build and sell support other countries. Just food for thought.

RedSoul Motorcycles

I came across RedSoul Motorcycles today and took some time to look around their site. Besides, the site not working very well with Google Chrome, I was quite impressed with some of the designing they completed on a few of their bikes. I'd love to check out that blue and white "Sodo King." I've always wondered how you can see past the gas tank on motorcycles built like that. It's intriguing.

I was also impressed by the way they mounted the petcock on their El Endrogado. Many bobbers are outfitted with very small tanks. My tank is a 1.3 gallon tank with the petcock located in the traditional location. Because of this, I have a cross over to help fuel get past the tunnel. However, even with the cross over, I sill have close to a half gallon left in the tank. This petcock design surely fixes that issue.

It looks to me that there are some pretty cool bikes being produced from that shop in Seattle. Keep up the good work men!

Pictures taken from Redsoul.com