Post 19: the Trailer 1

I modified the airplane trailer to carry the bike, cutting the outside "wings" and bringing in the Harley Fat Boy billet wheels. I got aluminum non skid plate to make a floor, and made an 8 foot ramp with a wheel chuck for the bike to fit on:

The thicker aluminum loading ramp is hinged, and pulls up tight against the rear wheel of the bike with a tie down to keep it from rolling back:

It looks great, and carried the smaller 350lbs chopper fine, but the suspension is just not sturdy enough for the 700lbs Vegas, and I will have to rebuild the swing arm with thicker and harder alloy steel(go from 2" x 3/16" to 2" x 3/8" thick flat bar:

The bracket holding the shocks will have to be braced by a 1" x1" tube welded at 45 degrees.

Post 18: Accessories Installed

I received my set of foot pegs and grips today. I was expecting they would fit right on, but they were made for Harleys, and it actually took some grinding and cutting to fit them on, but they look great:

I had to fiddle with the Harley throttle grip to make it fit and work properly, and move the brake and clutch levers out as the grips were shorter than the ones that were on:

By the way, have you noticed the unusual rear view mirrors, borderline tacky, but cute:

The foot pegs took a bit of grinding and fitting too, and don't fold up, which I prefer:

I had to make a set of aluminum brackets to attach the saddlebags directly to the rear fender with longer bolts:

They are X-Elements leather bags, very plain and thick, and the swept back shape fits tight and look good on the bike with the rear seat on:

I also made a new set of front turn signal lights to replace the cheap plastic broken ones. I used LED arrows stuck to an aluminum arrow, itself attached low with a countersunk screw to the rubber brackets used by the old turn signals:

Next, I want to put the license plate to the side, and possibly replace the rear turn signals.
The black leather jacket was really hot to wear in the summer heat, so I found a light weight black motorcross mesh armored racing jacket, and it is great. I look just like a Ninja turtle, especially with the scales of the armor in the back, but it does the job and keep me cool in the hot weather:

Post 17: First Accessories

I am not crazy about the factory plain Jane rubber foot pegs, so I searched eBay(this bike will accept standard aftermarket Harley grips and pegs, so there was a lot of options). I found such a great deal on a full set of aluminum billet Arlen Ness bullet o-ring grips and pegs ($109) that I couldn't pass it up, and I ordered them. They should be here monday, and I can't wait to put them on:

I also ordered a set of very reasonably priced black leather X-Elements saddle bags and a magnetic tank bag from Leatherup, as we are planning a trip to North Carolina and the Smokies at the end of the month:

I also got a matte black full helmet for long fast rides, having had enough wind, deafening noise and bugs in the face during that 5 hours ride back from South Georgia last week:

I am thinking of designing and making new levers out of 3/4" thick aluminum. There are some pretty wild ones available that inspire me:

And then, I want to paint the tank and the fenders metallic orange:

Post 16: What Next?

Well, this bike is basically a blank canvas, and I am already thinking of customizing it. I first thought of simply doing a chartreuse detail job on the tank, but the Photoshop mock up didn't quite please me:

I searched the Internet, and actually found very few "zapped up" Vegas. It'a good looking bike and most people seem to leave them alone. I did find a really nice very metallic orange one with the black frame, which I am tempted to emulate:

I also found a white one with cut pipes and a nicely chopped rear end with the fender attached to the fork:

I might consider to do that next year after my friend Jacky comes to ride with his girl friend, as it will prohibit mounting the passenger seat.
An then of course, for later, there is ultimately the inspiration of the fabulous Victory Core Concept bike:

Post 15: The Search

Back from the Fourth, I went to test ride a Harley Sporster and a Victory Vegas to see if I could handle them. I actually was surprised how easy they were to drive compared to my 77 Honda 350 Chopper.

I didn't like the Sporster much, too forward, and rough running, sounding like a bunch of loose parts in the engine at idle, and rather unexciting.

The Vegas was much smoother running, and although heavier and longer, was easier to drive. And it is of course much more beautiful, as designed by Arlen Ness in 2003. The only thing I was not crazy about was the play in the gearbox, which makes it a little rough to ride slow in a parking lot. I tried a 2011 with the new helical 6 speed gearbox, and it was perfect, but that meant spending over 15 grands on a new bike. The 5 speed with straight gears would have to do.
I started looking on eBay and on the Internet, and found a 2008 orange Vegas 8 Ball(black engine)up in Wisconsin for $8000:

I also found a 2006 black and metallic pink 8 Ball in West Virginia with 1600 miles for $7000, with black wheels, and Arlen ness black exhaust pipes which I considered very seriously:

Then I found in Enterprise, Al a plain classic black 2004 with only 10300 miles, spoke wheels and a nice rear seat for $6000:

I liked the spoke wheels better than the aluminum wheels, so I called, got the price down to $5600, went down to look at it, and bought it on the spot after a test drive. Drove it over 2 hours to my brother in law in Georgia to spend the night, and 5 hours back up to Birmingham the next day with no problems at all. It is now in my driveway:

It is a long heavy bike at 8 feet and 700lbs wet, and the massive 1500cc V Twin develops 85 HP, so it has tremendous accelerations. It runs great, it is well balanced and remarkably light to steer. You just have to be very careful to keep it level and balanced when you stop. I practiced slow speed maneuvers on Sunday in the bank parking lot, and it is a lot more nimble than the chopper, but of course not quite as much as the Honda Rebel because of the length and wider turning radius. A real joy to drive. I have registered for the advanced class in Montevallo to take it though emergency braking and obstacle avoidance.

Post 14: First Long ride on the Chopper

We went down to a 4th of July family reunion in Beatrice, down South near Camden, and I took both bikes with me in the van. It took a shoe horn and a lot of pushing and shoving to get both of them in, and out, and back in, and back out after we returned...
On the way down, we rode by the Honda showroom, and they had a wonderful looking bright metallic orange(same color as my 350Z) 2004 Victory Vegas with all kinds of custom Arlen Ness exhaust pipes and pointed swiss grip, with only 3500 miles on sale for $7500. I had never even heard of the Victory Vegas, but that was love at first sight, and if there had not been another guy buying it, I might well have gotten it:



While we were there, we also looked at the Honda Fury, which has similar lines, but with a skinny gas tank, and also comes in a matte orange:

I might actually like the look of it better than the Vegas, but unfortunately, way too many parts are chromed plastic. I think Honda messed up thinking they could sell us a plastic chopper. It is cheap alright at $12900, but we like billet aluminum and steel, and I didn't want to spend that much on a bike anyway.


My wife's first cousin's husband David used to have bikes, and we went for a 70 miles ride together around there. That was my longest ride on this chopper so far, as he only drove it about 10 miles, and gave "that thing" back to me! It may remain my longest ride on it, as it IS a hard bike to ride... But I did pretty well, though my butt was sore from the hard saddle, my back from the tension, and my arms from holding that thing straight. You just can't relax on this bike.
That led me to thinking seriously about getting a rideable bike that would be a little more exciting than the Honda Rebel 250..., like a Victory Vegas maybe...