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Well, it is almost completed for now. Here are a few more pictures to add to the collection Brett already started. It is bitter sweet. I love finishing a build but now there is an emptiness within that must be filled. So the next best thing is to do som eriding and a lot of dreaming of what the next project is. I am thinking a 45" Flathead bobber or board tracker. who know's. Give me some suggestions and we will see what happens. I would also like to thank my Pop's and Sean for their help and also a cat named Clay that came over to turn a few wrenches and do some learning. So THANKS. Later.
 
99% Complete 09/03/2010
 
Fastforward 2 months, 2 moves and 1 retirement and we are 99% complete with the 71 Ironhead. I say we but really its bobby, he has worked his ass off getting this bike done and it looks pretty fucking awesome. Bri did a nice job on the seat even though its supposed to be "temporary" we'll see, you know how that goes. We got Joey from B&D / Tee Dezines out of Edgewater to break up some of the black, he went a little overboard in some areas but over all i like and most of it will stay, love the helmet though. There are so many little details to the bike that its hard to see all of them and you just have to keep staring. A short list goes like this: vintage 70's custom Z type bars, heavily altered hummer fuel tank, handmade vertical oil tank with sight glass, handmade forward controls with linkage, sweet ass sissy bar with craftsman wrenches as fender mount/support, handmade fiberglass seat and poncho cover, handmade pipes, split rockers....at some point in the future everything will get broken down and given a proper paint job using the helmet as a pallet of colors and everything gray now will then be chrome.
 
 
It has become a full court press on the 71 since Bobby has started his leave from the Army and began working full time at the shop. The plan now is to have it on the street by the end of July. In this update we will be showing how we are going to mount the Hummer tank, not so much a how-to like the seat pan but instead more of a when-plans-change-this-is-an-option. One really cool thing about the tank is that it still has the original gas cap with built in oil measuring cup for the two-stroke engine, sick. Yes, its beat up and dented but I don't care its staying. Essentially the Hummer tank is the forerunner to the Sportster tank but with the additional cool factor of the built in ignition.
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Here we have the hidden gas tank mount kit from V-Twin. We decied to go with the hidden mounts in the front of the tank with one rearward mount that is exposed. This will be sturdier and hold up much better than just one forward and aft on the backbone as originally planned.
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I took the good ol sharpie and traced out the pattern of the tank mounts on the flat side and just eyed and free handed the lower cuts and left plenty of room for error. I will make the initial cuts with the plasma cutter and clean it up with the die grinder. It is important not to get too ambitious and take out too much material.
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Now, I know not everyone can run out and buy a plasma cutter but..............Dam if you can and you do this kind of stuff more than a few times a year it sure does make things nice. If you don't have a plasma cutter you can always use a die grinder and a cutoff wheel along with a small grinding disc.
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ACTION PHOTO!! Notice the eye protection. Many safety violations occur on a daily if not a by the minute basis but there is one thing that I do not risk and that is the eye balls, kinda hard to ride that badass scooter without them, not to mention the E.R. SUCKS!
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Now that I have cut both sides of the tank, I set the tank mounts in place and eyed things up to make sure everything was on track. Looks good. Time to weld them into place. Just don't let one of the nuts fall off inside the tank and complete welding....they dont fit thru the filler neck! OUCH.
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Here are the tank mounts welded into place and time to start working the frame mounts.
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Here is a picture of the hidden tank mounts in place. I still have to weld the frame tabs but that will have to be tomorrow.
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I oughta back up here and take a moment to show you how we got the Hummer tank to this point with the deep dish sides and the rib down the center. In case you are not familiar with the Harley-Davidson Hummer:

The Hummer model was specifically manufactured by Harley-Davidson from 1955 to 1959. However, the name "Hummer" is now used generically to refer to all single-cylinder two-stroke Harley-Davidson motorcycles manufactured from 1948 to 1966.[1] These motorcycles were based on the DKWRT125, the drawings for which were taken from Germany as war reparations after World War II.[2] RT125 drawings were also given to the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union as war reparations, resulting in the BSA Bantam[3] and the MMZ M-1A Moskva, later known as the Minsk.[4].

So back during Bike Week this year we offered our shop to some guys from accross the pond who had won the Rats Hole in Italy and were invited to the Big Rat here in Daytona. We had just scored the Hummer tank on ebay for a really good price and it was sitting in the shop when we got around to talking about the 71 and what the plans were. Well Brett's Bonnie was also in the shop with the traditional Triumph tank and the 7 Metal West fender a sure thing for XL, so with these as a combined piece of inspiration and as a way to say "thank you" these amazing metal working masters went to work on the tank and in a very short time they had transformed an already cool tank into something you will never see again, its simply beautiful. You can see the Fat Bob that donated its sides, inverted, to create the dish and how he just worried that rib down the center. Nice work guys, thanks again you are welcome anytime. Because they had to catch a plane they left all the final welding in Bobby's capable hands. So this week with the mounting figured out Bobby set to work on finishing up the bottom plates. Last step will be inserting the petcock bung, oh wait till you see the fuel line that will be another trick piece.

If you were at the Rats Hole or go on their website now look for that crazy long Norton you can see in the pictures below, thats theirs, as well as the Ural bobber. They do some amazing stuff.  
 
 
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Big happenings this weekend at CCC! Bobby finished welding up the oil tank/fender so it was time to move on to making the seat pan. We wanted a tight, fitted seat so the decision was made to go with a fiberglass seat pan.

I show this picture first because it shows the gap we had to tape over. The string is too ensure we were dead nuts center for the fender, tank and steering stem alignment before we made the seat pan.
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The following are the items you will need for building your own fiberglass seat pan. 1. Plenty of rubber gloves. 2. dust mask, to keep the fiberglass out off your lungs. 3. 3-4 cheap ass paint brushes about 2-3" wide (never reuse them from layer to layer). 4. 2-3 disposable measuring cups. 5. Paint stirrer ( I forgot them at ACE). 6. Duck Tape (not shown but you need this to build your foundation). 7. Steel  / tin tape (this is decisive to making your seat pan). 8. Johnson paste wax (this is what keeps your pan from sticking and also shines floors). 9. Bondo Fiber glass resin. 10. Fiber glass material (fine material, nice smooth features on the bottom). 11. Fiber glass material (thicker grade, aka tiger hair) this gives it strength. 12. A squeegee to smooth out the fiberglass. And at least 2-3 people at a minimum to help lay the fiber material, slop resin and smooth. The resin sets up quickly so the more rehearsed you are the better things will be.
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I used the good old 100 MPH tape (also known as duct tape to civilians) the Army calls it 100 MPH tape because it is soo highspeed. The rumor has it they found a use for it in Vietnam patching up the rotor blades on the Hueys and it would hold up to 100 MPH. Anyways back to the seat pan...............the tape is used to get a solid smooth foundation for the tin tape to go on.
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Is it Duct or Duck? We don’t want you to be confused, so we will explain. The first name for Duct Tape was DUCK. During World War II the U.S. Military needed a waterproof tape to keep the moisture out of ammunition cases. So, they enlisted the Johnson and Johnson Permacel Division to manufacture the tape. Because it was waterproof, everyone referred to it as “duck” tape (like water off a duck’s back). Military personnel discovered that the tape was good for lots more than keeping out water. They used it for Jeep repair, fixing stuff on their guns, strapping equipment to their clothing... the list is endless.

But I digress, back to the seat pan, when applying the paste wax make sure you use a good amount. This is also flamable though so be careful where it ends up, I saw a kid catch himself on fire with this trying to wax our barracks floors. Not enough time to tell the story but it is interesting.



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Now that the foundation was made with "100 MPH tape" we covered it with the shiny tin duct work tape and also used it to mold the curves and lips into the soon to be seat pan. This, in conjunction with the Johnson's paste wax will allow you to lift the seat pan off the bike. NOTICE the cardboard Pop's put around the tires, wheels and frame. This is a messy job at best so take the necessary precautions, especially if you have a paint job.
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You cant really see too well but what you have here is a bunch of fiberglass strips we cut. Notice they are in different lengths, we did this to help with the taper of the frame. Once we cut the strips with the fine material we did the same for the heavier material AKA tiger hair (the really itchy shit). We laid out the strips to access them quickly and easily and we prepared to mix our resin with the hardner. I used 8 ounces of resin for each application. Its important to get a good guess of how much resin to mix up, too little and you will brake your flow of puttin the material on and too much justs wastes money. You only have about 3-5 minutes once the resin is mixed with the hardner to apply it before it turns into a big ball of fuck. So have a plan, do your prep work, make sure everybody knows what they are supposed to do and for Gods sake DONT ANSWER THE PHONE!
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What I did was apply a coat of resin with the paint brush, Pop's would lay down the fine cloth fiberglass strips, then Blindman used the squeegee to smooth it out. Then I would apply another coat of resin and then overlap and lay down more fiberglass material, then smooth and more resin. No reall magic going on here we were just laying it down how it flowed naturally and had a good overlap. Once the fine material was laid down we mixed up another batch of hardener and did the same thing with the tigers hair and then again with the fine fiber material. Oh, make sure you have some sort of ventilation system going i.e. big fans and masks.
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Notice we left the fiberglass strips long. No big deal we will trim all this off with the cutoff wheel later..
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Walla........................Bammmmmmmmmmmmmmm SEAT PAN!! Now for the fun part, the Sharpy will outline it exactly how we want it to fit on the bike and then I will get my cutoff tool and trim the excess and use the sander to clean the edges up. I think I will use velcro tape or hook and pile tape if your in the Army (we have to rename everything) to secure this seat. Another option is to poprivet some steel plates with a nut welded into position. But the velcro will work just fine. Especially since his oil filler neck is under the seat, it will give him easy access to it.

All the material cost just over $60 and took about an hour. The finished product should be a  traditional style soft leather seat maybe pleated, tuck n roll or diamond stitching with chrome buttons.

If you have any questions about the process you can give us a call at the shop 386-257-5511, come by and see us or send an email: covecustomcycles@aol.com.


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Here is the finished seat pan for the Sporty. I outlined the casting with the Sharpie and ran the airline and cutoff wheel outside and ensured I had my resperator on and started to trim the seat pan. Notice how I used tape to section the seat off to ensure I was even on both sides. I also took some TI rod and bent it and ran it down the center of the pan to help me keep things on track. Now we just have to find a seat dude/chick to bang this puppy out. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
 
So we actually made the sissy bar a few weeks ago but ive been busy watching another relationship flush and bobby's busy trying to retire from the Army and figure out the rest of his life so i havent posted anything for a little while.
Alright, so i really wanted a tall sissy bar for looks and for practicality...i ride, alot, long distance and even though my nickname is "backpack" at some point it would be nice NOT to have a fucking backpack on especially riding in the desert. so bobby welded up some ends to the round stock in preperation, we bolted her down, busted out the torch, sawzall and a hammer and went to work. Notice the great pains taken for SAFETY! We always say "Safety First" in the Army and boy we have taken that lesson to heart at the shop 'cause nothing says safety like a sawzall overhead!

The oil tank is coming together nicely and that sight glass is big and bad. I know it isnt the first time its been done but it still looks badass. Can't you just see the stainless steel hard lines....its gonna be a bad motorscooter.
 
 
Well The day started out pretty good. We got an early start mostly because we stayed close to the house the evening prior and kept the shannanigans to a minimum. My daughter Bri and Pop's helped us get the truck and trailer to the shop so we could load the 71 up and get it out for the show. Even though it wasn't close to being completed it was great taking it out and gettting some feedback on it. Next time it is out in public it should be 95% complete.

The show started out slow and wet. We rolled up to the Ironhorse Saloon set up the table, put the banners up, tossed out a few stickers, cards and T's and took a deep breath and them it started pouring out. WTF!!! No big deal it only lasted20-30 minutes and was off and on the rest of the day. Just enough to keep the posers away.

CCC had a good chance to show off the bikes and check out other peoples creations and talk to plenty of great people.

All in all the day was a great day and we drank a few beers, checked out some cool rides both 4 and 2 wheels and met a bunch pof cool people.

We did make some new friends and if you ever around town be sure to check them out:

Lords of Mayhem, Fingers, Sledge and Big Doug were great people to talk to along with Scharff from Renegade Magazine.
 
 
CCC does the Big Mountain Run - again! Well to be honest it was only brett and last year I made the whole run from Tilley's on Wednesday all the way to Sunday but this year i was only able to make the weekend but none the less i was there, i rode, i partied, met up with old buddies, made some new ones and got to hit some great roads. i really got to thank the old lady for making sure i went this time. see, ive been on the road so much between the Army and the shop that i was gonna take this weekend off and spend some time with her but when she said she was going shopping and going out with the girls...well shit then honey "im going to tennessee" so i grabbed a backpack, as usual, and hit the road in under 15mins. 5hrs later i was pulling into the Hiawasee campgrounds when i ran into Wildman who gave me a wrist band (thanks man) and said follow me! we spun around and were off to a wedding officiated by none other then Bean're. Congrats guys and i can't believe i missed breakfast again on Sunday...next time, i promise. Billy, Chuckie and Ralph...i will be in Ashville in a few weeks. Zach, take it easy man, "free billy".

So, if you havent figured out that Cycle Source is "the source" take my word for it and if you can't tell we here at Cove Custom Cycles fully support Chris "Wildman" Callen and everything he and crew are doing for the motorcycle industry.
 
 
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I just wanted to let the Biker World know that CCC has a recent addition to the crew. He is a graduate of Wyotech Institute and is well versed in all Harley Davidson models from pre-Evo to Twin Cams. He graduated top of his class with a high ass GPA and also got perfect attendance...............Nice Job Sean!  Welcome to the team.

If you are in and around town stop by and check us out. 525 Carswell Ave, Holly HIll, FL 32118.

Keeping it real.
 
 
We went out for my daughters first riding lessons awhile back and we had a blast. By the time we got finished that day she had the kick starting down to a science, since the bike is kick only she had a good incentive not to stall out. She has since got her license and is waiting on her on ride. Oh.........and she helped rebuild it.
 
CCC Rolling 04/26/2010
 
It wasnt all work this weekend thankfully we got some much needed road time in. Its always all work and no play when I get to town and we rarely get to just hang out and ride. So we put the down welder, cleaned up the shop, shut the bay door and went for a ride and a few PBR's. We rode out to the White Eagle in Korona and snapped a few "action photos" along the way on US 1. The chick in the car next to us was certainly not comfortable with me thumbing through my phone, snapping pics and jockey shifting all at one time and sped away quickly!