HVC has hard-to-find rubber spares

One of the problems my bike suffers from (and I'm sure many bikes of similar age) is rotting or missing rubber parts. Nothing major, mind you, but simple little things like the battery and airbox straps, bodywork bushings, and lever rubber - things that don't need to be there for the bike to function, but sure would help finish things up. Details.

Well, HVC is now carrying a whole bunch of hard-to-find spares. Here's a list of the things I'll be picking up in the near future:

1. Right Side Cover Dampers (HVC20041) - mine are disintegrating
2. Kick Start Rubber Cover (HVC20050) - mine are hardened, cracked, ugly
   
3. Shift Lever Rubber (HVC20051) - current replacement is crap
4. Seat Hinge Clevis Pins (HVC20056) - one fell out many miles ago
5. Battery Strap (HVC20057) - never had one
6. Center Stand Bumper (HVC20074) - never had one
7. Neutral Switch (1L9-82540-00-00) - getting tough to find N
8. Air Box Cover Strap (HVC200114) - disintegrated the first time I touched it
   

Glass From The Past updates, new products

I was pleasantly suprised when I visited Glass From The Past today and found a fresh new site. There's a bunch of new products, as well as a few galleries of customer bikes and nifty old adverts. Drop by and admire those slick cafe seats!

Nice R5C on eBay

There's an auction for a nice-looking R5-C on eBay right now... thought I'd pass it along...

Also, there's this beautiful cafe XS650 as well... have a gander.

Three Fast, Three Furious?

I watched The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift last night. I know, I know... but what can I say, I'm a motorhead, and anything like this interests me. Despite the bad acting, the movie was actually pretty good, better than the other two - that's for sure. Anyways, I digress.

For a movie supposedly set in Japan, you would think there would be some motorcycles around somewhere. There were a few scooters... and a few bicycles... but as far as I could tell, only one motorcycle. And it was a chopper with NOS bottles for fuel tanks. A chopper! In Japan! The only motorcycle! Wha?

I guess I was hoping to see a little more sportbike-sportscar crossover in this film... o well.

Lacing a Spoked Wheel

Instructables has a great step-by-step how-to on lacing wheels. Although the wheels in the example are from a Royal Enfield Bullet, the info within is still an excellent read. I've seen the motorcycle builds on TV and this process has always confused me. Check it out.

Mikuni Super Tuning Guide

Just came across this handy manual on the Mikuni USA carburetor owner's and tuning manuals page. This downloadable and printable manual helped me understand the inner workings of my VM carbs. Below is the direct link to the relevant PDF:

VM "Round Slide" Tuning Manual (1.3 MB)