Another motorcycle flip

A little over a year ago I got my hands on a 1982 Honda Magna VF45 750cc touring bike. It was ugly as hell and didn’t run, but hey for $500 bucks I said fuck it. It was a fun project and a major surprise. A surprise meaning how fun it was to ride since it was FAST FAST FAST! I ended up selling it but it’s one of those bikes that I wish I hadn’t. Here's the before/after pic:

Whacha think? I'm thinking I may need to get my hands on another Magna in the near future.

Motorcycle Resto

I've always been a fan of bikes and grew up riding them from motocross to street. It's been quite a few years since I've been on a bike but the itch has always been there, so I caved and got another one. 

This time I went big, and challenging and something that you don't see on the road as much. My latest project has been restoring a 1982 Honda Goldwing 1100. Yep, that old school touring bike that looked like a space ship on two wheels. My goal here was to strip this beast of a bike down and go cafe brat style. Make it look completely different... And better.

Here's what the bike originally looked like:

Here's a pic of her gettin naked:

This Jap was super clean when I bought it, and I say Jap albeit the bike was made in the US. Yeah, you read that correctly. Gold Wings were manufactured in Marysville, Ohio but whatever, it's a rad bike and I wasn't concerned about where it was made. If I was searching for "US" made I would've gone Harley or Indian.

Engine wise, this 4 cylinder beast was designed and built to run forever. The previous owner kept it clean and well maintained so rebuilding the engine was not needed. 

Here's some progress pics:

Strippin her down for some new paint:

Sanded down the side covers:

 Painted the tank a two tone color:

Some new brat style bars:

Old seat:

Customized old seat to a new seat:

First, got cray cray with a knife and the seat foam.

Cut the seat pan to a more slim profile:

After I shaped the seat to what I wanted I picked out the upholstery and had it wrapped. Wanted a brown vintage look to go with that matte black:

After some more paint and cleaning the electrical up with new lights the progression is real:

New pipes:

More pics to follow after I get the new gauges installed and some new tires but she's about 90% there. Been a fun project. Can't wait to take her on a road trip!

Thanks for checking out the post. If you ride or are working on a bike what is it?  Holler at me here or on Insta @shiftdunion 

-Brandon

Strap your watch

Just made some bad ass leather straps for your bad ass time piece!  For now I made just raw veg tanned straps since I am a huge fan seeing the leather change on it's own, naturally through the wearer.  Why should I color your collection when you can do it on your own, right?  Check out the below pics and if you like what you see hop on over to the LEATHER tab and pick yourself up one.
   

 

NIXON, the private watch, leather craft, hand made

Vans are cool man

When I was a kid living in Lake Havasu my parents owned a 1975 Harvest Gold Ford Econoline 150 Van.  It had the kitchen with table and bench seats all set up.  The little window on the sides at the rear had a a copper flower painted around it.  So awesome!  That Van was perfect for families such as mine who looked to road trip or even live out of.  Looked something like this minus the paint color and flower:

 

My homie and I were just talking about old 1970's Vans the other day as he wants to get himself one.  Make it a second "home on wheels" where he could cruise it where ever with surfboards, snowboards, bikes, chopper accessories and whatever else.  Old school vans are super cool so I thought I would drop a few here in a blog post.

Enjoy:

“The medieval knight stands bold in its shining armour as Miss World of Wheels, Dorothy Hoogstraten (Dorothy Straten) dubs Ron Bergsma, who is one of the ‘Macho Man’ contestants from Universal Olympic Gym at the World of Wheels Custom Car Show, August 16th, 1978.” –Photo by Paul Snider.

And this last one just ties it all together.  A dope Van and Choppers!  WTF?!  Well shit!  Now I think I too will have to get me a Van.  Let's start a Chopper Van club!

Thank You Jamie Lynn!

I started riding in 1989 in a small mountain town in Arizona (Flagstaff). I was so into riding as I still am today, 25 years later. You'd walk into my bedroom and I'd have all 4 walls covered (floor to ceiling) in snowboard posters or torn out Transworld pages. (Sorry Snowboard, you weren't an option back then).

My dream was to move to Oregon and ride the gnarliest powder and get mad sponsors, ha! I was that kid building my own park on the golf course or ditching school a couple times a week to catch some fresh pow at the Snowbowl.

Of the few riders that created this level of stoke for me, Jamie Lynn was one of them. His eclectic, radical style and ability to kick out such an epic Method was something that I will always admire. Fast forward to today and he's still slaying it and keeping things original. One of the Godfathers of the sport for sure. Another reason why I admire Jamie is that his artistic ability is so rad and being a huge art advocate myself, it's something I truly appreciate. His style is so unique it's in a category all it's own. 

After reading Snowboard's the "Timeless Issue" with Jamie on the cover, it brought back all these nostalgic feelings of being a kid and wanting to see on my wall of stoke, the epic photo that photography legend Chris Brunkhart was able to capture. 

At the end of the interview, Jamie says it best and is definitely words that I've been living by in both my personal & Shift'D biz life: 

"I think truly if you have a positive outlook, direction or path it will lead to just happiness in life. Just getting a chance to do what you love to do and want to do without harming or hurting others and maybe passing on some stoke or gifting people with inspiration... I mean that's a truly special situation in life." 

So thank you Jamie Lynn for being so rad and keeping that stoke alive!

The Dapper Wallet!

Heading into the new year I decided to add a new bi-fold wallet to the product line.  Introducing the Dapper wallet!  This two tone super stylee bi-fold is designed to hold all your cards/cash providing quick & easy access either inside or on the backside. Color is Evening Blue and Raw Veg Tanned leather allowing you to fully customize your own wallet through the natural Patina (aging/usage) process.

Check it out and if you like what you see, show that support and pick one up HERE.

Cheers and thanks for the support!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Abdominal Snowman!