Rear rim

This winter the Sportster project will have most focus in the speedshop.
Last year I bought a old used 17" Akront rim instead of the 16" I started with. It was in ok condition but needed some TLC to take the shine back to its former glory. First with machine polish and then some fine polish by hand and now it looks like new again.
Aluminum is a awesome material, if you are willing to put in the hours you are always rewarded with the unbeatable alu shine no matter what state the parts was in before.

The rear rim spec's

The restored glory

End Of Season Run...

So the 2015 season is coming to an end.
There was time for "End Of Season Run" this past weekend.
I met up with all the +300 others but I took a pass on the run.
But decided to make a nice one man run in the crispy, sunny autumn air.
I got a amazing day in the saddle so now I have enough energy to last all the loooooong winter here in Sweden.
Let the darkness and instant coffee come!
(Yep, next year I MUST have both headlights on. Stupid (previous?) law here in Sweden not allowing two lights on a bike.)

Photo: Camilla Moström

High vs low tech

Circumstances made that I ended up with a magneto Ignition in the Speedshop.
So, the question is now, should I use it?
The thought of use the whole scale of technology is fun. Electronic fuel injection AND magneto Ignition.
Talk about each end of the scale.

And of course when Bombus Speedshop is involved there MUST be modifications of perfectly good parts. And this time the magneto must be rotated 90 degrees to fit "inside" the exhaust loop.

Hubby days

Bought a rear hub for the Sportster project a while back and when I came home from vacation it had arrived.
It was in a quite shabby state to be honest but that was expected.
I put in my lathe and gave it a treatment and soon it had its former glory back.
Now the final question is if I should powdercoat the hubs black or if I keep them as they are.
Time will tell...

The shabby hub that arrived

Finish in the making

And the not so shabby result

The other HD...

My other project I have is a custom Sportster build.
This project is over a decade old but it got my attention again when I finally got my hands on an engine.
But just as the project re-started it had to stand back again last winter when the Megasquirt EFI conversion of the shovelhead suddenly started.
But this year it's just small upgrades in pipeline for the shovelbagger so from now on the girlybike will have the attention it deserves.
This bike is basicly just a tiny frame and and a Sportster engine.
But why a tiny girlybike for a 300 lbs, 6' 3" guy?
Why not? If it is reasonable there is no future for a project in Bombus Speedshop.

I think this is a good base for a never ending project.
This bike is way to small for me but will be a nice complement to my big bagger.
The plan is wild and will have a high tech level.
Way to high for a build like this, but that's half the fun.
Think A to B Hot Rod is a good description. "built to handle nothing".
To much is the key to long projects, and long projects is the ones I likes best.
In the end this small gem will have both Megasquirt EFI and turbos. Yep, plural.

Logging

As I mentioned earlier I can log the EFI system with a PC and not just standing still.
I can also "autotune" while driving.
Not so challenging task in a car but on a bike there's another matter.
I made a mount on the tank where I mount my PC, a 10" mini laptop.
The mount is made with a special Velcro® and have three mounting points.
Started with two but I added another for more rigidity after a while.
It's just a 10" laptop, but there is still a challenge but that's a part of the thrill.
I started with a "regular" laptop but that one decided to crash just before the first start.
This resulted in the project went to full blown computer project due to the fact that all EFI files was on that computer. So I had to shift focus and try to get those files out.
I had success with the file rescue and a search for another laptop begun.
The first one was kindly donated by my friend Wiking Cycles and he rescued me again with the mini laptop I have now.

Second start

The first start made my adrenaline flow so extreme so I completely forgot about logging the EFI system.
The next day it was time for another try, this time with adrenaline at more normal level.
By judging of the massive smoke it was a bit left until I could hit the road.
This solid cloud was the result of about just a minute of idling.
But this time I got a log so facts could been seen and relevant changes made.