NickDG

There's always a way! http://www.viddler.com/explore/failblog/videos/496/ NickD

Here's the system our club used. It's inexpensive, secure, stable, and makes all transactions seamless . . . NickD

Hope Turk Efeler fixes some shit while he's in there . . . NickD

Wow, Squeak, that just might do it! At 5 1/8" tall that's the shortest battery (with a decent CCA) I've seen. You just might have saved Nina from wearing a lame horseshoe oil tank! If I ever have a son I'm naming him Sque . . . eh, wait a minute, big thanks Bro! NickD

Vagaries in non-Moco frame geometry means nothing just bolts right up so everything needs a tweak of some sort. I could have worked the lower bracket some to get the upper bolt centered up but I'm cool with it. Just today I realized the battery isn't going to fit (too tall) without totally reworking my rear fender mounts. This is the price I'm paying for not taking the mock up stage right up to a running bike. I thought I had it all figured out but I didn't . . . NickD

>>Any other helpful hints...I'm new at this!

Well, ya got the stumbling drunk part right. NickD

>>That's rad! Assuming the door is still intact... how exactly are you exiting to avoid snags? butt out the door first? head first? feet first? rig against the door?

I've done about 30 jumps without in-flight doors. And more than a few of those at night freeto bandito style. But "squeezing out" isn't the way I'd describe it. The inboard side of the door is ripe with snag points like the door handle, armrest, and the window lock/lever. Not to mention a boatload of screws and grommets that are never all properly seated. So you really don't want to scrape along the door as you leave. How far back the right seat goes depends on where the camlocks are installed on the seat rails. If it's setup so the seat doesn't travel all the way back it makes getting turned to the right hard when wearing a rig. In that case sometimes it easier to sit in the back seat initially. With the right seat in the full forward position there can be a lot of room between the back of the seat and the door post. Also from that position you have more leverage when pushing open the door. Just watch out for any snag points on the seat itself. And don't put your right hand in that plastic hanging strap thing passengers use to get in and out of the back. Get your hand stuck in there and you'll look real funny twisting in the wind. Also stow the seat belts away very securely, one so you don't tow yourself, and two so you don't leave the pilot with a door he can't close because the seat belt is out the door. The pilot can also make the process easier by slowing down and throttling back and if he's good yawing the plane to the right as you open the door. Also don't take for granted that a pilot is a pilot. One that's never dropped a jumper before will have to be briefed on how you want jump run flown, what airspeed you want, and where you'll be under canopy so they don't mow you down during their decent. (Especially important at night on lower jumps over airports). Also make sure they know they'll probably have to lean over and secure the door after you leave. It'll close but usually not latch. Also know, if it's a non-jump pilot who's not wearing a bail out rig if you somehow wrapped yourself around the tail you just killed them too. Oh, and if you have only sixty jumps I'd put this off for a while . . . NickD

The drama continues . . . NickD

Make a note, people! In my next life make sure I don't come back as a blacksmith! Sometimes the simplest little project turns into a "thing." I won't keep you in suspense, I got her done all right and I'm pleased with how it came out. But I burned my hand, smashed my thump with a sledge, and as I mentioned (because of a bonehead move) had to do the whole thing twice. Anyway, she's stronger than anything I could have bought, has enough room to fudge it around when I line up the drive train, and it's another thing off the list! Plus! I saved myself twenty bucks!!!!!! NickD

Damn, I gotta come visit sometime! I'm out in the garage re-building that dang motor mount. . . NickD

Happy B-day, Dave! (There on the other side of the Pine Curtain . . .) NickD

Had to work in the yard this morning (I'm a complete wuffo now!) but got a couple of hours to make Nina's top motor mount. I had it almost ready to bend up when I realized I drilled the bottom holes backasswards ! As my old Kiwi girlfriend would say, "Two bloody hours up the spout!" Oh well, tomorrow's another day . . . NickD

"The man is in the window . . ." ~ Billy, Easy Rider http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIwD1wFlMn4&feature=PlayList&p=8BCABF4D936D7AC7&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=26 NickD

>>the Pine Curtain

Okay, I might try that. Fun At The Harley Dealer . . . I've only been to the Stealer twice (3 months apart) so far on my build (both times because I needed a small part in order to keep working that day) and both times there was a customer in there just steaming mad. This one today was standing at the parts counter when I walked up and when the parts kid asked what I needed I pointed to steaming mad guy and said, "I think he was here first." And steaming mad guy looks at me and says, "Go ahead, what I need is way over this assholes head." So I handed the parts kid my shopping list of part numbers (he still automatically asked for year and model) but then realized he didn't need to know that and went off to find my parts. There were two other parts kids and one other customer there and every thirty seconds or so steaming mad guy would say, "Fucking monkeys, not one of you assholes is worth a god damn shit!" And the parts kids were ignoring him in a very practiced way so you know this kind of situation happens a lot. I never got what steaming mad guy was going on about as the parts kid came back with my stuff and I blew outta there. On my way out there was another guy but this one was a very happy guy. I heard the salesman telling him, "Okay, you're all set. You can come pick up your new Harley in the morning," and very happy guy was just beaming. So just twenty feet apart you had very happy guy and steaming mad guy. I wonder how long it will be before very happy guy becomes steaming mad guy! LOL!!! NickD

Typical student - flared too high . . . NickD

Robert Culp dead at 79. I Spy opening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdvSD_lezvM I Spy episodes: http://www.youtube.com/show?p=UQrzh4zGvFg&pl=6B91B2E5F0554B15 NickD

Where were all these rock throwing gun toting "patriots" when Bush was making a mockery of liberty and the Constitution? This isn't about health care. It's about a bunch of white people who don't like black people . . . NickD

>>It's way better than Parachutist.

Yeah, but a steel rod and two hose clamps is cheaper, LOL! NickD

One day in the mid-nineties I had the day off at the Cal-City DZ so I loaded up some beer and chow into my truck and drove about 20 miles out into the desert just to be alone. There's not much to do in Cal City if you're not jumping and I did these trips often. I usually told people at the DZ I was off to go meteor hunting and that was somewhat true. But my technique never bared fruit. I'd usually just set up a chair and my beer cooler, roll a fatty, and wait for one to fall. So once again I set up out there just enjoying the vastness, solitude, and beauty of that place with no students and no reserves to repack when this F-16 came ripping over my head at about 500-feet. I knew who it was instantly. It was the day before my birthday (the 14th of October) and I knew Chuck Yeager would be celebrating the 40th anniversary of his breaking the sound barrier the very next day at close by Edwards' AFB. He was scheduled to do a flight demonstration and re-break the sound barrier. It was all over the news for days. So for the next hour or so it was just me and old Chuck out there in the desert alone while he flew a practice filght. My own private airshow! There's not much in this part of the scrub desert so I'm sure he saw my truck out there. But I was positive of it when he flew over my head one last time and I stood up to wave. Then he did something I'll never forget. General Chuck Yeager gave me a wing wag! What a birthday present . . . NickD

Yes, the fender will be the last thing I paint. I still have to cut out the left side for the chain clearance (can't do that until the chain is in place) and also smooth out where I cut and welded it to get the radius right. It's a 16 gauge steel fender and I'm not sure if I should try and grind it smooth or use body filler. I did okay fixing the dents on my swap meet fatbobs with body filler, but it took a couple of tries. The first time I thought they were dead smooth but when I applied the primer I noticed some flaws I didn't feel with my hands. The second time they came out better, not perfect, but Nina-worthy. One thing about paint and body work is it's just one big optical illusion. No straight line is ever really straight and no curve is ever mathematically correct. But if you can step back, open a beer, and it works, then you're good to go. But when you do it all yourself you know exactly where all the flaws are and your eye goes right to them. It's the reason I'm sure later in life Leonardo da Vinci got pissed off every time he looked at the Mona Lisa . . . The other thing I'm facing now is I have to start thinking about wiring Nina before too much goes back together. I re-wired my first Harley and the sail boat I used to own plus several airplanes but it's still a daunting task that takes a lot of forethought. I'm also trying to figure out a plan of attack for final assembly. There's a lot of parts getting red Loctite applied to their fasteners so once together taking it apart again is real PITA. I took inventory yesterday and here's what I still need: -Oil Cap -Carb, manifold, air cleaner. -Voltage regulator -Battery -Exhaust pipes (I have a set of intact Fatboy mufflers but I'm having trouble finding head pipes for a decent price. I didn't want to run open drag pipes on a new motor but I just might do that. If so, I'll use the thumbscrew trick for some back pressure.) -Clutch release rod (I can't believe the Ultima six speed transmission I bought didn't come with one. No biggie though. They are about 11 bucks at the Harley dealer.) -Gas tank petcock -Head breather bolts -Rear brake (I've got the caliber, bracket, and the pads, I just need a few miscellaneous clips and things.) -Spark plug wires -Ignition module (besides the carb this is the other spendy item.) -Upper motor mount (I can make one, just haven't done it yet) -Turn signals (You need them now in California to pass the initial DMV inspection. And there's no way to put turn signals on a bike like Nina that looks good. So at best they'll be temporary!) -Front brake line (I have one that works but it's too long. I might try and shorten it if I can figure out how. (I guess I could just cut it and re-make the connection with a steel tube and a couple of hose clamps.) My baggie full of receipts is getting bigger but still way under what a new store-bought Harley would have run me. About two years ago I came really close to buying a new Harley Crossbones. The sales guy was schmoozing me (and I thought I was un-schmoozable) but he had me drooling on the showroom floor. I even had the financing arranged for the $24,000 out the door price. But at the last moment I got a hold of myself. It's a beautiful bike, for sure, but there were just too many things I didn't like about it. It was over electrified (throttle by wire & electronic fuel injection) and way over computerized (ABS brakes, cruise control, computer engine monitoring.) And with all the new EPA rules they run lean and hot. That's when I decided to build something myself. And I'm pretty happy I did. Sometimes I'll see a Crossbones on the street, and sure that guy's out riding, but all I see is a fat payment book on two wheels, LOL . . . I haven't added up all I spent so far on Nina, but I think I'm still under $8000. I can't say working on Nina has been 100 percent enjoyable. There's been some frustration alright, especially when something you draw up on paper, spend all day building, and then it doesn't work or it does but it looks like shit. But there's some things you can't hang a price tag on. I can crawl into bed at three in the morning and when asked I can say, "I was out fooling around with Nina," and not get punched in the nose . . . ! NickD

>>Is Miller sponsoring the build?