Hitting the Wall

     The weekend started out pretty good. Nick made it to the house, the wife and kids were gone and we proceeded to down the beer and rum and put in some work on the bikes. Both the Shovels were in the house and it was time to get serious.
     We started by bleeding the rear brake on my Shovel. It felt great...for about 5 minutes. Basically, there is a little leak somewhere, probably in the line as you can see a couple sports that are clearly worn, and it will need to be replaced. It still works if you pump it and the front break works fine so...it can wait for a bit.

      The transmission leak and temperamental clutch were next on the list. I suspect the former is aggravating the later but just in case, while installing the Super Nut, I planned on installing a Clutch Tamer as well. We had a couple hiccups, mostly due to a lack of the right tools. The clutch hub was the real spoil sport.
      I inquired with a couple Shovel owners and previous owners that I knew and both said the same thing: run the nut back on, whack it a couple times and it should drop right off. Yeah...not so much. I tried damn near everything and came up with nothing.

     We all three (Nick, the bike and I) lived to fight another day and a clutch puller was on it's way before the next round of beers were consumed. I guess it is one of those things that it won't hurt to have. Begs the questions though...it doesn't have to be easy but does it always have to be hard?

Hot Sauce of the Week

Louisiana Supreme Hot Sauce-yep. Peppers, vinegar, salt and xanthan gum. I guess if it ain't broke don't fix it. I've never had a Louisiana hot sauce I didn't like so I guess there is something to be said for that. Marked "Certified Cajun" and it has a lasting burn but it is nothing special. Find me a Louisiana style sauce I'll hate and I'll send you a goody package.

Distraction

This is what has been keeping me from working on the Shovel. It's a wallet...

L.B.

Click here.

Hot Sauce of the Week

Blair's Jalapeno Death Sauce with Tequila-I was expecting more heat as the other Blair's sauces I have tried were serious business. This one says "mild" on the label and it is way milder than I expected, which isn't really a bad thing. The jalapeno, lime and tequila blend creates an awesome, unique flavor that has an interesting sweetness to it and while it does have pep, if it were much hotter it would overshadow the other flavors at play. If you've ever tried Tiger Sauce, you'll understand exactly what I mean. The only downside is that as this bottle came in a sampler, it is a small one so I'll have to use it sparingly until I can get my hands on more. Will the all the sauces in my house that have been tried and that are in the hopper, if I am getting another bottle, you know its good.

Thanks to Erin and Azi for the sampler pack, the gift that keeps on giving.

SS'13

The Shovels South trip that was scheduled for later this month has been delayed, cancelled, etc. 

Life is a real pain in the ass sometimes. For some, it is a real pain in the ass all the time.

For those of you who can't seem to catch a break no matter how hard you try to fly on the straight and narrow, at least you've got nowhere to go but up.

I would say that I am hopeful that the trip will happen at some point this year but looking at the calendar and all the other trips and travel that are planned, who knows what will or won't happen.

On a related note, if you ever book a camp site on a coastal campground, make sure you get your deposit down and get yourself a reservation number. The first time I tried to stay at one I was told there was always plenty of space and I didn't need a reservation only to get there and be told they were full. I called to cancel my reservation this time and despite calling weeks ago and giving my information they had no record of a reservation for me. Dot the i's and cross the t's folks...

New Stickers

I got into a conversation with Nick over at Whiskey Wulvz about the state of Choppers and Customs. With everything going on in the world today, it can be tough keeping priorities straight. We decided that this handy dandy sticker was just the thing the scene needed to keep the flow going. Slap this sum' bitch on your ride and mark them off as you go. Click the link on the top right of the page, send me your address and I'll shoot some to you.

You're welcome. 

Hot Sauce of the Week

La Anita Roasted Habanero Peppers Sauce-again, this is flavor and spice I was hoping for from a Mexican sauce. Not much to say, it's plenty hot and tastes awesome. Get some.

Results from Saturday

Spent some time on a few little things on the Shovel Saturday. All of it was simple but the little things add up.
At some point I'll have to move the tail light wiring so it isn't just snaking down the sissy bar and up the frame but again, small job. The thing I really need more of is time. Too bad they don't sell that in the parts houses...

I'm supposed to be getting my hands on a shop manual this week which should help with some of the bigger things. In any case, I'm getting closer and closer to where I want it to be. I've been looking at doing a couple things that are outside my ability and skill set but if you never move out of your comfort zone, you'll never learn anything.

Hopefully I'll have a good chunk of time to get the final loose ends tied off later this month. Unfortunately, everything comes with a price. If I were smarter, I'd use the good weather Saturdays to ride and the ugly ones to get work done. Having a family doesn't help either...trying to do everything you want can be a pain but the payoffs are well worth it.

Support Shirt

Click here.

Hot Sauce of the Week

Trappey's Spicy Hot-much like the difference between Crystal and Crystal Extra Hot, take Trappey's Bull and kick up the heat a bit and this is the result. Not much else changes, the pepper is the same but now there is more of it, so much so it jumped up before vinegar in the ingredient list. There is garlic now also and it is a nice addition. If you are a Trappey's Bull fan and are ready to graduate to something hotter, this is the answer.

Christmas in April

Grips, seals, gaskets, brackets, throttle assembly, more gaskets, button, enrichener, tools, petcock...

time to make the donuts.

Lee Bender

I've never met the guy but he is a friend of friends and that's good enough. Plus if you've been following his adventures, he seems like a solid guy with piss-poor luck. Don't let the bastards keep you down!

Quit being a tight-wad and drop some cash for a good cause here.