Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Down - When The Levee Breaks



If you are a Zeppelin fan and also a fan of NOLA metal then this is the best cover you will hear all year and maybe into the next. Hopefully Down will release it with their new album maybe out at some point next year. Trying my best to get back down to NOLA for Down, The Sword and Metallica in november, will be one hell of a show. Just saw Crowbar and EyeHateGod at One Eyed Jacks in the Quarter and that show was badass. Then had to rush out of town for a hurricane, sucked ass being stuck in never ending traffic and hungover.

http://www.myspace.com/downnola

1979 Honda cb650



couple of pics of the bike when I bought it.

Honda cb650 build




here is the sketch I have been working on for my ideas on the rebuild. Picked up a "sorta" running 79 Honda cb650 for a couple hundred bucks and bound and determined to make it into a cool cafe racer chopper of sorts. I dig the original lines but now I want to tighten them up a bit. Have been rewelding the frame to make a lot of areas seamless in construction and will be polishing out the existing welds for a clean powdercoat with overpaint on that. Also working on milling down the tubes in the front end to lower the stance a bit, make it more aggressive in look. The big load of work though is tearing the engine down to the last nut and bolt and soda blasting all the cases to repaint and rebuild what has been sitting for years. Hopefully in the end I will get a great bike to run around town on that will have cost me overall about 2 grand and be fun as hell.

Custom Motorcycle, That Is Truly Custom


I really haven't a clue to what type of bike this is? Anyone got an idea, or is it a vintage type of custom?

Back To School Knives


With my last post about the glory of knives why not give something to the kids on their way to school. Will save you money in the long run as you won't have to keep doling out money. They can simply earn it the old fashioned way. They can take it from other unsuspecting individuals, akin to the corporate criminals that try to rob us blind. Or maybe those folks were given these knives as kids? hmmm...Might be onto something.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Belt Buckle Blade


Knives have a life of their own and everybody who carries a blade has a certain use or style that they carry which is generally indicative of their personality. I always have a 3 inch police tactical knife in my pocket. Its lightweight, black and perfect. Flick of my thumb and its out and its very stealth with its outer rubber grip and locking action.

I guess I could blame my grandmother for my knife collection. She gave me my first victorinox swiss army knife when I was 9, and I was hooked. It was multi-function and I think had either 7 or 9 gadgets to it. Perfect for a kid who believed his life's calling was to be Indiana Jones mixed with the bravado of a biker. Still living the dream, thanks Chief for introducing me to the world on 2 wheels.

Fear No Man

The Gaslight Anthem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-Pm5NC3OZI
or
http://www.myspace.com/thegaslightanthem

I truly dig it when a band comes onto my radar that I have heard of but never given a listen to. Check these guys out. They are definitely here for the long haul. 1 part springsteen, 1 part against me = The Gaslight Anthem

Honda CB 750 City Chop



cool honda chop from San Francisco. Simple, clean and perfect ride for the city. Good lookin' out Xander

Friday, September 26, 2008

Rollin' Through Eastern Oregon and Washington


This has to be one of my favorite photos. Not really thinking about anything except having to piss so damn bad I finally found a spot to pull over on the side of the road. Was able to brush my teeth, swig some water and eat a power bar while admiring the view of the Columbia river right before it cuts north into Washington.

I highly recommend trying out highway 730 if you are driving through eastern Oregon. Traffic is not too heavy as its off interstate 84 and follows right beside the river for quite a few miles before heading up out of the river valley. Follow 730 right up to the junction of highway 12 and go east into Washington wine country of Walla Walla, a beautiful ride for sure.

How cool is this grill?


I enjoy scouring junkyards to find great old parts. Seeing something like this just gives me ideas for days.

The Real Wild Ones


I have a large collection of old chopper mags and they are a never ending source of inspiration. Whether it be the old ads, vintage bikes or covers such as this. They are an amazing glimpse into the growth of the motorcycle culture through trends and styles adopted through the years.

Let your jacket tell the story


Would be bad ass to see some of the jackets that they made. I am surprised that no one has put out a book yet with back patch graphics from bike clubs. Surely there are thousands of varying designs and then of course would be great to see logo progression through the years as clubs grow or get patched over.

Suzuki X-6 250cc


This is such a cool photo. Great racing pose and the little bike looks fast as hell.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Welding Projects for the Shop



Funny how things work out. You want to build this, design that and you get backed into corners by the tools you have or the amount of space you have to work in. For years I was living in downtown San Francisco and had no true area to work on my bikes so I had to put all ideas on the back burner. Hell, even to get my oil changed was an issue. Try changing your oil on a bike on a hilly street with a cable car running by every few minutes and non stop traffic, truly a pain in the ass. I didn't have a pot to piss in, but life was good and sure as hell miss frisco.

Things are different now, living back in the south and have been building my garage out to accommodate my bike infatuation and general thrill with all things mechanical. I needed to be able to work on frames or pound out sheet metal but had to work within confines of my garage space. Its not that I have such a small space but I am trying to allot for future growth. When the time comes I need to add a drill press, metal lathe and several welders. This is a small fab table I built that is heavy but portable and quite diverse in its uses.

Hello and welcome

I will be posting the latest and greatest as Rusty Knuckles gets started.

What began as an idea at some mile marker on a highway driving 80 miles an hour has finally come to fruition. Been working on ideas through the years as an outlet for all of my motorcycle and auto related projects and have slowly begun to spin it into a side endeavor