Done deal – The OC (Orange Chrome) Bike…

Posted by Bare | April 25th, 2013

Finally finished this project a couple of weeks ago. I just finished going through the images and getting them up on the site here for everyone to check out.

The OC Bike

This was a great project to do. It’s nice when you find a client who really wants to go the extra mile and not skimp on any details. From paint to chrome to accent lighting everything on this bike is top notch and it really shows.

I’m actually in discussions with a few different magazines right now who might be interested in doing a spread on the bike, so that might be fun. :)

The build pictures and parts list are located in the “Projects” section of the website here and if anyone has questions or is interested in chiming in, you can get involved in the discussion on the forums here.

Thanks for checking it out!

Making progress!

Posted by Bare | March 19th, 2013

I’ve been neglectful in posting updates and pics on this project, I know. Everything is moving along, just slowly, while I wait on a few parts to come back from chrome (again). All the work and parts were scheduled to flow perfectly, but some issues with chrome quality meant sending parts back to be re-dipped. Unfortunately sometimes delays like this are simply the cost of doing business when you want everything perfect at the end.

Anyways, to satisfy those interested until I get the last few bits back from chrome and finally finish this beast, here are some pics of when I got it into a rolling chassis and when I first test fit the fenders.

If anyone has questions or is interested in chiming in, you can get involved on the forums here.

Rolling chassis Test fitting the fenders

New project in the works…

Posted by Bare | January 19th, 2013

I’ve got a new project in the works, should be really nice when it’s done. Hopefully I’ll get pics up sooner than I have with Candy (my project from 2011). For now, here are pics of the paint, still in progress.

painted headlight painted tank
painted front fender painted helmet

Batwing fairing project complete…

Posted by Bare | June 24th, 2012

This marks the culmination of a project that was discussed seemingly forever but never tackled. This project involved taking a Harley batwing fairing and heavily modifying it to fit the VTX in a specific manner. I know this isn’t new to the VTX world, I just tackled it with a slightly different flair… :)

I’ve written up some of the details here in the tech pages, and discussion, questions, etc are all taking place here on the forums.

Harley batwing fairing project
Harley batwing fairing project Harley batwing fairing project

Melted main wiring…

Posted by Bare | October 19th, 2011

I just thought I’d throw this out there as a “service bulletin” for anyone interested. I took a bike in recently for work because the fuel pump would not prime. I suspected the pump was fine, everything else on the bike was in working order and the bike was intermittently shutting down while out on the road. 35k miles on the odometer, all the simple checks came back fine – relays in working order, kill switch functions, etc, etc, etc… What struck me as odd was that you should always get battery voltage (~12V) at the engine stop relay, even with the key off. I was reading battery voltage there with the key off, but when I turned the key on this voltage dropped to roughly 1.5V. I figured I had either a serious draw/short somewhere that wasn’t tripping fuses, or something like what I found…

Under the left side cover you have your main battery cable that feeds your 2 main 30A fuses. The wiring from those 2 main fuses then runs through a simple 2 pin plug before running over to the keyed ignition and so on. The plug looked almost perfect upon a cursory inspection, but when I went to separate the plug is when it got interesting:

30A main power wires burned

This was the source of the problem on the bike and unfortunately it was caught too late to save the plug and some of the wiring. I had to replace several inches of wire and add a whole new plug. This was simply a matter of corrosion buildup on the connectors over time and could have been avoided with a little contact cleaner to clean up the contact areas. It won’t hurt to separate this plug, clean the contacts and then pack them with a little dielectric grease to prevent further corrosion (just don’t go overboard with the grease). ;)

Well I hated to do it…

Posted by Bare | August 6th, 2011

The title says it all, I hated to do it… BUT, I finally broke down and added advertising to the site. I’ve really enjoyed providing the site ad-free for years while everything else on the web continued to get more and more commercial, but site-hosting expenses add up and the $20 or so that gets donated every year (yes, I said YEAR) just don’t cover costs. I’m still ignoring the urge from more “business-minded” friends to make the site completely pay-for-access. Charging people for information was never my intent when I started the site and I don’t plan on going down that road now.

So my apologies for the distraction of the ads, I think I kept them fairly small and relatively inconspicuous – unlike some sites I visit where it’s hard to separate ads from content. But hey, if you feel like helping out – when you visit the site click on a link, any link, it’ll help pay site costs. ;)

Valves… Done… Finally!!!

Posted by Bare | July 12th, 2011

For those who patiently waited (and those who not-so-patiently harassed me through email :) ) I finally finished the write-up for adjusting the valves on the VTX 1800. As soon as I can get a VTX 1300 apart to snap comparable pictures I’ll adapt the existing write-up to the 1300 also. In the interim, feel free to check it out here.

Detailed picture inside a VTX valve inspection cover

I want to give a big thanks to the guys who helped “proof” the finished article, without their assistance and insight there’s no telling how much longer this might have taken.

Taking some time…

Posted by Bare | June 16th, 2011

Well after a busy couple of years without a vacation I was offered an opportunity to take a great trip with great friends. I reluctantly agreed (it’s always so hard to get away from work!) but as expected I was glad that I did. A week spent riding and hanging out with friends in the Smoky Mountains sure helps clear your head.

May 2011 Highlands, NC Trip Broch (big bad), Travis, John (coltergeist), me, Sean (Tassy5), and Kurt (Sumo-X)

You can see the rest of the pics here.

Fun was had by all despite exploding batteries, broken radios, road construction delays, separated tires, worn out shoes, full moons, pesky mailboxes, sharts (yes, sharts), and more finger pointing than should be allowed by law…

May 2011 Highlands, NC Trip

Unfortunately Killboy was too busy shooting great pictures of everyone else to get one of me, lol…

May 2011 Highlands, NC Trip

A HUGE thanks to Larry who let us use his cabin in Highlands, North Carolina free of charge. The accommodations were first rate (a giant 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom cabin on a river) and the roads were incredible. The road down the mountain from the cabin was every bit as curvy as the Tail of the Dragon and went down past 3 waterfalls – a great way to start and end each day.

Pics of the new project
bike (Candy) are coming soon!

Some of you may have already seen the bike in last months Tucker Rocky newsletter!

May 2011 Highlands, NC Trip

Paying it forward…

Posted by Bare | January 18th, 2011

Welcome to the new and improved Bareass Choppers Tech Pages!

The old www.bareasschoppers.com is now tech.bareasschoppers.com, so if you haven’t already, please update your bookmarks to point to the new tech site. Also, don’t forget to join the forums (forums.bareasschoppers.com), where you can find a wealth of additional information and ask questions for those times when you just can’t seem to find the answers you need.

This new site design is the culmination of over 2 years of work in my spare time. The content is a compilation of technical articles I’ve composed over the years, and while I’d love to take all the credit I’d be remiss if I didn’t specify that many of these articles were inspired, in part, by the efforts of others. I try my best to specifically cite others for their contributions, but with so much information compiled over the years I’m sure I’ve missed a few. As you read through the information that is collected here please keep in mind – this site is a testament to the willingness of others to share their time, efforts, and knowledge with the general public free of charge (while paying web hosting costs out of pocket). All I’ve ever asked in return for my efforts is that the next time you find someone in need of a few minutes of your time or knowledge PAY IT FORWARD! It doesn’t even have to be motorcycle related – just taking a few minutes of your time to help a person can make a big difference.

 

What it’s all about – good riding and good friends…
Blue Ridge Parkway

 

While I’ve worked very hard to ensure there are no bugs, broken links, spelling and grammar errors, or other problems with the site, this is a lot of information to oversee. So if you’re browsing and notice any problems please email me so I can fix the problems and get the site “tuned up”.