My Chopper - Embroidered Tee!

Well - This is some project I have undertaken.  I want to make a custom embroidered "who knows what yet" of my actual bike.  So I have to draw it into my digitizing program - Yikes! Sounds daunting just thinking about it... I know it will take much effort, not to mention plenty of hours!  Now, I've been practicing, mind you, so my skills are getting better bit by bit, and my confidence is building as well.  There was a time that it would have been inconceivable to me that I could do such a thing... So, I had the right image to have as my "template"

So... How in the world do I start this?  Well, let's get it into Photoshop, and get some outlines going, so we can have our base to do our digitizing drawing.  I guess that's the first thing... 

OK, so now import that into DRAWings digitizing software...

And... Let the games begin!  :)

We need to plan out our drawing to some extent, what will be drawn first, etc.  You need to group like items together, but not all items are "like items" because you will need to have different stitching techniques for them, to make the design appropriate, so i ran into this a few times, where I grouped too many items together, and had to delete and go back and group smaller sets, so as to get the proper stitching for them.  Plus color changes, jumps, and such. 

I wouldn't have as much experience if not for the forum folk challenging/inspiring me to draw things, and stitch things, special requests and such. :)  I called upon one design i used which started with tires, so that's where i decided to begin.

Now the way you freehand draw is that you make drawing points, and then you bend the lines at a later time, so the designs will have sharp points until I round them all out, which i will probably just do all at once at the end. So here's step 1& 2: Got the front tire and the front wheel.

Then the back tire, done in two parts.

Then on to the engine and take a preview of what I have so far...

Lookin' good....  Well, That was at least 4-5 hours all told up to now, I needed a break, more later and tomorrow.  I'm determined to see how I can make out on this.

THE NEXT DAY...

Well gave it a go since early this morning, but was so focused and the camera was in the sewing studio, that i forgot to take progress, pictures, so this was the next break I took. another several hours in.  I gave it an early start, being perplexed at first with where to begin, since there was so much left to do.  Once i got started, though, i got on a roll, and just kept going.  So we're not bad here, I think we've got all the drawing done at this point.

So now begins the rounding of all the lines...  First the tire

Now match the rim to the tire

Okay we pretty much have the bike done at this point.

Let's straighten her out

And add her name...

Now the next step will be to tweak the design for any last minute finishing touches and then stitch it out.  I can hardly wait, but it will have to be tomorrow, i'll need a fresh look at it.

"TOMORROW"

Well, Tweaked it a bit, and went and stitched it...

I LOVE IT!!!!!! 

Here's the Comparison:

I am so proud of myself!

My very BlueJ captured in an embroidered Tee!

I will wear this shirt with extreme pride! Yippee for me :)

I think all told the designing to final stitching completion was around 15-16 hours.

Cheers!

JDol

My Ginz Sissy Bar!

Well, the adventure of the Ginz Sissy Bar started in October.  Well, actually in August because that is when I saw them on the forum, and got interested in them.  however they were $$$... I knew i wanted a tall one.  a big reason for the bar was to be able to get the back pack off my back. two reasons for the backpack off my back was (1) for comfort, and (2) because I wear vests and jackets with artwork on them, and with the back pack, the artwork was not visible.  So.. the sissy bar hunt began, it had to have class.  Blue J is a classy lady.  We all have ideas of the looks we like.  I like the look of a tall sissy bar on my chopper.  the one I wanted wasn't cheap and i wanted their extra emblem of the Maltese cross, coz i like that theme on Blue J. Cha-Ching Cha-Ching on that! Then the luggage rack.  Decided to go for the matching, welded on one.  Got it ordered in October and waited - okay not so patiently - to receive it mid November. It got here Tuesday.  I was wrapped up in business til Friday, but started looking at it Friday night.

outta the box:

This photo no guy will recognize... it's INSTRUCTIONS!  LOL, i know the guys throw those out right off the bat. hahaha.

Instead of opening the bar up yet, i opened a bracket, boy is that baby a solid piece of metal. and the chroming is nice! The bracket feels like it weighs over a lb.

So, time to READ the instructions, coz that's how I roll... they shorted me 4 washers, but I've got those laying around the garage,  Reading through I see they call for a 21/64" drill bit.  Yes, for their 5/16" bolts.  I didn't have that bit, was wondering if i could use a 3/8", but unsure if it would be too big.  posted the question on the forum, got a suggestion to use the one they recommend (thanks LesterDiamond!) so ran out to Lowe's and grabbed one up.  Now I needed to see just what was I up against with this drilling??? so out to the garage to pop off the seat and fender...

To take off the seat/fender

These clips come off first - they are out now they are the holes by the foot pegs.  Those are clips where you push in the center and they release.

If you ride solo, don't' forget to pull out this screw... I did, and was wondering for 10 minutes why the fender wasn't popping off. LOL...  Doh!

So here we are with the fender off. Looks like I've got some room in there for a FATTER tire!  LOL... yes yes Mod-itis...  all things in their time...

So i took a peek and OMG I am practically stopped in my tracks!  Goodness gracious.  they call that thing the Strut, and goodness it is thick, two layers/hollow and looks so slippery!  plus it's a tiny little area. only 1 " from top to bottom.  Talk about nervous! I became terrified of trying to do this.  How in the world am I going to (1) drill through that metal, (2) drill the holes straight, (3) drill without slipping, (4) not pop a tire.  I'm petrified.  I'm glad I looked at this tonight.  I posted another topic on the forum to seek shared experiences.  I hope peeps respond tonight and the UK/Canada Folks in the wee hours of the US Morning.

Shoot.  Hmmmm... Gotta get me some courage.!

Here's what I'm talking about "thin"

This is the template for the drilling.  OMG.

Well, We'll sleep on this and get back to it in the morning...

Niters, 

JDol.

SATURDAY

Well, we wrote the forum and sought suggestions and support for taking on the adventure of the day I was getting psyched up to get going on the project.  SO we posted and waited, and got so many helpful suggestions/tips.  i decided to get a move on and bring the party out to the garage and set up.

So we need:

Laptop (Check tips)

MacX's Install notes on Forum

Directions

Locktite

Centerpunch

Duct tape

Masking Tape

Drill/Bits

Silicone

Diet Dew

&

Devil Dogs....

So here are a few tips.  Place a piece of duct tape on the strut so the drill bit doesn't wander/slip when you start it (Thanks Allan!).  Use a center punch to have a starting point for drilling (Thanks TheNewAftermath).  Drill pilot holes - Thanks (SinisterTurtle)...1/8"...  Use a corded drill (Thanks ExRed/KIOWA).  I only have a cordless, so it was suggested if the cordless didn't have enough to get the drill bit going, I could step it up to the right size by going up drill bit sizes in increments (Thanks RebelD!)....Slow drill speeds! & use cutting oil/lube. (Thanks SinisterTurtle)  I found a recipe for that which is for 2 parts water, 1 part olive oil and a dash of washing liquid.

So let's begin...

Let get the center punch involved

Drilling I used 3 sizes.  The Ginz bar is SAE. I had to go out and purchase the 21/64" bit for the 5/16" bolts.  I had the other SAE bits already, but didn't realize until i had started that they were less than adequate, being somewhat dull.  I spent about 1 1/2 hours working on drilling the pilot holes on both sides, but i was only able to break through the front of the strut.  It is hollow inside and then I had to drill the back out. that was T-O-U-G-H!  So while I was almost through the back side on this one side, it wasn't going, and I had to take a break...My hand hurt, and I figured I best recharge not only the drill batteries, but JDol's batteries :)

Ate lunch, checked into the forum, and resumed. Then I was cooking with gas - re-energized.  Finished up the Right side rather quickly, moved over to the left, and then the bits i was using went D-U-L-L.... back to Lowe's  :)  I must say i learned a lot about the settings on my drill, those dials at the top labeled 1 through 19, and the high low settings...  Now that I am reflecting, I suppose a corded drill would have made a difference.  I think I will put that on the list of tools to get.

SO... we got all the holes drilled, and hoo-rah they all line up with the brackets.  How's about that? :)  So before we put them on, let's silicone the holes to prevent rusting. (Thanks Ken/MacX/Ginz)

We will also Lock-tite the threads for bolting. (Thanks Ken/Ginz)

So I got both brackets on each side, torqued to 175 in/lb.

Now time to get the baby on - As of yet I haven't even unwrapped it...

the fasteners for the bar, use a large hex, (SAE) so we dug this out of the 1960's bin... lol...

Anyway, we finished up the job and snapped a photo just to commemorate the achievement :)

Hopefully get more pics tomorrow or next week.

I'm exhausted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers!

JDol

Fury Jacket

OK, So I went ahead and made the jacket mentioned in my previous post.  Stitched out the design onto my Black/Gray suede jacket.  Bought this jacket a year ago 'cause I was going to make a Ravens Jacket.  Made the Ravens design on another jacket, so this one was still a blank canvas.  Perfect.  Now I had it to make the Fury Jacket.  Did Silver wings to match the jacket and of course Blue Fury and Nation.

Contemplating to add a chopper design to the bottom.  I digitized one of my own, then I have one I bought from ThreadArt, and one from Embroidery Designs.com.  

I like this one, and it's the one I put on my Tank Bib:

Such decisions...  will think about it some more...

Well, Going to go to Walmart to look at blue nail polish 'cause going to paint my Tranny Side Cover letters this morning.  Some guys on the forum also suggested throwing on a few  3" convex mirrors over the other side covers - covers up the HONDA and makes people really wonder what your riding.  Although on my bike i still have the stickers on it. plus my battery covers have Honda on them.  I like the fury sticker, but maybe I can get the HONDA sticker off.  Gotta ponder that.  I know the rest of 'em are doing it.  just not sure yet.

Wonder how my GINZ bar is coming along.  should be going to Chrome tomorrow! :-)

Cheers!

JDol

Latest Addition to Blue J...

Well, earlier this week, before I knew I was going to order my GINZ sissy bar, I was suffering from an attack of "moditis" as they call it on The Fury Forum... and i jsut had to get SOMETHING for Blue J, to tie me over until the sissy bar purchase.  Well I had seen this awesome Transmission cover on Sludge's Fury (the MEAN MOOSE) and really loved the look of it.  He had actually painted the letters on his to match his bike paint.  Here's his:

(That's a shot from Toronto)

Anyway, so got the info from him where to get this.  Cannella's Custom Cycles in FL.  Got right on line and ordered it.  The shipped pretty fast and it came today, so I installed it.  It's a plate that goes in the middle of the cover.  Here's mine:

I uploaded my pic to the forum in the "What did you do to your Fury today" thread, and asked for opinions on whether to paint the letters blue to match the Fury.  The chime ins said yes.  Sludge said he painted his with nail polish... sounds good to me. Will look for a similar color to the blue on the bike.

I love this new addition, and will make another post when I paint it.

Cheers for a Friday!

JDol

Hip Hip for Mods!

Well today is a great day! You see I've been saving up for the sissy bar that I really want to get.  I want a Ginz Sissy Bar: Old School Extreme.  Actually this picture is the Hell Bent, although not the extreme which is 25" this gives you an idea:

I really like the look of the really tall sissy bar. Kind of fits the chopper look -- you see I'm trying to keep a unique look.  the shorter sissy bars just remind me too much of a regular cruiser.  My sissy bar is for function as well as looks, but actually both equally.  I want to be able to get my backpack off my back and onto a carrier support.  The luggage rack made for the fury: Fury Rack

is a formed rack and not IMHO really a luggage rack, but more of a rear fender bib.  I'm taking a lot of care on mounts, and looks of mounts, etc. I want Blue J to have a distinct look.  The Highway Hawk bars are too low for me here is a sample of the archer: HH Archer Bar . Some of my buddies on the Fury Forum have those and they look real nice, but I wanted a different look. Plus I'm not crazy of the mounts on that bar.  Invicta has one and it looks great:

Because he has a black bike and his mounts are black, so they don't stick out, but chrome on blue would not be a good look to me, if you see the mounting brackets on the Highway Hawk.

So anyway, this is the bar I want to get:

Mine is going to be chrome, Plus I'm not sure which luggage rack to go for either welded on or detachable.  This picture might even be the "extreme" size.  

ANYWAY... AGAIN...

So I'm saving up for this and haven't been buying anything and tossing around maybe I should just get the Highway Hawk cause it's like half the price... lol but I really don't want to sacrifice!  So, by maybe another 3-4 weeks from now I'll be able to get it, right? and guess what? DH comes home and drops a cool hundred on me and tells me to get my sissy bar! Tells me he's donating to my sissy bar fund!  Yippee for me!  Now I'm psyched! Tomorrow I'm ordering for sure!  

Will finish this post tomorrow after I order.

WEDNESDAY

Hoo-Ray!  I got my bar ordered!  The guy Gary at Ginz Choppers was nothing short of fabulous on the phone.  Answered all my questions, and gave me sound advice on what to choose for what I was going for.  I decided on the Hell Bent Extreme, with the Welded-on Hell Bent Luggage rack, plus the Maltese Cross insert (pictured above).  We had discussed whether to go Extreme or Monolith, which is 25" or 30", so he is going to make my 25" Extreme bar an extra 1" just to give a kick up, at no additional charge.  He also bumped my production time up to tomorrow!!!!!!! and send it for chroming Tuesday which takes about a week, and if things go well, he might be able to ship it the following week! He's on West Coast, I'm on East coast, so FedEx is about 4 days. I'm looking at a possible 2 1/2-3 week delivery time...how fabulous is that!!!!!!  I'm real excited. Blue J is going to look so kewl.  Not only i think the sissy bar height is going to be a great look, I'm real glad i added the Maltese Cross Emblem Insert.  That's going to look kewl, too. A nice touch.  It also matches my Tank Bib where i embroidered one on the bib.  I also think i made the right move to get the Hell Bent welded-on luggage rack.  Reasons we discussed, were that to have the luggage rack, if i was going to have it on a lot, it made a better look to have it match the bar; didn't look so "out of place".  The detachable s were good, too, so you could run with just the bar if you wanted to, however my decision rested on the fact that I would be using the rack often and wouldn't care to be taking it on and off, so since it would be on most of the time, I'd rather have the classy matching look, so we went with the welded-on route.

Okee Dokee... That's it for now, gonna go cruise the forum.

Cheers!

JDol

August 16th - Bringin' her Home...

My New Chopper...

Well, I will consider August 16, 2013 her birthday, even though she is a 2012, coz its the day I brought her home.  I had a 2001 Honda Shadow Aero 1100 that I loved to death.

She was a 2001 however, and I'd had her for about 7 years - never gave me any issues (Honda) :-)..  We bought DH (Dearest Husband or Dear Hubby for short) an 09 VTX1300 Retro in 2010 which he LOVES to death and rides practically non-stop... anyway since I was only a fair weather rider (sunny and 70 deg F) LOL, mine was ok for so long. I got the itch in 2012 season that I wanted trike.  Needed to get something "different" from the same old thing. So, searched and trikes were a little out of reach that season.  I settled that I wanted a VTX1300 trike.  So, made a few changes to the Aero and settled in for another season.  that brings us to 2013. Had my sights on a trike until we realized now that it would be a tight squeeze a) in the garage, and b) up and down the driveway past the vehicles.  Oh Goodness! now what!. Had to let her go. so I started searching hi and low for the perfect bike.  searched Harley's Kawi's, Yamahas, Victory's, Triumphs.  I wanted something unique.  Even considered those Royal Enfields! I'd say Triumph America was the closest I came.  Then after all that looking I couldn't help the draw that I really wanted to stay with HONDA.  

So I gave a look-see again and Wham i saw the Fury!  I was in love. Chopper world here I come.....I don't know how i missed it all those times i looked before.  Guess it just wasn't the right time at the time I saw it.  They aren't your $6K motorcycle on special, you know. 

So shopped around a bit, saw some different colors/years, and boy did I fall in love with that blue....so gorgeous, just perfect for me.  So here's me bringing her home....

Traded in the Aero for her.

Here's her portrait taken that week.

I joined a Fury Forum and am starting to learn some stuff about Fury's and also meet other Fury owners from around the world.  Looks like I'm off on a Grand Adventure.

Cheers!

JDol