Mike and Margaret Wilson on my EL

Here is a great pic of Mike and Margaret Wilson and Mara and I. The wilsons had a dealership back in the early 50s. They are a cute couple, and the reason that Mara and I decided to go to AMA vintage days.


Here is a pic of them on my bike, Mike said that the buddy seat brought back good memories.



They are such a cute couple, I could talk to both of them for hours.

1957 NSU scooter

Here is a pic of Mara riding Buzz's 1957 NSU scooter after getting it running. She cleaned and rebuilt the BING carb and got it running like a champ. Unfortunately the the drive shaft made a bunch of noise and we couldn't ride it that much.


Here she is cleaning the carb. The bing carb was a slide carb with a side float, it is the same set up as a hummer carb.

The trip out to Mid Ohio!!!

Here is my back tire after getting a flat going 80mph on interstate 90


I never flip up rear fenders, because it chips the paint, Mara and I found a telephone pole and tried to get the bike off the ground with it, but it didn't work.



Here is a pic of us with the tire all fixed up. and ready to reinstall




This is Caleb, He stopped to help us out. I lifted up the back of the bike, Caleb balanced it, and Mara pulled the wheel out. Then Caleb gave me a ride to get the tire filled up. It worked well, this whole process took 3 hours, and ruined our Iron Butt attempt.

winner winner chicken dinner

We made it! It took 22.75 hours to go 1030 miles. It was the worst time that I have ever had on a bike. I would not recomend 20 plus hours of riding a buddy seat to anybody. It is gruesome.

jackson minnesota

We are in jackson minnesota it is awesome! the finish line is just around the corner. We should be done in record time! I can't wait to fall asleep!

extra extra read all about it.

We are in st charles minn. We have gone over 700 miles today, the bike is working well, we still have a ways to go, but I am confident in my el, and am determined to finish this iba run.

update!!!!!

Hey guys we are in madison wisconsin. The bike is running great, my left hip is killing me, I don't know about this whole buddy seat thing, as soon as I get home I am going to put the solo seat back on the circus wagon. We are on schedule, wish us luck.

ottowa ill

So we are cheacking over the bike filling the oil and letting the feeling come back to my butt we bumped the speed to75 and the wind is working against matt and our gas milage traffic jam took a half hour there was a small accident

groverton indiana

We are moving along really well. We are a couple hours east of chicago.

groverton indiana

We are moving along really well. We are a couple hours east of chicago.

groverton indiana

We are moving along really well. We are a couple hours east of chicago.

pit stop in fort wayne indiana

We just stopped for gas, we have gone 170 miles so far. The skies are clear and the bike is running well. I dropped the speed down to 70 mph in hopes of reducing fatigue on our bodies later on in the day.

pit stop number R«

pit stop number R«

pit stop number R

ready to hit the road!

We just woke up and are going to pack the bike up and hit the road. We are in lexington ohio and hope to make it to mitchel sd tonight.

the good news and the bad news.

Well guys, it is wiÞh great sorrow that I write this message. I came to the realization that I didn't have enough time to finish the 1000 mile trip.there were too many hurdles. The good news is that I did an iba run last sunday, and I know that I can do it again with a passenger. Mara and I are going to do the run on our way home this upcoming sunday. We are not throwing in the towel, just rescheduling the run a couple of days. Mara will still be doing updates, so if you are interested in seeing what else can go wrong or hopefully go right, then check out this site on sunday.
Best,
Matt and mara

portage indiana!!

We got through chicago, it was intense. The bike is running good,the speedo light broke, so I don't know how fast I am going. I will just have to judge our speed the good old fashioned way--by how many cars we pass lol

back on the road

Well guys and girls,
We are back on the road. We got the tire fixed with the help of my new friend caleb. I don't think we will break the record today, but I will still give it a try and drive til 5am. If we don't break it on the way to lexington, we will break it on the way back,

the deal breaker??

We just got a flat rear tire, going 80mph down interstate 90 in the rain. It was really squirrelly, I didn't know if we were going to make it off the bike until we made it to the shoulder. This may ruin our attempt for the record. Wish us luck

nap time is over!

Hey guys mara and I just woke up from a two hour nap. We still have over 500 miles to go. Our breaks were getting too frequant and long. I had to take a nap or there was no way that we could finish. Wish us luck.

update numero 4

We are in lacrosse wisconsin. One of the lines on my rear head must be plugged, because there is carboned up oil spraying back onto my oil tank. I put a set of large port heads on my bike earlier this summer, they came with a basket case that my daddy bought, they are working well, just leaking.

albert lea mn

We are in albert lea, I had to stop to get some tylenol for my right hip. This buddy seat is really uncomfortable:(

update number 2

We are in sherburn minnesota, the first 40 miles were really rough, I couldn't seem to go over 65 and the bike was shaking really bad. I pulled off of on an exit and when I went to downshifr I discovered the problem, I had been driving in 3rd gear. I can't believe the trans held up to 40 miles of two up 65mph abuse. Wish us luck!

lexington ohio bound!

Hey guys I slept in, ti is 430 and we wanted to leave at 2. I think that the extra 2 hours of sleep will come in handy in 15 or 20 hours.wish us luck!
M and M

lexington ohio bound!

Hey guys I slept in, ti is 430 and we wanted to leave at 2. I think that the extra 2 hours of sleep will come in handy in 15 or 20 hours.wish us luck!
M and M

Iron Butt Knuckleheads

Here is a pic of the two bikes in Redfield. This is what knuckleheads look like after running 70 miles an hour for 22 hours straight.

My front intake lower tin cracked a line and sprayed oil all over the oil tank. I silver soldered it up for today's IbA run. The heads on my bike came with a basket case that my dad bought. I switched out my open rocker heads with these large port heads to cut down on oil consumption.

Here is Jack in Redfield after 1050 miles plus of riding through six states. I am taking this bike on another iba run to ohio at 2am today. If I complete it, I will finish 2 IBA runs within 5 days of eachother! Whoa

Here we are in Ohio getting ready to leave. Mike Lichter took this pic, good job Mike!

First IBA run

Hey guys,
I don't know how to get a specific youtube link to show up on here, so I have to show you the url for my youtube channel. It is www.youtube.com/gosonytv Go and check out the 4 videos that my friend Iacovos and I took through out last Sunday, July19th. We rode a 39 and a 36 knucklehead for 1050 plus miles in 22 hours. It was an awesome trip and I recommend it to anybody that would want to try it. I am going to go do another one tomorrow, I plan on leaving at 2am on Thursday morning. Check out the videos and let me know what you think.
best,
Matt Olsen

Iacovos pics from our Wauseon Trip

My friend Iacovos from Cyprus flew into Aberdeen and rode to Wauseon with my dad, Neil and Mike last week. I have been friends with Iacovos for a couple months, in one of our conversations, he said his dream was to fly to the US and ride knuckleheads around the states, so I invited him over. We had a nice leisurely ride to Wauseon and an insane ride back to South Dakota. Here is a pic the Iacovos took of a sunset somewhere between aberdeen and Ohio.


Here is a pic of the bikes that we rode to the banquet in Wauseon. The 36 belongs to my friend Doug from Indiana, it is a great bike!

Fresh Eggs!!!

Here is a group photo from the first day, Kevin and J rode to Redwing MN with us, then they went home.

wauseon update!

Well guys it is saturday night, and Iacavos and I are getting ready to ride our two prewar knuckleheads back to south dakota. We are going to leave at 5 in the morning and try to make it in one trip. I will keep you updated on how the trip goes as soon as I get home to sd. Wish us luck!

wauseon update!

Wauseon Bound!!!!

Here is the crew getting ready to leave. Left to right Rockmaster Jesse Deqluerk, Iacovos from Cyprus, Little Neil, Mike Lichter, and me. My dad drove the truck and trailer with all of the bikes.


We made it 350 miles to Kevin and Amy Baas's house and spent the night.



Here is a pic from this morning, we are in chesterton indiana, and should be in Wauseon by noon. The trip is going well, hope to see some of you guys in ohio.

Sturgis volunteer t shirt pics, Please advise.

I climbed up on top of a grain bin to take this pic. I need some input guys, which pic do you like the most. The bikes are the same, just a different angle. Pretty neat representation of different decades and engines- btsv, knuckle, pan, shovel whoa!

Here is one from the ground. I need your guy's input. Please comment below and let me know which one you like the most. I have to use one of these pics on a shirt for amca sturgis volunteers, and I need to get it done asap. I will make a decision based on your comments next week. Thanks.

Mike Riding shots

Mike and I went out on the town so he could practice handshifting old bikes. I lent him my old clunker.


We went to the Palm Garden in Aberdeen and they had amazing food. I had a bowl of soup and the chef made us this awesome fruit plate.



We did some riding shots later on in the day. Since Mike was taking the pics, he couldn't really be in them, so after we were done with the group, the two of us went out on the bobbers, and I snapped these pics.




Here he is on the silver bike. I am not the best photographer, sorry guys, I guess you get the idea though.

starting up a 46 knucklehead for the first time!!!

Hey guys,
Here is a video of me starting up the silver bobber that my daddy and I built. I don't know how to make the youtube link show up as a picture, if any of you can fill me in on this subject, please leave a comment. Until I learn how to do this feature, you will have to click the link below. I hope you enjoy it and have a nice day.

www.youtube.com/gosonytv

Gettin ready for ohio!!!

Well my dad and I are getting ready to ride to Wauseon next week with a couple friends. According to this map it is "a little ways" away from south dakota.


I needed a new helmet, so I got one. I don't like windshields, so I usually get a full face helmet. I picket this one out because of the bitchin robocop sunglasses feature. Check out the pic below.



If I ever have my own action figure, I would like it to have a helmet like this lol.

WH64 fender repair part 1

Here is how a fender seam isn't supposed to look. IT is all wavy and beaten thin after years of abuse. I had to build up the fender flip section with material and grind everything smooth.


Since the original metal is so thin and smooth, we made a piece of tin to used as a backer for the weld.

In this pic the fender flap has been built up and the tin piece is still on the fender. This gets ground off.

First you grind the inside, then remove the top piece.

Here is a pic of the fender. I blued it and scribed a line where the line is supposed to be. This is a really good fix that my friend Larry Medwig taught me.

WH64 rear fender fix part 2

Sorry for the iffy photo guys, My camera skills are lacking. I am trying to show you the nice even line between the flip and the fender. Warren uses his fender flap, and wanted a chrome hinge, so the paint wouldn't chip. This is the stroked 64 that we have been working on.

Here is a pretty good pic. Mike did a great job of painting the fenders, they are as smooth as glass, have great rivet definition and the body work is set up right. He is a good painter.

36 EL cha cha changes

Here is my bike after a two day marathon of inspection. I put some flanders bars on it and put a set of bigger 37 basket weave saddlebags on it. Michael Paquette made them, and they are awesome. Good job Michael. I am going test riding as soon as I am done with this post.


Front 3/4, I changed the front end springs to a different set up. Mike Wilson told me about how he used to set them up back in the 50s, so I figured I would give it a try. Check out the pics below to see what I changed.



Here is the correct 36 to 38 set up. Curved inner springs on the bottom, and 36 to 38 straight top springs. As per Mike Wilson's advice, the top springs get removed, this was the most painful part of the switch over for me. I spent 700 dollars on reproducing these early inner springs when I was 19, and now I don't have them in my bike lol.




Here you can see the parts that are going back into it. The new lower springs are sidecar springs and much longer than the solo version.





I also inspected both wheel hubs to see how everything was wearing in or out. These hubs were re surfaced by Lee Armitage. He spray welds them and regrinds them back to standard size. On one of the forums somebody was talking about how this was such a bad fix, and that the spray welding will come loose. I had to check my wheels out just for piece of mind, after 4,000 miles they are as beautiful and smooth as when I first got them back from Lee.

My Daddy's 39 after a 5200 mile trip!

My dad got home from his month long vacation on thursday night. He put over 5200 miles on his knucklehead in a little less than a month. The only problem that he had was a bolt coming loose that held his rear view mirror on. This bike is awesome!

Magic show

go to www.lichterphoto.blogspot.com and check out the three bikes that Mike and Steve took pics of for me last month. They look amazing!!

chino rear fender

Here is the rear fender that we are using for the chino bike, it was painted blue and purple and had red pinstripes---ick!

Here it is after a couple coats of self etching primer. It is a real deal 49 fender, so it will work well for what we are doing.

more petrali pics

Check out the heads, that intake flange is a thing of beauty! I would love to have a set of heads like this!


TIGHT!



Check out the reverse tach, and the steering dampner!!!

WHOA

This pic of the front head makes me weak in the knees.