Gophers and Cheese

I've you've been following me on Instagram , Facebook , or Twitter , then you know I'm REALLY excited for Moto Mania on 8-1-2015.  It's only a week away!!! I'm so excited that I even bought and then modified a 2003 XL883R with the goal of having it ready for the event (I plan to use it long after the event too, of course).  This is it, probably 95% done: I am also very excited to be an official sponsor of the event, alongside some of my favorite local and national brands. However, after all the posts and buzz on the interwebs, you might still have no idea what Moto Mania actually is.  I suspect that the main reason you might be confused is because the monthly bike night at the Uptown VFW that occurs the first Thursday of each month is also called Moto Mania and it is organized by the same person, Dan Raleigh.  It turns out that Dan calls everything "Moto Mania".  The monthly bike night, the dirt track event, all of his kids, his wife, each of h...

In my last post , I detailed all the things I've done to my 2003 XL883R since purchasing it in May.  Thanks to some much-needed help from Luke ( Hugit Machine & Motorcycle ) on the rear axle & front fork and Jared ( Fat Hand Customs ) on the exhaust, I was able to get the bike done for the Bearded Lady this past Saturday.  This is a photo I took in Boom Island Park on my way to the show.  That's the Minneapolis skyline in the background. I am so happy with the way the bike turned out.  It looks and feels very different compared to my other Sportster (2004 XL1200C).  I am really excited to ride it around the track during Moto Mania on August 1st (more details very soon).  Between now and then, I am trying to ride down as many dirt and gravel roads as I can to get more accustomed to it.  Moto Mania should be a blast!

Hopefully you've been keeping up to date on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.  It's been a really busy month.  I've attended Rumble on the Deck and Full Tilt and took hundreds of photos.  I also hung out at July's First Thursday / Moto Mania.  I'll post pics eventually.  What I've really been busy with is getting my new (to me) 2003 XL883R ready for the Moto Mania dirt track event on August 1st. I bought this bike at the end of May and took it for a few rides before starting to tear it apart.  It's almost all done (for this year at least).  In the photo above taken in early June, it was pretty much how I bought it. Here's what I've done since taking that photo (and why I've been too busy to blog): Controls Drilled & re-painted stock handlebars Ran switch wires inside handlebars Baxter grips Black 5-hole levers Black round mirror Barnett throttle & idle cables Speedometer trim ring (to-be-installed) Biltwell mushman pegs (...

This Honda at The Moto Collective open house was simply amazing.  I loved it. I'm not trading in one of my Sportsters for a Honda anytime soon but if you can't appreciate a bike like this, there's something seriously wrong with you.  They're building some pretty sweet bikes in NE Mpls.  Go check them out!