IF IT WERNT FOR BAD LUCK

After rolling my jimmy and only having my vision to ride i bought this dodge from my step-dad. its a 93 1 ton dually with a cummins diesel. it had been sitting for about 5 years after the tranny went out, so he thought. the truck was solid, no rust, just were the paint had peeled off, and a few nickle size dents here and there. i got it with just under 500,000 miles. after draining the tranny and changing the fluid and filter i found that the whole tranny wasn't bad it was just the overdrive. i put about 10,000 miles on it before rolling it into a ditch. (well that's the short story)

i drove it home from the impound with a smashed windshield, no lights, and the roof caved in. i didn't loose any oil after the roll over but it took 5 quarts of tranny fluid to get her to move. once back home i started the process of seeing what all needed fixed. the drivers door and front fender are trashed. as well as the rear dually fender, but those are easily replaced. the roof was my main concern. by using some boards stacked on the floor and a bottle jack i managed to get the roof back up where it belonged. but after that i ran into more problems. the roof is two pieces. an inner and outer shell. after sitting for years it had rusted along the front of the roof separating the two. i had no idea how to go about fixing this problem so i moved on to the lights. the problem with them was easy to spot once i pulled the switch out and saw that the plug had melted. easy fix i simply cut the plug in and plugged the wires right to the switch.

i called a windshield company out to see if they would be able to put a new windshield in for me but they said it was not straight enough and it would crack. so this has left me with only two options. 1. cut the top off and weld on a new one provided i can find one. and 2. get a whole new cab. well both of these options are not easily done, nore do i have the time or tools right now to do this. so for now the dodge sits in my buddy's driveway covered with a tarp waiting for me to decide what I'm going to do with it.

so now i am left driving not my beautiful black blazer, but a p.o.s. that i bought for parts. the black blazer has a cracked head, possible bad tranny, transfer case leaks, front diff. has water in it, and the floors are rotted through. so i ended up taking the headers, exhaust, alternator, starter, radiator, and the steering wheel all off the black one and putting it on my blue one. now this blue one i speak of is a 84 with a 305 2" body lift and 32" tires. i had to lift the rear just to get the exhaust off the black blazer to fit under it. but i went too high with the 3" lift in the rear and need to lift the front now just to make it look right. it has an add a leaf in the front for the plow that used to be on it.

i will try to get some pics of the blue one and then do a full write up one it later.

I finally went down

Well i knew it would happen some day. i was headed up to michigan for the weekend on my FZR. i hate taking the main roads so i took back roads most of the way. i got about 4-5 miles from my buddies house when the road turned to gravel. i forgot this road wasent paved all the way down. so instead of turning around i just slowed down a bit and road on. i really dont know how fast i was going but all of a sudden the front end started to shake side to side and i knew i was going down. i hit the ground on my knuckles and right front of my helmet, then tumbled a few times and came sliding to a stop about 200ft. from where i first hit. there was a guy that was just about to pull out of his drive way when i went by. he said it didnt look like i was going very fast, i dont know i wasent looking at my speed, i do know that i was in 5th and slowing.
i layed on the ground for about 5 min as he was on the phone with 911. it wasent so much the pain but the adrelin was flowing pretty good. after about 5min. i could start to feel my body and started to move. there was no pain in my neck or my back so i got up on my feet. i could feel the rash on my left knee, and my right hip. but other than that i seemed to be fine. i took of my helmet, jacket and gloves, and saw that they did a great job at protecting me. my visor was toast but the rest seemed to fair pretty well. no ambulance needed, but they were sending a cop out.
i started to look the bike over as it layed on its left side. the guy helped me pick it up and push it out of the road. i could smell gas but seen no oil coming out anywhere and the r1 tail i just put on didnt brake, just minor rash. both front and rear seat where down the road so i went and got them. no major damage to them. the only real damage was it bent my left handle bar slightly and broke my left mirror. i let the bike sit for a few min. and it fired right up. then a state trooper showed up, and since no one else was involved i got off without a ticket. and was able to ride the bike to my buddies house right down the road.
all in all i was really lucky, the bike shop my brother works for was having a yard sale sat. and i was able to pick up a new scorpion exo helmet for $150, mine was toast. they even had a front cowl for the bike which i needed still from the first crash (my step-bro's) for $20. so that worked out really well. if i haddent needed a new helmet i wouldnt of found it.
the only thing now is when i was headed home monday night i stoped for a bite to eat and i could smell rotten eggs. found that the battery was boiling over and was really hot. it wouldt start after that and had to have my dad bring his truck and tow it back home. whats messed up is i rode it all over this weekend after the crash putting almost 150 miles on it and didnt have a problem. the crash must of messed up the battery.

I finally got around to posting some pic's of the tail swap finished. Well mostly finished. I have to get a welder to maked my final mouting tabs but other than that im done with the tail. Now i just got to get my side and front fairing then a paint job and i should be done for awhile.
I just finished putting a new set of polished forks and clip-ons on. (not in above pics) Some of the other things i want to do is repaint the rims. Either black or blue. I want to paint the rest of the bike the same as the tail.

R1 tail swap

As is my nature I couldn't leave well enough alone. I bought a R1 tail off ebay and now I've begun the task of making it fit the fizzer. I knew it wasn't going to be a simple bolt on job but IM always up for a challenge. Airtech sells a kit that is made for the fizzer to make it look similar to a r1 but many have done this mod and I figured id try my luck at using an actual r1 tail.

After removing the rear fairing and the tail light that I had mocked up from the vision. Which I spent many hours making it fit. I was ready to start the task of removing all the brackets from the sub-frame. I will have to make up a coolant bottle and move the wiring that was mounted to the side.



After hours of grinding, I had to do some more grinding, and when that was done I had to do some more grinding. Now I've got it all ready to start the hard stuff. The tail now fits onto the sub-frame. After sitting the tail in place I realized that the stock fizzer seats wont work with the new tail. So off to ebay I go to see if I can get a set for cheap. For now IM waiting on the seats. Once I get the seats and the tail were I want it ill have to make an under-tail out of some abs plastic.

Biker friendly

I just ran across this site. Its a great idea and id like to pass it along http://bikerfriend.org/

it will help bring awareness to bikers. Everyone that rides a bike should have one on there car too.

I Just Got Really Lucky

most of the time me and law enforcement don't get along. as some of you may know i just lost my license for 2 months. before this happended i had ordered some new foot pegs for my fzr600 from my local dealer. well i had all but forgeten about them till today when they call and say if i don't come and pick them up there gonna put them out on the shelf and charge me a restocking fee. so since i already paid for them and i do need them i decide to just jump on fzr and ride on over there.

i get on my helmet, jacket, boots, and gloves hook up my net to the back seat and off i go. i got to the end of my road, and what do i see..... the local pd. instatant fear rushes through me. here i am no license, i took the plate off the vision and just slapped it on the fzr,no insurance, and to top it all of the bike has a loud Vance&Hines pipe on it. i check out my mirror (only have one, other one is busted off) and i see him pull out and get in behind me. my heart stops i know i screwed. i turn left and he follows, i get red at the next light. by now i know he's running my plate and I'm hoping Indiana cant see that Michigan has suspended me. i go through the next light and make another left, and he is still there.

so now I'm thinking I'm in the clear, he doesn't know, I'm good, just watch myself, and try not to draw attention. i keep checking my mirror and i can see that he is dropping back, I'm not speeding so, its all good. i get to keep my bike for another day. i get to the dealer, use my signal and hand signals, and then just as i pull in he cuts off the car that had gotten behind me, flips his lights on and pulls in right behind me boxing me in. i get off the bike as he is walking up to me. i get my gloves off and i can see he is waiting for me to take off my helmet. i get the helmet off:

officer: you James
me: yea
officer: you know you shouldn't be riding, i ran your plate and it came as your license being suspended
me: yea, i know (no attitude i know I'm screwed)
officer: why you riding
me: well, (i had time to think of this while i was waiting for him to pull me over when i first saw him) i had to go to the drug store to get my blood thinners (no lie i was stopping there on the way home) and i couldn't get anyone to give me a ride so since i had to go out i figured id get my parts at the same time.
officer: what drug store were you going to
me: osco right back there on my way home.
officer: why didn't you stop there first
me: i didn't want to have to cross traffic
officer: you know this could now cost you a tow and impound fee not to mention the added court costs.
me: yea I'm really sorry but i had too. i can call someone to come get the bike if you'll let me. i know I'm not supposed to be riding. ill leave it here and get a ride.
officer: the reason i got behind you was cause you bike is so loud
me: (i didn't say nothing just kind of shook my head like OK)
officer: tell you what, if i see you out here again I'm gonna impound the bike and take you to jail.
me: (big sigh of relief) thank you. and have a nice day.

he goes and gets in his car as i walk into the dealer and of course everyone in there was like "what he stop you for" and i told them loud exhaust, and walk over to the parts counter. get my parts and ask the guy if they had a phone i can use to call for my truck. they say no problem and i call. my mom had just left to get my nephew a hair cut and left one sleeping kid with my dad who didn't have a car seat. so i had to wait for her to get back. i go out side and have a smoke and a couple salesmen walk out and asked me to fire it up to see how loud it was. they said it wasn't that loud, that guy was a jerk. so i had to defend him (cant believe it I'm sticking up for a cop) and tell them that i actually got really lucky cause my license just got suspended.

i got to chat with the salesman while i was waiting and check out all the new bikes. so now i bet when i go in there they will remember me and i might actually get good service

FZR600 PROJECT

After my step-bro wrecked the fizzer I took the opportunity to get me yet another bike. As the other posts show this bike needs some work. After tearing into it I found that the tail was all but done fore. Without buying all the pieces for a new tail my only options were to either to just put what I had left (wasn't much just the lens and tail light) or fab one from parts off a vision.


well I thought the vision tail light wouldn't look that bad on the fizzer. And considering Im rebuilding this bike on next to nothing it was the best option I had. I paid $500 for the bike and had to pay $20 for a new peanut cover. I still got to get the front mounted, get new forks, front brake lever, right side foot peg, and a few other minor things but I'm well on my way to having one hell of a bike.

I had to mock up a mount out of some angle iron and then used an old license plate to mount a license plate light to, which is tucked up behind the tail light. the stock plugs for the lights were the same for the tail light and the bike so I didn't have to cut any wires all I did was plug it right in. I still got to mount some turn signals since I chopped the rear fender (god I hate rear fenders) I figured id try to mount the signals through the bottom of the grab bars if I can. Or ill just have to make something up.

Things NOT to do on a motorcycle

The other day my step-brother Rob and I decided to get our bikes out and go for a ride down the road. It was a rather nice day and we were just going down the block. No helmets and no jacket. All Rob was wearing was basketball shorts and a cut off shirt, I was in jeans and a t-shirt. I had just pulled back into my garage when I heard the sound. a sound unlike another. I heard his engine rev'd and then scraping. http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/bikevision/bubscrash.jpg


I knew right away what had happened. He broke loose in some loose gravel and then the bike hooked up. When it caught pavement the front came up and over. Down he went rolling like a tumble weed. For not having a helmet or any protective gear one he was really lucky. No broken bones just some major road rash. http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/bikevision/bubscrash2.jpg



the worst part was he had just got the bike back form a guy who was going to buy it. Guess he should of. I made him an offer of $500 and if nobody makes a higher offer its mine Wednesday. http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/bikevision/bubscrash3.jpg

Let the good times roll

Its not often that we get together so when we do we like to have a good time. From left to right is me, Bernie (my dad), Sue (my step-mom), Shawn aka. She-Shawn (sister in-law, [he-Shawn's wife]), Shawn aka. He-Shawn(step-brother). Josh (step-brother) was supposed to be there but pussed out. We had some great food and a lot of beer. He-Shawn suggested some kind of tequila that's like $50 a fifth. We did 4 or 5 shots each before the night was over. After we left the bar we went to joshes house to mess with him and try to get him to drink a beer but he pussed out again. Said he drank too much the night before. We ended the night and went back to The Shawn's house were Dad and Sue went home and I crashed on Shawns couch.

it was a fun night that must be done again. Maybe next time we'll get some more people to join in and have an even better time.

ROV FORUM

I am now lost without the forum. It has become one of the main reasons I get on the web and now for some unknown reason it is down. Has it been hacked again? Did some unforeseen forces shut it down? Is it getting some upgrades?

Questions is all I have, no answers and no idea when I will have them. I have found though that other members are going through the same withdrawal symtoms as I am. I now have all this time that I usually fill with reading the latest post, and now I have nothing to do. What else is there to do on the net. Are there other places a lone vision owner can go to fill the void. Well I guess I will soon find out.

Starter Clutch

i finally got around to checking the bolts in the starter cluths on the vision. all three had worked themselfs loose. the clutch body is cracked and the cover slid around and the bolt holes are wobbled out. i may be able to reuse the flywheel but the clutch is gone. looks like ill be pulling the one out of the spare engine.

Pam Foster of Pamela Foster and Associates in Atlanta. She's been in business since 1980 doing interior design and home planning. She recently wrote the following letter to a family member serving in Iraq..... Check it out!


WHAT'S ALL THE FUSS? "Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001? Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from our nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania? Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they?

And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was "desecrated" when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet? Well, I don't. I don't care at all. I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia.

I'll care when Abu Musab al-Zarqawi tells the world he is sorry for hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling, slashed throat.

I'll care when the cowardly so-called "insurgents" in Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.

I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care.

When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been humiliated in what amounts to a college hazing incident, rest assured that I don't care.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank that I don't care.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed "special" food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being "mishandled," you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts that I don't care.

And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled "Koran" and other times "Quran." Well, Jimmy Crack Corn, and, well, ---- you got it, I DON'T CARE!

If you agree with this view point, pass this on to all your e-mail friends. Sooner or later, it'll get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behavior! If you don't agree, then by all means hit the delete button. Should you choose the latter, then please don't complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great country.

"If you can read this, Thank a teacher! If you are reading it in English, Thank a Veteran."

Her is the newest member of the family. Her name: Lady-Di, breed: saint benard, dry mouth. She goes to work with us everyday and can be very vocal at times. She is just a big lap dog. Well, she thinks she is.

Vision Accessories

A few things ive picked up to accommodate my vision. Im starting to get a collection of parts and accessories. You can never have too much of a good thing.

Another Vision

Well i have gotten me another vision. not that i need one but it was a great deal. it runs great, better than my old one. it would take a little work cleaning it up, getting new locks, tires, and side covers. not to mention tearing it all down and painting everything. but i cant work on my blazer in the cold so this will give me something to do other than sit on the couch and watch t.v.


you can see its not in the greatest shape but it runs great. has really low milage and the price was right. $140 off ebay. god i love ebay. it has the airbox update and a yics box. which my old one doesent.

Well Over Due

Well it got up to 55F today so of course I had to go for a ride. It felt so good to get back on the old girl. I've done some mods over the last couple days as shown in the pictures. I have had to repaint the triple tree several times because my keys rub the paint off. The paint started to get pretty thick so I decided to take it off with a wire wheel and found I love the look of it with no paint. And to make them match I had to do the risers too.

After my little ride I found that my placement of the plate after cutting the rear fender off had some clearance problems. It seems the tire fixed the problem for me quite nicely. Cutting the fender down gives it a more modern sport bike look.


As you can see the old fender made it look like the typical 80s bike. Kind of gave it a face lift.

stupid fix

This is how the previous owner of my bike decied to fix the tci unit of my bike after he cut it open.