My new car

That's why I drive like everyone is out to get me, just as long as they don't have any blue lights on.

My left latch partially releases when I hit a big enough bump. I've messed with it, but I guess I need to mess with it some more.

One of the reasons I chose a Vintage, was for the tubular frame.

I see that you got rid of the license plate mounting bracket and mounted your plate directly to the body. I did the same. I also bent my plate to match the curve of the body. The license plate light has a better chance of lighting up the plate with it mounted this way.

That was the old car. New car has a different shape back there, and I left the license plate right where Greg put the bracket. I did change that bulb to LED though. 100% LED: headlights, turn signals, dash lighting, indicators, grille brake lights, all of it.

I have a little experience adjusting the latches. I'll bet your secondary spring on the latch is too long or weak. Greg modifies the latches, and I ended up replacing both secondary springs. Take the latch out, you'll see what I mean. Don't make the spring too strong or too tight, then it won't release.

My old car was totally dialed in with the latches. New one is there now as well.

Phil, I don't think I'd be here if I hit the rail on my bike.

DannyP posted:

That was the old car. New car has a different shape back there, and I left the license plate right where Greg put the bracket. I did change that bulb to LED though. 100% LED: headlights, turn signals, dash lighting, indicators, grille brake lights, all of it.

I have a little experience adjusting the latches. I'll bet your secondary spring on the latch is too long or weak. Greg modifies the latches, and I ended up replacing both secondary springs. Take the latch out, you'll see what I mean. Don't make the spring too strong or too tight, then it won't release.

My old car was totally dialed in with the latches. New one is there now as well.

Carlo's 550 Spyder wasn't built by Greg at Vintage. It was built in my old facility at Seduction Motorsports. Greg supplied the body. I had transaxle safety strap shear a mount bolt and break while I was putting break-in miles on the car. The Weber air cleaner top hat rotated up when the engine pivoted back (broke the VW style rear trans mount when the strap bolt sheared (This is before the rear trans mounts were re-designed) and the wing nut bumped the inside of the rear bonnet, cracking the fiberglass. Greg helped me out at Vintage and completed the fiberglass repair before shipping it out. We did the rest, assembly, body work, paint, engine, everything. 

Not sure why Carlos keeps referring to it being built by Vintage, maybe I pissed him off? Hope not. Anyways, loved that color combo we did on it. 

Danny, Carlo's Spyder has the flat spot for the plate too. Both latches were modified, tack welded, nut certed, etc. 

Danny, are you having any current draw issues when using the turn signals? Just curious. How do you like the LED headlights at night? They the H4 LED CREE bulbs or SMD LED style?

I'm not pissed at you Daniel. It is a Vintage car built by you and your guys at Seduction, I've mentioned this before. The guys on this site know that.

Danny you’d be surprised what you can survive on a motorcycle if you have the right helmet. 

Ouch! ;-(   

Wow, Phil. Are you the 6 million dollar man?

Daniel, I know Carlos' car came from you. I assumed the latches were supplied by Greg, maybe I shouldn't have. Anyway, same theory applies and Carlos may have to mess with the spring.

My LED headlights are Cree, no fan, but big flexible heatsinks. The turn/stop are GM 3157 sockets from Autozone, slightly modified, along with a little grinding on the light bases. Turn bulbs are Sylvania LED. Relay is Audew(sp?) LED Flasher relay from Amazon, maybe 6-7 bucks. No trouble whatsoever. My lights DO NOT use a trailer adapter, I use Bosch type 5 pin relays and a couple diodes for turn/stop function. It all worked perfectly straight out of the box.

https://www.amazon.com/AUDEW-E...ew+led+flasher+relay

I also use an old VW 6 volt headlight switch, and have an extra relay to allow flash to pass, the 6V switch doesn't have the extra pin on it.

Also, as far as the rear light harness, it stays with the clamshell. I use a 5 pin trailer socket by the battery: ground, park, L turn/stop, R turn/stop, and dedicated stop for the grille-mounted LED 3rd(and 4th?) hi-mount.

Phil! That x-ray is insane! You're half metal! Glad you survived that!

Danny, those are awesome! Thank you for the part numbers. They look like they came from the factory that way. Awesome work!

@550 Phil I'm glad you got pieced back together!  It took me a solid 5 months to recover from shoulder surgery enough to sleep in the prone position.   I'll bet that was nothing compared to your recovery.   Glad it's behind you!

Does it interfere with getting through security check points?

Jethro.  Thank you for your kind words.  Shattered collar bone, hemopneumothorax, and 8 ribs fractured in 14 places (flail chest).  But not a scratch on me due to full body armor. 

Took 2 1/2 years to fully recover.  3 operations, PICC line with 3 months of antibiotics and another 3 months of physical therapy to regain the use of my left arm.  Slept (or tried to) sitting up for 3 months.  Thank god for my Lazyboy.  But I actually made a full recovery with no deficits. 

I'm put  back together with titanium which is non-ferromagnetic.  Does not set off metal detectors.  I can even safely have an MRI.

I am truly blessed.

in high school football i fractured by clavicle/collarbone 2x, just a fracture and i couldnt move my arm , hurt like hell, this is before painpills.. i too still ride my bikes, BSA and Norton but on Sunday mornings in the foothills before everyone up.. I too wear a Shoei, the same one the CHP officers do, figure if its good enough for them, its good enough for me

Rode bikes for 43 years.  Wife told me if I got another bike she'd leave me.  Hence the spyder.  Closest thing on 4 wheels I can think of to a bike.

That was funny Phil.  

Funny thing happens to them when they reach 50 strange dose of independence happens to them ... .actually to both sexes..

550 Phil posted:

Rode bikes for 43 years.  Wife told me if I got another bike she'd leave me.  Hence the spyder.  Closest thing on 4 wheels I can think of to a bike.

Been riding motorcycles for close to 40 years. Bought my first one and rode it everywhere before I could even get a license. I don't ride  ATGATT: All The Gear All The Time and I don't own a full face helmet (actually that's not true, I do own one for my daughters and wife). However, I certainly don't mind those who are obviously smarter than me that do. 

I've ridden all over North America, many many multiple day trips, many many 8-12+ hour riding days. Ridden in 100 degree heat, ridden below 30F. I do a 5 day trip early every June either solo or with my brother in law and ride with 30 guys every Tuesday night. My church has a riding group ....

My wife (and I love her immensely) knows better than to ever ask me to choose between her, my motorcycles or my dog  It might depend on the day of the month 

Riding is inherently dangerous but so is driving a miniature plastic tub with no roof/air bags, proper seat belts, anti-lock brakes etc. Who cares, I'd sooner truly live until I die.

Oh, and I've been down at 60+ mph....broke nothing but lots of road rash which could have been avoided.

I currently ride a VTX 1800 all dressed for touring and hope to ride until I can no longer throw a leg over. Good friend of mine's father just quit riding in his mid eighties and he's my latest idol lol

WNGD.... or is that on a wing and prayer as your still riding bike

Just kidding,  but riding bike is just not as forgiving, and even less so as you get older.  

A friend went over the bars and broke 2-3 ribs at 60 ish and he kept riding, and good for you to keep riding.

IaM-Ray posted:

WNGD.... or is that on a wing and prayer as your still riding bike

Just kidding,  but riding bike is just not as forgiving, and even less so as you get older.  

A friend went over the bars and broke 2-3 ribs at 60 ish and he kept riding, and good for you to keep riding.

I totally agree.

But I still participate in some other activities that are are likely statistically dangerous as well. Caving, scuba diving, zip lining and my daughter is making me go sky diving with her next Summer. I'll take reasonable precautions and still try to enjoy life and a little dose of adrenaline now and again 

Many of my best fiends ride all the time.  I rode for 43 years and loved every minute.  Put 10s of thousands of miles on bikes touring mainly in the SE US.  If my wife hadn't threatened to divorce me I'd still be riding.  I'm a very skilled motorcycle rider.  Raced in my early days and have always ridden sport bikes.  Regardless of your skill level, serious accidents can happen, mine due to poor judgement of a fellow rider, his mistake in a split second.  Skilled riders are more likely to avoid serious mishap but if a mishap occurs regardless if its yours or one of your colleagues the risk of serious injury will be much greater on a motorcycle than in a plastic car.  That said, if my wife decided my services were no longer needed I'd have have a Ducati 900 SS the next day.

Like this Phil

At 21, riding a 650 BSA at 70 mph,  I  tee boned a '64 Chevy, ejected from the bike  & landing 72 feet down range on the divider line of a busy highway. 16 weeks in the hospital in old style over head monkey bar, sand bag traction with pins, rods,misc hardware and a very cold bed pan.   7 months of PT and crutches. I do still ride, a V'Star 1300 Tourer today with much caution.

Phil, I read your history of your accident that must have hurt.  

I Just shattered my elbow nearly two year ago, one 3 hour operation, metal ware, 10 screws, 6 weeks in a cast, 4 months of physio, and another OR visit to remove the metal and free up the ulnar nerve... and that was enough agony for me. I cannot imagine having all those ribs break ... wow. 

I’ve always thought you biker dudes had death wishes.  My adrenaline rushes lately come on the race track, but I’m in a modern car with all the safety features.  In all my (10 max) track days we’ve only had one wreck that damaged a car.  Everybody I know who’s ridden a motorcycle any distance has a collection of x-rays and scars they can show off. 💀 No thanks.

Lane Anderson posted:

I’ve always thought you biker dudes had death wishes.  My adrenaline rushes lately come on the race track, but I’m in a modern car with all the safety features.  In all my (10 max) track days we’ve only had one wreck that damaged a car.  Everybody I know who’s ridden a motorcycle any distance has a collection of x-rays and scars they can show off. 💀 No thanks.

No collection of x-rays and scars here.

I think a lot depends on the style of rider and where you ride. Just like in a small low car, you have to ride like you're invisible and those that can see you are out to kill you 

There are a TON of terrible drivers out there and you need a head on a swivel. 

Unless I'm heading on a multi hour run, I avoid highways and potential traffic jams. There's nothing like an hour or two ride down country roads or through the lake country up here. Motorcycling can be extremely safe when there's no one around you 

I'm going to a tech day in early June about 5 hour ride into OH. 40 guys getting together  working on any bikes that need wrenching on (brakes, fork oil, valve adjustments, trouble shooting etc) in a garage that holds 10 bikes. 30 more on the lawn. Lots of riding down too, dinner out, quite a few beers when the riding is done. Great group and camaraderie. Making friends from all over the continent, it appears just like Carlyle. 

I rode nothing but BSA's for about the last 50 years but gave it all up about 5 years ago. Just too many vehicles on the road now and many of them piloted with distracted drivers. The problem is rampant here. At least 1 in 5 vehicles I see coming at me has the driver's eyes some place other than straight ahead. I never wrecked a bike and consider the overall experience to have made me a better defensive driver. 

Here's one pic of my favourite, a '56 B33 taken while down South a few years back and one pic of me on a hot day around the new neighbourhood. 

I can't see any oil leakage on that one... are you sure it is a BSA or is it a BSA.... Built by Stroud Aviation

MikelB posted:

Like this Phil

Best air cooled Ducati ever made was the 900 SS.  Just like replicas I like air cooled and water cooled.  Ducati  (916) ST4 and Monster 750 were my last 2 bikes.  But I always wanted a 900 SS.

David Stroud posted:

I rode nothing but BSA's for about the last 50 years but gave it all up about 5 years ago. Just too many vehicles on the road now and many of them piloted with distracted drivers. The problem is rampant here. At least 1 in 5 vehicles I see coming at me has the driver's eyes some place other than straight ahead. I never wrecked a bike and consider the overall experience to have made me a better defensive driver. 

Here's one pic of my favourite, a '56 B33 taken while down South a few years back and one pic of me on a hot day around the new neighbourhood. 

Where my eye bleach?

I think it’s interesting that so many that own Porsche’s or Replicas also ride bikes! I too am a rider and currently have two Indians and two Harleys. However, I have a bad right hip, (currently awaiting replacement surgery date) so after falling over to the right at stop signs enough when I couldn’t get my foot off the floor board fast enough, my wife had refused to ride with me anymore. So I just converted my Indian Chief into a Trike, but that didn’t help my first time riding when I put my foot down and rolled over my ankle twice! Hard to get used to not putting your foot down 😀

I've been riding motorcycles since I was 14 and kept my Jawa CZ hidden behind my friend's garage. ;-)  Now, I own 3 BMWs.  58, 75 and 2015.  

   They build a fantastic bike! 

I have driven a friends 1975 and I really liked it and the controls were really ahead of their time. 

Probably the only bike I like in honesty. 

Thanks, It is a great ride. Mine is the 900cc, R90/6.  It has the electric start and a longer wheelbase than the 70-73 models.  I rode it from Buffalo, down through PA and picked up the Skyline drive, followed that to the Blue Ridge Parkway and took that into S.C. 

  Then over to the, "Tail of the Dragon" in TN. I have done that on my new bike too and it was fun to ride the tight twisties on the old R90.   I would love to to the Tail in the Speedster some day!  

Not sure what the R90/6 means exactly but the RS versions around those years were pretty cool.  

lotta cycle lurkers on here

IndianBob!   

I live about an hour from the Indian Motorcycle Museum in Springfield, Mass., in the building where the Indian factory once was (just down the street from the National Basketball Hall of Fame).  

I was never a “roady”, riding a Bultaco Matador, a Greeves International and later a Griffon in off-road trials, but my older brother had an Indian Scout straight twin for a short while - Maybe called a Warrior?  One wicked cool bike.

You guys ALL have wicked cool bikes!

I gave it up in 1985. My life flashed before my eyes as I was doing 65mph on a beautiful day, streaking along on my Daytona Special as the sun was setting along the North Kona coast.

A tourist coming from the opposite direction turned left in front of me and stopped in my lane ( at the Kona Village entrance) to look at a map. I had to lift my left leg up to avoid the bumper and was forced off the road onto gravel. Fishtailed 100 yards (felt like a mile) fighting to keep it upright for what seemed like an eternity...I hate tourist!

Sold it a day later, but I did keep my CR250 dirtbike.

Choked on a chicken wing bone once.....still eat chicken wings 

Phil, I feel your pain !

I have been riding for 52 years. Started at 15 with a Honda 90 and progress to my BMW 1600 GTL that I still ride today. Back in 1985 I was on my BMW R100S cruzin' on Hwy 49 in California when a truck with a trailer full of wood made a left hand turn in front of me. After I went down he ran over me and then drug me for a hundred feet. The only thing that saved me was my Simpson helmet and the fire station on the corner where I got hit. The medics were about to have lunch and saw the whole thing happen. At only a mile from the hospital they got me there quick. Broken shoulder, all the ribs broken on my left side, cracked collar bone, 2 crushed vertebra in my back between my shoulder blades, but no internal injuries.

After 15 days in intensive care, another 14 days of around the clock care of draining my chest cavity of liquid that was compressing my lungs, I was moved to the Bay Area to have my shoulder surgery. It was then 8 months for therapy to get my shoulder back in shape and over a year before I could return to work. It hurt like hell !!!

But, I love to ride and have a different style of riding. I'm one who doesn't trust anyone even if there looking right at you. Its a fun sport but it sometimes comes with aches and pains. 

All the best,

Hope to someday have a  Speedster to add to the fun.

Dave I'm not sure that anyone living could top that story.  Good for you.  Glad to see you still riding.  I'm going to use the WNGD analogy on my wife to see if she'll let me get that 900 SS

Dave wrote: “I'm one who doesn't trust anyone even if there looking right at you. Its a fun sport but it sometimes comes with aches and pains. ”

Dave, it is exactly the same on a motorcycle OR a bicycle (I’ve been hit four times so far). People drive up to your street from a side street, stop, look right at you, see you coming (you can see their eyes looking right at you) and then pull right out in front of you.  I will say, that I have noticed that the vast majority of those nit-wits all drive Buicks.  Haven’t yet figured out the correlation there!

Gordon Nichols posted:

Dave wrote: “I'm one who doesn't trust anyone even if there looking right at you. Its a fun sport but it sometimes comes with aches and pains. ”

Dave, it is exactly the same on a motorcycle OR a bicycle (I’ve been hit four times so far). People drive up to your street from a side street, stop, look right at you, see you coming (you can see their eyes looking right at you) and then pull right out in front of you.  I will say, that I have noticed that the vast majority of those nit-wits all drive Buicks.  Haven’t yet figured out the correlation there!

Because only old people drive Buicks. And old people can be terrible drivers. I told my kids when they were learning to drive, "Just because someone is looking in your direction doesn't mean they see you.".