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Apr 09, 2011

The Ten Yard Stare

Frank Black of the Pixies sings about the ‘ten yard stare’ in his song ‘(I Want to Live on an) Abstract Plain’ which I think is an art term that means from a distance objects can take on an abstract appearance. I’m not sure about that, but I am sure that I like to sit back and gaze lovingly on my motorcycle projects as they are in progress and imagine how they are going to end up. I like doing the same thing when I’m building a fence or creating any physical thing, I suppose.

Anyway, even though it’s dangerous to set the parts of my motorcycle upon one another in a temporary mock-up as they might fall and become paint-damaged, I do it often – partly because I need to figure out things like ‘where will the battery go’, or ‘how can I mount the license plate’ – but in truth, I just love to look at my beautiful thing as it takes shape.

I set the engine in the frame so I could see if the wheel I built is going to line-up with the sprocket in the motor (and… that motor was taken out of that frame 22 months ago – I know they were lonely for one another).

Today I have assembled the rear-end using the parts I got at the swap meet in San Jose along with some new parts that came in the mail today. Sure went together nicely – Love having all that new stuff to work with. Freshly turned drum, new brakes, bearings, axle, big nuts, spokes, rim, tube and tire and the powder-coated hub – sure looks nice:

Even though I bought another piece of green sewer pipe to make my own  custom bum-stop seat, the more time I spend with the aluminum seat-pan the mechanic up the road fashioned, the more I like it. I think I’ll keep it and spend some of my day tomorrow figuring out the best way to mount it.