Monday April 13, 2009 By admin at 10:53 am

I woke up Saturday morning and I knew I had to get a few things done quick so I could go on the run. There are two parties today about eighty miles apart, and my charter is meeting at the club house at noon, and leaving at one. Leaving at one means exactly that. Saddle up in the two minute warning and LEAVE at one. If you miss the pack, you’re fined. Ten dollars.

I hauled my ass down to the welding shop to finish up an order so I can get paid. If you don’t got no dough it makes life way more difficult being a member. Club life aint cheap. You gotta go places, do things, bikes gotta be running and registered.

I got to the Clubhouse and almost everyone was there. We have three prospects in our charter now and a couple of guys just checking it out, seeing if this is for them. If this is for you, then you know it through and through. You are HOME. A real famous guy in my club once said “if you Love it we will see you a mile away, and if you don’t we will see that too.”

We took off right at one, fifteen guys in the pack, nine members three prospects, and the three guys ‘checking it out’. These guys are friends of members, and like I said, they’re here to check it out, or else they could never ride in our pack.

We take it easy till the freeway but as soon as we hit the on ramp we take off like rocket ships. Everyone can really ride, and we got souped-up motors with cams, within seconds we are doing a hundred in the fast lane and splitting lanes at ninety when the traffic backs up. We lose the civilians in the first quarter mile, and within a mile the prospects are doing every thing they can to keep up. It took me more than three years to prospect, and that was some time ago. Not much has changed though, if you want the votes you gotta ride great, fight great, think for yourself and BE A MAN. We ain’t looking for the toughest or the smartest, you just gotta fit in. It’s a family. And you don’t gotta win, but you DO gotta fight. Gotta know we can count on you.

The first party was about fifty miles away and we rode like a swarm of bees, weaving in and out of traffic at ninety, the tightest formation possible.
I could see in my rear view a highway patrol officer way, way back there and he was coming up fast. We didn’t slow down one bit, not so much as we don’t care, cause if he is pulling us over we get pulled over like everybody else, but more cause at that speed you don’t spend a lot of time looking in the rear view.
By the time we noticed him the traffic got real thick so we slowed down and he started cruising with us on the side. He pulled ahead and got off on our exit. We pulled off and he was waiting at the stop sign, he rolled down his window and asked,
”You guys in a rush?”
Big Paulie looked at him cool as can be and said,
“Naa, It’s a beautiful day, just feeling alive.”
The cop looked at the pack and said,
“See if you guys can slow it down a little.”
Then he took off. It would have been a hassle to give all of us tickets, and besides, he could see we could ride, and we weren’t drunk or loaded. At least not yet.

The first party was packed. It’s a local club in town that we support. Their clubhouse was redone and looked awesome. These guys are all about twenty-five to thirty and a bunch of wheelie poppin psychos. The party drew about two hundred people. They had a track set up with 50cc races with an announcer and everything. Tri-tip and potato salad, full bar. It was off the hook.

We stayed there for a few hours, showed our support, then got back on the bikes and hauled ass back to the town. The sun was down now so it was a little cooler but still nice. There is NOTHING like cruising at ninety to make man feel alive. Fifty miles later I pulled off the exit and grabbed my old lady. She had some food made and I scarfed that down and we got on the bike and hauled ass forty miles in the other direction to a big anniversary party of one of the charters in my club.

I was a little late being that I had to pick up my girl, so I really double timed it to the party. My chick is the kind of girl that no matter how fast I go she is on the back saying, “faster, faster.”

The anniversary party was great. Members came from all over and that is what this is about. FAMILY. I stayed there till the early hours in the morning. I wanted to get out before the sun came up. Pulling my old lady away from friends she hasn’t seen in a while is like pulling teeth. It’s easier to knock them out.
I grabbed her and through her on the bike and me and one of the young members from my charter took off and raced home.

That was my Saturday. How was yours.
FAT BOB

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Friday March 27, 2009 By admin at 9:40 am

SO I think I am making some headway in my project. I just sent the risers to get chromed. I went with fourteen inch T bars. I had the bike all black but I decided to put red flames with a white pin stripe. I also decided to use old school flames which is only one over lap. Seems like the more modern bikes have scalloped flames or a whole bunch of overlaps. The old flame jobs had no overlaps at all, least that’s how I remember it. I am certain there are some haters out there that will remember it different.

I also went with forty spoke front and rear wheels. I like mags. There is no tube in them so they are easier to fix on the road, but I like the look of spokes. I had to use an old Thunderheader exhaust only cause money is running tight, I will order a new when funds allow it.

Only thing left to do is the wiring harness. I gotta say electrics is not my best thing, I am more of a mechanical guy. I leave the electrics to the electricians. Electrics will separate mechanics from a good one to a great one. It’s one thing to be able to put a bike together like a puzzle and another to be able to diagnose a broken motorcycle on the side of the road.

Everything else is good with me. Real busy, which is good. Better than not having anything to do at all.

As soon as I am done with the bike I will post a pic. Shouldn’t be too long. Painters always take their sweet time.

And by the way, an “Outlaw bike” to me is a bike that has been stripped down and made into exactly that. If you take a police special, and strip it  down and make it your own, less the blinkers and siren, take off the police windshield and speedo, give it paint that you like and ride it with your Outlaw buddies then I would imagine it is an Outlaw bike. Least it aint an “Inlaw bike”.

I appreciate the support everybody but don’t trip on the haters.  Until next time, I am as ever,

FAT BOB

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Friday March 6, 2009 By admin at 4:32 pm

When it rains it pours. Truer words were never spoken. Be careful what you wish for, you might get it. Work was nonexistent when I took the old lady and my dog to see her folks. I was wishing for some welding jobs just so I could keep my head above the bills I was drowning in.

I came back and dove into the rebuild project, which is not only what I love to do, but it kept my mind occupied and off the impending debt. I was wishing for more work and it really came. I think I have been under that welding hood ten hours a day since I came back. That’s ok though. It took some time to get all the parts for the rebuild, as well as the frame back from the powder coater. I always powder coat the frame and paint the tin. Everything black for now, I will decide on graphics later in the game. I have put flames on so many bikes over the years. Flames are like a woman with a big rack, it will never go out of style.

It took some time polishing the motor, but like I told you it’s a labor of love. I am finally ready to start assembling the bike. Got new rubber mounts which will make one hell of a difference in the ride. Some of those old mounts were dry-rotted and as hard as a rock. It makes my heart swell with pride and excitement to look at all the parts ready for assembly, new chrome, new parts, new paint. It’s exciting to me because when I look at all the parts I see the finished bike.

It has taken more time than I expected to get it all together, but as you all know, anything worth anything takes time. The In-laws are coming down this weekend for a visit and it will be cool to get my father-in-law in here to do a little hands on. He doesn’t have to, but I am sure he’ll want to. Once a wrencher always a wrencher. That was one of the things that we had in common when we met. Probably why he let me date his daughter so many years ago. That and the fact I pulled up on one bad chopper. So many years later and we have that bond that only family can give. A love like blood.

It’s a juggling act to get it all done, but it always is. I ain’t as young as I used to be, I can remember me and Double J throwing a bike together over a weekend and having it ready for racing in two days. But that was then and this is now.  Talk to you soon.

FAT BOB

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Thursday February 5, 2009 By admin at 12:27 pm

It’s amazing how you can find the time to do something you love and as soon as you start the time disappears.  December and January were real slow. I think it’s been slow for everyone from what I hear. Economy and all. People talking recession and depression. Seems to me as far back as I can remember December and January were always the slow months. Soon as I got the bike in boxes and started ordering parts and three jobs rolled in. Guess I gotta be thankful. Truth is I really needed the work. Things usually start picking up in February. People start spending again. That’s what this economy needs. Spending. That way people like me and the regular Joe can feel some trickledown effect.

One thing is crazy to me. Harley Davidson builds one of the best items in the market that a man can buy. As we all know a bike can last over fifty years, and only get more valuable as time goes on. Try getting parts for a motorcycle over twenty years old. I found everything I needed either after market or out of my brother Double J’s garage. J is sort of a pack rat and has saved every single thing he ever got since high school. It’s just a trip when you call a dealership and ask for a part and they tell you it’s obsolete. What do you mean obsolete? I am looking at the bike right here!

New gaskets, chrome bolt kit, new rubber mounts,  fork springs, Thunderheader, cables, wheel bearings, fork springs, brake pads,  even after market this stuff ain’t cheap, that’s not counting paint, chrome. You never get what you put into these machines, financially I mean. But the joy I get from being in the wind is priceless. It’s a labor of love. Been awhile since I did a ground up rebuild. Gonna wet sand and polish the motor. You can get aluminum shiny like chrome if you take the time. Takes about a week to get all those fins. Five days at least.

That’s all I got for now. Gotta get back under that welding hood, hopefully I will be free this weekend and the parts will be in to start assembly. I’ll let you know. Till then be safe, have fun, go for a ride, it’s a beautiful day.

FAT BOB SPOKES MC

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Friday January 30, 2009 By admin at 2:44 pm

So when I got the bike in my garage and started taking it apart, my Brothers wanted to know why I am going to go to all this trouble. I mean this won’t be just a dust and cover job. I am going to rip this bike down to the frame. It’s really something when you get a bike totally in boxes, boxes of parts that you can see it in its finished state. A basket case that you made your self. It’s kind of like when a painter sees a blank canvas. The painter knows damn well what he sees, what he wants to see in the end. I think that blank canvas, or the boxes of parts, scares some people. Not me. Taking the bike apart is the easy part. Hell we used to do that in a few hours back in the day. I guess I am getting a little patient in my old age, or maybe I just move a little slower.

It’s nice to have a project to work on. Gets me out of other things I probably would rather not be doing. Like filling out tax forms. Gotta leave something for the little lady to do anyway.

I got the bike totally apart in a few days after work. I mean totally apart. Split the cases, gears out of the tranny, everything. I remember when I was a younger man and I would do a project like this and categorize every part in little bags, I was so worried about mixing nuts and bolts up. Then you do it so many times, so many bikes, that you end up just putting all the nuts bolts and everything else in one bin and you just pull them out as you need them. These are the perks of getting old.

Seems so simple to me. Take it apart, new chrome, new paint, new rubber, mounts and tires, wash every part in the parts washer, bead blast the rust off where necessary, tap every hole, thread every bolt, and before you know it you have it all spread out to put back together. It’s easier than building a chopper cause this bike was already riding. Building a chopper takes more time cause you gotta do a lot of fitting and stepping back to see what looks good.

So, I am looking at my boxes of parts and all I see is the finished bike. A chromed, flamed, badass street machine, worth more than it was when I started. I ain’t scared.

My wife is Dutch, and she has reminded me of a quote from a famous Dutch painter with one ear, I think it went like this, “Many painters are afraid of the blank canvas, but the blank canvas is afraid of the real passionate painter who dares.”
I’ll keep you posted. Talk to you soon.
FAT BOB SPOKES MC

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Tuesday January 20, 2009 By admin at 4:41 pm

Hey Everybody. It’s been a while since I’ve written. Work has been real slow so I decided I would take a road trip with the ol lady. Took her to see her relatives up north. It was nice to get away, break up the monotony of struggling with the economy the way it is. The bills were just piling up with no end in sight so the only answer is ROAD TRIP.

The in laws are great. Just quiet time with family. Holidays are always fun. The whole world gets a little nicer for a while.

So when I was up there my Ol Lady’s Father took me in his Barn and showed me an old FXR Police Special he had been saving for years that I didn’t even know about. I asked him what he was going to do with that and he said he was trying to hang on to it but the economy being the way it is he has to sell it and he wanted to know if I knew anyone interested.
After a little bit of convincing I got him to let me take it and redo it and sell it for what it really is worth. He needs the money and I love working on bikes, and he is FAMILY so it works out for everyone.

So now we are home and I just unstrapped the bike. It’s a ’94 FXR Police special that I am going to turn into an Outlaw bike. Gonna take it completely apart, put in all new rubber mounts, tap every hole thread every bolt, new paint, chrome bolt kit, new pistons and rings, new rubber, just turn this bike around. That’s one of the beautiful things about a Harley Davidson. It is one of the only things that you can abuse for years, then redo everything and its worth more than when you started.

Everything else is good with me and mine as I hope it is with you and yours. The best part of traveling is always COMIN HOME.

Talk to you soon.

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Tuesday December 9, 2008 By admin at 9:55 am

So, the first season has come to a close. I don’t know about your house but mine was set up like Super Bowl Sunday. Some times it was as loud as can be and some times you can hear a pin drop. What a show. You know how me and my ol’ Lady know it is a good show, every episode, we would look at the clock and before you knew it, forty minutes had gone by. Same thing with the season. It sure seems like it went by fast. Too fast. So much to say.

People are surprising. Who would have thought that the doc would have it in her to be almost as ruthless as Gemma or Wendy. When she walked in and sat down with the two ladies we thought it was going to be a fist fight.

When Clay got the news that Opie was NOT a rat in the second to last episode, and he tried to reach Tig on the phone but couldn’t reach him, well that was a pivotal moment in the show for me. Clays face was priceless. You could feel his pain. Tragedy was on the way full speed and he couldn’t stop it.

It amazes me how much these guys lie to each other. I am pretty sure that is rule number one, never lie to your brother. When Jax questions Clay, and Jax already knows the truth but Clay keeps lying, and then Jax gets up and walks away, Clay should have figured he already knew. Jax is right, that is the stuff that will tear apart a charter.

I was amazed to see Tig have such a conflict inside him about killing the witness. Tig seems like a totally ruthless individual. The Sargent at Arms. The Enforcer.  He couldn’t kill Opie after Opie saved his life, that is understandable. The witness is a totally different story. She could bury two brothers if not three forever. Happy knew what to do, what had to be done.

I sit and wonder what Clay and Gemma have deeply buried in their past. What the hell did she mean she “can’t do this again, not with Jax. “If she means what I think she means then the shit is really going to hit the fan next season. It is obvious that Gemma has the balls and the brains to run the club, She is ruthless and she keeps focused on the prize. I like what she said to the Irishman, “I believe in Family.” Me too.

What a show. The season passed too quickly. At least we have it recorded. I am sure we will spend some rainy weekends watching every episode back to back waiting for season two. The Sopranos was the coolest show ever for me. Till now. Maybe cause this is what I am into. Or because it is the newest best show on t.v. There has NEVER been a show like it.

I don’t know what every one else is going to do in the off season, but I am going to build me another bike. It’s what we do. Build bikes, ride bikes, Hang out with our family. Thats the life. I will check in from time to time and write a blog and tell you how it’s going. And thanks again for writing back. This has brought another cool thing into my life, being able to talk to you all. Have a very Merry Holiday season and I wish you all the best life has to offer in the new year. Talk to you soon.

FAT BOB

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Monday November 24, 2008 By admin at 11:03 am

Wow, this show just keeps getting better and better. We’ve been recording the shows so I got to catch upon what I missed. I had to watch Jax kill the crooked-ass cop again.  That’s the fourth time.  He may not have been a killer like he said but he sure was relaxed enough to jump in the sack with the Doc right after.

It was Awesome when Clay was in the police chief’s office when the Sons roll into town. What a feeling of power. I gotta say I really love that Chief Unser. Every motorcycle club should have a cop like that on the pay roll. It would sure make life a lot easier. Smoking weed in his office and giving Clay the low down, now that’s what I’m talking about.

It’s definitely not like any other club I have ever seen, and it’s like all of them at the same time. I think every club has a guy like Tig. Just a real sociopath. I gotta say that doc, who is a square, is handling her recent murder pretty well.  She’s either gonna turn dark or snap.

And how about that lady agent Stahl. This bitch is evil personified. She is defiantly trouble. Whenever you get pulled over by a cop like that you know you’re in for it. They travel with attitude, like they had a pair of nuts that got cut off, and they want them back.

I really like Alvarez. That guy is cool no matter when I see him.  Calm, cool, no matter what. I don’t think he would really have made a deal to get his own son killed. Seems unrealistic, no matter how bad he screwed up. That was some brutal shit when Happy, the member from Tacoma slammed that blade in to the back of his neck. Another sociopath. This guy is a savage. Whenever Happy or Tig come on the screen I know something is going to happen.

It’s kind of cool to be able to catch up and watch a few shows at once. Except now I really want to know what happens next.

FAT BOB

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Monday November 17, 2008 By admin at 4:05 pm

How’s everybody doing? Sorry I ain’t written in a minute. I just got back from Holland. That’s in Europe. One of my brothers Jimmy Jam got this brainstorm. He was going to sell used parts at a big custom bike show in Rosmallen. He asked me if I want to work and I figured I could get away and make some money till I learned I had to pay my own way. After a little negotiation and collecting my old lady’s frequent flyer, I was on my way.

It was as cold as can be.  Probably around forty degrees everyday. The show was good. A lot of Americans were there.  A lot of Germans, Belgians, Dutch, Swiss. I saw all kinds of patches from all kind of bike clubs. Clubs from Hungary, Poland all over the World. A lot of custom bikes. There was a Moon Eyes booth with a custom Hot Rod and Bike but it was not getting the attention I thought it deserved. There were also many custom bikes of all shapes, colors and tire sizes. I gave up counting the tire size when the bike doesn’t need a kick stand. Jimmy sold a grip of parts but between what we bought and pushing back a few cold ones we just about broke even.

Being an old Chopper guy, I could appreciate all the custom choppers, even if I haven’t ridden my own rigid in a long time. People out there ride long, hard, cold miles. I saw a lot of high performance twin cams. Dynas with big motors and six speed transmissions, inverted front forks off slant bikes, bikes that were built for the roads which I gotta say were made to be ridden. The coolest bike I saw was an FXR frame with a big inch Twin cam motor, and a six speed Baker transmission. It had a deuce solid back wheel, I asked the guy why, and just like I figured the motor is so big it breaks all spoke wheels.

The hit of the show was the Harley Davidson Sportster XLR. Look it up. The last time I had a Sportster I was a kid. I usually make jokes about them, all in good fun. The truth is you can make Sportster go really fast. It  was my first bike. A ‘62 Iron head, kick only, I put it together in my living room. Bought it as a basket case. The Sportster at the show is Baddass. A great first bike for any kid or any one that really wants to get going fast and in control.  It looks like a wheelie poppin’ machine. The swing arm alone is way impressive. That swingarm should be on some other models I can think of which might eliminate the high speed wobbles you some times get in the turns. If you know what I am talking about, then you know what I am talking about. For me, I went through that on a ride back from across the country coming out of the Rocky Mountains and I sold my bike and got another FXR. I love that frame.

Couple people knew about Sons of Anarchy. The Americans really did. I don’t think it is getting aired there yet. There is a buzz though.

The best part of travelling is coming home. My dog was doing back flips when I walked in the door; even my old lady cracked a smile of relief when I walked in. Then she handed me the “TO DO” list. I’ll get to it, after I get caught up on the Sons. I missed a couple of episodes and I am really excited to kick back in front a warm T.V. and catch up. Talk to you soon.

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Friday November 7, 2008 By admin at 5:31 pm

Well. I gotta say it was great to see that crooked-ass Fed get blown away. I was sitting on the edge of my seat. And what an ending. Jax banging the doc with the dead cop next to him. It don’t get better than that. I wanna see where this is going with Jax and Clay. Seems like the internal struggle is getting to Jax. And how about Tig? Every bike club needs a few guys like that. He’s a real clear thinker that one. Tell you what, I seen it before. There ain’t a lot of power like what a woman can have over a man. A woman can get a man to do some incredible things. Conquer cities, build monuments and kill federal agents. But what self respecting biker would let any low life call the girl he loves a biker slut? Especially after he tried to rape her. Seems like perfect justice to me. These sixty hour work weeks are killing me. But what else can I do? I gotta make sure my ol’ lady is happy. Else she will make sure I am not. And then I will just be left with my dog.

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