Category Archives: Bike

JDM lights.

Before and after.

Some good and bad news:

Bad news – was going to change the oil but the battery died (that’s what you get for not riding your bike!). I’ve ordered a trickle charger which I will leave permanently plugged into a new battery (also on the way).

Good news – I’ve been meaning to change the headlights to JDM ones. Deus had to change the headlights to compliance the Zoomer and they’ve used some retro motorbike lights which I’m not into. I found a few 2nd hand ones on Yahoo Auctions Japan, 7000Yen before shipping. I decided to drop into Deus today and one of the bike guys there (Japanese dude named Taka) helped me out heaps with a fresh looking set for $20. I’ve since wired it up, all good to go!

Photo by Victor Tran

Yes, this seat will be mine. ALL MINE!

Yoshimura Top Triple Clamp.

My collection of bars. Hmmmm, which one?!

I went straight :)

– Kijima side indicators
– Daytona dip stick with oil temp gauge built in (!).
– Motul oil and magnetic drain plug for oil change.
– NGK Iridium spark plug
– NGK Spark Plug Cap

I was going to go to one of the bigger names but instead I decided to drop into this little paint shop in Kingsford (same street as the Crystal Car Wash, near the big roundabout). The owner Roy was a top guy and we got along straight away. He’s been working there since he was 15, back in 1973. Amazing stuff huh?!

A few days and my battery box was done Same exact colour as Yonas’s JDMyard EG Civic

I should have drilled these holes before paint! Impatience gets the better of me. I took my time getting it right though and it all came out perfect.

Kijima clear indicators installed.

Re-applying the Honda logo.

All done for now, just waiting on some titanium screws to install the brake levers secure and tight.

Just a before shot so you can play spot the difference :)

Made big progress today with the controls. I ordered a Yoshimura Top Triple Clamp at the end of last month but it failed to get here. After some calling around it turns out Australia Post has changed contractors, makes sense as they’ve been screwing my mail over the past few weeks and parts delivered have been with a new guy (I miss Mr. Gonzalo who has been delivering my goodies for a few years now!). The triple clamp was at my door on the 11th, no slip was left and instead of delivering it to Maroubra Post Office it was sent to South Maroubra (not a Post Office but a Chemist/Post Office?!). In any case, after queuing up for what felt like years at the wrong post office, then the right one, I finally got my part and got busy!

Bars and controls removed.

Battery box removed to get painted!

Ugly tall bars will be replaced with much lower bars, not sure what just yet. Maybe some downhill mountain bike bars, or maybe some drag style cafe racer motorbike bars.

Working on the Zoomer is a lot like working on a bicycle, except the parts on it are way worse. Where every single part on a quality mountain bike is held on by allen key screws the Zoomer uses a lot of Phillips Head style screws with loctite to boot. The brakes were held onto the bars by 4 Philips Head screws and I’ve read lots of cases where people have stripped the heads when trying to remove them so I was extra careful in getting them off. I took one side off no worries but the other side I started stripping the heads. I kept at it though, with much patience and heaps of sweating and swearing I finally got it all off (phew!).

Who doesn’t love the freebies huh?! This screw top cup is made of sturdy and thick plastic. Very cool!

Complete Ruckus/Zoomer beauty bolt kit to replace all the ugly bolts.

I got an ATR lower seat frame which pushes the seat back a little more, it’s a little lower than the lowered frame I already had on the Zoomer but the main difference is the shortened rear “handle” which makes for a much cleaner look.

ATR low stance coilover – adjustable in height and rebound too.

Installed but the bottom stock bolt is a little short. I’ll be sure to source a longer one ASAP just to be safe.

ATR lowered seat frame installed + some beauty bolts to hold it down.

Some goodies came through today from the dudes over at Standard Functions in South El Monte, California. I almost didn’t get the stuff as the post guy wrote the wrong street number down and the delivery slip went next door! Luckily I get along nice with my neighbors!

I came across Standard Functions when I was searching for Ruckus culture over in the US. It seems like these well respected guys rep the Ruckus hard at all the big meets out there. They run a cool blog too in which they come across as good guys with big hearts that do good things outside of modifying and selling Ruckus goods.

Visit: http://www.standardfunctions.com
Blog: http://www.standardfunctions.com/blog

Yoshimura TRC exhaust designed and made for the US Ruckus market.

Sticker designed to save their asses.

Yoshimura forward control kit (frame brace and pegs).

Foot pegs.

Installed.

Riding position is now awesome, just need lower bars.

So many nice details like this logo on the exhaust spring.

And the red anodized spacer and logo etched into the exhaust hanger.

All installed.

It feels like it’s been a long wait but some Zoomer goodies finally came in the mail this morning :) More to come soon!

It’s a wrap! I’ll hopefully get Matt Mead to help me with a studio shoot some time soon.

New Old Stock (NOS) Campagnolo GRAN SPORT brake levers from the 70’s-80’s.

Love the details. You spin the brev inter logo to spin the cable catchers inside.

I tracked down some nice soft and gummy hoods, amazing reproduction of the old stuff, so much love.

NOS Campagnolo Victory Pedals with Toe Clip and Straps. Yeah unused from the 80’s, what a win!

So amazing.

Campag winged logo toe strap end clips, so so awesome.

The Campagnolo winged logo, it’s all over the bike now.

I put so much care into installing the pedals, what is usually just a routine installation all of a sudden is something special.

Just like old times. Into the zone with some wine, Alice in Chains on iTunes and some internet references to get the brake cable routing right.

Vintage bike brake cable ferrules made for non-aero brake levers.

Took my time to get the cables right, so so right.

She’s now period correct, makes me so happy it sure took a long time to ditch those Japanese Suntour Superbe Pro aero levers which belong to bikes from the mid to late 80’s.

Waiting for some period correct bar tape now! So close to being “done” :)

Goodbye Anthem. You were great.

Goodbye Mr. Ti. What an up and down journey it’s been. You’re a work of art despite your flaws.

Goodbye deathtrap. You were crazy fun!

Due to my fucked up financial situation I was forced to sell a few toys on eBay in order to pay off the Zoomer (why do I do this to myself?!). The Anthem sold for $2550 (rrp is over $6k!). It’s an awesome bike, climbs hills better than anything I’ve ridden but in the end of the day hills aren’t my thing. Riding it helps me to keep up with the fast boys but I’ve never had fun on the thing. My Reign on the other hand just carves up the corners when going downhill and it kicks ass on technical stuff too so it won, anthem lost and now Anthem is gone.

The Titanium bike sold for $810 which isn’t too bad. The frame has a defect in the bottom bracket but I managed to find a BB that fits and works fine. It’s a work of art with that huge imperfection. I love it lots and I’m going to miss this one for sure.

The deathtrap went for $521. It was crazy fun to build and even more fun to ride. It’s a shame it’s illegal to ride on the streets otherwise I’d have kept it and not got the Zoomer. I’ve got a feeling I know the guy who won it on eBay. I’ll soon find out I suppose!

I’ve also got a buyer for my 20inch SSR wheels which I ordered for the V35 Skyline I owned before owning the Golf. They’ll be gone next weekend, so all up that covers the Zoomer purchase, now to re-top-up my savings (which will never happen as I’ll most likely spend this cash on mods for the Zoomer!).