and the trip planning begins...

START: LINCOLN NEBRASKA ----------------------------------> ARRIVE: AUSTIN TEXAS
800+ miles one way, over 1,600 miles round trip

Sights and routes along the way:

KANSAS

So what could there possible be in Kansas for two motorcycle nerds to checkout?
How about some vintage motorcycle museums... thanks to SOHC4 member sallen for the advice

KANSAS MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM & BRITISH MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM

http://www.ksmotorcyclemuseum.org/

The Kansas Motorcycle Museum is home to over 100 vintage and rare motorcycles of all various makes and models. It also has numerous motorcycle racing memorabilia, photos, posters, and much, much more!

Steve's British Motorcycle Museum is just one block south of the Kansas Motorcycle Museum on Washington Street in Marquette, KS. This museum exhibits over 40 British, BSA and Triumph motorcycles and other memorabilia. The Museum is run by Steve McGee of Salina. He does motorcycle repair work and he carries hundreds of NOS parts for BSA and Triumph motorcycles. If you're in need of a unique motorcycle part, Steve can usually help you find it.

Flint Hills National Scenic Byway K-177 Highway

The Flint Hills National Scenic Byway stretches 47.2 miles across the Flint Hills of Kansas on K-177 between Council Grove and Cassoday in east central Kansas. It is a beautiful drive year-round showing off the panoramic vistas of the tallgrass prairie. The Flint Hills National Scenic Byway is a two-lane, paved road easily reached from the Kansas Turnpike (I-35) , I-70, U.S. 50 and U.S. 56. Tourist amenities are available in the towns along the route including historic restaurants, hotels, antiques, artisans, and other facilities. A scenic overlook site is located just south of Cottonwood Falls with a raised bed of native wildflowers, interpretive signs and a panoramic view of the surrounding area.

Thanks to SOHC4 member hiwayman_750 for this route:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100468595351988172205.000485ce9d8ae5f1f4fc0&ll=37.709899,-96.734619&spn=3.050386,7.042236&t=h&z=7

Here is a map through Kansas. Its the most direct route without using interstate or 4-lane. Some of the roads are straight and flat, some are hilly with nice twisties. Not sure what your schedule will be, but there is the Cassoday Bike Run on the first Sunday of the month, and this route will take you through there. I tried to find a few lakes in the area, and most of this route follows the Flint Hills, which is a very scenic area.

OKLAHOMA:

This is a stop intended more for mr. Eastern http://www.okc.gov/Parks/skatepark/index.html

Admission to the Mat Hoffman Action Sports Park of Oklahoma City at 1700 S. Robinson is free. Hours are from dawn to 11 p.m., year-round. The park is a skate- or ride-at-your-own-risk, non-supervised facility designed for skateboards (34” maximum length), in-line skating (four wheels maximum per skate) and BMX freestyle biking only.

Historic Route 66

The historic Mother Road, Route 66 treks through more than 400 miles of Oklahoma's diverse communities and countryside. The route has two end points in the state, one in Quapaw in the northeast, and the other near Texola in the southwest. Travelers ride through a diversity pastureland, hilly wooded areas and semi-arid prairie. All the while the visitor is discovering recreational opportunities and cultural attractions along the way including: tribal sites, museums, vintage bridges, motels, festival sites and historic architecture.

TEXAS

Thanks to SOHC4 member meriggi for these routes and sights:

The Highland Lakes area of Texas, it is just northwest on Austin. It is the Colorado River that has been dammed, creating several nice lakes amoung the beautiful Hill Country, great for camping, swimming & fishing! It eventually winds through Downtown Austin so following it down from N. Texas may be a great route [and better than I-35 from Dallas].Here is one suggested route:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100468595351988172205.000485ce9d8ae5f1f4fc0&ll=37.709899,-96.734619&spn=3.050386,7.042236&t=h&z=

Here is a guide with all parks within 200 miles of Austin:http://www.wildtexas.com/parks/results.php?nearby_cities=Austin

Here's a list of 50 bars to get started [most have live music EVERY night]:http://events.austin360.com/search?srss=50&st=venue&swhat=&swhen=&swhere=&venue_type=1&srad=5

Weekend update

I spent a few evenings working on the 76' cafe project over the weekend. Things went smoothly for the most part... that's until i took at look the the wiring issues! The previous owner had an interesting way of dealing with the wiring malfunctions on this beast. I removed a couple useless dangling wires, switches and a wiring harness. The electrical schematic i printed off for this bike was rendered pretty much useless since the original colored wires werent there anymore. I installed and wired new signals and a tail light, which are working perfectly. This cleaned up the tail section of the bike very nicely. The seat cover arrived in the mail and i was anxious to get it on the bike. the aftermarket cover was glued to the seat pan since the original seat cover had a plastic band around the bottom which held it in place. i didn't want to glue this new cover on so i went with an alternative i discovered on the SOHC4 forums. i bought a long strip of bendable spikes that i riveted into the seat pan along the bottom inside edge. i removed the 2 inch deep cotton padding that the P.O. installed and pulled the new cover over the seat. i used a heat gun to warm the vinyl so i would stretch for a good fit. I secured it to the seat pan with the spike strips and used car door trim from Auto Zone in place of the old chrome strip. it turned out rather nice in the end. Also installed a cafe mirror, mounted the rest of the handlebar hardware, adjusted the cables, and gave the bike a nice wash.

The Cafe makeover

It's been decided that the 76' CB750 will become a cafe racer. I believe we are going to go with a mild cafe build, keeping it in a condition that will allow it to be converted back to stock in the future. We might be missing the main point of really cafe'n a classic bike. First off, I should explain what a "cafe racer" is to those who may be following our blog and aren't familiar with the motorcycle jargon.

A café racer,is a type of motorcycle as well as a type of motorcyclist. Both meanings have their roots in the 1960s European counterculture group the Rockers, or the Ton-up boys. Rockers were a young and rebellious Rock and Roll counterculture that wanted a fast, personalized and distinctive bike to travel between transport cafés along the newly built arterial motorways. The goal of many was to be able to reach 100 miles per hour (called simply "the ton") along such a route where the rider would leave from a cafe, race to a predetermined point and back to the cafe before a single song could play on the jukebox, called record-racing.
The cafe racer is a motorcycle that has been modified for speed and good handling rather than comfort. Cafe racers' bodywork and control layout typically mimicked the style of contemporary Grand Prix roadracers, featuring an elongated fuel tank and small, rearward mounted, humped seat. A signature trait were low, narrow handlebars that provided more precise control at high speeds and allowed the rider to "tuck in" to lessen wind resistance. These are referred to as either "clip-ons" (two-piece bars that bolt directly to each fork tube) or "clubmans" (one piece bars that attach to the stock mounting location but drop down and forward). The ergonomics resulting from low bars and the rearward seat often required "rearsets," or rear-set footrests and foot controls, again typical of racing motorcycles of the era. Distinctive half or full race-style fairings were sometimes mounted to the forks or frame. The bikes had a raw, utilitarian and stripped-down appearance while the engines were tuned for maximum speed.

New seat cover
cafe style tail light
bullet style signals
Clubman bars
new ignition switch
new shortened cables
single gauge bracket
4 to 1 RC racing exhaust

The Black Sheep

I took this picture of the 750 next to some cruisers at work today.... i think the bike is the black sheep of the bunch.

The project shop

My brother Jarad just bought a new house with his girlfriend Kate near Fremont. It just so happens that this house comes with a kick a$$ workshop! I met up with TJ and Eric there on Saturday and we started tearing into the Hondas. Even with the beer drinking and BS'in we managed to get something done. Swapped the 76 CB750 pipes with Erics 4 to 1, pulled the luggage rack and removed the leftover oil cooler thanks to TJ's motorcycle maintenance techniques. theres a wiring issue with the CB500 so the 76 CB750 will be my daily rider untill Black Betty is up and running. Jarad even got his pocket rocket ready for summer.

New bike day, 76' CB750

Eric and I checked into a craigslist posting last Friday that we just couldn't pass up:

1976 HONDA CB750 K CLEAR TITLE 39500 MILES GOOD CONDITION RUNS GOOD EVERYTHING WORKS NEEDS NOTHING
The guy said he bought it a year ago with the intentions of using it for a cafe or chopper build. he only road it around the block then parked it for a year. it started right up for us with some gas and a battery charger. we split the cost and rode it 100 miles home without a hitch. so the next sohc4 project begins, now where to start....

oo00h my, look at that exhaust!

Side Covers for my 750K

Ive been struggling to find a nice set of side covers for my bike. The previous owner used some cracked ones and tried to repair them the best he could but it just wasn't up to par. I wanted to take what I had and smooth them over with bondo, prime and paint. After 40 mins wet sanding just one side cover, I decided to look for other options. Lucky for me someone molds replacements that have the smooth look that I was looking for. (www.maier-mfg.com) They aren't expensive at all and the old plastic tabs are replaced with actual bolt on hardware. I thought this would be way better for longevity.
I was having some trouble finding ones online that weren't too expensive but not too beat up either. Even non-cracked originals that are in good shape go for over $60 on ebay, and that was just one side. I figured this was a very nice alternative. The staff was very nice and they had both side covers in stock. They shipped out yesterday. I can not wait to see how they look. E