| Author | Message | ||
     Lynrd |
OK, a confession. I am a bike customizer. I fed my family for years designing, building and marketing some really cool custom Harley frames. I have a frame design that has been in the back of my mind for over 20 years now, and I finally figured the last piece that had me stumped when I started studying Rhonda, my 1995 S2 hot rod. Now, this a not some stupid rigid frame or HD wanabee chassis - it will be something much cooler and in the spirit of the our bikes. Problem is, to build the tooling to put the frame together, I really need an engine. Using Rhonda, (or any S2 for that matter) for a donor is out of the question on near-religious principles...so I started looking for a bike to serve as a donor of title and engine. Cruising Craigslist for several months, I finally found what sounded perfect, a 1998 S3, bone stock, with paint damage from a tip-over in a bar parking lot. The price was right and it was fairly close by. I drove up to San Francisco and found her parked outside a garage in a warehouse district. She looked...well, like a stock 1998 S3. Pearl white, with chips and scratches all over, and a patina of rust and corrosion from living her life by the ocean. Big ugly black hamcan aircleaner, giant stock John Deere muffler. She looked perfect for the project, so I paid up and she was mine. I jumped on, she fired right up, and I pointed her back home to San Jose, a nice 50 miles or so down I-280. As I road, I couldn’t help but compare this very tame feeling, tame sounding machine was compared to Rhonda. Rhonda is a wild girl, a little rough around the edges and feels like the handbuilt street monster she is. In her youth, she was a dragster, and still has that raw snarl and feel. This white bike with stock muffler and giant Helmholtz air cleaner felt...well..solid. Confident. Well-sorted. Maybe...Dull? I rode her home and commented “What a boring, ugly bike.” She looks much better in this picture than she did in real life - that white paint hides the indignities well...  I didn’t want to start tear down until I had completed the title transfer with the state, but I figured I should ride her a bit to ensure the engine was up to snuff. The next day, I decided to take her for the commute. She started without incident, and I noticed that the “Dull, boring” vibe had morphed into “Capable, Reliable”. And when I got to stop splitting lanes and open her up...”Fun”...yes, Fun. Lots of it. I rode her to and from work, and that evening, I pondered her a bit. She really wasn’t UGLY, she just had some ugly parts...and, well, those parts could be changed. I rode her the again the next day, and by the time I got home, I was convinced. A quick order from American Sportbike for a few pieces, and a shock from another BadWeb member, a weekend worth of spinning wrenches, proactively changing out the known problem points ...and suddenly, she wasn’t ugly...maybe not as sexy as a siren like Rhonda, more like a pretty, all American girl next door. I just got done doing a “Blow some steam off” run up in the Santa Cruz mountains after work on her...and it’s amazing, I think I like her more every time I get to be in the saddle. She’s not done yet...I’ll probably change out some plastic bits for carbon fiber, and probably will tear her down for a frame repaint this winter, but wow, what a great bike.  I can't imagine tearing one of these apart for a rigid frame project...my god, the frame is the best part! | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Amen brother(tubers rock), and thank you for not chopping a lovely stock motorcycle! | ||
| Greg_cifu |
You got the best year engine right there, from the front of the breadbox to the end of that stainless muffler. I've been hoarding those mufflers for the day when people finally figure out how awesome they are. I have one sitting here for my S2 when it gets the Thunderstorm upgrade (basically want it to be like your engine). | ||
| Kc_zombie |
Great story. They do have an addictive nature about them. Sooo glad you save her.  | ||
| Lynrd |
Yeah, I have decided that I am not changing that silent stock muffler, or the stock carb. I did the upgrade to the "Y" style exhaust hanger and added the strap bracket on the rear, so hopefully it will stick around for a while. Veronica does get to be the recipient of a few parts from Frog, the 2000 S3T that ultimately has become the donor for my project. I feel much better about taking that one down. From the DNF Green paint job to the large stack of service records detailing failure after failure on the road, Frog can best serve the marque by providing spares for other tubers (Primarily Veronica), and the heart for this project. Sad, I know, but she is going to a better place. A moment of silence for Frog, please...  | ||
| Airbozo |
Nice story Lynrd. I too have been contemplating buying a "spare" bike to supplant any issues with my 2000 S3T. Would love to find a stock one since mine has been slightly modified (exhaust, air cleaner, etc). Next time you head up to the SC mountains, let me know. I live near the intersection of 9 and Bear Creek and commute to San Jose. Why does everyone hate the big air cleaner? I kind of like it (although I might change my mind if I had to deal with it). I have the force winder on both my sporty and S3T. I think it looks odd on the Buell though so I am looking for alternatives that flow some good amount of air. BTW: I'm having a pig roast on the 13th. Hit me up if you want an invite. You must ride the Buell up though... lol! | ||
| Lynrd |
I probably bombed right by your house the other day - The ride was up Black Rd to Skyline, Skyline to 9, and 9 down into civilization. You just didn't hear me thanks to the "Silent but Violent" muffler.  I'll let you know re: Pig Roast, but I travel a lot, and I think I will be in LA right around then. However, I am planning on making my very first ASBN on Monday - maybe see you there? In other news, I made a tank decal for Veronica. I may refine it a little further, but I think it came out pretty cool...  (Message edited by Lynrd on June 28, 2013) | ||
| Psykick_machanik |
LOVE THE DECAL!!!!!!! | ||
| Austexs3 |
Awesome! | ||
| Fahren |
Nice decal - does Archie get to ride Veronica, or is it Jughead? ...and what about Betty? ;- ) | ||
| Lynrd |
Heh heh - in this case ...it's definitely Jughead :-). All my bikes since my first HD have had a woman's name. This may sound sort of misty-swirly, but sometimes the bike whispers her name to me, usually late at night in the garage... In Veronica's case, the name was initially for the frame project she was initially destined for, but that one will need be renamed...probably "Vicky" or "Victoria". Yeah...I like that. And, Ironically, that first HD, a '41 FL Knucklehead, was named "Betty" ... Not for the Archie character though, more specifically, she was "Bad, Bad Betty", and yes, Betty did whisper her name to me late one night in the garage as I was fitting up her exhaust system....it's sort of become a tradition with me. | ||
| Kc_zombie |
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| Mikeyp |
Loved that you kept a tuber alive. There is hope yet.  PS, the artwork on the tank ROCKS! | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Nice decal! ..."misty-swirly", yeah maybe... but you can't be all bad seein' as you've saved a toober. | ||
| Lynrd |
Here's an update on this - We spent some quality shop time today, changing out some plastic for carbon fiber. She got the later rotors and S3 saddlebag from the Frog, racks and a set of PM wheels so I could put Marchesinis back on Rhonda. That S1 Fender was just what she needed - Thanks Michael!  I'll have a few more things I want to smooth out but I think she looks like a completely different bike. I think I am about done until the repaint...  | ||
| Trouble_enabler |
Yeah bud! Looks sweet! S1 fenders just looks so right on s2/S3 bikes! | ||
| Lynrd |
Dredging this back from the Archives. Like I said back when, she has about done except for a re-powdercoat of the rusting frame. Well, in between too many other projects, I got that done and have been getting her back together. I really like her for touring more than Rhonda.  Of course, everyone knows that Red and White are the fastest colors. She got the latest isolators - and I have to say she feels just as smooth as she ever was with the older style. I used the freshly rebuilt forks and later swing arm off of the Frog...  I have amassed all of the bodywork to do up a new White pearl job if I choose ...but it's sort of liberating to just have the faded, dog eared and chewed up original paint. She's a real road burner and with the luggage on. she's great for those 700 mile days.  If I DO a second white pearl paint job for her - I am thinking of smoothing and painting the stock Helmholz to match. Today was her first day back on the road...it's been a long summer for her. | ||
| Blake |
Nice job! | ||
| Coxster |
Wow! Love it! now if ya wanna sell a spare windshield . . . | ||
| Charlies_s1 |
John could you tell me about your pearl white paint job? I am ready to do my S1W and would really like to get it right the first time, lol. Are you going to do it yourself or have someone do it? Thanks in advance. Chuck (Message edited by Charlies_s1 on August 17, 2014) | ||
| Lynrd |
I haven't DONE a pearl white paint job - that is the original paint, and it is rough! I f I do a white pearl, I think it be some late model Cadillac paint or something from PPG, add the flex agent, la la la ... If I do it, I will farm it out. Painting isn't hard but it's a drag to set up a place to do it well. There are a few great custom bike painters in my immediate area, and if I do it, I want that "Veronica" decal reproduced in airbrush. I would have to farm that bit out anyway. The tank has yellowed, it is really a different color that the seat pan, Everywhere you see a decal, there is major damage to the paint job - due to the aforementioned bar parking lot tip over. The "Works shock" sticker covers the worst spot, the "Thunderbolt" the second worst. The Iron Cross and Helicopter stickers were on when I bought the bike and I left them on for style and luck. The nice thing with that stock white paint - it photographs well for the resolution level that BadWeb supports - so the bikes all look good here. Kind of like vaseline on the lens... I did rub the paint out with some rubbing compound, but that's it. | ||
| 1313 |
Lynrd, I just sent you a PM. I'm very interested to hear your response, 1313 | ||
| Lynrd |
Here is some really interesting news about Veronica. I have a fix on the date she was originally built...and it turns out she was built on my Birthday.  I also have a strong suspicion that I knew her original owner (I am third owner) and he told me about her at length at Sturgis '98, after I planted the seeds for his initial purchase for months before.. Evidence is circumstantial but compelling. While my approach to her her has been more "Beater" than the S2s, she is definitely a keeper. She would be anyway as my designated long distance bike, but these additional facts sort of trigger the "Misty swirly" side of me - she was just meant to be in my stable. (Message edited by Lynrd on August 28, 2014) | ||
| S1owner |
Sounds like she was a free spirit being stabled in slavery and she finally made it home! | ||
| Mhlunsford |
I think I want a s3t if I can find one - white and I am sold ! | ||
| Lynrd |
I guess you are sold - http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/21/ 746634.html?1409052505 | ||
| Lynrd |
Chatting on line with a few folks about this bike, an interesting fact came to light - she was not supposed to be White. According to some original info, the paint code was "R" which one would assume was for "Red". Also, no Ice White Pearl S3s were listed as having been built that year that year at all - just the Defenders and a 2 more S3Ts. By her VIN, Veronica is an S3, not an S3T - I added the luggage rack and fairing bags. Brankin asked me to look at the paint carefully, and I am thinking he may be right - that what I thought was yellowed paint originally may actually be a mismatched paint job - If I get a chance to compare her to the White gold pearl I will be sure, but the yellow tint on the tank can be seen in the above pictures if you look closely. Since she was built early in the 98 model year (Nov `97), was the decision made to use a leftover '97 White Gold Pearl tank, and the rest of the parts painted the current Ice White Pearl? Probably never know for sure... She isn't a Defender, for sure....but I think she may be accurately described as an "Offender"  | ||
| Lynrd |
state of Veronica, just a few weeks from her 20th birthday  | ||
| Mhlunsford |
Nice | ||
| Livers |
She is a beauty. |
