I finished the oil and filter change at approximately 11:00 am Tuesday morning, about an hour after I’d promised Michael I’d get to his house. There, we loaded our bikes into his truck and headed out to Rogers, Arkansas for the start of the Ozark Mountain Scramble. We had agreed about three weeks earlier to … Read More
1977 Kawasaki KZ400, Part 2
I’ve lost track of how long the KZ400 spent on the other side of the shop, collecting dust, before I got back around to working on it. I do know that I finally got back to it on a Monday, eight days before the event I was preparing it for. The last minute work included … Read More
1977 Kawasaki KZ400, Part 1
I’ve decided to participate in the Ozark Mountain Scramble, a three-day event/ride in June that has just three simple rules: Your motorcycle must be from 1980 or earlier, 750cc or less, and cost no more than $1000 complete. This appeals to my sense of practical motoring. I’ve chosen two bikes for the OMS. (Yes, I … Read More
New Shop Hours
After nearly four months of testing Tuesday-Saturday hours and after one brief conversation with Roy, a nearby, long-time mechanic, I’ve decided to change the shop hours to a traditional Monday-Friday schedule. Okay, 11am-6pm isn’t all that traditional, but Monday-Friday certainly is. I’ll still be available most Saturdays by appointment. Why the change? As Roy told … Read More
Fixing up the shop
What it’s taken to get the rented space ready to open up a proper repair shop: Paint walls and ceiling – Pressure wash, paint two coats. Cuts down on loose crap falling off the walls and creating excessive dust. Paint floor – Acid wash, apply two-part epoxy with sand mixed in for grip. In contrast … Read More
Installing auxiliary lights on a Concours 14
Bill is a friend from my past business life who’s been very supportive of the new shop. His company was throwing out some big metal shelving, so he had it stored until I could use it here. He’s also customer #2: he wanted Hyper-Lites and PIAA auxiliary lights installed on his brand-new Kawasaki Concours 14. … Read More
Nearly up and running!
Nashville Motorcycle Repair is nearly up and running! Since May 16th, we’ve been getting government paperwork filled out, having the shop painted, waiting on telephone and internet installation, and generally frittering about organizing things and wishing the air conditioner was already installed. We’ve have two official customers’ motorcycles come and go: One was a 1972 … Read More