Better Than Nothing---The rebirth of a Superbike.

Cannot believe how cold it has been here in the middle of hot and sunny Arizona lately. Since I moved here 24 years ago this is the coldest and wettest winter since I been here!!!
Usually in December it still gets up to the mid 50's in the daytime and 35~40 at night. Its going to drop into the high teens the next couple of nights!!!!! Plus it snowed here today!!
High 30's to mid 40's for daytime highs for the rest of the week !!! I even have to keep the heat on in the daytime its so cold!!! Even dug out my winter coat!!

I can't afford to keep the heat on in the garage this year. So I got all my bikes drained of fuel, batteries out and in the warm house and oiled up all the cylinders. I have not done this to my bikes since I left Chicagoland 20 odd years ago. Got me a big pot of Chile cooking up to help me stay warm. Along with a few adult beverages to wash it down. While thats cooking up I am going back to my model room where its nice and warm!!!

 
 
 
 
 

wrote:

I can't afford to keep the heat on in the garage this year. 
 

 

Welcome to Indiana............!  That looks like some badass chilli.

wrote:

wrote:

I can't afford to keep the heat on in the garage this year. 
 




 

Welcome to Indiana............!  That looks like some badass chilli.


 

Yea, it feels like being back home in Illinois. I used to live right on the border between Illinois and Indiana. I could throw a rock from my front yard and almost hit Indiana!!!
A guy in town here tonight had his trailer with two snowmobiles on it outside and was taking the covers off of both. Wonder if he knows something I don't..........

I love my chili!! I always start off with Carrol Shelby's chili mix. I add a bunch of jalapenos, green peppers, red onion, mushrooms, and chili beans. Throw it all together and let
it simmer for 5 to 6 hours. Sometimes if I add way too much cayenne pepper I keep some sour cream handy to put on each spoon of chili if I break out in a major sweat!!!

 

My favorite brand of chilli!

Sounds like your blood has "thinned" since you left Illinois!  
Nice work on the winterizing of your bikes.  Good advice for us "northerners".

Bad News!!! I just heard that Darryl Bassani has passed away.  I sold a boatlood of his Superbike pipes back in the day.  Still have one on my Kz1000 

 

Sad news...I also have a Bassani for my GPz1100.

Damm…I had Bassani on my Shovelhead

Thank you for sharing.

You really got that bike to 435lb wet? Did it still have the starter, battery, alternator?

435lb and 130+hp is flying.

RedPill wrote:

Thank you for sharing.

You really got that bike to 435lb wet? Did it still have the starter, battery, alternator?


435lb and 130+hp is flying.

In street trim it weighs in at 446 lbs. That is with a charging system and headlight and tail light. No electric start or any of the other stuff connected with it. EVERYTHING that could be cut off the frame has been removed. No kick stand or center stand and their brackets have also been removed. Even the LTD style headlight bracket was duplicated in aluminum. The Morris magnesium mags themselves saved like 32 pounds over the stock wheels!!! All the axle spacers were made out of aluminum instead of steel. Lots of titanium nuts and bolts too!!!! I could keep going on all the things I did to lighten the bike. When I built the bike I made it so I could slap the charging system and lights back on the bike to ride it on the street!!!!! 

Headlight, tail light, mirror, and a plate makes it street legal in my book!!!!!

 

Are the racing mags that light? Or are the stock wheels that heavy?

When you transitioned to the GSXR, was it that much better?

If this bike weighed this amount and had this state of tune in 1986, I don’t know what would be gained by switching. But I’ve never road raced.

Truly inspiring bike. It’s along the lines of what I want to build. Something vintage but with the performance to humiliate guys on newer bikes if ridden well. But I looked up the cost of aftermarket wheels. Ouch.



What would you guess these monster class bikes weigh?

Truly impressive watching the riders haul ass on these.

The Morris mags back then were the lightest aftermarket mags you could buy. And yes the stock wheels on those older bikes were heavy as hell. Plus it was all unsprung weight. 

Lap times were almost the same between both the Superbike and the GSXR. The Superbike was easier to ride fast than the GSXR. Plus it had a lot better brakes!!! Plus it had a wider powerband than the GSXR. 

It took me about two seasons to get all of the wobbles completely out of the Superbike. It was a gas to come out of the kink at Elkhart Lake and hold it wide open all the way down to Canada Corner!!! Its a lot easier to ride a bike fast that is not trying to spit you off!!!