El Guapo - Rear Tire Mounted

I managed to get the rear tire mounted tonight, using the cool living room as my garage. These bigger tires are a bit more difficult to get on the wheel, so I used lots of tire lube (soap and water mix) and my incredible strength. The only thing missing was a headband.

I brought out the big guns:

mmm, so knobby:

Close to the ride height I want:

I found a set of shocks from a Honda XR250 twinshock. 16" eye-to-eye measurement, with found spring preload adjustments via a little c-clip under the lower spring seat. Excellent condition, with tons of rebound dampening. They just need some paint:

El Guapo - Rear Tire

One of the many reasons I love those crazy orientals. Tires named "Goldenboy."

Kawasaki: Tires/Wheels Mounted

Just a quick sneak preview. I was desperate to get the wheels and tires mounted, before we took the tank up to Oregon for Mr. A to work his magic. It will be the last day I have the tank on the bike until Christmas.

I got the wheels built last night, using the new spokes/nipples I got from Thailand. Amazingly, they arrived in 5 days, despite just using Thai parcel post. The wheel rims are new Warp 9 2.15x18, which are both wider and lighter than the original old crusty units. The tires are Shinko 244, in 3.5 and 4.1x18 size.

New headlight, old speedo rebuilt, and huge front meat:

More meat:

This is version 2 of my seat idea, and I like it. Just a nice simple black vinyl seat. I used some little push-pin style dudes that are meant to go on the bottom of furniture, to make it easier to slide them around. I wanted to give it a pleated look, but don't have the ability to sew through thicker vinyl. This may be my final design: