been awhile . . .

Since I updated this thing! Well, I shaved the fork lowers but still need to finish sand them and polish. Also want to polish the trees when I get the chance. Took her out today for an hour or so, was unseasonably warm here in OH. 50 degrees. legit!

RODE IT!

Finally got a minute to throw the chain back on the bike and took her out for a spin. I really dig it! Much quieter ride than the springer. The springs rattled like hell on that thing! Onto phase 2, which is tins/paint. Not sure if I am gonna swap tins out or just repaint what I have or cut up what I have. I have wanted to narrow a tank for a long time. I will think on it for a week and see what I can come up with. For now, here are a few random pics from a car show I went to recently . . .

YEE HAW

Just have to throw the chain on . . . yes I should have done that before but I was too excited to see if the damn spacers fit properly. Headlight and mount (placement) is just what I had to use without fabbing something new so I tried it and I think I dig it. The headlight could come up just a little but overall it is the look I was after! Once the lowers are shaved and polished and the trees are polished it will be tight.

ALMOST rollin'

Tires are mounted up and I am just waiting on the front axle from the machine shop. They are shortening and rethreading it for me. I should be ready to roll after that. Not sure what to do about a headlight yet.



rear wheel bolted up nicely! I was kinda worried because it is a different wheel than when I first built the bike but the spacers I originally made worked perfect! SWEET!

my little helper man

My '49

the sun was just about to go down and lit up the dash and made it glow. kinda cool.

more PARTS!!

Got my new trees today. Made by Brandon at Mullins Chain Drive. They are super narrow 39mm trees. These suckers are 1 3/4" narrower than stock xs650 trees. THAT'S NARROW! As you can see the quality is top notch. I am in the process of narrowing the axle and once the tires are on the rims, I can space the wheel and roll with it!! I will be polishing the trees as well as shaving and polishing the fork lowers.




spool wheel is here too and it is beautiful!!

Parts Rolling In!

Johnny Chop Lane Splitters made by the man himself! Or at least I believe they were. Got them from a guy on the JJ from socal. He bought them from a friend of Johnny's who had him make them. They sure look like his with the pullback. I dont see many of the imitations with this kinda pullback. I dig em!!


Had these tires for a while now and will run them on the new wheels. Rear wheel is a 16" 40 spoke. Still waitin on the 21" spool for the front.


My son Isaac who is 7 months old!

She's disabled

Well I got all the parts removed and they are on their way to their new owner. It was a long day but everyting went smooth and that's all you can ask for. Right? New parts are on the way!!

Now I barely have a garage . . .

Tabula Rasa means clean slate. This has some meaning to me at this point in my life. My wife and 2 little ones just moved ourselves and our lives across the country from Colorado to Ohio. Why? To be closer to our families. I worked at G&L Choppers with owner Rich Ford for the past 3 years and helped him build 22 complete bikes. Now I barely have a garage. I also had the opportunity to build my own bike while working for him and this meant the use of the shop and tools. Now I barely have a garage. It took me 2 years to build my bike in my spare time and I finished it a year and a half ago. In a nutshell, this bike has been around (or the idea of it) for the past 3.5 years. It is time for a change. A clean slate.

I love my bike but my tastes have changed and they change about every other month. I figured I would sell some parts to buy new parts and give her a makeover. You all know how it goes. This is cheaper than building another bike and in the end it will look very different. These changes will probably happen in stages. I wanna concentrate on the front end and wheels first. Going for that super skinny vibe. Definitely changing up the paint once I decide if I am gonna keep the tins or change em up a bit. Hopefully I won't lose my mind in the process and my goal is to keep it rideable most of the time while I am changin things up. Then again, winter is right around the corner and I have no idea what Ohio has in store for us this winter! Here is what my bike looks like as of today.

just a side note, Tabula Rasa was also the name of a killer band out of Pittsburgh who I had the opportunity to see in college. I always liked their name.

Stay Tuned!