I needed to transport my Monster from my house to SDS Performance in Tigard. The Monster Project has gone on long enough… it’s time to rebuild! Not having it in a shop proved very annoying, constantly taking longer than necessary because of missing tools and such. So… I put my motorcycle in my car. Not just a car, but a coupe! Well, strategically place all the pieces, boxes, wheels, and bits in the right spots. Observe.
The engine was so awkward in the front seat that it crept into my seat too. Read on to see the process.
The small two door Honda Accord trunk and back seat would not allow for the front end to be kept on the frame, so I had to yet again remove it.
With the help of my friend Noah (who very nicely came out on his birthday to assist) we were able to get it apart in just a couple minutes. We fit the frame into the trunk with the back seats folded down and I put the front wheel behind the drivers seat, and the rear on the folded seats, wrapped in a towel.
All the precious bits that had new powder coat and paint were wrapped up very safely in their own blankets.
Boxes of parts…
Like a glove.
The engine got wrapped in a heavy duty plastic trash bag and then set on a duct-taped back up. The engine is not exactly clean.
I wanted to seat belt it in for obvious reasons but the belt was trapped under the engine. I had a hard time freeing it from the awkwardly positioned weight. In transit, a minivan pulled out in front of me. I slammed on my brakes, trying to hold the motor back against the seat as best I could. Obviously the force was too much for me to resist and it slammed into my dash.
The damage really could have been worse, considering.
After arriving at Sage’s shop, he showed me how to move an engine around without using an expensive mount, or a ghetto milk crate (which broke) as I had been.
Thar she be… safely arrived! All except the tank (at my house) and seat (with Shelby for recovering). The forks aren’t pictured- they’re on the other side of the warehouse in a fancy storage area.
First order of business… check out the rear shock, remove spring for powder coat.
The shock itself is still in okay condition (and yes very dirty), though I do plan/hope to upgrade later.
So dirty!
I’m very excited to have finally gotten this shock removed- it’s taken all too long to do something so simple.
I will be spending some time cleaning it and the engine… quite a bit of time.
More on that later.
Ever look back at photos from trips and realize that you don’t have any with your motorcycle? Photos with people included are way more memorable, even though we love looking at our sexy machines. Amanda Zito and I made a little how-to video with tips and tricks for snapping photos of you on your bike!
Posted on January 20, 2013 in Blog by Alicia Mariah Elfving