Monday, September 9, 2019

Speed Racer


First of all, I want to include a disclaimer. I stopped watching TV in 2006, and truth be told, my life didn't end from not watching TV. One day I decided I had enough dealing with Comcast and Verizon cable lousy service in my area, I took a break from TV and I guess that break never really ended. I don't even miss it a little bit. But I digress.

I didn't realize how out of touch with television, Anime/Manga animation and automobile racing I am until I posted the above image on Facebook and a relative mention Speed Racer. To be honest, I had no idea what he was talking about so I did a google search.

The name Speed Racer fits perfectly because the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 is one of the fastest production motorcycles in the world, the epitome of speed in a nutshell.

I was returning from having dinner with friends when I remember seeing this graffiti wall mural next to an auto detailing shop in Philadelphia. I've seen it before during a commute on public transportation.

It was a grey day with an overcast sky, weather was typical of this time of the year. If I had waited another hour, and I had with me the Neewer CN-160 Led Video Light with a diffuser mini softbox, it could've been a great opportunity for another motorcycle light painted image. Unfortunately, I was only carrying my Nikon D7000 with a 28-80mm lens. It is a deserted neighborhood, rarely any traffic goes by, so I hurried and took several photographs.

Now I have another reason to return to this location to try to capture a motorcycle light painted image.

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Minutiae of My Restoration Project


To be honest, I feel more comfortable building a motorcycle engine than dealing with the intricacies of the motorcycle chassis. When it comes to working on a motorcycle frame, I rather leave it to the experts. A man's got to know his limitations, but I digress.

The Kerker exhaust system arrived from the United Kingdom in less than a week, it is in excellent condition. And I found an original brand new seat on Ebay this week.

Working on this project has been very therapeutic for me. If things go well, my bike should be ready for the next vintage event April of 2020.