04.16.12

IT'S AS FINISHED AS I CAN MAKE IT WITH AVAILABLE SKILLS AND TOOLS, SO OFF TO TMS BOB IT GOES…




Spark plug wires and three cheesy 1" ID clutch cable guides were the last things I needed to finish this bike last week, but I didn't realize both parts were sitting in my in-box since last Thursday. When Kenzie handed me my mail, I dropped everything to button this mother scratcher down for the last time.




My friend Rodeo at S&S confirmed what others had told me about oil line routing, so I wrapped up this aspect of the final process, then installed the pipes.

Nothing ever goes together after paint the way it did during the dry build, and this bike was no exception.




I had to hog out the holes on the seat pan with a drill bit to get them to align with the bungs on the frame after upholstery. Apparently, the leather added enough dimension to the bottom of the seat that my too-tight build tolerances needed a little breathing room. No worries—these tabs are invisible on the finished assembly.






The tanks both gas and oil are already starting to show signs of rich patina. I'll give Kenzie $50 to put some boogie wax on this thing, but not until Bob at Temecula Motorcycle Service has tuned the ignition, jetted the carb, and done a bunch of other stuff to make sure the SpartanKiller runs and starts reliably.




Billdozer and I were pleasantly surprised by the blinding brightness of the blue dune buggy running light. I like the look of this old part very much, so please—don't try to talk me into a cool guy headlight. I think my $8 Mexican swap meet find is plenty cool enough.



The cockpit looks much sexier with the Kustom Tech hand controls, don't you think? I also love the look of the raw tank materials and the rest of the polished bits on the finished machine. It won't take any time at all for this thing to look shitty, and that's just the way I like it. I'm fastidious, but I'm not OCD when it comes to spit and polish. I don't understand the obsession with show bikes, and I'm not going to treat the SpartanKiller like one regardless of how shiny it originally appears.




Some will sweat my muscle-car inspired Accel coil and bright yellow plug wires… I think they look great.



Thanks to EVERYONE who donated time, parts and materials to this project. The SpartanKiller would not exist without your generous support.




Thanks also to the thousands of CC readers who provided commentary and advice on this thread. Your collective knowledge is awe-inspiring.

Sincerely yours,

Harold "McGoo" McGruther