So, hey, it has a fair bit of body rust. And a banged-in fender. And the bushings bushed their last when Bush was still just a vice president. But come on – I NEVER HAVE TO SMOG IT, and it weighs 2028 lbs. What more could I want for 900 bucks?

The car was a blast right out of the box, but definitely needed new tires (something a little more modern than the 165/80/13s that were on it) a new carburetor (can you say BLACK SMOKE – If I was half as rich as this thing was running, I would be showing you this car on “Cribs”) and a new steering wheel (AVAST! My Mizzenmast be Mizzin’).

If I was being thorough, I would have to mention that it also needs seats, and brakes, and springs and shocks, and a new dash. Oh, and paint. And some body work. Did I mention how cheap this car was? It was cheap. And it drives. And in fact, it is a riot to drive. So fun!

In any case, I have installed e30 Basketweaves, shod with Falken Azenis Sports, a VERY used Weber 32/36 DGV and 2002 intake manifold (hooray for re-plumbing your coolant hoses…) and some kind of semi-period correct Momo steering wheel that is probably the best wheel I have ever turned. All of the goodies excepting the tires were found on ebay, and all were as cheap as an old French whore.

Sorry, that’s not nice.

The BMW 2002 is a car that needs no introduction. Its status among enthusiasts is legendary, and the standard it set is one that every sporting sedan has had to live up since the 2002 first tore up the roadways in the late 60s.

But, wait, what’s the 1600-2 got to do with all of this? Except for a smaller motor, and a few cost-saving changes that set this “base” model apart from its brother in 1969, the 1600 was actually the precursor to the 2002. What does that mean for you? Well… How can I answer? Look within yourself, child. Know your heart, and you will find the answers you seek.

For me, it just means I will be looking for some extra horsepower and torque wherever I can find it.

Modern Something a bit more modern. Listen all the way. The first section builds to something I really dig.

Scat Sunday Bender lives!!!! The band’s first tune is taking shape… Reason-style.

La Honda Inspired by the the roads leading out of the mountains to the California coast south of San Francisco.

Hip Changes Vintage keys are my favorite. I went all out with ‘em here. Dig that midi-bass sound. Ack. That’s why they call it a demo.

Rising Tide Beautiful sax melodies, soaring vocals in the chorus.

Make it Real Upbeat acoustic grows into world-influenced groove.

He Said, She Said Funky tune, – check out Mike’s (guitar) SUPER funky intro and awesome short solo. Tasty taste.

Onche Uptempo funk, super crazy unison “Hott Lixx” for Mike and me, rippin’ solos from Tony (sax) and Mike (guitar). Damn. Oh, and I do some vocal improv in the middle vocal breakdown.

No I’m Not At this point a work in progress, this tune is based on a SUPER funky “lotsa notes” groove from Mike in C, followed by a soulful “few notes” groove in C from me. Then a soaring chorus, and a rad solo from Tony. Rinse. Repeat as desired.

Weak Man, Strong Man Oh so funky. Come on. COME ON! Intro riff is tight, and was written piecemeal by all of us in the band, one crazy lick at a time. Rest of the tune is Mike’s inspiration from a story his dad used to tell when he was a little boy.

Circles Big tune, pretty harmonies, nice Tony solo action. Ahhh.

Zorro Another work in progress, that incorporates some heavier motifs, and mandolin into the mix. Crazy? Perhaps. Fun? For sure.

Stand Up Eight in the Studio 2004:

Cheyenne Rough mix – now with vocals and sax!

Dancing Around The “Prequel” to Cheyenne – Amazing guitar work from Mike – Fun bass double stops in the bridges, rough vocals now included!

Letting Go Bittersweet acoutic ballad with major vocal harmonies from Josh, some great mandolin work from Mike, and a “hide and seek” bass line that needs changing from yours truly.

B Minor Guess what key this is in? The song is built, the title isn’t. Stand Up Eight gets rockin’. Who’da thunk it? MIKE ROCKS THE HOUSE. Check out the solo. It will blow your mind. I promise.

No I’m Not Another funky tune – this one is REALLY different from the live version, same grooves, same ideas, better executed and arranged in an “on-purpose” way. Placeholder solos are so dang good I may just leave ‘em!

Weak Man, Strong Man A funky favorite – notice the deifferences between this version and the live MP3 posted in the “live” section. This ‘un is slower, and tighter. Still needs sax, vocals and solos.

Window Commercial success? We aren’t afraid of it!

STS9 Mix equal parts trance and the Police, and serve laid back.

645 miles – Removing the Exhaust Baffle

Break-in is half over, and I can rev to 7,500 RPM. I have never been so patient in my whole life.

With the increase in revs has come a realization… My new bike sounds like a sewing machine. I can tell there’s a twin in there somewhere, but the whirring of the reciprocating bits seems to overshadow the character of the exhaust. I had heard that de-baffling the stock muffler was the cheap alternative to a new can, and I had to give ‘er a go.

I followed the process outlined on svrider.com except I didn’t end up having a sledgehammer, and I had to whang on the damned thing with a framing hammer for about 10 minutes. I am sore, but it worked like a charm.

Looks like I only had one spot weld, but it was a mutha. Check the pics – ripped some of the inside of the can clean off. Note the mashed-ness of the end of the pipe upon which I so steadfastly whanged, and the fact that that pipe is now forever joined in holy union with the baffle. (They are quite happy together. I wish them the best, though I did cheap out on a gift, and got a little too drunk at their wedding.)

I am VERY pleased with the results. I recorded at each step in the process. I used a stereo mic about 10 feet behind and slightly above the pipe – where a car driver’s head might be if we were stopped at a stoplight for example. The mic placement and gain (volume) was not changed at all between “takes,” so the volume differences are 100% true. (i.e. It got louder.) Listen to the snarly tone at the end. Mean.

Have a listen yo’ se’f:

Stock exhaust before anything.
After drilling a ring of holes around the perimeter of the baffle.
Baffle removed. Note my happy-ass whistling after I shut off the bike. I was clearly stoked.

Rear Fender Removal

That rear fender had to go. I plan to get a rear hugger before it gets rainy.

Below is a general description of what I had to do to get the fender to go away. The process wasn’t as quick as I had hoped it would be, but it isn’t rocket science.

Materials (all can be bought at almost any hardware store):

• Framing bracket/joist hanger (bought from Orchard Supply Hardware for about two bucks)
• 2 skinny bolts (thin enough to fit through the holes in the joist hanger) that are roughly 2 inches long
• 4 washers to use with above skinny bolts
• 2 nuts (preferably locking) for the skinny bolts

Time:

• I spent about 3 hours, including head scratching and swearing.

Difficulty (one bleeding knuckle to five bleeding knuckles):

• One bleeding knuckle

Process:

1. Expose the two seat mounting bolts by removing the two triangular side covers which attach to the frame. (2 allen bolts)
2. Remove the two allen bolts that attch the seat to the frame, and lift the seat off as shown. (2 allen bolts)
3. Unlock and remove the passenger pillion seat, and disconnect the left and right turn signal wires. Note which is which. Remove the grab handle. (2 bolts)
4. Remove the four phillps-head bolts that attach the tail section plastic to the frame. Two are at the front of the tail section, and two are shown below. If necessary, use a magnet to remove the rearmost two bolts from the recessed area, as shown. (4 phillips-head bolts)
5. Remove the single small phillips head screw that holds the two halves of the tail section plastic together. This screw is just under where the back of the seat normally rests.

(1 phillips-head screw)

6. Remove the terrible plastic pop-rivet that, along with the the screw above, holds the two halves of the tail section plastic together. Use a screwdriver or other blunt object to push the pin from from the outside. It will pop right out, and you can then pull the whole terrible plastic pop-rivet out of the tail section. (1 terrible plastic pop-rivet)

   Note: If you are a hamfisted buffoon, you might try to do exactly the opposite of what I wrote above. If you do that, it will look just like what you see me doing in the image below. That is the wrong way to do it. Ask me how I know. Doing this means you may damage the tail section plastic around the rivets. Again, ask me how I know. If you are doing this in the direct sunlight, you may begin sweating, and you will definitely begin swearing. Shower when you are finished with this process, and then go apologize to your neighbors. Their children may never have been exposed to such language before, you big jerk.

7. Remove the six remaining terrible plastic pop-rivets that secure the tail section to the undertray. Two are at the rear of the trunk area, seen from the top. The other four are on the underside of the tail, two on each side. Just as before, you want to push the rivets through from the front. If you break them, I have it on good authority that they are about $1.25 each from Suzuki. Lame. (6 terrible plastic pop-rivets)

   Thanks to JD, a sundaybender visitor, who explained the right way to get these rivets out. He suggests pushing the pins through from the top with a small screwdriver or other thin blunt instrument. His comment is below.

8. With the tail section plastic free of the frame, you will note that it won’t come off. That’s right. You need to flex it just enough to get it around the frame. Spread the pieces as much as possible without breaking them, and lift the plastic up until you can access the screws shown below.
9. Remove the two bolts that hold the plastic undertray to the frame. (2 Bolts)
10. The undertray will still be secured in place by bolts near the shock. There is no need to remove those bolts to access the fender bolts. Simply flex the undertray out of the way and remove the four bolts that secure the fender to the frame. See the image of the fender assebly (removed) below to note the relative position of the four bolts. (4 bolts)
11. With the fender assembly removed, remove the nuts that hold the turn signals to the assembly. Thread the turn signal wires through the fender. Remove the plastic spacers from the fender assembly bolts and set the signals aside.
12. Use the tool of your choice to cut the fender from the top section of the assembly. You will be left with a “batwing” as shown below.
13. Depending on the hardware you chose from which to fabricate your bracket, you may need to re-use the black plastic spacers to affix the turn signals. Cut the prongs, shown below, off of the faces of the black plastic spacers so they will fit flush with the bracket.
14. Fashion your bracket. The bracket shown below was made by bending a framing bracket. The flat face with the bar code sticker on it was originally not bent perpendicular to the rest of the bracket. The bracket was bent 90 degrees to make what you see below. Clearly the work of a master fabricator.
15. Drill holes in the bracket for the mounting hardware and wires. Affix the license plate and turn signals. Smile with pride.
16. Reassemble the tail section, using the “batwing” in the place of the fender assembly.
17. Move the fuse holders from the trunk, place the bracket where you want it to be (be sure you have it right!) and drill through the undertail plastic and trunk plastic.
18. With the holes drilled, thread the bolts through and mount the bracket. Drill a large hole through which you can thread the turn signal wires.
19. Go take that shower, and don’t forget to apologize to your neighbor.

I am the proud owner of a new 2005 sv650. This 90 degree twin is my first brand new vehicle of any variety, and is absoluety a blast to ride. It ought to save me a ton of money on gas (45mpg) and on parking tickets (Palo Alto “parking zone colors” mean that I average one parking ticket per week when I drive in. My office has free motorcycle parking in our lot – freeing me from the constant car moving required to avoid tickets. Nice.)

I will be documenting various projects, rides, schools, and other events as I go.

A new bass followed me home. It is a Sadowsky Metro Vintage 5, and it looks just like the first bass pictured on Roger Sadowsky’s Metro Vintage 5 page. It is replete with alder body and rosewood fingerboard for maximum vintage L-series tone and vibe. My other primary bass is a neck-through with ash body wings and an ebony board, and while it is absoultely beautiful sounding, it is definitely modern. This bass cops the vintage vibe and tone far better than the ultra-modern monster, and sits in a mix nicely. Clips to follow soon.

So far, I am extremely happy with the bass. I have never seen fretwork this good, and I have never played a bass with this much life. It literally tingles my chest when I pluck a note. (Don’t be dirty.)

The new arrival has caused another bass, an acoustic guitar, and some recording equipment I don’t use anymore to run away from home. Apparently there wasn’t enough room in the house, or my wallet, for all of them.

This new bass is so wonderful, I have even proclaimed aloud that it is the best bess I have ever had. Of course, that inspired me to create a list (including pics if I have ‘em) of all the basses I have owned. It’s gonna really be something. Something that indicates my craziness, for sure.

Here’s the basses: Pics and sounds to come later.

• Red Cort Precision Bass Copy
• 1979 RootBeer MusicMan Stingray
• 1996 Natural Ibanez SR506
• 1998 BlueBurst G&L L2000
• 1998 Teal Green Metallic Fender Roscoe Beck 5
• 1998 Olympic White MIM Fender Jazz 5
• 1996 Sunburst Fender Custom Shop Jazz Relic
• 199? Blue Ibanez SR-”Cheap” P/J (defretted) [still own]
• 1969 Sunburst Fender Precision Bass
• 1997 Mahogany/Maple Alembic Epic 5
• 1998 Pearl Blue Ernie Ball MusicMan Stingray 5
• 119? Alder/Buckeye Rbass 5
• 2002 Maple/Walnut Ken Smith BSRJMW-5
• 1963 Lake Placid Blue Refin Fender Jazz
• 196? Lake Placid Blue Kalamazoo EB-style
• 199? Mahogany/Purpleheart/Ebony/Wenge Warrior Neck-though 5
• 2002 Mahogany/Maple MTD 635
• 2003 Ash/Maple Fodera Emperor Elite 5 [still own]
• 198? Lake Placid Blue “Custom” Chandler P/J with early 70’s Fender Jazz neck [still own]
• 2000? Ash/Maple Kinal 6
• 200? Buckeye/Ash Benevente 5
• 2005 ‘59 Burst Alder Sadowsky Metro Vintage 5 [just bought]

Yup. We did it. Married.

It was wonderful, and we are very happy. We also have more free time than we know what to do with.

Already in my short time as a married man I have learned many things. I have learned that marriage is wonderful, I’ve learned that, oddly, Megan and I will never again be taxed the same way again. I ‘ve learned that for no apparrent reason, we can now choose different health insurance plans. But mostly, and most importantly, I’ve learned that being married means never having to plan a wedding again.

Damn right.

Some pics are on the right. More will follow. Trust me.