A Red Green Christmas Tree

Give Rob a task and a little latitude, and stand back to see what happens.

My daughter Piper came home two days before Christmas, so she, my son Nigel and I were shopping for a Christmas tree through picked-over selections. The good news is that discounts were deep. We found a perfectly acceptable six-foot fir for only five dollars, with a tiny two-foot tall tree thrown in for good measure.

One tree is enough for us; we gave the small tree to Rob.

Now it has been years since Rob put up a Christmas tree. He doesn't even have a stand or decorations for one, but to placate me, he took the tree and promised to do his best with it.

The first problem was how to erect the tree. Nothing a vice can't hold upright. Of course, one can't be too careful about preventing a toppling catastrophe, so he counterbalanced the vice with a couple of 15 pound weights, held in place by a handyman's best friend, duct tape.

What to do for lights? Well, the Aprilia isn't using its turn signals right now, nor is the Hayabusa in need of the LEDs that serve as caution indicators. Tail lights from the trailer acted as spot lights.

And ornaments? What could be more ornamental than the twirly scraps of aluminum that came off the edges when he cut the template for the Aprilia's new seat. He even shaped one into a star for the treetop.

The whole tree blinked merrily if a bit audibly when Rob connected the turn signal flasher. Click, click, click.

A motorcycle Christmas, and God bless us, every one.

Aero Aprilia



Me on the Aprilia with the
tank in place



Rob is taking large steps toward making me small, aerodynamically speaking.

With all the bodywork off the Aprilia and its engine removed, we sat me on the bare frame to see how well I fit behind the windscreen.

Turns out, not too badly. I’m short enough that I can lie flat on the frame where the fuel tank once was. With just a little padding, the position becomes quite comfortable. Of course, we’ll need to fabricate a new tank in a less obtrusive place, but since it won’t need to hold much fuel, the tank needn’t be large. Even with leathers, boots and helmet, I should be able to create a small profile. It will take some tweaking, but we should achieve a sleek position that I can easily hold for the length of a Bonneville run.

The Itty Bitty Nitro Aprilia may grow into a mad little monkey, but I want it to be able to use its power for speed, not for pushing my bulk through the air.

Now we just have to decide where to mount the camera.

Low on the bike

Chaps

I have chaps.


                                                                                                                                                                          
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have chaps. I could have envisioned myself riding a motorcycle at Bonneville before I would have seen myself in chaps.
                                                                                    We planned to take the Road Glide out on the Toy Run for the Denver Children's Hospital on Sunday, and the forecast called for a morning temperature of 25 degrees. Rob being the decent guy he is didn't want to see me shiver or hear me whine, so he bought me chaps. Black ones. Real leather. With snaps and a buckle.  Just like Harley riders wear.


It sure enough was cold, but the chaps helped keep me warm, as did the companionship of all the old friends and new whom I met. Thanks for a great time John and Jane, Tim and Dawn, Mike and Linda, Rory and Lee, Peter, and of course, Joe. it was great to meet you Barry.


What a wonderful beginning of the Christmas season.



And I got chaps.

We Are the Hollow Bikes



The last chance I'll have to ride
the Aprilia for quite a while.




Whoops, there went my little motorcycle.



I walked into the garage, and there was the Aprilia--It was hollow!
I swear, completely hollow. Like a Thanksgiving turkey carcass after its been stripped to the ribs for soup. Nothing but the frame and the wheels.

 

An empty Aprilia surrounded by its parts

Rob packed up the engine and sent it off to Steve at AF1 Racing in New Brunswick, Texas, for metamorphosis into a “mad little monkey.” I’ll take advantage of the Aprilia’s current uncluttered nature to clean it, even in some of those normally hard-to-reach places.

I can see right through the Aprilia
to the Buell.

With the Aprilia on the back burner, the Hayabusa will go back on the lift. Time to tear it apart and see how much damage was done in Bonneville. It’s good to have a project.



One of the pistons from Rob's funny car
dwarfs the motor of the Aprilia.



A Bike of my Own

When Rob first built the Big Bad Nitro Daddy Hayabusa, he did not know who the driver would be, but he certainly wasn't envisioning me! I'm 5'2", 110 pounds, and I couldn't even touch the ground when we put a seat on the 'Busa. We ran it at Bonneville sitting directly on the battery so I could reach.

Of course, I didn't get to ride the 'Busa on the Salt in 2010, but I did make a couple of runs on our friend Matt's Honda Blackbird, even though I had to stretch up on tippytoes while waiting at the start. I loved the run, but my support team had to hustle to get back to the pit ahead of me and catch me as I coasted in so I didn't tip over and embarrass myself.

Not much shows
around the fairing

Last week, Rob brought home a bike that will be designed with me as the rider: a 2000 Aprilia RS 50. Yep, a 50cc 2-stroke. What a powerhouse! We're still contemplating what its final configuration will be. Modify the body? Widen the fairing? I look pretty small behind the stock fairing without leathers and a helmet, but will I be small enough in full gear? 

What about the engine? There will need to be some modifications if we are going to run nitro methane.

Meanwhile, I have the bodywork cleaned up and the ugliest of the decals removed. I've zipped around the block on it a few times, getting up to a hair-raising 47mph. It's little, but the Aprilia is fun, and it's mine. Sort of a Bitty Bad Nitro Lady.

Lady be good.