78 Blue Baron

[CFD132]

. . . I bought the box used.

No way can you tell us that and not tell the story!

I agree....

OK, here we go with the trailer story.

I saw one many years ago in the mountains on a ride with my church motorcycle group. Well needless to say, it was cool and I had to have one. Two years ago, I had a casket given to me that came from a funeral home that had suffered a fire. The casket I had was burned out and the thing was really starting to rust. I brought it into the shop and started to hit it with the wire wheel and grinding stone to get it to clean metal. That did not work since I swept up most of the box off the floor after stopping. The 18 gauge steel was too far gone to salvage. So began the search for a new box.

He is the story of the current box. My brother-in-law (you have to follow this closely) had acquired one. His Father-in-law was in Germany visiting family when he became ill and was hospitalized. After a long battle with infection, he lost his battle to live. My brother-in-laws family (My wife's brother's wife) need to ship their father home for the services and burial. They wanted to cremate him per his wishes, but international law will not allow you to ship a body across international lines unless it prepped and in a casket. So they bought the box, packaged their father and shipped him home. Once state side, they had a viewing in the box, then followed through with his wishes. This left a empty box that ended up in storage in my brother-in-law's shop.

When I approached him with my build idea, he was all for it, but I had to sell it to my sister-in-law. Needless to say, she was OK with it and I got a slightly used box really reasonable. So began the build.

[CFD132]

More photos of the Casket Trailer Build.

[CFD132]

A couple more, then we get back to the Wing! The paint work was done in Cary, NC at Compton's Custom Paint. Greg Compton air brushed the skulls, the lids, and the scripture. He did an outstanding job! I highly recommend him if anybody needs anything super custom done! He primarily does cars, but he is a bike too and loves to tackle bikes when he can.

[CFD132]

OK, back to the Wing build. Tonight I was breaking everything down to get it ready to head off to Carolina Custom Powder Coating. Tom was very impressive and said if I got it to him, the frame would be a week and the other parts would be within another week.

I have decided to go with the shiny black finish and paint the covers the orange you saw on the casket, which begs the question, trailer hitch or no?

I am sure the Wing could pull it with no problems, I just don't know if I want that behind a cafe racer.

So, off to powder coat in the morning!

[CFD132]

Ok, I held off on dropping that parts by today to do a swing arm modification so I can put a larger tire on the rear. Here is a question, what is the largest size tire I can run on the front stock Comstar rim? I have seen the wire Harley rims laced into Gold Wing hubs, but I can't afford that just yet. I love the look of a fat tire up front.

[brokentoe]

That casket makes a huge statement.

[CFD132]

It has been real slow here as life has jumped in the way of progress again. That and the money has slowed things down a bit as well. I have kept the frame and parts for powder coating for a bit to do some more modifications. I am doing some swing arm work, and some cleaning of the upper frame to help get the carbs in and out easier. I am also doing some cleaning around the tank as I know it will be a bear to get back in. I have a guy I found at a local shop here that says putting a over sized tire on the bike is a mistake. I have seen a lot of bikes posted here that are running larger tires. Does anyone have any input as to size and how well they are working? I am looking at Avon Tires and trying to decide what it is I really want. I am leaning towards a more sporty Cafe Racer style bike and want something that will grip and be fun to ride. Please let me know what you guys and gals think.

[sgwilly]

You can only go about one size over stock due to the swing arm. On my '83, the rear stock is 140/90-16. I did fit a 150/80-16, but I had to grind down the weld seam on the swing arm/drive shaft. I'm also told it can be done by shims to move the wheel away from the drive pumpkin a bit. Either way - that's as far as you can go without significantly modifying your swing arm.

[CFD132]

Back in the shop tonight! I decided to do a modification on the swing arm for a wider tire. I should have grabbed the small grinder, but no, I had to go big... The results... Well, do I have to say that I went through the outer wall of the drive shaft housing? So, out comes the welder.... Wire fed welder... Yea that took some work as I burned right through.
I managed to fill in all of the holes and get it worked down both inside and out. What should have been a 10 minute job turned into a hour. So goes this project. While I had the grinder out... The small grinder! I went through the frame and worked off all of the weld spats and spots. I also worked on the tank and the spaces on the frame to help the tank fit better. It goes in and out so smooth now!

I also took the gauges out of the console and started to prep it for paint. I have to decide if I want to replace those or tear them down for a refresh of the faces. We shall see.

[CFD132]

It has been a very busy two months! Where to start? I have sold my old Harley and bought a Victory Vision for those extra long rides. The Vision is smooth as silk!

I spent two nights in the UNC Chapel Hill Burn Unit ICU after a little accident with gasoline and a Bon Fire. I have fully recovered and finally feeling like working in the shop on the bike again. I dropped the frame and some other parts to be powder coated today. The tank went to Sapp's Welding for coating and everything should be back early next week. The bike is officially in build mode now. Tear down is complete!.

I will post more as she starts to come together!

[wingrider]

Sorry to hear about your little stay in the burn unit....glad you are ok.

You mention a Vision, but no pictures???

This almost applies...

[CFD132]

Here are some photos of the Victory Vision. I am heading west to Maggie Valley on Friday with it. I won't be pulling the trailer since I can not install the hitch yet.

[tomk1960]

Your Victory Vision is a beautiful bike. The design is unique and almost space-age looking. I wish you many trouble-free miles with it.

Your project bike is coming along nicely - you've made a lot of progress already. When you get those parts back from the powder coater, you're going to be amazed. Everything is going to look brand new again. Keep those pictures coming!

[wingrider]

Great lookin' Vision!

I've been kicking around the idea of either one of those or a Cross Country for when my folks end up in Tennessee.

[CFD132]

I will warn you folks about the Victory Vision. If you ride one, you will own one! Folks I just rode 6 hours on this thing and I loved every minute of it! I am ready for 6 more hours! I had tried the Gold Wing 1800, but there was no leg room. Not like this thing has. Anyway, I have a friend who works at a Victory Dealer in High Point who let me ride one. The rest is history.