Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Member's Rides Erle & son's '05 America

'05 America

love the brown color! what type air filter you got on there? or are they velocity stacks?

oh ya...do you have a oic of the clutch side of this cool bike to share?

good looking bike, nice pics

What holds your seat on?

Lookin' downright gnarly!

tiger trophy air folters?

filters that is ....

They both look awesome.

I jus thought it might be yous in person!!

Paul, the filters are re-pop vintage Amal carb. filters.

Clutch side:

http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/pp309/Opissant/126.jpg

Rob, the seat is clamped to the chrome seat rail.

http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/pp309/Opissant/P1010151.jpg

Bob, YES.

Dave, Keith, Steve, THANKS.

Pat, YES, IT HELPS.

I was telling Keith this morning, I've added a Bobbed fender, in gloss black, with the Bee-hive tail/brake lights mounted under the fender at the back.

Also added a rocker shifter.

I'm in the process of adding clip-on bars to the forks, with cut down upper shrouds that Z (Zmilin) sent me last week, to keep the "fat' look, while the clip-on's must be attached directly to the fork tubes.

When I get that done, I'll post updated pic's.

thanks for the info ...great bikes1

PM sent

I really like the "minimalist look" there, erle!

(...though I have a feelin' I'd like it just a little less during a sudden and unexpected downpour!)

That brown bike is one of the coolest BA's I have ever seen. I may have to go that route eventually with mine. Strong work.

keep us posted with those clip on bar pics....that'd be interesting to see.

Pretty radical looking machine you got there , not sure you could ride something like that around over here in Australia . Definately not in West Aus .
Is that two different bikes or the same machine with different coloured tanks ?

Very cool. What are those mufflers ? Love the look.

Great looking bike, especially with the brown tank!

Sharp ride ya got there Erle! Love the brown...and the CASH shirt...

Ryan 1, Ryan 2, & Soren, THANKS!

Rick S., It's the same bike. Bred with a Chameleon's DNA.
They are two totally different tanks, so I can change-it-up, depending on my mood.
[ I'm wanting another tank, to do something a little different.(see "Nice tank")]

Rick K., If you get to know me, I am ONE CHEAP BASTARD!
As evident by the "rattle can" paint job on the gold tank, and most EVERYTHING else fabbed here at home.
The pipes are J.C.Whitney pipes, slash cut megaphones, about $60 for the pair.
I made my own baffles, fashioned after the FMF Powercore mufflers on my four stroke dirt bikes.
They are about four years old, and have no blemishes/rust/issues what so ever!
(other then boot marks.)

http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/pp309/Opissant/P1010090.jpg

http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/pp309/Opissant/P1010096.jpg

Tom, I'm not overly optimistic about the clip-on's, thinkin' I may need to fab up a rear set to go with them.
We'll see.

Yeah thats a decent reach with forward controls...haha

make sure that bag on the back won't fall off. i came up on a guy who got his sleeping back stuck in there and it was bad news.

I could be mistaken, but I believe I detect a slight hint of sarcasm.

Sarcasm? ME? Nah.

nutz damaged? Nah. They don't seem to get in the way of ANYTHING nowadays.

Ok, This is PROBABLY the furthest I'm gonna take the gold "bobber" look.

Now I've added the rear fender and the clip-on bars. I've also added the rear fender extension on the front part of the rear fender to keep all the road grime from spraying all over the rear half of the engine/trans.

I thought of making a bracket to lower the speedo, but after a lot of thought and comparing it to my other bikes (like the H2), I've decided I like it best sticking up into the wild blue! Just like those Obnoxious, BIG OL' oversize tach's in a little ol' street/strip car. (or Dolly Partons ti--, well, you know).

The only things still to add are the bar ends, a bar end mirror, and a skinny front fender, like a sportster fender, only with a radius for a 18" tire, painted black.

But the rain season starts on June 1st, so I'm fixing to change it back for two-up riding, with the stock front fender and the green tank to match. Who knows, after adding all the crap needed for two-up riding, including the full fenders, I MIGHT even think of trying "bags", weirder ****** has happened.









Here is the fender extension. It's made from the part of the rear fender that was cut off, hence the triangular indent that I made a brass insert for. The brass acorn nuts hold on the "mud flap" part of the extension. NO MORE DIRT ON MY PRETTY LITTLE GIRLY STICKER!



Peace

Mate she is lookin goood. I like the speedo up there, its awesome. The rear end looks very cool too with those tail lights. What are they from?

Absolutley Fantastic!

This so cool. Way to go.

Very cool. The unique custom features combined with the colour make it one of my favorites, Erle! Commendable work and vision... WAY TO GO!!!

Stephen, Soren, Brent, and last, BUT CERTAINLY not LEAST, Keith, THANKS!

Your appreciation is greatly appreciated!
( )

While being a BIG fan of the green, I do like the color you went with on the tank. Suits the bike very well!

Very nice looking ride!!

IMO, This just might be the best looking BA/SM I've seen! I like the color, and I really like the clip-ons (especially since they're home-made). Very cool bike!

Your photo in front of the train track is great; I like the orange evil-eyes behind the cheese graters.

Nice job,

Will

That's pretty sweet, Erle.

Earle...that looks great!

yeah those clip ons really change the look of the bike a lot

its very mean

WAIT FOR IT, WAIT FOR IT...

Well Fish, Here's the "Swan Song" post and pic's.

6/18/11 AM.



6/18/11 PM.






Well, sort of.

With the addition of the front speedy fender and bar end mirror, my son and I are at the point where the cosmetic changes are through. We have the "quick change" parts all set up and ready to accessorize in any manner we choose, from two-up, full fendered road barge to the solo bobber you see now. Twenty to thirty minutes, and it can be one, or the other, or ANY combo in between. (No bags, unless it's the Heineken mini-keg one we have).

We have just two more things in mind, then all the time, effort, and money are going into performance upgrades only (motor/handling).

One of the two is to have the solo seat recovered in a distressed, brown leather. The other is to have another tank (as soon as one becomes available for $100 or less, including shipping), painted a medium, metallic, ice blue (like the later Dodge truck blue), with the '69-'79 eyebrow badges I'm SOOO fond of , with a black or gold background paint color. May or may not two tone paint like stock, leaning toward one color only.

Over the years, many parts from ebay, fab'ed parts from GSP (Ghetto Shed Products), and parts from members here have made it what it is today (or yesterday, or tomorrow).

You may spot your parts here. Members like Richard, Dave, Mike, Zdenko, and Ron (hope I didn't forget anyone), who graciously sold or DONATED parts, WE THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH for your generosity.

As you can see from the current photos, the green tank is back on. Every time I see a shot of Doug's bike, I go back to the green tank, but now I don't know which one I like best, the green or gold, what-cha think? (this is another reason for the blue tank, to be a more liked color then BOTH of the others. )

We're waiting for some more info. from Bonneville Performance about their 1100 and 1200 kits, with a claimed output of 104 hp & 86-90 ft.lbs., and still only 10.5:1 comp. We've NEVER heard any personal comments from anyone who has had this work done. Anyone have ANY input? The kits can be built in house by them for about 5K for the 1200. I'd go that route for that much work, to have it done by pro's, with a warrenty.

Ok, it took longer than I originally thought, and the hue of blue is NOT what I was in search of, but here it is, in it's third reincarnation.

After ALL these years, she's finally got a nick name that has stuck.

The Chameleon.
(for obvious reasons)

She'll be comin' to the Rally in this dress this spring.

Very nice earl, i still really liked the brown theme you had going on.

I agree, that 2 tone brown really went with the brass battery cover. I think the light brown from the tank on the fenders with the dark brown from the tank as a stripe down the middle of the fenders would look great. The stripes should have a pinstripe to set them off too.

Now Don't Forget, I still have ALL three.
Have ALL the different bars, risers, fenders, etc.
I just like changin' things up a bit every 6 to 12 months or so.

It stems from a psychological disorder.

I have my own little "PinWalls" in my facility.

I agree on the seat too

Love the bandana!

Sweet,I like the air filter covers.Is that fender off a softtail Erle?

Crips bro!

Represent!





Actually, It's not there often. Only when the roads are wet. Should have taken it off for the pics.

Does a pretty good job of eliminating the rooster tail from the front tire when it rains, or the roads are just wet, believe it or not.

Yeah Marty, it was advertised as a black soft tail fender, "would need paint", by a small store on ebay for $54.




It had never been mounted, don't know WHAT needed to be repainted, I didn't re-paint anything.

did you paint the side of the battery Erle or is there a plate on that i can't tell

4" x 10" brass plate from the local model/hobby store.

About $2.25, and two 90 degree bends.

Looking good Erle, mixing it up quite nicely. I envy you for that cause I wanna change mine all the time but I keep that as an excuse to buy more bikes.

Rich!? Ha, I wish. All my bikes are basket cases and need lots of love.

"Sittin' on the side of the road"

Some pic's of the "new", darker blue and titanium header wrap.
Just got a forth tank from Troy (Thensley).
The colors runnin' through my brain now are reminiscent of days gone by.

Your bike and your story are amongst the best of all. Happy new year, and may the force remain with you!

very nice, erle and son

Thanks guys.
I just noticed that the two different hues of blue aren't really apparent between the pic recently posted, and the one before it from 6/23/2013, but the second blue is more of a gray/blue, and more sparkly.
I like sparkly!

someone shared picture of your bike on FB fb

Really stoked to be one of four bikes invited to be part of the Ace Cafe' display at the AMIExpo @ the Orange County Convention Center. Third year in a row. Though this will be the last, as the AMIE moved to Ohio.
Most surprising to me was still being asked to return, as she is NO Trailer Queen. The years, the several trips through the Southeast, and mileage have left her with blemishes, dings, scratches, and other normal "Beauty Marks", but the Ace folks wouldn't have it any other way.
The people with the Ace Cafe are some of the finest, down to earth folks you'll find anywhere.

The Ace Cafe is now open in downtown Orlando, the first in America, and is a site NOT to be missed.

The "Chameleon", as my '05 America has affectionately become known as, went back to her One up, Gold skin, Retro-mod cafe look for this event.
This is my personal favorite style, though it's a toss-up in my view between the gold or blue tank.
However, it's a family ride, owned by my youngest son, and when the wife decides she wants to go, (which is all-the-time) it better be set-up for two. (And two COMFORTABLY!) lol

So be it.

Oh, the last picture is of some of the people waiting for a ride.

https://imgur.com/a/ZkACX