On the road again

pics of the bike and JR after it finally started after the long cold winter
thanks for helping me sort out the battery while I was at work JR

new sissy bar

sort of new Chris from Shintysix made this for me a few months ago
but haven't had my camera at home in a wile check it out

super exited to have this this coming year
now I can travel with a bit more then the cloths on my back

jills arm all done

Jill from Mortar&Pestle came in the other day to finish her sleeve
hope to grab some healed photos soon

working on the bike

so during my trip to the Rockies at the start of the month
I ripped out the signal wires having to rewire them
I decided to paint the fender at the same time

bike all ripped apart

the fender after first coat

all rewired and put back together new paint and all
took the better part of the morning to take it all apart figure out which wires were missing and paint and reassemble all in all pretty fun morrning in the garage

nothing but the clothes on my back

So I finlay took a vacation that didn't evolve around tattooing
I took just over a week and a half spent a week just riding my bike putting on 2500+ km going from Vancouver to Sumerland then off to Elkford and back with nothing but the clothes on my back and a small tool bag

It was super relaxing just riding around for the week

The first day I road from Van to Sumerland through Manning park what a nice ride my only big hold up was in Keremeos because of the Ironman going on if I had known I would of left a day later one of the racers beat me to Pentiction do to road being so backed up for the race , once I got to Summerland I stoped to visit some family then over to friends for the night were I got a bit drunk , so the next day I spent sleeping on the beach.

Gettting bord of sleeping on the beach and not having any destination in the trip I went to Elkford, through kelowna to the Salmo-Creston wich was a nice ride, aside from neer salmo where the bugs are huge and feel like getting hit by soft balls.

After Creston the riding was nice with great roads and smooth sailing till a road block , early in the day a logging truck had gone over and about 20mins from Cranbrook I had to wait 3hours to get by , this delaying me in my trip I stoped to get gas and a snack in Cranbrook and call a head I didn't tell anyone I was coming I was just gonna supries them but being 3hours or so behind and not knowing if anyone was around I called a head, also being behind and with not much to wear I was racing the sun to Elkford and lost around Feirne which this time of year it get pretty fucking cold in the Rockies once the sun goes down,it coldest ride I ve ever been on even beat the ride I took last January. As I pulled in to Elkford my shifter fell off, the road to Elkford was pretty shity being torn up to be repaved , luckily it didn't break and I was able to put it back on.

the next day i just spent hanging out at my dads place since rain had taken over and it was fucking cold out , hell it even snowed at the mine that night. So I ended up staying an extra night their, then off to Sparwood to visit some friends for the night before heading off back to Kelowna to visit then Summerland then home. All in all I had a rad time just ridding around by my self

Their are some amazing roads in BC and it was fun to be just out enjoining them, if you have never ridden across BC I recommend it take the old roads and enjoy the small towns

it was also nice to see some rad people that I haven't seen in a long time and I d like to thank Leim and Galiy, Thor and Amy, Dad and Donna, Jordy and his old lady (sorry dear cant remember name) for giving me places to stay and feeding me

now time to get back to work I wish I could be on vacation all the time

new speedo

put on a new speedo the other the other day

all legit now

so this morning I woke up early to try and get a walk in road test for my bike
, and I passed this time that's right I legit now

which is nice after failing last year, I was pretty bummed
so I am super happy today , that, the sun is out and I got a fun tattoo to do its a good day

bussy weekend

got my new stickers in they have a light metalflake to them

if you want a few stop by Rain City Tattoos 101-223 west broadway

also for the new shop I started a set of 4 11x14
sized sheets of flash this will be for the shop only
so no prints will be made

I had a blank frame hanging around for a few years now
finaly got around to do something with it thanks to Chris

Chris did all the hard work of carving it out for me
and I just assembeled and tuned , hope we can do more of this type of thing in the future

and I got my bike back thanks Sam and Darren

new bars, new foot controls and a broed out motor.
oh ya thats the new seat I put on a few months back sorry I the photo took so long
now I just need a sissy bar, spoke wheels, paint and pipes then after that there probly be another list of things I want to do thats just the way it is

best wife ever

so this morning i get woken up by my wife going

its sunny get up you need to go out for a ride,

so I did. It was cold but boy was she right thanks baby

freedom

went for my first ride of the year today ,

had a good time even tho it was a bit cold but felt so good to be out on my bike

my new seat is nice and comfy and the bikes running supper clean

man I wish it would stay nice enuf on my days off to justify

reinsuring my bike I'd realy like to go for a ride

but anyways I found this photo of my bike mixed in a bunch of tattoo photos

its nothing fancy just a stock bike that needs a bit of love

this is also the spot in front of the shop that should be free motorcycle parking but isnt it just wasted space in between two car spots, on granville their is wasted space like this in bettween every car that could fit two bikes but its not alowed

failed

I failed my road test today for my bike , I can try again in a week or so

She told me since I dont have a mirroir on my right I dont shoulder check right far enuf when turning right also she didnt like my stop position on one of my turns so I got to try again

as promised on.....

....... August 9, I know I am not good at this thing at all but here is the photo of the rad tool bag Rob made for me , for some reason all the photos of working on the bike have been lost tho

sunday

spent all Sunday working on my bike , put on a new rear fender ,shorter shocks and a new taillight, also I got a rad tool bag hand made by Rob Weiss yesterday. My bike feels like a new bike again.

pics soon as i find were I left my camera (i think work)

Beer, the Bike & the Wife

So as some of you out there know, I've been having a hard time with drinking as of late. I do drink socially quite a bit - I like to have a good time. It doesn't affect my life or work and I don't drink at work, but it seems now that every time I have more than one drink I get sick. It tends to be if I drink a lot or a little so I'm cutting out drinking for a while.

On a brighter note, I did my BC Motorcycle Skills test today and passed! Now I have my novice license and am legally allowed to ride around during daylight hours. Since I can't drink anyway, I'll be spending most of my time riding as long as my bike is running.

Also my wife, Cara, is away out east right now and I miss her. It's a bit lonely over at the old homestead. At least for the next few days I have Junior and his old lady staying with me while they're moving into our neighbourhood...

NEW MOTORCYLE - YEAH!

Love me or hate me - you can review me on yelp now:
http://www.yelp.ca/biz/kirksheppardtattoos-com-vancouver

Also, I bought a motorcycle today! It's an '87 Sportster. Now all I need to do is learn to ride a bike again. It's been years since I've been on a motorcycle.

I had a good time with Hugues, Jr, and my wife (Cara) at the car show yesterday out at the Tradex in Abbotsford. We saw tonnes of rad cars. Photos coming soon...