Peanut butter and apples

change of tank

A friend of mine had a spare SS50 tank of the early type, thanx HJ.
A long time ago I wanted to build my SS50 with this model of tank, but for some reason I never did. Now I have the tank, my vietnamese seat now has the mounts adapted for it, as the baseplate allready had the shock-cutouts in the right place for this tank.

Now to find a set of chrome tankpanels and kneerubbers. But I do like the look, just that bit more sporty then a CD50 tank. I think I'll also switch back to skinny chrome fenders to complete the look.

1Q84

This is the longest book I have ever read.

Possibly with more intensity than any other.

It does not have a typical Murakami ending.

Which gives me a strange hope for the future.

For the last two weeks, living in my own world. 

Never has a book consumed me so fully.

You build your own reality.

You have to write your own story.

The path back to the world you want to exist in.

Might not lead you to the reality that once existed.

But with the right person next to you holding your hand.

It doesn't matter which road you choose or where it leads.

Front forks

I've been collecting front fork parts to upgrade two of my bikes. I want my SS50 motorcycle to have thicker front forks, as it struggles with the original 25mm forks while at the same time I would like to upgrade the SS50 race project with stiffer yokes and better internals.
By now I've found pretty much everything, so I've started work on it.

These yokes will have the handlebarmounts removed to look like MT125R yokes, the clamp will be more stable then the bolted type.

Forktubes will be replaced by MT5 tubes that will be shortened, thes also have the big plugs on top that match with the clamped yoke. The internals will be made as a copy of an MT125R forkleg, which actually has some sort of damper. Sadly loose parts are not available, but I have a forkleg on loan to copy from.

As the forks were out of the frame, this was also the right time to weld on a fairing stay:


that was some slight progress on this project, I've also started on the front fender, but that is on hold again, as I had some parts for another project

1Q84

"The air was startlingly fresh, and the stillness filled the surrounding space.  The perfectly clear sky seemed to soar upward, and the warmth of the sunlight gently touched any skin directly exposed to it."

This is what I want it to feel like where I live.  I want to move to the country.

1Q84

"Either I'm funny or the world's funny, I don't know which.  The bottle and lid don't fit. It could be the bottle's fault or the lid's fault.  In either case, there's no denying that the fit is bad."

-Aomame

Nha Trang Cake

Almost every year, I go back to my hometown, Nhatrang for Tet (Lunar New Year) for at least a week to meet old friends, family and also to eat and relax. This year was a bit different compared to the last couple years because I had to work in between. It was very interesting wandering around with my clients and proudly talking about my hometown's amazing food. And for sure, I showed my clients all of my favorite places. Now they have some of my secrets.


One of my favorite dishes is called Banh Can. I ate it many times during my 2 week holidays for both breakfast and dinner. I love the way they cook the cake with either egg or seafood or mixed together. There are a number of people who don't really like this dish very much but I think its kind of unique. The rice flour batter is poured into little clay cups over a hot brazier, a quail egg is broken onto the top, sometimes a whisked chicken egg. Also I have enjoyed the cake with squid or shrimp steamed on it for a little while. The dipping sauce can be a challenge for some people; but I love "Mam Nem" a fermented fish sauce with a milder flavor than "Mam Tom". Added to the sauce is shredded green mango, stir fried spring onion, chilli and minced pork balls are served on the side. I love the rich and spicy taste of the dipping sauce and the smokiness of the grilled cake in my mouth. It creates a great flavor combination. This dish is not available in Hanoi. Perhaps that's a good thing as I would probably eat far too much of it.

new rims......four of 'm

Okay, its winter over here, so the bikes are inside for now, I don't want them to rot away because of the salt on the roads. So The V-double-U is getting used a lot.
But I happenend to hit a patch of ice that caused me to crash into a curb, puncturing one of my front tyres....
The other front was pretty much worn, and so are the rear ones on my set of 15" BBS rims.
For now I have some old 14" rims, that I really don't like the look off, so I had to decide about getting 4 new tyres for the summer, or getting completely new wheels.
I decided on new wheels, a new look, something different:

For now they are still inside untill the weather clears, but I wanted to get a quick look so I took this picture with the wheels standing in front of my car. It will actually become lower with the low profile 13" tyres, so I hope I can still get over the speedbumps.

１Q８４

Like it or not, I'm here now, in the year 2Q13.  The 2013 that I knew no longer exists.  It's 2Q13 now.  The air has changed, the scene has changed.  I have to adapt to this world-with-a-question-mark as soon as I can.  Like an animal released into a forest.  In order to survive, I have to learn the rules of this place and adapt myself to them."

*Adapted