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Welcome to Brad's World!

This picture was taken in the middle of the road leading into the old abandoned/deconstructed mining town of Pine Point, NT

Brad's News

August 23rd, 2009

Howdy folks,

Well, as I've said on the main page, a lot has happened since I last updated the site. I'm now living in Hay River working at a new (much better) job. We've just bought a new house here with a Man Cave (Garage), which I'm looking forward to using to work on the bike in instead of working on it outside and getting eaten alive by the bugs.

The bike hasn't been running for about the last month due to the Edelbrock carb that I used to like so much taking a big dump. When I took it apart and cleaned it I discovered that the rubber plunger for the accelerator pump has basically degraded to the point that when I tried to put it back in it tore and became usless. I also noticed a couple of other things that leads me to believe that these carbs are pretty much disposable units that are only designed and manufactured to run for about four months and then be thrown away and replaced with a new one. Since they're $400+ and this is the second one that I've gone through I decided to replace them with something a little more durable ... namely a Sudco Keihin FCR 41mm unit. Unfortunately the FCR is coming from the states and hasn't arrived yet. Hopefully it will arrive sometime during the next week so I can get it installed and at least get in another month (September) of riding before it starts snowing here.

Here's some updated pics ...

My XR650L Supermoto this Summer (2009)

Some of the mods that were done over the Winter include; adding a Maier rear fender (had to remove the rear subframe to install it), a Baja Designs LED tail light, a Wolfman removeable tail bag, new carbon fiber smaller turn signals, bar end mirrors (I really like these), a custom case saver held on with high temperature RTV silicone, custom made "XR650L Sumo" rim decals, a new Odyssey battery ... and last but not least ... a new Eddelbrock Pumper carb that only lasted three months before it turned to crap.

My XR650L Supermoto last Summer (2008)

These are the latest pics of my XR650L in Supermoto trim. I've installed my East Coast Wheels, which consist of; Contiforce SM tires on silver Excel rims laced to gold Talon hubs. The front wheel has a Braking 320mm rotor and the rear wheel has an aftermarket Gapher Wave rotor and a new 45 tooth OEM sprocket. Besides the Sumo wheels, these are the latest parts I've added; a billet aluminum MSR rotor shark fin on the rear, an Acerbis Supermoto front fender, axle bar and muffler sliders as well as new fork seal protectors and a new, better quality Moose Racing tool bag. The second biggest performance boosting component I've added (the first biggest was the Eddy carb), is the Stainless Steel FMF Power Bomb header I just finished installing

My 2006 Honda XR650L in 2007 After Modifications

This is my Honda XR650L last year after spending the previous winter doing modifications to it. The modifications include a lowering link on the rear suspension that lowers the seat height about 2 inches from stock (I could hardly touch the ground on it before I put this on). I've also put on a Clarke 4.7 Gallon oversized fuel tank, Pro Circuit 490 racing exhaust, an Acerbis Cyclopse high intensity headlight, a set of Acerbis Rally Pro hand guards, a low profile lighter tail light, a Moose Racing oversized reinforced rear tool bag, a set of Moose Racing extra wide stainless steel foot pegs, a Superbrace front fork stabilizer along with a set of Dirt Skins fork seal protectors, a K & N Performance air filter and removed the smog pump and installed a block off kit. I've also added a Husky Bash Plate and new knobby tires (Teraflex D.O.T. knobby on the back and a Bridgestone Motorcross on the front).

I've still got some mods to do, but they'll have to wait until next winter, as I don't have the time to do them this summer (I want to get as much riding in as possible while the weather is good). One of the major upgrades I've yet to install is an Edelbrock "twist kit" carb that's jetted so fat that it doesn't need a choke. Since it comes with new throttle cables that I'll have to run and the possibility that I'll have to adjust the stock jetting on it, I think I'll wait until next winter to install it.

My 2006 Honda XR650L Before Modifications

This is my Honda XR650L in 2006 at Prelude lake in it's "stock" form.

My Swords

Going from left to right, the first sword is Stainless Steel and is sharpened to a razor's edge, I got it off eBay, the quality isn't the best but you could do some damage with it. The middle sword is Carbon Steel with a blood groove in the center and is hand manufactured by an Armorer in Montreal (Darksword Armory), it's the best balanced of the three long swords. It has blunt edges but is designed to be sharpened easily. The 2nd Sword to the right is also from Darksword Armory, it is also made of Carbon Steel with a blood groove in the center. This sword is the heaviest and broadest of the three, it's more of a two handed "cleaving" sword. The smaller one on the far right is the newest addition to my collection, like three of my other swords, it's from Darkswork Armory in Montreal, is made out of Carbon Steel, has a blunt but ready edge. Of all my swords this one is the best balanced and would be the more practicable one in real combat, as it's lighter and easier to wield for a longer period of time.

My 4000lb Lawn Ornament

This is what started out as being a winter beater truck that could be used to get me back and forth to work in the winter months when I couldn't drive my bike. It ended up being a 4000lb lawn ornament because the exhaust from the manifolds back is pretty much toast and nobody in town wants to put an exhaust on it for me (their excuse is that it's too old), evidently there's so much work for mechanics here that they can pick and choose which vehicles they're going to work on. There's also not one single muffler shop in town, it's either Crappy Tire, the Ford dealership, or Joe Blows's garage, There's nobody that specializes in exhaust. The exhaust on this truck is in such bad shape that flames actually shoot out of the manifolds when it's warming up. I can't drive it this way because I'm afraid it's going to catch on fire while I'm driving it (it's caught on fire twice already while I was warming it up in the driveway, fortunately all that caught on fire was some oil that was around the engine mount and I had a fire extinguisher at the ready to put it right out). It really is a shame because the rest of the truck is in really good shape for a 30 year old truck. It has the Dana 60 axles that 4x4 enthusiasts (rock climbers, mud boggers) kill for. It's an orignal Yellowknife truck, meaning that it's never been exposed to road salt and the body is pretty solid because of it.

I've decided to do the exhaust myself, the only problem is that it's virtually impossible to find a stock exhaust system for this truck, the Ford Dealership can't even find one, so I'm going to have to put headers and straight pipes with a couple of Cherry Bombs on it. I've found the part #s I need for the headers and Cherry Bombs, I'm just waiting for Bumper to Bumper parts shop in town to be open so I can order them. Then all I have to do is either wait for spring to arrive or find some sort of garage to do the work in.

I'll let everyone know how I make out. Wish me luck!!

*Update*

I've sold the truck to one of the Splicers at work. The guy is a bit of an Old Ford Truck nut. He knew more about the truck than I did, where it was manufactured, when it was manufactured, what parts were original (which turns out to be about 99% of them). He came over one night with another guy from work (a field tech), they brought a 1/2 drive ratchet, a prybar, a big propane heater and a tarp. They put the tarp over the front of the truck and then fired up the big propane heater and let it warm up (it only took 10 or 15 minutes). They then put the 1/2 drive socket and prybar on the manifold to exhaust bolts and managed to tighten them up. They then let it warm up for a while and then drove it home. The guy that bought it plans on doing a full restoration job on it.