Happy Daze!
I've been following the tracking advice on the USPS site since Jeff from Boxkars advised that the shifter design we'd been tossing around was done and dispatched.
All along the customisation of my Straight 8 has been about emulating a 'low rider for a big guy' - or one that kinda looked like the bikes I had as a kid - only up-scaled to fit my 6'5" frame and middle age spread.
Hello stick shift.
Not exactly like my Malvern Star Dragster back in the 60's in Sydney town. But it was way cool to unpack the box anyhoo.
The quality of the product is everything I hoped for and the service I got from Jeff as we ran through the mounting options for what is a pretty unique frame profile was just as good.
In the end he fabricated a 2" bracket and I made a rubber insert to go between frame and clamp and it works great and I'm really happy with the way it looks.
What I didn't expect was how intrinsic a stick shift on a cruiser is. TBH I looked it up in the dictionary to make sure it was the right word: "belonging naturally". It's a tactile thing that I wouldn't have bought if someone tried to tell me about it, but I somewhat understand why blokes put them on Harleys now too. Twisting the selector on the hand grip might be more efficient. But it isn't inherent. (I looked that one up too).
I also found that it was so well set up and designed that even a ham-fisted mechanic like me didn't have any dramas installing.
So that's the next stage of the Tall 8 done. The dog exercising accessory poop bag carrier and poop retrieval-hook are installed under the seat, old school speedometer and some extra lighting fitted too.
I'll live with it for a while then I'm thinking triple clamp with longish chopper forks, 29" hoop and a disc brake front end, but I have a new front end and wheels on the way for my Scrambler conversion next job.
Meanwhile my accomplice thinks it's all a bit of a ...
