SHORT FILM: it's better in the wind.

Black Angels, motorcycles, long winded road trips, and good cinematography.
That'll do.


It's Better In The Wind - 2011 Trailer 2 from Scott Toepfer on Vimeo.

Music: "Young Men Dead" by The Black Angels

DAILY INSPIRATION: deus ex machina

The perfect business model. The perfect merger of design, transportation and lifestyle. The guys at Deus Ex Machina are one of my biggest inspirations.

Here's an interview with the founders, Dare Jennings and Rod Hunwick, that I found really interesting.

This video will make you second guess your career choice...and life in general.

Deus Ex Machina - Temple Of Enthusiasm, Bali from Deus Customs on Vimeo.

GEAR: Gorilla Boots, USA

Picked up some Gorilla Trekker boots (far left) recently.

"Tough as nails" for sure.

I purchased them over at Jack Threads for much less then retail, thankfully.

PROJECT CX: sketch update

Like I said earlier, I've been toying with tire choices.

I think this sketch update with the Maxxis DTR-1's sold me.

The only thing I'm worried about now is if the bike is too Black heavy. I may look into adding more color variation.

PROJECT CX: commence seat pan fabrication.

This weekend, I took a grinder to the stock seat pan. It allowed me to get a better look at what needs to be done to create the look I want. The kink is hideous, and building to disguise it looks like it will be a challenge. This will be one of the only areas of the bike I will be out sourcing since I have zero upholstery experience.

DAILY INSPIRATION: cb77 mono-gauge

 The gauge from a CB77 with a continuous perimeter readout band. The Tachometer needle rotates clockwise, while the Speedometer gauge rotates counter clockwise. Shown here on Len Higa's '61 Superhawk. 

I must have this.

PROJECT CX: tire choices

The choice of tires has been on my mind a lot lately. There's this internal tug of war going on between vintage and performance. Is there ever an overlap? Doesn't seem to be, and if there is it will be a compromise of both. Maybe that's ok. Maybe lower performing tires will keep me on my toes and from getting too confident.

I still haven't made up my mind on the direction I want the bike to go in. That should help me make some decisions.

Here are a few contenders:

DAILY INSPIRATION: wrenchmonkees CX500

It's really hard not to be inspired by these guys, so it's only fitting they get the first in a line of Daily Inspiration.

PROJECT CX: ...where my head's at right now.

PROJECT CX: and......go.

About 3 years ago now, I was wrapping up design school and in the midst of a motorcycle design class. The class was very much about visual brand language, and less about engineering.

It was a crash course in basic motorcycle mechanics, history, and design.

Since then I've been wanting to acquire a bike and treat it's build as a design project. Well a few weeks ago I purchased my first bike, a '78CX500

The Salary Cap: will be $1000.00 USD
All outsourced work, maintenance and aftermarket items included.

The Bike:
1978 CX500 Standard
24,000 mi
Purchased for $700
Runs, but needs work in order to be ride-able.

The Plan
To intertwine the traditional bike build thread with the traditional design process - through photos, customization, and concept sketches.

The End Goal
An honest, no frills, budget built city romper.

Thanks for looking, and your comments and criticism are welcome. I'm not going to pretend I really know what I'm doing mechanically. This will be a big learning process the whole way through, but I plan on doing all the work myself.