warning:long post ahead. ALSO-GREEN LATIFAH!

instagram has likely ruined this bike for just about everybody now, and i'm sure we're all sick of seeing this thing ( i apologize in advance) but i figured i'd do a little post for the blog anyways. i guess technically this is the first full bike i've ever freshened up from start to finish and it was a really fun experience. i'm excited to get rolling on the next project and even more excited to rip wheelies on this thing. its kind of like the shitcutter vol .2 but dressed a little more swanky/skanky?

this summer i taught my lady how to ride a bike. she caught on a lot faster then i initially learned and within about 10 minutes she was shifting gears on the shitcutter. it was nuts to say the least, and since then i really wanted to be able to ride a bike along with her. i wanted to get her a road bike ideally but this enduro popped up for the right price and i kind of liked it myself so it was the ideal purchase. the whole thing start to finish probably took around a month and a half, so every spare moment i had i would head over to the garage at my moms place and spend hours at a time dorking around with it. little bits of work included: re-covering the seat, popping some fork gaiters on, bondo'ing the dents as best as possible on the tank, sanding and painting everything else, wiring up a new brake light, making a side cover out of some scrap metal, making a little license plate bracket, setting up a little sissy bar and then other little bits like removing reflectors and switches and anything else that didn't need to be there. cleaning and polishing and the usual odd jobs needed when your trying to make an old bike look a bit newer again. some jobs took a few tries and a little bit of learning was involved which is always fun. i didn't really have a look in mind figured out at the start of the project so most of the time was spent just scheming up different colorways and handlebar choices and the like. the sissy bar was a last minute addition, i think initially it may have been a bar that held lights on a stock XS as it came in a box full of spare parts that i was given. but with a little tweaking it fit perfect and i felt like it was a nice final touch on the bike, it sort of turned out looking like a little dirt chopper which i couldn't be more hyped on. i took it for a quick spin and it was super fun, i can't wait to rip around back alleys and in city park's on this thing come spring time. looking back on the whole project, if i knew at the start how i wanted it to look at the end it would have taken probably a week or two to do but that's the beauty of making it up as you go along i guess! it was the ideal project, taking a running bike and getting the opportunity to make it look nice. we'll see once i get this thing on the road if it needs any actual work but with the oil changed, new plug/clutch and throttle cables and carb cleaned i'm hoping it'll be just fine. the inside of the tank was clean and the bike seemed to idle nice so fingers crossed that its a reliable runner! if not there will be more fun to come getting this thing 100% dialed and i look forward to more learning experiences!

anyways, enough of me ranting. here's some photos. enjoy dudes!

i was really happy with the finished project and surprised my lady with it on christmas eve. she was stoked and now we can ride together, and maybe even join DMX's bike gang. RUFF RYDERS!!!!

also my lady named it green latifah. i am 100% backing that name choice