I've been reading the thread here and I gotta say I'm really digging the build. Looks like it will be a sweet little bike when you're done. Being as it's a hardtail, it reminded me of an article I saw recently from an area newspaper here on the east coast of Canada. I was perusing an online classified ad site looking for bikes for sale and saw this:
http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/front/article/1394161I know this may not be the right category to be posting this in but I think it's quite appropriate giving we're talking about hardtails. I apologize to the administrators in advance if I'm doing something I'm not supposed to be.
It's a rather eye-opening read, I think. It's just another obstacle in what's quickly becoming an all out war on motorcycles in this part of the world. In the article, the gentleman has owned, fabricated and operated several hardtail bikes for several years with not so much as a bat-of-an-eyelash by the provincial DMV. Now, all of a sudden, rigid framed bikes are not recognized and are automatically deemed unsafe by the province. All this is based on the personal opinion of one supposedly qualified engineer that he called from a list supplied by the province. The engineer didn't even come and take a look at the darned bike!! He just automatically labelled it as "unsafe" because it was a hardtail. Now, I'm not an engineer/physicist but I think a basic in-person inspection or some sort of testing would be common practice before labelling something as "unsafe". I don't even own a bike yet and this story has got me so pissed off I could spit sparks and crap lightening. Normally, legislation is put in place to protect the rider and other users of the roadways, keeping people alive and insurance premiums lower than what they could be, for the most part. But I personally think this is going way too far. This is becoming a very disturbing trend here in Canada, with several provinces bringing in after market exhaust laws, (I won't open THAT can of worms here) and generally making it more and more restrictive to own/operate a motorcycle, all in the name of safety, supposedly!? I read a cycle mag article recently in which a couple were touring across the east of Canada on their motorcycle, (I forget the make/model). They live in Ontario and were travelling east through Quebec when they were pulled over by the local highway patrol. The cop explained that since their bike's exhaust was not stock, but aftermarket, they were breaking a new provincial law and after jamming a stick down their exhaust to feel for baffles, (which would be enough to piss me off right there), he proceeded to give them a ticket for over $200 for breaking this law. They weren't staying in the province, just passing through. The best part was apparently, their "illegal" aftermarket exhaust was actually quieter than the stock one!! And not 10 minutes after they were pulled over, they spotted the same cop ticketing another out-of-province rider for the same infraction. Just proves it is a total cash grab. So, now the couple had to cut their vacation short and return home, otherwise risk possibly getting another violation later on down the road. Like I said, normally, I agree with the traffic laws, for the most part. I think they were truly devised with safety in mind and I'm all for that. But now it's getting way out of hand. I'm not sure how stringent the laws are in other parts of Canada or the States, (or the rest of the world. How far does this site reach, anyhow?), but if you're planning on making a trip to the east coast of Canada, do your homework.
BTW, the gentleman in the article above has started a lobby to petition the gov't and has a facebook page called "Rigid Riders". Here is his original classified ad with contact info if anyone is interested:
http://newbrunswick.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-motorcycles-street-cruisers-cho...
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