Big thanks and shout out to a member of the best bike site on the planet

[rubbersidedown]

Member @hayabuser set me up today with a sweet battery for my Busa. No money for it...he just asked for a qwik favor in return.When I told him I wasn't that kind of boy...he just asked to help load a bike instead.
I gave him a hand to load up one of his bikes that he is delivering to the new owner. It was a sad day. We stopped,held hands and dropped our heads for a minute of silence.
I was out there to give him a t-shirt that I spotted on the interweb months back. I got one,received it,loved it and the quality was good so I ordered up one for me bro. Its a pretty cool shirt as 'Buser and I both recognize the long history between Suzuki and Yoshimura.
So put your hands together...

for Hayabuser...another classic example of The Org at its finest.
I was wearing the t-shirt in question and said we should take a pic for the boyz on the site and he just kind of looked at me...



I think at the very least he wanted to swear at me...or maybe just punch me in the face. I think he thought the idea was ghey or something.

Funny chit.
Rubb.

 

[rubbersidedown]

The cool Tee...

close-up...of the cool Tee...Kanji Falcon w/ 194 speedo

His beloved stretched Hi-Po Katana loaded...

He seemed eager to show off the new member to his stable...note that his new Busa is not in the mix...it has yet to arrive.
This latest addition of his is the ultra rare Katana with pop-up headlight is something you dont see everyday. Check this out he say's...

...but then...some sort of malfunction as the headlite did not drop down...

It was time for Rubb to split as The 'Buser seemed to be angry...

Yup...angry.

Rubb.

 

[Bumblebee]

A common fault with the headlight on those Katanas...there is an aftermarket fix for them which I never put on mine...it just used to do the "closing wag."

They can be closed manually by using a "wheel" underneath the mechanism.

There was an excellent Katana forum but sadly it went the way of the Dodo like many do. I've heard there's one on Facebook-don't use that platform so can't confirm.

 

[TallTom]

Rubb. You realize that part of the reason you scored this is all the efforts you put into this board helping its members. It's time you get back when you're in need also. Food on ya both for making this site what Captain wanted.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get a tissue.

 

[hayabuser]

I alway enjoy a good Rubb story, never thought that I'd star in one though! As is typical, there are a lot less ladies in my story as opposed to Rubb's normal tales... but I digress. And cry. Royalty cheques can be sent to me directly....

Yeah, Phat Kat is going away, or more specifically, going home. It was built by my friend Rob whose day job was Hollywood-North Stuntman but built custom Katanas as a hobby/side business. The orange bike he built for himself as his dreambike, a reward to himself. Sadly he got ill around 2015 or so and wasn't able to ride anymore. He disassembled the bike and never put it back together. After a couple of years in this state, he realized that his riding days were most likely behind him and offered it to me in 2017 as-is, where-is (as-was, where-was?) as I was circling it like a vulture. Another friend and I went over to the mainland and picked up the bike and a TON of spare parts. Once home, I reassembled the puzzle and owned the coolest bike I'd ever seen.

The Kat must have felt slighted as it gave me a pretty difficult time over the three years that it was in my care. Lots of small issues, some big ones but to its credit, it always started and it always got me home. Sometimes with a boot covered in oil, once without a starter clutch forcing me to not stop throughout a 25km urban ride but whatever... she's a supermodel and they're rarely low maintenance. I knew what I was getting into.

Suddenly though, Rob starts feeling better. It's a slow improvement but day by day, week by week, he's on the mend. A couple of months ago, he took on a new customer build, a new Phat Kat. He's able to ride, his balance is coming back. He wants his dreambike back. I can't blame him, I always knew (and hoped) that this day would come. I was just a placeholder, a custodian, but Rob is the creator. The bike had to return to Mecca.

So we made a deal, pretty easy as deals go... pay me what I paid you and you can have it back. Spare parts and all. And I will deliver it back to Vancouver. Sealed deal, done and done. Delivery is tomorrow morning, everything is ready to go thanks to Rubb (thanks Rubb!), just need to get in the truck and drive the 10 minutes to the ferries. Then 20 minutes on the other side... easy-peasy lemon squeezy, as my 8 year old would say.

And now you know, the rest of the story.

Oh, and I didn't know that you wanted me to change shirts for a photo-op on the spot Rubba, I presumed it was "on a later date" sort of thing. Like when I have my Busa in town? This is probably why I'm so lonely... can't take a hint even if it's applied with a sledgehammer. Great shirt though, love it! I'll coddle and cry into it Saturday night when I'm empty nesting post-Kat.

 

[hayabuser]

A common fault with the headlight on those Katanas...there is an aftermarket fix for them which I never put on mine...it just used to do the "closing wag."

They can be closed manually by using a "wheel" underneath the mechanism.

There was an excellent Katana forum but sadly it went the way of the Dodo like many do. I've heard there's one on Facebook-don't use that platform so can't confirm.

Touched the manual extension knob (pardon??? ) with the ignition on and the headlight dropped into the down position. Ignition-on, ignition-off, light's working perfectly now. Guess it might have either over-extended a touch, or the manual knob (stop talking about my sex life! ) is just a little sticky (what?) from old age (#truth).

Yup, I'm lonely. But at least my headlight works.

 

[Bumblebee]

Touched the manual extension knob (pardon??? ) with the ignition on and the headlight dropped into the down position. Ignition-on, ignition-off, light's working perfectly now. Guess it might have either over-extended a touch, or the manual knob (stop talking about my sex life! ) is just a little sticky (what?) from old age (#truth).

Yup, I'm lonely. But at least my headlight works.

There is an updated circuit board which fixes that issue but since the old Katana forum is dead, the contacts I had to put you in touch with the guy who makes them is gone too...

That bike is a real PITA to get any parts for when it comes to body work and such as they were limited in production.