Barry is coming along great guns with his Harley conversion . Â He’s doing a thorough job before The Harley and him get outa dodge.
We had a great visit with Barry yesterday. I’m pretty impressed with the progress he is making with his Harley.
I asked him to please do a personal  write up about his Harley sidecar.  Here is what he had to say~
I am building the sidecar  so I can get out driving and meet people, as well as having fun while travelling.  Last fall I was with a friend in Kamloops at the Harley Davidson outlet , as he was buying parts for his bike I was looking at the bikes in the showroom: the salesman asked if I was looking for anything in particular.  I told him I was looking for a Sportster 883 newer than 2001 as it turned out he had just gotten in a 2008 the night before, it was exactly what I was looking for so we made a deal.
Then the work began, another friend found a doner bike, a Suzuki, that I could use the swing arm and the tripple tree off of. Â I bought mechanical tubing and started making the sidecar frame. Â Then added the fairing off of a Honda and free formed fiberglass over the entire sidecar. Then I matched the bikes paint and started putting everything together.
As I , start , riding the bike : for the first year it will be just short trips as I get used to the bike and work out any kinks. Â Then I would like to go for a month to Alaska and eventually follow the Can Am Highway to Land’s End to have a beer…
I then asked Barry ~ Why did you want to build this for yourself?
Barry replied ~
So, I would get what I wanted as well as enjoying the build by using the different skills I have picked up over the last 40 years. Â From welding to bending tubing, fiberglassing, painting, wiring and some mechanical skills.
Six layers of fiberglass later ~ 3 inside ~ 3 outside .
Steps Barry took to paint the sidecar~ 3 coats of polyeurothane~1 coat of epoxy ~ base coat silver~mid coat red ~ tinted clear ( these are waterborn base) ~ 2 coats of poly eurothane clear ~ a total of 12 hours of painting and 40 hours of sanding.
Driver on the left.
Barry writing for the blog ~ Barry modelling his “Beanie” for nice days .
and his full face helmet for crappy days.
What a guy we are very proud to know Barry Bender~
nothing more yummy than lickin’ the bowl clean ~
Jacob was very proud of the fact that he can now ride his bike without training wheels and I must say he keeps his balance and goes like the wind ~ Kinda like his Mom when it comes to running ~ she runs like a gazelle that girl. Had to take pictures for Grampa Al ~
Ocean view late afternoon ~
Third elevator lady ~
This is Aullie… he is a Solomon Island Eclectus… his life span is  60 to 80 years…
This is Kiwi a female White Capped Pionus… her life span is  25 to 40 years… she was enjoying a dog cookie here…
This blue bird is Robin… she is a parrolette.. her life span is 15 to 20 years and she is the smallest parrot of the Amazon family…
This is Doodle… she is a Congo African Grey… her life span is 50 to 70 years… she is a rescue that is slowly getting her feathers back… she likes peanuts…
and she likes “showers”…
This is Oscar he is a Goffin Cockatoo, his life span is 30 to 40 years… He is two years old…
Beautiful animals aren’t they…
Groomed beach ~
Water volleyball ~ Is that Gilbert serving ?
Our room with a view ~
The house keeper we had was Cristine ~ she was very nice and made great animals out of the towels ~
this guy wasn’t pushy … we just wanted to try on his cool hats ~
We enjoyed a barbecue the hotel had on the beach one evening. Â It included some delicious food and entertainment which included ladies playing with fire , fireworks and dancing.
adult pool ~ so relaxing
These poor little critters washed up on the beach ~ Careful when you are  walking
hanging out makin’ a livin’ ~
Gilbert a very nice young man and a great photographer ~ Oh and a super water volleyball player~ especially his backward serves ~lol
This little fellow is “Bandcheeto” a 4 year old crocodile ~
A beautiful wedding on the beach~
I loved the all you can eat prawns at just about every meal ~ If you go to this hotel be sure to reserve for dinner at the “Italian Restaurant” Â (big on the yummy ! )
Allan beat me both games of chess… show off ~
a favorite place to read ~ The Malecon ~
some of the prettiest sunset are in Nuevo Vallarta ~
local fishermen ~
mmm… lunch or supper….
Great walks every morning on the beach~
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