Thats a wrapp, New Year - the build continues....

      So, after a small hiatus, mailny involving lots of travel, beer and food I got back to the garage for some therapy. First off, my parents got me a set of wrenches (I know spanners, but I have spent too long in the US of A). Lets face it, at our age, Christmas is a difficult time for presents as we have most anything we want, which leaves Whisky or tools, so tools it was - a lovely set of metric ratchet wrenches - now thats a mouthful for most every one (Nina Hartley an exception). So I got to organise my metric drawer in th eVidmar - remember the Vidmar, a restoration from my time in Florida, from my best friend Robert Meadows. The result is quite pleasing:

     This gave me the nudge i required to get back to my bike build, so to the garage on 01 Jan 25, new year, same build. So my first job was to strip down the the forks, the first one went lovely, cleaned up the lower and a quick service. Oil replacement tbd. The second was a nightmare, Captain Bodge had been at it, the first bolt was a B&Q special, the lower stud being totally absent, and the other stud had been stripped, epoxy resined and nyloc bolt bodged, almost certain death if I had not checked it and riddent the bike - another lesson learnt:

     Some new ones were made up from some high tensile steel, and fitted, happy days, and all cleaned up, studs fitted with red thread locker.

     The urge to have a milestone was great, so i test assembled the fromnt end, having cleaned the ignition switch and the key, it now functions perfectly, a happy event. So below is progress to date, the front ens is almost complete, the headlight needing a service and restoration, all else is complete for the front, the powder coating still needing done, but hopefully by months end it should be done.

     As you can see, a rather pleasing outcome.

     Next upm the headlight and engine removal for frame prep, on which note, I havbe purchased the seat unit, effectively it was free as i funded it with eBay sales from stuff acquired in thrift / charity  shops, so happy days:

Stay tuned for more entrawling installments of this blog. TTFN

Am Happy with That.........

     So, the clocks turned out alright, I hope they work, once connected and the bike working, the pudding will be proofed.

     In a quirk of fate, i was on the GS Owners Forum (fannybook) and noticed one of the gurus not only lives down the road by 3 miles, but i used to work with him. Happy days, i dropped him a line, and his absolute forte is bike electrics and GS motorcycles! Not only that, he had a fuel tank tha i could have for a very reasonable, best price, one time only, never to be repeated, so said tank was snapped up!

     Hear is a picture, it is from an earlier model but that is a smoother look, something i like, so the bike is evolving, the FrankenGS is being born.

     Not only that, the lock set that had siezed due to the amount of detritus ingressed and general shite it was stored in, was freed up - with a little WD40 and careful cleaning it now functions luverly! Even better than that - the fuel cap, that resembled a block of sandstone with rust was cleaned. A copious amount of elbow grease and a light addition of NASA's water displacement product cleaned that as well, and made me a very smiley person when the key from the ignition also worked the fuel cap, that fitted the tank! I was very very content.

     The mounting lugs on the frame need relocating, to fully secure the tank, a small job and will be done post Christmas when the frame gets tackled. All in All a good purchase and, with some degree of luck, the ancilliaries for the tank fit, a forst on this build.

    Now to the final installation of the clocks, yokes, bars and headstock etc.

     More to follow after Christmas