Wednesday 24 July 2013

solo to so-low

Saturday to So-low Choppers near Bury St Edmunds
another 100 mile round trip
Made welcome by Mark as Clive the head honcho was off to pick up 
an ebastard find. 
I bumped into Steve who had been knocked off his bike by a post office van. 
They were fixing it up for him, in their rather dusty workshop, the paint an prep area and engineering are in the same large warehouse. 
Amazing damage at fifteen miles an hour, including that  £2000 quid 
Pageant paint OUCH!

AHEM
Christine has stopped puking!
The S&S Breather gear did the trick and later I swopped the feed and vent hoses on the oil tank, an inch and half can make difference! (they are together at the top right of the tank and have no tubes inside)
The new Mufflers required a jet change so now running 29.5 Intermediate which makes in run a lot smoother at low revs and no coughs at closed throttle from the carb. And as I had gone up two sizes, I've gone up one to 70 on the main jet, although she wasn't complaining the plugs are now the right colour. Amazing how drag pipes can cause a such rich condition.

Sunday 21 July 2013

drool, drool, drool...

Andy Tiernans classic bike emporium in Framlinghm
I called in to buy some 50wt oil he sells for £16 quid, 
that he had made up to his spec, strictly cash only...
and while there had a good nose around, meeting dave in the workshop.

I found this place about 17 years ago and went back a few times but could not locate it.
Turns out Andy rented the showroom out to a bed shop, so thats how we missed it.
Funny, I bought a victorian wrought iron and brass bed from Ben Goodfrey who owns the bed shop in 1990, but his premises then was an old barn!
small world...

Friday 19 July 2013

lurking in deepest darkest suffolk...

in Andy Tiernans classic bike shop in Framlingham Suffolk
lurks a chopper from another time...

check out andys pics

back in the day
built by Gibert Sills of the Crettingham Crank Company

Monday 15 July 2013

sunday lunch with NCC Suffolk


Jay, son of Mr So-Low Chopper's lovely 650 Yam 
show winner...
loaded with extras...
a few triumph chops...
sunday lunch with the suffolk NCC...
nice...
early rider...
great country band with legs...
and found Ms Blue chilling on the grass
Her mum was at the Friston Classic Car and Bike Show... 
a lovely laid back early evening event on the village green 
that we went to on Thursday the 11th
full of gems that had seen some use. 

(Pic nicked from Andy Tiernans Classic Bike)

why so many vids? - that is all my camera will take...

quiet you bitch part deux

finally they are on, 
mrs arcadian thinks the bitch is louder!
certainly feels smoother
got to get used to the funny little snuffly sounds they make on overrun
and Rob, I know they worked for you but she didn't start any easier!

Sunday 14 July 2013

How to spend two and a half days fitting two mufflers...

 for those of us without a lathe and an out door workshop, dont waste time (hours) filing your spacer to fit (cut from the old exhaust)..
 cut the spacer in half...
 looking goooood, now thats one done, 
one to go but a bit quicker next time....
 find somewhere to locate the bracket and cut and drill to size...
 then discover the mufflers are not a push fit 
and need spacers and a clamp which will need to be ordered...
 used a bit of silicone plastic tube as a cut guide and a saw to finish the cut...
 but now the front pipe has no tab or bracket to fix it...
my spacer solution came from a piston ring compressor tool... 
and my bracket for the front pipe made from a bit of daggy old angle iron, note the allen bolt drilled and tapped to stop the bracket moving on the original frame tab, fucking neat heh...

so that then had to be painted and as you may have noticed the camera has decided to fuck its self...

so dear reader part deux to come...

Monday 8 July 2013

Krazy...

45 mile ride on sunday to...
 the behemoth that is Krazy Horse Customs...
 new premises...
 where I met Liz again, who reminded me we met at Linkerts...
and showed me their workshop full of secret stuff except Pauls (Mr Beamish is the owner) bike 
- I have loved since seeing it on the cover of BSH Magazine may years ago
 so had a coffee, perused their showroom bikes, some for sale and of course bought the T-shirt

and the bitch didn't puke...


Sunday 7 July 2013

How to stop the bitch puking...

Ordered an S&S steel breather gear
 Baz (he of best chop fame and owned for forty years) suggested I try a new crankcase breather gear to resolve my puking problem first. Its done it since the rebuild, I've tried reseating the pump check valve, removing the oil cooler (the oil could be backing up in the lines) but it still does it, usually after a few miles at a gas station when kickstarting.
  looks like someone has enlarged the breather hole
and replaced the plastic OEM with a steel breather!
the £112 S&S model seems to be timed to open earlier 

Not sure this rather expensive fix is going to sort the problem
Baz said it could be Oil blow by caused by pistons not sealing, but she has done this from the get go so I don't think thats the cause
Just got Donny Petersens Shovelhead Part Two
and oil blow by is caused by a lot of factors that HD tried to redress
Some light relief
I met 'Chopper' (steve) 'Magneto Zoo' (Paulie) and 'Jamesville' James on my linkert travels

NB
The new breather gear seems to fix the problem

Thursday 4 July 2013

there and back again, part deux...

missed breaky, gotta hit the road, its after 8am, we got 360 miles to go now
we stop for refreshment when the tanks empty or every 80 to a 100 miles , depending on the motorway services availability...
Ha, I like chancing it, we'd just done eighty odd miles, the signs on the M4 said services 7m, we should have pulled in but then we went on the M25 and it became another 24m...
phew, south mimms services, potters bar, one o'clock, 104 miles, tank empty
well not as empty as I thought - more mpg now!
she's pulling like a train, its almost visceral at 70 plus
that big gearing really works
3.30pm and home...
seven and a quarter hours and...
 360 miles on a rigid chopper bitch...
you'd look a bit fucked too...
good times












Tuesday 2 July 2013

love is all around...


some creepy guy taking pics...
rob arrived on his shovel...
awaiting those that know to choose the best...
those that know...
master of ceremony - stevie...
the welsh boys show...
love is all around
french love...
welsh fix, er, sorry,  love...
baz wins best chop...
indian love...
turd love...
paulie drinks his best knuckle win down in one...
more love...
love those europeans...
and then...
lee is on one knee...
and asks the hand of his true love...
aaaaahhhhh
love is all around...

Monday 1 July 2013

ride out, freak out...

ride in  
through the bar of course... 
ride out...
fred dressed to thrill
wait for stevie...
its a shovel and there's a few people watching...
it didn't take too long...
and they are off...
a lorra, lorra
lorra bikes
some didn't go including moi,
steve and pete and rowan...
pete's lovely chop...
it certainly is...
and some did...

later...

who's that at the bar on the right, standing next to redface?
as he and stevie burn the shit out of the bar...

hahaha
(burnout pics nicked from trawlers blog -thanks mate)