sorry, so very sorry.

ok, I know, its been beyond months since I've been here. I'm very sorry. There are two excuses for this, one, I started uni and two, I started working for Battistinis. well the first year of uni went well and I finished that 3 weeks ago or so and as I'm at Battistinis now I've down graded my workshop to a little garage thats closer as I get less time to spend there now and work on my own bikes. BUT, I have been working on this little beauty...

but anyways, I'll keep you updated on this 1971 triumph and the other work I'm doing at battistinis from now on I promise....

check out battistinis here: www.battistinis.co.uk and come on down to our open weekend this weekend coming, 26th and 27th June.

I'm gonna be relaying some old tech documents for you over time that may be helpfull...
Just click on the images to enlarge

The love and death of motorcycle building

To love to build and ride motorbikes is in no comparison table like the love of a girlfriend. Undeniably I love my girlfriend with no ounce of hate becoming involved whatsoever but with motorbikes it is somewhat different.
I can be in love with the build, even reciting poetry to it as we develop our relationship towards the crescendo of the sucking of air and the exit of carbon and all of a sudden it acts like a fucking bitch.
Firstly I have never before set the timing up wrong so the engine will ram the pistons into the valves and whilst we're on a magical tour of a nightmare like state I have never, within a matter of mere seconds afterwards, dropped a bike with a freshly painted frame onto a motorbike lift causing the meeting of metal that should never have met.

Hate. A very fine line between that and love which I have fluttered across today without the stealth of a tightrope walker.

mounting the engine in the frame

I had a couple of minor battles with the cam chain this morning but I eventually won after a few false starts. Also got the engine in without destroying the frame which is quite a feat when your by yourself.

blocks and laquer

The cafe-racer engine blocks have been re-assembled, only got to get that FUCKING cam-chain back on. The bain of my life everytime. other than that a couple more coats of cream were applied to the frame and 2 coats of laquer, I'll apply a couple more tomorrow but as you can see from the photo you only can do so much without an extraction unti before you get concerned about the vapours igniting!

de-tabbed

Today saw the complete clean up of the frame, i.e. grinding flush the un-used tabs and the remaining paint and putting a couple of coats of primer on so no surface rust appears. Also broke the fibreglassed rear end off its mould so all is looking sweet there. Annoyingly I won't be in until wednesday so it'll just have to sit there annoying me to get done until then.

lucky 13?

Today I ripped the engine out of the frame and took everything else off too, stripped the frame of paint and fibreglassed the rear section. sounds productive ay? well, for once it felt like it was. score.
I have given myself until the 20th November to finishe this so that leaves me 13 days, thats right a total of 15 day strip and rebuild. crazy beans but it can be done.