Been a while

Been building this for the last 2 years, ran out of money halfway through and nearly sold it half completed, but its finally ran in and the rev range is being fully explored. Engine is a cracker - it should be for the amount its cost!

Its a very early (jan 1962) ducati 250 the first registered keeper none other than John Surtees ltd!
Its easy to see why these made / make popular race bikes, for a 50 year old design it certainly does fly

Helmet for sale

Authentic 70's MX history:

Moto 3's are so last year - grab some brit cool

tomchurchman@googlemail.com if you're interested

New project, busy buffing

I've always struggled polishing, never managed to get it right, I was mighty pissed off earlier today having spent hours messing about with a mediocre result, considered paying someone else to do it, but cash is tight due to the amount the engine is going to cost me. Came back in, had my tea and a few beers, spent a bit of time 'researching' some more on the net, took a deep breath and had another go - I think I've finally unlocked the 'mystery of the mop':

Well, thats 2 parts of the new project, can you tell what it is yet?

Biking on a budget

Mentioned before about the Yam, well here it is finished:

On the road for less than £500, including purchase price, tax, MOT and full engine rebuild with a Wiseco piston. Yep, its only a 125 and its never going to be worth that much, but for me most of the enjoyment comes from spending the time in the garage messing about with them. It turns out to be fun to ride too.

Wish i had a before photo, I literally pulled it out of a barn where it had been stood for 15 years, covered in horse shit and straw.

Special thanks to Terry for rejuvenating many parts with Zinc and Nickel, saved me a fortune and i've got loads of shiny nuts, bolts and spokes too.

Mountain cub for sale

Time for a change, not ridden this for almost a year now - its no good sitting in the garage - needs someone to love it  and take it trials riding, plus I've got the urge to buy something else! - on e-bay, but sensible offers considered - 07540015100

todays daydream

Hmmm, might get a trials bike.......

newfound enthusiasm

Back last November my wife's step dad called me about this little beauty, he told me over the phone there was a Yamaha 125 - 1974 going cheap through someone he knows, they only wanted £100 - I was keen as mustard and let him know - a week later it was travelling back to Northampton in the back of my wife's hatchback.

Stripped it down and cleaned it, but then i lost a bit of interest due to piling money into the Triumph engine and missing a few essential, but hard to find parts for this.

The Triumph is now back on the road and over the last week I've been looking at various DT / CT builds and have built up the enthusiasm for this again. Chucked some chunkier tyres on tonight and I think it looks pretty good (the front tyre is about an inch taller than the rear, just doesn't look so in the pic)

Its nothing fancy granted, but how many classic bikes can you buy and have a little fun with, complete with an engine and V5 for £100?

What its all about...

CNC Art

Nothing is cheap anymore, especially new Conn Rods for 50 year old engines, some things however are worth paying for.
There was no way I could fit the old rods, once that was established I decided against second hand ones due to availability, cost and the likelihood that they wouldn't be any better than the old ones - that left 2 choices - R&R engineering rods from the US or Thunder Engineering.
Both retail at the £300 mark, but Thunder are based in the UK, only about 30 miles away from me as it happens, so I went local.
The rods turned up today and I can confirm they are worth every penny of £300, the quality of machining is superb and the finish is awesome, every edge is nicely chamfered, the rods are polished and it is impossible to feel the join between the rod and cap, even with your finger nail.
Doing a proper rebuild job on an old brit bike is never going to be a cheap exercise, you might as well spend a few quid extra, get some decent stuff in there, so as not to have to worry about it again, and at the same time support a genuine British Engineering business sticking their neck out to keep our old sh!t on the road

Whats better than a Vtwin?

An Ltwin of course, and can be yours for a steal at £2700

This is the engine that Carl Fogarty rode to WSB championship victory, will run rings around a sportster and at this price is probably cheaper than you could pick up even a tatty version of 'Americas finest'

9500 miles on the clock and in immaculate condition, if anyone is interested, get in touch or see the link below for loads more info and pics

Ducati Monster S4 2001 for sale

tomchurchman@googlemail.com

Health and safety gone mad!

Recently, the enlightened company I work for decided to ban Bungee straps, apparently they could have my eye out, they are, however, more than happy for me to drive my 2.5 ton van home at 70Mph at 8 in the morning having just worked a 24 hour shift, nodding asleep at the wheel.
Its nice to know then that you can still have legal fun on two wheels (for the time being) without the H&S thought police breathing down your neck.
While Northamptonshire isn't blessed with the scenic views of the Yorkshire Dales, nor the sunny lanes of Cornwall, there is something we have in abundance - Mud - and shit loads of it!

Had a cracking ride out this morning, fell off twice and got plastered. The cub is about 150 miles in since its top end rebuild and running really well.

Finally got the Triumph finished up:

Gone in 60 minutes

Dry build is done, just tore into the bike and got it stripped. various parts to be cleaned up + finished welded then its off to paint.

Coming together

Decided on the wassell, got the tunnel lowered today

Different tank and yokes

Totally changes the look, I'm really torn over which tank to use now. The standard Trump tank is low and mean looking, but quite fat and not very 'different', I suppose the Wassell is quite common too, but its smaller and gives a skinnier look. Its got to be one of these 2 tanks - no more money to speculate - more mockups required

Good progress

Been busy the last week.
Seat is on and the mudguard is finally mounted, just got to join up the tack welds.
The bike looks so much more complete now, I'm really happy with how its coming together.

Shiny shiny

Eventually picked these up - they are probably the nicest motorcycle thing i have ever owned!

Tonight I have been mostly

Building a bike table

Scored the beams for free, paid £35 for the ply top and used the off cuts to make a base for my lathe and spent about £6 at the friendly local steel merchants for a few metres of threaded bar and a bagfull of nuts and washers, couple of hours labour and hey presto - beats spending £300 on one.

This thing could hold up a tank.

Just got to sort out a ramp - might make something using a bottle jack.

Frame mod

Bloody wheels still aren't built, thats six weeks now and counting and they're holding me up. Anyhow, I was scratching my head thinking what to do to move things on and decided I could get the seat mounted.
Had a couple of ideas and mocked the seat up in various positions, but in the end, decided that the cross tube on the hadtail was too far forward.
I've always thought this - seems to be made so you can put a 21" wheel in the rear with plenty of clearance, its not the first problem with the hardtail either - took me a day of messing about when i first got it, trying to get it lined up, which eventually ended with some cutting and welding.
Anyhow I got a replacement tube cut and the ends radiused, stuck a surrogate rear wheel in the frame to brace it and welded the new tube in place, with the old one still there so nothing moved too much with the heat.

That was easy enough, but it was a right pain removing all trace of the old one - got there in the end though.

eventually got round to starting the seat mounts, but, its Saturday night and I can hear Sailor Jerry calling out for me - they can wain till tomorrow.

New Lathe, first project

Been after a Lathe for a long time, finally bit the bullet last week and brought one. Its brand new, Chinese made, but very popular worldwide, with lots of tech articles and parts avaliability - also comes with a warranty.
Its only classed as a 'mini lathe' as its 7" x 14", but should be plenty for all I need - for the time being!

Received yesterday, I spent last night cleaning all of the packing oil / grease off and setting it up. Spent tonight on my first project - as pictured above - a pair of recessed bolt holders which will be bolted to the axle plates and will carry the fender mounts. I'm chuffed to bits with them, I know they're not the most complicated thing,  but I've not used a lathe since college, so tonight was a steep learning curve, I think they turned out really well.