Motorcycle General Discussion

It could well be. It seemed to cut by hacksaw more like steel than iron, no grainy black swarf, but that could just be the low carbon malleable iron. I don't know so I let my mate sort it out. He is a metallurgy guru. I forgot to ask him what he reckoned it was. But he seemed to just pick up a regular steel filler rod from his pile, and no pre-heating etc.

But with a short critical weld like that, by the time my eyes found focus these days, the weld would be over. I am hopelessly out of practice. And with the weather 95F in the shade at the moment it is too hot to stand outside and practice. I lurk in my air conditioned workshop but too many leaky old bikes to be welding in there!

Nicely summed up for me. The joys of getting old! Just remind me again of what they are..........

Hi All

New member (although I have been looking at the forums as a guest for a while). Thought you might like to see a picture of my Triton I finished last year complete with lots of home made parts.

Very nice indeed Phil.

Colin

Nice windmill, can’t make out what the sign on the gate says. Is it open to the public?

Stelling Minnis, Kent

Usually open on Sundays and Bank Holidays in the summer

Very nice triton, looks like a big bearing 650, plenty of braking power from twin discs and a custom swinging arm for the slimline Featherbed frame. The windmill is nice, too.

Hi all,

It has been a busy few months as previously stated I started work on the Douglas beginning of January and it was completed last week, it ran, a little lumpy so that needs looking at but it was pumping oil around and the generator was charging. I have not ridden on the road yet but everything seems okay, but it's far from original the rivet counters will have a field day, I had a pile of parts which were Douglas and from the 1930's but from different models so it took a bit of working out but I am happy with the way it turned out.

This is what I bought..................

How it turned out..................

Lots of stuff had to be made like wheel spindles, fork spindles and bushes, steering damper, drive sprocket, headlamp is homemade from a Lucas and Miller bits with a Chinese lens thrown in. The rear carrier was also made, the leather tool box were from ebay, all we need now is a V5c from the DVLA.

Kind regards Colin

Congratulations on a wonderful build which must have caused some head scratching at times. I find such 'restorations' much more exciting that those which tend to stick to the original designer's thoughts.

Jim

Looks good Colin, don't worry about the rivet counters, hope the summer is good.

North West 200 races

There is coverage of the International North West 200 across BBC Sport NI which started with live streaming of the first practice session on today (Tues).

'All practice sessions and races on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday can be viewed live on BBC iPlayer with worldwide video streaming available on the BBC Sport NI website bbc.co.uk/sportni'

Edited By JimmieS on 09/05/2023 20:49:10

Thanks JimmieS.

Far better than watching Fred Dibnah.

JA

Servicing the Chief today and wouldn't you know it the thunder is rumbling all around, well maybe tomorrow!

Indian Chief? If I had one of those I think I would brave the rain to ride it. The '48 with skirted fenders has always been my dream bike. Well, one of them...

I have been at the other end of the scale this week, doing a major service on my VFR800 Honda V4 whizbang machine.  Makes you appreciate the simplicity of a sidevalve v-twin with no plastic bodywork to be removed to get at things. And perfect riding weather and here's me in the shed. Again. The old WLA Harley is next up.

Edited By Hopper on 11/05/2023 14:53:48

Oooooh, I didn't know we had a motorbike page! here's my 2pence worth, although its "only" just over 30 years old, it's nearly as old as me, so to me, its a classic! I'm perhaps a bit younger than your average demographic on here (sorry guys!)

It's a Honda NSR 250 (MC21) they only sold them in Japan, but when they had a surplus, some of them went to the Aussies.

I acquired it about 3 years ago if I recall correct. It was a race bike in pretty poor condition but it sounded great. Under the microscope however, the crank bearings had more float than anything I've ever seen, the wiring loom had several bare wires, vital bits were missing out of the carbs, needles were worn and loose and it was completely missing the oil pump system and there was a patch on one of the aluminium cylinders (the front/lower) that was missing the nicasil plating - I'm sure I found many other things that weren't right but they all just got picked up along the way.

It's built from new parts, pretty much all genuine honda apart from the odd bearing/seal which were NLA. New crank, rods, pistons, rings, cylinder plating, all bearings, seals etc etc. I rebuilt the carbs, sourced and reinstated the oil pump system so it was no longer on premix, rectified some issues with the electronics, had all the nuts/bolts/washers from the engine and chassis replated (3 batches, yellow/gold, bright zinc and black) rebuilt the front forks, powdercoated the wheels, restored the frame and swingarm etc etc etc. All cases stripped and vapour blasted, some holes repaired from a snapped chain etc.

I've been riding it for the past 18 months (with fairings and lights of course!) as my daily (summer) bike for commuting and pleasure and it's been great..... but I'm making a few changes, getting rid of the modern aftermarket subframe and seat unit and going back to the standard subframe and undertray/rearlight with an aftermarket GRP race seat unit - nothing wrong with the modern alloy subrame and skinny seat, I thought it might be a bit uncomfortable on my wrists but it's actually fine - I just prefer the original style GP seat units of that era.

Edited By Russ B on 15/05/2023 14:21:21

I've just stumbled across a reference elsewhere that hinted at the passing of Henry Body (of Douglas/Sprint fame) back in the summer - if true it would be sad to think it passed without comment..

In spite of a search I can't find any further information - does anyone know?

Henry Body passed away about a month ago.

My friend in the Douglas Club does not have the full details.

JA

I'm really sorry to hear that, sincere condolences to those of whose lives he was a part..

..very few men have left such a big impression in so few seconds..