WIN!
There's still work to do but, if I did nothing else, it works!
(Thanks to Mr. Wills for pointing the camera at me as I whooshed back and forth.)
Update:
Having established that the bike works I now have to consider the refinements.
There's a cylindrical fuel tank to fit.
Mud & chain-guards will be fitted.
I have to repair the CDI unit (coil) as the mounting disintegrated within 10 minutes of first starting the engine (it's held on with insulation tape at the moment).
I don't need to fit a kill-switch, all I need to do is close the choke and it stops straight away.
The handlebars will be replaced but I have to find the 'right' set.
Much as I respect Mr. Old Fool's opinion (see comments on previous post) I have to disagree with him about 'swept back' bars.
I suggest one of the, many, differences between the U.K. and U.S.A. is riding position.
In the wide-open U.S.A. where roads are long & straight the 'easy-rider' position makes sense.
Here on the twisty-turny roads, made by that rolling English drunkard, nose to the front wheel is probably more appropriate.
We'll see.
Having established that the bike works I now have to consider the refinements.
There's a cylindrical fuel tank to fit.
Mud & chain-guards will be fitted.
I have to repair the CDI unit (coil) as the mounting disintegrated within 10 minutes of first starting the engine (it's held on with insulation tape at the moment).
I don't need to fit a kill-switch, all I need to do is close the choke and it stops straight away.
The handlebars will be replaced but I have to find the 'right' set.
Much as I respect Mr. Old Fool's opinion (see comments on previous post) I have to disagree with him about 'swept back' bars.
I suggest one of the, many, differences between the U.K. and U.S.A. is riding position.
In the wide-open U.S.A. where roads are long & straight the 'easy-rider' position makes sense.
Here on the twisty-turny roads, made by that rolling English drunkard, nose to the front wheel is probably more appropriate.
We'll see.
4 comments:
Alright!
Move, funky moped!
Next video with sound please so that we can hear the exhaust note.
Any danger of street legality?
(I remember seeing that nut-case Jeremy Clarkson riding a jet engined bicycle along a cycle path through a park. He said that was street legal! :)
Well done. It's taken a while, hasn't it? I think you started working on it in the before-time (at BG).
Orlando.
The sound of the engine can easily be imitated by trapping a wasp in a tin can and giving it a shake.
I'm afraid it will never be 'street-legal' though I know lots of country lanes where legality becomes a bit of a formality.
I remember JC's (noisy) jet bike.
Probably legal because HM Gov. haven't got round to legislating for jet powered bicycles, bit of a niche area really.
I wanted to do some more zooming around but I've got a gig tonight and I've promised the band I wouldn't do anything risky between now and then.
Tomorrow I'll be up at sparrow's fart heading for a 4 mile track I know to really do some testing. :-)
In the dim distant past at the other place, I remember you said then that street legality was no longer a goal for practical/pragmatic reasons. For the benefit of the ignorant, what are the impediments? Design speed limitation? Road worthiness certification?
When I was into motorbikes in a big way, I remember a chap fitting lights and a horn to a crashed and repaired Yamaha TZ250 racing motorcycle. He described the paperwork he had to do to obtain a special 'Q' registration for the vehicle, the age-letter usually allocated to kit cars. The story culminated with an inspection of the vehicle at his home by a young policewomen (to check that it had not been stolen and given a new identity). Apparently she had a quick look at it, called it "a nice wee bike", signed the paperwork and f_____ off, leaving him with a seriously potent street-legal 250cc bike he could (at that time) ride legally on a provisional driver's licence! How times have changed.
I'm sure you won't be persuaded to change the bars or do anything for purely aesthetic reasons. And you will be right. In a moment of madness I bought a factory custom chopper style motorbike with feet forward riding position and FLAT handlebars which forced my body into the posture I usually adopt when using the lavatory. That and low pegs, scraping on every corner, zero ground clearance made the bike unusable for anything other than making donuts outside the local Sainsbury's.
Choose control, comfort and safety over looks. End of story.
Getting the RWC is a nightmare.
I've spoken to a couple of people who've tried to get 'pit-bikes' on the road and given up on the process.
One route I considered was buying a scrap cycle-motor (not 10 a penny nowadays) that still has it docs and transferring the details.
I remember the days of being able to ride gun-shot 250's on a provisional.
I couldn't afford one and rode about on my beloved BSA Bantam D14/4. Many of my friends plunged themselves into huge H.P. debts to get their desired machines.
Without exception, I visited them all in hospital.
Many of them still limp from the injuries they received in those far off days.
I notice it's raining this morning so I'll be tinkering in the shed rather than hurtling along the tracks.
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