Here we go then......................

Waiting for Pete Stansfield to drop this off as he heads down south.

Then setting controls on the Marauder for this...........

..........been a long wait, now I can't wait!

For Sale......................A7 Long Stroke Bobber

On The Bay Of Fools for the next three days.

Incoming from Wingman

Spotted at Mallory Park's Festival Of Speed, pics taken and sent by Wingman, nice, very nice indeed although it does look kinda familiar.

Thanks mate!

Pipes of Peace ya say?.................................

......... more like pieces of pipe!

Spent a long day up at Alldens in Lincolnshire on Friday getting the exhaust sorted out, and it was more than worth it! Truly an education watching the process as the pipes take shape.

Dennis, the bloke who did it, is both a bike freak and a perfectionist so there is little need to explain, he can grasp the idea quickly and develop it into reality, all the time checking that it matches the vision.

A drawing of the silencer design was sent up there about six weeks ago and they were made before arranging a time to get up there for the pipes. The governor, Mike, was a pleasure to deal with over the 'phone, always very honest about the state of play and good with his estimates on dates.

All brackets were fitted and the system bolted on before the welds were ground back and the whole lot polished. The silencers are welded directly to the pipe to give a smooth transition without clamps interrupting the flow.....

.... also to ensure that when the stainless goes that lovely Champagne colour it does not stop when it reaches a big thick cold clamp at the junction.
Happy.........that's a major understatement.

Back In The Day

The little lady was having a clear out the other day (that's trying to get rid of my treasured possessions to make room for her shit!) and came across these pix of the first build of the A7 back in '79. Always was and still am, a Billy Bike man rather than Captain America's bling thing, reckon the influence shows here.

This shot is quite early on as the frame is still in Red Oxide and the motor looks untouched.

Chipping Away

Got a few more of them ten minute jobs put to bed the other day,

This trick headstock badge was sent over by Roland, originally made for a pushbike it looks just fine on one with a motor in it as well.

The dummy rubber battery in place, kinda makes sense of the carrier now. The gel battery will sit inside and with a bit of luck the regulator as well.

Headsteadies and frame spacer blacked up and back where they belong.

Handlebar clamps and risers have been nickelled, so the bars are back on.

The chainguard, looking great sitting in the impossibly small space that is available for it. If you ever see the bike out and about, check the chainguard out and buy Johnny a beer on the strength of it.

Smithy's Bobbin' Along

There's more HERE if you feel ya need it!

Down The Smoke

If you're anyway near ol' London town on Thursday night looking for somewhere to go and something to do, you could do a lot worse than get ya ass down to Hackney!

Odd Front Ends Part I

The local branch of the VMCC (Vintage Motorcycle Club) had their concours show last night, lot of clean restored stuff and a fair few oily rags present. This OEC we've seen up there before but are still nowhere nearer figuring out quite the how and why of these forks.

Master Of Sparks Pt II

This lot came today, black braided copper cored HT lead, Champion rubber caps and the bitchin' blue KLG plugs. The plugs are NOS and just about right for the motor so with a bit of luck they'll still be up for the job.
Got the lot from the place below, well worth checking out, several different colour choices in braided HT, more styles of plug caps than you ever knew existed and a rake of NOS old timer plugs.

Bung Hole Bunged

Got the bung that Roland made trimmed a bit, nothing wrong with Roland's work y'understand it was right to a drawing that was wrong! Just needed a couple of mil taken off to clear the internal bore and all is good.
Cheers Roland.

More Retardation Action

As there is a risk of the disc brake being somewhat incongruous hanging out the front, it was decided to stick with the standard hydraulic pipe work. This has worked out far better than the ubiquitous stainless braided line that graces 95% of custom disc brakes out there, the line is parallel to the stanchion and as tucked away as it can be. Far more in keeping with the old style we're after here, of course being a Commando brake it won't stop worth a shit whatever's done to it!

Built Well Seat

Got this back yesterday, don't normally talk about the Enfield project on here, but I'm so stoked I thought I'd best share it.
The regular Biltwell seats are certainly fine bits of kit and a good price whichever side of the pond they're being bought. The problem I have is that they are acaled to fit H-D's and come in at around 14 inches long, which is nearer to a seat and a half on the Bullet rather than a solo.

Toddy beat the base out about 6 months ago, and a fine job it was, full of curves and shape. I was worried that the upholstery would lose the contours of the base, but as you can see the form has pretty well held.

The upholsterer is a new bloke to me, although he's been doing car interiors for years. Not the cheapest, but good things generally ain't, contact details to follow.

Toddy's on the home straight..................

.............and heading for The Hayride finishing line!

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See more here

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