Dartmoor - Devon

Grey skies,but pretty much the norm over here for the past few weeks .
The pub looked inviting,but we didn't stop. 

40mph limit (It's a National Park) and sheep roam freely and in the Summer months they can be
quite often found lying in the road

Clapper bridge at Postbridge and apparently there has been one here from the 1300's
and records of this one from the mid 1600's

Five days later and our return journey. At last some blue skies albeit
just a blip as the rain soon returned.

Another reason for the 40mph limit are the wild Dartmoor ponies.
 We came across these 12 - 15 just standing at the side of the road after coming round a bend.
Might have been a little more of a shock had I been on my bike and possibly travelling a little faster.

We went down to Cornwall for Christmas to be with our sister in law,nephew and niece and as you have to travel through the county of Devon we quite often,these days, go across Dartmoor to break up the journey and the monotony of  the motorway / dual carriageways. It generally takes at least an hour longer,but is so much more pleasant.   
My sister in law, Jo, paints for a living  so if interested in taking a look google -Jo March paintings- and a particularly good site is the 'redraggallery'

Guzzi Cafe Christmas

It's the price you pay for having a Guzzi in the living room. Actually I don't mind as I really like Christmas  lights and in this household there are a number of areas lit up with the little things all year round anyway.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS !

Finally a fibreglass seat base....

Fibreglass seat base which just needs the edges tidying up

Martin sent me an update in the middle of  last week,the final result for his one off seat mould and he's very happy with the result after quite a lot of hard work.

MZ Skorpion engine..... destination Texas

I was given a MZ Skorpion a few months back to do with what I wanted. It was in ok condition and running, but with small fairing and other body panels missing. I couldn't sell it as a complete bike at a price that I thought fair so I decided to break it. The wheels/discs went first and the frame parts a couple of weeks later.None of it fetched much money,but I have kept the forks/yokes and I definitely have a Guzzi plan for a single disc using the Grimeca calipers /master cylinders etc 
  Anyway the last bulk item to go(this weekend via Ebay)was the engine (basically a XT660) and would you believe it's eventual destination is Dallas Texas,via a Tuning company first here in Kent,UK

  So now it will soon be out of the way I can start once again on the Guzzi cafe project in the garage especially now the weather has turned a little milder,except this week is rather full with other stuff and then we are away over the Christmas period.......................DAMN !!

Guzzi Cafe project Elektronik-Sachse ignition

The Elektronik-Sachse  ignition arrived from Germany yesterday and it all looks really very nicely made as I was expecting. This bike has been planned in my head for the past couple of years,since I acquired the 1100 Sport donor bike for the engine and I have been putting off splashing out for this ignition for nearly as long because it's not cheap. The biggest reason for this outlay is because the pick up for this system mounts on the alternator and the ignition box is a very neat, light and compact.

Curled up wire with plate for alternator mounting. Top left is the  box of tricks  and the neat
looking box on the right is the reg / rect which I also thought I'd get as I believe the original item
doesn't have the best of reputations.
Hey Ho,it's Christmas come a couple of weeks early !!

Guzzi cafe project number 2................

Front disc / bearing carriers for T3 hub and to take later 320mm discs

Rear disc carrier

..........and some very slight progress,but More of Martin's talents (see seat mould) in the shape of the front disc / bearing carriers he made for me back in the Summer (What Summer?) He used a pair to copy from my Black Guzzi Roadster,that I'd had made 6+ years ago. It made sense really as I am once again using a similar fork,wheel,brake set up. He also made, from my very vague idea  / sketches a rear disc carrier.

Fibreglass seat base mould

My friend Martin has temporarily given up on trying to locate the source of a small oil leak on his newly built BMW Cafe Racer and has turned his attentions to getting his oil in frame, Nourish engined Triumph back on the road in a slightly different guise,rather than the cafe racer style that he had it in quite a few years back.

He's cut a hole to allow for a slightly protruding rear mudguard ,then  lay a piece of silver foil over  the exposed mudguard covered in filler and then as it was going off inserted pieces of dowel all cut to 5/8ths. 

After a few more layers of filler,when dry this was then smoothed down to tops of dowel  which will give him  5/5ths clearance between seat and mudguard. You can just make out in this picture that it is slightly raised

The seat from underneath where you can just see it is very slightly  concave

He also fixed some extra ply underneath to allow for routing in these channels which should give the finished fibreglass base some extra strength

Seat mould update. Martin was advised to remove the silver foil  from  the  routed slots  and just varnish the whole lot.

At the moment he's making a mould out of plywood to use  for fibre glassing the seat base.