Bone Dry Leather Treatment

I have had a pot of this leather treatment / water proofer for 18 months or so now and because I don't need my bike for commuting I can generally pick and choose when I go out on it. I tend not to choose rubbish weather days except, it seems, when I go to take my seat for covering and when I go back to pick it up.
 Anyway, I was out for approx 3 hours the other day picking up the seat and some other running around.
 It wasn't heavy duty rain,but it was constant from the moment I left the house.
   The point of this is to say that I suffered NO wet getting through my leather jeans or boots. The outside leather was not even wet to touch. 

  It's called 'BONE DRY NZ' (made in New Zealand) and available via C W WYL DES  in Leeds tel: 01132468888

Blooming Marvellous.........

..........because I was able to go and pick my seat up, for the Guzzi cafe that I am building.

Bloody Nutter / Bloody Brave

http://s147.beta.photobucket.com/user/dodgerdodger/media/MOV00945.mp4.html?sort=3&o=37

Don't Need No Sportsbike

Moto Guzzi Nuovo Falcone racer

What a difference some holes make !

I wasn't totally convinced with my rear light bracket that I'd made so with some extra holes drilled,I think, it has made all the difference. It was originally supposed to match with the clock mount,but just didn't look right.

Worlds Smallest V12 Engine

USA trip nostalgia

The pictures that Mark sent of his day in The Sierra Nevada mountain foothills sent me off (it doesn't take much) thinking about mine and Tony's trip to the USA approximately 5 years ago now. I keep all the bits that I gathered together from the trip in a basket in the living room so quickly came across these 'directions' and the map lives permanently rolled up in the corner.

In the age of Sat Navs these pitiful scraps(kept on top of tank bag)  were some of our directions,
though not all were actually stuck to as we had no particular schedule to follow.

If you enlarge this hopefully you should be able to see the pink  line in felt pen
which is roughly our route.This was filled in when back home.
Went as far down as Arkansas and as far up as a corner of Colorado.
Maybe San Francisco is a little higher ??

Just because I can't resist I'll no doubt post up some pics very soon too which I'll apologise in advance for now !

What a difference a day makes

Yesterday was a lovely sunny 45 degrees F and my plan after midday was to take my race style seat to my seat man and leave it with him for foam and covering. When I phoned he was just on his way out to Birmingham (80mls away) "Ok I'll come over tomorrow"
 Well I did go today and it's only a approx 50ml round trip into south Gloucestershire on some quite pleasant roads,but today was more like 38/39 degrees,grey and damp,even noticed some salt laid down with quite bad patches of mist and a visor that constantly needed wiping and still wouldn't clear properly. 

It might not look it in this pic,but the bike needed a good wash. I should have stuck to the A roads
as the B roads I opted for were a lot worse because of  farm traffic.

Still,sort of,enjoyed getting out though. 

Moto Guzzi cafe project number 1

Bought these rough aftermarket fibreglass side panels off of Ebay a while back

Apart from a rub down and filler I also wanted to try and make the bottom brackets
look like they were a part of the panel rather than a add on.

This tail light / number plate bracket,would you believe, took  me quite a few hours
and I am not overly happy with it. Two of the decorative holes are off the centre line
and it looks a little big,particularly when seen from the rear (wire exit end) 

I haven't done a lot to my priority project in the last 6 weeks, partly due to the cold spell we had,then the Christmas period and just generally lost a bit of momentum I guess. I have opened up the carb inlets to suit the 36mm manifolds as this engine is a 950cc Spada originally meant for 30mm carbs and I'll be taking the seat for foam and covering tomorrow.

Guzzi and BMW's in the Sierra Nevada foothills

My friend Mark West sent me these pics.He rode the 150mls south east from his home in Hollister California to his friends,David and Jamileh to ride in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near their home in Visalia. Mark was on his California Special and they on a BMW GS Adventurer and F800GS

All pictures come courtesy of Jamileh who apparently has the knack of taking pictures whilst riding

Tony and myself met Mark when he very kindly met up with us (and let us use his garage for a oil change) when we rode across America approximately 5 years ago. We rode 100mls+ down the Pacific Coast highway with him and his friend Steve.

Triumph Oil in Frame project side panel moulds

Screwed and glued plywood

Fillered and shaped

After finishing and being very happy with his new fibre glassing skills(see earlier post) Martin promptly began making moulds for his one off side panels