PALACE at the Exchange - Bristol

After missing out on going to see a few bands this year - Father John Misty, Lucinda Williams and K T Tunstall - Madelyn and I went to see the band 'PALACE' at the Exchange - a small standing only, 250 capacity - venue just on the edge of the city centre. We both really enjoyed the night including the half hour slot for the support band 'Ten Tonnes'

Joseph J Jones

I came across this video just a few days ago and look forward to his album  - Gospel Truth - at some point in the future

Moto Guzzi Le Man 1 ............

............presently on UK Ebay and probably the most expensive I've ever seen at £18,980!

Moto Guzzi Le Man / T3 850 cc Special

I met Mark well over a year ago at the local once a month Guzzi Club meet. He had a collection of parts - previously a T3 - that he'd bought off a friend some years before. I seem to remember that he said the bike had been stripped apart (inc the engine and gearbox completely disassembled) some 20 years previous. He'd bought some Le man cyl heads, barrels / pistons and a slightly rusty and dented mk 1 petrol tank.
   I went to see the collection of parts in his shed and agreed to take on the build. He had a vague idea of what he wanted it to look like although his thoughts changed from time to time here is the end result including some of what was involved along the way.

Just a small section but the frame took quite a lot of cleaning up
to remove quite heavy pitting

The crank sludge trap and behind is what came out.

Cheap foam to get a rough idea for a seat shape 

Seat base - standard leman I/II seat base/mudguard used as a mould

Well worth the effort involved to clean the frame!

Mark got the wheels built and tyres fitted at CWC but I was a little disappointed
by the polish left on the rims and clumps of grit (from the blasting)
left on the hubs

Stripped and p/coated calipers

A standard new loom with quite a bit of modification

The end result ...Sitting Pretty
Not a major reworking but just some subtle touches.
Still took some head scratching all the same!

After some deliberation and thoughts of short reverse cones
Mark decided to purchase a full new large bore Lafranconi system
and do they sound sweet!