Saturday 15 March 2008

Well, I haven't done anything constructive to any of the bike collection this week but progress has been made in that I seem to have someone very interested in buying the Bantam B175 - which will mean a bit more space in the workshop/conservatory. My better half (BH) has been off work for a while and he has been able to rearrrange the workshop so that the bikes residing there are more accessible and a work bench has been moved in from the shed.

It's wet and miserable today so even less has been done, although friend Myles came round on his B40 to show off the bar-end indicators he has fitted & soon the trailer he has been building should be on the road - and that will be the B40 in full touring mode!

As it is a wet & miserable day and I'm feeling lazy, I have been browsing some favourite websites and remembered a couple I had missed previously so I will add them to the list now. The first is Odgie's website. Years before BH & I met, Odgie was writing for BSH and AWOL magazines and inspiring us both to take hacksaws and welders etc to our old Jap Fours, leading to many happy hours cutting things up and modifying them to suit. Check out his website and make sure you look at the Speedster Project in his photo albums - it really is beautiful! Another favourite site is dedicated to the Kawasaki W650 and, as well as lots of W650 pictures and information, there is a very good list of biker friendly accomodation and meeting places.

The Radian has had a reprieve in that I have decided to keep it. It needs a bit of work but it was always a good bike. BH bought it for me a a gift a few years ago and we have fitted some slab yokes that an old friend made for a GPZ550 I had about 15 years ago. I've also got some nice risers and a lovely little brass brake splitter to be fitted, made by the same friend (thanks, Doob!). I've been to Belgium, France, Holland and Luxembourg on the Radian and it was always fun to ride and reliable - it would be a shame to part with it. I've got a picture on the kitchen wall of how I want the it to look (flat tracker style) - that picture has been there for about 4 years now so even if it takes me another year to get finished, it will be worth the wait.

I've just been reprimanded for missing off one important link - the W650 Riders Yahoo Group - an excellent source of W650 help and advice, and since W650s don't go wrong very often, a lot of jolly banter between lots of lovely W650 owners around the world.