Score!

I recently mentioned British Only Austria, the wonderful used parts and NOS shop that has a lot to offer. Here's what I found:

A couple of NOS clutch cables, mint in box, some petrol tap washers (copper/rubber, these provide a good seal) and an old BSA toolbox. I'm not entirely sure which model this would have been on, but it will (or should, hopefully) fit the Rising Star a treat. I was originally against the idea of fitting one of these, the reason being that I wanted to keep parts on this motorcycle to a minimum (without being silly and doing away with brakes and mudguards, you know what I mean). If I were to write a treatise about it, it would be called:
"On the fine line between a chopp and a motorcycle (or, at what point does adding parts, regardless how cool, push the bike from chopp to motorcycle)."
Trusting the above 1800s style title is enough of an explanation, let's get back to the toolbox. Peppe is pretty adamant this would be neat to hide avionics, as he did on his Triumph-framed, Norton-powered contraption. I see the point and that's fine, but if I have to have it, it will be clean and free of decals, painted black to go unnoticed as much as possible and I also want to be able to keep a few tools in there. This box is pretty thin, which is good because it doesn't look bulky, yet there should be enough room for Boyer's ingition module and Powerbox. I should also be able to come up with a small tool roll with just a few essential spanners, or, in case that's not possible, then definitely a small parcel with a few spares (carburetter parts, fuses, cable ties, an extra chain link, that sort of thing).
Here it is next to my trusty Opinel for size comparison.

The hinge is intact and fully functional, there are no ugly dents, rusting, etc. That said, I will put on a new fastener to close it, perhaps see if Peppe will turn one on the lathe or something.

BMW posts

...Psst! head over to the labels and click on 'BMW' for some more of this action:

tiny progress

I finally got around to fitting the new end caps on the front forks. While I was at it, I decided to replace the studs, split washers and nuts. Much better. (Yes, I know the new axle caps are a different colour and texture than the sliders, what do you want me to do about it?)

Keep calm and carry on?

Just a little rant, if you'll indulge me.
Over the past several months (just to be clear, this isn't a new trend that has just shown up) we here overseas, have noticed a severe increase in delays in shipments coming from the UK. The Club's workshop is constantly having to keep motorcycles on hold because it has to wait for every little thing for weeks and weeks. I myself have three shipments due, that I have been waiting for between 2 and 6 months (and counting). When I periodically, once every month or so, contact the spares suppliers to ask what is going on, all I get is excuses: "sorry sir, having trouble manufacturing a couple of nuts and bolts" or "we're sourcing some of the parts elsewhere" --- where from, the moons of Jupiter??
Delays and excuses.... if I didn't know any better, I'd say I was dealing with Italians. Now, fair is fair, the Italian postal service is exactly what you can imagine it to be. Shameful doesn't even begin to describe it. That said, I ordered something from British Only Austria and it arrived within a few days of processing the order, and it still had to be handled by Italian mail. Having to wait so long for parts means all my planning is screwed up and I have bikes (plural, not just the BSA) on hold, and riding season is already in full swing.
Come on Britain, enough with keeping calm and carrying on, it's time to get on with it.