The nocturnality of motorcycles - 3

Progress on the Firebird Scrambler.

We put the lime in the coconut the engine in the frame the other night, and things are starting to look very intersting...

We also started playing around with the brand new exhaust pipes to see just how hard it'll be to get them to actually fit.

No point pretending otherwise, on our beloved British classics things rarely fit right out the box; but that's ok, it takes a little effort and it's worth it in the end.

Judging by this first "pre-fit", I'd say it'll be really worth it for this bike: what a beauty!

Oh, and wait until you see the handlebar...

The nocturnality of motorcycles - 2

Dear oh dear oh dear oh dear.

Well, at the risk of repeating myself, oh dear.

This late model Africa Twin has found its way to us in search of redemption and salvation, but I'm afraid it's in very bad shape.

It has suffered from neglect more than anything else, having lived near the seafront, although it was also dropped and is showing all sorts of signs of damage.

Perhaps more than anything, it is the corrosion from sea air that is the worst offender: the electrics and electronics are surely shot to hell, corrosion is so thorough and so severe that even the quality Japanese aluminum frame is rusting.

All plastic parts are covered in a nauseating, salty, sticky layer of filthy sea air, and are probably beyond repair or restoration.

Look at the decals and the windscreen, all faded and cooked by the harsh, violent, unrelenting Mediterranean sun.

All this to me is just more proof (right, as if I needed it!) that anything to do with the sea and the sun is just f***ing horrible.

Does the engine even run? How's the clutch? Do all gears engage? Who knows! And then there's the matter of the liquid cooling system, fans, thermostats, all controlled by an electronic brain that has surely suffered just as badly. Poor thing.

So, let's see what we can do with this, but don't hold your breath...

Very, very promising...

When Witold dives into a new project he really goes for it.

The two BSAs he's working on were pretty much scrap metal that had been sitting around other people's so-called workshops for many years; in the space of a few weeks he's already here:

Very, very promising...

You meet the nicest people on a Honda...