Commandos and loose exhausts.

When I was refitting the exhaust pipes on the Fastback the other day I thought about a common complaint (which is more of a misconception, really): "they come loose!"
There are two things to distinguish here: one is when the finned lockring (062464) actually comes loose and unwinds from the head.
The other is when, despite the lockring being nice and tight, the exhaust pipe moves and rattles.
Before anything else, be sure to tighten the lockrings and give them an extra nip when the engine's hot. Do this with a proper C wrench that fits well, possibly the proper lockring spanner (063968), not with a hammer and a screwdriver, that's just cruelty to engineering.
To address the first problem there is only one thing to do, you must use tab washers (062412): these make it impossible for the lockring to come loose, it's as simple as that. There is no reason to do anything else, such as drilling holes in the cooling fins to then hook springs or lockwire. Some savages may think it looks "cool" and "racing" but it doesn't. Again, it's just cruelty to engineering.
However, even with the lockrings secured, the second problem can still manifest itself, but this is not due to the lockring loosening: the culprit is the sealing washer (063995) that sits between the exhaust pipe and the head. They wear down, creating just enough of a gap for the pipe to rattle.
The solution here is not to tighten the lockring further, which can damage the threads, but to replace the seal washer with a new one. Carry a couple of sealing washers in your road kit and show everyone how knowledgeable you are when the rattle disappears after a quick roadside repair!
Here are the parts in question; the C wrench shown was made by the legendary Giacomino "Jack" Latini a very long time ago, and given to my dad when he closed shop (I'll return it as soon as I'm done!):

Meanwhile...

...the lads have been busy with Marco's Beemer, which is getting cooler by the minute.
The exhausts loose the balance pipe and get a new helping of wrap. Witold wields the welder with wanton gusto. Hey, that's a lot of Ws...

There is a new subframe for the luggage. This bike will be fitted with custom made aluminium panniers (see below): tons of storage, bombproof reliability and rugged good looks.

There is one detail here, which has made a significant difference: they've shortened the handlebars by a couple of inches and it looks fantastic. Gone is the "beach-bar" look, this is now a proper scrambler handlebar. And the handlebar is to the motorcycle as the grip is to the gun, so...
Here are the Alumilanek panniers:

And a few more progress shots:

The new "silencers" look so much better than the stock ones. We are eager to hear what they'll sound like, or more accurately, how they will shatter the peace.

Oh, hell yes.

The Ariel 3

Wow, talk about a project! This is a tilting trike made by BSA in 1970, there's far more information than you would assume, here: "The Ariel 3 Museum"
And yes, you read that right, tilting. This thing must be absolutely insane to ride. It would be really cool if we could bring it back to life, I mean... just look at it!

The Ariel 3 is kitteh-approved, and comes with the finest equipment fitted as standard:

Little pirates on a big rock.

These are from the recent trip dad went on, with his Corsarino cohorts. And we feel like heroes for riding motorcycles... Pah! try touring on these!

The big rock is part of the quarries at Carrara, where all that exotic Italian marble comes from. That's also where they set the opening chase scene from Quantum of Solace. Oh! Italy... you're so exotic!