You Have to
be Crazy.............
To purchase and keep up one of these BritBikes. I've come to the startling realization that maintaining one of these bikes is a commitment equal to .......... oh, maintaining a fleet of Nuclear missile Subs.
Just because you got a "Good Deal" on a bike doesn't mean it's not gonna take TONS of money and time to get it up to speed and staying up to speed.
Cost over runs. I used to think that term only applied to Government procurement and military R&D programs. Hahahahahaha!
Yep, you have to have a special thing going on to do this. To understand it, you need to ride them.
My old Bezeer is a pretty cool machine. It has a special sound. It vibrates. Not in a bad way. Sorta like, you can feel it's pulse beating.
It's not high tech. A 1971 model utilizing the best of 1940's technology. Again, this isn't a bad thing. It's definitely got character and a style all of it's own.
It is an absolute blast to ride. It handles extremely well. Even tho' the the forks need seals and leak like a sieve. Put some oil in 'em and you can feel the POTENTIAL for what will be.
I've got new fork seals and progressive springs sitting out in the garage now. Along with a bunch of other shit too. We'll get there.
It's not a sportbike, like say a ............ GSXR. Nope. But it's got cool that a GSXR or an R1 probably won't have in 35 years either.
People who don't know anything about bikes, or don't care about bikes, stop and check out old Brits. Characters. Must be that sound. Not the loud, annoying, straight pipe sound of a Harley either. Just cool.
I haven't had this bike all that long. No, the bitch won't start right now either. Not a problem. I'm getting my "Garage KungFu" together to start on the rehab process that this thing needs. And hasn't gotten yet.
I'm not sure exactly where this project is gonna lead. I'm not real concerned with having a total. better than new restoration bike. It's almost stock - I think.
It needs a lot of TLC. Like I said, it's not trashed out. It's a very good basic bike. But it needs a bunch, and I mean a bunch, of small, important care. Then I have to decide how involved I'm gonna get in cosmetics. You can go nuts doing this. One step at a time for now. Let's get it running well and mechanically sound first.
I'm not much of a mechanic. I'm a parts changer. Those of you who are mechanics will understand what I mean by that. So I've enlisted the help of a fellow who IS a mechanic to help me out with sorting it out. He's a Brit too! That makes my KungFu Karma warm and fuzzy.
Yes. You do have to be crazy. But, it works for me. I'm working OT now to get a project grubstake going. I'll be doing that all Winter probably. Knowing how these things go once you get started.
OK, gotta go see how the auction on Ebay is going for some spares I want.
