My big brother just wrote to say he smashed his thumb putting in fenceposts and had to have stitches. Now he's disguised as Frankenthumb. Bwa ha ha. I borrowed that wicked laugh from Dark Mind, the evil genius of blogging.
Maybe you are wondering why the picture of this normal looking bike, instead of something gorgeous. To me, this bike is a wonder. Someone did a nice job of making a seat cover for it, but other than that it was pretty well broken by the time HH bought it. There was a great whopping hole through one of the cylinder walls and the piston was poking out. For a few years, it was just a pile of rubble on the floor up against the wall. Everything was dismantled. It really looked like rubbish. I got a thrill buying parts for it, under instruction from HH, on E-bay. This is it all put back together again. Isn't it nice?
11 comments:
Happy Halloween!
Too bad about your brother's thumb!
Yes, it is nice and one of my favorite colors too!
Nice to see an old bike brought back to life. I used to restore them (oldest was a 1936 Royal Enfield 1100cc V twin) until wrecks started to fetch silly money.
There is something immensely satisfying about taking in a wreck and bringing it to life again - I have never made much money on them - usually a loss after restoration, but, hey! "what larks, Pip old boy"
(where does that quote come from - HHnB keep quiet!)
I remember one old BSA side valve (my first sidecar outfit) that needed a cylinder rebore - no car then - newly wed, kids and poor (!) My dear wife took it down to the engineering shop in our pram! Have you ever been involved in the actual restoration work, Vita?
Hi V! I remember Avus putting bikes back together. I remember also, engine parts on the dining room table!
I will keep quiet about the quote!:)
Without looking I would say Great Expectations by Charles Dickens? Am I all wet? Should have looked?
Heard again from brother--his estate lawyer is retiring at the end of this year and he'll need to get another. Rats.
I only help restore when HH says hold this..... turn this... let me know when this....You must have made beautiful restorations if you lost money. HH is trying hard to not lose any money, but he paid too much for an old Triumph, which is under a tarp hiding in the corner. That story about Dear Wife taking cylinder to engineering shop in pram is great. Was there anyone in the pram with the cylinder? I am going to tell HH about 1936 1100cc Royal Enfield. Sounds like a monster! Must have been lovely when you finished.
Ha ha. Engine parts on the table! HH sneaks into the kitchen while I'm away and steals my tools for his shop, but mostly only leaves repair manuals on kitchen table and in bathrooms, nightstands, sofa.
Wishing you the happiest of birthdays today my friend. I know this "first one" is hard.
xoxo
Oh dear...I was trying so hard to celebrate your birthday that I was early!!!!
By a whole month!! I just turned the calender page over...what was I thinking?
I've even celebrated in Merryville!
Well....happy birthday Dear Vita...a little early!
Dear Mrs. Staggs, I was in Merryville a little bit ago, and you can imagine my surprise, but like I said to you there, I have lots of birthdays and I enjoy them all. Did you know there are only two letters difference between thirtieth and thirteenth? The cut-off date for starting school used to be November 15, and Mom thought I would benefit from a bit of education, so she used vinegar to change the ink on my certificate. (The one from the hospital with the little footprints on it.)
Well, I guess this is what comes of only 2 hours of sleep most nights since July!
I do know when your birthday is, it's marked on my calendar and everything! I made a mistake in thinking Lesley Austin was an another artist as well. They use many of the same techniques, illustrations and even colors.
Oh dear....it's definitely time for a break!
Spot on V. Joe the blacksmith in Great Expectations.
In the pram, with the cylinder would have been "first-born" (HHnB), but she would have been too young to have remembered that. (Glad she did not give the game away about the LE Velocette once stored in the attic - in our original old 3 storey house, or the two BSA Bantams in the cellar!)
The old Enfield was a true monster (known as the "Colonial Model" - we still had an empire in 1938) Hand change and foot clutch - easy for you old Harley fans, but a total experience for limeys!
Hi, Avus,
I will try again to say, No Wonder HHnB likes to work with metal. And you must be able to take piles of bits and make something very lovely out of them.
Oh my! what a life I have lead! No teddy bear in my pram for me.....just a cylinder! hee!
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