30/09/10

Bad Steve

 Prank...




 ...and revenge.



Steve McQueen, Mert Lawwill and Malcom Smith
On any Sunday - 1971

Black Black Black




Rearsets are finally back from anodization and so are the forks....



BUT
something went wrong.



Looking closer...





All this little pits were almost invisible before the treatment, but the black color shows them all very badly.
They look very big now.
Probably the only solution is to sand and polish the forks to remove all the pits and then re-anodize.
Any suggestion will be appreciate

28/09/10

Where the story began

After a Sunday afternoon  with my friends Fabio and Lorenz talking about our first motorcycles, I've found these old photos.
This was my very first "real" motorcycle, a really bad shaped 1983, 125cc Fantic Strada!







 It came for free and it was pretty fun to ride, but most important, it started all my interest about cafè racer and related stuff.
Because it was pretty ugly I started removing pieces, making it even uglier, but also lighter and maybe a bit faster (well...faster is really too much...but I also removed the tacho so...)
Then came clip ons, rearsets, bigger tires, a dirt bike tail light and a round headlamp from an unknown bike.






Yes, it became really crude, but I really loved that bike, it was easy and genuine.
I rode it so much, everywhere in any weather, and everytime something fell off. One day the front mudguard, another a piece of the airbox...but who cares!
Until one day I was really flat out and something broke really bad. Stuck engine and so the rear wheel.
I stayed on my foot, but the Strada fell on the ground.
Only minor damages, but the engine was gone and I had no money to fix it, so I parked it under a cover...waiting.
Now I really want it back and I'm wondering if I can turn it into a small scrambler or street tracker... I don't know.
Anyway thank you guys to make me remember it!

21/09/10

RANDOM








Thanks to greyhandgang.com

Wagon

I know, too much "4-wheels" related posts lately...I don't know why, maybe because winter is coming, or because works on the proto-moto are going a bit slower, or maybe because I'm getting old.....
By the way this is a pretty old video, but it's still good and shows really well how a cheap vehicle (bike, car, boat or whatever) can be fun!




If the video doesn't work try this link or visit the site




The Song Remains the Same

from goawaygarage.blogspot.com

18/09/10

Details

This was a military helmet strap from the second world war.
Now it has a second chance, a rebirth...and it matches the grips color!











I really like it even if nobody will see it....

One of man's best friend


In order to proceed with "Wiring mess: take four" I need some kind of plate to secure the coil, relais, rectifier, CDI unit etc.
So I started with a blank plate and some furious hammering...




And the result is....well...awful.
Ok but is just the beginning....it's a long way to go, maybe after some more hammering....
Mhhh, I guess I really need an english wheel for this.

15/09/10

Ferrari 250 GT SWB ‘Breadvan’

The wealthy Italian Count Volpi, racing driver and owner of the racing team ‘Scuderia Serenissima’, personally ordered two Ferrari 250 GTOs from Enzo Ferrari in 1962, just after the cars had been unveiled to the public. However, Volpi had fallen out of favour with company president Enzo, who refused to supply him with the two GTOs. The count then decided to build a Ferrari which was quicker and lighter than the GTO – and therefore had the potential to beat it in races.
In a calculated move, Giotto Bizzarrini, the creator of the GTO, charged Volpi with completing this task. Together with Piero Drogo, a racing driver and body maker from Modena, Volpi created a pure-bred racing car from a standard 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB (‘short wheel base’), whose distinguishing characteristic was its aerodynamic form: the outline of the car was based on discoveries made by the aerodynamic specialist, Wunibald Kamm. A long low-profile tail with a sharp edge provided clear advantages when compared to classic sloping or gradient tail ends. The front was also designed to create less resistance in comparison to the Ferrari GTO: with a sweeping flat shape, it is incredibly aerodynamic – and a bit more modern than the classic GTO, which is celebrated by enthusiasts as a stylistic masterpiece.
Presented to the public under the name Ferrari 250 GT SWB Drogo, it was quickly renamed the ‘Breadvan’ by the general public and journalists because of its striking tail shape. It was probably never actually used as such, but it did fulfil the task it was originally designed for: it was seven km/h faster than the Ferrari GTO on the long Hunaudières straight in Le Mans.
www.schlossbensbergclassic.com/news.html

Thanks to sakeracers.blogspot.com

Nomad