Is motorcycling allowed?

[Headshot]

Great to see the old dual purpose bikes still running... gives me hope.

My restoration project is proceeding albeit slowly. Carb parts have arrived but that works on hold while I sort the chassis out. Ran into a problem with the main swingarm bolt which I wanted to remove to get the swingarm off to paint. There is no play in the swingarm bearings and it moves freely so I decided  that rather than resorting to extreme force or complicated engineering I would leave it in situ and paint it on the bike...So after a clean up, rust converting under coat spray and one coat of silver, it looks like this...

Next step after another two coats will be to mask off the swingarm and get the white paint out for the frame. Then shock, linkage and rear wheel back on before I move further forward. Whew...

[Thug]

Don't know if any follows RRC Restoration on YouTube but he's been restoring and rebuilding and old CR250.

 

Edited May 16, 2022 by Thug
spelling

[i24]

On 5/13/2022 at 2:39 PM, Hairy said:

Pitcha's or the Guzzi never happened 

You asked, so I went to take a pic. It looked a bit dusty, so I washed it and ended up hosing it down. Then I had to get it dry again, so easiest was to take it for a ride 😃

(then I had to resize and rotate the pics to get them to display here..)

[Hairy]

33 minutes ago, i24 said:

You asked, so I went to take a pic. It looked a bit dusty, so I washed it and ended up hosing it down. Then I had to get it dry again, so easiest was to take it for a ride 😃

(then I had to resize and rotate the pics to get them to display here..)

Might I suggest you pop in at the Moto Guzzi boys in Table View as they would love to see that bike ... and then drop a note here when you do go so I can pop in and say hi at the same time

 

[IceCreamMan]

On 5/15/2022 at 9:12 AM, Hairy said:

Random question .... what is the ride on the N1 like from CT to JHB, or the other way around again?

It looks like I am going to be traveling to JHB a lot in the near future and I like the idea of doing the route by bike at least once. Given work and time commitments it would have to be a one day ride straight through for each trip.

Given the timelines I would not do it. You need to chill an take a few days.  Rather fly. 

[Hairy]

13 minutes ago, IceCreamMan said:

Given the timelines I would not do it. You need to chill an take a few days.  Rather fly. 

Flying sucks 😭.... Well the flying not so much, the people on the flight though...😂

[Andrew_Smith]

Tried some braking drills, something I really need to work more on. The bike doesn't have ABS, so good technique is quite important. Still a white belt, started slow and went up to 40kph emergency brake in 3m block with the cones.

The bike feels fantastic with the new serviced shock, I can now easily gun over speed bumps, previously it felt like the bike wanted to throw me over like an angry horse.

Still need to get her off-road.

[Spokey]

On 5/15/2022 at 11:12 AM, Hairy said:

Random question .... what is the ride on the N1 like from CT to JHB, or the other way around again?

It looks like I am going to be traveling to JHB a lot in the near future and I like the idea of doing the route by bike at least once. Given work and time commitments it would have to be a one day ride straight through for each trip.

I have done Hoekwil to Josie and back on the bike twice, despite the fact that my company would pay the return flight to go for my FAA medical. I do stop over though. Normally Bloem on the way up and Middleburg on the way back. I would not do CT to Josie in one hit…..and I do like riding my bike! I am planning a largely dirt road trip for next time. 
N1 is horrible with trucks if you have crap weather……hard passing in the spray. Colesburg to Bloem I take the road that parallels the N1. Bloem to Josie is mostly boring. 
 

[mazambaan]

22 hours ago, Andrew_Smith said:

Tried some braking drills, something I really need to work more on. The bike doesn't have ABS, so good technique is quite important. Still a white belt, started slow and went up to 40kph emergency brake in 3m block with the cones.

The bike feels fantastic with the new serviced shock, I can now easily gun over speed bumps, previously it felt like the bike wanted to throw me over like an angry horse.

Still need to get her off-road.

Maybe think about doing one of the BMW etc training courses (if you haven't done one)?  Always a good bunch of guys and girls, you always (in my experience) learn something and can slot in (if you want to) for out rides.

With no ABS, a good drill is to practice just locking (and immediately releasing slightly duh) the front wheel. That is maximum braking.

[Andrew_Smith]

2 hours ago, mazambaan said:

Maybe think about doing one of the BMW etc training courses (if you haven't done one)?  Always a good bunch of guys and girls, you always (in my experience) learn something and can slot in (if you want to) for out rides.

With no ABS, a good drill is to practice just locking (and immediately releasing slightly duh) the front wheel. That is maximum braking.

Definitely on the bucket list, would love to join one since I am still fairly new to the world of motorcycling.

Sadly, in my current phase of life with part-time studies and internship I cannot justify spending R2000 on a course at the moment.

One day when I am big! For now, basic drills will have to do and the playlist of Mr Chris Birch.

[Hairy]

2 hours ago, mazambaan said:

Maybe think about doing one of the BMW etc training courses (if you haven't done one)?  Always a good bunch of guys and girls, you always (in my experience) learn something and can slot in (if you want to) for out rides.

With no ABS, a good drill is to practice just locking (and immediately releasing slightly duh) the front wheel. That is maximum braking.

Would it be worth / the same if you also take your MTB on loose gravel and then apply the same tech. as on the bike .... this would = low consequence training that would benefit both on the bike and MTB? 

[mazambaan]

21 hours ago, Hairy said:

Would it be worth / the same if you also take your MTB on loose gravel and then apply the same tech. as on the bike .... this would = low consequence training that would benefit both on the bike and MTB? 

I think so except a motorbike is so much bigger and heavier but getting used to a bit of a skid from the front wheel is, I think, beneficial. Thinking through the fingers of the right hand. That, as well as looking where you want to go, weighting the outside pedal or footpeg round corners and standing on a bike in various positions have really helped me over the years.

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

30 minutes ago, mazambaan said:

I think so except a motorbike is so much bigger and heavier but getting used to a bit of a skid from the front wheel is, I think, beneficial. Thinking through the fingers of the right hand. That, as well as looking where you want to go, weighting the outside pedal or footpeg round corners and standing on a bike in various positions have really helped me over the years.

Interesting, and off topic, to hear how the aero in MotoGP is leading to front wheel lock ups. And the *** Michelins contributing too.
They asked Pecco this weekend and he said the front doesn't occasionally lock-up, it is pretty much happening in every hard braking zone, on every lap. They simply manage it......

[Hairy]

41 minutes ago, mazambaan said:

I think so except a motorbike is so much bigger and heavier but getting used to a bit of a skid from the front wheel is, I think, beneficial. Thinking through the fingers of the right hand. That, as well as looking where you want to go, weighting the outside pedal or footpeg round corners and standing on a bike in various positions have really helped me over the years.

AND we are assuming that riders are mounting their MTB brakes correctly, with the front brake on the right hand side

[mazambaan]

On 5/19/2022 at 7:59 AM, Hairy said:

AND we are assuming that riders are mounting their MTB brakes correctly, with the front brake on the right hand side

Well said; many, many mtb'ers etc have the front on the left and I hopped on one the other day and had to recalibrate very quickly. Not a good idea to start on a steep downhill.

[Hairy]