my favourite bike ever....

is my 1950 es2 norton...500 ccs of total thumping bang...

i rode this bike around sydney for the best part of 8 years...on it all day....from one place to another and the last four years of it without lights cause the shit battery had died and i never replaced it....so id ride in well lit streets and if it looked like it was getting hairy i just detoured.

was pulled up a few times by the man but always cool ones...let go when they saw no speedo...

i loved that bike then and still do now...you cant spend that much time on a bike and not become one with it.

heres one of my favourite stories about this bike...i had just got it and was riding with a bunch of old blokes on a ride out of sydney...and as any young whippersnapper would, starting an old cantankerous british ohv single will tell you,...too much mechanical advance, not enough tickle and the wrong kick make for sore calves. anyhow here i am in the servo getting ready to start and wham in the leg like some big huge guy with a 4 by 2.

over walks this old dude riding a ariel single and says "you want me like show you so that never happens again?".... yes please....he showed me and to this day that bike has never bit me back...its a funny technique but makes perfect sense once you have used it a few times....i used to start my rudge ulster that way....always worked...maybe ill do a you tube clip of it...

stay tuned...

anyhow...this my friends is my favourite bike of all time...it took me five years to get the guy to sell me this bike (thanks for giving up steve) ... last time i put it away she wasnt going....one of the begg bros had taken her for a movie shoot and told me no matter how many times he kicked she would not fire....i drained the crankcase, changed the oil, dumped the fuel, new fuel in and she started first kick...as always...now thats love.

le mans....

The response to the le mans has been totally overwhelming so far....its been a long time since i have seen so many positive comments (and lack of negative ones) on the bike EXIF website for a featured bike.

That makes me feel fantastic. I was moving into new territory with this build but kind of back to my roots having owned lots of italian machines previously. I suppose i am trying to make sure that MACHINE does not get pigeonholed as building a certain type of bike but rather an outfit that can produce a refined motorcycle within any chosen style.

the le mans on bike EXIF today.....

check it out here.... bike EXIF ....

wl oil tank

ive had this idea for a while to build an oil tank for mikes wl out of two 1.6L saucepans. total cost about 60.00..

ill finish it next week by welding some rib mounts to it and seeing how i can hang it in the usual oil tank position..

wl oil tank

wl tanks..

are mounted up...brackets tacked on...there will be some work need on the tunnel skin as half of it got lost in the cutting in half process...

mikes wl...

has a triumph 4 speed box fitted now...it took me quite a while to get it positioned how i wanted (without cutting out the original cradle) but still allowing for a nice amount of adjustment since we will be running a twin row primary chain. its come up well and finally the box sits far enough down and nicely balanced with the motor.

get a load of this.....

kim from BCM says.....

"A few weeks back my bike sat down at Morelands waiting for a new fourth gear seal not only did it get a lot of crust & rust from the sea air but apparently some coverage in the latest issue ofKronicas Kustom Kulture as well?

all i can say is whoever arranged to take his bike outside, shoots some really fucken dodgy shots of it and then publish them in a magazine without even so much as mentioning it to the builder/owner of the bike needs some serious fucken slapping.

if you see this magazine for sale.....LEAVE IT ON THE SHELF....fuck them.

50 pan details....3

50 pan details....2

50 pan details...

....beautiful leather work done by my local saddler...natural stitching, think leather...im particular with how i design the pieces and he's even more particular with getting it exactly right. cant ask for more that that from a tradesman.

the paint was done here at machine and has not been cut back and buffed yet.....i blocked back the clear many times to get a good shine off the gun.

mark 1 photo shoot.....

my mate kelly doin her thing....thanks chick...thanks pep for putting up with it.

HEROS 2...

for those that dont know of terry prince and his work with vincents...here is one of those individuals that just has it...looking forward to seeing you the week after next terry.

le mans....

i've been riding the le mans a lot in the last two weeks since i finished it..(never finished really)...and listening to a lot of beck as usual.

i almost put it arse over a wombat last night but those brembos came to the party and saved my skin...heres a little movie thing i did this afternoon...hit the full screen button and watch it on youtube...i think it sounds good? yes?

50 pan...

has been getting some bits and pieces done and checked...and got a serious clean for the fuel mag shoot...autumn afternoon sun is too nice around here at the moment so i took her for a quick run and some pics of my own...ill post up some detail shots over the next couple of days...

DAVES BANGER....

...has probably been spotted down south by now...he sent me these shots a while ago so hes probably already worn out those rear tyres by now....stock 31, 12 volt, de arched spring in the rear, big/little firestones, 682c guide lights up front, 37 tail lights and scary mech brakes....i love it.

stronger carb support.....

fuel magazines luke....

dropped past today to do a shoot on the 50 thats been back in the shed getting a few things done....good to see you again mate, thanks for doin the big drive.

if you have not seen or read fuel magazine, the website, or seen any of luke's amazing photography then get on his site and check it out...in my opinion the best magazine with the stuff we like out of australia....bar none.

hit this to go.....

patchy...

....have had dogs (sorry...terriers).. all my life. my mum and dad bred bull terriers. one of the earliest shots of me is sitting in a box in a kennel with a litter of just born pups and our old all white bully RENA. when i got together with my girl my last dog had left me a couple of years before ( he was one tough fucken bullterrier)...anyway, this boston came into my life and my god he is one seriously cool dog. dont come near machine with any other dog he will go up and under and lock on hard my friend...he dont care how big they are. one spot of sun in the whole shed and he finds it...winter is coming felt a change nipping at the back of my neck tonight.

machine projects...

....one of the first when we got set up in the shed was for me to make a stool for my girl to use at her desk. it was an exercise in making it as thin and light as possible and to reuse the leftover material we had from the shed building. i still think its a nice looking stool and after 4 years of service it hasn't broken down. if anyone wants to steal my design don't.... cause i'm the first to ever think of a stool.