Marzocchis

Last time I went out on the Fantic Heath commented that the back end was skipping rather than tracking. So best thing to do would be to service the rear shocks.

The Fantic has the original Marzocchis on it. No idea when or if they have ever been serviced.

Getting the springs off was a faff. Much cable ties and swearing later-

The shocks actually had a lot of oil in them, all be it a nasty brown colour.

Fully stripped:-

The seals looked ok so I cleaned out the tubes and refilled with ATF. All back together:-

And back on the bike:-

See how they feel next time out. Now to mod the rear brake pedal so I can find it when I need it.

Mai Tai #1

Since we went to the Nostalgia Weekend and found the cocktail bar I've wanted to have a go at making a Mai Tai. Trouble is there are dozens of recipes out there on the interweb. So I thought I'd try to make a similar drink to the ones we had.

First attempt:-

Recipe:-

One part dark rum

One part white rum

One part Ammaretto

Dash of Grenadine

1tsp lime juice

Fill remainder of glass with ice and half and half orange juice and pineapple juice

Its fairly sweet but not a bad effort.

For The Love of Tanks and stuff...

Went to the War and Peace Revival yesterday. After a 2.5hr wait in the queue to get in it turned out to be a cracking day. Some pictures:-

Some good stuff in the market too:-

And some old cars:-

Couple of bellends:-

Even a Vulcan fly past:-

Kryptonics

Was bored at work so I did a bit of shopping. I've always liked Kryptonics. Bit of a nostalgia thing and I have several sets of OG greens and reds, but now they are available new again. I wanted some to try on the concrete parks I frequent, so the obvious choice was a set of the cored whites. Different core colours give different hardnesses. I went for green at 97a.

Today I replaced the Spitfires I normally ride:-

Hadn't realised how offset Kryptonics are, a throwback to wide decks and narrow trucks in the late 70's. Looks kinda odd on a modern board:-

Wondering if I'll be getting some wheelbite. Time will tell...

New Plank

Don't know why but I fancy a longboard, so I bought this :-

Its ferkin huge, but I reckon it'll roll nicely on those big wheels.

Pembroke

So I'm heading to Pembroke for a couple of months. Busy times on the power station. Thought it'd be good to cycle the 9 miles to work (and 9 back...) as many days as I can. So I converted the Marin to a roadie:-

I've done the trip twice now. Some long climbs but I feel better for it. And more awake when I get to site. Its got to be doing me some good.

Fun With Fantics

Had a ride on the Fantic today up at Nettleton with Heath. Been a while since the last one. I think I've got some rust in the clutch cable cos it was a bit heavy and notchy. Still amazes me how good the 200 is. Gives me far more confidence to try stuff.

The two bikes at rest - Heaths 300 and my 200

Beer Fest

What to choose....alright, I'll have the lot.

Quaker Run

I haven't done the Quaker in ages and haven't been to Darlo either so me and Beale decided it was time for a road trip.

Packed the bikes in Dens massive van :-

And headed off to Darlo via Bradford:-

Saturday was the social ride and we went on a long and windy road to Cumbria and back via this place:-

Many beers were drank and pies eaten. Brian likes the company :-

Sunday was the Quaker Run itself with a nice turn out of bikes.

My 1930 Ariel ready to go:-

There were other lesser bikes there too:-

And a moped:-

Lunch stop was in Reeth:-

All in all, a grand weekend. Beer, pies, bikes and good company. 205 miles with no trouble. Think my magneto fix was successful. Lookin forward to the next event.

Kryptonics

Love the old skate ads

Fantic Fun

After my first ride on the Fantic it was clear that the clutch was a bit heavy. The easiest way to lighten it is to bolt a 428 chain side plate to the clutch arm and another to the cable lug. 

Modified clutch was tried out at Nettleton yesterday and what a difference. Made the bike so much more rideable. Still struggling to find the rear brake pedal tho.

I am truly amazed how good a Fantic 200 is. It handles well, turns well and a great engine with loads of power. You wouldn't think it was just 156cc. All of this plus amazing grip even with original suspension and a shagged rear tyre gives me confidence to try stuff I would never have done on the Bultacos. Brilliant.

Magnetos - Part 2

So I stripped my magneto. This is the armature:-

I needed to get into the non-drive end to remove the old capacitor and rewire, but the screws wouldn't budge. Cue an hour fannying about with a pillar drill drilling them out. Once in bits it was fairly easy to snip the condenser and wire the LT coil to earth and live. Reassembled and tested with a 3mm plug gap - big blue sparks. Result!

Now to fit it back on the bike.

This n That

Had a couple of days off so Ive been working on the van and the bikes.

Done an oil change and a bit more welding. Underseal going on (me and the VW...).

While I was waiting for oil to drain I cracked on with my 50's Ariel frame. Welded a bead around the head races to get them out

And fixed the broken seat bracket

Slowly getting the hang of this welding lark. 

Next was the Fantic rear brake. How it was:-

The previous owner was using the bike on the road so had forward pegs. Bit of cutting with my faithful angle grinder:-

Then weld it back together:-

Of course it wasnt that simple. The pedal is hollow so I blew a hole in it and had to plate it. Now back on the bike:-

Felt like a summers day:-

Of course the VW is now refusing to start and blowing fuses.