Making stuff

Sorry no post for ages, trying to get the magazine finished, earn a living and spending some time in the workshop to try and complete my Stornello Scrambler project I've been working on for a few months - an hour or two a week, that is..

Anyway, I've enjoyed making some bits and pieces that I needed but wouldn't be able to buy. Luckily there's a metal working company near where I keep the bikes so there's always plenty of scrap around. I needed brackets for the mudguard to raise it up in the forks, then a simple bash plate to stop the front of the motor getting wrecked by the rocks that the bike will probably never ride over - but it looks good and though in aluminium is pretty strong. It's like anything, the more time you spend on it, the better it'll be, but I'm happy for these bits to do the job and not be perfectly polished.

The only way to learn

In my late teens and early 20s I had no money - nothing's changed there - so I had to work on my bikes and old cars myself as I couldn't afford to pay anyone. With judicious use of my dad's garage when he was away, I'd get my bike stripped down, using a motley selection of tools. In this photo, taken I'd say in 1990, I've pulled the top end of my old black V50 down and it's spread around the garage floor. I can't even remember why or what the issue was. I rode that V50 to Holland, France and back and it gave me no problems. My mates called it the Tiger Moth because it sounded like one at full chat on the motorway.
I sold it on for a 500 quid profit once I found my S3 not long after. Anyway, I learned so much by doing it myself, and ended up working in motorcycle workshops with the knowledge gained. Do it yourself!!