A slow week in the garage but Saturday was spent giving my eldest, Catherine, a go on the little Turismo. It’s seven years since Cor, Gido, Dean and I rode to Breganze for the 60th Laverda Birthday Party. A lot has happened since then…
Seeing Catherine on the Turismo made me very proud. It was quite different from her 600 Monster with just 3 speeds, right foot change, left side kick-start, drum brakes and all of 40 mph on tap! She did well, even mastered the heel and toe gearchange arrangement 🙂
The exhaust still hasn’t moved on Atlas #2 and I’m thinking now that the best way of shifting it will be the bleedin’ obvious of starting it and getting it up to temperature and then try and free the exhaust nuts. Expansion forces will most likely result in unwinding the studs but that’s okay. As it stands the most likely result of my hanging on a 11 mm spanner is a busted stud!
The majority of the garage time however has been spent doing yet more tidying up. A bit dull but I have liberated so much space and even found a few parts that I didn’t remember having (a new set of fork tubes for instance)! The tidy up also liberated a project for Mrs A in the shape of her old ’68 BSA D14/4.
The little Bantam has sat unloved under a pile of Laverda spares for many years – infact it still has a campsite sticker from its trip to the ’92 24 Heures du Mons (broken primary chain meant it came home in a van…). Despite surface rust it’s all there and thankfully not seized from all the time spent idle. The plan therefore is for Mrs A to join me in the garage – she’s sure to be on the road with the Banty before the RGA returns…
Nick 🙂
Bent screwdrivers, big hammers and old Laverdas 