well after a break i can  now say i have a full motorcycle licence with no restrictions.

NEEDS TO BE ENJOYED

Well  the bike is almost finished, and it will soon be time to ride it , the only problem is i dont hold a full bike licence , i have booked my theory test and will book my CBT in the next few days . i have already got stuck into interactive dvd lessons and hazard perceptions situations and am doing very well  . bring it on .

The subtle changes continue

finally got the right size springs on that seat , real retro now . 

cant wait to ride it

when i got this bike it had one standard clock (green and red ) ammeter and a white faced speedo , i have now replaced the ammeter to mach the speedo

close up of that ....

A few photos of how she looks right now

so the old girl is getting there , a few adjustments to do with the seat and sort out the number plate and its time to test ride and shake down .

here is a better shot of that seat , the prings that cam ewith the seat are too long for the bike , i have shorter ones now this will make it far better on the eye

i just loev the way this engine polishes and shines with very little effort

another shot of the shinny bits

just needs the plate fitted now

almost but not quite

well the bike is almost what i want it to look like , a few more hours needed to sort out the seat and i think that will do until its shake down .all in all this has been a very enjoyable project.

the bike sounds awsome on idle and a monster when blasted . dont think my neighbours are that pleased about the sound but i love it !.

SUBTLE ADDITIONS

i have replaced the bulky indicators with a smaller set and added some more small decals, really starting to look the part now , just the solo saddle to mount now then possibly replace those handlebars .

the electrics were next to sort out , this bike needs to be running to have the head lamp on . hence the slighly blurry photo. 

the rear end looks neat with the indicators taken back a bit ... am looking forward to cleaning the old girl and giving her a coat of polish this weekend 

SPEEDY DELIVERY FROM HITCHCOCKS MOTORCYCLES

well done hitchcocks motorcycles, these decals arrived overnight by post , cant ask much more than that . so much better than the others i had bought.

Technical Information

During my research and parts  hunting i have found some fantastic websites for technical info and parts .

over the next few weeks ill add the sites to this post  , here is the type of thing that i found and its priceless information .

click the link for the workshop manual online , the other link is for just about any spare part you could possibly want for a royal enfield    

                                         hitchcocks motorcycles

workshop manual information

NEW PARTS

Today  i have placed an order for high quality decals for the fuel tank , tool boxes and mudguards .
they should be here ready to be fitted later this week , i have also decided to replace that  huge Harley Davidson style seat , i have opted for a retro style in keeping with the rest of the bike .Hitchcocks motorcycles can supply just about any part y ou want for a Royal Enfield, ebay is another source of parts but be careful as many  over sea sellers supply items that  will be subject to taxes and import duty .

 

ols school seat ready to fit 

DECAL DAY

today was to be the decal fitting day , they do say buy cheap and you buy twice, these were so crap they never made it off the backing paper, water slide type fell apart in my hands. so i just finished any loose ends and gave it a wipe over .

 fired her up to make sure all was well, started 2nd kick cant ask more than that , i have just ordered a replacement solo seat in the 50;s style to replace the Harley looking one that came with it . all in all i am very happy so far and am getting excited about her maiden test ride ..

here are a few  photos of how she looks right now, ill have to get some better decals ordered up ready for next weekend

one this was done i had a tidy up in the garage..... to be continued

BLACK SATURDAY

i decided  black is the new black. all tinware and the tank were prepared and painted black in keeping with th 50's look i was after..

the following photos were taken during todays refit , there not a great deal to do now , just double check every thing is tight , connected then start the old girl.

 rear  mudguard and tail lamp were the first parts to re-fit , followed by the tool boxes and electrics cover

 i have ordered a new set of indicators that will be added to the old rear seat mounts for a much better look.

 after painting the head lamp casing and front fork covers it was time to add the clocks and start to wire the switches back up, crazy old connectors but they work .

 next was the fuel tank with its new black paint job , well pleased with the way this has turned out .that ugly dent was removed and then refinished,  the decals are still to be added but the bike needs to sit on level ground and i need to be able to stand back to make sure they are straight to the eye and positioned the right places .

headlamp was fitted after the loom connectors were sorted out .

  well there it is no dents to be seen anywhere .

 those handle bars might have to makeway for the original ones that were given to me with a box of bits when i collected it .

 speedo and ignition switch back in and turned on to check all works , dip beam head light needs t be sorted but il do that in daylight . its a tad dark in the garage with out lighting .

 well the front mudguard was next on the fun list , you need 5 pairs of hands for this unless you remove the front wheel . i never so had some fun juggling nuts washers and the stays that hold the dam thing on. looks great now though.

 well the seat might have to go at some point and the tank is waiing the decals  but all in all it looks a million dollars . nothing wrong with the original colour but i prefer it this way . kina old school look.

the clocks and switches all work and il fire the thing up tomorrow to check all is well  before adding the all importand decals . 

STRIPPING

well after a week at work thinking about how i wanted this bike to look , i decided to start taking it apart to inspect the body work and tin ware . its in a good servicable condition but i think ild like to change the colour and take it back to the 50's style of Enfiled .

 here is the bike as it was where i got it home and parked in the garage 

 you can see the fuel tank has a dent on the right hand side 

 close up of that ugly dent 

a single seat is fitted , not sure i like this syle but il take another view of it once i start to rebuild it .

 seat,tank. front guard and head light removed

 rear view of that 

 handle bars next 

 tool boxes were next to be removed 

 starting to look at bit naked 

last was the rear mud guard lights and reg plate holder