What Have You Being Doing With Your Non-triumph Today?

Not sure that I agree with the above. The advent of social media influencers, IG, Tik Tok, etc make it much more common for bikes to reflect in individual's brand and image, and there’s also a proliferation of customised paint jobs these days. I don't see the problem.

 

Not sure about that nowadays.
20 years ago maybe, but as bikes have become more of an expensive toy these days, there's a lot more custom paint jobs around now on non crashed bikes.
Even Triumph dealers sell them, done by people like 8 Ball.
My local Triumph dealer uses Triple C regularly for custom jobs (they've got one for sale currently), they did my Street Triple and , I think, @joe mc donald bike, probably some others on here as well.

 

At the end of the day the choice is yours @Mrs Visor, as is shown above, there's two different camps of thought and everyone has an opinion.

Think about it very carefully!

How long you plan to keep it may be the deciding factor.

 

That is one of my main reservations...BUT I think I will turn into a long term keeper as I have fallen for it far more than I actually thought I would. I am erring on the cautious side at the moment but it's nice to have the opportunity to ponder it too!!

 

We also went on to Doms Bike Stop and watched while someone tried to take a picture of a woman (his buddies pillion) on his GSX-R in front of the welcome sign. We knew it wasn't going well when he took it off the side stand and she couldn't hold it up without his help. Sure enough as soon as he stepped away to take the picture it toppled over to the right

 

That looks like great fun, @Mrs Visor! Did it give you any ideas for your paint job on the Blade??

 

And, although it would require a bit of work and money, it's not like you couldn't get it painted another time down the road if it turns into a "forever bike" for you. A paint job is a paint job and not "set in stone".

 

Early morning ride to the office with a bit of rain. The BMW was followed by my wife and her Tiger 900.

 

No ideas, but lots of lovely machines to look at!!

 

Finally got round to getting my Wakasaki Z900RS mot'd today. It was it's 3rd birthday on 4th Sept but with not feeling well and wet days, well it just got left. But today a telephone call to my local bike shop and 30 mins later I was sat in the sun waiting for my bike to be tested. Only 2,040 miles in three years, I only use it for short blasts. For touring and long days out I use my trusty Tracer.

 

I did have one other thought, @Mrs Visor. The simpler your paint job the easier it is to fix any chips, etc. that you might pick up. When I got a big rock chip in the front fender of my orange touring bike, I learned the hard way that that was a "special" color and not just A color. It was a base coat and a top coat. The base coat was named and readily available but the top coat seemed to be some sort of well-guarded secret. Fortunately my paint guy is fantastic and he was able to mix and blend and match my "Scorched Orange" paint perfectly. But that experience has changed my view of paint jobs that are complicated and super unique.

 

Good thought @Sandi T, I recall you mentioning that before. Definitely something to think about because it is stone chip - tastic round here .

 

Have a look on 'Tinterweb for PPF (paint protection film) for your blade Mrs V. As the name suggests it'll protect your new spangled paintwork from stone chips and scratches. I have some on the Tank of my Ditchpump which has matt paint and if it's put on correctly it's hard to spot. You might even becable to get a full kit, already cut to shape for all the bits that need protecting.

 

So I have finally decided on a similar colour red to that which the Fireblade is but a deep, glossy metallic and keeping the black fairing black. The black and silver decals will be replaced with paint with very glossy black and sparkly silver. So…my bike, but more “wow” factor.

I am also going to have a small detail painted on the tail.

I like this red and am just waiting to see whether the person who will be painting it can have that shade mixed.

 

I did an early morning ride to the office. This time the temperatures were more comfortable. 7 degrees celsius at 05:15.

 

On Saturday I did a 100 km ride at wonderful weather conditions. It had up to crazy 24 degrees Celsius.

 

A bit of spannering time recently on the Armstrong mt500 ready for winter.
It had a substantial oil leak from the clutch casing and upon strip down it was very apparent why; gasket, what gasket?
Someone prior had relied on what looks like red hermetite to effect a seal.
More worrying was the wear marks in the clutch basket.



The main cause of this was the basket wobbled despite being fastened on tightly. The centre has x2 needle roller bearings and these were obviously goosed.
This inner sleeve took quite a while to remove as it was seized on and surrounded by a plastic oil pump gear and magnesium.


I dressed the basket up, and according to the Army manual I have, there is quite a bit of spare "meat" for these such eventualities. Notice the wear taper on the groove depth in the picture below, due to the bearing wobble.



All washed down with brake cleaner and compressed air.
New bearings, seals, gaskets and plates.



The little square in the picture below was made by myself some 40 years ago from flat stock, as part of my MOD apprenticeship, all filed true just using hand tools and then polished with emery

 

Here you go @Dawsy here's another bit of my self made apprenticeship tool kit as part of our initial training.



That square took weeks but as a government employee the training was more important than the cost.

No machine tools, other than a pedestal drill, were allowed even though we were working right next to them.
Marked out on a surface plate using a vernier height gauge and perussian blue.
Drill the corners, then hacksaw near to the line ( many got scrapped by our group).
Then the filing starts......

All under the watchful eye of our instructors and checked many times against master squares and a light gauge ( can't recall correct name, like a portable tv that shows a nice white light for checking gaps).

 

We have trodden similar paths .......

Initially I was working for the MOD which later sold out and became Vickers around late 80's.

Great times.
£44 take home as a 16 year old .... kerrching

 

What a great shade of red, @Mrs Visor. The plan for your bike sounds stunning! Can't wait to see the finished product.