Never thought I’d see this again, can’t decide if it’s happy or sad 
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The accident definitely took the thrill out of 500 GPs for me and I stopped watching around that time. It seemed the ‘Unrideable Age’ was over with the introduction of the big bang engine and all my favourite riders had moved on and I lost interest.
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Yeah, that did feel like the end of an era, quite possibly the greatest one in my mind.
I believe Doohan went back to a screamer at one point, from the big bang engine, in order to give him an advantage over the lesser rides who couldn’t ride one, as it was ultimately faster in the right hands.
Better video than my previous link. I was genuinely welling up watching this and listening to the commentary.
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It was definitely the era of the Americans. Fast Freddie, Schwantz, Kocinsky, Roberts. A great time to be watching.
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I told MrsS about Rainey going up the hill at FOS and she said how wonderful it was. I put the point forward that it’s also sad and she totally refused to accept that, saying he wouldn’t have done it if it made him sad and blasting a 500 up the hill is a thrill whoever you are. All good points so I’m now declaring it a good thing. 
In other motorcycle news, I’ve ordered my first big ticket item, a new fuel tank. The engine builder put me on to him, said his work is really good. Quite a long turnaround time of six to eight weeks but that’s OK, no rush.
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I’ve been away for a week so just catching up with this and MotoGP.
As Wayne said wow! I actually felt pretty emotional watching his first ride to be honest. Those guys were part of my youth. So many memories of riding with mates to GP’s, many who didn’t survive their two wheel hooning
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After yesterday’s DIY I did something different today, took the wheels off and took them down to a powder coater in Sevenoaks. He wanted to see them as there is some bubbling under the paint which can be a problem with powder coating, apparently.
Anyway, it’s all good and can be sorted. I drop them off once the tyres and bearing are off. Not much left of the bike at the moment, I’ll start rebuilding soon. 
In other news, the Christmas tree is doing well.
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What’s the back story Andy? The engine casings, frame, well everything, I’ve seen are in such great condition considering it’s age. Why and when was it stripped?
It’s going to be stunning when you’re finished.
Nice one, @AndyS . One of the more cosmetic jobs on my VFR is to get the wheels powder coated, but that will probably have to be in the winter, hopefully after I’ve got it through an MOT.
That looks absolutely mint mate
I bought it for myself as a 30th birthday present, everything was good with life.
About a year later the FiL was diagnosed with bowel cancer and died about a month later. On top of all the usual grieving we became the first point of call for the MiL. Not carers but only a few rungs down from that.
To spare you an autobiography, on top of that
and usual life events it then went redundancy, own business, closing own business, really awful jobs, MiL died.
So the bike was in the background while I was either too busy or too poor and sat in the garage for 20 plus years slowly being affected by moisture.
But now I’m semi retired I’m neither too busy or poor so the bike is suddenly promoted to top of the To-Do list. Hurrah (and also lots of mixed emotions towards the journey we had to get here).
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That’s pretty special.
Dunno if it’s just me, but bikes are similar to music for me. Seeing a particular bike can transport me immediately back in time and a flood of memories.
Can’t wait to see, and more importantly, hear it finished.
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Stroker heaven
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Not sure they’re the ultimate two-stroke. 70bhp, crap brakes and rubbish cornering yet he still says ultimate.
Talking of 70bhp, after much spannering and a hefty donation to the swear jar, the engine is back in and all aligned nicely. I haven’t connected up the tubes yet because there are big black clouds knocking around and I need to concentrate on it.
I managed to download a workshop and a parts manual which has been really useful for seeing where washes go etc. All progressing nicely.
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That’s all the top tubey bits connected but it’s too hot in the direct sunshine to go through the middle bit of the day so time for lunch and see if there’s any sport on the telly.
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New bits are arriving. Mmm, shinny. They’re the usual pain trying to get them to fit. I know aftermarket stuff never fits but it’s still annoying.
Edit:
I take it back, there’s no way they’re going to fit so they’re going back. Shame as they’re shinny. I spoke to the engine builder and he said they’re RGV exhausts as the mount holes are 5mm out and to just elongate the hole. I then spoke to the seller and he said he can’t provide a warranty on anything that’s been modified. So they’re going back.
FFS, a whole day spent faffing about.
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Love what you’re doing, @AndyS You bikes going to look amazing when it’s finished.
After a couple of weeks’ layoff, I did a bit more work in the VFR today. The main job was to do all the valve clearances. To make access easier o the front two cylinders I drained the cooling system and removed the radiator. The VFR has a nut adjustment for the clearances and not shims, which in theory makes it simpler, but in reality it made it difficult to get a consistent gap. Managed to sort it, but it took a few hours before I was happy.
I took the opportunity to tidy up the valve covers. Nothing fancy, a quick clean and rub with wet and dry paper, then primer and a rattle can finish. New gaskets and washers added and cleaned up the bolts. By no means a perfect finish, but better than before.
My main issue is the radiator. While I’ve poked around it, this was the first time I’ve had a proper look at it and it’s in quite a bad state, at least externally. Loads of crap between the fins, a broken mounting where the front grill attaches and just loads of grime. Not sure it’s salvageable, but good ones are rare. Might be expensive!
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Straight radiators aren’t so bad, there used to be a company who’d re-core them for reasonable money. Curved radiators are outrageously expensive, £700 for mine which is why it’s carefully packaged and stored safely (IE, not lobbed in the shed).
All looking good.
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