OUT OF THE SHOP

Philip is on a buisness trip, he's in a far away land, northern Jersey to be exact. He is peddling his wares as they say, "gone to market" might say others. So why is Philip writing in third person? Drama, simple as that. He is not in his shop where he can access photos and work on bikes and make postings of real metal bits being added to motorbikes, and he resents it. My friends, this will be an intellectual posting, when we set down our wrenches, we click off the Miller Synchrowave, and we reflect. Its time for some prose.

   The jacket is on already, the gloves are stuffed impossibly into a side pocket. The helmet is in the left hand and the keys are in the right. All time stops as the key is slid into the ignition switch. The kill switch is then flicked on and the starter button pushed. The engine fires, time starts again. As the bike warms up, we gear up. The air rich with hydrocarbons  as the machine is rolled out, and mounted. We are chambered and cocked, kick down, eyes up, and now clutch release. It begins...this dance we do, this song we sing, our bodies riding an impossible projectile traveling in our minds eye. Not only head but heart as well for our reference point. This exercise we move through has a cleansing effect, scrubbing away all but the essentials of the moment, such as braking and entry, apex and track out. Our attention riveted to road and target, the two hundred yard focus and glimpses of red line. Are we not space men? Are we not Cyclonauts drawn desperately to our type of space, the one in our minds, where we fly using our organic instrumentation  and the most spectacular invention...our beloved  motorbikes. Ride we say, fly... escape this world.

BMW CHOKES - The Blue Rat Drops A Valve

My '74 BMW R60/6  ...AKA The Blue Rat...dropped a valve due to badly worn valve guides. Learning curve...if you get a flat spot after 3000 RPM's it may not be the carbies. Here are some nice shots of the damage.









Very nice cratering of the piston crown!











Beautifully embedded valve tulip. Well done!








One cycle lift is not enough.

Bragging rights...got her down low enough to grind her heads! She's an old girl...but she puts out.
(yes I was scared)