Hi from the UK - INDIAN Board Tracker tribute, my first build
- Thread starter PeteMcP
- Start date
Not sure who coined the phrase, "Mad Dogs and Englishmen", but thus coulda been why. 
Here's some shots of one of my favorite local rides. Old Mill Rd on the northside of the San Bernardino Mtns.
Of course the Big Daddy around here is Angeles Crest Hwy. 55 miles without an intersection to speak of at elev. up to 7900ft. I've done it with everything from painter vans to sportbikes. It's even a cool cruise in my 65 F250. No shifting required!
Here's some shots of one of my favorite local rides. Old Mill Rd on the northside of the San Bernardino Mtns.
Of course the Big Daddy around here is Angeles Crest Hwy. 55 miles without an intersection to speak of at elev. up to 7900ft. I've done it with everything from painter vans to sportbikes. It's even a cool cruise in my 65 F250. No shifting required!
Just by there last year was in Palmadale and the area, may have to go for a ride next time...........Curt
Dang gals got it...waving at the fans! Just a nice drive in the country.
Rick C.
Rick C.
Thanks for uploading the link Curt. Hope you guys enjoyed it.
That 13min 27sec ride is perfect coffee break viewing.
Especially impressed with the "grab the wheel babe while I wipe the oil mist off my visor" bit.!
That 13min 27sec ride is perfect coffee break viewing.
Especially impressed with the "grab the wheel babe while I wipe the oil mist off my visor" bit.!
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Thank's Pete and Curt. That was an interesting ride indeed and a whole lot of fun.
Steve.
Steve.
Both videos got me thinking. There must be more curves presented on this stretch of road than there are in the entire western half of the Indian Territory. We have a lot of contour but roads are laid out on (nominally) North & South grids & as straight as possible, which is quite straight as it turns out. The state highways have been flattened a great deal as well to eliminate the contour & that's a good reason to tour the secondary roads by bike.
Rick C.
Rick C.
Fog that's some beautiful country you've ridden as well.Not sure who coined the phrase, "Mad Dogs and Englishmen", but thus coulda been why.
Here's some shots of one of my favorite local rides. Old Mill Rd on the northside of the San Bernardino Mtns.
View attachment 102830 View attachment 102831 View attachment 102832 View attachment 102833
Of course the Big Daddy around here is Angeles Crest Hwy. 55 miles without an intersection to speak of at elev. up to 7900ft. I've done it with everything from painter vans to sportbikes. It's even a cool cruise in my 65 F250. No shifting required!
If we have one more day forecast this Fall with light winds and mild temps I'd favor a ride south to the Wichita mountains National refuge. It's a 130 mile round trip that to fully experience on a bike would require a layover for the night. So two day weather window required. I think the mountain e-bike my choice for that adventure, but may have to wait for spring.
Rick C.
HONDA SOLO's MAKEOVER PROGRESS PICS....
New, fatter tyres, small front fender, stainless exhaust, cafe bars with alloy risers, front/rear indicators, headlight, two tail/stop lamps, side-mount license plate, horn, left side hand shifter all fitted. Still running the original 50cc motor till I swap it out for my Lifan 125cc unit come springtime. Thing rides like a dream - and legally to boot!
Hope you folks enjoyed a Merry Christmas. Here's wishing everyone all the best for 2020.
New, fatter tyres, small front fender, stainless exhaust, cafe bars with alloy risers, front/rear indicators, headlight, two tail/stop lamps, side-mount license plate, horn, left side hand shifter all fitted. Still running the original 50cc motor till I swap it out for my Lifan 125cc unit come springtime. Thing rides like a dream - and legally to boot!
Hope you folks enjoyed a Merry Christmas. Here's wishing everyone all the best for 2020.
That is a sweet looking ride Pete, a excellent way to see 2019 out and begin 2020. Christmas was fine here with unusual record temp. shirtsleeve weather.
The best to you and yours in the New Year Pete.
Tom
The best to you and yours in the New Year Pete.
Tom
Hi Pete,
Hope your Christmas went well. The bike is an absolute treat for the eyes. So nice that it's legal.
Steve.
Hope your Christmas went well. The bike is an absolute treat for the eyes. So nice that it's legal.
Steve.
Pete the Solo transformation is amazing. Great work as always.
My best to you & family in the n ew year.
Rick C.
My best to you & family in the n ew year.
Rick C.
HONDA SOLO's HAND SHIFTER INSTALLED & TANK PAINTING COMPLETED.
Conversion from foot to hand shift is what makes this bike such fun to ride. No clutch semi-auto - so easy.
Tank is now painted, with the addition of a polished alloy central trim strip. Finishes it off nicely.
Next job is to swap-out the original, much restricted carb for the carb on the Lifan 125 motor. I want to see if that'll give the 50cc Honda unit any more poke before carrying out the engine swap proper.
Having a bike in the living room as 'art' kinda works for me. Wife Jen gives me no argument - about the only upside to her dementia.
Conversion from foot to hand shift is what makes this bike such fun to ride. No clutch semi-auto - so easy.
Tank is now painted, with the addition of a polished alloy central trim strip. Finishes it off nicely.
Next job is to swap-out the original, much restricted carb for the carb on the Lifan 125 motor. I want to see if that'll give the 50cc Honda unit any more poke before carrying out the engine swap proper.
Having a bike in the living room as 'art' kinda works for me. Wife Jen gives me no argument - about the only upside to her dementia.
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Awesome addition Pete I also love the vintage feel of a hand shifter, with or without a manual clutch.
Rick C.
Rick C.
Great!!! The shifter completes the downtube line of a standard frame. Super light looks good and comfy too!
Thanks Tony.
Searching online prior to commencing my Solo build I found some pics showing Solos with faux downtubes added by Japanese customisers. I've attached a couple. Mod looks very easy to accomplish using a pair of bent tubes secured at the top in holes drilled behind the head tube and with the lower ends secured to the foot peg bolts under the engine case. Honda's Solo was discontinued following low sales volumes - but the Vietnamese 'Solowin' knock-off which followed later featured the addition of frame downtubes.
Searching online prior to commencing my Solo build I found some pics showing Solos with faux downtubes added by Japanese customisers. I've attached a couple. Mod looks very easy to accomplish using a pair of bent tubes secured at the top in holes drilled behind the head tube and with the lower ends secured to the foot peg bolts under the engine case. Honda's Solo was discontinued following low sales volumes - but the Vietnamese 'Solowin' knock-off which followed later featured the addition of frame downtubes.
Chain guard dispensed with and rear fender bobbed.
MOTO GUZZI MOTOLEGGERA 65cc 'GUZZINO' progress update...
Work has resumed on my Guzzino. The seller knew next to nothing about this bike other than he'd taken it in part exchange. It came to me with a liberal coating of storage dust/grime, but after a thorough wipe down, I was pleasantly surprised how nice it scrubbed up. From the look of it, my take is it's an older, incompleted resto. Obviously hasn't seen the road since being repainted. Plan is to retain what little patina there is.
Motor has excellent compression and produces a strong spark.
Jobs carried out so far:
New tyres/tubes, Tank flushed - it's remarkably clean in there, Carb stripped/cleaned, Air filter installed, Fuel line and filter fitted, Font/rear drum brakes presently dismantled, cleaned and brake shoes sent off to Villiers Services for re-lining.
Bike arrived minus hand grips and throttle. Decided to fit a twist grip throttle rather than the original thumb lever type. New throttle and clutch cables fitted.
Have still to install the new wiring harness I purchased from Italy. The original exhaust is holed, but today I was lucky enough to have my 'best offer' accepted for a new old stock Guzzino exhaust muffler listed on UK eBay by a seller who didn't know precisely which bike it was intended for. A snip at 40 quid, less than a third of the advertised price for an exhaust I was just about to splash out on from an Italian retailer. And with 6 quid for UK postage compared to 34 quid for shipping from Italy, I feel luck was on my side for once.
Attached pics show progress on my Guzzino to date.
Work has resumed on my Guzzino. The seller knew next to nothing about this bike other than he'd taken it in part exchange. It came to me with a liberal coating of storage dust/grime, but after a thorough wipe down, I was pleasantly surprised how nice it scrubbed up. From the look of it, my take is it's an older, incompleted resto. Obviously hasn't seen the road since being repainted. Plan is to retain what little patina there is.
Motor has excellent compression and produces a strong spark.
Jobs carried out so far:
New tyres/tubes, Tank flushed - it's remarkably clean in there, Carb stripped/cleaned, Air filter installed, Fuel line and filter fitted, Font/rear drum brakes presently dismantled, cleaned and brake shoes sent off to Villiers Services for re-lining.
Bike arrived minus hand grips and throttle. Decided to fit a twist grip throttle rather than the original thumb lever type. New throttle and clutch cables fitted.
Have still to install the new wiring harness I purchased from Italy. The original exhaust is holed, but today I was lucky enough to have my 'best offer' accepted for a new old stock Guzzino exhaust muffler listed on UK eBay by a seller who didn't know precisely which bike it was intended for. A snip at 40 quid, less than a third of the advertised price for an exhaust I was just about to splash out on from an Italian retailer. And with 6 quid for UK postage compared to 34 quid for shipping from Italy, I feel luck was on my side for once.
Attached pics show progress on my Guzzino to date.
And now for something different...
Never seen one of these. This '78 Sparta 40cc Dutch cyclemotor has been doing the rounds several times on UK eBay recently. First saw it listed by a UK bike retailer 3-4 months back. Keeps dropping off eBay with no bids - which is surprising given the obvious build quality. May be the lack of a V5 registration document is putting potential buyers off - but that's a relatively simple process to overcome.
Can't help but admire this Sparta's impressive, sturdy-looking, cast rear wheel. And its 40cc Sachs drive train looks very clean and tidy. All in all, what appears to be a well looked after and little used autocycle for under 500 quid. I reckon it's a bargain compared to many of the '50s-'60s Velosolex or Winged Wheel 'cyclemotor' rigs that regularly show up on eBay for more than twice the price - and are, more often than not, non-runners requiring sorting.
Never seen one of these. This '78 Sparta 40cc Dutch cyclemotor has been doing the rounds several times on UK eBay recently. First saw it listed by a UK bike retailer 3-4 months back. Keeps dropping off eBay with no bids - which is surprising given the obvious build quality. May be the lack of a V5 registration document is putting potential buyers off - but that's a relatively simple process to overcome.
Can't help but admire this Sparta's impressive, sturdy-looking, cast rear wheel. And its 40cc Sachs drive train looks very clean and tidy. All in all, what appears to be a well looked after and little used autocycle for under 500 quid. I reckon it's a bargain compared to many of the '50s-'60s Velosolex or Winged Wheel 'cyclemotor' rigs that regularly show up on eBay for more than twice the price - and are, more often than not, non-runners requiring sorting.
Dutch cyclemotor autocycle for under 500 quid. Interesting machine Pete, Are you looking to do a flip once you obtain a V5?
500 quid is not small change at least to me.
Your Guzzino is Primo!
Tom
500 quid is not small change at least to me.
Your Guzzino is Primo!
Tom