Where all the magic takes place!?

Besides having the tools an a bike to work on, it's a good idea to have a place to do it, namely a shed. Sheds come in a shapes and sizes such as the ons that are just big enough for the bike, tools, you and a cat to swing around to the absolutley I can't believe how much room I have in here type shed.

This is the exterior of mine; the small building to the right is the original shed and to the left is where the wee Starfire and HD live now, slong with all the other flootsam that make up the contents of my shed .

As you can see the "new" shed is of a metal construction with a roll up garage door that can be locked with a padlock or two. Up in the corner where the two shed roofs meet is a spotlight for night time illumination and there's even a waterproof outlet box just outside the roll up door to plug in extensions for outdoor work.

There's also an active and roaming alarm system in the form of the brown beast in the picture and two others that run around the property untethered.

The interior has the bikes of course as well as a wooden bench that I constructed for working on the BSA, a couple of roll around tool chests with typical tools needed, one of which is dedicated to Whitworth tools and items needed strictly for British bikes.

There's also a file cabinet that has some power equipment in as well some files and the all important tea fixings. A recommended item that I have on my bench is a gooseneck lamp that was given me by the bloke that I got the BSA from. It clamps to the back of the bench and reaches to the front putting light just where I need it.

Along the walls are powere outlets so there's never a need to look for one as well as outlets overhead for when tools such as a Dremel or heat gun is needed right at the worksite. I even put strip outlets on the main workbench itself, one at the front and one at one end.

Other equipment items in the shed are a lift jack for the Harley, an air compressor, small shelf unit for my small library with a microwave, some glasses, mugs and a spirits optic dispenser  for an occasional wee dram as well as a CD collection and boom box.

Before I forget, the old original shed is going to become the Piston Broke Pub at a later date. It will be stocked with the finest of Scottish ales a I prefer them as well as Newcastle Brown Ale as it's my particular favorite. But until then, it's the odd beer in the shed for now.

I didn't do it!!!!!

For the eagle eyes, the last posting is actually the very first posting made. Modern technology got the better of me.

Anyway, I mentioned a trip up to Scotchland previously. I had the loan of a BMW K100 from a mate on a classic bike forum while I was home visiting the family. The idea was to take in a few places of interest and the main on was Oop Norf to Scotchland.

I set off around 5am on a Friday morn, steadly at around 70mph due to not being familiar with the bike, the route and the traffic, I was in no particular hurry as Scotchland was gonna be there when I got there.

Once past the built up areas and actually getting to see some countryside was nice as it had been some years since I had enjoyed English scenery. Stopping at services gave me a chance to stretch and loosen up old arthritic bones and joints.

Getting up into Cumbria, I could see the countryside starting to change a little, looking a little more desolate, and bleak. Just south of the border I stopped and talked to some blokes and I mentioned that I was going to Glasgow and then taking the M8 across to Edinburgh.

They told me that I'd have a better journey by taking the A72 at Carlisle and following it up to Edinburgh. Possibly a little longer, but more worthwhile. So that's what I did.

I stopped in a layby for a quick snack once I got onto the A72. It was also a good time to whip out the camera and take a picture or two of the road signs welcoming all to Scotland and also the one for England.

Going through small towns was an experience that filled me with a greater sense of ethnic pride. It seemed that just about every doorway had a Saltire flag flying from it.


After getting checked into my digs in Edinburgh and unpacking a few things, I used the cell phone to call Rick Parkington who I've previously mentioned. A shortwhile later he returned the call. He had been in his shed working on a project Triton for Classic Bike magazine and didn't hear the phone.

A few minutes later Rick and his famous pooch Finbar came by to collect me from my digs. Turns out that he and his wife lived just around the corner which made it easy. So off to his house we went. We had a chat and then the three of us went off to the pub for a few pints and something to eat.
Next day I made a trip into town to the Harley dealer to get a couple of things. Rick gave me directions and some how I got myself slightly lost so started taking streets at random eventually finding the place.

Back to the B&B and then off to see the Castle which I enjoyed but didn't have time to explore like I wanted due to meeting up for dinner later on which we did at Viva Mexico on Cockburn Street. They served surprisingly good Mexican food there. A few more aes were consumed at a pub near Viva Mexico.

Next day, Sunday, I was due to head back down South. But first I followed Rick and his mate Peter Barclay to Peebles for an autojumble at the Drill Hall. Rick took his 1929 (I think) Sunbeam Model 9 (90?) and Peter was on his 52 Ariel Red Hunter.

A putter around taking a few pictures and visiting the vendors, it was time to leave. Rick gave me directions to Biggar and then on to the A1(M) and homeward. Except there was a slight detour in Biggar and somehow got on the wrong road. But a few miles on I got back on the right one and finally on the way.

A few hours of riding, getting caught in the rain between Preston and Penrith, heavy traffic congestion in a few places and finally I was back home.

The point to this rambling is that you can't just rely on books to learn. You have to get out and talk with other people about their experiences, get their opinions, advice and any ideas they may have. And also to see places you've never been to or have always wanted to go to. I did and I'm glad I did. Now get yerself out and do it for yerself. 

Up and going!!!!

Here's the first posting on what is the start of a new adventure...sort of. Actually this is really two firsts; the first first is the fixing up of an old British BSA motorcycle and the other first is the start of doing this here blog thingy.

Once I get the hang of doing all this nonsense, I'll get some pics posted of the wee bike from when I first got it until the present time since I've been working on it.

A little history: I got this bike about two years ago off a guy (Miguel) I know who also ride motorcycles. He rides a Kawasaki W650 parallel twin which is sort of a clone of an old BSA 650 or Triumph 500 or 650.

Anyway, we got to talking one day an he tells me that he's got a BSA 350 Shooting Star in his shed. Yes, yes I know that there isn't a  "350 Shooting Star" so bear with me here.

I didn't get to see it but I was intrigued so when I got home I did some research on the 'net and discovered what I thought he might be referring to, which was a BSA 441 B44 Shooting Star.

So I did further research and saw som pictures, specs, etc and armed with this info, the next time I saw my friend, I asked him if there was a possibility of having a look at the beast in question.

So he opens up the shed and lo and behold, there sitting in a metal shed was a BSA as described. It still had the original Dunlop tires on it and there was 7077 miles showing on the speedometer which I was told appeared to be real miles.

After seeing this little beauty sitting there, I decided that I wanted it if   it was available. So I did some more checking around on a forum I belonged to to get the pros and con of this bike and everything sounded pretty good. Then by chance, I came across a tiny nugget of info that changed what I thought I knew.

It seems that the small difference of a color scheme made a difference on what model it may be. Seems that B44s had a red and off white color scheme and it's smaller brother, the B25 250 Starfire had a blue and off white scheme. the bike in the shed was blue and off white.

While this made a small difference, I still wanted it, so I made an offer of $500 and it was accepted. But then Miguel lowered it to $300 due to there being no registration papers with the the bike.

Bonus!!!!!!!!

Money was paid, bike loaded into the back of my Ranger pickup and away it went to a new home.

Having and knowing things is good!!

Before we get too far ahead in this restoration business, there are a few things that are needed such as a good, secure shed.

Luckily I had that came with the house and property when bought a few years back. It came with a concrete foundation, power, a locking door and windows, aswell as some nice big built in shelves and most important, a good sturdy work bench.

However, as good as this shed is, it is a little cramped to have two bikes, the bench, tools and various bits of equipment in there. So a as the framework was already thee,  bigger shed was constructed with metal siding, a couple of windows and a roll-up garage door.

Having a mate from work who in a former life was an electrician helpsed as we tapped into the current power supply (sorry, couldn't help it) and installed, overhead lights and outlets along the walls and overhead as well.

Yeaaaa!!!!, now were n business.

But none of this is any good without..........knowledge.

To be specific, more knowledge. This was done by obtaining the printed word when it was applicable to the task at hand as well as seeking it from those in the know.

In this case, while on a trip home in the south, I made a visit to Edinburgh in Haggis country first of to visit he Castle which is beautiful and has magnificent views of the city, but also to see and get advice from one Rick Parkington.

Over a few pints of Duechars and Ossian ales, we talked and discussed things. More like Rick talked and I listened trying to absorb it all.

Rick is very knowledgeable about motorcycle related stuff ad has a wealth of tips and hints to help keep classics on the road.

His advice can be read in "Classic Bike"   magazine as well as on Classic Bikes forum, see the link over on the side.

Armed with advice from Rick and others as well as the printed word, I'm well prepared to continue even when difficultes arise.

Oh Jeez...now I need some tools

After getting the Starfire home and into the shed it was noticed that I'd need a few things in order to do the work on it, namely Whitworth sockets and spanners as well as workshop and parts manuals.

So a look on eBay was in order and said items purchased. In the meantie I got the loan of some tools from Frank Ceeko who is a car nut and likes bikes as well.

But before ANY type of work could be done at all, a good going over and making a list of things that were visually wrong, parts missing and things that looked like they needed correcting was in order.

Surprisingly, only the chainguard was missing that I could see, but a few things did need replacing such as the muffler/silencer, all the rubber parts and it need a good cleaning up.

Now I know that some people like to have their bikes with a patina on them as it gives them "character" , and as I do sort of agree in principle, I also feel that it does need to be clean looking.

Plus, as this wee Starfire had caked on oil and grease all over, I felt that a good clean up was a good idea in order to check for leaks, cracks and any other problems that may be hidden.

It took a while, a few weeks of cleaning really, but I got it cleaned up and it turned out to be in really good shape for a bike that had been sitting for a good twenty years from the looks of it.

A start on checking thing out began in earnest.

Over the span of the next few months or so, I had replaced both sets of wheel bearings, looked at the brake shoes, eliminated most of the surface rust, got the tickler on the carb and the petcocks working again, repainted a few things, replaced the fork gaiteers and improvised a fork puller tool.

Bear in mind that as I'm not a mechanic or all that handy, some of this work took place at a snails pace to get to this point in time. I also had to go to my actual job as well.

But the work did continue and the wee bike was looking better as time went on.