A Norton Commando is the star of a movie

Yes, that's right, an 850 Norton Commando Interstate is the star of sorts of this piece of cinematic work:

This movie is one of those that is so stupid it's actually funny, perhaps it intentionally by the makers. In a nod to another classic motorcycle movie, there's a cameo appearance on a moped no less by Colin Campbell who played "Reggie" in the 60s cult classic "The Leather Boys."

Vintage 1960s Scrambling (hopefully)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY2jvzAWR2k

News flash.....that got your attention!!!!!!

It's been all go 'round here............first off down at ye Olde Postal Salt Mines, we got "new, improved routes" which means that we got bigger routes to deal with. And in keeping with our contract, due to vast changes in the way our "new, improved routes" came aboot, Bodger got onto a route that still has a good portion of his old routes associated with it. This is NOT to say that Bodger will be staying on it, nos sirree Bob!!! Bodger has put forth the mechanizations to leave and got to another station, away from the tomfoolery at the present station. Also, for the past fortnight, Bodger and lass Teri have been cavorting around up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area visiting the sites and wineries and a good time we had too! Just to show what we saw:

The Texas School Book Depository.....tops marks for those who know what happened there Next:

Two guesses where this is......the pic on the right will give a clue After leaving the concrete jungle of Dallas/Fort Worth, it was off to the East to take a thirty mile ride on this:

Yep, it's a real working steam locomotive and there's two of them that do this thirty mile run daily between two small towns for tourists to experience what it was like in the old days. While driving about these were seen in a small town named after Davy Crockett, tributes to Blues musicians:

The one on the left is a mural to honor some of the legends of the Blues such as BB King and Lightnin' Hopkins and the one on the right is a statue of Lightnin' Hopkins Luckily our trip was near an end. While in Wacko, I mean Waco, the A/C in Teri's car decided to give up the ghost and a drive that should've taken about 2 1/2 hours took about four due to having to stop and rest a spell in the cool confines of Mickey D's or some other fast food establishment. We did see a few other things that were cool.....in Fort Worth there was a place selling Royal Enfields so a visit was made. They all looked pretty nice and were all under $7000. Also, at one winery not to far from the rail line we travelled, there was a pet lying on a seat on the front porch. But this was no ordinary pet. Nope, it was a pet goat which seemed to act like it was a dog. Other than finding a place here in town that sells Scottish Belhaven ales, which I won't torment you with, that was a very fun and relaxing two weeks off from the Postal Salt Mines.

Update on the knackered one

Since Bodger has been on vacation it was decided to have a look see at what was what with the newest addition to Casa Bodger. After giving it a good look over, some poking and prodding and some considerable thought, the conclusion was that this heap would better off as a parts donor for Vicky and Amelia. Seems that after checking the frame lug for numbers, it turns out to be a B25S, probably about 1970 due to the twin leading shoe front brake with air scoop. Several parts such as the forks and seat are beyond use and others may be in the same way. All this and the fact that Vicky and Amelia don't have papers and will be a headache to get, another headache wasn't needed. However there were some parts such as the fenders/mudguards, the handlebars, front brake/clutch/decompression levers, the tool box/battery tray and the rims are in good condition. So these will all be removed and kept, the rest might possibly be able to be salvaged and sold on eBay. The decision to do this wasn't easy, but as there are no papers for it and the above mentioned made it easier. 

Look what followed Bodger home!

While out doing the daily grind, what did Bodger find but this in need of a good home, which it now has. More details to follow.

RIP Smudge

Today, Memorial Day the day to remember the fallen military, will also be a day to remember as Smudge the Wonder Dog is no longer with Bodger. The brown beastie died this morning after being poorly the past few days; don't know if it was through sickness, disease or just plain old age due to her being 10 years old. She was a daft dog who was devoted to me and she'll be missed here at Casa Bodger. RIP my ragamuffin.

A grand weekend away....

This past weekend was a good 'un as it was Bodgers three days off and was put to good use.

On Friday a trip to The Lone Star Motorcycle Museum was embarked on.

A nice little jaunt out in the south Texas Hills to see a collection on mainly British motorcycles. 

Some of you may remember a past posting about the place that contains.a Brough SS80, several Vincent's, Morton's and BSAs as well as a couple of old Harley's, BMWs, Indians and even a Mike Hailwood Replica Ducati.

This trip had Bodger seeing the end result of a Triumph project that owner Allan had been working on, a gorgeous pre-unit spring hub Triumph 650.

Bodger has seen, on previous visits to the museum this particular bike in various stages of restoration such as the metal parts after being painted that blue color as well as chrome parts after they came back from chroming.

The next day was Saturday and meant a trip to the 29th (I think) annual New Ulm Rally.

Bodger spent a couple of hours there getting some pictures and drooling over a B44 that was absolutely beautiful. In fact, this looked like it was brand new right off the showroom floor.   

R

Others that were seen were: As you can see, a varied selection of machines were in attendance this year. Most unusual were the chrome tanked Marmon which was in existence for only about 2 years from 1948 and there was a connection with Zeppo Marx of Marx Bros fame. The other unusual one was the Rokon. Next show coming up is the Harvest Classic in October up in Luckenbach.

Classic transport

Mr Combo did a posting a few days back about a "Barkus" van that was used to transport Simson motorcycles and the general shape of it looked familiar. So after searching the little grey cells and doing a search on the 'net, it all came back. The reason it looked familiar is this: Commer van Ford Econoline Dodge A100 and lastly.... Chevy Greenbriar Seeing these has got Bodger actually thinking that this would be a nice way to haul the old nails around, keeping with the classic look and all. Of course they would have to be sans the windows along the sides and in excellent shape, restored even. Wonder what a nice one would cost to buy??

Some silly title goes here....Bondo....James Bondo. That's pretty silly!

OK.....it's been quite a while since Bodger has posted anything on this drivel that barely passes as a Blog so without further adieu or fanfare even, here's something now. Though the gathering of parts still continues, it's now at a slower rate mainly due to it being more or less down to odds and sods and trivial things. So recently a couple of things were decided; the VS gas tank that was obtained eons back with two small bondo filled dents would have a wee bit more bondo added to the dents. Seems that when it dried there was some shrinkage that left minor depressions. So instead of having some bloke do his magic on the tank by knocking the dents out and charging Bodger for that priviledge, the dents would get some bondo treatment and then after prepping, the paint treatment. Another thing that was decided was break into ye olde coin bag and spend the hard earned on the bondo and..........wait for it..........a cylinder hone to give the cylinder a good going over. If you remember a few months back, the cylinder was checked to see what bore it could possibly be on and it was discovered to be on standard bore.........HAZZZUH!!!! So with that being now known and a standard size piston and rings obtained from SRM, a quick blast with the hone to deal with the bore, some expert advice on end float/play as well as some new bearings, work on the lower end will commence as well as a third and final coat of paint on the frame and other parts. Also as mentioned, bondo for the tank. This pretty much how it looks with the dents filled in. They need that wee bit more to make it look better. Soooooo......providing the weather holds and doesn't get damp or anything catastrophic happening, this could get done on Sunday.

Scavenger hunt

I saw this the other day and got a picture of it. it's a street not to far from the main post office here in San Antonio where I sometimes get to work, away from the usual salt mine. So after seeing and capturing this for prosperity I had this brilliant idea.....see if can find any other street signs that have motorcycle names or connections such as Bonneville, Meriden, Norton, Villiers.......you get the idea. Once fund, post a pic on your very own Bloggy or on Faceache. Sound good??? thought it might!

Oh my!!!!

Nothing to do with motorcycles at all, but after seeing this, just had to share it and elicit comments on this silly sods mental state and appearance in general.

Luckily for me I have no daughters coz if I did and she was to bring something like this home I would question her sanity before locking her in a convent and throw rocks at "it" or turn the water hose on him. WTF!!!!!!

Unobtainium

For the uninitiated or familiar, unobtainium are things that in the course of a project such as a rebuild or restoration that are found to be missing or so knackered that they have to be replaced and then are found to be unobtainable or just down right hard to find. In the gathering of parts for "Vicky", there were three things, "The Holy Trinity" as far as I was concerned that were missing and would be hard to get in even halfway decent shape; the seat, the tank and the chain-guard. A tank in decent shape showed up via eBay. It needs a wee bit of work to get it looking right, but it's doable. A ratty looking seat showed up. The cover and cushioning were trashed while the seat pan/base was in pretty good shape though some plastic surgery with fiberglass was in order. A seat cover from eBay at a fairly decent price has been squirreled away for later, when the foam padding is purchased from one of the local car upholstery places run by Senor Pedro or one of his cousins. A chain-guard that needs some attention also came into Bodgers possession, completing "The Holy Trinity." But wait......a couple of the minor listed items of unobtainium have been located as well The piston was missing and after a local machine shop determined that it was on standard bore, a suitable piston was obtained. And there's more! Just yesterday, Bodger received in his grubby little mitts and brand spanking new, yessirree Bob, wiring harness/loom to carry that all important electrickery from the battery to the places needed to make "Vicky" operational.

This came courtesy of Hawkstone on eBay from their very real sales premises in Liverpool. The hunt for more parts continues though now it looks like it's gonna be the more common bits such as fasteners, rubber bits, etc.

77 Race of the Year

As it says in the title, the 77 Race of the year at Mallory. Can't remember if I was at this or not..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNkdZSg-m0M

A quiz of sorts...

I was watching the latest DVD addition to the film library, "The Punisher" with Dolph Lundgren, when the idea came to mind for this little quiz. Can you name any movies/TV shows that had motorcycles in them? They didn't have to be in a supporting role, just in the movie. To get started off, here's a few that come to mind: -The Great Escape -The Worlds Fastest Indian -Race of The Power Bikes -Hells Angels 69 -Hells Angels on Wheels -Magnum Force (Dirty Harry movie) -On Any Sunday -Any of The Terminator movies -Lawrence of Arabia -Waking Ned Devine -No Limit -A couple of the Jason Bourne movies -The Leather Boys Now, over to you for some mental gymnastics to see what you can come up with, and they can't be repeated OK??

Recap of 2012

Well, well, well, it's another brand new year here at Casa Bodger and now that all the festivities have died down, let's have a wee recap of the year past followed by what's to come in the future. First off, the past year, in no particular order: -a visit to the South Texas Car and Bike show which was 99% cars/trucks with associated trinkets and 1% bikes of the elongated wheelbase and bright, shiny look. -attending the New Ulm Rally and meeting Buck and Mike Carson who were entrants in the Cannonball Run, with 21 y/o Buck riding a 1927 BSA S27 (I think). Buck rode this for roughly a week from NY to SF, CA along with others. Buck's bike kept breaking down and in the end ended up being pushed the Golden Gate Bridge to the finish earning Buck the award for most dedicated I think it was. -several trips to Texas wineries getting some culture(?) by sampling and buying Texas grown and made vino. These trips included seeing/attending such things as a statue of Buddy Holly in his hometown of Lubbock, the beaches in Corpus Christi and Galveston, a medieval Renneasaince (sp) festival, a turn of the century, last one that is, Case tractor, and a local Oktoberefest. -the continual gathering of parts for Vicky, which will be ongoing for a time yet. -painting by hand of Vicky's frame and some associated metal-ware. Another sanding and coat are in order. -adding a few more interesting pieces to the shed library to include a new copy of Radco's classic "The Vintage Motorcyclists Workshop" which is a very excellent reference for restoring or just plain working on old nails such as ours. -finally getting a copy as it were on You Tube of an excellent BBC video from back in the 70s following the John Player Norton team (Peter Williams and Dave Croxford) at the IoM TT along with a privateer. Would've liked to gotten a hard copy for the video library but You Tube is just as good. -working at the main Postal salt mine as a Driving Instructor for close to three months -finding out that Scottish and Irish ancestry is on both sides of the family tree. -keeping in touch with mates via blogs and FaceAche and the most important of all, my lass Teri. -plus a ton of other things that'll probably be remembered much later on. And now for what to expect in the future: -more inane ramblings -more parts to be got -trips to more wineries -visits to New Ulm again (it's an annual thing) as well as Luckenbach for the Harvest Classic -hopefully getting Vicky on the road or at least 95% towards that end -and whatever else that may crop up during the year! Until then.....tootle pip!!!