Technical question time

OK boys and girls, it's time for some mental gymnastics............does anyone know if the muffler/silencer for a late 60s BSA B44 Victor Special has a cut-out on the backside for the right hand shock absorber?
Like shown in the pics below.....

The reason I ask is that of the pics I've seen of these, I've never seen a cutout, plus on top of that, all the pics have been of the front side where the heat shield is screwed on.

There's one for sale and could be mine if this isn't some aborted bodge that will blow up on Bodger like a trick cigar.

Answers as always on a bit of paper behind the loo at the station..... 

Let the painting begin

Well actually it was some sanding first a few days ago and then today after faffing about, got around to hitting all the parts such as frame, tank, swing arm and pivot (the left footrest bracket on it actually) and a few other odds and sods with some etching primer and then with some grey aerosol primer.

Actually this is supposed to be a super, duper primer and filler all rolled into one neat little package. Supposedly will fill in wee cracks, gouges, what have you while it primes so you don't have to mess about too much with prep work.

Now before we get to far ahead of ourseleves here, for the time being, Bodger is just priming, sanding and getting parts ready for the application of the all important top coat of black enamel.

This is so that there's plenty of time to get the coats of primer sanded and smoothed down as best as can be done with these old arthritic grabbers as well as making sure that more parts of the jigsaw puzzle that is Vicky can be gathered.

Plus there's also the all important aspect of getting the layout for the tank worked out too. Can't be just taping and masking willy-nilly, no sir, need to get the dimensions sussed out right as well as finding the right color yellow to use as well as the shiny portion which is a brushed aluminum.

Also, slightly off topic, but as a tribute to a guy who's brief career was cut short by a fatal accident at Imola I think it was, Bodger managed to score this

to show off on the workbench as well as one on the laptop cover. The chappy was #51, Pat Evans who raced in one of the TransAtlantic Match Races back in the 70s, possibly a couple more.

Looks good I think with the Gus Kuhn, Scottish Saltire, NMM and Radio Caroline stickers......

An observation

When is it that people are going to be held accountable for what they do instead of someone else?

By this I mean, the average person who gets behind the steering wheel of any four wheeled vehicle has basically been given the perfect excuse more or less by the government or any law providers to not be held liable for any death or injury that occurs if the were to hit and/or kill a motorcyclist.

The reason, to me, is that those who make the laws are so intent on any carnage from happening on the roads that they come out with laws to "protect" a motorcyclist and passenger for their own good.

They range from the mandatory use of a helmet to daytime headlights to now in some places the use of Day-Glo vests or jackets.

Even though I don't particularly care to wear a helmet, I do just to be safe due to the number of idiotic and dangerous drivers here, even though it's not required here.

The others I just don't get at all.......if a driver of a car or truck runs into someone who isn't wearing a Day-Glo jacket, he has a built in excuse...."I didn't see him cause he wasn't bright enough!"

What happened to using your EYES??????? Looking and observing is part of driving. It's amazing how somebody can say that but will be driving along and will see a small sign for a sale of some sort, but can somehow NOT SEE a motorcycle approx. 5 feet long with a rider on it that maybe 5 feet high.

Pretty soon, we, as in motorcyclists, will be back to the old ways when cars first came along......a person will have to walk a ways in front and signal with flags and make some sort of noise to let people know they are in the vicinity, along with posting a time table to let them know to the second when.

Make and hold the four wheel driver accountable for not using their peepers like intended....either that or ban them from driving!

Just an observation.............tomorrow, getting messy and dirty with wet-n-dry paper, some water and Vicky's frame and other tinware.

All I can say is...

.....the weather has FINALLY gotten cooler and it feels like fall has gotten here after somewhere around two-three months of over 100F DAILY!!!!! It wasn't just hot here, it was Africa hot.

This is beautiful weather to be riding in, but unfortunately, Bodgers bits of scrap metal...err....trusty rides....are still in the shed awaiting parts, care and attention.

The hunt for more pieces of the puzzle is an on-going thing, latest acquisition are the headlight mounting brackets needed for Vicky. Trawling through eBay for other parts is a daily thing.

Bodger did manage to get one of the Holy Grails he was looking for, "BSA Singles Restoration" by Roy Bacon. This is one of those books thaat you need to aid in restoring bikes as it has all kinds of "DUI" or Damned Usefull Information stuffed into it such as color schemes, ID numbers, etc.

Anyway, a copy was finally obtained and didn't cost a fortune or kidney like expected as some stupid prices were being paid for the same thing by others in the past.

Seeing how the weather is nice now and Bodger now has his two mobile alarms (Bandit and Smudge the Wonder Dog) back in place, today seemed like a good a day as any to open the doors, fire up the grille and cook some dead meat in the form of  pork ribs with BBQ sauce with some type of fixin' like a baked/roasted spud and baked beans. Maybe even some belly wash in the way of a nice ale would be nice.

After all, what's the point of running the Piston Broke Bar and Grille if ya can't indulge in eating cooked food and drinking ale.

Also, as the weather is getting cooler, thoughts of a big pot of beef stew, navy bean soup or even Scotch Broth may be a good idea.....

Gordon Ramsey....the greasy spoon is up to the challenge......