I took the day off today.
Which would seem natural given that it's Sunday and all - but with all the activity preceding and immediately following the loudbike store launch, there hasn't been much time off. But I did manage to get up about 90 minutes early most days and get into the shop early enough that I could spend a little quality time working on the 3rd loudbike - the ex-Gary Palmer racer that we've taken to calling The Yellow Bike. Which is kinda weird 'cause it's not yellow anymore.
But it sure is shaping up nicely and today I was able to get the tires mounted and the wheels installed – making it look a lot more ready to turn a wheel in anger than it has to date. I should get the clip-ons, battery box, breather box and rear brake rod finished this week and when I do, I can bleed the brakes and head into the wiring. I don’t remember ever being so psych’d about riding a bike as I am with this one. Gary’s done all the hard work; developing it into a very potent racer over the last decade. So there’s none of the angst usually associated with this type of project – it’s all been simply about making it more civilized…
To add to the fun, Gary must have been feeling a bit of remorse when he sold it ‘cause he’s building a more civilized copy out of his street F1. Which creates sort of an F1 hot-rod build-off being chronicled in the TT and F1 Forum… It won’t be yellow either.
Promises to be a very cool season with Gary on his new one, me on The Yellow Bike and Paul on my old 853.
The Yellow Bike is based on a 1988 Ducati 750 F1. loudbike is a state of mind, a weblog about fast, loud Italian motorcycles and an internet store offering more vintage Ducati parts than you can shake a stick at.
