tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73962852547617739982024-02-20T06:55:42.037-08:001959 Royal Enfield Meteor Minor OverhaulMeteor Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15186403577730658152noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396285254761773998.post-71220390805576041422013-04-14T12:43:00.001-07:002013-04-14T12:56:36.344-07:00Wheel Dilemma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQbVvCjFP9P15RTnXzb1WHz5RFXZA1A-qfrCdCydsBLWe3j7F-J_iOOvve10gOx_Si_Nnvi6Y0DTRI8PhcTLfbyq9x0f7o0FksnqLHQUR6dveL7SjjiEREF2BV6CIc5Rxd3DsZobA80D4/s1600/Halley-s-comet-300x225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQbVvCjFP9P15RTnXzb1WHz5RFXZA1A-qfrCdCydsBLWe3j7F-J_iOOvve10gOx_Si_Nnvi6Y0DTRI8PhcTLfbyq9x0f7o0FksnqLHQUR6dveL7SjjiEREF2BV6CIc5Rxd3DsZobA80D4/s1600/Halley-s-comet-300x225.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It seems that Halleys comet makes an appearance more often than this meteor these days, and for that meteorites, i apologise. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">ive got more excuses for my lack of effort than a thirty year old virgin, but as the great George Washington once said </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In reference to the above, you will be relieved to hear however, that i am 33 years old, and mrs M will be ushering in the arrival of our next meteorite sometime around August. Wahey!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"So what on earth have you been doing all this time besides neglecting your blog, work, changing nappies, and decorating a new nursery" i hear you cry. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">fear not enfield fans some progress has been made....</span><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Motivation</span></em></h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My year on the motorcycle began in ernest. I had just purchased the correct forks for the meteor rather than the sidecar forks which the bike came with and i had full intention to strip them down and tidy them up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Then i recieved an email from a fellow meteor owner John Carsley stating that he was also in the process of doing one up and was one year along. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Being an absolute novice on everything that has an engine and two wheels i was most grateful to have a guy who was doing the same project as me whom i could pester for tips when the time came to rebuild my motorcycle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">i asked him to send me over a pic or two thinking it would probably stir up a bit of my almost non existant competitive side (total disgrace at every sport ever attempted.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">he attached a couple of photos starting with what appears to be his bike arriving at his workshop. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">i took a peak. Parts wise, he had a lot more to work with than me, but he still had his work cut out </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ZmKeSIkaVN3yzQX3nXlibitIquG6HEqQQN2Frma-774YvgJNwQPAjIlK11dmvd863qvm-0Gpwj8dT7hJ4jaCsEytZTeIJsxAiyArN3qCrgAPKwotJObGfEMXOWdwIBUsqygNmzG7jQY/s1600/Arrival+10+Nov+2011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ZmKeSIkaVN3yzQX3nXlibitIquG6HEqQQN2Frma-774YvgJNwQPAjIlK11dmvd863qvm-0Gpwj8dT7hJ4jaCsEytZTeIJsxAiyArN3qCrgAPKwotJObGfEMXOWdwIBUsqygNmzG7jQY/s320/Arrival+10+Nov+2011.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">John then kindly sent me this pic of the progress he had made on his bike within 12 measly months. I was impressed. i was ashamed of myself.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34YpjEFmW4h0qK9BRllkOSb5R96qy80qPCiNqgRahTwAxkonvH2FJiCu0r_JuzTvxh0_KfumaUt2F55ZVJGWL5_5kmH5tZHdOONq-PhrNAgRfwobU7K7YRqzSxP8gwR76EoiNgL1JnEQ/s1600/john+carsleys+bike.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34YpjEFmW4h0qK9BRllkOSb5R96qy80qPCiNqgRahTwAxkonvH2FJiCu0r_JuzTvxh0_KfumaUt2F55ZVJGWL5_5kmH5tZHdOONq-PhrNAgRfwobU7K7YRqzSxP8gwR76EoiNgL1JnEQ/s320/john+carsleys+bike.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This was a restoration masterclass. John carsley being professor of bling. Me feeling like the class clown! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I kidded myself that if i was retired, had a workshop like this guy and a bucket of cash to blow on my motorcycle i could produce something to a similar standard. bull. shit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">so i thought "if you cant beat them join them", and begged him for a few secret tips in getting a finish shinier than a bald mans head. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>John Carsley Polishing Masterclass</em> <span style="font-size: x-small;">(many thanks John).</span></span></h2>
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<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1365806044944_4249" style="color: navy;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1365806044944_4248" style="color: navy; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> "As you can see by the pics my gear consists of a palm sander, many grades of paper , my two polishing motors and a basic linishing machine. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtGEKmr2ZRy71p5X-3FMeehELdGr_AocUMwQDOWqm8ODRLMqxCcFRH4O5r_SdB5ntpjZLzFeP_ERHBNKsQk0puaPCc9qu17MygDovIB0bh8MOR80NnqfIdCLyCZXIaeyimoujnq3v7DA/s1600/sander.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtGEKmr2ZRy71p5X-3FMeehELdGr_AocUMwQDOWqm8ODRLMqxCcFRH4O5r_SdB5ntpjZLzFeP_ERHBNKsQk0puaPCc9qu17MygDovIB0bh8MOR80NnqfIdCLyCZXIaeyimoujnq3v7DA/s320/sander.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: navy;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">What it does not show is the time i have taken, and all I can say here is that time can be a huge factor in the job outcome. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Start with rough and move through the sanding range (do not be afraid to use machine cutting oil on some final sanding paper). </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I also find that Brakecleaner is excellent for cleaning rubbish off the job before hitting the polishing wheels. Again time is the key(in my opinion).</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Try a small piece yourself and maybe look for the help I have mentioned.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1365806044944_4263" style="color: navy;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1365806044944_4262" style="color: navy; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Finally do not be afraid to use good talcum powder for the touch up before showing off your work."</span></span><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Inspired</span></em></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I bought myself a bench grinder from ebay for about £100, bought some spindles and polishing mops and went to work on my wheel hubs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I Achieved a decent-ish result but nowhere near the above. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The corrosion on the hubs was pretty deep and i am still unsure whether to polish any deeper in case i lose the profile of them. Take a look. This may require some professional work to finish them</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMytO41CQ0bambGDbnVS-cYHDpxIuDjhtqsRbXcFTaeJqlnNC2YYiT_7h4CeXhyphenhyphen1pL_mAHUb5FDw3gAx6WxiK4An49hbp3xJIPv-uR3A0gRKiiaWM244G-hfG5Yb5JoAjOWFGq0arAH9U/s1600/DSC00766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMytO41CQ0bambGDbnVS-cYHDpxIuDjhtqsRbXcFTaeJqlnNC2YYiT_7h4CeXhyphenhyphen1pL_mAHUb5FDw3gAx6WxiK4An49hbp3xJIPv-uR3A0gRKiiaWM244G-hfG5Yb5JoAjOWFGq0arAH9U/s320/DSC00766.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Wheels Dilemma</span></em></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">i dont get a great deal of time to devote to this motorcycle. When i finish work and return home, a toddler is usually thrust into my arms and i am tasked to either feed or bathe her or both depending on how much my little darling has been stressing out mrs meteor that day. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHLE56eFkSbAIg1xmY9lsfmmxrQljd6kW2KE1L-lY3hJtQrD8KKjyZ_EQ5lAc2PwQ8A37WPDuQHsQgtiYLv1LApfzH3VGnurFAIKnlfz_U3x5qiTpMOpzpnpxWKTl_2qd0GKoEqVacEYw/s1600/u8_toilet-smartphoneb%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHLE56eFkSbAIg1xmY9lsfmmxrQljd6kW2KE1L-lY3hJtQrD8KKjyZ_EQ5lAc2PwQ8A37WPDuQHsQgtiYLv1LApfzH3VGnurFAIKnlfz_U3x5qiTpMOpzpnpxWKTl_2qd0GKoEqVacEYw/s200/u8_toilet-smartphoneb%5B1%5D.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Spinelessly, i tend to find myself hiding in the toilet almost daily for a bit of piece and quiet, cradling a crappy old smart phone in order to scour the internet for any second hand parts which are on my mental need-to-buys. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The hardcore readers of this blog will have probably noticed that i have had a degree of success with some spares and it was worth the hours of pins and needles in my legs and perment red circles on my thighs where my elbows have been resting for so long.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">However, it appears that in 15 months of looking, the holy grail of meteor minor spare parts has still managed to elude me.....</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcI9sI9FsPSJpzEwrqNwwhwFzoi_LLT1-Ph9u5sHZg7q2nu9OEGmn600VxM67KyR2QvbAPPZDpDglF5esQc5pffm8Lkzsoe_GNFsRXyTeKFXYBzbPzOAkk5xlD80-0sR6qkTw_tFMwnf0/s1600/meteor-minor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcI9sI9FsPSJpzEwrqNwwhwFzoi_LLT1-Ph9u5sHZg7q2nu9OEGmn600VxM67KyR2QvbAPPZDpDglF5esQc5pffm8Lkzsoe_GNFsRXyTeKFXYBzbPzOAkk5xlD80-0sR6qkTw_tFMwnf0/s320/meteor-minor.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In comparison to my official redditch parts book, the above image is the closest example of a "standard" meteor minor i have seen. i look at this pic all the time for reference.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> The reason i have included it today is because i wanted you to look at the front mudguard. it is a deep valance side number plated behomoth for the 17" wheel. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I was discussing the mudguard with some meteor owners at The Sunbeam club classic bike show at llanishen high school recently, and all of which seemed to think they look shit on the small 17" wheels and had opted for the more sleek chrome "sports" version</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This item may be as popular a pork chop at a bahmitzfa, but my bike was originally a "standard" and thats what i was intending to restore it to</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I have contacted every royal enfield dealer in the country in the hope that they may know of one and had no joy whatsoever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">it appears that availabilty is thinner than a chickens lip.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Up until recently, i had full intentions of producing a bike to the same concourse originality as the above example. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">i have got almost all the other tinware but it seems i have hit a brickwall on this one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A company called Rennovation Spares in redditch did have a guy whom said he could make me one, but it was way out of my budget. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Apparently these deep valanced mudguards would be pressed from a single sheet of material between a male and female former of some sorts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But with 50`s tooling long gone, the guy would need to take a standard mudgurard blank and secret weld on additional side panels to create the deep valance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It was £250 bucks before i even considered adding paint or chrome. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I suppose that if that was the last thing i needed for the bike i would consider it, but i have got so many other bits to get at the mo i just couldnt justify it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Anyways, i needed to push on and get the hubs on new rims, complete the forks, and spray up the tin items. i needed to make a decision. Nerds and purists beware....</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT8HgSYTWEkH3MIxpxgCCMrljp84-UHVjDSEKgLjhr5a_br7It-TA5AdnvBrNH5c8nAGMTPlmXZuaf20q_O13pbp-D-iCpWzHDyshZyVeHWDs1taQ0zgUF0pSdw1byvlxM8b8wmAPE4DI/s1600/$(KGrHqV,!hcE5p24e5QyBO,kOSdTOw~~60_35%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT8HgSYTWEkH3MIxpxgCCMrljp84-UHVjDSEKgLjhr5a_br7It-TA5AdnvBrNH5c8nAGMTPlmXZuaf20q_O13pbp-D-iCpWzHDyshZyVeHWDs1taQ0zgUF0pSdw1byvlxM8b8wmAPE4DI/s1600/$(KGrHqV,!hcE5p24e5QyBO,kOSdTOw~~60_35%5B1%5D.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When i saw these items listed on ebay from indian enfield spares outfit `Enfield county` for a meager £75 bucks delivered to my door, i thought i had struck gold. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It was as good a match for the orignal as i had seen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My excitement was only momentary as i soon learned that it was for a 19" rim. ( i believe all indian enfields run on 19")</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So i was in a dilemma</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Pros</strong>- i could achieve the correct look mudguard, complete my tin ware and get it all sprayed up and fitted. plus i needed new rims and i was going to go for stainless wm2 dunlop profile rims. The indians knock these up for about half the price that i would pay for top quality mirror steel 17" rims from the likes of "devon rim company" in the uk which i was originally intending to use. This would mean i could pay for the paint job on my tin ware</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Cons</strong>- i would have an incorrect motorcycle. the meteor minor runs on 17" wheels. The bike in the photo runs on 17" wheels. John Carsleys bike is on 17" wheels. plus i rember the gurus at llandow classics telling me that although the indian stainless rims are good quality, they have a slight yellow tinge. (they also suggested that a 19" rim would offer a more comfortable ride but i would need to change one of the gears in the gearbox) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I have lay awake at night mulling over the above for months. if money was no object of course i wouldnt even consider it -id be rolling on devon rim mirror steel crowned by the most expensive bespoke mudguard money can buy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Unfortunately my lottery numbers havent made an appearance just yet and the only twin mrs M wants me to blow my bank balance on is a Jane Power Twin double buggy for my two meteorites.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"it doesnt matter which side of the fence you get off on. what matters most is getting off. you cannot make progress without making decisions" -<em>American entrepeneur Jim Rohn</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">With my bike sat stagnant in the shed mrs M bought me, i decided to push on and get the mudguard and the rims. something that may come back to haunt me.</span><br /><br /> </span></div>
Meteor Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15186403577730658152noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396285254761773998.post-59114396799748424382012-10-28T12:51:00.003-07:002012-10-28T12:51:56.401-07:00Frame Fiasco<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u>Restoring a Royal Enfield Meteor Minor Motorcycle Frame</u></strong></span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Intro</u></span></strong></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Inflatable dartboards, chocolate teapots, ashtrays on motorcycles, glass hammers, and shit flavoured lollipops. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">All of the above pretty damn useless. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But top of the useless list has to be “women drivers”. Sure, they cant wait to tell us men how we are the inferior race and how they are genetically designed to multi-task, but put a woman in charge anything resembling a motor vehicle and her skills become about as useful as a barber shop on the steps to a guillotine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSmrs_bg9swXfxkVqBq8OVXwI9nrtB79POupU-gjN3A5e4B_ncIoT3z1ZEsCTKlR03AkpQ4B83PYf4O1p4ZgG62gCsjo_jHTV1YnH_Nfnr03ZCQZ7xNMQO-X8dWE0Y8uuOR448t8PDnM/s1600/a-women-drivers-borat1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSmrs_bg9swXfxkVqBq8OVXwI9nrtB79POupU-gjN3A5e4B_ncIoT3z1ZEsCTKlR03AkpQ4B83PYf4O1p4ZgG62gCsjo_jHTV1YnH_Nfnr03ZCQZ7xNMQO-X8dWE0Y8uuOR448t8PDnM/s320/a-women-drivers-borat1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Where is this bigoted rant going I hear your cry. Fear not reader all will be explained, because when it came to overhauling my meteor minor bike frame back in late spring, the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>inadequate driving skills of the fairer sex did happen to prove quite handy. Read on…………</span><br />
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It was about xmas last year when a then pregnant mrs M commandeered my mazda Turbo and relegated me to driving her 1.0litre Toyota Yaris. A never-once-cleaned deathtrap covered in peeling stickers of brightly coloured flowers. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It wasn`t the macho look which i`d usually go for, but I was guilted into relenting to her on grounds of “Safety for the baby”.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jMTsPVMq7LOGYMvdahqSbd32FU0YzAmKVPTL1fvpdpSp7mw5kk1K0fvDCyoZErlZ-yO1OvovWYxc0GaoG0z8yY_2aoyAxeJQHXujaqT1RFKwexF679Qv7lTL1XMVYQQKDe_1y0xYsoA/s1600/imagesCAOASASH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jMTsPVMq7LOGYMvdahqSbd32FU0YzAmKVPTL1fvpdpSp7mw5kk1K0fvDCyoZErlZ-yO1OvovWYxc0GaoG0z8yY_2aoyAxeJQHXujaqT1RFKwexF679Qv7lTL1XMVYQQKDe_1y0xYsoA/s1600/imagesCAOASASH.jpg" /></a>To cut a long story short, she left my beloved blue mazda “road melter” overnight at a train station and a woman bumped into the back of it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Then, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a lady in our street drove into it while we were sat in the house watching x factor.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And then, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to top things off, Mrs M was cruising slowly through a supermarket car park when… <o:p></o:p></div>
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MRS M: “ this old dear just started reversing and drove straight into the back door, ” <o:p></o:p></div>
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ME:”was she going fast”<o:p></o:p></div>
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MRS M: “no I just watched her slowly reverse into it”<o:p></o:p></div>
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ME: “why didn`t you beep your horn then to let her know you were there”<o:p></o:p></div>
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MRS M: “Oh….er…. I didn’t think of that” <span style="font-size: xx-small;">*<em>see bottom of page<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
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I rest my case. women drivers. Useless. But meteorites, every cloud has a silver lining and this chain of unfortunate events <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>did result in me striking up a pretty decent relationship with our local bodyshop repair man, -afterall he was sharing my paychecks. </div>
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Nevertheless, somebody I would come to need after the balls up with my meteor bike frame.....<o:p></o:p></div>
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<strong><u>Overhaul Of a Meteor Minor Motorcycle Frame</u></strong></span><span lang="EN-GB"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7o1yTO6Sgx7nv5Wv1JRonUMA4HGz1moEZjFEtFjAGR1GmKLE_GajEECjcj1IERnM-j9XJf81UmCCP-S4_UfsP_4OiE7YnQcWlcB6h7sp5rmhs6u2_6d-LJMoQWHYYeKLKz0hI63fKd7w/s1600/20120821_204749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7o1yTO6Sgx7nv5Wv1JRonUMA4HGz1moEZjFEtFjAGR1GmKLE_GajEECjcj1IERnM-j9XJf81UmCCP-S4_UfsP_4OiE7YnQcWlcB6h7sp5rmhs6u2_6d-LJMoQWHYYeKLKz0hI63fKd7w/s200/20120821_204749.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I'm not sure whether royal enfield used to stove enamel the original paintwork on their frames. The paintwork on the headlamp housing/casquette was badly corroded, and what paint there was easily flaked away to reveal a powdery white aluminium corrosion.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLg6NxskKdoR2N4nXAgxwJuhvX9G-Znh9YXVUsa8ShyMIhxLi9HhKm18nkJXmucO6a93rPic7TEaI46M390b5KraFCQFgWaUKHMQm1IHBJ0CwHX9c1eCZW7rd_BuFy4uCVAaB6qd7jgd0/s1600/20120822_122756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLg6NxskKdoR2N4nXAgxwJuhvX9G-Znh9YXVUsa8ShyMIhxLi9HhKm18nkJXmucO6a93rPic7TEaI46M390b5KraFCQFgWaUKHMQm1IHBJ0CwHX9c1eCZW7rd_BuFy4uCVAaB6qd7jgd0/s200/20120822_122756.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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Unlike the paint on the casquette, and the fuel tank which i blasted off effortlessly in my earlier blogs, the black of the frame was as tough as a south wales nightclub bouncer and was just as dull.<br />
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Even on my buddies heavy duty bead blaster, it took me over 2 hours to shift the old black paint and the remaining corrosion which had appeared in all the nooks and crannies. Still, i was pleased with the results (see pic at top of page) and the frame didnt require much filler. I was ready to move on.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3m9Y7WX-Y8xXPnmXWa00g8aEg-kiEoNUtPOwwLpEhNqvTpzxu_r0zc0vjJ73bAHz0lG-TK4cOW5eejDz4h4pdHISPTd0xlpH68SOZYDAvIPD9de88YX3bxHuQzrDg6iOuBypq_K1Onk/s1600/DSC00245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3m9Y7WX-Y8xXPnmXWa00g8aEg-kiEoNUtPOwwLpEhNqvTpzxu_r0zc0vjJ73bAHz0lG-TK4cOW5eejDz4h4pdHISPTd0xlpH68SOZYDAvIPD9de88YX3bxHuQzrDg6iOuBypq_K1Onk/s200/DSC00245.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjHgGnQsJnHTawiuRaQP1Z4t0gsWWQQkbu-iubk_Iec7R8eKnDdKiqWUT3s0Mu8u87CJGx-G6O6oTHwcVyPsMnRmZBdWeqfVfJOFgoGWPpiEx6tmYzPZu5OtD61aLefTnISQG45DSDws/s1600/IMG_0368%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjHgGnQsJnHTawiuRaQP1Z4t0gsWWQQkbu-iubk_Iec7R8eKnDdKiqWUT3s0Mu8u87CJGx-G6O6oTHwcVyPsMnRmZBdWeqfVfJOFgoGWPpiEx6tmYzPZu5OtD61aLefTnISQG45DSDws/s320/IMG_0368%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><u>My mate Ross .</u></strong> </div>
The more keen eyed avid readers of my earlier blogs will have noticed Rossy as the guy who "aquired" me some BSF tools from the shed of an old pensioner that died in his street. All above board i assure you meteorites. <br />
However, rossy's entrepeneurial gusto and talent for turning around knackered old items and flogging them for a tidy profit on ebay has earned him a reputation for being a bit of a wheeler-dealer / ducker-diver amongst my team at work.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZv04HK3BUVSmhS6CrNjJvAmwSYQEaJhj9QZiPhZYsRHdPON9R_9SHu5WCE51gQcWfoRJ7Lb6MBtG4XnJ2bNwghazPsBzl-huePm2_L-YLQuzinVCASt2g9BYX9YBH40ErM3G-ZRyGJk/s1600/20121024_190822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZv04HK3BUVSmhS6CrNjJvAmwSYQEaJhj9QZiPhZYsRHdPON9R_9SHu5WCE51gQcWfoRJ7Lb6MBtG4XnJ2bNwghazPsBzl-huePm2_L-YLQuzinVCASt2g9BYX9YBH40ErM3G-ZRyGJk/s200/20121024_190822.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Del Trotter</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ross L Gleen</td></tr>
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Rossy is an all round good egg and i am a tight bastard, so when he offered to respray the bike for free how could i say no?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcaXMamua2zgEV6l98hzgIyYy8eXl7sGadTLy-1lMMu5-VS1v9iwiH5wIG0NfU2otqAUbqyVQMnhGqFbQJzQfykn3BwjRVBQyG0qjK6oc3yujjYaz5Lg1PJK9-CduoHcJwrcuNDLTfs4/s1600/IMG_0384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcaXMamua2zgEV6l98hzgIyYy8eXl7sGadTLy-1lMMu5-VS1v9iwiH5wIG0NfU2otqAUbqyVQMnhGqFbQJzQfykn3BwjRVBQyG0qjK6oc3yujjYaz5Lg1PJK9-CduoHcJwrcuNDLTfs4/s320/IMG_0384.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
He had his own little spray shop set up in his mums garage and the gloss black went on without a hitch to a standard that Banksy would be proud of. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFipqfntKB5fg537smAy7-c1mHtvOfCNrLeUG0QW3jMKmGyeAZBvFPwVs6bIhHT2-JfRdj7orrSPXZfvqG55suh8dc8GWXPim2qTUW5SFFUW8SJ8ufNVppYDUDp9YTLZOxL6B1HaTdD0/s1600/IMG_0379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFipqfntKB5fg537smAy7-c1mHtvOfCNrLeUG0QW3jMKmGyeAZBvFPwVs6bIhHT2-JfRdj7orrSPXZfvqG55suh8dc8GWXPim2qTUW5SFFUW8SJ8ufNVppYDUDp9YTLZOxL6B1HaTdD0/s200/IMG_0379.JPG" width="149" /></a><br />
Never one to quit when im ahead, i suppose alarm bells should have began to ring when he offered to laquer it with some special laquer from "a good friend of mine" who has a carbon fibre business.. <br />
<br />
<br />
Apparently, laquer was assured to dry as hard as the sole of a zulus foot.<br />
<br />
Actually, it was a Disaster.<br />
<br />
After all our hard work, it appears this pal of rossys forgot to mention that the laquer in question dried to a matt cloudy finish similar to the blurred faces in an adult "contacts" magazine.<br />
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<br />
I took it home and stared at it for a few days.<br />
<br />
With almost no spare cash in my motorcycle fund, or any fund for that matter, it was looking like i was stuck with it.<br />
<br />
Granted, most of the black frame would be covered by components of the bike, however i knew that if i rebuilt the bike on a frame which i wasnt happy with, i would always regret it.<br />
<br />
Then, like an avenging angel sent from heaven above "CRASH!"<br />
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<br />
The old dear drives headlong into my mazda car door in the car park while Mrs M merely looks on in apparant suprise.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">*<em>see bottom of page<o:p></o:p></em></span><br />
<br />
With the insurance job in hand, we elect to use our tried and tested local bodyshop guy Steve who does a swift and tidy job and drops the car back to our doorstep within a few days. On return of the car, i just happen to be out the back moping around and glaring disappointedly at my bike frame -pondering the future of the whole project.<br />
<br />
"being as though, you have put so much work my way lately" he said "i`ll respray that frame for you for 25 bucks. i`ve got a bit on at the minute, but i should get it back to you in a week or so""<br />
<br />
Before he had a chance to change his mind, i had thrust £25 into his hand and humped the bike frame into the boot of my car to drop it back to his workshop. I hoping for a quick turnaround.<br />
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Quick turnaround. hmm. i think not. It appears that when Steve was doing a Job on mates rates rather than the more lucrative insurance work, he attacked the task with all the enthusiasm of a comotosed sloth. <br />
Days became weeks, and lush green leaves turned to orange and red, before finally disappearing into the great gutters in the sky.<br />
<br />
But, just as my 33rd birthday rolled around and i realised i had been dabbling with this project for exactly a year, I had the phone call and Steve had indeed come up with the goods. <br />
I was absoloutly chuffed to bits with the results. A rock hard glossy finish that would hopefully see my old frame right for another 53 years. See the results for yourself:-<br />
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<strong><u>Upcoming Blog</u></strong></div>
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For those of you still interested, i am currently restoring my forks. Blog Due in the next few weeks when i figure out what i am doing!</div>
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<em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">*some artistic licence used when describing Mrs M`s driving skills and intelligence. In reality mrs M has yet to do anything wrong in her entire life and is a wonderful driver.</span></em></div>
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Meteor Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15186403577730658152noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396285254761773998.post-3458810570804533992012-09-15T03:38:00.001-07:002012-09-15T03:38:31.922-07:00Tin ware Night mare<br />
<strong>Why has there been no blog?</strong><br />
First off, I wish i could tell you all that i have got balls the size of watermelons and that i laugh in the face of danger. <br />
i dont. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6wZIKSrWky-3Z8EcuqCKjdooIq51aNznTAzsuGflpAmtAgXlLXkqinAB3BdKr_ETyijhjTDrHE01aDyvb6BX-kd2fZIGfia_JsKNgWH1aJdfEANdTEudC4Oy9zNhqjerxFpASE5KtK4/s1600/20120915_111017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6wZIKSrWky-3Z8EcuqCKjdooIq51aNznTAzsuGflpAmtAgXlLXkqinAB3BdKr_ETyijhjTDrHE01aDyvb6BX-kd2fZIGfia_JsKNgWH1aJdfEANdTEudC4Oy9zNhqjerxFpASE5KtK4/s200/20120915_111017.jpg" width="143" /></a>i would however like to think i`ve done the odd outrageous act in my life that some people may consider to be courageous. I`ve jumped out of aeroplanes, gone bungee jumping into water, and have even driven my wifes deathtrap of a car for the last nine months at speeds in excess of 40mph. Brave. ish.<br />
<br />
However, after a hot summers day spent inside a sweaty windowless factory, and being welcomed home to the sight of mrs M waiting at the door with her arms outstretched offering up a teething overtired baby, i would need to have total disregard for my own safety to tell her to:-<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYnzy7at3b6em8RrXkb-Gg8Lb69vEDGflo_UGoExdy0t968OYIP48KRhkeO3fOfLCHgTHBNC8Xq98rBVRcUoeYOj-SoHUuufvfvqEDz4ww0IEn9-7JHTNyRwTxLcq6YFUHY6SbeH4F00I/s1600/woman+stood+on+man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYnzy7at3b6em8RrXkb-Gg8Lb69vEDGflo_UGoExdy0t968OYIP48KRhkeO3fOfLCHgTHBNC8Xq98rBVRcUoeYOj-SoHUuufvfvqEDz4ww0IEn9-7JHTNyRwTxLcq6YFUHY6SbeH4F00I/s1600/woman+stood+on+man.jpg" /></a>"hang on to the baby a bit longer, i just need to jump on the computer for a few hours to waffle on about my wrecked old motorcycle."<br />
<br />
I`m not insane, and to be fair i quite like my un-melon like balls just the way they are. besides i am loving being a dad to the lilly the meteorite, and that my friends is why i have had to take a 6 months sabbatical away from this blog. afterall....<br />
<br />
<span class="huge"><em>One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.</em></span><br />
<strong>Andre Gide (nobel prize winner)</strong><br />
<br />
<br />
Right enough, the blog has been neglected, but behind the scenes progress on the beast itself has been simmering along slowly like a decent chilli con carne bubbling on the hob. <br />
where do i start....<br />
<br />
<strong><u>A Rolling Chassis</u></strong><br />
As we all know, i am by know means a motorcycle boffin. i can talk on the subject of classic bikes with about the same authority as i can talk about knitting. So i was a bit nervous to say the least when i got dragged into a conversation with this guy in work whom had previously won awards for the restoration of a millitary BSA m20 motorcycle. <br />
<br />
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The guy was an absolute encyclopedia of knowledge about classic bike nerdiness and talked for about twenty minutes about the ins and outs of all sorts of bikes without me knowing what the hell he was on about. <br />
smile and appear interested i thought, i`m gonna need this guy`s help one day.<br />
<br />
Anyway, one thing i did take from our conversation was when he said-<br />
"One of my biggest regrets was decideing to get my engine right first and then look at sorting out the frame. The problem with doing this is that once you have stripped the bike to piece part, say on day 1, it may be years before you see anything resembles a motorcycle again. <br />
This does nothing for your motivation, i`d get the rolling chassis sorted first, you`ll get all the bits you need for that bike dont worry."<br />
<br />
It seemed to me that he was talking sense. With limited time to commit to the bike, i would need the instant gratification of walking into my shed and seeing something that half resembles a motorcycle to keep me interested, other wise it would just become yet another flash in the pan idea doomed to a life of rust and corrosion in the corner of my shed. Time to make a plan.<br />
<br />
<strong><u>Prioritising</u></strong><br />
From my own experience within the aircraft industry, i can tell you that the more heavy duty pieces of structure tend to be more robust and have the greatest longevity. They have enough meat on them for you to cut away the bad stuff and still leave you with something that will look good and serve its purpose. common sense i suppose.<br />
<br />
My crusty old naked frame (talking about bike) was made of sturdy stuff and i knew could be brought back to life with a bit of elbow grease, all i would have to do was get the items to dress it. <br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
I knew it was the thin crappy pieces of material which are the items that would fail to last the distance from the late 50s. Unless your name was doc Emit Brown and you drive a Delorean, these parts would be at a premium and would probably end up making a sizeable dent into my daughter`s inheritance.<br />
<br />
I whipped out my trusty 1958 Meteor minor parts book and decided to make a shopping list of part numbers for the i would need.<br />
<br />
These are the bits i was after:<br />
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<strong><u>Toolbox</u></strong><br />
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Hitchcocks have the meteor minor toolbox listed as "temporarily unavailable", as are much of the tin ware items on the meteor minor. </div>
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I`d been searching for about 5 months when this toolbox pitched up on ebay. </div>
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Realising they are about as common as rocking horse shit, i did a deal with the seller to end the auction 8 days early for a princely sum. </div>
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Its actually from a crusader, the lid part numbers are the same, but the box body is different. I dont think it will be a problem, and figure i will just have to "<strong>make"</strong> it fit</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SpiSGDdzWEA3CsROfb6GCIUxRPYV23TmKDABiJk6iqDwJLVIhYWO41qfsf9VRvhPRDTxpoE-lbmlyzTDcqSBrntZW2itm96YfGSxoYdiWufbRe66MI1H7-vvYvjVAvQdSK6CbHADbCE/s1600/toolboxinternal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SpiSGDdzWEA3CsROfb6GCIUxRPYV23TmKDABiJk6iqDwJLVIhYWO41qfsf9VRvhPRDTxpoE-lbmlyzTDcqSBrntZW2itm96YfGSxoYdiWufbRe66MI1H7-vvYvjVAvQdSK6CbHADbCE/s320/toolboxinternal.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0feyeQf5WAZAeWZ_Lbf_6Mk91rIdNcpT9vA6yK_woMpD8NgZjsz5q5aaWdfr4K2UU7itItHmy0cIcR4pj-lq9MUzqt1QlWXBDloT9FIiaEh2s99jAqLLTGaWgwls7gHRI4M5V4U6paU/s1600/toolboxphot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0feyeQf5WAZAeWZ_Lbf_6Mk91rIdNcpT9vA6yK_woMpD8NgZjsz5q5aaWdfr4K2UU7itItHmy0cIcR4pj-lq9MUzqt1QlWXBDloT9FIiaEh2s99jAqLLTGaWgwls7gHRI4M5V4U6paU/s320/toolboxphot.jpg" width="289" /></a></div>
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<strong><u>Chainguard pt no. 43501</u></strong><br />
<strong><u>Chainguard pt no. 43506</u></strong><br />
<strong><u>Chainguard pt no.43507</u></strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXwSt9H5B0g6Q0cndc_qk9gND8eFNUTWIvVdWEj2gu-LLX7LeYWEISU02S7FNV9jRLf44pNRfOs-1fhIvrQIjbbBj938pho3ijBNG1oNMuWDC41S2IDxI8S1wCF6ovNbCGqbRRYZZdvs/s1600/chain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXwSt9H5B0g6Q0cndc_qk9gND8eFNUTWIvVdWEj2gu-LLX7LeYWEISU02S7FNV9jRLf44pNRfOs-1fhIvrQIjbbBj938pho3ijBNG1oNMuWDC41S2IDxI8S1wCF6ovNbCGqbRRYZZdvs/s400/chain.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
A fully enclosed chainguard in 3 sections with rubber gators in the middle. do these really exist anywhere outside of google images?? rarer than a pork chop in a bar mitzvah.<br />
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<strong><u></u></strong><br />
<strong><u></u></strong><br />
<strong><u>Rear mudguard pt no. 43736</u></strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF8BbXWeYU_DySF65NHwxrqDjdZ-zDO3rvI2F0-ykM7LINd4T6bg-k4z00flekELoXVC6twyWX6fcR75b7XU_-H-lgpP_6iJxrpICqWBxW9QOwN9FLQ59vBCIW8Cx-RCWmo7CPOcBuDwg/s1600/rear+mud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF8BbXWeYU_DySF65NHwxrqDjdZ-zDO3rvI2F0-ykM7LINd4T6bg-k4z00flekELoXVC6twyWX6fcR75b7XU_-H-lgpP_6iJxrpICqWBxW9QOwN9FLQ59vBCIW8Cx-RCWmo7CPOcBuDwg/s320/rear+mud.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Another ebay bargain? it definately looks the part and has apparently come from a 1960 meteor minor deluxe. It is in chrome, and has the cut away on one side only (front right of photo, back left of drawing). I intend to spray it when i get the rest of the big tin ware items in the list so that they are all an exact match for colour.</div>
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<strong><u>Front mudguard pt no. 43735</u></strong></div>
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I contacted various dealers yesterday to try and source one of these mudguards. There are literally none around to suit a 17" rim. I was considering opting for one of the retro style handbeaten mudguards made by some dude in india until they told me that they are for a 19" rim, it will be no good. </div>
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<strong><u>Other News</u></strong></div>
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If your interested, i have just done a full overhaul on my bike frame. it was an absolute fiasco. keep an eye out for the next blog in a week or so.</div>
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<br />Meteor Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15186403577730658152noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396285254761773998.post-1896988803481819452012-02-19T13:14:00.000-08:002012-02-19T13:14:49.516-08:00Meet my Baby MeteorYes folks, The meteorite has arrived. <br />
<br />
After 9 months, 12 days, and a gruelling 35 hour labour, my wonderful wife, the heroic Mrs Meteor delivered the heir to this motorcycle and new addition to the Meteor Family -Lilly Belle Mary on the 12th Jan 2012. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqpq_3sTZc9dr-dMVZdF9K-yloZRnd6-PxJNTG4MkjajN6KoFiTx_CcoaBHTT0HLB2iaP4yEcRUXQEbmpb1w00QZgdncUgNno42g4XmrmojgliBiJcUhYtS7h7wLKeiZ4jeCUBNldinmM/s1600/DSC00890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqpq_3sTZc9dr-dMVZdF9K-yloZRnd6-PxJNTG4MkjajN6KoFiTx_CcoaBHTT0HLB2iaP4yEcRUXQEbmpb1w00QZgdncUgNno42g4XmrmojgliBiJcUhYtS7h7wLKeiZ4jeCUBNldinmM/s200/DSC00890.JPG" width="133" /></a>She was a big momma,- 8lb 13.5oz and is absoultely beautiful. I was bursting with pride from the moment she came to meet us (even though she poohed on me straight away!) and haven`t come back down to earth since.<br />
<br />
So i suppose i should take this moment to explain how i have neglected my meteor minor and have spent the last 40 days and 40 nights walking in a wilderness of sleepless nights and being elbow deep in dirty nappies.<br />
<br />
But that wouldnt be strictly true. Sure, i have been known to change the odd soiled diper when nature calls for my little girl, and i`m now typing this blog with my left hand whilst i sling my little girl over my right shoulder, <br />
But Mrs M`s wonderful boobs have been taking care of Lilly`s midnight snacks, - which means during the night i am about as useful as a one-legged man in an arse kicking contest and my reputation for being able to "sleep on a washing line" has remained in tact <br />
<br />
Thankfully, my new role as chairman of the Llandow father/daughter cuddle-club has not been overly taxing on the energy levels. <br />
<br />
<br />
So rest assured fellow meteorites, even as i boldly venture into the strange new world of fartherdom, a parrallel dimension exists just at the bottom of my garden. A sanctuary free from crying babies and stinking nappies. A place where men can be men and the motorcycle is god! The church of St Enfield`s doors are open and i`m about to start my sermon of the new year.......<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNrcJqKUoc4XRqyLf8O-ruEnIhLeBkrVliW-pAwZDcXOcl16o-pqpqpdHpKrKNI6OBNhrhq__bRSQEuAC8dAtmRDjDdzHdReDRrn_SlmOTDKXvEcb29NNKVOfGZTTXKBewu2KaDQkpegk/s1600/DSC00950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNrcJqKUoc4XRqyLf8O-ruEnIhLeBkrVliW-pAwZDcXOcl16o-pqpqpdHpKrKNI6OBNhrhq__bRSQEuAC8dAtmRDjDdzHdReDRrn_SlmOTDKXvEcb29NNKVOfGZTTXKBewu2KaDQkpegk/s320/DSC00950.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>Meteor Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15186403577730658152noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396285254761773998.post-16083890097107557652011-12-31T09:23:00.000-08:002012-01-10T13:40:04.587-08:00Restoring a Royal Enfield Meteor Minor- The Legacy Update<strong>Restoring a Royal Enfield Meteor Minor-</strong><br />
In my last posting i said i`d try to get another blog in before the arrival of both the new year and my new baby meteorite. New years eve is upon us and Mrs M is bursting at the seams her due date is today, and she says her belly feels really tight,- so i suppose i`d better get on with it. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6r7pz7rr3E8AvRFde7D8Q83woftoD647nNf7BZ1qloX-GGnMnMSPfBwgIqZPgnJil6moZW24GmsvQh5c4jCpDo_XoKtdcEtSqLI3quhWpkDRYsjgokZyuaJoUCasMpa7eEQj1XZfubV0/s1600/gun1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6r7pz7rr3E8AvRFde7D8Q83woftoD647nNf7BZ1qloX-GGnMnMSPfBwgIqZPgnJil6moZW24GmsvQh5c4jCpDo_XoKtdcEtSqLI3quhWpkDRYsjgokZyuaJoUCasMpa7eEQj1XZfubV0/s200/gun1.jpg" width="176" /></a></div>Xmas in sunny south Wales went without a hitch. Not counting the fact that Jamie Oliver`s timings for cooking a turkey were spot on if you like your food with the same amount of moisture as Ghandis flip flops, And my darling wife having a bump in my car whilst out xmas shopping......<br />
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Mrs M: "i was sat in the car in the car park, i lokooked in my mirror, saw her reversing, and just watched her drive straight into me"<br />
Me: "she couldn`t have been going very fast. did you beep the horn?"<br />
Mrs M: "No, i just didnt think of it at the time"<br />
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women.<br />
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Anyways, on the upside,the wonderful mrs M did give me a decent wedge of her hard earned cash to spend on the bike. Hitchcocks here i come. Fuel tank restoration part 2 will be posted sometime in January as long as i can steer clear of being knee deep in baby pooh for long enough to put pen to paper.<br />
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<strong>Legacy Update</strong><br />
Those of you whom have been following this blog from the start will remember that back in November i decided to join the Royal Enfield owners club. i aimed to enlist their help in researching the history of this motorcycle. <br />
About a week went by before my welcome pack landed on the doorstep and i must say i was impressed, i received:- <br />
a) 3 copies of the REOC bi monthly magazine called "the Gun" which contained news about club events, reviews of different rallies, readers problems and tips, and a for sale and wanted section.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZTw7hUiH6aOC26q9dBZmjYkuJYqUyUOMRspBpN4V1ZucQTbNN_e3tsatMP34RYdBiaHGJ6jjwWclKq_xggVjIavt-X-FFR4k-AZrbc8-CptGLOPxCWqp4zOSfGj9V3xL5EAaDvyJ08xE/s1600/gun1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZTw7hUiH6aOC26q9dBZmjYkuJYqUyUOMRspBpN4V1ZucQTbNN_e3tsatMP34RYdBiaHGJ6jjwWclKq_xggVjIavt-X-FFR4k-AZrbc8-CptGLOPxCWqp4zOSfGj9V3xL5EAaDvyJ08xE/s200/gun1.jpg" width="166" /></a><br />
b) My membership number card<br />
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c) Various branch details<br />
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d) List of approved Spares Suppliers<br />
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e) A Royal Enfield Owners Club car sticker<br />
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but most importantly,<br />
f) The contact details of all the REOC management commitee<br />
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My first stop was to contact Jim Millar. He was the machine dating officer for the REOC and i thought i would send over rubbings and pics of the frame and engine numbers to see if he could throw a bit of light on the legacy of the bike. <br />
Otherwise, i would have to move to plan B, -drive to Llanfalteg and put thumb screws on the mysterious Mr Taylor until he told me what colour the tank and frame were.<br />
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<strong>Jim Miller</strong><br />
In my minds eye i had visions of a man in a huge vault of old books blowing dust off a huge leather bound archive of old Redditch Royal Enfield manufacturing logs.<br />
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He would carefully thumb through the pages which were yellowing with age until he found a match to my engine number -SMCA 7591. <br />
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As the custodian of this hallowed book, he would then have access to an unfathomable amount of information regarding my particular motorcycle, <br />
-right down to what colour underwear the fitter was wearing on the day he proudly wheeled it off the production line. Mr Taylors thumbs would be able to keep twiddleing for now at least.<br />
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Hmmm, that wasn`t exactly how the story went. Jim Miller had just quit his post as machine dating officer.<br />
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Fortunately, Graham, the chairman and don of the REOC organization was on the blower to me the next day to pick up the gauntlet with support of new replacement dating officer Tom Bray. <br />
It turns out that he did indeed have a record of all the Royal Enfield Engine serial numbers which were produced at the Redditch factory and he had found mine without a hitch. <br />
The engine was as advertised, a 500cc Twin which did indeed belong to a 1959 Royal Enfield Meteor Minor. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that the integrity of my bike and this blog was intact and eased back in my chair to begin rattling off a list of questions regarding the motorcycles registration details, original spec and colour etc. That was when he dropped the bombshell.......<br />
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"i have been populating a spreadsheet with a list of engine serial numbers and matching them up with the frame numbers.....your frame has obviously been overstamped with a second set of numbers, but none of the combinations of these numbers are anything like the original serial number for this particular engine."<br />
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Shit.<br />
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He advised me that years ago when men were men and everybody maintained their own motorcycles, people would often go to scrap yards which were full of old bikes, and interchange any unserviceable items. The boys in work were right. Mrs M had bought me a "ringer"<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4V70Gv2sWmbRaCqdVw9g_xCcgC_KefYWSWSEeGH1cJsUcFIkiPd9BoP-iCK_OZbhbr7wZf-ONx84awmnkFG2QMLm8Cn9hfG8a02N25K5GEhA3NRUu-lGL2yHBVSndeDgBTwXOe4lk7Hs/s1600/DSC00198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4V70Gv2sWmbRaCqdVw9g_xCcgC_KefYWSWSEeGH1cJsUcFIkiPd9BoP-iCK_OZbhbr7wZf-ONx84awmnkFG2QMLm8Cn9hfG8a02N25K5GEhA3NRUu-lGL2yHBVSndeDgBTwXOe4lk7Hs/s320/DSC00198.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Graham been looking at the pics i took of the bike and the photos of the dodgey serial numbers. The frame certainly looked the part but he advised me could possibly belong to a Royal Enfield Constallation (the frames are identical). <br />
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He would need to contact replacement dating officer Jim Millar, and together they would decide on what my actual frame number was, and whether i could be allocated a new number or the records could be updated.<br />
Until then, the tap of information regarding the bike would have to be turned off.<br />
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Well folks that was the last i heard from the REOC and it appears my old Meteor is having an identity crisis. i emailed them last week so hopefully the new year will bring some more interesting news. Hey, i may have even got round to doing something on the bike<br />
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Happy New Year<br />
Meteor ManMeteor Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15186403577730658152noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396285254761773998.post-75178055677848978602011-12-13T11:11:00.000-08:002012-01-01T16:24:20.264-08:00Royal enfield Meteor Minor Restoration - Fuel Tank Overhaul part 1<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blog 4 of 4 -to read earlier posts, click archive at top of page</td></tr>
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<strong>Restoring a Royal Enfield Meteor Minor Fuel Tank Intro</strong><br />
For most of my life i had quite short hair. High and tight -marine corps style. I used to put gel through it and keep it trimmed regularly. <br />
You see, a hair dresser friend of mine once told me that "peoples hair are their crowning glory" and that the way that you keep your hair says something about you on a first impression.<br />
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That, my friends, was before i met mrs Meteor. 10 years ago, she was a plucky young student full of querky ideals -or as me and my buddies thought, she was mad as a bucket of frogs.<br />
On realising that my hair had a bit of a wave in it, she demanded that i grow it beyond its regulation 2 inches to see how it looked. <br />
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In an attempt to woo the young Miss M, and despite being called a "tatty bastard" from many of my pals at the air force base where i worked, i perservered and cultivated the curly indie rock god mop you see below. I now call it "biker chic"!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5d8HpU0Qu8u_bKv_3ixOugaijAcr5O0xj7SV58YLfTZJFf2QmWDDIXZIroIWIdLSJojwKH-hqPRR73oC1mrNGijI0lCghamqR6Mx2TyyrWwXz_ynxMVN3KXYKRkyWTXASHBnhpHQtN8/s1600/prof1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5d8HpU0Qu8u_bKv_3ixOugaijAcr5O0xj7SV58YLfTZJFf2QmWDDIXZIroIWIdLSJojwKH-hqPRR73oC1mrNGijI0lCghamqR6Mx2TyyrWwXz_ynxMVN3KXYKRkyWTXASHBnhpHQtN8/s320/prof1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(above) Me trying to look cool in a 1965 RAF Vickers VC10 engine intake (2004) -one of my few good hair days</td></tr>
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From my earlier writings you will have probably guessed that mrs M rules the roost around my house. There are jelly fish with more of a backbone than me, and so the curly hair stayed. Afterall, she is always right. hmmmn.<br />
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However meteorites, i assure you that this fuel tank, the crowning glory of my Royal Enfield Meteor Minor, will not be under the influence of mrs M`s darth vader like rule. <br />
As the most important visual feature of the bike, i intend to restore it to a state more polished than the pitch of a door to door encyclopedia salesman.<br />
Read on......<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Stripping the Paint</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Apparently Diamonds are supposed to be the hardest thing known to man. I think Clint Eastwood`s "Gunney Highway" in "Heartbreak Ridge" comes a close second <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">("i eat razor wire and piss napalm, and i can put a round through a fleas ass from over a 1000 yards").</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Whatever. Somewhere high up on the hardenist list is Aluminium Sulphate, and a buddy of mine has an aluminium sulphate bead blaster at his work. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>I gave him my rusty old tank, and let him go to work on it. A day later he handed it back to me blasted and then soaked in a strong chemical agent. Apparently the inside was dirtier than a tramp`s armpit at a mud wrestling competition<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was absolutely thrilled with the result see below:-</div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhspqr_qD3rSDR66MG8u1VxQkRWPDeUVFCxbEWb6xStcWiJVvLxvff_B4guSxNK3e5cs6RHI_TCuBBl5EMSZdDaXLnb9e7f8KoObAhr1GOvsVmkrdSrRQKrSrIXrGdpWGozbwVuFCD_AtU/s1600/DSC00196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhspqr_qD3rSDR66MG8u1VxQkRWPDeUVFCxbEWb6xStcWiJVvLxvff_B4guSxNK3e5cs6RHI_TCuBBl5EMSZdDaXLnb9e7f8KoObAhr1GOvsVmkrdSrRQKrSrIXrGdpWGozbwVuFCD_AtU/s320/DSC00196.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">left side "like a new pin"</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUhJNl8qNFAHL5ETkWus1vXaQQDrQntvnQgWz0RLH34BerrvqX8sVgKpWRQAKuK5XV52sFVrgoX53zlWeKCoNO_dVEEhD37ox6I_xrQpC3ovPXYVGP8A6nS31fOB4NtzvUhpslXJHwtA/s1600/DSC00197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUhJNl8qNFAHL5ETkWus1vXaQQDrQntvnQgWz0RLH34BerrvqX8sVgKpWRQAKuK5XV52sFVrgoX53zlWeKCoNO_dVEEhD37ox6I_xrQpC3ovPXYVGP8A6nS31fOB4NtzvUhpslXJHwtA/s320/DSC00197.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Right side- hiding a bit of a filler under where the chrome panel sits. Dropped once upon a time?</span><br />
<div align="left"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Lining The Inside of the Tank</strong></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">With the tank stripped back to bare metal and with no surface finish to protect the steel, i knew that i would need to get something inside the tank real quick before a new layer of surface rust began to take hold.</span></div><div align="left"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I had the outside of the tank primed straight away, but didnt have the first clue in regards to how i was going to protect the inside surface of the tank. A few days had gone by since i had the paint removed, and i kept the tank next to the radiator in my spare room to keep it dry and free from moisture. The corrosion hadn`t started yet, but the letter was definately in the post that was for sure.</span></div><div align="left"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Knowing sweet F.A. about motorbikes, i enlisted the help of a seasoned biker i knew named Nige. He`d done up plenty of bikes in his time and even made his own trike. With his barbed wire wristband tattoo and shaved head, he was Biker-cool personified (apart from his secret penchant for tinkering with vintage lawnmowers). I knew he would have the answer.</span></div><div align="left"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslAeWCKYDO_xW__Q85WOt6jS2lh33DIDtyJr7uD62PbkhNpKiUP-HUNcZBcuRIgMAFqzwQ33aFpfqaWVIPZOtO5NE9d70oU-ULegss7YJ1fsE696qFJNPK_gNSwcW8PDO-g-g-Zjhi3Y/s1600/P1080030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslAeWCKYDO_xW__Q85WOt6jS2lh33DIDtyJr7uD62PbkhNpKiUP-HUNcZBcuRIgMAFqzwQ33aFpfqaWVIPZOtO5NE9d70oU-ULegss7YJ1fsE696qFJNPK_gNSwcW8PDO-g-g-Zjhi3Y/s320/P1080030.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div align="left"><br />
<div align="center"><span style="font-size: small;"></span> (above) me with stangely shiny and concerned face holding freshly primed fuel tank. bad hair day</div><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Nige advised me that lots of people used a special resin called Petaseal which could be poured inside the tank, and would set hard to form a seal against the elements. Sounds like a plan i thought, so off i went to see the gurus at LLandow classics.</span></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjolZHY4AuepohW4kG9bw9Ung4nqrZGFguCAqok5Y831JO0FGAvsSn3uHGRQS5Ohg5zk9dJkS2Zi6xWDYfMf1rG8Jo5dx6LUIY6gjF3uhyphenhyphenQMTD_ePEpIB1HOdeKp7IPDar_Y4oKiS_mAxo/s1600/P1080016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjolZHY4AuepohW4kG9bw9Ung4nqrZGFguCAqok5Y831JO0FGAvsSn3uHGRQS5Ohg5zk9dJkS2Zi6xWDYfMf1rG8Jo5dx6LUIY6gjF3uhyphenhyphenQMTD_ePEpIB1HOdeKp7IPDar_Y4oKiS_mAxo/s320/P1080016.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-size: small;">They did sell petaseal. However, after i talked to them about my plan, they told me that although i was on the right lines, petaseal had become a bit outdated. Apparently, fuel companies nowadays have introduced an ethanol mixture into their unleaded fuel, which breaks down the components of the fibreglass-like petaseal and allows bits to break off and enter the fuel system. </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">However, they did stock an a new alternative called TAPOX which was german made and almost twice the price, -£37 bucks. Tapox claimed it would stand up to this industrial alchohol and llandow classics had not sold any yet, so i was in uncharted territory, a pioneer in the new method of lining fuel tanks. </span></div><div align="left"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The xmas edition of the REOC`s gun magazine reinforced this theory regarding the ethanol in lined fuel tanks, so i took it as sound advice and dug deep in my pockets and shoe-horned out the near forty notes.</span></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">I rang up old man meteor and he came down to oversee the pouring of the two part mix. I sealed off the petrol tap hole with a plastic rubber blank so that the threads were protected, and used a sheet of plastic and some elastic bands to seal the fuel cap.</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">I mixed up the two components inside the tapox box (hardener and resin) and funnelled it into my freshly primed tank.</span></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">I sloshed it about as per the instructions, to such an extent that the ever impatient old man meteor threatned to leave and go home if i shook the tank for another second. Afterall, he had waited at least two minutes and the impregnable 12 0/c lunch barrier was fast approaching.</span></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">The instructions inside the tapox said that you need to apply gentle air pressure after you have coated the tank. I assume this is to help it set. It warns you not to use electrical appliances such as hairdryers etc as the tappox mixture is highly flammable and it certainly smelt that way.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Chez meteor maybe a decent shed, but it doesn`t boast the facilities of an air compressor and </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I opted to ignore this step. Instead, I whipped off the plastic sheet covering the petrol cap and pointed it down wind atop my patio table for a short time. This may become something i`ll regret.</span></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">I took a sneaky peak inside the tank an hour or two later, the tank was well covered but still wet with the red tapox mix. Mrs M was beckoning me back to my dad-to-be diy duties, so i put the tank back in the shed and awaited the mixture to cure overnight. This was the result the next day:-</span></div></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iSz4Ms1JWrNnCUdIY9oO2G-YJ08EHixKTuzpbJ8_9jfI3H8oIXYU8pygQkV_3aAHvwqrvkayUQ90nUC9eoXb8AYZJs526jSS9R5kdP5a7tQv1YaKjv0wGSkMmbfmSsI2hFkInTOHl_Y/s1600/DSC00247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iSz4Ms1JWrNnCUdIY9oO2G-YJ08EHixKTuzpbJ8_9jfI3H8oIXYU8pygQkV_3aAHvwqrvkayUQ90nUC9eoXb8AYZJs526jSS9R5kdP5a7tQv1YaKjv0wGSkMmbfmSsI2hFkInTOHl_Y/s320/DSC00247.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyDeQHLGXIY3c1gPhlMNLU1toe1YnOr0wRy4WsSdFC9DamcvUapVOzKEQtGI1v-iwqmbCIrm1g-wWbk65serhuwxKdoHegWilYj9Mlzfej714KNfwkIc-aq4oivJ-my8Qop_YxobqvjRo/s1600/DSC00246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyDeQHLGXIY3c1gPhlMNLU1toe1YnOr0wRy4WsSdFC9DamcvUapVOzKEQtGI1v-iwqmbCIrm1g-wWbk65serhuwxKdoHegWilYj9Mlzfej714KNfwkIc-aq4oivJ-my8Qop_YxobqvjRo/s320/DSC00246.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(above) the worst of it</td></tr>
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Although the Tapox had cured perfectly, it hadn`t seemed to key into the metal with the even coverage i had hoped for.<br />
I was left with what i would describe as wrinkles of untreated areas which looked like a tigers scrotum!<br />
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I must admit i was a little disappointed. This was not the aircraft quality result that i expected and so I headed back down to Llandow classics to see what they thought. <br />
To be fair, i was the first guy that they had sold this tapox stuff to, so they didn`t know what to expect either, however, the guy there said that may be that the resin had dryed this way due to some residual contamination after the item had been soaked in a chemical cleaner. To be honest i think he`s probably right. <br />
I`ve used enough dodgey chemicals in my time to know that some cleaning agents definately leave a film of chemical residue behind after cleaning. Hey, you live and learn. <br />
Besides, the guy reckoned the tank was in pretty good nick anyway and the tapox had covered enough to do its job, particularly at the most vunerable rear end where they are prone to rust.<br />
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He advised me to maybe inhibit the tank by maybe pouring in a bit of diesel to keep it free from any moisture damage and i went on my way. reasonably satisfied.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkaqi7AjAemtlaD_glephZo_jR8s-B-NM1GpCJY5p4I5o1bAidO9_FIbTRJ-upOwDhhyphenhyphenB7umBkiKN61MgY8IKIhjstTiucgPxpQ8NuK_KfcmWErLQK_k6-Df-gQzGDbxvTOyuAEx3wA-4/s1600/P1080017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkaqi7AjAemtlaD_glephZo_jR8s-B-NM1GpCJY5p4I5o1bAidO9_FIbTRJ-upOwDhhyphenhyphenB7umBkiKN61MgY8IKIhjstTiucgPxpQ8NuK_KfcmWErLQK_k6-Df-gQzGDbxvTOyuAEx3wA-4/s320/P1080017.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(above) the primed tank. Filler definately requires some rework</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well meteorites, xmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, and so is mrs m`s belly- only two weeks to go and i absolutely can`t wait! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">i did broach the idea of Enfield as a middle name, but she told me that i needed to get a life. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If the meteorite hasn`t arrived by xmas, she has promised to helped me out with all the extra furnishings i need to finish the tank off as a xmas present such as the badges and petrol tap etc.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">hopefully, i`ll get one more blog in by then, but part 2 of the fuel tank will be coming sometime in the new year. if not have fun over the xmas period.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Meteor ManMeteor Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15186403577730658152noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396285254761773998.post-25694471917881738692011-11-25T13:51:00.000-08:002012-01-01T16:24:50.768-08:00Royal Enfield Meteor Minor Restoration - Bulk Strip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66FIyZl4jGK5deBQStxWnMbBqQ6r-Tgt0leenF33ZYQAi0bJaRazBYCfcr6UobwwhUr-hLmyU_mbEnNGq54cP4AeUu74XqNIIBcFlITuyUjNEm8THd32YMQjLFKShz3zRvwHYEHsBfK8/s1600/DSC00240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEive4RkRkooejYdySbWbkJrmuOUNc6MsVqBc3pgiTAhwXk1ljRubMD9jLeb_Y7ACBm5rwflSI4AN9mjae2Wplf-zZ-Ulvtm0-FTJDO5n9HLyrjSd-uP8W49_w7_ZO_8Tx2LfJZjTQbmO9A/s1600/DSC00825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEive4RkRkooejYdySbWbkJrmuOUNc6MsVqBc3pgiTAhwXk1ljRubMD9jLeb_Y7ACBm5rwflSI4AN9mjae2Wplf-zZ-Ulvtm0-FTJDO5n9HLyrjSd-uP8W49_w7_ZO_8Tx2LfJZjTQbmO9A/s320/DSC00825.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BLOG 3 of 3. (blog 1 at bottom of this page or click archive above - October)</td></tr>
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<strong>An Acknowledgement</strong> <br />
<div>As the reader counter passes 800 spanning the globe, I`d just like to say how pleased I am that people are taking an interest in this blog, -I must be doing something right, I hope you all continue to enjoy it. </div><div></div><div style="border: currentColor;">To give credit where credit is due much of this readership has been thanks to the fab review of this blog from Enfield royalty and blogging behemoth David Blasco of <a href="http://www.royalenfields.com/"><span lang="EN-GB">www.royalenfields.com</span></a><span lang="EN-GB">. Definitely worth taking a look if you are interested in anything Royal Enfield, or would just like a lesson in how to look debonair on a classic motorcycle. (must see photo of David on his Enfield sporting cravat , Mrs M reckons he is the Hugh Hefner of the classic bike world!)</span></div><br />
<strong>Story Since last Blog</strong><br />
I`d been gazing out at my garden shed from the confines of our new nursery for a couple of minutes of almost every night last week. On more than one freezing cold evening, I even connected up the extension lead to my outside power and reeled it out to "Chez Meteor" to spark the old lead lamp into life. <br />
Not that I had any intentions of setting to work you must understand. I was merely there to stand and stare, wallowing in my own self pity. You see meteorites, I`d been doing some long days at the aircraft engine factory where I work, and my evenings had been filled with the stink of wet gloss paint in the new nursery and trudging around the sodden Welsh countryside in the dark with my trusty hounds Neville and Dolly.<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB">Sensing my frustration with a fatherly intuition nothing short of a Jedi, it was up to Old Man Meteor (my dad) to take the bull by the horns, step in, and demand that mrs M give me a Saturday afternoon DIY ammnesty so that we could spend some quality father-son time working on the bike.<br />
Not even the pregnant, nesting, mrs M could deny us of that, especially when he assured her :-<br />
"these old bikes are so basic.......we can strip the whole bloody thing in about an hour using only two spanners. It`ll be a Piece of Piss!"</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCUOR1nFaiRrgfNZhHnIb9QViQgWpYbYsHz9P-dCIa_IC5PPIFDsfZW31CWkeBgC6DAUC2Ubn0-J4Xdb_HLd64_-qMshs6jeTa0H1Q8PakHizK_DN21cUPLyS2yp6KJzT4P8Yi9CWSMfE/s1600/DSC00254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div><br />
<ul><li>famous last words I thought. But nevertheless, the missus rubber stamped the afternoon off, and I looked forward to finally getting something done on the Bike. Read on………….</li>
</ul>I worked Saturday morning and arrived home just before noon. Old Man Meteor wasn`t even meant to be arriving till 1-ish, but when I arrived, he was already in the shed spraying every nut and bolt on the bike with wd40 to act as a releasing fluid. <br />
I should probably mention that my dads work ethic is slightly akin to that of the Tazmanian Devil cartoon character. To be fair , he is an excellent engineer, but sometimes, when you are trying get him to teach you how to do a job, you firstly have to reign him in as he only seems to work at one speed -flat out. <br />
I gave him the usual talk of how we need to just take our time with this strip so that we wouldn`t do any damage by rushing. As usual with all DIY we do together, he would agree and then begin tearing into the bike like a tornado in a trailer park.<br />
Knowing that i wouldn`t have time to stop and say "i`ll just take a photo for the blog..." i just decided that it was best to just get stuck in with him. He probably hadn`t had his regimented 12 o clock lunch yet, and would be extra keen to get cracking so he could finish for a late lunch. I kept my work overalls on and went straight out to the shed to begin.<br />
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<div></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><strong>Stripping A Royal Enfield Meteor Minor</strong></div><strong>Fuel Tank</strong><br />
In my last blog i promised i would make some headway on the tank. I took the tank off a few weeks ago, (only a couple of bolts) and have made a start. However, because there is so much to do to it, which all requires a good wedge of cash, i am only about halfway through. Part 1 to be posted shortly.<br />
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<strong>Engine removal</strong> <br />
<div>Old man meteor had brought over his trolley jack and a couple of axle stands which we positioned under the engine. We took just enough weight to allow the mounting bolts to be removed so we could take it off the frame. This worked really well, and with aid of the formentioned wd40, each bolt that connected the engine to the frame came out without a hitch.</div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
<div></div></div><div style="border: currentColor;">With the 500 twin wobbling on top of the jack, me and the old man gripped a side each and managed to somehow man handle the old lump into the corner of the shed. bloody hell it was heavy! i thought that id be spending the rest of the evening walking about like the hunchback of notre damn.</div><br />
<div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1RriK7RpOXx-8hyphenhyphenmXvz5W-b4Ae5ceL45Ab4KK2FnswMk30gny98IxMuOmsmlM33NlfQNkMQOAuFaA7xCgRQdvt6nEGAqneLk8CwqiMGeXqUGF1KvlE1urukHLvN83MoZsnWRpVs-1jE/s1600/DSC00256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1RriK7RpOXx-8hyphenhyphenmXvz5W-b4Ae5ceL45Ab4KK2FnswMk30gny98IxMuOmsmlM33NlfQNkMQOAuFaA7xCgRQdvt6nEGAqneLk8CwqiMGeXqUGF1KvlE1urukHLvN83MoZsnWRpVs-1jE/s200/DSC00256.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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<div><strong> Frame Disassembly</strong></div>The frame was obviously much lighter now and was easier to move around in the space of my shed. I`m not going to tell you about every nut and bolt in the strip of the frame, as it was all pretty straight forward. You can see below the items which i pulled apart:<br />
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<div></div><div> </div><div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglEws297RpkGwgy7Jdpjaus_TpiGUrRGF-Kw-U09fRkzFOk8JjkYZOpFLMmu-zQsr3Hz170o8WRj3Ym14u_GM0bsK4U1BnsWrTdonDb1nApQJR_G87kQkRKsu4qHSnlJQypKqgJBCMV4s/s1600/DSC00245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglEws297RpkGwgy7Jdpjaus_TpiGUrRGF-Kw-U09fRkzFOk8JjkYZOpFLMmu-zQsr3Hz170o8WRj3Ym14u_GM0bsK4U1BnsWrTdonDb1nApQJR_G87kQkRKsu4qHSnlJQypKqgJBCMV4s/s400/DSC00245.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-FVk6StYAPEYg8qYzXoDdEzAIdN8Aifw3GtozeB8SKv4Lg_oF5Q72fLslpmtTUyqmaCs7KZZ4ayErWKa8cZ83OQrJwmA4GZddF2R40i5Y3JCyNWIRCJ4Tyi79TKln-2z5Wsg5PGtjCc/s1600/DSC00255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-FVk6StYAPEYg8qYzXoDdEzAIdN8Aifw3GtozeB8SKv4Lg_oF5Q72fLslpmtTUyqmaCs7KZZ4ayErWKa8cZ83OQrJwmA4GZddF2R40i5Y3JCyNWIRCJ4Tyi79TKln-2z5Wsg5PGtjCc/s200/DSC00255.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxyDyI3J38_Dv17rOo8IcJwTza6SFeZkETLBqnp6JI70-WQZexNvJdJipbiMySdfMoyCiUkNwnD8R6BJ-h-z6th3BlekWwBwvr-Sfnn8Fgmh0A7NG2v5XWgffJ5f2AKm4aNejZUxMbag/s1600/DSC00244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxyDyI3J38_Dv17rOo8IcJwTza6SFeZkETLBqnp6JI70-WQZexNvJdJipbiMySdfMoyCiUkNwnD8R6BJ-h-z6th3BlekWwBwvr-Sfnn8Fgmh0A7NG2v5XWgffJ5f2AKm4aNejZUxMbag/s200/DSC00244.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
<div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div><strong>Wheel Strip</strong> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next up was to get the tyres off the wheels. The tyres will probably go straight in the bin as they appear to be brittle from standing in water for some length of time. Besides one of my neighbours who claims to know a bit about bikes reckons that they are so square that they may have fitted a bike with a sidecar. I think he`s probably right as one of the readers of this blog also emailed me to say that i had side car forks fitted to my motorcycle.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There is definately an art to getting the tyres and inner tubes off the wheel rims and i am glad the old man was there to guide me through it.</div><ol><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Turn dust cap upside down and use it as tool to operate inner tube valve to deflate</div></li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Wedge large flat edge screwdriver between the rim and tyre and move around the rim levering the screwdriver downward to break the bead on the tyre. repeat at 3 inch intervals all around the rim.</div></li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When the bead is broken all around on both sides of the wheel, use some tyre levers, (or in my case the same big screwdriver as all my decent tools are in work) to lever one side of the tyre up over the rim. Begin just to the left of the valve</div></li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Again, repeat at 3 inch intervals all around the rim, using a second screwdriver to hold the previous section in position and stop it slipping back behind the rim of the wheel. work the tyre off the rim all the way around untill you reach the valve.</div></li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Reach up inside and pull a section of the innertube out. again work around the rim in sections until you reach the valve and the whole thing can be removed from the tyre.</div></li>
<li><div style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: left;">Once the inner tube is out, push your screwdriver under the tyre again from the same side, but this time reach across the rim and nudge the opposite tyre wall up over the other rim. this should be much easier than the first side now.</div></li>
<li><div style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: left;">with your screwdriver pushed under both walls of the tyre. pull up with the handle and simultaneously use a plastic mallet to beat the remainder of the tyre from the wheel. </div></li>
</ol><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">TOP TIP: USE A BIT OF WASHING UP LIQUID WHEN CARRYING OUT STEPS 3 AND 4. IT MAKES THE TYRE SLIP OFF THE RIM MUCH MORE EASILY.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdRWy6mLY3MDZaiGregldEh5G38yD6o5zVvy96PEuKtLXsesmP52AAJIop0hm00V79X_kThLN88CyFI6izn3sQcRj2MrZ4PaeI8d6rzuLqQqlc7fq5ptiBn_SNMZw7ScnqnGkk1XdnvE/s1600/DSC00253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdRWy6mLY3MDZaiGregldEh5G38yD6o5zVvy96PEuKtLXsesmP52AAJIop0hm00V79X_kThLN88CyFI6izn3sQcRj2MrZ4PaeI8d6rzuLqQqlc7fq5ptiBn_SNMZw7ScnqnGkk1XdnvE/s200/DSC00253.JPG" width="200" /></a> <img border="0" hda="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCUOR1nFaiRrgfNZhHnIb9QViQgWpYbYsHz9P-dCIa_IC5PPIFDsfZW31CWkeBgC6DAUC2Ubn0-J4Xdb_HLd64_-qMshs6jeTa0H1Q8PakHizK_DN21cUPLyS2yp6KJzT4P8Yi9CWSMfE/s200/DSC00254.JPG" width="200" /> </div><br />
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<span style="color: red;">PROBLEM:</span> <strong>The Forks</strong></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
Everything was all coming apart a little to smoothly. That was until we got to the forks. The chromed tubes were heavily coroded and i was worried that they would be seized inside the fork / headlamp casing. I had a quick glance at the exploded diagram in the meteor minor parts book to have a look what i was dealing with.<br />
I decided the best course of action would be to simply remove every bolt on the assembly and attempt to withdraw the tubes. <br />
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This was easier said than done as they were stuck fast inside the fork housing.<br />
I used a piece of wood as a drift, and began beating downward on the crown of the steering stem in the hope that it would force the stem and tubes away from the headlamp casing in one foul swoop.</div><div style="border: currentColor;"></div><div style="border: currentColor;">To some extent this crude method began to work. The two tubes and steering stem did begin to come away and we exposed the ball bearings which were bagged up and stored away for another day. <br />
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However, as the crown had to move downward over the heavily corroded tubes, it began to seize once more. The repeated blows began to take there toll and the tin wear which you see below the tubes looked like it had just done 15 rounds with mike tyson. I began to panic, and decided the best course of action would be to call it a day on the strip. i doused them in wd40 and decided to spray them every night for the next 5 nights. You can`t win them all. Id have have another crack this coming weekend. .</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
Besides, If all else fails i will have to take emergency action and call in my buddy Nitro Neil from the engine shop where i work. He is Merthyr Tydfil`s finest super moto pit mechanic in his spare time, and master tactician when it comes to rectifying other peoples cock ups on aero engines in work. <br />
It wouldn`t be the first time he has bailed me out!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbUPWHsZ5HmdBOpewHu5Xl1KoDyUoHCVIK2RQnACD8JxaYt0qYMGWVSTYXu1EIW-QH4ZAGjM0edwfC25VTO54O1rUaKY_gI4a21MyWTIaAsvuM7N5GpfLviWCTMWznLENZmM0jYd4TEQ/s1600/DSC00250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Heavily corroded and now slightly battered tin ware</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpV7As1ifDP-iKXpoTP-Qo7K4x9iHLlrY8CHVzA_U0PQE-tG5HuGJ5dcMOn-BrdcjRAjmzp0iBgc5-9GUB4boyIblQR6Iar8Ius8Jb9OPI7GyMIcNvdWCSghY7VUCd2QytAt5HK0m5CVI/s1600/DSC00260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpV7As1ifDP-iKXpoTP-Qo7K4x9iHLlrY8CHVzA_U0PQE-tG5HuGJ5dcMOn-BrdcjRAjmzp0iBgc5-9GUB4boyIblQR6Iar8Ius8Jb9OPI7GyMIcNvdWCSghY7VUCd2QytAt5HK0m5CVI/s320/DSC00260.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Whitworth and BSF tools donated by a guy who died in my friend Rossy Wossy`s street. Put to good use once again!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-RYH1UGHftfDqhTNmiw9eZ3KeCjtr8x5wohZfv6ahT1_b2lK5mGYBTyJBoIBLSaAN2WKCEsP9tzYEoSjwxPJjBUWw7aWH1LYecL7XcAk3-xu9gfgII3m2zBpENnL58FCsLZbCiFU758/s1600/DSC00261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-RYH1UGHftfDqhTNmiw9eZ3KeCjtr8x5wohZfv6ahT1_b2lK5mGYBTyJBoIBLSaAN2WKCEsP9tzYEoSjwxPJjBUWw7aWH1LYecL7XcAk3-xu9gfgII3m2zBpENnL58FCsLZbCiFU758/s320/DSC00261.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Chez Meteor full of stripped down meteor bits.</span><br />
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<div align="left"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Other News - Exhaust Purchased</span></strong></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The other day, a good mate of mine rang me up and told me about an exhaust which he had seen on ebay. The exhaust is in excellent condition and came from a meteor minor sport. But, I must say, that the silencer is not the classic "cigar" shape which i have seen on many meteor minors, but had a slightly more flared shape. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">For a split second i did think twice about buying it. I considered that maybe such a visually important part of the motorcycle would have to be the exact standard part and that there would be enfield purists scouring south wales looking to burn me and my bike at the stake. But then i remembered a conversation i had with the gents down at LLandow classics when they told me how many people give up on getting bikes on the road because they crack up when they cant get parts of the original spec. </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">They advised me that Meteor minors were thin on the ground in the 50s and 60s compared to the more prolific triumph bikes, and some meteor parts would be as scarce as rocking horse shit these days. Particularly stuff like mudguards and tool boxes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I get myself on ebay and snap it up like a fat kid with some candy floss.</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66FIyZl4jGK5deBQStxWnMbBqQ6r-Tgt0leenF33ZYQAi0bJaRazBYCfcr6UobwwhUr-hLmyU_mbEnNGq54cP4AeUu74XqNIIBcFlITuyUjNEm8THd32YMQjLFKShz3zRvwHYEHsBfK8/s1600/DSC00240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66FIyZl4jGK5deBQStxWnMbBqQ6r-Tgt0leenF33ZYQAi0bJaRazBYCfcr6UobwwhUr-hLmyU_mbEnNGq54cP4AeUu74XqNIIBcFlITuyUjNEm8THd32YMQjLFKShz3zRvwHYEHsBfK8/s320/DSC00240.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">New exhaust for £30</span><br />
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<div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">I suppose thats about it for this time meteorites. As i stated earlier, The fuel tank is well underway and the investigation into my dodgey frame number is also being carried out. So If your interested and want to keep up with any developments, don`t forget to follow this blog (its easy and free) by clicking the link at the bottom of the page</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">Meteor Man</span><br />
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</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66FIyZl4jGK5deBQStxWnMbBqQ6r-Tgt0leenF33ZYQAi0bJaRazBYCfcr6UobwwhUr-hLmyU_mbEnNGq54cP4AeUu74XqNIIBcFlITuyUjNEm8THd32YMQjLFKShz3zRvwHYEHsBfK8/s1600/DSC00240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Meteor Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15186403577730658152noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396285254761773998.post-5797672359518799092011-10-29T16:04:00.000-07:002012-01-01T16:25:29.984-08:00Royal Enfield Meteor Minor Restoration -Making Plans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUtq-npCehpDDgIum7dNE5SQiVO0NcQ0-ihexZkJB4uMvdL0mdXN_lv28J4pQz-_0D7WqqqYnkuwSY9r-ukHmXbRTrzakKVTEoe6dyB4QBX52vbFy_BSZ31MM-8ADqo9tkZseQGTTlA0/s1600/DSC00768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUtq-npCehpDDgIum7dNE5SQiVO0NcQ0-ihexZkJB4uMvdL0mdXN_lv28J4pQz-_0D7WqqqYnkuwSY9r-ukHmXbRTrzakKVTEoe6dyB4QBX52vbFy_BSZ31MM-8ADqo9tkZseQGTTlA0/s640/DSC00768.JPG" width="425" /></a></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
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</div><div style="border: currentColor;"><strong>Royal Enfield Meteor Minor Restoration</strong></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><div style="border: currentColor;"><span lang="EN-GB">A pal of mine served 25 years with the Royal Engineers. He is an ex warrant officer, and still chooses to sport the regulation (yet ridiculous) "third stripe" army tash which he wears with immense pride despite the constant ridicule from myself and other peers. As with all ex servicemen, he is forever banging on about old army war stories and sayings. One of the said adages was "the 7 P's". Not Pea's of the frozen or garden variety but these P's:- </span></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><span lang="EN-GB">"PROPER, PRIOR, PREPARATION, PREVENTS, PISS POOR PERFORMANCE."</span></div></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
<span lang="EN-GB">I suppose the word PISS can help you to remember it and it is obviously something that has stayed with a grunt like myself. But when it comes to the overhaul of a motorcycle like a Royal Enfield Meteor Minor I intend to approach it with somewhat more panache:-</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB">"I`m out there running the road, long before I dance under those lights." <a href="http://www.blogger.com/quotes/quotes/m/muhammadal145945.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-GB">Muhammad Ali</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span></span></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
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<div style="border: currentColor;">Anyway fellow meteorites, I`m not the worlds greatest runner but every journey begins with a single step. So i begin formulating a plan as to how I`m going to tackle this bike. Read on…..<br />
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</div><strong>What Exactly Do I Have In my shed?</strong><br />
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On the 20<sup>th</sup> September 2011, myself and my dad in law bundled this old heap out of the back of his car, <br />
re-affixed the rusty wheels and limped it into the lovely new shed courtesy of mrs Meteor. <br />
Armed with her snazzy new camera, I set about taking snaps of every single component, nut and bolt that would combine to form the foundation of my glorious meteor-to-be. I found just taking the pics a good exercise in getting familiar with the bike (lets not forget, when it comes to bikes, my head is emptier than hermits address book).</div><div style="border: currentColor;">It wasn`t long before I came across a small plate fitted to the frame of the bike which was covered in old paint, and it became apparent that this would be the bikes identification plate. After discovering the engine serial number etched into the engine case, it occurred to me that there was now a possibility of tracing back some part of this motorcycle`s legacy, and it would no longer just be a bike from the barn of the mysterious Mr Taylor. </div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
</div><span lang="EN-GB">I began to feel like Tony Robinson out of channel 4`s pretty boring Time Team ( afterall, it wouldn`t be the first time that somebody has referred to me as Baldrick out of Blackadder). I want to know things such as: <br />
1) the bikes exact age<br />
2) where was it made<br />
3)colour of the frame and tank<br />
4) is the engine original to the frame<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></span><br />
<div style="border: currentColor;">That night i log on and bring up the website of The Royal Enfield owners club. <a href="http://www.royalenfield.org.uk/">http://www.royalenfield.org.uk/</a></div><br />
The owners club offers a variety of useful services. The blurb on the home page reads:-<br />
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"The REOC exists as a forum for the interchange of ideas and information on the maintenance, restoration and use of Royal Enfield motorcycles and machines."<br />
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<div style="border: currentColor;">Its a decent site but some parts are off limits to non-members. One of the downsides is that you can`t simply pay to sign up on line and access all the geeky stuff straight away. For example if you want to run a history check on your motorcycle you need to take photos of the bike on both sides as well as pictures and pencil rubbings of both the frame and engine numbers. </div><div style="border: currentColor;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQIDF-ou_GMC3BrKOCOoh3MnYysaft-8gCFMJ4_nFoxFWdiCw0KjbZgkNdHJJD6JoJqm3Nx-ZfI98AKknCf02cgGRYjwEbNubuSovV3wd0pRdXjYQqAQQeuBhbF9XM0h7iZ9gmA38wOE/s1600/DSC00754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; height: 201px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; width: 144px;"><img border="0" height="200" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQIDF-ou_GMC3BrKOCOoh3MnYysaft-8gCFMJ4_nFoxFWdiCw0KjbZgkNdHJJD6JoJqm3Nx-ZfI98AKknCf02cgGRYjwEbNubuSovV3wd0pRdXjYQqAQQeuBhbF9XM0h7iZ9gmA38wOE/s200/DSC00754.JPG" width="132" /></a></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><div style="border: currentColor;"><strong>Problem:</strong> Although the engine number is obvious, The ident etched into the forward upright of the frame (rear of headlamp) is caked in paint and the etched numbers are illegible. I have a rummage through the various chemicals in my shed and find some old paint stripper i used for tarting up a staircase once upon a time. The "Nitromors" works like a charm although the etched numbers are difficult to decipher. I struggled to decide whether the first character is just a weird looking 6, or a 67 very close to one another (when i show the pics to my mates in work, they assure me that mrs meteor has "bought you a nicked bike for your birthday"). Figuring that it will be up to the guy at REOC to decide, i set to work with a 2hb pencil and some paper.</div></div><br />
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</div><div style="border: currentColor;">The ident check will be free of charge to members, but first of all you need to join, afterwhich you send the required info and rubbings to their volunteer dating officer and he gives you all the good info. So i blow the dust off my almost virgin chequebook and head down the local spar for a stamp. It seems that the old meteor in the shed will have to stay annonymous for a few more days. </div></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
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<div style="border: currentColor;"><div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-_voCYNl3H_1U_b3_W96-xRhDMzgKRC9MA7uCEQ3PMiqJRg0scjV9zPBxiLBqZCkpRHAS2W5908fcLZjiDkFyXjaQw_U-UL79aPeV5XGXXeYddzHM6at2Nj5lZT7sK1bmmIdSlwsGeOE/s1600/DSC00205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; height: 310px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 401px;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-_voCYNl3H_1U_b3_W96-xRhDMzgKRC9MA7uCEQ3PMiqJRg0scjV9zPBxiLBqZCkpRHAS2W5908fcLZjiDkFyXjaQw_U-UL79aPeV5XGXXeYddzHM6at2Nj5lZT7sK1bmmIdSlwsGeOE/s320/DSC00205.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf1g5gT_sz0NJaaTx-CNEej-X6WYXghHx_nkpqsvGhyxsmO9YOYrbv_x306gOwgtaLQWQe1Zby2nS36NBZwy-50CywIbYQa6kAT0BYIlwiorGHUTeflh5OMS9UB-meXnRymIcDfrTfxrA/s1600/DSC00206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf1g5gT_sz0NJaaTx-CNEej-X6WYXghHx_nkpqsvGhyxsmO9YOYrbv_x306gOwgtaLQWQe1Zby2nS36NBZwy-50CywIbYQa6kAT0BYIlwiorGHUTeflh5OMS9UB-meXnRymIcDfrTfxrA/s320/DSC00206.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Meanwhile, with the history of the bike in hand, i decide to look into getting some info on how this bike is screwed together. Being a novice motorcycle nerd, i struggle to think where to look first,- so as with everything else i ever search for these days, i start on ebay. Lady luck seems to be smiling on me and sure enough somebody has a single 1958-9 Meteor minor parts manual for sale and another is flogging a cd with a PDF copy of the workshop manual. i snap them up like a tramp with a bag of chips, and two days later they hit the doorstep of chez meteor. </div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
</div><div style="border: currentColor;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The parts manual is pretty much what it says on the tin and is a 50 page booklet full of all the exploded drawings and original part numbers of each item. I scan them all into the hard drive of my PC so i can print off "dirty" copies for later. Not that sort of dirty- me and my meteor are just getting to know each other.</div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
</div><div style="border: currentColor;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS1UjwsiyTk28EwBBV_qRaPFi9bifm-UE_B3kfLuMvu7jVIGGXYtWs0xmlzAKm4CmkiRkcVE32CZqHqcKyjSwbzN9he3dJHYy1CrZQPEYxviOGY4ZNZmfAF2hukOAeY5Zq1eJZicLxfYk/s1600/DSC00211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS1UjwsiyTk28EwBBV_qRaPFi9bifm-UE_B3kfLuMvu7jVIGGXYtWs0xmlzAKm4CmkiRkcVE32CZqHqcKyjSwbzN9he3dJHYy1CrZQPEYxviOGY4ZNZmfAF2hukOAeY5Zq1eJZicLxfYk/s640/DSC00211.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="border: currentColor;">The workshop manual however looks to be a pretty decent bit of kit and something that i`m sure that i will be referencing regularly during the make-over of the bike. It is full of detailed write ups on everything from stripping the gearbox to grinding valve seats.</div></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
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</div><div style="border: currentColor;">After thumbing through the books, i find myself in a particularly geeky mood and purchase myself a Meteor metal sign, which i can mount on over the door of my shed. - looks ace.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">About a week or so went by without a great deal of progress on project meteor. A heavily pregnant Mrs M has decided to start “nesting” and is demanding that I get our house sorted ready for the arrival of our new meteorite. She hands over her list of demands. A list of chores longer than a 7yr olds xmas present list, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which will see me plastering, wallpapering, painting, landscape gardening, and kitchen fitting<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>until about xmas time.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Being the dutiful husband and father-to-be (and being too gutless to stand up to the missus), I begin to make a start on her ransom list and set to work, all the while mindful that winter is beginning to tighten its icy grip around me. I want to begin stripping this bike while I can still feel my fingers. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border: currentColor;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On Wednesday, i got fed up of sugar soaping wallpaper paste from my nursery walls. I`d been pondering where to start on the bike, but am so inexperienced i just haven`t got a clue.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Throwing down my bucket and sponge, I defiantly head down to my local classic bike shop for some much needed expert bike chat.</span></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>LLandow Classics <a href="http://www.llandowclassics.co.uk/">http://www.llandowclassics.co.uk/</a></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The two gents down at llandow classics have forgotten more about motorcycles than i will ever know. Not only are they an award winning Royal Enfield dealer, but they are true enthusiasts who have managed to merge their obssession and their workplace. Chris spent about an hour talking to me about my bike and what i hoped to achieve. If you are the sort of guy who wants to restore your bike to the exact same spec as it rolled off the production line, they will help you. However, if you are mindful of your budget and want to achieve a similar look by utilising cheaper indian enfield parts, they will also point you in the right direction of where this may be applicable.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">They also have a workshop on site where they can assist your restoration by offering things such as wheel building and servicing etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I`ve heard various ideas about the method and order of which to overhaul this motorcycle, such as people telling me to get the engine ticking over before i start. After i discussed it with the guys at llandow, and the fact that the bike has been left standing for so long, i have decided that i`m just going to take one chunk a time until everything on the bike has been stripped, cleaned, restored and rebuilt. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You can`t eat a whole cow in one sitting and so my next blog will begin with the fuel tank. The 'crowning glory'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So meteorites, Its time to stop talking and start doing, so if i haven`t bored you to death with all this waffle, don`t forget to click the subscribe bit at the bottom of the page to keep an eye on any new blogs coming out. i do like it when that view counter stars rising. i`m on 124 views of the first one, but i think 25 or so is me !</span><br />
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<div></div><strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></strong></div></div>Meteor Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15186403577730658152noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396285254761773998.post-75223404996461422822011-10-19T12:24:00.000-07:002012-01-01T16:25:55.756-08:00Royal Enfield Meteor Minor Restoration -Adopting My Meteor, The Background Story<div style="border: currentColor;"><strong>Royal Enfield Meteor Minor Restoration </strong><br />
<strong>BACKGROUND</strong></div> I would imagine that most people who choose to take on a project of restoring a bike in such a poor state of repair would be seasoned classic bike enthusiasts. -They would carefully select a bike which they feel confident that they could overhaul to a decent standard by assessing the motorcycles requirements and measuring it against their own level of ability. This is not the case with me. I am a complete novice when it comes to motorcycles and the biggest thrill I have ever had on two wheels was when I rode down a particularly steep hill on my Raleigh Lizard push bike aged 12. <br />
This project was not something I was looking for- I have 60hr a week job and a baby on the horizon around xmas time. This was bestowed upon me by my darling wife whom has decided it was time for me to get a new hobby.- Mrs Meteor does like to keep me busy.<br />
<div style="border: currentColor;"> I learned about my new obsession when i awoke in a London hotel room one Sunday morning and Mrs Meteor rolled over and handed me a photograph of a restored Royal Enfield Meteor Minor. It was the morning of my 32 birthday (which is why we made a trip to the big smoke from sunny south Wales). “What an awesome wife” I thought to myself still somewhat blurry eyed from the night before and wondering if I was still dreaming</div>–“she`s only gone and bought me this fantastic looking motorbike…mint condition too….i`ll do a direct access motorcycle licence and by xmas I`ll have bought all my leathers and I`ll be away!” Images of weekends cruising around the winding roads of mid wales raced through my mind and I couldn`t wait to be enjoying the fruits of some other suckers hard graft on making the bike look so good!”<br />
“Mrs M” I proclaimed “this is the best pressie you could have ever got for me, where did you get it from, it must have cost a pretty penny?”<br />
“Oh…. You`ve got it all wrong” she tittered. “The bike in the picture isn`t “THE” bike. “YOUR” bike is that one that’s been festering in my dads shed for the last twenty years- All you need to do is drive to Pembroke when we get back from London and pick it up! And hey, I`ve bought you a shed to keep it in, all you have to do is make a base for it- don`t worry, I have ordered 2 tons of chippings for you to shift round the back garden as soon as we get home” <br />
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To cut a long story short, it turns out that her old man had pulled this motorcycle out of a barn near Llanfalteg in Pembrokshire belonging to the mysterious Mr Taylor. My Dad in law had full intentions of doing it up during his spare time. But life moves pretty slowly in West Wales, and, about 20 years later, it became apparent to “old man meteor” that it was time to hand the torch over to me.<br />
I have worked as an aircraft engineer for 15 years now, so I have been known to turn the odd spanner when the mood takes me, but regularly serviced aircraft with clean components and gas turbine engines are a far cry away from this rusting old beast.<br />
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Nevertheless my friends, I fully intend to restore this classic bike to all its origanal glory. I plan to write the coming blogs as a means of documenting my progress and (hopefully) demonstrating how a complete amateur like myself can begin a project like this and take it through a complete overhaul. <br />
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As with all good motorsport teams, I will hopefully have a crack technical support team. This will comprise of:<br />
1.) my old dad, -pictured with the bike by my shed, (outrageous socks and shoes combination) who assures me he has stripped and rebuilt clutches on the side of the road back in the day.<br />
Interesting quote- <br />
"this will be a piece of piss to sort out".<br />
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2.) my father in law, -sat on triumph Bonneville, (in slippers with outrageous hair) -total nerd when it comes to anything old that has wheels.<br />
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So hold on tight fellow meteorites its going to be a bumpy old ride. As Captain Lawrence Oates once said “ I`m just going outside* and and I may be some time” (*outside = shed)<br />
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<img height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyO-VNG9IWvoaB_fD_SXQCos4vXuOPh5cojnikD7Hw8EiZC5S1ug-amXR2gO9Zd19o7y9uZcfPzzdbvKjQmhrva5ELSvKi-8CNYiwXCdWV9v5ftfy0c6EAWIfslDoWOIKDNZ4zv_-bg3I/s320/mallyrhys+and+jo+097.jpeg" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 580px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 339px; visibility: hidden;" width="52" /> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyO-VNG9IWvoaB_fD_SXQCos4vXuOPh5cojnikD7Hw8EiZC5S1ug-amXR2gO9Zd19o7y9uZcfPzzdbvKjQmhrva5ELSvKi-8CNYiwXCdWV9v5ftfy0c6EAWIfslDoWOIKDNZ4zv_-bg3I/s1600/mallyrhys+and+jo+097.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyO-VNG9IWvoaB_fD_SXQCos4vXuOPh5cojnikD7Hw8EiZC5S1ug-amXR2gO9Zd19o7y9uZcfPzzdbvKjQmhrva5ELSvKi-8CNYiwXCdWV9v5ftfy0c6EAWIfslDoWOIKDNZ4zv_-bg3I/s320/mallyrhys+and+jo+097.jpeg" width="174" /></a></div>Meteor Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15186403577730658152noreply@blogger.com6