zedhead

About 40... (1mm per full turn, 5mm protrusion required for the moleys...) But... ... it has now snapped flush with the surface of the head. Arse.

The only problem with that Daz, as good an idea as it is, there's not room for a penny washer as it's the inner stud of cylinder 1, only just enough room to get a socket on a 13mm nut ;-)

Now on my fifth nut welded onto the end of the stud... this is partly (ie, entirely) due to my crap welding technique and not getting the weld in the nut, which only sits on a single thread of the stud, right down the nut and onto the stud... but, each time it does get the stud out by about an eighth of a turn before the weld breaks and the nut snaps off... softly-softly, catchee monkey.

Yet more arrrrrgh......

I'd forgotten how feckin' heavy the headers are... now need doc appointment for resulting hernia...

17mm nut, drilled out to fit over the stud a bit better, then lots of weld and lots of heat, now left alone to consider its future...

That welded-in allen socket snapped as soon as a ratchet looked at it... A little more access required, so the headers were cut off. A shame as they were actually rust-free but fuck it...

All disc bolts out, bearings shouted at, removed then thrown in bin, so wheels ready to be taken to be powder-coated. But that last remaining header bolt...

I'm booked in on track, and also for the Anglesey bash, any thoughts about an OSS gathering there? (27-28 May)

Indeed. And seemingly made from the same material as the bolts used to hold on the rear brake master cylinder - one drilled, then welded, then snapped. Fuck you, off to the bin you go! (replacement master cylinder ordered...)

3pm, before the "shouting at disc bolts" episode.

Well, that was fun... the bolts in the spare wheels were not just seized... they were torx-headed bolts, not shouldered as they should be, fitted by a gorilla with about a bucket of loctite (or similar)... all now out bar one, that has just had a nut welded to it after the torx fitting that I'd welded to it snapped. I'm leaving it overnight so it can think about what it's done, then it'll feel bad tomorrow and will pop out of it's own accord. In other news, one header bolt still being a bit grumpy.

C'mon @Havocit's about time you got booked into another track day ;-) And you @MeanBean49 And you @Kid Kearsley And you @Rene EFE And, and, and....

I'll be there, planning to ride on track, would be nice to be able to park it at Camp OSS, and will maybe have another suitable machine for display too ;-)

@Duckndivecheers Clive, I've got a spare set for wets (as long as I can get the disc bolts out, more seized shenenigans) and the wheels have to be standard B6, so no chance of fitting a larger rear...

Now on the ramp, with lots of penetrating fluid (fsnurk) applied...

First bit of absolute joy... header bolts are not happy at being asked to depart from their place of rest...

Yep, exactly what happened Clive! The other bloke was looking at it for the third time, and I asked Gen how much he wanted, and what the mileage was and then, with that information, I said "Sold!" and shook Gen's hand. The other geezer stomped off, looking dismayed, frustrated and perplexed... you snooze you lose!

The mileage is, seemingly, genuine. And it looks as though it was originally a red bike, although the log book says that it's blue...

Nice one, thanks Paul, I have a couple of irons in the fire for spare wheels right now, as need a pair for wet tyres, and was considering going white with the wheels. Hoping to get over to the unit later this week, so I'll have a look ;-)

Parts being collected together before I start any work, so far I've got:- a flat track style number board from Red Max Speed Shop, brake lever guard from R&G, lockwire-ready sump plug, service kit, flat bars, rearsets from Race Supplies (although they'll need adaptor plates to give enough ground clearance) and a Black Widow full exhaust system. I still need to pick up a bellypan (that's coming from A16 Racing) and a sharks fin chain guard.

No lights required, and if they were it wouldn't be Dommies as they'd be headed the same way as the anodised bar ends and levers... to the bin via the bandsaw!

So, as Katanamangler alluded to in his welcome post, I've finally got around to pulling my finger out and going road racing, as I've been muttering about for some years. I'd actually got my ACU licence, did the training etc, about 14 years ago, but then procrastinated when a potential bike was no longer available, and then years passed by in the blink of an eye... And then 2022 came, kicked me in the bollocks and made me realise that if you want to do stuff, then just fucking do it... End result, a Bandit 600 bought at Newark Autojumble, with a conversation 24 hours later with the guys from Formula Prostock Racing at Motorcycle Live, and me signing up for the 2023 series. Nothing done to the bike yet, but here's how it stands right now.

Thanks KM, and thanks Paul! I'll be starting a thread at the weekend / early next week - prepared to be mildly uninterested!

There are two bars - one on the balcony and one at the eastern end of the main hall, the opposite end to the hall with the OSS stand. (Actually, there's a third bar used by the organisers for food etc, which I believe is open in the evening for organisers and stall holders)