aermacchi

sunday, bolting the clip-on's back on, dangerous notices that they are different length's so they need machining to equal length's, machine up the fasteners, there's more than two thread's showing, can't live with that, throw the two 8mm nylock's in the bin and start again, yep, that's better, right length now, [you wouldn't even notice it, but me?, it would keep me awake for hour's], sweary mick has bought an aermacchi race bike manual off the tinterweb, good job really, the mettise forks had 150ml of fluid in them when i drained them, should be 175ml, i top them up with fresh silkolene race oil, the fork caps were painted that horrible 'trent buses' red when we got the bike, quick spin in the lathe reveals why, the chrome is shagged, another spin in the lathe to remove the plating and i clean them off with some thinners and waft them with some clear lacquer, sorted, fork legs wet and dried and finished with solvol, ditto the top and bottom yokes, new unf and unc fasteners, machined up to remove makers stamping and grade marks and well, i guess we've turned the corner, it was never about a concourse job, just a little sympathetic 'massaging' of the basic component's, remember, it's not our bike, there's a fine line between building a bike that's meant to be used properly, to be raced in anger and a bike that's just built to stand in someone's collection because they can afford to do that........