the ritmo sereno racer, we are not worthy, quite possibly the best bike in the world ever, yes, we ripped off the footpeg's for our racer project, ok, i admit it, the engineering on this machine is unbelievable, did you notice the rear disc brake and caliper? the perfect lockwiring? footpeg/exhaust hanger bracket? cut-down timing case? drilled clutch housing? re-angled carb mounting's to give a semi-down draught/straight run to the valves? so many brilliant touches, look and learn.........

 a massive northern soul hit in the 1970's, gil scott heron's 'the bottle' was an autobiographical song about his fight with alcoholism, what always bothered me about this release was the cartoon cover, gil scott- heron and brian jackson were black, as were most of his band, why then was the picture sleeve featuring  character's, [caricatures?] of a group who looked more like huey lewis and the new's? this was the first song i heard by gil scott- heron, as i sought out more of his work i soon realised that this mid-tempo lilting song was nothing like his harder edged work and which had a massive influence on the latter day hip-hop artist's and rapper's, i was hooked straight away as soon as i heard 'the revolution will not be televised' it opened up a whole new world to me, a world of black revolutionary music, music like the last poet's, not easy listening for a young white apprentice from an unfashionable east midland's town, but, like i have said before, we were in a state of flux, the times, really were a changin'..................[click last photo to check out the tune's]

 what can i say about the u.k.sub's? so many memories, the rex cinema, gig's on london road, the scala, derby playhouse, the vic, me, barse, chris w, dommo, the yorkshire boy's, jeanette, des reddy and julie, derby punk's, skin's, and hooligan's, steve 'skelly' cut-down scooter-boy, left-wing anti- everything anarchist bastard's, animal right's, soap dodging traveller's  rave culture, 'love you mate' 'e' taking sub-culture's, i reckon i've seen this band in all of it's different guises, at least a hundred times through the year's, but, you know what?, punk's not dead and if a set of lyric's were more relevant today than then? well, make your own mind up with what's happening in the world today..........[click last photo to hear the song.....]

the ritmo sereno boxer racer, fucking hell, an old bmw twin really shouldn't rev like a two-stroke, but this? this? fucking fuck.........[with extra added bonus fuck's]....................

from 1969, the classic mel britt tune, 'she'll come running back', an absolute top ten tune for me, total soul music, this track reduces me to tear's everytime i play it, it's been emotional.........[click on last photo to hear the track] yes, i know, i spelt mel's name wrong on the cardboard sleeve but give me a break, i wrote it out over thirty year's ago, i fucking love this record me, tell me it doesn't hit you right in the heart, if it doesn't, sorry, you ain't got no soul......

well, it would be rude not to really, after changing my race number to 'lucky' #13, the sporty wear's the number thirteen too, complete with 'line through' to keep the old bill and insurance company happy, because, as you all know, it's illegal to display 'race' numbers on a road bike, so, get out there and start peeling off all those #46 stickers off your bikes......

top photo show's the rear wheel before meeting the milling machine, in the background is the front wheel just to show how much material has been removed, second photo show's the rear brake disc mounting complete with the remains of all five of the 6mm mounting bolts snapped off almost flush with the wheel casting, deep joy, you can imagine the scene in the shed of the seventeen year old who owned the little yamaha tz50, the sprocket is donald ducked and him and his mate, who know's all about bikes are attempting to remove the old sprocket, cheapo car accessory socket, ratchet and brute strength, 'the bastard won't shift youth', 'come out the way you dozy twat, i'll give it a smack with the hammer, that'll shift it', 'fuckinellitwon'tcomeundonebastard!', 'where's that old bent forkleg, the one you bent when you wheelied it and hit the curb, put it over the ratchet, right, after three, pull......' so, a bit more work sorting this one out then, drill out the old bolt's and either helicoil back to 6mm, or, drill and tap them out to 8mm like we did on the racer, suppose you shouldn't be too harsh, we've all done it, last photo's show's the sort of corrosion caused by roadsalt, shocking really............

 monday night see's 'the shadow' sneaking into the shed, we are worked up on the boxer project, waiting for wheel's and tyres, [sorry, a touch of deja-vu there, we were in the same boat this time last year if i remember] the engine is in a big pile of bit's in frenchy's workshop, it need's sparks, i haven't ordered my carb's yet, no cables or throttle, still need to finish gear and brake linkages [but can't do that until wheel's are fitted], make exhaust up and we have less than six week's to get the racer up and running for the british historic racing test day at mallory park, no pressure there then, anyway, andy smith, the geezer who bought my mz racer wanted a spare set of wheels so he can run slicks and wet's, he got some off ebay and posted them down to us for machining, talking to a bloke i know about the wheel's and blow me if he doesn't have a pair as well, quick call to andy and he's the proud owner of another set, the rim's are italian made grimeca items, seventeen's front and rear and originally fitted to a yamaha tz50, yes, no typo there, a 50cc bike, they are more than up to the job in hand and are ripe for a little machining to take off some unsprung weight, it's a time consuming job but well worth the effort, we can knock half a kilo per wheel off them easily, once fettled and all the casting flash is filed and smoothed with the old wet and dry, a coat of powder and they look pretty good i reckon, the bottom photo is of the finished item on my old bike................

http://youtu.be/-YRvDh-T6UYshane meadow's film 'dead man's shoes' featuring paddy considine as an ex-soldier seeking revenge for his mentally retarded brother's death at the hands of the local bullies, filmed in nearby matlock, yes the famous sunday biker destination and less than eight miles from my home, a brutal and disturbing film, made all the most realistic by the nature in which it is filmed and more so by the fact that it represent's life in a small derbyshire town, this is the classic working man's club scene, local drug dealer meet's his nemesis.............

little richard, better known as the wild man of rock 'n roll but, to a generation of soul fan's an originator of original rhythm and blues and heart rending soul tunes, not as well known as the rock 'n roll standard's, this release from the 'okeh' label from 1966-67 show's the more soulful side of a true legend.......[just as a note, all my northern/rare soul/r+b records are in the traditional heavy weight cardboard sleeves to protect the vinyl, i used a notebook with all my records logged in numerical order so i could find them when i was d,jing, anal?, yep i suppose so, i just wish i had kept all the original paper record sleeves rather than binning them, you live and learn.......