Let's Get Started

Blimey - that beer making nonsense is just too time consuming and has caused havoc with my blog writing over the past few months. I have a pile of jobs awaiting me at Diplo HQ - things have slipped, the Series is out of MOT, the Little Shit is off the road and the 'shop is a disaster zone. Pictured above is the idyll of motosickle ownership, a selection steeds, sunshine and the prospect of a lazy cruise to the boozer for a Sunday lunchtime freshener. All is not just as it seems right now. The XT pictured has had to go (Rick Parkington has exported it to The South) to make way for the Little BSA GT50 in the middle of the picture. This has come on board to satisfy Diplo Jnr's need to get on the road at an early age. This will need a rebuild over the next few months to be ready for the Spring and the process may feature a little on these pages. The Little Shit is due a new exhaust system which we're proposing to manufacture in house !! The Series needs the rear hubs stripping and re-sealing so the brakes'll satisfy the man from The Ministry. All of these jobs offer hours of entertainment and contemplative Yorkshire Gold moments - First Things First - find the workbench ! MORE DETERMINATION !

Double Clutch

CB Special is up and running - no surprise to find the clutch not clearing and failing to respond to all the usual dodges. Having stripped the offending item down, the stack of plain and friction plates came out as one lump and only let go their Atlantic Ocean rusty grip after a good soak in my patent cure-all vat - that and a few taps from a blunt object. Back together now.
The Series has had clutch problems to coincide, as if we didn't have enough to do. Slave cylinder failure, necessitating an interesting clutchless drive back to HQ.
The wiring loom's out of the CB again - earlier electrical tests gave us a clean bill of health but the charging system eccentricities only became apparent with the machine complete and the engine running ! The smoke emitting from under the gas tank was mostly a blue colour with that distinctive electrical fire hum to it. It seems the generator is having a go but the regulator was struggling to cope with some misdirected OPE. The loom's suffered a bit so is on the bench for repair. MORE REGULATION !

September In The Rain

Blog seems to be slipping to a monthly publication - best I can do. Officially the wettest summer on record, this truly is getting boring. Fishing in Scotland in August was actually quite fine and when the skies did open, standing up to one's chest in fresh water whilst the top bit is subjected to a battering from the biggest rain drops I've ever seen, didn't seem too bad. Back home and having to venture out to work rather than play, it all gets very boring. I thought I ought to share with you this picture of the series as I ready myself for a damp drive to the office. Record collection so far is about 20 gallons - I really must get on to e-bay for a set of hoops and tarp. The protection illustrated is a retired cover from an '84 Mazda B2000 pick up which bit the dust a while ago, it doesn't do the job very well. As soon the sun comes out I'm going take some more pictures and post an altogether more uplifting article - something along the lines of hedge-found blackberry crumble and clotted cream. MORE FRUIT !

Series Wiring

Ah- yes well, hello again. Bit distracted lately and frankly my brain hasn't been up to this malarkey. Series is ready for MOT any minute but it became apparent that years of abuse and dodgy "add-ons" have taken their toll in the electrics department. A minor fire both sides of the bulkhead gave us the clue that all was not well. With the help of a cup tea and a very quiet expert accomplice, things are nearly back to normal. I share this picture with you in the hope that you may be encouraged to tackle some long-postponed tidy up; mental, social, financial, electrical or even structural - these challenges can fester and often prove to be surprisingly enlightening and enjoyable when the "lid" is off. I particularly recommend sharing the experience, that way you've somebody to blame if it all goes up in smoke. By the way - I've about had it with Ambridge - thank God the trial's over, Rory seems to have lost the power of speech, the cricket season's started and Mat Crawford's been handed the opportunity to upset everybody on a plate. MORE POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE.

Double Eighty

What are the chances ..? Fancy that - not one, but two brand new Series Ones being delivered by rail, fresh from the factory. I was particularly pleased to catch this picture just as the Willys was scooting over the bridge, bringing together the two great dinosaurs of the off road world. I think there may be a bit of blog weaving going on here but the coincidence was too great not to post. Off to find some more tractor pics in the archive.