The lockdown, although essential, is a strain. It is a strain listening to lying politicians, watching idiots flout the rules and just living in a surreal environment.
Worried about your family, vulnerable loved ones, your sanity, your income. This is on top of all the other things that sometimes cause a traffic jam on your motorway of thoughts. On occasion, multiple vehicle pile ups. Mental health issues were rife before covid, now they are ubiquitous.
To cope with anything stressful and consuming I have learnt that I need a distraction. Luckily I am still working, however that is stressful and something that I need actually need distracting from. Besides much needed family time I have started turning a knackered old cb500s into something different.
I got it well over 12 months ago. It was cheap, however I didn’t realize how knackered it actually is. A winter rat bike was the obvious use.
Let’s be honest they are a cracking bike for commuting etc. however they have the looks and character of an ugly thing that lacks character.
Not dissimilar to the one below, albeit with level of ‘patina’ typically found on motorcycle salvaged from a sunken car ferry. I never thought, or felt the desire, to take photos of the actual bike before I started dismantling it.
Pretty much everything is shot. Does it even run? The carbs needed a clean. Rebuilt them and put a car battery on it. It started on the spray can and then ran under its own steam before revving to 5000rpm of its own accord and getting very hot (exhaust header glowing). Air leak.
After convincingly myself it is salvageable, and I can sell a lot of the bits that I don’t use, I started the strip down.
Lots of looking at other bikes for inspiration. The answer is some kind of a flat tracker type thing. Budget is tight so a bit of creativity required.
Engine is out. Swing arm next.
I am looking forward to seeing all the project bikes that people have been working on during lock down. I am hoping lots of apocalyptic Mad Max style bikes.
However, the time is now! The sun is shining and my commute is definitely a 2 wheel one today! Another activity, albeit now restricted to purely commuting, that helps to keep the darkness out. Just need to drag an old Honda engine out of the way to get my other bike out.
Take care and keep each other safe. “Back to normal” may be a way off yet, and ‘normal’ was not necessarily that great. One positive is that I hope many will realise that the future is never certain and life is very short.
Lone Rider 