I took the opportunity to dig into cleaning up the handle bar clamp as it is not available from RBO (I didn’t bother to check other vendors). The clamp was so corroded it was like a flaky bar, I took off a lot of material to get it down to where it was reasonable to try and polish, it came up rather ok, the before photo doesn’t show the actual corrosion eating into the alloy. The levers polished up nicely too, the lever and the clamp seem to be different alloys as they patina differently. I’m not going too crazy polishing, just getting them back to shiny so it looks good with those sparkly new bars.
Its nice to actually do some work on the Puch 250, it has been a long time sitting in the garage, waiting patiently.

The motorcycles on display were awesome,  one complaint I would have it that there are a lot of bikes mounted on a wall behind glass – made me wish I had a polarizing filter on my camera to block the reflections, but the lack of access was balanced by the fact that many of the motorcycles and cars were open to pawing, gawking and close inspection. The awesomeness of the  collection was marred by an equally monumental flaw, which slowly but surly left a bad taste in my mouth.

The new modern space is impressive, but the overall experience was tainted by BMW Welt (world) that is part and parcel of the experience. You pay admission to enter what is essentially a humungous showroom.  I completely understand  museums charging admission, I’d gladly pay for a pilgrimage to Sammy Miller’s. I understand, vehicles need to be procured, restored, maintained and displayed, but the rest was just a giant… I dunno, show off? It made me think these guys really do have too much money.  Now that was the cynical me, a couple of years later looking at the photos I am impressed, but not blown away.

It would have been nice to see the bikes with a fuller display, for example period riding gear, tools, race results etc. The building is very sterile, white, grey and modern forms and curves – it would be nice to have a human touch, especially when dealing with motorcycles. Of course BMW Welt Museum is there to showcase BMW,  it would have been nice to see some other marques.

Overall the impression was that this Museum really was a marketing exercise, and hence my annoyance at paying for the privilege. I guess I was somewhat naive in expecting a true museum, but that is what I was expecting, perhaps an old foundry where cylinders were cast, exposed brick, crusty leathers…. like the Sammy Miller Museum, or a more balanced perspective like the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum.  Like most experinces (or life in general) managing expectations is the key to happiness, so had I done any research, I would have known what I was getting into.

While you are in Munich, it would be worth a visit to the International Design Museum or (Die Neue Sammlung, Design in Der Pinakothek Der Moderne) They have some awesome bikes and cars displayed within the context of modern art and design, really worth the visit, even if you are just a gearhead. I’ll post my photos from that another day.

Overall it was a great day of bikes and cars, I hope the photos give you a sense of the place and the bikes on display, there’s enough of them!

P.

This August, I had the chance to visit Vancouver for a week, ostensibly to attend SIGGRAPH. My wife wanted to go to the art museum, I wanted to see bikes, so off  I went with my daughter Sophie and headed for the Trev Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition. Of course being a British bike fan I missed the British Exhibition, End of Empire, by a year. Not as frustrating as missing the Norton Owners Club Rally that took place in Austria. I drove past it on my honeymoon heading from Germany to Venice. By “drove past it” I mean missed it I didn’t know it was happening until I got home and saw the ad in  Classic Bike Magazine. arrgh.

Sophie and I zipped out to Trev Deeley,  a short drive from downtown Vancouver, located in a nondescript strip mall.  It is a contemporary Harley Dealership, full of halogen lights, branded merchandise, over-the-hill Barbie Doll receptionists, and a few bikes on the floor.
Luckily the museum is at the front door, it was mid afternoon and the dealership was quiet, the museum empty.  I was greeted by a friendly guy and asked for my suggested $5 donation.  It really isn’t a suggested donation, the $5 is suggested amount if you follow me.  I have no problem paying for the exhibit,  I just thought the wording was somewhat confusing.  At the entrance there is a Harley hack with a backdrop for photos, visitors are encouraged to hop on and take a photo. The couple behind me got offers of helmets and photos, somehow the guy with the toddler didn’t.

The exhibition space is nice, with a combination of natural light and professionally created displays. Although the current exhibition Made in America is mostly Harley and Indian, it does include bikes made in Toronto, Canada, such as Indian. The show says “more than 315 motorcycle manufacturers in the USA since 1895″.  The bikes are in varied enough in age and type to be interesting to a casual observer. I was more interested in the other older marques on display like Excelsior, Orient, CCM and Pierce.

I was enjoying the exhibit for about two minutes when Sophie started crying and holding up her index finger. Knowing that the bikes weren’t running I ruled out missing digits and hot exhausts, but it was a burnt finger. The halogen spot lights mounted in the stands are very hot. I spent the rest of the exhibit juggling an upset toddler, licking and blowing on her finger to cool it, trying to take photos all while trying to keep her from crying in the very echo-y hall. It wasn’t an ideal way to view a bike exhibit,  but I guess it was my penance for lack of parental vigilance….

The  bike was sold on ebay just last week with a selling price of USD $20,000,  the bidding was sitting at $18,000 until the last minute, a sum that was still short of reserve.

Here’s the ebay listing:

1971 Bultaco Metralla MK2 owned by Kenny Roberts. The story on this bike is Senior Bulto and the Barcelona Bultaco Club gave Kenny Roberts this bike as a gift at the 1994 Barcelona GP. This bike is new not restored. Kenny is trying to locate the picture of Senior Bulto giving him this bike. If he can find it the picture it will be included with the bike. Also included is a letter from Kenny stating the authenticity of this bike. The bike runs but the petcocks leak so they will need to be repaired. The frame and engine numbers match. Bike shows 76 km = 45 miles. Worldwide shipping is no problem. Check out my other auctions for more Kenny Roberts bikes and memorabilia or check us out on the web. Bike is sold as is no returns so ask questions before you bid.

NOS Puch 250 motor

Ebay listing in Alabama:

250cc Sears Allstate twingle puch motor new in original Sears shipping crate. Includes mufflers and tailpipes, new carburetor, new coil, everything needed to install.

Bidding started at $1,100 with a final selling price of a whopping $1,651.00  USD – with only 9 bids! I gotta say that is over triple what I paid for the whole bike… mind you mine is a bit rusty, but still. I wouldn’t have imagined these parts fetching such a high price.

There aren’t many twingles out there, so I was very interested in this ISO single that came up on ebay. It’s a restored 1954 Iso. Iso is an Italian refrigerator company (hence the name) founded by Renzo Rivolta, that turned to bikes and later cars. Iso was the originator of the Isetta, which was a flop in Italy so BMW acquired the rights and the rest, is history. 

Vive la Twingle!

Noton, BSA, Triumph- Boxer underwear

My very understanding wife (understanding of my motorcycle hobby) brought home some underwear for me yesterday, an event not usually worthy of blogging. One pair  has motorcycles on them. I casually glanced at them as usually the print is some generic cruiser, classic or Universal Japanese type silhouette found on traffic signs.  Ahh, but my wife is a smart lady – these made me take a second look – at first they seemed like  British bikes, then a closer look – hold the phone – that looks like a Norton Fastback – a FASTBACK – yes it actually is a Norton Fastback. Check out the distinctive primary case shape, the tailpiece, and the side-panel/oil-tank, and  judging by the exhaust it’s a ‘68-69. (It’s the top one for those that don’t know….)

I am pleased as punch – I can actually compete with the Harley drones that are decked out head to toe in official HD garb.

My apologies to those who thought this was about BMW spark-plugs.

We finally got off the highway at Cobourg. All was fine until Colborne, when gearing down for a 90° in the town center my clutch cable pulled out of the nipple. Now considering myself a smart fellow, I brought an extra cable, being even more clever it was one of two that I purchased off Ebay as NOS. What better I thought then fit an old bike with original parts!

I fitted the cable with my grossly inadequate tool kit. Malcolm had to borrow a dime from the corner store to improvise a screwdriver to get the lever off. His excuse for not bringing tools was “I figured you were prepared” and in his defense it wasn’t his bike he was riding.  I fitted the cable and off we went. The bike was NOT happy. I couldn’t get the clutch to fully disengage and it required an iron grip, it was actually easier to shift without the clutch then with it.

We arrived at the the campground and were greeted with cold beer and familiar faces. I spent lots of time fiddling with the clutch, adjusting the lower adjuster – when finally it dawned on me to use the spare cable the Malcolm’s bike had. Needless to say fitting the Barnett cable was a dream and the bike was happy.

Long ride home, passed through Trenton, saw the barracks where I spent 2 weeks as an Air cadet.  We didn’t get rained on despite the forks of lightening off in the distance. We pulled into Toronto at 11, almost 12 hours after we left, the streets steamy and wet from the days heat.

It all starts with the big air compressor I saved from a fate destined for the bottom of a dumpster. A friend of mine is the last man standing in the wet film developing business and we were retrieving some processing machines from a company that is getting out of the wet part of film (who isn’t digital theses days..!) His mandate was to take anything he needed. I salivated over the compressor and we went back for it. It is a great big old thing from the 80’s. But is works and has a massive CFM rating – perfect for painting and sandblasting!

I left the compressor in my trunk for a couple of days as it was a bit large for one person to mussel out -I was so proud I couldn’t resist showing it off to my colleagues at work – until I let the hatch close and watched the rear window shatter before my eyes. Luckily the tint film kept the window together for a couple of months – it even withstood two car washes, the oldschool ones with the beating brushes! One free compressor, one smashed window. I priced out rear windows and the best quote was $350. I called around the scrap yards and found a rear window or $100. When I arrived I saw a whole hatch sitting beside the trailer-office door. They gave me the whole hatch for the price of the window. It wasn’t too bad, about on par with my old hatch, rust in the same place. I put on the new hatch and took the old one to a metal scrap yard, when I flung the hatch on a pile I noticed a nice Yakima Space cadet top box. I asked the guy in the backhoe how much – he said I could have it for free “they paid to dump it here”. I figure he is happy because I just took his garbage away. He points out that he doesn’t have a key but I can just use a hasp and padlock.

Now in order to use a top box I need a roof rack. Craig’s List and ebay weren’t much help – until I Googled Mazda Protege 5 roof rack and it came up in used car listings. I emailed a local corner lot and asked if I could buy the rack. The first email said no, the second email sent 5 minutes later said yes, $75. When I arrive I discover that there is no key – not to worry, the owner tells the minions that it’s not a problem, just jam a screwdriver into it…

I tell the guy that if he brakes the locks getting it off I am not interested. Sanity prevails and we notice that the locks have a number engraved on them. A call to Mazda reveals that the rack is actually Thule, and $5 later I have a key from the local dealer. I return and get my rack, less $5.

Looking over the box I realize if they have a key for the rack, the dealer probably has a key for the box too. After checking 30 keys, the kid at the store tells me we have a winner.

So to recap, I have a compressor, roof racks, top box. I spent some time and effort, but diverted landfill and saved myself thousand dollars if I were to buy it all new. I am surprised at how ready everyone is to smash, and trash perfectly good stuff?  I can only conclude that we are all too rich, or lacking the skills to do even the most basic maintenance to keep all our “stuff” working.