The Bike Hole is Completeth!

The bike hole is done!  From an unfinished, uninsulated garage, I now have a bike hole that'll warm up to room temperature with a small space heater.  Not only is it warm, but it's also organized!

After removing the mouse nest from the toolbox and getting rid of three garbage bags of nonsense, the garage is now a workable space.  Thanks to a tsunami in Japan the upstairs is a workable storage space (instead of a week in Japan I spent days putting flooring into the attic).

Motorbike prints from Norfolk!

Between prints and some well done motorcycle 4x6 photos, I've managed to make a motorbike maker space without a single poster and some inspirational images for a long, cold Canadian winter.  With all the mess organized and stored in the attic there would be room for a couple of bikes in there comfortably.

The current list of things to do:

• take the fairings off the Ninja and refinish the frame
• find an old project bike that I can break down as a learning exercise
• find a good introduction to motorcycle mechanics' text

Winter Is Coming

My first season in the saddle is rapidly coming to an end.  I'm sad.  I've been OD'ing on magazines and media in the past couple of weeks but I'm also doing more concrete things to keep the dream alive over a cold, dark Canadian winter.

This weekend I'm finishing the garage (insulation & ply-board) which should make it more inhabitable for stage 2 of Tim's cunning winter motorbike plans.

With the garage organized (a tire rack for the car's off season tires, new workbench, shelving, etc), there should be a lot more room!  The Ninja will find a nice corner to spend the winter (while I strip the fairings off and refinish the frame).  In all that empty space I feel a strong urge to project bike!

One of my earliest motorbike urges was driving by an old Honda on the side of the road over and over again.  That bike was selling for $450.  If I can find an old bike that needs some TLC I'm going to get it home and give it a place in the garage.  I'll spend the winter stripping carbs and breaking it down to nuts and bolts.  The best way to understand is to lay hands on.  Having a rebuild project would be the perfect way to keep myself immersed in two wheel thinking.

Come spring I might be kick starting an old beasty that hasn't rolled on roads in years.  My recent infatuation with Cafe Racer culture might inform this process a bit.