What can I say?
Thank you all very much, it's nice to have your work appreciated, it means a lot coming from people who know what they are looking at. It's not a Norton, or a Triton, or in standard trim out of a box from the factory. I know this is obvious to you, but if I had a quid for every time these comments have been thrown my way, it would pay for the petrol I put in it. Don't get me wrong, I still like folk to pass comment on it, but when someone understands the lonely nights and despair that makes a Special, it has more impact.
If I have'nt met you, I won't have had the chance to explain why this bike happened, so here is the abridged version.
A picture of a Manx Norton sparked my imagination. I wanted one, but was in no position to buy one ( I'm still not ). I had a fairly rough, standard 400 in the garage, that had been my main bike for a while, but had been relegated to the back of the garage by a XJ550 and a XJ750 that came my way. A mate had done a neat job on a Guzzi, and I had time but no cash, and a curiosity to 'have a go'. The picture of the Manx had 2 outstanding features for me - the tank and the seat. If I was to go down that route I had to start there.
The tank is made from a 400 tank from a breakers, and a glassfibre tank from an unknown race bike. The race tank was cut either side of the filler cap, the midle bit thrown away, and the sides 'glassed onto the 400 tank and then bodyfillered to make it look like a 5 gallon, but with just the ordinary tank capacity of the 400 hidden underneath. That just took me about a minute to type but 5 attempts to get right, spread over many months. The seat is a chicken wire and plywood job. Aftermarket mudguards, Triton front guard brackets, Megaphone silencer, Jota bars, Manx racing numberplate, Lucas tail light, polishing, bracketry, including the numberplate ones that pivot up to expose the headlight for evening rides, more polishing, new rims and spokes, professional paintjob more polishing, GS500 master cylinder, polished, of course, dummy oil tank behind the side panels, K&Ns, etc etc , dummy build-ups to see what worked and what didn't, replica fork shrouds, engine strip and rebuild, etc etc .
All this took, with time off to get re-inspired on several occasions, about 5 years. My only defence is this - I had NO IDEA how do do any of these things when I started the job - just a picture of a Manx and evenings free to tinker. Every single step of the way had two steps back, but I knew an old guy called Charlie Akrill, ( a mates dad), who had the patience of a saint and the ability to make and mend like no-one else I will ever meet, and I wanted HIM to be impressed by the end result, and it wasn't going to see light of day until I thought it was good enough for him to look at. He gave it the nod. That made it all worthwhile.
I would have died happy at that, but then I found out that some other folk liked it as well... It goes to show, you don't know if you don't try.
Thanks
Andy.
