Monday 8 June 2015

A wet day at Kala raceway.


I have been looking forward to this for a long time. As usual more time has been spent in the workshop than I have expected. At the other hand maybe my wife likes oily and sweaty men?
The weather forecast on Friday was not that bad….




Well, the weather men are like FIFA….Not to be trusted.  So we had to wait until the worst rain had stopped and the pikes had left the track.






 I had some time to check out the bikes of my competitors……and it looks like there is a serious engine in this one….
So I decided to play safe and use the Tribsa to get some fast laps….





My bike pushers and handy men are relaxing and trying to spot suitable girls….




Don`t mess with men that uses a Dodge weapons carrier to start their bike….







Oh yea…..The BSA boys are ready to rumble……






At a time I thought that it was game over…..The exhaust pipe broke clean off in the weld, close to the cylinder head….Some steel wire made a good temporary fix.

And yes…..Those two shady looking blokes behind the bike are my body guards….






 We got the chance to ride a few practice laps….So it`s Goldie time….






“Attention! ….Will all turn their heads to the left”






Electrical problems stopped me just after half a lap….But the Goldie had a lot of power when it ran.  Let`s just say like the Terminator: I`ll be back.

Have you ever wondered how the view from the infield of a race track looks like?




















 The final…..Serious business…This can turn both ways, who will lady luck ride with today?













 I do believe that Lady Luck has a thing for bearded men….


Wednesday 3 June 2015

Testing the Beezer.





The Viking Run & Fun is this Saturday. So it is time for the big test. Will the beast build by yours truly go like a bat out of hell? 



Neighbors and innocent people that got into harm’s way were not impressed by the sound of a goldi with unmuffled megaphone...



What’s the verdict of the test run?  Do we know how a bat out of hell sounds like? It might sound like a goldi blowing the head gasket……



So the BSA has been recalled by the workshop. It`s a team of engineers trying to solve the problem just now. Luckily it is still under warranty….The problem might be that the person in the assembly line had been drinking stout that day….We might never now.

Now I know how Toyota felt when they recalled 6.39 million vehicles worldwide last year….






Hopefully the BSA will be ready Saturday……There is also a plan B…..The TriBSA…I just have to change the magneto first.


I got all the time in the world.




Wednesday 13 May 2015

Preparations…..


There gone be some racing on Kala next month…..So I better get this Beezer going….



1 1\2” GP carb with flat track filter…..I better get the jetting right….There’s not many places locally I can test a Goldie with a megaphone. The new neighbors thought they moved in to a quiet neighborhood….




A new cush drive nut from SRM. What an improvement, now it can be tightened properly with a torque wrench.



I have to burn the midnight oil to get ready in time…



Tuesday 28 April 2015

Time machine.



There is more than 25 years between these two pictures.  It is the same Guzzi, same man, same helmet, same jacket and the picture is taken at the same location.
Time sure takes its toll…..But the Guzzi Le Mans is worse for wear, it has been left outside for a few years, been hauling a sidecar and been used on salty roads during winter.
It needs a full strip down before I will relive my youth……




Maybe I need a shave?

Monday 16 March 2015

The Motosacoche in the barn.



As you saw at my previous post I organized the Norwegian vintage motorcycle club`s display at the two yearly motorcycle show near Oslo. Two years ago I did the same. We had a 30`s Motosacoche on display. That bike had special interest to a man and I started talking with him. It turned out that he had a much older Motosacoche. That was interesting, so we agreed that he would mail me some photos of the bike. The problem was that the bike where at the place he grew up….a few hours driving from where he lived.

After a while I got a mail that said that he would take some photos in the summer. Some months later I sent him a mail wondering about the bike, but I didn’t get a reply. So I forgot about the old Motosacoche.

Just before Christmas I was tiding in some papers and found a note I had written about the old bike. I phoned him up, and yes, he had the photos. There was a problem…..He had had a serious accident on his motorcycle. He had crashed with a moose and had spent a long time in hospital and recovery. That`s why he had not replied to my mail. The left arm was paralyzed so he was not able to scan photos or work on the computer. But he was happy to send photos in regular mail. Photos arrived and after a few phone calls we agreed to go and have a look at the bike……

On a cold and dark January day we set off to the meeting point, Elgstua in Elverum. Elgstua in English is “the Moose cabin”…..Thinking of the accident, maybe not the best place to meet?

After a while on a winding icy road we were there….


The bike had been resting in the barn since 1939…..76 years! 


Just like on “American pickers” happy sellers… and my brother Dag is playing Frank in this episode….And me? I guess I am playing Danielle….


After assembly and some oily rag treatment it was on display at the motorcycle show.


Started life in 1909.








Thank you Ueli for the scans and information.





We are missing the carburetor…..Do you happen to have one like this you don`t need. Send me a mail: stigtorb@hotmail.com


Thursday 12 March 2015

The Motorcycle show.


Last weekend was very busy. I organized the Norwegian vintage motorcycle club`s display at the two yearly motorcycle show near Oslo. Here`s some photos of the display.



It is 150 km from me to the show…..So I better not forget anything.





Can it be……Yes, it`s Steve McQueen`s long lost second cousin….



It seems that café racers are the thing to have this year…


Tuesday 24 February 2015

A cold day in Chopenhagen.




My son had a week off school so we went to Copenhagen on a family trip. There are never a trip in our family that not include a motorcycle related thing…… so suddenly we found ourselves inside the Motorious shop.










A nice mixture of bike bits, oils, “things you can`t live without” and clothing…..












































Two of the exotic vehicles found in the neighborhood:



You are a long way from Graceland Memphis Tennessee, Mister……