G e o r d i e B i k e r

2010/09/10

Triumph Trophy 250cc TR25W 1971

This small single cylinder Triumph I picked up when first arriving in the 'States suited me well, good for messing around in the city getting comfortable with american roads. Its diminutive nature was ideal for getting my motorcycle license too.

Though for my 6'-5" frame was a tad cramped!

2010/09/08

BSA Rocket Gold Star fact card

Before Wikipedia there was Fact Cards; collect 'em all! On the reverse was the bikes specifications.

Good subheading: "High Performance"

BSA Rocket Gold Star Adverts

Here are a couple of period ads for the RGS... the v-neck sweater looks the part! Destination Fun indeed!

2010/09/05

Portraits of Motorcycles

As motorcycles come and go I took it upon myself to paint them as my virtual garage gallery; a couple of them are my brothers in law's rides, painted as gifts.

BSA Rocket Gold Star 1963

Triumph Trophy TR25W 1971

Kawasaki ZX600 1996

Kawasaki ZX900A Ninja 1985

Kawasaki KZ400 1977

Max Weber's Harley Davidson Road King

Dan Nelson's Norton Commando

BSA Rocket Gold Star 1963 restoration

Here's another project from the past; the rebuild of a super classic BSA RGS; the final swan song of the pre-unit 650cc engine in the A10. The project was picked up with a Home Depot rented truck on a snowy January from a snow-bound tin shed at a trailer park in West Chicago in 2001. A couple of carboard boxes held parts and another engine. An oily jigsaw indeed!

It took three years to build, dismantle, restore parts, purchase new items and have the final bike up and running. Again, the engine was rebuilt by Ed Zender. I rebuilt the chassis in a dark basement of an apartment we had on Halsted Street. With this project I leanred to wheel and deal on Ebay to amass many parts.

I chose a cafe racer look with rear sets and clip on handlebars; it ran like a champ and had that wonderful twin rort. However no easy place to store and difficult insurance forced it to be sold to another owner.