BARN FIND....

...those two words stir up a special emotion...those dreams or old fables of Vincent Black Lightening's find in a back shed in the highlands of Scotland (true story)..or scouring through the ads on ebay under Barn finds and you come across all sorts of "pain in the ass" projects...

18,10 tonight and I'm jumping on a train to head 40 minutes north to see a Barn Find..well, not really sure that's what you can call it...It's in a barn, but I've known about it's existence for a couple of years, when I was informed that the owner was selling a Swedish championship winning machine. Apparently a two stroke and ...that's about it..
..I'm guessing it's a Yamaha RD variant , but have no idea...could well be an RD350LC as well, as they raced them in the LC series..
Obviously, what you really want to find is a TZ 500/750 ....

Here is a BARN FIND TZ750....found in the USA...jealous? yes, very!

I'll be posting pictures and more info on the find tonight...

bag a bolts...

Some people which call me insane for buying a bag a bolts for 25 quid..but I'm been in that many situations to know that the best thing you can have when rebuilding a bike from the ground up, is a bag a bolts from the same model bike. The japanese have their fun with thread sizes and this will make life easier.. I can also see a few of those brackets that will be required. The exhaust manifolds won't come in handy, but saying that, you never really know..

So, next up , a great deal on a ZXRR front seat pad. Been looking around at prices and they range from  39-85 euros for a J version (presume it's the same), so was surprised when I saw one for only 13 euros.

Pikes Peak and the Peugeot 208 T16.....

Amazing piece of kit and obviously the 9 times world champion was having a good time going up the hill...

Sleipner still alive...

So there I was looking around the net having watched some BOTT racing from Japan from '96 and I came across two pictures of my old racing bike.
I sold the frame to the USA and the XR Sputhe to Germany. I don't regret this even though it was a large part of my life in the design and getting it built by Spondon Engineering in England.

This frame was the first ever built for the racing engine. It was XR style specific, so fitting an EVO engine isn't the way to go. We had frame kits for EVO engines made as well as the Sputhe XR was a rare beast.

Funny when you see your old road racer on the other side of the planet..

Wheels have been painted gold and for some reason the 320 ISR discs have been replaced by wave efforts. The 6 pot ISR's are still fitted as we were sponsored by ISR so got them made custom for us, the front wheel is a marvic made for an RC30, the white power forks are the same and most amusing is the oil catch can, which we made from an alloy spun water holder bottle.

All projects deserve a scribble black book

Tinkering...

As you'll all know, if you've read this blog, I've been tinkering with everything from Laverda Formula Mirages to building/designing my own Sputhe/spondon road racer after a couple of years working on the tractors we call Harleys...

So when this turned up, I had to copy and show. Knucklehead on the salts, must have a been a hoot to throw this down a dried lake!

Basketball? Bikes a cracker mind...

Okay, no idea which marketing dept. came up with the concept of throwing green paint over the arse and back of a model holding a basketball...if you can, answers on a post card sent to the usual address...
(quite bizarre the paint missed her hair..)

Anyway, awesome picture of a Screamer...( both perhaps?)

ZXRR project parts pickup

This is actually a very handy part which, together with the K shock I managed to pick up, the rocker and linkages and top bolt, finalizes the rear suspension set up . Only thing missing is obviously a swinging arm.

Great picture

Z1

When I was younger and driving around on my Honda 400/4, the bike that I always wanted was a Z1..A Z650 would have done it as well..
..anyway, as I was looking around the web I came across this beautiful example of a Z1, timeless classic !

The Owl .....

With the purchase of a new battery, it was finally time to go and see if I could get the Ow01 to turn over. This was always going to be an interesting experiment as I had rebuilt the engine without really understanding if everything was as it should be..so I thought, all in and fire on the starter hoping the ignition timing was gonna be sorted..

As the bike came without a street wiring harness...and as I was fortunate enough to pick one up for sweety money, it was always going to be a "fingers crossed" exercise..And no surprise...it didn't turn over..As you can by the film, I checked the starter relay as it says in the fzr1000 manual and she turned over! First time and sounding manic!

After looking through the entire harness and some serious head scratching..it finally came down to the obvious..open circuit...no side stand switch attached..so I coupled it up and boom! off the switch...
Now it's just to fill her up with petrol and water and ....

O K parts

Not often you see these up on the fleabay..
So, once I'd looked around at what else that was on offer and the costs, I decided to ensure I'd have a K set up on the project.
Having changed the rocker and linkage bars on BTA (the bike that was stolen), I still have the original K parts. So basically, now the check list is looking like:-

frame,rocker/linkages,shock holder,rear shock,Engine (on reserve),alloy tank, rear seat unit,subframe ,Race rear-sets,Full race Muzzy Exhaust.

So, getting there...tomorrow and it's a chat with the insurance company on how we can sort out the theft of BTA.

Parts finder...

...moving forwards..
One of those parts that people don't think about until you need one..without it you'll find it difficult to fit a shock absorber onto the frame without having extra hassle..

Check!

If your ever bored...

Simply mind numbing stats and engineering whenever NASA comes into the picture...

I must have some diagnose as I can watch Shuttle launches again and again...then start googling for some of the facts about the sound suppression water system..which apparently drops 900,000 gallons per minute or something daft..onto the launch pad to assist the acoustic waves produced by the launch...or the main engines helium purge..
...7 million pounds of thrust..
I mean, come on, if that isn't all frikken awesome what is!!!!
the more you research, the more the numbers get beyond outstanding!



NASA=RESPECT

"Discovery Houston, you are Go at Throttle Up!" 

meanwhile , back at the Ranch..

The work is finally coming to an end with the OW01.

The full race radiatorwas basically taken off and the original zxr set-up remounted as I wasn't getting anywhere fast with the YEC works radiator. I will be putting in more effort whilst it's off the bike.

A new battery was bought yesterday so it's finally time to see/hear what the Pete Beale breathed on OW engine does...if anything..

keeping in mind it's had a full rebuild without a manual, a full rewiring with a street wiring harness etc..It will be interesting indeed if she fires up at all...fingers crossed..

Found these pics meanwhile that are the paintjob I'd like to go with :)

The boring parts...but without them, epic fail!

So if you've been unlucky enough to have to have dropped a zxr engine as somebody bent your frame, you'll know how important the following parts are:-

Frame on the way doesn't have them, Engine on the way doesn't have them...
...bit like Willy Wonkas chocolate factory without the chocolate , if you have an engine, frame and...not the mounting bolts...
Thankfully, these were sourced this evening..

ZxRR jigsaw puzzle gets one more part...the central part!

The Zxrr rebuild project.

The one key ingredients to a Zxrr, compared to a J model, isn't simply an alloy tank and single seat hump.. If you've owned one you'll know what I'm talking about..It's the K engine, or as the Japs put it, "full power" engine..

So if there was going to be any big talk about a rebuild an engine with that infamous gearbox would have to be sourced..
I found 1..deep in the middle of Germany...no guarantee...but an RR and with a delivery cost that would frighten the milkman..and of course no FCR's...Regardless I knew that if I was to build a machine it would have to have the gearbox and lumpy cams of the K (same as the L I'm sure..) but at the same time if I wanted to race the bike and have it eligible for classic Superbikes, I'd rather do it with the correct model.

So, just as I was considering the costs of the German model, I came across a picture from a bike shop in Sweden that got me rather excited...

Of course, this could have been a J model with a seat hump off a K...the paint job seriously didn't help...it was advertised as a ZXR , broken in parts..keen eyes will notice the rear shock reservoir at the rear...
A quick call up north and right enough, it was being broken and there was nothing left except for an engine, missing the generator, starter motor and of course FCR's..

Deposit down and a pick up date in the future..

Deal!!

Project ZXRR is now moving forwards with the meat on the bone of the soup...

Zxr750R stolen for the second time.....

Couldn't believe it would happen a second time...

After the first time I received the bike back in a body-bag and it took a long time, and a lot of effort, to try and replace all the parts that were smashed by the first thief...

So after months of looking for Unicorn crap, in the shape of zxrr plastic and alloy tanks, clocks and all the rest, and having set up 6 pots with titanium bolts...

...the fucking bike was stolen from an underground garage which had to be vandalised to get her out..

ironically...I had just bought 4 litres of oil, a new set of clutch plates and a gasket for the change...still sitting in the house..None of this time comes under insurance policies and I'm just awaiting the slap in the mouth figure from my insurance company whom I hope will have a heart slightly warmer than the south pole...

It's been three weeks now and I'm still gutted about it..so, I looked at the scrappy parts left over from the first theft and decided I'd start on rebuilding another bike...

Currently the check list had a few dainty parts to be getting on with:-
Frame, racing rear-sets, Muzzy works exhaust, alloy tank, rear seat unit (both scrappy), front calipers..and..thats it.

So, the key parts to ensure it's an RR again are the hard to source parts:
zxrr engine for the close ratio box
Fcr carbs...a must have
Zxrr Front forks
Zxrr rear subframe

I went out on the net and decided I simply had to find a subframe as I have a frame already.
Looking around I realised this wasn't going to be an easy task. Initially I managed to buy an M rear subframe which I thought would be the same...fortunately the German salesman cancelled the ebay transaction and I could breathe again.
So off I went into the small wee hours onto the cyber bay looking for anything to do with zxr..and there it was, in a shop in California..a subframe advertised simply as "subframe-ZXR" and nothing else..I saw directly that this was indeed a K model subframe as it had the front seat pad lifter fitted..
Initially the classic shipping calculator had been eating shrooms all day and listed a shipping cost of 175 dollars, which was more than the cost of the subframe.. A few mails later and I came to an agreement on shipping and costs, and so Project ZXRR is now officially on the move, with a subframe currently on the way over from sunny California.

A few hours later in the cyber and I'd sourced more of the key ingredients..more on that later though..

Led Zepp -Celebration day

Postman dropped off my Amazon.co.uk purchase of the DVD/CD reunion gig by Zepplin back in 2007 at the O2.
So the first thing you have to realise is that you are going to be watching a band with an average age of 60..before you start setting judgements..You can't compare it to the '73 16mm classic or you may be disappointed. However, if you take it for what it is, you'll be as fucking amazed as I was at just how hard these guys can still rock!!
Looking around the web and you read on forums that Page was looking old and tired and that Plants voice wasn't up to it...like I said...these guys are on the otherside of 55...and at the same time, with people passing comments like that, I almost understand why the band had second thoughts about ever getting back together...as they would always be compared to their heydays..
hardcore Zepplin fans will get it and should have a copy as it's like the Gods are leaving the rest one last statement after all these years...and they do it with class.

With regards Tone, I had a look around for more info about what JP was using. Everybody is writing their opinions about what guitars he "should" have used and so on and so forth..load a bollox...but anyway, he did get given a Marshall setup by JM:

.....which apparently he never used as it was too late to set up into the rig. This was based on the hand wired Jimi Hendrix signature rig.
Beside his freebie, he ran his old Petersburg 100's from Russia, Orange 30W amp and a couple of Engl 4x12s.
For more info on the Rig;
http://www.midasconsoles.com/pressreleases/2007/12.07/led-zeppelin.html
and more interesting:
http://www.fohonline.com/home/24-foh-interview/1286-big-mick-hughes-gives-zeppelin-the-full-roar-treatment.html

Some say that there is ALWAYS an AC30 around the man...no mention though...and that the Orange was the main amp...tehn again, some are pissing and moaning about the muddy tone..to assist the tone is of course the usual Pete Cornish pedal board:-

At the end of the day, it's all from the fingers....

I'm happy to have had the opportunity to watch this gig which was sold out in milliseconds...damn shame they never did a world tour to follow up, so this is as good as it gets.

I find it quite touching that Jason Bohnam wrote that after the last song he went to the dressing room and burst into tears as , not only had his dream of playing with his dads mates come true, but also the fact that this would probably be the last time it would ever happen..
-and that is sad

Right then...

Now that the Greco got the Burstbucker out of the tail of the G&L, it's time to start looking at stage 2 of keeping this fantastic sounding /feeling/ playing guitar wreck alive.
As previously mentioned, somebody got carried away with an electric drill and ripped out loads under the home made pickguard. The body is beyond salvaging and it was a close call that I picked up a replacement..If one comes along ..who knows..however, anybody familiar with the original F-100 will know that they looked very different across the board.
With it sounding so good with a humbucker in the tail, I'm thinking of keeping the same set-up but adding a couple of blade pickups in the middle and neck position. With the amount of routing under the guard, the next plan is to wire up a preamp and some other switches/pots to see if I can get a similar set up to frank Zappas much neater yellow strat. This really is a wonderful player and the G&L bridge is brilliant. I'd better start looking at wiring schematics...

Greco EG600J

Been waiting a while for this to arrive. Basically been interested in a '54 style paul with or without humbuckers for a while, but the Gibson custom shop prices are high and these are quite hard to find.
So I did some research on the Greko's and went fishing. Found one in Germany on fleabay.

I had a look around the web and to my surprise found the same guitar in a forum which had a question from a guy in sweden asking if people felt it was priced right. The serial matched as did the general condition.

I asked the fella in Germany if he could wait a few weeks for the money and when he agreed, I offered a price and the rest is history.

Whilst waiting for the guitar I had a look around the www to see if I could find more pics and reviews etc...there wasn't much out there that I could find..probably more a case that I wasn't looking in the correct forums!
I did read that some were hollow back then...for some reason that bothered me...I didn't want a balsam wood Greko that was hollow...
I'd asked the seller on the weight..which sounded very light to me...more worry...

Once it arrived and I picked it up, all the worried disappeared..great weight and more than I had been informed. Not too heavy, but heavy enough to punch a sustain!

I'd already decided that the Burstbucker #3 and #2 that I had removed from 2002 r9 would be the pickups of choice which, ironically, was also the Gibson Custom shops choice for their jeff beck signature. I gave the guitar a dry run with the pickups that came with her and was impressed by the neck pickup.The Dimarzio SD didn't impress which actually surprises me. I've never owned one but my expectations were higher. That will end up in another project..so time will tell...

Out came the soldering iron and out came one set of buckers and in with another. Obviously nothing is ever that simple...I needed to source a set of height screws that would match the non metric burstbuckers...the heritage EMG's are now requiring a set which are on order...whilst the G&L F100 is also without the Burstbucker #3 which I had in it's tail...I'd also removed the Historic lightweight wraparound tail from the '61 Melody Maker to see if it would fit...but it wouldn't.I had already sourced a MIJ 70's item from Texas that had arrived yesterday at the same time as the guitar.So basically, 3 guitars lay around the workshop (see kitchen) whilst I got on with switching the 3-way  switch tip. There are a few things that need sorted if one joins the "anal" gang of correctness..the rear bucker ring is a different shade of cream from the neck, probably original Dimarzio.All part of the character and charm!

The burstbuckers are aged..not sure how or when that happened as as far as I know the Historic series didn't have that as an option..they fit right in though with the appearence of this '78 model.

Once everything was soldered and tested , a new set of strings was fitted and off I went to do some testing.

Road tests is where it's at with guitars imo.. you can fit all the best/ worst parts, but if you don't like the tone its not happy clappy! With the Greco I had read something about the fact that the neck was different . I have to say, it's not the same at all to what I'm used to. It's like a very wide, shallow 12 radius set-up. I can imagine that many a person could easily dislike this neck shape. I like all neck shapes so it's just a case of turn key!

Due to the operation going into the late hours, the first time I could really get a listen was on my vintage Roland cube (beige). Sound was really clear, which , considering the height between strings and pickups, surprised me a tad. An awesome bass tone from the neck and the old school sound from the treble(bridge) pickup...the whole package gives a great tone...think its the mix of the pickups to wraparound (steel alloy).. it's almost "hollowish"..ghostly...clear..
This morning I plugged it into the Marshall and suddenly that Burstbucker #3 showed once again why it's used in the custom shop guitars! sounds awesome and the guitar took on a new life! can't wait to play it more!

So, first japanese guitar in the collection and I feel happy that it's a full bodied 78 with the bits, so to speak. Even vintage cloth wire. I was considering changing the pots and caps, but for now they are doing the job well enough, so that can wait..this guitar wants to be played!