WTF! Two wheels, pedals and a sun lounger!

There is a time when art and engineering combine into making a beautiful machine and then there are times when humour and engineering combine to make something that just forces the artists to laugh!

Firstly before we get into this story there are a couple of people I need to mention. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Biker Rock Radio DJ and fabulous Welder, Mr G. It was Mr G who has spent several hours of his time making this ludicrous machine for me. I also owe a debt of thanks to our friend Wayne who made the frame for Death Trap Mark One, a frame that sadly caused me to crash on the first ride!

So ladies and gentlemen, I now present Death Trap Mark Three!

It lives, my creation lives!

It even goes up hill!

The science behind this is simple; a recumbent bicycle is a very efficient way of propelling a human being around under their own power. They are more aerodynamic than a conventional bike and when covered with a full fairing can speed along at some very impressive speeds for a pedal powered machine. However you wont see that many of them in the mainstream for two reasons. Firstly learning how to ride one of these takes some doing and secondly, the officials who run cycle racing banned them from competitive use!

This machine is my attempt to get back into cycling because following some pretty heavy duty medical treatment, I am no longer able to ride my precious mountain bike as much as I would like. Because of this lack of cycling I have been stuck on motorbikes (which I love) or being a pedestrian (which I really do not enjoy).

We still have a couple of small issue to sort out, the front wheel has a speed wobble that makes the whole bike feel terribly unstable on sweeping corners and my cheap trainers slip off the pedals really badly. However, riding it is a riot and had me in fits of giggles. 

Going down hill!

Gareth the builder having a go.

Getting started is the hardest bit.

Death Trap Mark Three is on the road folks, so look out for us!

A list of thanks to the people who have helped by providing old bikes that I can chop up for spares.

Gareth the Welder.

Wayne the Motorcycle engineer.

Alex for giving me his push bike.

Pete at Bicycle Chain.

Steve and Sue at Bridge Motor Works.

Various People who have donated bikes.

Carol for ferrying me about to pick up bits and for bringing the bike home on top of her car.

"This is easy!" Two seconds before she fell off.

If anyone would like any welding work doing, Gareth is available and can weld almost anything. Do get in touch and I can pass his details on.

Forking Hey!

Have you ever started a job and then wished that you had not? We have all done it, tidied out the dusty cupboard and found why it is so dusty and in need of tidying! Well think about your bike suspension forks, when was the last time you thought about their insides?

Having owned the gorgeous and glamorous Sylvie since 2008, I thought that it is about time we changed her fork oil and greased up the head bearings. A simple job you would think, not more than two hours if you go slowly. Oh I wish it was so easy...

First things to find were the seized in Allen bolts that hold the front mudguard, with the rear of the threaded aluminium attachment point open to the air, the dry fitted steel bolt did what comes naturally and bonded in place,never to let go again. So armed with numerous drill bits from tiny to slightly less tiny, I attacked the bolt. Only to screw it up and snap off the head before I could drill it out properly. Not a happy teddy!

With the forks out it was time to change the oil and what came out was vile grey sludge, pretending to be oil. Cleaned out and refilled with lovely fresh oil, the forks felt spritely and alive. Then it came to the head bearing and we discovered much to my annoyance that the aluminum lock nuts had been cross threaded and did not want to budge. It took an age to get them off and gave me skinned knuckles, a case of Tourettes and an evil scowl. Once open, the head races were almost dry, so I cleaned them up, checked for damage and was hapy to find that all was well.

Interestingly, my lovely Giant XtC Mountain Bike has a better set of head bearings than this much heavier motorcycle. The Giant has a Woodman Components triple bearing headset, needle rollers in the very bottom race and with two further sets of ball races above. The Suzuki has two simple ball races, I have not seen a set up this crude since working on cheap Raleigh push bikes! Oh by the way, the Giant is still for sale and we are open to offers!

For Sale, the Bike not the Bird!

So with the ball races greased and back together, it was time to refit the dreaded Aluminium locking nuts. Which went on smoothly and easily, proving that if you don't cross thread these things they can be fitted with the correct tool.

With everything back in place it was time to fit the forks which slid home with some encouragement and then the wheel. Sadly, it had got dark by this time and I had discovered that the Magnetic rotor that works the speedo was broken, leaving that repair for another day.

Luckily for me, my Darling Carol was about to video the process for you lucky people.

Please excuse the swearing, cursing and general debauchery of working in the garage!

It is service time again...

It has been a while since we posted, but this sadly is because not much has happened. I am sad to report that Noreen the ZRX is currently languishing in the garage in need of some work, along with Agnes the XJ. Yoshi the DT50 has now gone to Alex, but as is the way with these things, it broke down the day before his CBT. Alex took his CBT on a moped and passed, as we knew he would, but the DT50 is resolutely refusing to run properly.

Then we get to Sylvie, my trusty SV650S, she has had a another hard winter, but you would not know it by looking at her. Last autumn I gave her a good coat of a corrosion preventative spray called ACF50 and this stuff is amazing. I swear that there is less corrosion on her now than there was at the end of last summer! At the start of the spring, I gave Sylvie her first wash of the year and cleaned off a winters worth of commuting filth. Under the grime in shiny glory was my precious Sylvie.

But all was not well, Sylvie's clutch was slightly out of adjustment. So I made a little video.

Well, I say that I made a video, this is of course complete lies, all I did was record some footage on my little camera before the battery ran out! Then I handed the footage over to Carol and let her perform her black magic on the Mac!

While she was doing this, she also decided that it was about time that we released our work on our side project.

PLACES I HAVE BEEN MISERABLE!

Yes, it is our aim to find really stunningly beautiful places and thoroughly un-enjoy them!
Check out the footage...

So this is what we have been up to, don't worry, we have not forgotten you all.

Until next time.
Byeeeeeee
XXX