Pap David's motorcycle made rideable
Feb. 17, 2008: Bantayan Island Philippines: the montage shows the work in progress
Olympus E-1, Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital: 350s f/2.8 at 14.0mm iso400
Finally, I've got Papa David's motorcycle in a safer ridable condition.
After the welders sealed the holes in the old pipe to make it ridable for the week, I had HONDA Bantayan select a new seat cover to replace the ratty torn one, and then it was off to JunJun the custom seat & upholstery maker (pictured) who crafted a new seat & foam - JunJun's a great friend and does excellent work; he's very meticulous and pays special attention to fit & finish.
After my mechanic Elly drained still more water from the carberator on Sunday (the weather's been nasty & raining here all week), I brought the bike up to my good friend Eumel Lopez who owns Froggy's/Kermit's Restaurant in Bantayan Town, and had him take a closer look as to where we were going with this restoration - I don't have unlimited funds to do this for Papa David, and Eumel's a motorcycle enthusiast and his own mechanic to boot, so I trust his judgment.
Eumel took me over to Moto Mania in Bantayan, where they did a tune up and tried to put a slow charge on the battery so we can have electric start & horn - but the battery was dead and so they're pulling it apart today to see if the plates need cleaning & be brought back to life, as I didn't have the P850 needed to install a new battery.
They also removed the rear wheel and serviced the rear brake, and removed the front fork assembly to address a front brake issue, and spent about 2 hours with the bike before it was done.
Lastly Eumel took me over to the custom parts store located next to Honda Bantayan, where we selected a new RIDE IT stainless steel pipe and finally got rid of the old rusted muffler and gaskets, etc.
They did great work, and you should have seen the expression on Papa David's face later that night when I drove his bike to his shack on the beach - he was stunned & his jaw dropped open with his huge smile when he saw it.
We now have the 2nd loudest bike on the Island for its size - the pipe is performing beautifully and when you have a really loud pipe, it's safer riding because the other vehicles on the road can really HEAR you coming - sort of an early warning sound that hopefully lets them know not to do sudden u-turns or any other monkey business, as riding here in Asia can become crazy/undisciplined with all the overtaking while driving - bikes, tricycles & cars here weave in & out of traffic on a whim, while people & school kids walk the roadside along with livestock, etc....making for a real roadway mess.
Thankfully traffic's not really a big issue here, excepting in town.
I'm going to take a few days off and rest up, get back to image editing, etc. as nearly all my time has been devoted to this bike project, and I've had time for little else.
Many Thanks for reading today,
PJAMES
Olympus E-1, Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital: 350s f/2.8 at 14.0mm iso400
Finally, I've got Papa David's motorcycle in a safer ridable condition.
After the welders sealed the holes in the old pipe to make it ridable for the week, I had HONDA Bantayan select a new seat cover to replace the ratty torn one, and then it was off to JunJun the custom seat & upholstery maker (pictured) who crafted a new seat & foam - JunJun's a great friend and does excellent work; he's very meticulous and pays special attention to fit & finish.
After my mechanic Elly drained still more water from the carberator on Sunday (the weather's been nasty & raining here all week), I brought the bike up to my good friend Eumel Lopez who owns Froggy's/Kermit's Restaurant in Bantayan Town, and had him take a closer look as to where we were going with this restoration - I don't have unlimited funds to do this for Papa David, and Eumel's a motorcycle enthusiast and his own mechanic to boot, so I trust his judgment.
Eumel took me over to Moto Mania in Bantayan, where they did a tune up and tried to put a slow charge on the battery so we can have electric start & horn - but the battery was dead and so they're pulling it apart today to see if the plates need cleaning & be brought back to life, as I didn't have the P850 needed to install a new battery.
They also removed the rear wheel and serviced the rear brake, and removed the front fork assembly to address a front brake issue, and spent about 2 hours with the bike before it was done.
Lastly Eumel took me over to the custom parts store located next to Honda Bantayan, where we selected a new RIDE IT stainless steel pipe and finally got rid of the old rusted muffler and gaskets, etc.
They did great work, and you should have seen the expression on Papa David's face later that night when I drove his bike to his shack on the beach - he was stunned & his jaw dropped open with his huge smile when he saw it.
We now have the 2nd loudest bike on the Island for its size - the pipe is performing beautifully and when you have a really loud pipe, it's safer riding because the other vehicles on the road can really HEAR you coming - sort of an early warning sound that hopefully lets them know not to do sudden u-turns or any other monkey business, as riding here in Asia can become crazy/undisciplined with all the overtaking while driving - bikes, tricycles & cars here weave in & out of traffic on a whim, while people & school kids walk the roadside along with livestock, etc....making for a real roadway mess.
Thankfully traffic's not really a big issue here, excepting in town.
I'm going to take a few days off and rest up, get back to image editing, etc. as nearly all my time has been devoted to this bike project, and I've had time for little else.
Many Thanks for reading today,
PJAMES
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