Yellow and Black Attack

All the colors of the rainbow here including red, white and blue on the John Player. Even a Manx or two without paint except on the frame.

Norton motorcycles - Bing Images

The worst "purists" are the old farts that show up at BMW Rallys stateside and do shit like walk around with calipers and make sure the striping is the "correct" width. They sometimes even carry inspection mirrors with 5' extension handles, making certain all the bolts that nobody sees were made in Germany.

 

Boy you got that right! What about the John Player racing Nortons with no frame at all?

I know the guys your are talking about. My buddy Jerry used to say that the people that show up at rallies with pristine bike and who find fault with other people's bikes are, by and large, pricks. His theory was that they have super nice bikes as a way to get other people to talk with them. BMW rallys seem to draw a disproportionate share of these unfortunate souls.

 

The Player racers were highly massaged, then ya got the Wankel Nortons. Years ago one of the top guys in pro flatrack stuffed a Manx engine into a Goldstar frame. Half mile track.. The HD contingent about shit bricks but since the thumper was 500cc the AMA gave it thumbs up.

What is catching on (slowly) beginning at club level concours is that the bikes must run. Some club concours even require they be ridden. Pebble Beach and the big ones, I don't know. Some latitude for in work projects and real antiques where due to metal fatigue and just plain being old, the bikes can be static.

SOS at car shows.. Went to one yesterday. Nothing like trying to talk to some dude about 65 who is still wearing a flat top and sideburns at the same time about a fiberglass replica of a sawed off 28 T bucket complete with mini angora argyles and ya know damned well he can't get that beer gut under the steering wheel without wearing a corset.

The BMW gigs in Canada are more fun IMO than the one's stateside eh!

 

OK, here's mine... mostly stock, with a Leo Vince and a fan switch.

 

Got any more pics? I'd like to see that Leo Vince, and it also looks like the lip of your rim was polished. I've been contemplating doing that, and would like to see some close ups if possible.

 

It's a Ti pipe, I don't know much about it, it came with the bike a year ago.

The VFR wheels are chrome (again the previous owner), but I did polish the rim edges on a previous bike.
Take your time, and it does take awhile, but it turned out really well. It's not hard to do, and I expect it would be pretty hard to screw up. (Oh yeah, don't use a dremel to speed up the polishing process... it leaves marks.)
Those rims were black, on a black ZRX1100, so it looked great with the edges stripped and polished.

After you polish them, google Alcoa Heavy Duty Aluminum Polish and Sealant. I didn't seal mine, and they try to corrode a little if not sealed, requiring frequent polishing.

 

I got one too !



Just turned 16000 miles today on this trip ... what a machine !

 

Ok Mine was Yellow before your bikes were even though of :smiley_simmons:

 

Here's mine, but it's an old one 'cos it's now in bits!