PROJECT BLACKBURNES
Was Rick out riding all three of the bikes he promised to complete by Christmas while the rest of us were tucking into the mince pies? Of course not, but he’s got his excuses and has found a way to turn defeat into victory
Did Rick finish three bikes by Xmas? We present the truth...
Well alright, I failed in my mission to complete my three-bike build by Christmas. But does that make the mission a failure? Not in my book. From three difficult projects I previously didn’t have time to start, let alone finish, the ‘recreation’ Scarlet Runner is almost completed, the ‘restoration’ OEC is about 70% there, and the ‘reconstruction’ part of the Cotton has been done and I’m ready to begin assembly.
Because working on bikes is my living, I don’t have bench space for long-term personal projects – but although at 56 I’m still fit and healthy, I was aware that if I was going to build a run-and-jump start, no-clutch, single-speed race bike, I’d best not leave it another ten years.
Last year’s pandemic offered the perfect opportunity – everything cancelled, no callers bringing other jobs. Tackling the projects alongside each other meant that if there was a hold-up on one bike, I could continue with another. But, like chicks in a nest, one is going to elbow its way to the front for attention – and it was the Scarlet Runner that took the juiciest worms. Making the rear frame was a daunting task, but once I got my head around it, the rest seemed easy – it’s a pretty basic bike, after all. That said, the things I do in my workshop may come across as ‘all in a day’s work’, but I often start jobs unsure I can complete them. The truth is, we are all learners; the more new problems you vanquish, the more ideas and confidence you have to face the next.
It doesn’t always work. Last month I thought I’d solved my frame alignment problem. This month, there was a ‘second wave’. Stupidly, I’d been using a spare crankcase for convenience and while later Blackburne engines are all identically machined, it seems that in 1920 they were not. Fitting the rebuilt engine threw out the wheel alignment again!
Luckily, it was easier solved this time; the crankcases (slightly later replacements) were thicker around the mountings. With these carefully ground back, the engine fitted better. These early bikes were clearly ‘hand-made’ and I’ll leave any final tweaks until after the rear frame is brazed.
After 102 years, the tank still didn’t need repainting, so I needed to make the rest of the bike match. This is the fun bit; finding paint techniques and other tricks to make it look like the bike has just emerged after decades of slumber. You may call this fakery, but apart from the rear frame I’ve made, all the parts are from the era – just not from that bike. I spent hours sorting through my fastener boxes to find original nickel-plated fasteners with just the right level of wear and tear, and making cables using secondhand, woven outer with new inner wire. Going too far? Well, if
Ducati owners have to fit green fuel hose, why not? The devil is in the detail and if you’re fussy about your standards, it takes time whether the end result is shiny or dull.
This project was born out of lockdown, but it was the unexpected return of restrictions that impeded completion by deadline, postponing outsourced jobs needed to finish all three (at present indefinitely), but also cancelling my job for January, so there’s no deadline now anyway...
Success or failure, one thing remains. I could never have afforded one, but I’ve always hankered after a single-speed, Brooklands-type bike. There’s real purity in a motorcycle that is just a 500cc engine, two wheels and some bits connecting it all up. That and a 35-year quest to do something with the dug-from-the-ground old Blackburne I was given aged 21 gives me a real sense of achievement and excitement seeing it every morning when I switch on the lights in the workshop.
I just can’t wait to ride it.
‘I OFTEN START JOBS UNSURE THAT I CAN COMPLETE THEM... WE ARE ALL LEARNERS’