What a concept - A Girl Bringing Back Her 1966 Super Hawk

G-Man · Post by **G-Man** » Mon Jun 17, 2013 10:37 am

Sara

Welcome back! I have missed your narrative. I'm having to build myself another workshop so that I can generate sufficient room to work on my projects.

Enjoy the motorcycle 'therapy'. The guys who do my zinc plating leave everything hanging on the wires so I spent a few hours at the weekend "un-knitting" a pile of re-plated spokes and re-matching them all to their respective projects. Nice to have everything shiny, though.

G

sarals · Post by **sarals** » Mon Jun 17, 2013 5:29 pm

Hi, G!

Yes, it's good to be back. Bicycle racing, and the especially the training for it, really takes a lot of time. And then, there's work! Anyway, the Old Girl has been beckoning, and I finally have the time to get going on her again. Heavens, this is going to be a "rest of my life" project if I don't moving!

I'm just cleaning, not replating. Sometimes I think I should do a full blown restoration, but then I look at the less than perfect but still nice bits that make up the Old Girl and I go back to the more realistic "fix, clean, and then ride" approach. There is something about patina - quoting Wayne Carini again - "It's only original once".

G-Man · Post by **G-Man** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 8:07 am

Sara

My 1966 Matchless 350 is like that. Untouched from new when my Uncle bought it. She became mine in 1980 and just runs and runs. I have a knee problem now so quite a chore to start. I couldn't part with her.

Matchless G3 1966 at Derby Industrial Museum by graham.curtis, on Flickr

And guess who, around 1968......

Me on Uncle Ted's 350 Matchless G3 by graham.curtis, on Flickr

G

malcolmgb · Post by **malcolmgb** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 11:35 am

That's a great story about the Matchless Graham, are you a VMCC member?

G-Man · Post by **G-Man** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 4:15 pm

Malcolm

Yes - an "armchair" VMCC member at the moment. The Matchless appeared in the Classic Motorcycle in 1994, I think and I did one of the Burton Parades around the same time.

Not enough time for playing with bikes at the moment.

G

malcolmgb · Post by **malcolmgb** » Wed Jun 19, 2013 11:12 am

Okay Graham you may know Mick Leach then, he is an AJS fan, used to go Derby Section but now a Burton Section regular. I have done Burton Parade last 3 years, won 2 rosettes for 'Highly Commended' 1 with 400 & 1 with 175, you are welcome to come over to meets anytime.

Sara sorry for 'highjacking' your thread.

sarals · Post by **sarals** » Wed Jun 19, 2013 4:51 pm

Malcolm, that's perfectly okay! Conversations about old friends, in this case bikes, are something I welcome!

Graham, wow. That is quite a story. And of course, the pictures tell a few thousand words. What a gorgeous machine.

For me, there were two bikes "that got away". I always wanted a CB400F and a CBX. "Wanted", I've never owned either, and probably never will.