Rip Van Winkle awakes? Or just yawns again... time will tell

I confess that I have not ridden a motorcycle since the mid '80s, but decided on Sunday to go wander about at the Idaho Vintage Motorcycle Club show in Caldwell. 

Way back in the 70s the club was formed by Richard Renstrom (member #1), myself (Member #2), and Gary South (member #3).  There were many good times, to be sure, but after divorce and leaving the area, and Gary moved away, my interest turned to other things. The Vincent got packed up when I moved and has remained in crates and boxes since 1985.

I will say I enjoyed the Caldwell show.  Especially fun was to show my blushing bride many examples of rides I used to own, still own, or gave up hoping to ever own (not to mention, wished I had never owned).  Most of the machines I have owned were well represented, from a Harley Hummer to three Suzuki Water Buffaloes, Triumph Tiger Cub to Vincent Rapide (a very nice example at that!). There were no Suzuki X6 Hustlers, presumably they all smoked themselves to death before 1970 or so...

So a promise was made to at a minimum drag out the old Matchbox for next year's show; my former daily ride that has been accumulating garage dust for 30 years. But more to the point, the long postponed re-assembly of the Vincent project has had some life breathed into it. Honestly, prudence indicates that the time has come to hang the for-sale sign on the Vincent, but certainly one that is assembled would be worth more than one in a set of boxes (although the latter is certainly easier to ship!).  Certainly nicer to look at!

Rogue's Gallery

Son in law Eric will be the #1 mechanic on this reconstruction project. The "Vincent in boxes" is cleverly hidden behind and above the '55 Matchless "Jampot single"



Actually, Eric did an excellent job of maximizing the storage and minimizing footprint, utillizing the overhead space. Like I said, in boxes...



Humm, removed front cylinder bolts but not rear ones? Can't remember why I did that... wonder what else we'll find?

Rogue's Gallery

Saturday was grandson Kameron's birthday. He seems a bit unsure about the bike helmet, but the Vincent rests secure from his natural desire to ride, at least for a few more years (and while it's in boxes!).



Shown here with sister Hailey and cousin Max.

Rogue's galery

Paul has an appreciation for old things and wants to help with the reconstruction effort.








Admittedly, there is nothing anglophile about his ride, but I give him credit for keeping an oldie on the road. This '71 914 has had an engine replacement (2.0L) and converted from the nasty old injection system to dual Webbers. Rocker panels replaced and other rusted parts fixed, this was one of the first outings for the green frog.

Working Stand

Before work starts, we'll build a workbench like that shown in this picture.




Since the Rapide is considerably larger and heavier than a Triumph Tiger Cub, I think the wheels we put under the stand will be a bit more substantial. Otherwise, unlike the Cub where you put an engine in a frame, the Vincent is for all intents and purposes "frameless" - we'll start with assembling the engine, adding the oil tank, and then the front and rear suspension members. Instead of holding it in place with tie-downs like this picture, The Vincent has a rear prop-stand and a front prop-stand (which is really both front side-stands opened and rotated downward; very clever! Such is how I did it in the early 80s when I restored the bike the first time.



After a day to think about it, what size to make this thing? well, given a wheelbase of 56", I'd say 7' long by 30" wide will give plenty of good working real-estate! Maybe 18" high... My last stand didn't have wheels, the tie-downs make more sense now.

Idaho Sagebrush Harvester

The picture was taken in 1982 after crashing my 1953 Vincent Rapide. It earned the nickname "Idaho Sagebrush Harvester" and I earned the IVMC's "Comatose Guidance Award".

This bike has been apart since 1985, so watch for pictures as it comes back together.



Im not so sure which pains me more, to see what I looked like 26 years ago or what I did to the machine... ;)