Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge 7 months on,

25th Sept 2006. That date will be etched on my mind forever. For the newbies and those who don't remember I'll recap. Like now I was running around doing stuff for my local TOMCC rally (the rally has moved it's time due to circumstances...) and had been to get the photocopying done, pick the trophies up, and get some coffee beans (not for the rally - just for the caffine in case I needed to work all night...) I was on the way home, pootling down the bus lane and a car didn't look for anythnig smaller than a bus....

I had no time to stop and no where to go. She was worth £4000 and needed £3800 of work.


And the forks are worse than they look.

I couldn't see her go. I somehow managed with the insurance payout and savings/parents scraped the money together to buy her back as salvage and get a brand new one. But that wiped me out and so the plan was to buy bits as and when I could afford. I was aready committed to going to Australia and nothing was gonna change that. That was a bright spot I was looking forward to through the dark days. When I got back my injury payout cheque had a rrived and it was twice what I was expecting... so the funds were now there.
I'd got the forks from Gary on here and I sent them off to be checked over and rebuilt. But they were SM ones nd hoped that one day they could have the extra disk put on. I located a Thunderbird Sport wheel and a man who'd put an 18" rim on. So the extra disk and the caliper and bits were ordered. Now it was just time. The bike was/is at my parents 150 miles away. It needed me to have 2 days off work at a time to get up there and have enough energy to do the work.
The forks... well we needed the plastic ring that seals the shouding around the fork. We ended up cutting the old shroud to get to it. I knew one had a big hole in the inner bit...but the other one had serious crease in it. It's them that saved the frame. I could have probably reused the lower bits (the outer castings) but I'd have had to replace the rest, so replacement was the easiest. And cheapest.

Anyway some pics.


New-ish refurbed forks on.



Shiny new wheel... I did a deal with the man who rebuilt it for me. I had taken the hub to him and some pics of the rim. I sat and spent 2 HOURS taking the spokes out... It was a brand new Akron Alloy rim worth US$300. And no good to me. He took the rim and knocked £50 off his price. And was less hassle than putting it on ebay!



Back, after she'd passed the MOT.


My 2 Americas....greedy or what!!!

One comment from the MOT....the exhausts are a little loud.... but he let it pass. I wouldn't mind but they are the same ones that she had on last year and no comment was made....

And one niggle....I've sorted out the insurance for her...but it doesn't start untill my new policy starts - and that's not till the 4th July....so I can't really ride her till then. But as I'm not at my parents till after then it doesn't really matter I guess.

A happy ending to a sad story.

Couple of thanks....to Gary for the forks, to Eddy for the hassle with the chrome res cover....and to Andy (ARD) for the fender... and shirts. I hope you see it's all worth the hassle to get bits (back) to the UK.

Congrats on the return of your bike. Hard work really does pay off.

One question. Which one sits?

Andrew

Glad to hear everything has worked out ok. I got taken out by a car in January this year, 'sorry did not see you'. When it went to the dealers I thought I was not going to see her again, I was gutted, hate to see grown man cry, espically when it was me. Any way Insurance paid the £2500 to get her back on the road and I only had to wait two months (missed most of the bad weather). But it was a great feeling to get her back. Congrats again on getting yours back, it's a great feeling being back on the road.
Ride safe, there are a lot of blind car drivers out there

It looks beautiful. And, now, it must be ridden

4th of July eh? A little irony there I suppose Glad you are back on the road! Looks nice!

Gina that looks sweet. I really like that front wheel. I think that is what Matt is trying to get happening with his bike.

Way to go, Gina- I love your commitment to your rides.

Both bikes look great! As you know us Yanks celebrate Independence Day on July 4th. Looks like you can do the same. After all a bike represents independence and that one will be set free on July 4th


Soren

Gina, sounds and looks great, and hey, it seems like a fair reward (now having TWO Americas!) for a pain in the arse accident and all that went with it!!! Good on ya!

Congrats on your rebuild. You might want to put a battery tender on the one at your parent's place.

well done Gina, nice to see your hard work paid off..

Everything seems to have worked out for the best there, Gina. Good for you!

(I love a story with a happy ending, ya know)

And that twin disc setup, using the Thunderbird Sport front hub is something I've always wanted to do to my BA, also.

VERY NICE!!!

Great ending, Gina. Best of luck with the pair of them.

So I have to ask, now that you have both bikes available for a side-by-side comparo, how much better does the twin front disc set up perform? I'm curious both about stopping distance and brake lever "feel."

Good question FJ!
Gina your bikes look great!
Glad things worked out in the end,
Uncle Charlie

Good job Gina! Your patience and hard work really paid off.

Good going Kid. You did a great job.

Dave

You must be quite the proud Momma! The bikes look great! Glad for the happy ending.

nice job!