This plate is undoubtedly original to the bike and would probably have been anodised. On other GFs these plates were usually left polished. I thought I’d take the opportunity to “show a bit o’ leg” here. Finishing off is underway and Bert is busy snagging.
Now that we have some parts back from the platers it’s possible to finally make a start on the assembly process. The top and bottom forks links were a good place to begin and so Bert took his time building them up. Since I acquired the bike in 2008 I’ve been on the lookout for …
Like the F106/1 frame tie, this part is unique to the Grey Flash model and differs to the standard road-going version fitted to Comets and Meteors. When the F102/1 is laid next to other anodised components from 2751, a match in finished appearance is obvious. This rare part is an original component that has remained …
A specially machined F106 was employed to lock the UFM to the gearbox, tying the top and bottom of the motorcycle together. An impossible-to-find part which is original to the bike without any doubt.
This component is of a special configuration to accommodate the Albion racing gearbox and thus unique to the Grey Flash. This modification was performed in antiquity but for what purpose we’re not sure.There is an argument that it was done for purposes of lightening though we think it may have been undertaken to enable easier …
The bridge plate, from the front fork assembly, appeared to have some age to it. A standard bridge plate, stamped ‘FF32’, would have been anodised but was listed with the suffix of /1. Two layers of paint were removed – a good sign! many of the parts had been painted twice: The top layer had …
Now that we have ascertained the correct anodised finish on the fork legs, and have a reference point, we can compare other alloy parts, that we suspect to be anodised, to see whether they show signs of the same finish. If they do then we can be certain that they are original to the bike. …
As mentioned in a previous post, the Girdraulic fork legs, which are original to the bike, were anodised. This Grey Flash, the third production bike, was a new model for Vincent and they were trying to impress the market. To this end, the bike left The Works with eye-grabbing finishes – later Grey Flashes were …
The Grey Flash features an extensively drilled and lightened headstock casting. The Works must have deemed this appearance a little unsightly so an alloy cover plate was devised to cover up the holes and provide a place for the mercury crest transfer. I’m convinced this is original to the bike; accurately constructing a similar part …
I’m finally able to report that the fork blades are stripped of all of their paint. In fact, all parts have now been stripped but I’m going to start with the forks as they are an important reference point for this part of the restoration. We know, without a shadow of a doubt, that the …
Grey Flash 2751 